Iron removal in waste water using expanded polystyrene as an artificial media

This study focused on the use of Expanded Polystyrene as an artificial media for the removal of iron from raw water. The experimental set-up consisted of continuous flow process and the mechanism for iron removal was by adsorption. Water sample of initial concentration 5.5mg/l was stored in a 50l container situated at an elevation of 4.4m above the floor and was connected to a plastic transparent container which contained the filter media” Polystyrene”. The effects of adsorbent dosage, contact time, pH and temperature were studied. Results showed that adsorption capacity increased with time for the time range of 0.68-47.6mins investigated and slightly with an increase in temperature until 40oC when it began to decrease, suggesting favorable adsorption at medium temperatures. The results showed that the procedure was efficient in reducing iron concentration from 5.5mg/l to 3.5mg/l within contact time of 5minutes. Better efficiencies could be achieved at higher contact times. The use of EPS material would also offer an avenue for recycling polystyrene widely used in packaging of equipment.Keywords: Contamination, contact time, adsorption, residual iron concentration, pollutants

Stimulation Modelling of the Effect of Internal Migration on Urbanization in Rivers State, Nigeria

Internal migration is defined as “a movement of people from one area of a country (especially one local government area) to another area of the same country for the purpose or with the effect of establishing a new residence” either temporarily or permanently, is a complex and multidimensional process. In this study we are expected to determine the impact of internal migration in Port Harcourt city and Bori town respectively and to show the effect of the variation of some parameters that affect the growth of Port Harcourt city, through Simplified Assumptions and Mathematical Formulations. The internal migration of effective working population from Port Harcourt city to Bori town is lesser than that of Bori town to Port Harcourt city due to lesser jobs and social infrastructural facilities in Bori than Port Harcourt. Method of Analysis used is a non-linear ordinary differential equation of order 45 which otherwise is called O.D.E 45(Matlab ODE 45). It is evident from the results of the study that the variation of the rate of internal migration can produce either a positive or a negative effect on the population growth patterns of the two interacting population predictions

Evaluation of the Chemical Composition and Sensory Properties of Soy-agidi Fortified with Alternanthera brasiliana Powder

Weaning foods are nutritionally balanced foods introduced to infants after six months. High cost of nutritious proprietary weaning foods such as SMA promilk, and Similac; that are beyond the reach of most less privileged families in developing countries like Nigeria. Therefore, this has necessitated the fortification of locally available weaning food such as agidi. In this study, chemical composition and sensory properties of soy-agidi fortified with Alternanthera brasiliana were investigated. Maize grains and soybean seeds used were purchased from Ubani Main market in Umuahia North Local Government Area, while fresh leaves of A. brasiliana was obtained from a farm in Umudike, all in Abia State. One (1) kg of maize was sorted and steeped in portable water for 5hrs intermittently. The steeped maize was wet milled in a milling machine, sieved using a clean muslin cloth, decanted and pressed with cheese cloth to obtain maize slurry. Exactly 1kg of soybean seeds were sorted, blanched and soaked into 5% NaHSO3 solution for 6hrs with change in water at intervals. The hulls were removed by water floatation and cotyledons obtained were milled into paste. The A. brasiliana leaves were sorted, washed, dried in oven at 50oC for 5hrs and ground to obtain A.brasiliana powder. Agidi samples were formulated with different blends of maize, soybean and Alternanthera brasiliana powder respectively (100:0:0, 80:10:10, 70:20:10, 60:30:10, and 50:40:10). The blends were mixed with 300ml of water each, cooked in 1000ml of boiling water for 10min. Agidi sample prepared from 100% maize served as control. The chemical composition and sensory properties of the Agidi samples were evaluated with standard methods. Results obtained showed that the chemical composition of the Agidi samples ranged from 16.36 to 19.84%, 10.64 to 29.05%, 0.81 to 3.46%, 3.98 to 9.83%, 0.87 to 2.42%, 38.88 to 63.86%, 3.64 to 4.77mg/100g, 33.55 to 45.08mg/100g, 3.02 to 6.64mg/100g, 163.34 to 302.02µg/100g, 0.72 to 13.37mg/100g for moisture content, crude protein, crude fibre, fat, ash, carbohydrate, iron, calcium, zinc, vitamin A and vitamin C respectively. Agidi sample from 100% maize was the most preferred, followed by sample from 80% maize, 10% soybean and 10% A. brasiliana in that order

Wildlife species diversity indices and seasonal distribution assessment in road-side markets of South-west Nigeria

