A comparative study of Zinc (II) ions removal by a locally produced Granular activated carbon

Physiochemical properties of wastewater effluent from the plants of a brewery in Lagos, Nigeria were analyzed. The adsorption capacity of Granular activated carbon from animal horns when compared with the available commercial Granulated Activated Carbon (GAC) has been presented. Kinetics of adsorption was also investigated. The adsorption isotherms could be well defined with Freundlich model instead of Langmuir model for both GAC studied. The experimental data, when applied to the first and second-order kinetic models, followed the first-order with r² = 0.931 for GAC from animal horns while commercial GAC followed the second-order with r² = 0.936. The results illustrated how animal horns, a solid waste disposal menace from the abattoir at the Oshodi market in Lagos metropolis, was used as an effective biosorbent for the removal of Zn 2+ ions; offering a cheap option for primary treatment of the wastewater effluent

Moses Receipt of Jethro and Its Biblical Lessons for Christians Towards Good Manners

This is a discourse about the encounter between Moses and Jethro when the latter visited him at Rephidim as recorded in Exodus 18:1-12. It reveals some vital issues in relation to good manners necessary for human relationship at all levels particularly among Christians. It contains aspects of godly attitude and responsibilities of Christians to one another and unbelievers in a bid to make them understand something about the Christian life based on love, respect, acceptance, care, and good treatment as reflected in Jesus’ culture. It is believed by this trend Christians will teach and encourage themselves toward good manners. Likewise, they will influence others to develop interest in Christ and embrace Christianity as Moses did with Jethro leading to his love, appreciation, faith, and worship of God. Consequently, it calls on Christians to learn from Moses who in spite of his exalted position among others, humbled himself, came out, bowed, greeted, and embraced Jethro, a foreigner in his (Moses) inherent conduct and as a model to his people in the practice of faith

The Christian God is Not a God

This is a study based on God’s revelation of His name to Moses in Exodus 3:13-15. It is termed in this paper as Nomenclatorial Revelation. The essence is to make a correction of the inappropriate ascription of an indefinite article ‘a’ to God instead of the definite article ‘the’ that correctly expresses His Name and what Christianity believes about Him. Different methods of analysis, philosophical, historical, sociological, and theological were employed in the treatment of materials relating to grammatical, religious, biblical, linguistic sources and so on.  Evidences abound and agree on the uniqueness of God. It was shown that expression of an indefinite article such as ‘a’ to God is a misrepresentation which equates Him with the idols, principalities and powers. Moreover, the research further shows that in reality, God warns against such by declaring that He should be known and addressed throughout all generations as “ ‘I AM WHO I AM,’… ‘The LORD, ...” (Ex.3:14-15) Therefore, Christians are asked to truly and consistently portray God in His Nomenclatorial Revelation in speech and theoretically as it befits His Lordship in every form and expressions such as the Saviour and not a Saviour. They should also allow it have a positive impact on their conduct to one another and to other people as well as to make it serve to improve on their service, reverence, and commitment to God

Nutrients, phytochemicals, fungal flora and aflatoxin in fresh and salted Vernonia amygdalina leaves

In this study, the effect of salting on the pH, phytochemicals, fungal flora and nutrient composition of Vernonia amygdalina leaves was investigated. There was a decrease in pH from 5.88 for the fresh, to 5.80, 5.73, 5.24, and 5.02 for the light brined, light salted, heavy salted and light brine + vinegar treated leaves, respectively. Leaves treated with water alone had a pH of 6.63. Compared with the fresh leaves, there was a decrease in all the nutrients investigated, except for sodium and calcium which increased significantly. The fresh sample showed the highest concentration of total phenolic compounds (TPC). Compared with the fresh, the highest loss of TPC was for the light brine + vinegar preserved leaves (51.69%) and the lowest loss was for the water treated (27.28%). The heavy salted and light salted leaves lost about a third (36.05 and 33.42%, respectively) and the light brined 45.93% of their TPC. In terms of organoleptic properties, reduction in fungal count and genera, and loss of moisture, heavy salting appears to be the most effective preservation treatment. These, coupled with only moderate loss of nutrients and phytochemicals is recommended as an effective technique for the preservation of V. amygdalina leaves. Screening of the fresh and treated produce indicated the presence of aflatoxin.Keywords: Vernonia amygdalina leaves, salting, nutrients, phytochemicals, fungal flora, aflatoxinAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(38), pp. 5655-566

