Effect of Aqueous-Methanol Leave Extract of Cassia Occidentalis on CCl4 Induced Hepatotoxic Rabbits

The use of the different part of Cassia occidentalis in treatment of several deseases has lead to the several researches about the plant capability in desease prevention and curation. This research investigates the effects of aqueous methanol leaves extract of Cassia occidentalis on most of the liver function indices (ALT, AST, ALP, T.BIL, D.BIL, T.P, Albumin, Globulin) in carbon tetrachloride induced hepatotoxicity. A total of fifteen rabbits were used for the research, which were divided into five groups (GroupI to V) three rabbits per each group. Group I served as normal control, Group II served as test control, Group III, IV and V were induced with hepatic toxicity and administered with the extract at a dose of 50mg/kg, 100mg/kg and 10mg/kg of livolin respectively, per day for two weeks. A significant decrease (p<0.05) in liver function indices was observed in all groups compared to test control. Administration of the extract lead to a significant decrease (p<0.05) in liver function indices in a dose dependent manner compared to test control. Similar pattern of activity was observed between 50mg/kg of the extract and 10mg/kg of livolin (standard drug) in hepatocurative activity. The observed hepatocurative ability of the plant may be due to the presence of phytochemicals. Keywords: Cassia occidentalis; Carbon Tetrachloride; Aqueous-Methanol and Hepatoxocity. DOI: 10.7176/JNSR/12-10-05 Publication date:May 31st 202

Phytochemicals and Elemental Analysis of Methanol Leave Extract of Peppermint Tea (Mentha Piperita L.)

The species Mentha piperita L. (Peppermint tea) is an aromatic perennial glabrous and strongly scented herb. It is one of the most popular and widely consumed single ingredient herbal teas, or tisanes. This study evaluate the phytochemicals constituents and elemental compositions of methanolic leaves extract of peppermint tea. Qualitative phytochemical screening revealed the presence of alkaloid, flavonoids, glycosides, saponin, steroids, tannins, terpenoids and total phenolic compounds, while quantitative analysis shows terpenoids>total phenolic compounds>flavonoids>alkaloids>glycosides>tannins>steroids>saponins. Elemental analysis revealed the presence of potassium (K) 116.67±0.00mg/kg, Calcium (Ca) 96.67±9.95mg/kg, Sodium (Na) 93.33±0.00mg/kg, Iron (Fe) 77.53± 0.50mg/kg, Copper (Cu) 49.13±5.15mg/kg, Manganese (Mn) 15.33±0.75mg/kg, Magnesium (Mg) 9.33±4.00mg/kg, and Zinc (Zn) 0.80±0.30mg/kg. Thus this study shows peppermint plant to be of high nutritional value and contain medicinally important bioactive compounds. Keywords: Phytochemicals; Elemental Analysis; Peppermint; Methanol and Leave Extract DOI: 10.7176/FSQM/108-07 Publication date:May 31st 202

Employee Perception of Maintenance Practices at Selected Public Healthcare Facilities in Niger State, Nigeria

Maintenance practice involves deliberate and orderly way that deals with planning, evaluation, organizing, and monitoring of maintenance activities and their expenses. An excellent maintenance management framework combines with learned and proficient maintenance staff can avoid safety and health issues and environmental harm; yielding longer assets life with less breakdowns, lower working costs and higher personal satisfaction for the users and occupants. Experienced and highly trained workers are inspired with a very friendly atmosphere and they are also in turn individual friendly.Lack of maintenance of our healthcare facilities is evident in the deplorable condition of the structures and equipment.This study assessed maintenance practices of maintenance staff at six (6) selected healthcare facilities in Niger State through a structured questionnaire. Data collected was analysed with Minitab 17 statistical software using descriptive statistics. The analysis revealed among others that majority of maintenance practice were preventive in nature, and that the maintenanceproblems in the healthcare facilities of Niger State was caused bylack of lack of funding and lack of successful adaptation of ineffective maintenance programmes and practices. The study recommended a proactive and aggressive approach to reduce the occurrence of defects in and around the healthcare facilities. It was also recommended that individual healthcare centres should solicit for both private and public funding for maintenance activities since they have partial autonomy to generate revenue internally for their operation

Evaluation of qualitative phytochemicals and antifungal activity of aqueous leaf extract of Senna tora on downy mildew of cabbage

