Evaluation Of Vitamin Composition and Anti-Inflammatory Properties of Cucumber (Cucumis Sativus) Peels

Inadequate vitamins in humans can cause significant impairment in cellular and immune functions, as well as trigger inflammatory responses. Boosting immunity with vitamins helps in prevention and treatment of many diseases. There is a need to search for diets rich in vitamins which can boost immunity. This study explored vitamin composition and anti-inflammatory properties of cucumber peels using standard methods. The in-vitro anti-inflammatory effects were measured on the ability of the ethanol extract of cucumber peels to inhibit proteinase activities, albumin denaturation, and stabilize erythrocyte membrane, using blood samples from laboratory rat, while Aspirin and Diclophenac Sodium served as reference drugs. Vitamins found in cucumber peels were A (0.35 ± 0.03 mg/g), β-carotene (0.86±0.04mg/g), B₁ (1.14±0.38mg/g), B₂ (0.24±0.02mg/g), B₃ (0.71±0.03mg/g), B₆ (1.04±0.06mg/g), B₉ (0.66±0.01mg/g), C (1.58±0.01mg/g), D (1.11±0.01mg/g), E (0.54±0.01mg/g), and K (0.78±0.01mg/g). The extracts inhibited proteinase activity, albumin denaturation, and stabilization of erythrocyte membrane in a concentration-dependent manner, and recorded maximum activities of 19.14% anti-proteinase, 26.78% inhibition of albumin denaturation, 12.92% inhibition of heat-induced haemolysis, and 26.90% inhibition of hypotonicity-induced haemolysis at the highest concentration of 500µg/ml. These results indicated that cucumber peels are good sources of vitamins and possess anti-inflammatory properties.

Creative Accounting around Contemporaneous Involuntary Bank Mergers and Acquisitions, and Non-Routine Board Changes

Thispaper examines the magnitude and direction of creative accounting following contemporaneousmergers and acquisitions consummated under duress, and abnormal corporate boardchanges taking evidence from Nigeria. But most importantly, the paper determineswhether any likely resultant abnormal accrual following corporate acquisitions canbe unconsciously normalized by ‘big bath’ accounting players following contemporaneousnon-routine board leader replacement. Evidence has shown that following acquisitions,mangers can engage in income-increasing management on one hand. On the other hand,new CEOs can give earnings a ‘big’ downward ‘bath’ blaming their predecessors forthe poor performance while pursuing personal contractual performance benefit. Hence,within extensive researches already carried out on the impacts of acquisitions andboard replacement on creative accounting, there remains unanswered question of theextent of accrual manipulation when the two events occur simultaneously. Drawingheavily from Jones and Dechow models in estimating normal accrual, normal cash flowfrom operations and both discretionary accrual and cash flow, we report consistentwith extant literatures, that under consolidation duress, the victim firms engagein a significant discretionary income-increasing manipulation. Our study also confirmsthat significant downward accrual management follows corporate board changes inNigeria. However, the board changes that follow consolidation restructuring limitthe persistence of the abnormal accrual in the end. We find that the ‘Big bath’accounting players reverse although unconsciously a significant proportion of theupward managed accrual from opportunistic perspective. The ratio of pre consolidationaccrual hiking to post-consolidation board changes reversal is 3:2, which indicates67% normalization for stock based acquisitions. For cash based acquisitions however,the reversal is much lower. Our findings suggest that where abnormal earnings ishighly suspected following involuntary acquisitions, board restructuring that willlead to new managers could help in correcting or reversing significant proportionof the accrual abnormality. Keywords: Discretionary Accounting,Consolidations, Earnings management, Mergers and acquisitions, Accrua

A study on Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles synthesized from Titanium Isopropoxide under Silar-Induced Gel Method : transition from Anatase to Rutile structure

Abstract: Successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) method was adopted in synthesizing titanium dioxide nanoparticles at various temperatures so as to investigate their morphological, structural, elemental, optical, chemical bond and photoluminescence properties. The as-prepared nanoparticles were characterized with scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffractometry (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), selected area electron diffractometer (SAED), energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDX), UV-Visible spectrophotometry (UV-Vis), photoluminescence (PL) spectra and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Nanospherical balls revealing anatase and rutile crystal structures at (101) and (110) planes respectively were observed. Agglomerations of chain-like small particles manifested in Debye-Scherrer’s rings were evident from the TEM and SAED patterns. EDX spectra confirmed the deposition of the major elements: Ti and O. High transmittance of about 80% with a band gap energy range of 3.41-3.60 eV was obtained from the optical properties. Emission peaks arising from the PL spectra gave information on the charge transport and recombination rates occurring at the TiO2 nanoparticles while FTIR studies revealed the chemical vibrational bonds of the deposited TiO2 NPs. The obtained results show the deposited nanoparticles are suitable for solar cell applications

Human Immunodeficiency Virus Self‑Testing: Perspectives from Primary Healthcare Workers in Enugu State, Southeast Nigeria

