Sustainable community water supply in Nigeria

Sustainable community water supply in Nigeri

Cadastral Information System for M.I. Wushishi Housing Estate.

This study presents the possibilities for efficient implementation of a Cadastral Information System for M. I. Wushishi Estate in a GIS environment. Logical and Physical models for the Cadastral Information System were built and utilized in the creation of the Cadastral Information System using an Entity relationship model. Keywords: Cadastral, Information System, Estat

Eudragit E100 and Polysaccharide Polymer Blends as Matrices for Modified-Release Drug Delivery II: Swelling and Release Studies

Purpose: To compare the effects of two states of polymer/polymer blending (dry and aqueous/lyophilized) of locust bean gum with Eudragit® E100 and sodium carboxymethylcellulose on swelling and drug (levodopa) release from their tablet matrices.Methods: Sodium carboxymethylcellulose (SCMC), Eudragit® (E100) and locust bean (LB) were blended in their dry (as purchased) state or modified by aqueous blending and subsequent lyophilization prior to use as tablet matrices. The tablets were evaluated for swelling and in vitro drug release. Furthermore, in vivo absorption was predicted from the in vitro release data by convolution method.Results: E100 matrices exhibited little or no swelling while the matrices of SCMC and LB and their blends exhibited a degree of swelling > 180 %. Aqueous blending and lyophilization modulated the rate of release from matrices formulated with LB, SCMC and their polymer/polymer blends. Drug release profiles of the lyophilized polymer/polymer blends matrices were dissimilar to those of the dry polymer/polymer blends. Formulations F1aq, F2aq and F3aq exhibited fairly uniform absorption in the first 8 h, indicating the possibility of producing a steady delivery of drug.Conclusion: Polymer blending of LB, SCMC and E100, achieved by aqueous blending and lyophilization, enhances the performance of the matrices thereby exhibiting controlled levodopa release with no burst effect and the tablets retained their three-dimensional network.Keywords: Controlled release, Drug delivery, Eudragit, Locust bean, Levodopa, Matrix, Polymer blend, Sodium carboxymethylcellulos

An Alternative Choice in Heighting

Comparison of orthometric heights obtained from the combination of GPS/Levelling survey method with that obtained from Lidar, Srtm, and Astergdem data is an area of research which is of great interest to Geomaticians. This area of research makes possible the discovery of other suitable methods of determining orthometric height which can be selected for use depending on the region, extent and nature of the terrain where the project is to be executed.The X, Y, Z coordinates and the geoidal heights for all the existing controls within university of Lagos were determined using the GPS/ Levelling survey method, the required orthometric height (H) was then obtained as the differences between ellipsoidal and geoidal heights. Extracting orthometric heights for the X and Y coordinates of observed control points overlaid on each of Lidar, Srtm and Astergdem required the use of spatial analysis tool in an arc map environment. From the profile plot (Figure 3.5) of all the orthometric heights, the heights relationship was easy established. From the descriptive statistics test (Table 3.4), the one way ANOVAs test at 1% and 5% level of significance (Table 3.8), the number of points in other methods whose orthometric height is closed to that of Levelling/GPS method (Table 3.7) and correlation test on the various orthometric heights obtained (Table 3.5) it is obvious that all the applied methods operates at different spatial resolutions, of all the four methods, GPS/Levelling method was the most reliable and most accurate method followed by lidar method, then by astergdem method and Srtm has the least. In a nutshell, Orthometric heights generated by method of Lidar are very close to that generated by GPS/Levelling method at several stations, thus method of Lidar was considered as the most suitable alternative to GPS/Levelling method, whenever the use of later method cannot be easily accomplished.