Wildlife species are under serious exploitation by the rural populace in Nigeria because hu­man beings have understood their ecology. The need to update the existing knowledge of wildlife population is therefore essential. Twenty-three games markets along five Roads in South-west Nigeria were visited to document the wildlife displayed for sale. Two hundred and fifty copies of structured questionnaire were administered using systematic random sampling (odd) method for wildlife species information from market stakeholders. Direct method was counting for species and their numbers. Data generated were analysed through Species Diver­sity Indices Assessment. All emergent species were compared with International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) abundance rating. Road seasonal distribution of the marketed wildlife was determined by percentages, standard deviation, standard error of mean, mean differences, t-test, and tests of significance and Diversity Indices. Results revealed that 69,398 wild animals were displayed. Also more wildlife were sold during rainy than dry seasons. Appropriate recommendations of government sensitization of rural and urban settlers against over-utilization of wildlife resources, encouragement of the public towards animal domesti­cation and others were made

High Prevalence of Asymptomatic Plasmodium Infection in a Suburb of Aba Town, Nigeria

Background: Malaria is endemic in many parts of the world. Various strategies have been planned to control malaria from time to time in many places. Whatever may be the strategy the prevalence of symptomatic and asymptomatic plasmodium parasitaemics has been of prime importance as useful parameter for its control. It is hoped that malaria control programme in Nigeria will benefit from prevalence of parasitaemic study such as this. Method: Ndiegoro flood disaster district was selected by stratified random sampling from 16 districts of ward 3 out of 12 wards in Aba South Local Government out of the 2 Local Governments of Aba Town. About three quarters of the houses were uninhabited as they were submerged at various depths of the selected district. The population who consented for the study was 257. Thick and thin blood films were studied by light microscopy for plasmodium parasitaemia. Results: The prevalence of plasmodium parasitaemics in the 257 studied population was very high (45.1%). The asymptomatic parasitaemics were about three times as many as symptomatic parasitaemics (73.2% and 26.7% respectively). This difference is statistically significant (p<.01). The age group 0-4 years gave the least distribution of asymptomatic malaria parasitaemics of 2(2.9%) and a very high symptomatic parasitaemics of 16 (88.8%). The older age group of 40-59 has statistically significant difference (p < 0.01) in the distribution of asymptomatic parasitaemics of 51 (43.6%) in males as against 34 (24.3%) in females. Conclusion: The high prevalence of parasitaemics but worse still in this study the high rate of asymptomatic parasitaemics which serve as reservoirs of infection can threaten any malaria control programme generally and in particular the present malaria control or Roll-Back malaria in Nigeria. This high rate should be considered in assessing and reorgansing the roll-back malaria in Nigeria or any malaria control programme generally.Fond: Le paludisme est end\ue9mique dans beaucoup de r\ue9gions du monde. De diverses strat\ue9gies ont \ue9t\ue9 projet\ue9es pour lutter contre le paludisme de temps en temps dans beaucoup de r\ue9gions. Quelle que soit la strat\ue9gie, la pr\ue9valence du parasit\ue9mie symptomatique et asymptomatique de plasmodium a \ue9t\ue9 d'importance primordiale en tant que param\ue8tre utile pour sa commande. On l'esp\ue8re que le programme de lutte contre le paludisme au Nig\ue9ria tirera b\ue9n\ue9fice de la pr\ue9dominance de l'\ue9tude parasit\ue9mique de ce type. M\ue9thode : Ndiegoro, une zone de d\ue9sastre d'inondation, a \ue9t\ue9 choisi par l'\ue9chantillonage al\ue9atoirement stratifi\ue9 \ue0 partir de 16 zones de division municipale 3 sur 12 divisions municipales du gouvernement municipal de Sud Aba. Il y a 2 gouvernements municipaux dans la ville d'Aba. Environ trois quarts des maisons \ue9taient inhabit\ue9s car ils ont \ue9t\ue9 submerg\ue9s \ue0 de diverses profondeurs de la zone choisie. La population qui a consenti pour l'\ue9tude \ue9tait 257 personnes. Des frottis sanguins \ue9pais et minces ont \ue9t\ue9 \ue9tudi\ue9s par photomicroscopie pour la parasit\ue9mie de plasmodium. R\ue9sultats: La pr\ue9valence du parasit\ue9mie de plasmodium dans la population \ue9tudi\ue9e de 257 \ue9tait tr\ue8s haute (45,1%). Le parasit\ue9mies asymptomatiques \ue9taient environ trois fois autant que parasit\ue9mie symptomatique (73,2% et 26,7% respectivement). Cette diff\ue9rence est statistiquement significative (p<.01). La cat\ue9gorie d'\ue2ge 0-4 ans a donn\ue9 la moindre distribution de la parasit\ue9mie asymptomatique du paludisme de 2(2,9%) et d'une parasit\ue9mie symptomatique tr\ue8s haut de 16 (88,8%). La cat\ue9gorie d'\ue2ge sup\ue9rieure de 40-59 a statistiquement la diff\ue9rence significative (p < 0,01) dans la distribution de la parasit\ue9mie asymptomatique de 51 (43,6%) dans les m\ue2les par comparaison avec 34 (24,3%) dans les femelles. Conclusion: La forte pr\ue9sence de la parasit\ue9mie mais plus mauvais dans cette \ue9tude le taux \ue9lev\ue9 de parasit\ue9mie asymptomatique qui servent les r\ue9servoirs de l'infection peuvent menacer n'importe quel programme de lutte contre le paludisme g\ue9n\ue9ralement et en particulier la lutte actuelle contre le paludisme au Nig\ue9ria. Ce taux \ue9lev\ue9 devrait \ueatre consid\ue9r\ue9 en \ue9valuant et en reorganssant le programme roll-back paludisme au Nig\ue9ria ou n'importe quel programme de lutte contre le paludisme g\ue9n\ue9ralement

