An Analysis of the Influence of Informal Grouping Dynamics on Organizational Performance in the Nigerian Telecommunication Sector

There is exponential growth in number of studies focused on performance of firms considering the increased level of competitiveness. Much of the studies so far had shown concern for factors within the environment of organization and how they link performance. This notwithstanding, this study is focused on behavioural dynamics of informal grouping and its link with performance in the telecommunication subsector of the Nigerian economy. The survey instrument was used in generating data from a sample of 112 sample subjects. From the inferential analysis, a strong positive and significant relationship exists between informal group dynamics and performance. Value reinforcement behavior dimension has more weight with ρ = 0.412 amongst other dimensions of informal group dynamics. It was concluded that informal groups are social network within work organizations that ultimately serve as a strategic means of enhancing performance through innovativeness and responsiveness. It was therefore recommended that informal groups should subsist at work in as much as their existence is regulated by organizational policies

Antimicrobial activities of secondary metabolites of endophytic fungi isolated from Catharanthus roseus

Introduction: Recently, several endophytes have been shown to possess the potentials to synthesize novel bioactive compounds that have found use for drug discovery. We isolated endophytic fungi associated with Catharanthus roseus collected from the river banks of Amassoma in Southern Nigeria, and identified some of their bioactive secondary metabolites. Methods: The fungi were subjected to solid-state fermentation on rice medium and the metabolites were extracted using ethyl acetate. The fungal crude extracts were screened for antimicrobial activity and were also subjected to high-performance liquid chromatography-diode-array detection (HPLC-DAD) analysis for the identification of the bioactive compounds. Results: The fungal extracts showed both antibacterial and antifungal activities with minimum inhibitory concentrations ranging from 0.0625 to 1 mg/mL. The HPLC-DAD analysis of the extracts suggested the presence of citreoisocoumarin, citreoisocoumarinol, questinol, hydroxyemodin, acropyrone, methyl 2-(4-hydroxyphenyl) acetate, nigricinol, and cladosporin. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that endophytic fungi associated with C. roseus could be a promising source of novel bioactive compounds with pharmaceutical and industrial importance

Antimicrobial activities of secondary metabolites of endophytic fungi isolated from Catharanthus roseus

Introduction: Recently, several endophytes have been shown to possess the potentials to synthesize novel bioactive compounds that have found use for drug discovery. We isolated endophytic fungi associated with Catharanthus roseus collected from the river banks of Amassoma in Southern Nigeria, and identified some of their bioactive secondary metabolites. Methods: The fungi were subjected to solid-state fermentation on rice medium and the metabolites were extracted using ethyl acetate. The fungal crude extracts were screened for antimicrobial activity and were also subjected to high-performance liquid chromatography-diode-array detection (HPLC-DAD) analysis for the identification of the bioactive compounds. Results: The fungal extracts showed both antibacterial and antifungal activities with minimum inhibitory concentrations ranging from 0.0625 to 1 mg/mL. The HPLC-DAD analysis of the extracts suggested the presence of citreoisocoumarin, citreoisocoumarinol, questinol, hydroxyemodin, acropyrone, methyl 2-(4-hydroxyphenyl) acetate, nigricinol, and cladosporin. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that endophytic fungi associated with C. roseus could be a promising source of novel bioactive compounds with pharmaceutical and industrial importance

Encapsulation of Silica Nanotubes from Elephant Grass with Graphene Oxide/Reduced Graphene Oxide and Its Application in Remediation of Sulfamethoxazole from Aqueous Media