Bioactive constituents and antibacterial screening of two Nigerian plant extracts against selected clinical bacteria

Background: The growing desires to combat antibiotic resistance among pathogenic bacteria necessitate the need to search for new antimicrobials agents from other sources such as plants. Objectives: The present study investigated the antibacterial activities and bioactive components of Nymphaea lotus and Spondias mombin against selected clinical bacteria Material and Methods: Extracts of N. lotus and S. mombin were prepared by 72 hours maceration in 70% methanol. The antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) of Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterobacter aerogenes, Salmonella typhi, Staphylococcus aureus, Citrobacter freundi and, Klebsiella oxytoca against the two extracts was carried out by disk diffusion method while minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBC) was by agar-well dilution and broth dilution method, respectively. The bioactive compounds of the plants were identified by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. Results: Extracts of N. lotus showed better antimicrobial activities than S. mombin against all the clinical bacterial isolates with an MIC range of 3.13 – >12.5mg/mL compared to S. mombin with MIC range of 6.25 – >12.5mg/mL. The GC-MS results revealed the presence of 21 and 25 compounds for N. lotus and S. mombin  respectively. Benzoic acid derivatives were in abundance in both plants with  approximately 71.5% and 82.1% in N. lotus and S. mombin respectively.  Conclusions: The findings from this study provided further evidence on their ethno-botanical claims and additional information on the potentials of the studied plants as effective medicinal plants with antimicrobial activity against clinical bacteria. This highlights the need for continuous exploration of medicinal plants for novel  compounds with better antimicrobial property as option for the treatment of resistant bacterial infection Keywords: Nymphaea lotus, Spondias mombin, Bioactive components, Antimicrobial

Eudragit E100 and Polysaccharide Polymer Blends as Matrices for Modified-Release Drug Delivery I: Physicomechanical Properties

Purpose: To compare the effects of two states of polymer/polymer blending (dry and aqueous/lyophilized) on the physicomechanical properties of tablets, containing blends of locust bean gum (LB) with Eudragit® E100 (E100) and sodium carboxymethylcellulose (SCMC) as matrices.Methods: LB, SCMC and E100 were blended in their dry (as purchased) state or modified by aqueous blending and subsequent lyophilization, prior to use as matrices in tablets. The polymer blends were characterized by infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR), flow and compressibility tests, as well as physicomechanical analysis of their tablets.Results: No significant variations were noticeable in the FTIR peaks of the individual polymers in the dry and the aqueous/lyophilized states. Aqueous/lyophilized blending of the polymers resulted in better flow properties. The aqueous/lyophilized matrices were denser with improved mechanical strength and the tablets were harder than those produced from dry blended polymers.Conclusion: Dry blending of LB with E100 and SCMC greatly improved the physicomechanical properties of the tablets. This was further enhanced by aqueous/lyophilized blending.Keywords: Drug delivery, Polymer blend, Eudragit, Locust bean gum, Levodopa, Sodium carboxymethylcellulose, Matrix, Physicomechanical propertie

A SURVIVABLE DISTRIBUTED DATABASE AGAINST BYZANTINE FAILURE

Distributed Database Systems have been very useful technologies in making a wide range of information available to users across the World. However, there are now growing security concerns, arising from the use of distributed systems, particularly the ones attached to critical systems. More than ever before, data in distributed databases are more susceptible to attacks, failures or accidents owing to advanced knowledge explosions in network and database technologies. The imperfection of the existing security mechanisms coupled with the heightened and growing concerns for intrusion, attack, compromise or even failure owing to Byzantine failure are also contributing factors. The importance of  survivable distributed databases in the face of byzantine failure, to other emerging technologies is the motivation for this research. Furthermore, It has been observed that most of the existing works on distributed database only dwelled on maintaining data integrity and availability in the face of attack. There exist few on availability or survibability of distributed databases owing to internal factors such as internal sabotage or storage defects. In this paper, an architecture for entrenching survivability of Distributed Databases occasioned by Byzantine failures is proposed. The proposed architecture concept is based on re-creating data on failing database server based on a set  threshold value.The proposed architecture is tested and found to be capable of improving probability of survivability in distributed database where it is implemented to  99.6%  from 99.2%.

