Microbial Content of Abattoir Wastewater and Its Contaminated Soil in Lagos, Nigeria

Microbial content of wastewater in two abattoirs and the impact on microbial population of receiving soil was studied in Agege and Ojo Local Government Areas in Lagos State, Nigeria. Wastewater samples were collected from each of the abattoirs over three months period and examined for microbial content. Soil samples contaminated with the wastewaters were also collected and analyzed for microbial content as compared to soil without wastewater contamination in the neighborhood (control). Some physico-chemical parameters of the samples such as total dissolved solid, chemical oxygen demand, etc., were examined. The wastewater samples from both abattoirs were highly contaminated; Agege abattoir showed mean bacterial count of 3.32 × 107 cfu/ml and Odo abattoir showed mean count of 2.7 × 107 cfu/ml. The mean fungal populations were 1.6 × 105 and 1.2 × 105 cfu/ml for Agege and Odo abattoirs respectively. In the contaminated soil sample, mean bacterial count was 3.36 × 107 cfu/ml compared to the 1.74 × 106 cfu/ml of the control sample. High microbial load in abattoir wastewater with negative effects on microbial population in soil, in this study, further confirmed the need to treat wastewater rather than discharging it to the environment

A suspected case of digitalis toxicity secondary to therapeutic management of congestive heart failure in a Boerboel dog

A 15 months old male Boerboel, weighing 25kg presented to Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Abeokuta, Nigeria, with complaint of abdominal distention, emaciation and anorexia was diagnosed of congestive heart failure (CHF) of unknown etiology. At presentation, prominent S- wave voltages in lead II, III electrocardiogram, a positive R-wave in lead AVR and a mean electrical axis of -900 suggestive of right ventricular enlargement were evident. A right atrial enlargement was also suspected due to the presence of a tented P-wave on the electrocardiogram. Digoxin was administered at 0.01 mg/kg orally, once daily to increase cardiac contractility and reduce heart rate; Enalapril given at 0.5 mg/kg orally once daily was to blunt the renin angiotensin aldosterone response, Furosemide at 2mg/kg orally, once daily was administered to increase natriuresis and diuresis. After 2 weeks of medication the dogs exhibited signs of digitalis toxicity such as ventricular premature contraction, ventricular tachycardia. This case is a rare occurrence and has not been reported in our veterinary clinics. The management of CHF with standard dose regime of digitalis requires therapeutic drug monitoring as it could result in breed specific toxicity

DANGERS ASSOCIATED WITH POLARITY REVERSAL ON DC APPLIANCES AND IT REMEDY

Direct current (DC) appliances have already become an important source used in many appliances across a wide range of generating alternative power supply. Reverse polarity has destroyed so many inverters, cause fire out breaks and so on. This work is mainly concerned with dangers associated with of polarity reversal on electronics appliances and how they can cheaply be prevented and protected as the case of an inverter. This is achieved by incorporating a load relay between the battery and the inverter and a diode in series with the relay coil terminal such that a unidirectional flow of dc source is allowed

Hydromagnetic Stagnation-Point Flow towards a Radially Stretching Convectively Heated Disk

The steady stagnation-point flow and heat transfer of an electrically conducted incompressible viscous fluid are extended to the case where the disk surface is convectively heated and radially stretching. The fluid is subjected to an external uniform magnetic field perpendicular to the plane of the disk. The governing momentum and energy balance equations give rise to nonlinear boundary value problem. Using a spectral relaxation method with a Chebyshev spectral collocation method, the numerical solutions are obtained over the entire range of the physical parameters. Emphasis has been laid to study the effects of viscous dissipation and Joule heating on the thermal boundary layer. Pertinent results on the effects of various thermophysical parameters on the velocity and temperature fields as well as local skin friction and local Nusselt number are discussed in detail and shown graphically and/or in tabular form

DANGERS ASSOCIATED WITH POLARITY REVERSAL ON DC APPLIANCES AND IT REMEDY

Direct current (DC) appliances have already become an important source used in many appliances across a wide range of generating alternative power supply. Reverse polarity has destroyed so many inverters, cause fire out breaks and so on. This work is mainly concerned with dangers associated with of polarity reversal on electronics appliances and how they can cheaply be prevented and protected as the case of an inverter. This is achieved by incorporating a load relay between the battery and the inverter and a diode in series with the relay coil terminal such that a unidirectional flow of dc source is allowed

Oxidative defense mechanisms of proline on growth, nutritional compositions and antioxidant activities in water-stressed Solanum aethiopicum L.

The growth performance of vegetables is influenced by water availability. This study explored the use of proline as an osmoregulator on growth, nutritional compositions and oxidative enzyme activities in water-stressed Solanum aethiopicum. Seedlings of the vegetable were subjected to 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100% proline against droughted and well-watered. Morphological and physiological characters, nutritional compositions and oxidative activities were determined in the vegetable. Plant height (20.37 cm), number of leaves (35.75 cm), Leaf area (347.55 m2), specific leaf area (72.02 m2 g-1), leaf area index (0.71 m2 m-2) relative growth rate (0.21 mg g-1 day-1), net assimilation rate (0.058 mg g-1 day-1) and leaf area ratio (0.19 m2 g-1) were higher in S. aethiopicum seedlings sprayed with 100% proline. Crude fat (0.11%), ash (1.57%), crude fibre (1.49%), crude protein (2.44%) and carbohydrate (3.50%) were higher in the leaves of the vegetable sprayed with 100% proline. Higher vitamin A (84.21 mg/100 g), vitamin B3 (0.56 mg/100 g) and vitamin C (10.97 mg/100 g) were observed in the leaves of the vegetable under 100% proline. Furthermore, sodium (8.93 mg/100 g), potassium (402.20 mg/100 g), calcium (121.55 mg/100 g) and magnesium (58.80 mg/100 g) were recorded in the leaves of well-watered. Higher SOD (0.88 mg g-1), APX (0.95 mg g-1), CAT (0.98 mg g-1), GR (0.96 ug g-1) and GST (14.52 mg g-1) were observed in the roots of S. aethiopicum droughted. Although all the proline levels sustained growth components, nutritional compositions and oxidative enzymes of S. aethiopicum under water stress, however, 100% proline produced better ameliorative effects

