Synthesis, characterisation and antimicrobial studies on 2 - [(2 -hydroxyphenyl) methylidene] hydrazine-1-carbothioamide and its Ni(II) and Cu(II) complexes

2-[(2-hydroxyphenyl)methylidene]hydrazine-1-carbothioamide was obtained by the condensation of salicyldehyde and thiosemicarbazone. Ni(II) and Cu(II) complexes were prepared and characterized by elemental (CHNOSO) analysis, FTIR, UV – visible, magnetic susceptibility, and molar conductance measurements. The ligand sharp peak at 1616cm-1 in the FTIR spectra indicating the formation of azomethine (-C=N-) bond. A shift shows band to the band regions 1597cm-1 and 1510cm-1 confirmed the coordination of the azomethine nitrogen with Nickel(II) and Cu(II) ions respectively. The ligand formed a chelate with 1:2 metal : ligand stoichiometry. All the compounds have been screened for antibacterial and antifungal activity by disc diffusion method against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhi as well as Aspergillus flavus bacterial and fungal isolates respectively. The compounds are found to be active against the tested isolates.Keywords: Schiff base, Chacterisation, Ligand, Antibacterial, Antifunga

Cinema semiotics: An application of Hodge and Tripp’s Paradigm/Syntagm approach

Abstract. Various scholars have defined the term semiotics according to their understanding but with a unifying central meaning which is the study of signs. Two important aspects of semiotics are syntagm and paradigm. The organization of signs by chain is referred to as syntagm, while by choice it is referred to as paradigm. According to Hodge & Tripp (1986), as far as syntagmatic structures are concerned, texts are examined from three different angles or variables: space, time, and continuity. Moreover, in film the interpretations of individual, shots depend on both paradigmatic analysis (comparing it, not necessarily, with the use of alternative kinds of shots) and syntagmatic analysis (comparing it with preceding and following shots). This paper, applies the concept of Syntagm and Paradigm given by Hodge and Tripp to analyse the structure of two films from Nigeria’s film industries i.e. Kanywood and Nollywood industries.Keywords. Cinema, Semiotics, Syntagm, Paradigm, Film, Kanywood, Nollywood.JEL. Z00, Y90, H80

Corrosion study of pipeline material for seabed sediment in tropical climate

Corrosive environments such as marine sediments can cause corrosion to steel pipelines at any time when certain conditions are met. Seabed sediment could cause severe corrosion damage due to its corrosiveness to the pipelines buried under it. Many consequences could take place in case if there is incident in oil/gas pipelines. Successfully identifying elements of corrosion in marine sediment would enhance the future of steel structure protection and monitoring systems. This article focuses on the behaviour of corrosion rate of steel located near shore environment and the aim is to determine the effect of sediment on corrosion of steel. To investigate that, simulated near shore sediment conditions have been used where the steel coupons buried in sediments which have different characteristics. Weight loss technique has been implemented to determine the weight loss rate of the steel specimens. Based on the results of this study, metal weight loss increases as the duration of exposure to seabed sediment environment become longer. The sea sediment simulated condition has given significant levels of corrosion. Conclusively, the corrosion rate of steel in seabed sediment located in tropical region is complicated and further studies are suggested

Prevalence studies of human T-Lymphotrophic virus type 1 among pulmonary tuberculosis patients in Dutse metropolis, north-western Nigeria

Human T-lymphotrophic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is a causative agent of tropic spastic paraparesis and adult Tcell leukaemia, Information regarding the involvement of HTLV-1 in presentation of some subclinical immune  suppression that may results in increased rate of HIV and TB infections has long been documented. Sixty (60) Confirmed Pulmonary TB subjects  consisting of 41 males and 19 females were recruited in this study,  Tuberculosis was confirmed by collecting their sputum samples and analysed using GeneXpert. The prevalence of HTLV-1 IgG antibodies among TB subjects was 6.6%, while that of IgM was 1.6%. Accordingly, sexually active couple  group has the highest prevalence of 2.3% when compared to single and widow categories, age group 15-24 has the highest percentage of 3.3% for HTLV-1 IgG antibodies.Key words: HTLV-1, Tuberculosis, IgG, IgM

Near Shore Environment and Its Corrosiveness Towards Steel Pipelines

Seabed sediment is an important environment that has significant effect on pipelines buried under it. Hereby, study on corrosion rate of actual steel pipelines has been conducted to highlight the importance of near shore environment as an aggressive environment towards steel structures. Coupons made of X70 steel pipelines have been considered for weight lost determination in order to calculate the corrosion rate at both near shore and offshore areas. The results show that the corrosion rate of coupons buried at near shore area was higher than the coupons at offshore. Conclusively near shore environment has shown a significant influence on corrosion of steel pipelines

Comparative Review of the Magnitude of Transaction Costs in Construction Procurement Projects between Developed and Developing Countries

Contracting business in public sector within various counties has a transaction cost to incur. This paper reviews transaction costs magnitude of developed and developing countries using standard sampling and procedure by analyzing data from four (4) developed countries; United States of America, United Kingdom, Newzealand, and Czech Republic and two (2) developing countries in Africa; Ghana and Nigeria. According to thefindings Newzealand have the highest TCs magnitude among all countries compared of about 16.5% averagely and with Czech Republic with 0.13% minimum that are incurred by stakeholders when bidding public sector construction projects. This is an important comparison and strengthens the assumption that there is a significant link between transaction costs incurred in bidding and public sector procurement, and that reducing such costs must be important for the contracting firms of various countries. Keywords: Construction, Comparison, Magnitude, Procurement, Transaction Cost

