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

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF IRISH POTATO (Solanum tuberasum) PRODUCTION UNDER IRRIGATION SYS- TEM IN KATSINA METROPOLIS, KATSINA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, KATSINA STATE

A survey on economics analysis of Irish Potato (Solanum tuberasum) Production under irrigation sys- tem in Katsina Metropolis Katsina Local Government Area was carried out. Six communities were purposively selected due to the production of Irish potato. The communities were Kofar Sauri, Kofar Durbi, Kofar Marusa, Filin Samji, Rafukka and Yammawa. A simple random sampling was employed in selecting the farmers were by ten (10) farmers were randomly selected from each community which gave a total of sixty respondents. The data were obtained using structured questionnaire and sub- jected to descriptive statistics, gross margin and net farm income analysis. The research describes the socio economic characteristic of the respondents in which the respondents were within the mean age of 41 years. The result also showed hundred percent of the respondents were male, 66.6% were mar- ried, 30%, 31.6%, 33.3% and 5% had qur«¤??anic, primary, secondary and tertiary education respectively. The result also showed that 90% of the respondents«¤?? source their initial income for production of Irish potato from personal saving and 48.3% source information from mass media. The research also de- scribed the production characteristic of the respondents were majority (51.6%) cultivate 0.2-0.4ha, 81.6% acquired their land by inheritance, 88.3% practice sole cropping and 48.3% used family labor. Net Farm Income analysis revealed that Irish potato production in the study area is profitable with Net Farm Income of N5798.83, «¤?¢Ã21555.35 and «¤?¢Ã65399.48 for 0.2-0.4ha, 0.5-0.7ha and 0.8-1ha. The result further reveals that manure and fuel contributed toward the output for 0.2-0.4ha, manure, fuel, water and labour contributed for 0.5-0.7ha and manure, water and labour for 0.8-1ha. The result also identified some constraints to Irish potato production such as inadequate fertilizer, poor storage facili- ties, pest and diseases, inadequate extension advice, poor canal maintenance, inadequate capital, poor cooperation, adulteration of farm input, and marketing problem. Conclusively, net farm income result shows that Irish potato production is profitable in the study area. It is recommended that re- search into way of improving the method of storage should be promoted

Synthesis and Physicochemical Properties of Copper (II) Complex with a Schiff base Derived from 2 – Hydroxy – 1 – naphthaldehyde and Ethylenediammine

Synthesis of Copper (II) complex with a Schiff base derived from the condensation of 2 – hydroxyl-1-naphthaldehyde and ethylenediammine was carried out. Solubility, melting/decomposition temperature, molar conductance, potentiometric as well as uv-visible spectrophotometric studies were carried out. The pKa of the Schiff base was determined potentiometrically and checked using ORIGIN 50 method. Potentiometric studies revealed 1:1 metal to ligand ratio. Job’s method of continuous variation also revealed 1:1 metal to ligand ratio. Molar conductance measurements showed that the complex is non electrolyte with very high stability constant value. Gibb’s free energy determination showed that the complex is very stable as shown by the high decomposition temperature measurements.Keywords: Complex, Potentiometry, Schiff base, Stability constan

The Effect of Varying Soot Concentration and Relative Humidity on Visibility and Particle Size Distribution in Urban Atmosphere

This research used extracted extinction coefficients and common mode radii of urban aerosols to carry out visibility simulations at corresponding spectral wavelengths from 0.4-0.8µm from the improved version of the Optical Properties of Aerosols and Clouds (OPAC 4.0) data at eight relative humidities(RH) (0%, 50%, 70%, 80%, 90%, 95%, 98% and 99% RH). Five models of the urban aerosols used comprised of insoluble (INSO), Water-soluble (WASO) and Soot (Black Carbon). From the average concentration set up by OPAC 4.0, the concentrations of the Soot (Black Carbon) were varied by external mixing. The Angstrom exponent (α), the curvature (α2) and the urban atmospheric turbidity (β) were obtained from the regression analysis of the first and second order polynomial of Kaufman’s representation of the Koschmieder equation for atmospheric visibility. The mean exponents of the aerosol size growth curve (µ) were determined from the aerosol effective hygroscopic growth (geff) while the humidification factors (γ) were determined from the visibility enhancement factors f(RH,λ). With µ and γ, the mean exponents of aerosol size distributions (υ) were determined for all the models. It was observed that at varying Soot (Black Carbon) concentrations and RH there were non-linear relationships between them and visibilities. The values of α > 1 showed the presence of fine mode particles from the WASO part of the aerosol mixture and α2 being positive indicated bimodal aerosol particle distributions. Additionally, visibility deterioration is predicted because of the increase in turbidity (β) with the variation of Soot and RH

Immobilization of α-amylase from anoxybacillus sp. SK3-4 on relizyme and immobead supports

α-Amylase from Anoxybacillus sp. SK3-4 (ASKA) is a thermostable enzyme that produces a high level of maltose from starches. A truncated ASKA (TASKA) variant with improved expression and purification efficiency was characterized in an earlier study. In this work, TASKA was purified and immobilized through covalent attachment on three epoxide (ReliZyme EP403/M, Immobead IB-150P, and Immobead IB-150A) and an amino-epoxide (ReliZyme HFA403/M) activated supports. Several parameters affecting immobilization were analyzed, including the pH, temperature, and quantity (mg) of enzyme added per gram of support. The influence of the carrier surface properties, pore sizes, and lengths of spacer arms (functional groups) on biocatalyst performances were studied. Free and immobilized TASKAs were stable at pH 6.0-9.0 and active at pH 8.0. The enzyme showed optimal activity and considerable stability at 60 ?C. Immobilized TASKA retained 50% of its initial activity after 5-12 cycles of reuse. Upon degradation of starches and amylose, only immobilized TASKA on ReliZyme HFA403/M has comparable hydrolytic ability with the free enzyme. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of an immobilization study of an α-amylase from Anoxybacillus spp. and the first report of α-amylase immobilization using ReliZyme and Immobeads as supports