Background: Stigmatization remains an intractable issue surrounding human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) management. Testing services are the gateway to treatment and prevention. HIV‑self testing (HIVST) is a panacea to this stigmatization. It is a simple friendly testing technique. This study assessed issues surrounding the HIVST from the perspectives of the primary health‑care workers in Enugu State. Methods: A cross‑sectional study was carried out using a semi‑structured interviewer‑administered questionnaire. A convenience sampling of 238 respondents were sampled from the 17 local government areas of the state. Analyses were performed using IBM‑SPSS version 23. Ethical approval was obtained from the Enugu State Ministry of Health. Results: The majority of the respondents were within the age of 31–50 years 84 (35.3%), predominantly females 203 (85.3%) and mainly married 191 (80.3%). Half of them had practiced for over 10 years and 145 (60.9%) had good knowledge of HIV screening. However, 23.9% understood HIVST as a  testing modality approved by the World Health Organization. A handful of them, 25 (10.5%) correctly identified the 5Cs of HIV testing. Only 162 (68.1%) of the health‑care workers reported stigma as the most perceived problems of the present testing modality and 146 (61.3%) expressed a  preference for HIVST over previous methods. Age was found to be a determinant of good knowledge of HIVST, as being within the age group of  20–40 years has a 1.83 greater odds of good knowledge of HIVST than, 41–60 years age group (Adjusted odds ratios = 1.830; 95% confidence interval  1.081–3.099). Conclusion: Most of the Primary health‑care workers in Enugu State had poor knowledge of HIVST. These workers could benefit from awareness creation and training on HIVST by public health specialists to improve their knowledge. Keywords: Enugu state, human immunodeficiency virus self‑testing, perspectives, primary health‑care worker

The Effect of Processing on the Antioxidant Activities of Purple Onions (Allium Cepa L.), Bulb.

Onion (Allium cepa L.) is a common vegetable and is widely consumed all over the world. It has been used as a food and medicinal crop since ancient times; it is grown worldwide and because of its peculiar taste, unique flavor, highly valued aroma, and various health benefits, it is sometimes referred to as the “Queen of the kitchen”. Onions is traditionally used as fresh condiment, but recently, particularly in the year 2020, the scarcity of the commodity has led to a thought of processing and preserving it for the scarcity period. The present study was therefore, conducted to evaluate the effect of processing on the antioxidant activities of fresh, sun dried and oven dried purple onion bulb. Two processing methods which included sun-drying and oven-drying at 70oC were used. The antioxidant activities were determined using standard biochemical methods. The oven dried sample showed better antioxidant activities when compared to the other samples. The results of the parameters analyzed in this study, suggests that oven drying (70oC) is the most efficient method of processing and preservation of purple onion, since it gave the best results among the samples assessed. Therefore, it can be concluded that oven dried purple onions have enhanced antioxidant properties making it a good candidate for the prevention and therapy of array of diseases which meets consumer requirement of being readily available all seasons.  

The Parity Rate of Indoor-Resting Adult Female Anopheles and Culex Mosquitoes and Their Implication in Disease Transmission in Nnamdi Azikiwe University Female Hostels Awka, South Eastern Nigeria

A study on the parity rate of indoor-resting Anopheles and Culex mosquitoes and their implication in disease transmission was carried out in Nnamdi Azikiwe University female hostel between June and July 2016. The mosquitoes were sampled weekly from 24 randomly selected rooms using pyrethrum knock-down collection (P.K.C). A total of 516 mosquitoes comprising of 4 species: Anopheles Gambiae, Anopheles funestus, Culex quinquefasciatus and Culex annulioris, were collected during the study period. The mosquitoes were examined for their abdominal gradings/gonotrophic stages and dissected for parity determination. Culex quinquefasciatus (61.43%) constituted the most abundant species followed by Anopheles Gambiae (30.04%) and Anopheles funestus (7.56%) and the least being Culex annulioris (0.97%). Results showed that majority of the vector species were fed and parous and variations among the parity rates of the 4 species was significant (

The burden of road traffic crashes, injuries and deaths in Africa:A systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective To estimate the burden of road traffic injuries and deaths for all road users and among different road user groups in Africa. Methods We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, Global Health, Google Scholar, websites of African road safety agencies and organizations for registry- and population-based studies and reports on road traffic injury and death estimates in Africa, published between 1980 and 2015. Available data for all road users and by road user group were extracted and analysed. We conducted a random-effects meta-analysis and estimated pooled rates of road traffic injuries and deaths. Findings We identified 39 studies from 15 African countries. The estimated pooled rate for road traffic injury was 65.2 per 100000 population (95% confidence interval, CI: 60.8–69.5) and the death rate was 16.6 per 100 000 population (95% CI: 15.2–18.0). Road traffic injury rates increased from 40.7 per 100 000 population in the 1990s to 92.9 per 100 000 population between 2010 and 2015, while death rates decreased from 19.9 per 100 000 population in the 1990s to 9.3 per 100 000 population between 2010 and 2015. The highest road traffic death rate was among motorized four-wheeler occupants at 5.9 per 100 000 population (95% CI: 4.4–7.4), closely followed by pedestrians at 3.4 per 100 000 population (95% CI: 2.5–4.2). Conclusion The burden of road traffic injury and death is high in Africa. Since registry-based reports underestimate the burden, a systematic collation of road traffic injury and death data is needed to determine the true burden