Asset based wellbeing of poverty of artisanal fish farmers in delta state, nigeria

This research carried out in Delta State, Nigeria, focuses on the empirical application of Principal Component Analysis (PCA), an asset based measure of wellbeing which can be used to assess level of poverty among households in rural areas of developing countries. The study employed questionnaire-based household survey data collection methods. The final wealth index was derived using data collected from 430 artisanal fishing households in riverine Delta State communities. Data on 16 variables measuring multiple aspects of household wealth status were used to extract the set of principal components utilized in the construction of the index. Two key statistical tests, the KMO and Bartlett’s tests, showed the appropriateness of the data for PCA. Results revealed that five major factors influence the wealth status and hence the wellbeing of households: home infrastructure, energy sources, durable home assets, water sources and mobility. Therefore, it is suggested that any efforts to improve the wellbeing of farm households in the study area as well as in other regions with similar socio- economic settings should consider these factors as entry point to poverty alleviation

Inhibition of α-amylase, α-glucosidase and oxidative stress by some common apple varieties

In recent times, the consumption of apples has been encouraged for the management of chronic diseases such as diabetes, but biochemical evidence to support this practice is lacking. Therefore, this study investigated α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitory activity, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging ability, Fe2+-induced lipid peroxidation potential as well as the total phenol and flavonoid contents of aqueous extracts of the apple varieties Malus sylvestris (green apple), Malus pumila (red apple) and Syzygium samarangense (wax apple). The results showed that all apple varieties inhibited α-amylase (IC50=12.66–16.98 µg/ml) and α-glucosidase (13.55–16.23 µg/ml) in a dosedependent manner, with green apple showing the highest inhibitory activity while wax apple had the least. Similarly, all apple varieties showed dose-dependent DPPH radical scavenging activity (EC50=222.92–278.71 µg/ml) with green apple also showing the highest scavenging activity while wax apple showed the least. Furthermore, the aqueous extracts of the apple varieties dosedependently inhibited Fe2+-induced lipid peroxidation in rat pancreas (38.60–53.57 µg/ml), with wax apple exhibiting the highest inhibitory potential. Also, the total phenol content of the apple varieties ranged from 16.14 to 17.45 mg GAE/100g, while the flavonoid content ranged from 4.17 to 5.56 mg QUE/100 g, with green apple having the highest total phenolic and flavonoid contents. The biological activities exhibited by the apple varieties could be attributed to the presence of biologically active photochemicals. Furthermore, the apple variety (green apple) with the highest phenolic content showed the best overall activity, indicating the potent role of phenolic compounds in the management of diabetes, thereby providing biochemical support for the use of apples as a functional food in diabetes management

In vitro antioxidant activities of African birch (Anogeissus leiocarpus) leaf and its effect on the α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitory properties of acarbose

Objective This study sought to determine the antioxidant activities of African birch leaf, to assess its interaction with key enzymes relevant to type 2 diabetes (α-amylase and α-glucosidase) and to evaluate its effect on acarbose in vitro. Methods One milligram per milliliter of aqueous extract of African birch and acarbose were separately prepared. At the same time, both the African extract and acarbose solution (50:50 v/v) were thoroughly mixed until homogeneity was attained. The phenolic phytoconstituents and antioxidant properties of African birch leaf were subsequently determined. Finally, the effects of African birch extract, acarbose solution and a mixture of acarbose and African birch extract on α-amylase and α-glucosidase activities were assessed in vitro. Results The results showed that African birch extract demonstrated a remarkable antioxidant effect, as exemplified by its radical scavenging abilities, Fe2+ chelating ability and prevention of lipid peroxidation. Acarbose had significantly (p < 0.05) higher α-amylase (IC50 = 11.77 μg/ml) and α-glucosidase (IC50 = 9.05 μg/ml) activities compared to African birch extract [α-amylase (IC50 = 242.17 μg/ml); α-glucosidase (IC50 = 196.35 μg/ml)]. However, the combination of acarbose and African birch extract showed an additive effect on α-amylase inhibition, while a resultant synergistic action was observed against α-glucosidase inhibition. Conclusion The additive and synergistic actions of the combination of African birch extract and acarbose solution suggest effective, complementary and alternative strategies towards the management/treatment of hyperglycaemia associated with type 2 diabetes