This study was embarked upon to evaluate the efficacy of aqueous extracts of Senna tora leaf against Perenospora parasitica, causing downy mildew on cabbage. Phytochemical analysis of the leaf extracts revealed the presence of some secondary metabolites (Tannins, Saponins, Flavonoid, Glycosides, Alkaloids, Phenolic compounds and Carbohydrates) which have been reported to have antimicrobial effects. Assays were performed using extract concentrations of 1000, 500, 250, 125 mg/ml by agar well diffusion technique. Results obtained, revealed a significant difference in diameter of mycelial zone of inhibition between the concentrations. Highest zone of inhibition was recorded at 1000 and 500 mg/ml (20 and 15 mm) respectively. Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimum Fungicidal Concentration (MFC) were determined and recorded at 250 mg/ml. The antifungal screening revealed that the extract exhibited inhibitory activities at varying concentrations against the downy mildew pathogen. These activities observed could be attributed to the presence of active metabolites contained in the extract.Keywords: Aqueous leaf extract, Downy mildew, Perenospora parasitica and Senna tor

Preparation and characterization of nanocrystalline Ba(Ti0.96SnxZr0.04-x)O3 ceramic

Nanocrystalline powders of Barium titanate (BaTiO3 or BT) and Ba(Ti0.96SnxZr0.04-x)O3 (BTSZ1, BTSZ2, and BTSZ3) [x=0.02, 0.03 and 0.04] have been synthesized by a combination of solid-state reaction and high energy ball- milling technique (HBM). The effect of increasing Sn content on the microstructure and dielectric properties of the ceramics were studied. X-ray diffraction patterns show cubic and tetragonal symmetry without secondary phase. Sn4+ and Zr4+ ions entered the perovskite-type cubic structure and led to an increase in the lattice parameters. The average crystallite size has been calculated using Scherrer formula. Using Scherrer, the crystallite size of the (110) peaks of the pure BT is 31.2 nm and that of BTSZ1, BTSZ2, and BTSZ3 are 42.7, 37.9 and 42.3 nm respectively. The FESEM results indicated a variation of grain size from 144.53, to 89.28 nm for the pure BT, BTSZ1, BTSZ2, and BTSZ3, which show a decrease in grain size as Sn doping increases. Frequency dependence of dielectric permittivity and loss studied in the range temperature and frequency range 30-400oC and 40 Hz–1 MHz, respectively, for BT, BTSZ1, BTSZ2, and BTSZ3 show a normal ferroelectric phase transition behavior. The corresponding dielectric constant and loss at room temperature show that BTSZ2 has the highest dielectric constant and loss of 1671 and 1.6 respectively. The high dielectric constants and relatively lower loss tangent values meet the current demand for device miniaturization in the electronics industry.Keywords: BT-BTSZ ceramics; high energy ball milling; XRD; FESEM; dielectric propertie

Structural and dielectric properties of Ba(Ti0.96Sn0.01Zr0.03)O3 perovskite nanoparticles fabricated by mechanochemical synthesis route

Lead free Nanocrystalline BaTiO3 doped with Sn and Zr is prepared by a combination of solid-state reaction and high energy ball milling (HBM) technique in a temperature range 30–150 °C, over a frequency range 40 Hz – 1 MHz. A single-phase nanocrystalline sample with ABO3 type of perovskite structure with cubic symmetry was confirms by XRD diffraction. The crystallite and grain size determined from Scherrer equation and intercept method are 38.2 nm and 46.13 nm respectively. FE-SEM images show samples are dense and have different microstructures with certain amount of porosity. A grain size of 46.13 nm is obtained by using linear intercept method. Room temperature (RT) variation of ′and tan as a function of frequency of the modified BT system has also been studied. Variation of dielectric properties with frequency shows the usual behaviour of dielectric materials i.e decrease of the value of ′ with the increase of frequency. A dielectric anomalies is observed corresponding to phase transitions viz tetragonal to cubic (− ) at 70oC. These effect can guide to design the nanostructure for various practical applications of MLCC

Prevalence of Psychoactive Substance Use among Commercial Motorcyclists and Its Health and Social Consequences in Zaria, Nigeria