Resting serum concentration of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) in sportsmen and untrained male adults

There is an inverse relationship between regular physical activity and concentration of serum inflammatory markers, with variations in resting CRP in trained and  untrained subjects. The effect of acute and prolonged exercises has been studied on inflammatory markers with dearth of information and controversies on the resting serum values of high sensitivity CRP (hs-CRP). Therefore, this study sought to  identify and compare variations that occur in serum levels of high sensitivity CRP in groups of sportsmen (6) and physically active untrained subjects. Eighty-one healthy male participants made up of 21 untrained (control), 10 footballers, 10 athletes, 10 karates, 10 volleyballers, 10 basketballers, and 10 baseballers  voluntarily participated in the study. Participants rested while in sitting position for about 30 minutes during which blood pressures and heart rates were taken. 5 mls of venous blood was withdrawn from the antecubital vein of the participants  (aseptically) between 7:00 and 10:00 am into lithium heparin bottles following an overnight fast. The supernatant was decanted and centrifuged at 3000 rpm, serum was collected and stored at -20ºC prior to biochemical assay which was done with the use of enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits for hs-CRP. Differences in the means within the sporting groups were analysed using one-way ANOVA while the difference between the trained sportsmen and untrained young adults was analysed using the independent T-test. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. The Mean ±SEM age, weight, height, and BMI of the participants were 22.0±0.8 years, 64.1±2.2 kg, 1.74±0.3 m, and 20.6±0.2 kg/m2 respectively. The resting concentration of hs-CRP (μg/ml) was 1.0±0.2 in the untrained, 2.6±0.7 in footballers, 3.6±2.1 in track athletes, 2.4±0.5 in basketballers, 2.2±0.5 in volleyballers, 2.4±1.3 in baseballers, and 1.7±0.5 in karate respectively. There was no significant difference in the resting hs-CRP amongst the sporting groups, and in the sportsmen and untrained group. Resting serum levels of hs-CRP falls within normal range, and varies insignificantly in groups of sports, and in sportsmen and untrained young male adults. This may suggest that the types of sporting activities or participation in sports has no impact on the resting serum hs-CRP.Keywords: Resting hs-CRP, Sportsmen, Young male adult

A Remote-Sensing Based Assessment of Seasonal Variation in Vegetation Quality and Productivity in Nimbia Forest

Agriculture plays a vital role in the growth and sustainability of developing countries, such as those in sub-saharan Africa. Therefore, there is need to monitor and assess the changes taking place on vegetation quality and productivity. Conventional ground survey method has proved to be highly tedious, laborious and grossly limited especially when large and densely forested regions are concerned. This paper presents a remote sensing based approach as a real time technology to determine the effect and extent of water loss caused by seasons on vegetation quality in Nimbia forest, Kaduna State. ENVI 4.7, ArcGIS 10.0 and Global Mapper Softwares were used and a discrepancy of about 45% in quality of vegetation has been observed between seasons in the region under study. Keywords: Remote Sensing, Normalized Difference Vegetative Index, ENVI, ArcGIS

Bathymetric Survey and Volumetric Analysis for Sustainable Management: Case Study of Suleja Dam, Niger State, Nigeria

Ocean floor and the shape of the shoreline are major influencers of the changes in tidal propagation. Bathymetry; a survey operation aimed at determining the nature of the underwater level and topography of a water body’s bed level plays a cogent role in the determination of both the shape of the shoreline and the ocean floor thereby aiding the monitoring and spatio-temporal modelling of the changes in tidal propagation as much as it ensures the availability of hydro-data which is the foundation of a Maritime Database Management System (MDBMS). This work presents the findings of the bathymetric survey and volumetric analysis of Suleja Dam located in the North central Region of Nigeria. The Differential Global Positioning System receiver (DGPS) (Promark 3), automatic level, echomap 50s in conjunction with the engine boat were used during this research. The data acquired was processed using the GNSS solutions software with the chart plotted in surfer 9 software environment. The surface area of the dam was discovered to be 24.64ha less than the designed area. Also the volume of water was found to be 3.6 x 106m3 in contrast to the design volume of 34.7x106m3. It was also observed that the lowest water depth was 0.56m and the highest water depth was 22.06m, therefore a difference of 5.94m was obtained as against the initial construction depth of 28.00m. The undulating nature of the reservoir bed and the difference in volume of water and surface area covered by the dam are pointers and clear indications of sedimentation and siltation process going on in the dam. Keywords: Bathymetry, sounding, chart, reservoir, MDBM