A gaming simulation approach to understanding blue ocean strategy development as a transition from traditional competitive strategy

Blue Ocean Strategy (BOS) has attracted a resurgence of interest following various market discontinuities, including digital disruption, the growth of the sharing economy and the development of ecosystems. BOS is a combination of value innovation and new markets, driving sustained higher performance through specific marketing activities, but it is difficult to conceive and implement. We outline five cases that use various transition paths to BOS through white spaces - with product extensions in the existing market. An important part of this transition are ‘blue ocean droplets’ which drive profitable growth through the transition and then onto a successful deployment of a blue ocean strategy. Blue ocean droplets drive profitable growth - simultaneously increasing volume sales, maintaining/increasing prices and maintaining/decreasing costs. We then use an inductive qualitative approach in a multi-team gaming simulation to examine drivers of firm performance. Higher than average performance is driven by repositioning in white spaces and execution of the three blue ocean droplets. Finally, we discuss implications for firms: execute a number of real options to follow one of several transition paths to a full BOS. This approach involves less downside risk than a full BOS approach, but can still be sustainably profitable, while also breaking the traditional value/cost trade-off

Proximate, Physicochemical and Sensory Attributes of Stirred Yoghurt Flavoured with African Star Apple Pulp (Chrysophyllum albidum)

Aims: To Investigate the Proximate, Physicochemical and Sensory attributes of Stirred Yoghurt Flavoured with African Star Apple Pulp (Chrysophyllum albidum). Study Design: Randomized Completely Block Design (RCBD). Place and Duration of Study: Department of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State Nigeria between December 2018 and October 2019. Methodology: The materials, as well as the other ingredients for the preparation of the flavoured stirred yoghurt (African star apple, skimmed milk, sugar, and Starter culture (YoghurmetTM) were sourced from Ogige main market in Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State, Nigeria. The African star apples were sorted to separate the fresh and good fruits from insect-infected and mechanically damaged ones. The fruits were thoroughly washed with water to further eliminate adherent dirt so as to obtain sand-free fruits. Peeling of the fruits was done to remove the back. Each of the peeled fruits was cut into two in order to remove the seeds thereof. The pulps were carefully removed manually with knife and the pulps were blended using a blender after which pasteurization at 83°C for 3 minutes was carried out before being added to the processed yoghurt. Yoghurt flavoured with pasteurized African Star Apple pulp was produced by homogenizing, pasteurizing the milk product followed by cooling to inoculation temperature which is optimum for the starter culture (Yoghurmet). The inoculated milk was made to undergo fermentation after which the pasteurized African star apple pulp at different proportions was added to formulate five samples of stirred yoghurt.  The formulation ratios of yoghurt to African star apple pulp were as follows: 100:0, 90:10, 80:20, 70:30, 60:40, 50:50. The flavoured yoghurt samples were mixed, smoothened and packaged for cold storage. Results: The result of physicochemical analysis revealed that viscosity (2.65 ± 0.06 cP – 3.25 ± 0.06 cP), total solids (22.35 ± 0.06% - 30.20 ± 0.06%), total titratable acidity (0.36 ± 0.00% -   0.39 ± 0.01%) and pH (5.20 ± 0.00 - 5.40 ± 0.00) differed significantly (P < 0.05) as the control sample YC (100:0) was compared with the yoghurt samples flavoured with African star apple pulp. The proximate parameters -  Carbohydrate (11.20 ± 0.64% - 21.41 ± 0.10%), moisture content (71.53 ± 0.05% - 80.36 ± 1.17%) and ash content (1.30 ± 0.00% - 1.98 ± 0.03%) of the formulated yoghurt samples showed significant (P < 0.05) decrease as concentration of ASA pulp increased while crude protein (3.67 ± 0.01% -  4.92 ± 0.02%), fat (1.21 ± 0.02% - 2.72 ± 0.03%) and crude fibre (0.20 ± 0.00% - 1.40 ± 0.00%) showed significant (P < 0.05) increase with increasing concentration of ASA pulp. Among the formulated yoghurt samples, sample YP1 was the most preferred with respect to color (7.25 ± 0.91), taste (7.25 ± 1.07), aftertaste (7.00 ± 1.17), mouthfeel (6.95 ± 1.40), flavour (7.25 ± 0.64) and overall acceptability (7.30 ± 0.73). Conclusion: Although the control sample YC (100:0) had most preferred sensorial qualities, yoghurt samples flavoured with African Star Apple pulp would rival the “used-to plain yoghurt” with improved awareness, and usage lower than 20% of the ASA pulp in yoghurt samples would maintain the product’s acceptability among the variety-loving dairy consumers