Background: In recent years commercial motorcyclists (Okada riders) have come to bridge the huge public transport gap in most cities across the country. However, this is not without the dangers they pose to themselves, passengers and to other road users. It is claimed that some of these Okada riders operate under the influence of drugs and other substances. But there are few community-based studies that have investigated the problem in this part of Nigeria. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the prevalence, health and social consequences of psychoactive substance use among commercial motorcyclists (Okada) in Zaria, northern Nigeria. Method: Multi-stage sampling technique was used to sample commercial motorcyclists registered with commercial motorcyclists union in Zaria city, Kaduna state, Nigeria. Structured, closed ended and interviewer administered questionnaires were used to collect information on socio-demographic characteristics, factors influencing psychoactive substance use, impact on health status, motor cycle riding experience and work performance. Results: Two hundred commercial motor cyclists were interviewed, majority of them were in the age group 21-25 years (55.5%) with a mean age of 25.4\u2009\ub1\u20093.9 years. All the motorcyclists were male, (60.5%), had no formal education, (79.5%) are of Hausa extraction and (69%) worked for more than 10 hours per day. A high prevalence of 59.5% of road traffic accident that was associated with the use of psychoactive drugs was found among the motorcyclists. Commonly identified psychoactive substance/drugs used were: marijuana [Indian hemp] 25.8%, solution 24.5%, caffeine (Kola) 15.8%, and coffee 4.8%. Keeping awake, suppression of fatigue, and peer group effect were the identified factors influencing psychoactive substance use. The commonest types of injuries sustained were bruises and lacerations (62.5%) and fractures of upper and lower limbs (10.5%). Conclusion: Road traffic accidents among commercial motorcyclists are a frequent occurrence in this part of the country. There is need for public awareness campaigns on road safety education and health consequences of psychoactive substance use among commercial motorcyclists. It is further recommended that law enforcement agencies (NAFDAC, NDLEA and FRSC) need to work in tandem so as to curb the problem of substance abuse in our society and reduce the rate of accidents on Nigerian roads.Culture g\ue9n\ue9rale: de nos jours, les motocyclistes utilitaires sont les sauveurs de nos jours en ce qui concerne la transportation publique ; pourtant, a cause de leurs activit\ue9s, ils se livrent aux dangers ; ils mettent aussi les passagers et les autres v\ue9hicules en danger il se peut que certains de ces motocyclistes soient toujours sous l\u2019influence de la drogue. A travers les \ue9tudes de certaines communaut\ue9s, on a pu d\ue9terminer la pr\ue9valence de cette facteur et les cons\ue9quences sociales et sanitaires de la prise de cette drogue psycho active parmi les motocyclistes utilitaires dans la cite de Zaria au du Nigeria. Modalit\ue9: On a fait le sondage sur les motocyclistes utilitaires, ceux qui sont inscrits chez le syndicat des motocyclistes \ue0 Zaria. Ensuite, on a distribu\ue9 les questionnaires pour tirer information sur les characteristiques sociod\ue9mographiques, l\u2019influence par la prise de drogue psycho active et leur impact sur la sant\ue9. On avait \ue9galement enqu\ueat\ue9 sur l\u2019exp\ue9rience d\u2019un motocycliste au volant et sa performance au travail. R\ue9sultat: On a interview\ue9 deux cents motocyclistes utilitaires. La plupart d\u2019entre eux avaient entre (21-25) ans (55.5%). L\u2019age moyen \ue9tait 25.4+3.9 ans. Tous les motocyclistes surtout les hommes, \ue9taient non scolarises, parmi eux, il y avait des haoussas qui repr\ue9sentent 79.5%. Et 69% d\u2019eux travaillent dix heures par jour. Les motocyclistes repr\ue9sentent 59.5% de tous les accidents de circulation li\ue9s directement a la prise de drogue psycho active. Les drogues les plus fr\ue9quemment prises sont: marijuana (indien hemp) 25.8%, solution 24.5%, caf\ue9ine (kola) 15.8% et coffee 4.8%. Les plus dominants facteurs qui influencent l\u2019abus de cette drogue psycho active sont: la veille de nuit, suppression de fatigue, et l\u2019effet des pairs. Les blessures les plus connus qu\u2019on \ue9preuve sont: des \ue9gratignures et des lac\ue9rations 62.5% et des fractures des membres inf\ue9rieure et superieure10%. Conclusion: les accidents routiers parmi les motocyclistes se produisent souvent dans cette partie du pays ; il faudrait donc sensibiliser le publique sur la s\ue9curit\ue9 routi\ue8re, sur les cons\ue9quences sanitaires de la prise de drogue psycho active parmi les motocyclistes utilitaires. En plus, nous recommandons a l\u2019organisme charg\ue9 de faire respecter la loi comme: (NAFDAC NDLEA FRSC) de travailler ensemble pour pouvoir \ue9radiquer le probl\ue8me de l\u2019abus de drogue dans notre soci\ue9t\ue9 et par cons\ue9quent, r\ue9duire le taux des accidents routiers sur les routes nig\ue9rianes

