Amino acid profile of four earthworms species from Nigeria

The amino acid profile of four species of earthworms from Nigeria namely Eudrilus eugeniae, Hyperiodrilus africanus, Alma millsoni and Libyodrilus violaceus were evaluated in this study. The amino acid analysis was conducted using the High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) specifically the Technichon TSM-1 (technosequential multisample) analyser for amino acid. Nine essential namely Lysine, Histidine, Arginine, Threonine, Valine, Methionine, Isoleucine, Leucine and Phebylalanine and eight non-essential amino acids namely Aspartic acid, Serine, Glutamic acid, Proline, Glycine, Alanine, Cystine and Tyrosine were recorded in this study. Cystine with a range of 0.64-0.80 g/100kg protein had the least concentration while Glutamic acid with a range of 11.50-13.22 g/100kg protein was the highest. Lysine and methionine, which were limiting amino acids in most feedstuffs, were present in all the earthworm species and ranges from 4.95-5.70 g/100g protein for lysine and 2.08-2.30 g/100g protein for methionin

Macromineral Profile of Four Species of Earthworm Hyperiodrilus africanus, Eudrilus eugeniae, Libyodrilus violaceus and Alma millsoni from Nigeria

The macro mineral profile of four Nigerian species of earthworm; Hyperiodrilus africanus, Eudrilus eugeniae, Libyodrilus violaceus and Alma millsoni was conducted. using the atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Five macro minerals calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium and phosphorus were determined. Comparatively H. africanus recorded the highest mean Ca (0.494 ±0.038%) while A. millsoni recorded the lowest (0.318±0.034%). Hyperiodrilus africanus also recorded the highest mean Mg (0.154±0.015%) whereas L. violaceus recorded the lowest (0.118±0.017%). Alma millsoni recorded the highest mean K (0.045±0.003% ) whereas H. africanus recorded the lowest (0.027±0.002%). The highest mean Na (74.209±13.699 ppm) was recorded by A. millsoni while the lowest (19.813±2.087 ppm) was recorded by H. africanus. Also A. millsoni recorded the highest mean P (0.701±0.022%) while H.africanus recorded the lowest (0.456±0.034%). A significant difference was observed in the mean % Ca, % M g, % K, ppmNa and % P between the four species of earthworms (p<0.01). The study revealed that these five macro minerals which are requirements of animals w ere well represented and adequate in the earthworms. Therefore, the use of meal prepared from these species as mineral supplement in fish diets could be encouraged

Partial replacement of fish meal by earthworm meal (Libyodrilus violaceus) in diets for African catfish, Clarias gariepinus

A seven-week feeding trial was conducted to examine the possibility of replacing fish meal with earthworm meal in the diets of the African catfish, Clarias gariepinus fry. Fish meal protein was replaced by earthworm meal at 0% (D0); 15% (D15); 25% (D25); 35% (D35); and 50% (D50). The diets were isonitrogenous (54%) and fed thrice daily to triplicate groups of African catfish fry at 5% body weight. Diet had a significant effect on growth performance and feed utilization (p≤0.05). Final weight, weight gain, daily weight gain, and specific growth rate, were highest in fish fed diet D25. A similar pattern of growth was observed for length measurements. Fish fed diets exceeding 25% replacement of fish meal with earthworm meal had depressed growth. Feed conversion ratio was highest in fish fed D35. Mortality was not dependent on diet. It is concluded that fish meal can be substituted with earthworm meal up to 25% in the diet of C. gariepinus fry without adverse effects on growth and nutrient utilizatio

STATISTICAL OPTIMIZATION AND SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS OF RHEOLOGICAL MODELS USING CASSAVA STARCH

Models are sometimes employed to determine some parameters that can be used to distinguish between different types of food samples. Rheological models can be used to predict flow for severe conditions where it is difficult to determine the nature of the fluid flow, consequently it is essential to select the appropriate rheological models. This study aims to propose a rheological model that describes an ideal cassava starch rheological behavior and its influence on state variables such as concentration and temperature in order to validate the rheological models. In this study, five rheological models (namely; Power-law model, Robertson-stiff model, Herschel-Bulkey model, Prandtl-Eyring model and Bigham plastic model) were amended into various statistical model by adding the error variance (e). This study concludes that Herschel-Bulkley model and Robertson-stiff model closely explain the rheological patterns occurring during the production of cassava starch. The sensitivity evaluation of other rheological models demonstrate that the validity of Power-law model, Herschel-Bulkley model and Robertson stiff model is not notably influenced by changes in concentration and temperature of the cassava starch. Nevertheless, the Prandtl-Eyring and Bingham plastic models are noted to have less reliable prediction at lower temperature and higher concentration respectively

Appraisal of Natural Durability of a Lesser – Known Boscia anguistifolia (A. Rich) Wood Using Ground Contact Test