Distribution of Phenolic Contents, Antidiabetic Potentials, Antihypertensive Properties, and Antioxidative Effects of Soursop ( Annona muricata

Soursop fruit has been used in folklore for the management of type-2 diabetes and hypertension with limited information on the scientific backing. This study investigated the effects of aqueous extracts (1 : 100 w/v) of Soursop fruit part (pericarp, pulp, and seed) on key enzymes linked to type-2 diabetes (α-amylase and α-glucosidase) and hypertension [angiotensin-I converting enzyme (ACE)]. Radicals scavenging and Fe2+ chelation abilities and reducing property as well as phenolic contents of the extracts were also determined. Our data revealed that the extracts inhibited α-amylase and α-glucosidase and ACE activities dose-dependently. The effective concentration of the extract causing 50% antioxidant activity (EC50) revealed that pericarp extract had the highest α-amylase (0.46 mg/mL), α-glucosidase (0.37 mg/mL), and ACE (0.03 mg/mL) inhibitory activities while the seed extract had the least [α-amylase (0.76 mg/mL); α-glucosidase (0.73 mg/mL); and ACE (0.20 mg/mL)]. Furthermore, the extracts scavenged radicals, reduced Fe3+ to Fe2+, and chelated Fe2+. The phenolic contents in the extracts ranged from 85.65 to 560.21 mg/100 g. The enzymes inhibitory and antioxidants potentials of the extracts could be attributed to their phenolic distributions which could be among the scientific basis for their use in the management of diabetes and hypertension. However, the pericarp appeared to be most promising

Kinetic Models for Drying Techniques—Food Materials

Drying operations can help in reducing the moisture content of food materials for avoidance of microbial growth and deterioration, for shelf life elongation, to minimize packaging and improving storage for easy transportation. Thin-layer drying of materials is necessary to understand the fundamental transport mechanism and a prerequisite to successfully simulate or scale up the whole process for optimization or control of the operating conditions. Re- searchers have shown that to rely solely on experimental drying practices without mathematical considerations for the drying kinetics, can significantly affect the efficiency of dryers, increase the cost of production, and reduce the quality of the dried product. An effective model is necessary for the process design, optimization, energy integration and control; hence, the use of mathematical models in finding the drying kinetics of agricultural products is very important. The statistical criteria in use for the evaluation of the best model(s) has it that coefficient of determination (R2) has to be close to unity while the rest statistical measures will have values tending to zero. In this work, the essence of drying using thin-layer, general approaches to modeling for food drying mechanisms thin layer drying models and optimization of the drying processes have been discussed

Phenolic Extract from Moringa oleifera

This study was designed to determine the antioxidant properties and inhibitory effects of extract from Moringa oleifera leaves on angiotensin-I-converting enzyme (ACE) and arginase activities in vitro. The extract was prepared and phenolic (total phenols and flavonoid) contents, radical (nitric oxide (NO), hydroxyl (OH)) scavenging abilities, and Fe2+-chelating ability were assessed. Characterization of the phenolic constituents was done via high performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) analysis. Furthermore, the effects of the extract on Fe2+-induced MDA production in rats’ penile tissue homogenate as well as its action on ACE and arginase activities were also determined. The extract scavenged NO∗, OH∗, chelated Fe2+, and inhibited MDA production in a dose-dependent pattern with IC50 values of 1.36, 0.52, and 0.38 mg/mL and 194.23 µg/mL, respectively. Gallic acid, chlorogenic acid, quercetin, and kaempferol were the most abundant phenolic compounds identified in the leaf extract. The extract also inhibited ACE and arginase activities in a dose-dependent pattern and their IC50 values were 303.03 and 159.59 µg/mL, respectively. The phenolic contents, inhibition of ACE, arginase, and Fe2+-induced MDA production, and radical (OH∗, NO∗) scavenging and Fe2+-chelating abilities could be some of the possible mechanisms by which M. oleifera leaves could be used in the treatment and/or management of erectile dysfunction