Life cycle assessment of biomass densification systems

Several recent life cycle assessments (LCA) of biomass densification have been carried out. This paper reviews data from 19 sources with 48 case scenarios to assess the current status of LCA of biomass densification. It describes the specific units in a reference “gate-to-gate” LCA in relation to the existing studies, and summarises key differences between them. Finally, it provides a qualitative analysis of the associated sources of uncertainty. Existing LCA studies of biomass densification were found to provide insufficient and inconsistent information for full transparency and comparability, due to different choices in system boundary, functional unit, allocation procedure, densification technology and biomass residues. Most of the reviewed studies attributed most of the energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to transportation, drying and densification. The energy and GHG emissions of the gate-to-gate densification system were highly sensitive to the technology, feed material used in densification and scale of production. Apart from one study with zero energy consumption as a result of the use of manual operations, the normalised values of energy consumption for the reviewed studies ranged from 20 to 900 kJ MJ-1. Neglecting three outlier values, GHG emissions as mass of CO2-eq for the reviewed studies ranged from 600 t MJ-1 to 50 g MJ-1. Similar variations in result and outlier cases have been reported for other bioenergy processes, by other authors. Assuming that the biggest impact of densification processes is on transport fuel use, and based on 5 studies that reported densification ratios, the net energy and GHG emissions savings resulting from densification ranged from 200 to 1000 kJ MJ-1 and 9 to 50 CO2-eq (g MJ-1), respectively. On this basis, it can be concluded that biomass densification is a worthwhile addition to the biomass energy conversion system. There is a need for more transparent reporting and analysis of uncertainty in the modelling, to better understand the wide variation in outcomes

Prenatal skull radiography and calvaria histogenesis in Uda and Yankasa breeds of sheep

The anterior fontanelle was opened and radiolucent in the second trimester; at the third trimester, the fontanelle began to shrink and finally closed at birth and became radiopaque. The borders of the orbit and the teeth were both radiolucent and undifferentiated at the second trimester and at the third trimester, and these regions became radiopaque at the second and third trimester, respectively. The histomorphology of the calvarium in the first-trimester foetus had three layers consisting of the mesenchymal and osteoblast cells; as the foetus ages within the second trimester, the mesenchymal cells were transformed into osteoblast, colonies, primitive bone spicules, matured bone spicules, and primitive trabeculae respective, in the third trimester, the primitive trabeculae developed into a matured trabeculae, in the day old, the matured trabeculae transforms into a primitive spongy bone. However, this process occurs earlier in Yankasa than in Uda. The histomorphology of the calvarium during foetal life is similar in the Uda and Yankasa. However, the stages of calvarium development occur earlier and faster in Yankasa than Uda of the same ages. This implies that foetal development and time of parturition could occur earlier in the Yankasa compared to the Uda breeds

Effect of La2O3 Additive on the Radiation Shielding Properties of Cobalt-doped Borate Glasses

Radiation protection becomes a necessary action in radiology, Nuclear Medicine, Radiotherapy and other institutions which make use of radiation. The aim of this work is to evaluate the radiation protection features of cobalt-doped borate glass with La2O3 additive. The glasses named here as S1, S2, S3, S4 and S5 with 0, 0.5, 1, 1.5 and 2 mol% of La2O3 respectively were assessed for their Linear Attenuation Coefficient, LAC, Mass Attenuation Coefficient, MAC, Half value Layer, HVL and Effective Atomic Number Zeff. We found that the glasses have LAC, MAC and Zeff higher than ordinary concrete and Ilmenite concrete, especially S3 which has the concentration of 1 mol% of La2O3 and has lowest HVL at lower energies below 0.1 MeV and above 4 MeV than the other samples, and also found that S5 with 2 mol% of La2O3 is more advantageous for energy range 0.1 - 4 MeV. We therefore concluded the applicability of these glasses for radiation shielding and that the addition of La2O3 increases their radiation protection features.