The optimal utilization of lesser-known wood species is dependent on their natural durability. In this study, the natural durability of a lesser-known wood species (Boscia anguistifolia) using ground contact test was carried out. Wood blocks of Boscia anguistifolia and Ceiba petandra (reference species) with dimensions of 20 x 20 x 300 mm were obtained from the axial and radial direction of the trees. The wood blocks were conditioned and their moisture content determined before exposure to ground contact for 12 weeks after which their weight loss was determined. Data obtained were analysed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) at 0.05 probability level. The moisture content of B. anguistifolia and C. petandra ranged from 12.80 – 18.02 % and 12.73- 16.63%, respectively while the weight loss of B. anguistifolia and C. petandra ranged from 5.10 – 69.11% and 37 – 50 % respectively along the axial position. It was observed that the core wood in the base portion of B. anguistifolia has the lowest weight loss value of 5.10% while the reference species has a value of 39.73%. Conclusively, B. anguistifolia is moderately durable at the base part of the species when compared with the reference non-durable species used in this study

Optimization and Isothermal Studies of Antibiotics Mixture Biosorption From Wastewater Using Palm Kernel, Chrysophyllum albidum, and Coconut Shells Biocomposite

The presence of persistent pharmaceutical products in water bodies is a significant problem that obstructs wastewater reuse. This study investigated the adsorption process for removing the recalcitrant antibiotics, including tetracycline (TC), ampicillin (AMP), and amoxicillin (AMOX) from an aqueous solution using a composite biosorbent made from a mixture of palm kernel shell (PKS), Chrysophyllum albidum (CAS), and coconut shell (CS). Simplex centroid design in the Design of Expert (12.0.1.0) was applied to optimize the percentage composition (20-55%) of the composite biosorbent precursor and to remove TC-AMP-AMOX mixtures from the aqueous solution in a batch study. The equilibrium data were fitted to 12 isotherm models and analyzed statistically. The maximum adsorption capacity of 9.12 mg/g, 8.66 mg/g, and 7.11 mg/g was achieved for TC, AMP, and AMOX, respectively, using the biocomposite biosorbent with an optimal mixture of 55% PKS, 20% CAS, and 25% CS. The adsorption behavior of TC, AMP, and AMOX was well-described by the Langmuir/Elovich isotherm (R2=1.000), Hill-DeBoer (R2=0.9953), and Freundlich/ Halsey (R2=0.9898) models, respectively. The obtained results showed that the biocomposite PKS-CAS-CS leverages the individual adsorptive capacity of each constituent to enhance the adsorption process. Moreover, the composite biosorbent demonstrated excellent potential for removing recalcitrant pharmaceuticals from wastewater effectively

Adsorption mechanism and modeling of radionuclides and heavy metals onto ZnO nanoparticles: a review

Abstract The contamination of environmental waters with heavy metals and radionuclides is increasing because of rapid industrial and population growth. The removal of these contaminants from water via adsorption onto metal nanoparticles is an efficient and promising technique to abate the toxic effects associated with these pollutants. Among metal nanoparticle adsorbents, zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) have received tremendous attention owing to their biocompatibility, affordability, long-term stability, surface characteristics, nontoxicity, and powerful antibacterial activity against microbes found in water. In this review, we considered the adsorption of heavy metals and radionuclides onto ZnONPs. We examined the isotherm, kinetic, and thermodynamic modeling of the process as well as the adsorption mechanism to provide significant insights into the interactions between the pollutants and the nanoparticles. The ZnONPs with surface areas (3.93 to 58.0 m2/g) synthesized by different methods exhibited different adsorption capacities (0.30 to 1500 mg/g) for the pollutants. The Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms were most suitable for the adsorption process. The Langmuir separation factor indicated favorable adsorption of all the pollutants on ZnONPs. The pseudo-second-order kinetics presented the best for the adsorption of the adsorbates with regression values in the range of 0.986–1.000. Spontaneous adsorption was obtained in most of the studies involving endothermic and exothermic processes. The complexation, precipitation, ion exchange, and electrostatic interactions are the probable mechanisms in the adsorption onto ZnONPs with a predominance of complexation. The desorption process, reusability of ZnONPs as well as direction for future investigations were also presented

Trypanosoma brucei Glycogen Synthase Kinase-3, A Target for Anti-Trypanosomal Drug Development: A Public-Private Partnership to Identify Novel Leads

Over 60 million people in sub-Saharan Africa are at risk of infection with the parasite Trypanosoma brucei which causes Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT), also known as sleeping sickness. The disease results in systemic and neurological disability to its victims. At present, only four drugs are available for treatment of HAT. However, these drugs are expensive, limited in efficacy and are severely toxic, hence the need to develop new therapies. Previously, the short TbruGSK-3 short has been validated as a potential target for developing new drugs against HAT. Because this enzyme has also been pursued as a drug target for other diseases, several inhibitors are available for screening against the parasite enzyme. Here we present the results of screening over 16,000 inhibitors of human GSK-3β (HsGSK-3) from the Pfizer compound collection against TbruGSK-3 short. The resulting active compounds were tested for selectivity versus HsGSK-3β and a panel of human kinases, as well as their ability to inhibit proliferation of the parasite in vitro. We have identified attractive compounds that now form potential starting points for drug discovery against HAT. This is an example of how a tripartite partnership involving pharmaceutical industries, academic institutions and non-government organisations such as WHO TDR, can stimulate research for neglected diseases