Comparative Analysis of Poverty Status of Community Participation in Rural Development Projects of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

ABSTRACT: The study was designed to comparatively analyze the poverty status of community participation in selected rural development projects of Ini and Abak Local Government Areas (LGA's) of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. It was as a result of the observation that systematic research aimed at understanding factors influencing poverty status through community participation in the two L.G.A's seemed to be lacking despite the presence of many development projects in these communities. The selected development projects included-electricity, pipe borne water, school blocks, and road rehabilitation. The multi-stage sampling technique was adopted. Ini and Abak LGA's were purposively selected on the basis of their proximity to the state capital, Uyo. A total of 200 community members were randomly sampled from ten households in five villages, in two wards, within two autonomous communities of the study areas. However, only 161 respondents who completed all the questionnaire items were actually used for data analysis. Descriptive statistics and the Maximum Likelihood Probit Regression Analysis were used in the analyses. Results revealed that more males (78.6%) than females participated in Ini LGA, while in Abak, more females (57.14%) participated in the development projects. In comparison, the maximum probit analysis revealed that communities in Ini L.G.A, participated more in self-help project than Abak Communities. Perhaps, this could be explained by the proximity of Ini to the state capital. The L.G.A was almost neglected in development projects resulting from its location which is about 66km from the state capital. The communities in Ini L.G.A, struggled on their own to provide the needed infrastructure for development purposes. On the other hand, Abak L.G.A is closely located to the state capital, and the communities thereof expected the state government to provide most of the needed infrastructures. There were low level of education in the study areas. Other obstacles to participation included: lack of economic power, high cost of living, inadequate monitoring of projects, and embezzlement of funds. Based on the above findings, the following were recommended: formal and informal education should be emphasized to create awareness of development projects. Governments should improve road networks to enable farmers sell their farm produce to other communities and beyond, profitable time management strategy is equally necessary for those employed in formal occupation in order to participate in the development of their communities. Wealthy individuals and groups in these communities should assist in the rehabilitation of projects in their communities. [New York Science Journal. 2009;2(6):68-75]. (ISSN: 1554-0200)

Assessment of peripheral arterial disease in diabetic adults with foot ulcers in an African population

Background: Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is a recognized risk factor for diabetic foot ulceration. It was thought that PAD is not common in Sub-Saharan Africa. Studies show otherwise. It becomes necessary to assess the prevalence of PAD among diabetic adults with foot ulcers in Nigeria. The objective of the study was to assess the prevalence of PAD in diabetic subjects with foot ulcers in Nigeria.Methods: Diagnosis of PAD was made with the ankle-brachial index (ABI). Edinburgh claudication questionnaire was administered to the patients. An ABI of <0.9 is diagnostic of PAD. Risk factors for PAD were assessed. A control group of non-diabetic adults was used.Results: Sixty-seven per cent (67%) of the test group has PAD as compared to 18% of the control group. Smoking, duration of diabetes and systemic hypertension were strongly associated with PAD.Conclusions: Diabetic adults with foot ulcers in Nigeria have a high prevalence of PAD

Effects of Household Waste Generation, Disposal and Management on Farmers’ Health in Owerri Metropolis of IMO State, Nigeria

The study investigated the effects of household waste generation, disposal and management on farmers' health in Owerri metropolis. It specifically ascertained the socio-economic characteristics of the farmers, identified the types and sources of waste in the study area, examined the waste disposal and management methods in the study area examined the effects of inappropriate waste disposal and ascertained the appropriate waste disposal methods used in the study area. A multi stage sampling technique was used to select one hundred and eight farmers from the three Local Government Area in Owerri metropolis. Data were collected using a validated questionnaire and were analyzed using descriptive statistics tool such as mean, frequency, percentage, and mean scores. Results show that waste is majorly generated from markets and residential homes. Waste disposal methods were mainly burning, landfills and open dumping. Its effects includes destroys the beauty of the environment, blocks gutters and drainage system, pollutes the environment among others. Subsequently, appropriate waste disposal methods in the study area includes burning of waste (29.17%), placing of bins at appropriate places (16.07%). The study recommends amongst others that waste management environmental agency should make waste dumps or receptacles accessible to residents, public campaigns should be embarked upon to educate the citizens on ills of dirty environment