IMPACT OF THE EFFLUENT DISCHARGE FROM A BREWERY PLANT ON THREE COMMUNITIES IN IBADAN MUNICIPALITY, SOUTH WESTERN NIGERIA

A preliminary assessment of the extent of pollution of water, soil and plant due to an effluent discharge from a brewery industry to the territory of three rural communities in Ibadan municipality was carried out. Chemical analysis of the brewery effluent, receiving stream, ground (well) water, soil and plant samples taken randomly from cultivated land at the stream bank were carried out. The results showed higher concentrations of Cd, Cr, Cu and Ni in most of the water samples with values higher than the WHO, EU and USA standards tolerant levels. The pH for the stream and well water ranged between 5.35 and 6.65, some of which are below the WHO recommended levels of between 6.0 and 9.0 meant for human consumption. Furthermore, the pH of sampled soils ranged from 4.75 to 5.35 indicating acid medium, while concentrations of Pb, Cr, Cu and Ni were observed to be higher in some of the soil samples compared to the reference samples both at 0-20 cm and 20-40 cm. However, plant analysis results showed that some of the samples contained high levels of Cu, Fe and Mn, while Cd, Pb, Ni, and Cr were not detected. There was therefore contamination of surface and ground water, which could probably be hazardous to human health when used primarily for domestic purposes. KEY WORDS: Effluent; Heavy metals; Water pollution; Soil pollution. Global Jnl Pure & Applied Science Vol.10(1) 2004: 211-21

Leishmaniasis presenting as severe anaemia in an adult female Nigerian

Visceral leishmaniasis is a rare cause of anaemia. We report a case of visceral leishmaniasis presenting as severe anaemia and pyrexia of unknown origin in an adult female Nigerian. The objective was to highlight the importance of exhaustive investigations in the diagnosis of anaemia and pyrexia of unknown origin in our environment. Keywords: visceral leishmaniasis, chronic anaemia, pyrexia of unknown origin, NigeriaAfrican Journal of Clinical and Experimental Microbiology Vol. 6 (3) 2005: 253-25

Improved mechanical and wear characteristics of hypereutectic aluminium-Silicon alloy matrix composites and empirical modelling of the wear response

For the first time, Silicon Carbide-Zinc Oxide-Graphite reinforced hypereutectic Aluminium–Silicon composites were fabricated by two-step stir casting. The mechanical properties and abrasive wear performance of the composites were experimentally tested. A multilevel factorial design of experiment was conducted to develop a numerical model for predicting the wear rate of composites and optimization of their wear performance as a function of reinforcement characteristics. The results indicated that high content of silicon carbide in the composites superlatively enhanced hardness, tensile strength and fracture toughness by 69.04%, 163.22% and 77.42%, respectively. Correspondingly, high content of graphite indicated superlative wear resistance of 95.87% reduction in wear index while high zinc oxide content revealed enhanced fracture toughness highly comparable with that observed for high silicon carbide content. Nevertheless, in comparison with the monolithic alloy, the trade-offs in the strains-to-fracture of the composites were more pronounced with high silicon carbide content. The developed 2-factor-interaction effects model strongly agrees with the experimental results after passing various model validity tests available in Design Expert Software. It revealed that the composition of reinforcing constituents influenced the model more than the volume fraction, and the interaction between the composition of reinforcement constituents and volume fraction

On-farm improvement of milk yield in Bunaji cattle through legume supplementation

Legume supplementation of Bunaji (White Fulani) cattle owned by farmers in the Ungwan Fulani Inland Valley area of Zaria was studied with the objective of improving milk yield. The trial involved twenty-eight lactating cows in five herds whose average parity, age (as determined by dentition), liveweight, lactation length and daily milk yield were 2.3, 6.1 years, 216.9kg, 5 months and 0.4 litres, respectively. After 3-6 weeks of supplementation, an increase in daily milk yield ranging from 0.3-2.1 litres was recorded, the difference between herds being highly significant (P0.01). It was concluded that a seven-fold increase in milk yield could be achieved through legume supplementation for six weeks in Bunaji cows. Higher increases could possibly be recorded if the supplementation period is extended

Metabolic syndrome in type 2 diabetes: comparative prevalence according to two sets of diagnostic criteria in sub-Saharan Africans

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Available definition criteria for metabolic syndrome (MS) have similarities and inconsistencies. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of MS in a group of Cameroonians with type 2 diabetes, according to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and the National Cholesterol Education Programme Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP-ATP III) criteria, and to assess the concordance between both criteria, and the implications of combining them.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We collected clinical and biochemical data for 308 patients with type 2 diabetes (men 157) at the National Obesity Center of the Yaounde Central Hospital, Cameroon. Concordance was assessed with the use of the Kappa statistic.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Mean age (standard deviation) was 55.8 (10.5) years and the median duration of diagnosed diabetes (25^th–75^th percentiles) was 3 years (0.5–5.0), similarly among men and women. The prevalence of MS was 71.7% according to the IDF criteria and 60.4% according to NCEP-ATP III criteria. The prevalence was significantly higher in women than in men independently of the criteria used (both <it>p</it> < 0.001). Overall concordance between both definitions was low to average 0.51 (95% confidence interval: 0.41–0.61). Combining the two sets of criteria marginally improved the yield beyond that provided by the IDF criteria alone in men, but not in the overall population and in women.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The IDF and NCEP-ATP III criteria do not always diagnose the same group of diabetic individuals with MS and combining them merely increases the yield beyond that provided by the IDF definition alone. This study highlights the importance of having a single unifying definition for MS in our setting.</p