Inhibition of Germination and Growth Behavior of Some Cowpea Varieties Using Neem (Azadiracta Indica) Leaf Water Extracts

The experiment was conducted to observe the inhibitory effects of the leaf extract derived from neem (Azadiracta indica) on germination and growth behavior of some cowpea varieties (receptor). Experiments were set on sterilized petridishes with a photoperiod of 24 hours at room temperature of 27-30oC. The effects of the different concentrations of aqueous extracts were compared with distilled water (control). The aqueous extracts of leaf caused significant inhibitory effects on germination, root and shoot elongation and development of lateral roots of treated plants. Bioassays indicated that the inhibitory effect was proportional to the concentrations of the extract, as concentration increased the extent of inhibition also increased. The study also revealed that inhibitory effect was much pronounced in root and lateral root development rather than germination and shoot growth.Keywords: Neem, Allelopathic effect, Leaf extract, Germination, Growth behavio

Prevalence and antibiotic susceptibility of AmpC and ESBLs producing clinical isolates at a tertiary health care center in Kano, north-west Nigeria

The increase in production of Extended Spectrum Beta Lactamase (ESBL) and Amp C beta lactamase among clinical isolates in our hospitals is of utmost importance. Failure to detect these enzymes in many of our hospitals has greatly led to treatment failure and uncontrolled spread of multi drug resistant pathogens. It was for this purpose that the present study was conducted to determine the prevalence, distribution and susceptibility pattern of Gram negative bacteria producing ESBLs and Amp C beta lactamases in the largest tertiary health care provider in Kano, North-West Nigeria. A total of 75 ESBL and 10 AmpC producing bacteria were involved in the study which were obtained from a study involving 500 Gram negative clinical bacterial isolates from various hospital wards over a period of 9 months from Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH), Kano, Nigeria. Isolates were screened for ESBLs and AmpC using Double Disc Diffusion Method and Amp C Disc test respectively. All confirmed ESBL and Amp C producing isolates were tested for susceptibility to sixteen (16) different antibiotics by the Disc Diffusion Method (DDM). The prevalence of ESBLs was high in Shigella spp. (1/2 or 50%), followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae (10/50 or /20%), and E. coli (47/247 or 19.3%) while Amp C producers were detected more in Klebsiella pneumoniae (4%) and E. coli (2.8%). Of the specimens screened, distribution varies between ESBL and AmpC producers, but more prevalent in urinary tract pathogens in both. Highest prevalence of ESBLs and AmpC producers was recorded in intensive care units and surgical wards. ESBL and AmpC production in the hospital is not sex dependent statistically, thought higher in males (52 and 60%) than in females (48 and 40%) for ESBL and AmpC respectively. ESBL and AmpC producers were both sensitive to Imipenem, Nitrofurantoin and Levofloxacin and resistance to Amoxycillin, Ceftazidime and Tetracycline. The study indicates the occurrence of ESBL and AmpC producers in our tertiary health provider, widely distributed in various clinical samples, wardsand sexes and are multi drug resistant posing serious threat in managing life threatening infections.Key words: prevalence, distribution, ESBL producers, Amp C producers, antibiotic susceptibilit

The Concept of Single Use Piston Break Safety Syringe

syringe is a simple piston pump consisting of a plunger that fits tightly in a tube. The plunger can be pulled and pushed along inside a cylindrical tube (the barrel), allowing the syringe to take in and expel a liquid or gas through an orifice at the open end of the tube. The open end of the syringe may be fitted with a hypodermic needle, a nozzle, or tubing to help direct the flow into and out of the barrel. Syringes are often used to administer injections, apply compounds such as glue or lubricant, and measure liquids. The reuse and abuse of syringe has led to cross-infection of diseases; thus, the need of single use safety syringe arises. Single use safety syringe is able to prevent the abuse of syringe. Many inventions have been produced; the most common are through-push retract breakable safety syringe, rotary plunger retractable safety syringe and release-ring breakable safety syringe. A new type of single use safety syringe Piston Break Safety Syringe is discussed in this paper. Common safety syringes available in market consist of three major components as described earlier. Beside its simplicity, the low cost to produce also the main factor why this type is very popular. The new Piston Break Safety Syringe has similar design with this widely used safety syringe; hence, it makes it easier to be adapted by the users due to its similarity, since no extra training to use it is required. The cost should be equivalently low due to the similarity in size, design and number of components

Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Infection in Males: A Need for More Awareness

Globally, human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common viral sexually transmitted pathogen, which is significantly associated with high morbidity and mortality in both sexes. Except those vaccinated, virtually all sexually active individuals will be infected with HPV in their lifetime. Although most HPV infections are transient, association with anogenital warts, cervical, penile, and other malignancies have been reported. HPV can be transmitted from one person to another through contact especially during sexual contact including anal, vaginal, or oral. Although HPV infection affects both males and females, its causal association with cervical cancer has made most literature to be mainly on females. In view of its sexual transmissibility and the increasing prevalence of HPV-related malignancies among males worldwide, there is need for more awareness on the infection in males. Most developed countries offer HPV vaccination for girls, but vaccine recommendations for boys are still relatively uncommon especially in developing countries where the burden of HPV-related malignancies is still very high. The current discourse highlights the need for increased awareness on HPV vaccination among this neglected gender group