Incorporation of graphene/graphene oxide on a low-cost support has been established to improve adsorption performance. This study reports the synthesis of silica nanotubes (SNT) from elephant grass, its encapsulation by reduced graphene oxide (RGO)/graphene oxide (GO) and its application as a highly efficient adsorbent for the remediation of sulfamethoxazole from wastewater. The SNT was synthesized and encapsulated with GO and RGO, to obtain silica nanotubes graphene oxide (SNTGO) and silica nanotubes reduced graphene oxide (SNTG), respectively. The adsorbents were characterized with FTIR, CHN elemental analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, XRD, field emission scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The FTIR, elemental analysis, and XRD results confirmed successful synthesis of the materials. SNTGO had an adsorption capacity of 125 mg/g, which increased to 248 mg/g when it was reduced to SNTG in the adsorption of sulfamethoxazole. The pseudo-second-order model best described the adsorption kinetics and the Freundlich isotherm was best fit for the equilibrium data. Thermodynamic studies showed the adsorption process was spontaneous and exothermic. The desorption studies revealed that the adsorbent could be regenerated and reused in the adsorption of sulfamethoxazole. SNTG was a better adsorbent compared to SNTGO for wastewater remediation

Antimicrobial Susceptibility Profile of Escherichia coli Isolated from the Urine of Asymptomatic Students in a University in South-Western Nigeria

Asymptomatic bacteriuria is a common occurrence among healthy students, with a tendency to develop intosymptomatic urinary tract infections (UTIs). This study was carried out to investigate the occurrence andantimicrobial susceptibility profile of Escherichia coli from the urine of asymptomatic students. A total of 180 midstreamurine samples were collected from apparently healthy students, whose consents were sought. E. coli wasisolated and tested for their susceptibility to commonly used antimicrobial agents using the disk diffusion protocol.Result analysis was done using one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with the help of SPSS and level ofsignificance taken at p<0.05. The isolates showed resistance against 90% of the antibiotics used in this study with93.3% of the isolates resistant to cefuroxime and 35 % resistant to nitrofurantoin. Multidrug resistance (MDR) wasalso observed where the isolates showed resistance to at least three classes of the antimicrobial agents used in thisstudy. A multiple antibiotic resistance index greater than 0.2 was observed in over 80 % of the isolates. This studyshowed a rare occurrence in which almost all the Escherichia coli isolates showed resistance to over 90% of theantibiotics used in this study with the exception of nitrofurantoin which seems to be the most effective antibioticsagainst all the isolates. This situation portends grave danger to public health; hence, the need for high levelsurveillance and monitoring of the use of antibiotics in therapy as well as the molecular identification of theprevalent resistant strains

Engineered Geomedia Kaolin Clay-Reduced Graphene Oxide–Polymer Composite for the Remediation of Olaquindox from Water

Globally, there is an upsurge in the use of unregulated veterinary pharmaceuticals with enhanced release into the environment, resulting in water pollution, which is difficult to remediate. To address this issue, we synthesized and characterized highly hydrophobic three-dimensional ordered engineered geomedia with multiple channels. Kaolin clay (K) was functionalized with either graphene oxide (GO) synthesized via Tour’s method or reduced GO in situ with covalently linked methoxyether polyethylene glycol (GO-PEG) using a simple and easily scalable amidation reaction. This was done to enhance the adsorption of olaquindox, a veterinary antibiotic. The X-ray diffraction profile confirmed the grafting of GO and GO-PEG to kaolin. Morphological analysis revealed the architecture of thin films of GO/GO-PEG grafted on the kaolin surface with extensive porosity. Energy-dispersive X-ray mapping, infra-red spectra, and elemental analysis confirmed the successful synthesis of the engineered geomedia composite of K, GO/rGO, and PEG (KrGO-PEG). Due to multiple surface functional groups of polyamide and amido-carbonic groups on the KrGO-PEG composite, it was suitable for olaquindox adsorption. In batch sorption studies of 0.5XKrO-PEG, the effect of pH (2–10) was negligible but with fast equilibrium time (2–1440 min) at 30 min, while the kinetics and equilibrium data suited the pseudo-second order and Langmuir models, respectively. The maximum adsorption value obtained for the composite was 59.5 mg/g; the higher the GO content, the higher the adsorption. The sorption mechanism was majorly through hydrophobic and π–π interactions. Regenerated/reused adsorbents after 4 cycles had the same efficacy in remediating olaquindox from simulated/real water