AN ONTOLOGY-BASED KNOWLEDGE REPRESENTATION USING ANALYTIC HIERARCHY PROCESS FOR ENHANCING SELECTION OF PRODUCT PREFERENCES

Product alternatives, which emerges from large number of websites during searching, accounts for some hesitation experienced by customers in selecting satisfying product. As a result, making useful decision with many trade-off considerations becomes a major cause of such problem. Several approaches have been employed for product selection such as, fuzzy logic, Neuro-fuzzy, and weighted least square. However, these could not solve the problem of inconsistency and irrelevant judgement that occur in decision making. In this study, Ontology-based Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used for enhancing selection of product preferences. The model involved three fundamental components: product gathering, selection and decision making. Ontology Web Language (OWL) was utilized to define ontology in expressing product information gathering in a standard and structured manner for the purpose of interoperability while AHP was employed in making optimal choices. The procedure accepts customers’ perspectives as inputs which are classified into criteria and sub-criteria. Owl was created to foster customers’ interaction and priority estimation tool for AHP in order to generate the consistency ratio of individual judgements. The model was benchmarked with Geometric Mean (GM), Eigenvector (EV), Normalized Column Sum (NCS) Weighted Least Square (WLS) and Fuzzy Preference Programming (FPP). First and second order total deviations and violation rate were the performance parameters evaluation with AHP. The results showed that the minimum and maximum units of products are 2,452and 3,574, respectively. These implied that the proposed model was consistent, relevant and reflected a non-violation of judgment in selection of product preferences. &nbsp

Entropy Generation Analysis in a Variable Viscosity MHD Channel Flow with Permeable Walls and Convective Heating

This paper examines the effects of the thermodynamic second law on steady flow of an incompressible variable viscosity electrically conducting fluid in a channel with permeable walls and convective surface boundary conditions. The nonlinear model governing equations are solved numerically using shooting quadrature. Numerical results of the velocity and temperature profiles are utilised to compute the entropy generation number and the Bejan number. The results revealed that entropy generation minimization can be achieved by appropriate combination of the regulated values of thermophysical parameters controlling the flow systems

Unsteady Hydromagnetic Flow of Radiating Fluid Past a Convectively Heated Vertical Plate with the Navier Slip

This paper investigates the unsteady hydromagnetic-free convection of an incompressible electrical conducting Boussinesq’s radiating fluid past a moving vertical plate in an optically thin environment with the Navier slip, viscous dissipation, and Ohmic and Newtonian heating. The nonlinear partial differential equations governing the transient problem are obtained and tackled numerically using a semidiscretization finite difference method coupled with Runge-Kutta Fehlberg integration technique. Numerical data for the local skin friction coefficient and the Nusselt number have been tabulated for various values of parametric conditions. Graphical results for the fluid velocity, temperature, skin friction, and the Nusselt number are presented and discussed. The results indicate that the skin friction coefficient decreases while the heat transfer rate at the plate surface increases as the slip parameter and Newtonian heating increase

Clinical versus Sonographic Estimation of Foetal Weight in Southwest Nigeria

A prospective study was conducted at Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Complex, Ile-Ife, Nigeria, between 3 January and 31May 2004, to compare the accuracy of clinical and ultrasonographic estimation of foetal weight at term. One hundred pregnant women who fulfilled the inclusion criteria had their foetal weight estimated independently using clinical and ultrasonographic methods. Accuracy was determined by percentage error, absolute percentage error, and proportion of estimates within 10% of actual birthweight (birthweight of +10%). Statistical analysis was done using the paired t-test, the Wilcoxon signed-rank test, and the chi-square test. The study sample had an actual average birthweight of 3,255+622 (range 2,150–4,950) g. Overall, the clinical method overestimated birthweight, while ultrasound underestimated it. The mean absolute percentage error of the clinical method was smaller than that of the sonographic method, and the number of estimates within 10% of actual birthweight for the clinical method (70%) was greater than for the sonographic method (68%); the difference was not statistically significant. In the low birthweight (<2,500 g) group, the mean errors of sonographic estimates were significantly smaller, and significantly more sonographic estimates (66.7%) were within 10% of actual birthweight than those of the clinical method (41.7%). No statistically significant difference was observed in all the measures of accuracy for the normal birthweight range of 2,500-<4,000 g and in the macrosonic group (≥4,000 g), except that, while the ultrasonographic method underestimated birthweight, the clinical method overestimated it. Clinical estimation of birthweight is as accurate as routine ultrasonographic estimation, except in low-birthweight babies. Therefore, when the clinical method suggests weight smaller than 2,500 g, subsequent sonographic estimation is recommended to yield a better prediction and to further evaluate foetal well-being