Comparative Analysis of received GSM Signal Strength Network in University of Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria

GSM Network in Nigeria in recent times has been epileptic due to drop in signal strength, which causes customer dissatisfaction with the quality of service delivery by network operators. University of Maiduguri has experience low signal quality in recent years due to frequent dropped calls, poor network interconnectivity, echoes and network congestion, therefore this work presents a detail analysis of the received GSM signal strength in university of Maiduguri. An android application program known as network cell info Lite was used for the measurement of signal strength for three different network in the university at random sampling points. The three network considered are: Network A, Network B and Network C, in three different locations; Academic area, student hostel and staff quarters within the university. The data collected were analyzed using SPSS Statistical tool. The mean value of the signal strength received using the software application shows that Network A with HSPA -91.91dB and GPRS -73.59Db is the best network in the academic area, Network B with HSPA -87.27dB and GPRS -73.43dB has the best network quality in the staff quarters and Network C with HSPA -88.73dB and GPRS -69.85dB is the best network in the student hostel, results above shows that the quality of signal strength depends on location within the university

Modeling the Water-Energy-Food Nexus in ObR-E’s: The Eight (8) Coordinates

The need to formulate quantifiers for water, energy and food (WEF) is necessary sequel to conservation issues worldwide. Existing methodologies on the WEF nexus appear less fitting in sustainability arguments because of incompleteness. This article analyzes the WEF nexus in open but restricted environments (ObR-E’s) with completeness assumption in form of the known inter-intra dependence of nexus elements for sustainability and better conservation practice. The analysis leads to the discovery of the Jalingo equation whose any non simplistic solution is a solution to the WEF problem in some ObR-E’s world wide. It is important to seek other non simplistic solutions for this equation under certain constraints known to affect WEF in ObR-E’s of specialty

Kawasaki disease associated with streptococcal infection and facial nerve palsy: a case report

Kawasaki disease (mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome), an acute febrile vasculitis of childhood that affects medium and small-sized arteries, is uncommonly reported in the West African sub[1]region. Its diagnosis relies on the presence of a constellation of clinical signs which could mimic or coexist with infectious viral or bacterial agents, thereby requiring a high index of suspicion. Case presentation: We report a two-year, ten months-old boy who presented with prolonged high-grade fever for over 3 three weeks; non-purulent conjunctivitis, unilateral cervical lymphadenopathy, cracked lips, reddish tongue, diffuse oedema, erythema of his palms and soles; skin desquamation over the tips of his digits and left-sided facial nerve palsy. He had leukocytosis, thrombocytopenia, and elevated inflammatory markers. Throat swab yielded Streptococcus pyogenes species; however, serial echocardiography was unrevealing. He was managed with aspirin, steroids, bed rest, and antibiotics (based on culture sensitivity), but intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) was not readily available and therefore was not administered. His inpatient clinical course showed fever persisting into the second week of inpatient management that gradually became undulating by the third week before lysing. Conclusion: The rare complication of facial nerve palsy is highlighted, while the evidence for acute bacterial infection posed further diagnostic challenges in this child with clinical features of Kawasaki disease. The unavailability of IVIG also portends a prolonged course for the acute stages, which are largely unresponsive to antipyretics and antibiotics. The importance of long-term follow-up for potential coronary artery aneurysms in the face of risk factors is further emphasized

Analysis of the Impact of Relative Humidity and Mineral Nuclei Mode Aerosols Particle Concentration on the Visibility of Desert Aerosols

This paper presents the results of the Analysis of the Impact of relative humidity and water-soluble aerosol particle concentrations on the visibility and particle size distribution of desert aerosols based on microphysical properties of desert aerosols. The microphysical properties (the extinction coefficients, volume mix ratios, dry mode radii and wet mode radii) were extracted from Optical Properties of Aerosols and Clouds (OPAC 4.0) at eight relative humidities (00 to 99%RH) and at the spectral range of 0.4-0.8 mm. the concentrations of mineral nuclie component (MINN) were varied to obtain five different models. The angstrom exponent (a), the turbidity (b), the curvature (a2), humidification factor (g), the mean exponent of aerosol growth curve (µ) and the mean exponent of aerosol size distributions (n) were determined from the regression analysis of some standard equations. It was observed that the values of (a) are less than 1 throughout the 5 models which signifies the dominance of coarse mode particles over fine mode particles. It was observed that the curvature (a2) has both monomodal and bimodal types of distributions all through the 5 models and this signifies the dominance of coarse mode particles with some traces of fine mode particles. The visibility was observed to decrease with the increase in RH and increased with wavelength. The analysis further found that there is an inverse power law relationship between humidification factor, the mean exponent of the aerosol size distribution with the mean exponent of the aerosol growth curve (as the magnitude of (µ) decreases across the five models, the magnitudes of (g) and (n) increase, but the magnitude of both (g) and (n) increases for a given (µ) across the individual models). The mean exponent of aerosol size distribution (µ) being less than 3 indicate hazy condition of the desert atmosphere