Awareness of oral cancers among the students of the University of Bedfordshire, Luton campus : is there a need for oral cancer awareness programme?

Submitted in part fulfilment for the award of degree Masters in Public Health of the University of BedfordshireOral cancer is a malignancy that develops in and affects the mouth. It affects both male and female alike. The disease has been known to affects people older than fifty years of age; however an increasing number of younger people are now affected. Oral cancer at its earliest stage is often asymptomatic, consequently the patient may be unaware of the disease until signs and symptoms occur. Unfortunately, this type of cancer is sometimes difficult to treat; treatments for the disease at the late stage involve radical measures that frequently lead to loss of facial structures, functions aesthetics. The disease has a high mortality rates. The poor survival rate of the disease has been attributed to the late presentation ofthe patients in the hospital for treatment as well as various factors such as lack ofknowledge about the disease, the inability to readily identify the sign and symptoms of the disease or a lack ofknowledge about the risk factors ofthe disease. This study assessed the level of awareness of oral cancer among the students of the University of Bedfordshire, Luton, United Kingdom. A descriptive cross-sectional survey was carried out using a questionnaire. 100 students comprising of43 male and 56 female were the responders. Information on knowledge of oral cancer risk factors, signs and symptoms, dental habits as well as socio- demographic details were obtain from the participants. Data was analysed with the aid of SPSS version 12 for windows software. Findings from the study indicated a low level of awareness of oral cancer among the student. Except for tobacco and cigarette; identification of the other risk factors for oral cancer was poor. Hence, public health education aimed at increasing the awareness of the disease is recommended

The effects of solution conditions on the kinetics of microbial ferrous-iron oxidation by Leptospirillum ferriphilum in continuous culture

Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references (p. [191]-204).The objective of this work was to investigate the effects of a wide range of solution conditions,namely: temperature, pH, dissolved Al and Mg, and the effect of total iron concentration on the kinetics of microbial ferrous-iron oxidation by Leptospirillum ferriphilum, with a view to developing a comprehensive rate equation

The effect of initial pH on the kinetics of ferrous-iron biooxidation at low temperature

The general understanding in bioleaching of sulphide minerals is to keep pH low. A number of published articles have reported the effect of pH on biooxidation rates of ferrous-iron and/or sulphur by bioleaching microbes, although most of these studies were conducted at optimum or near  optimum temperature for microbial performance. Consequently, a series of experiments were conducted in this study to investigate the effect of pH on biooxidation of ferrous-iron at low temperature condition (22°C) by a culture that was predominantly Leptospirillum ferriphilum. The maximum specific microbial activity (2.13 x10-3 h-1) obtained at pH 1.37 was more than 10 times lower than the corresponding activity at optimum   temperature. The specific rates decreased as pH increased from 1.37 to 1.88. However, the jarosite precipitation under these conditions was not significant to deplete the available iron. The result of this study, if  extended to other microbes would have implications on strain selection and management of heap bioleach processes operating in cold conditions.Keywords: Bioleaching, ferrous-iron biooxidation, Leptospirillum ferriphilum, low temperature

The Effect of Global Oil and Gas Prices and Production Fluctuations on the Economy of Nigeria

Once a cornerstone of the U.S. economy, crude oil production now experiences a paradigm shift, abundant for domestic consumption and export, signaling a lasting global oil price transformation. Despite a surge in U.S. hydrocarbon production and weakening oil prices, imports from Nigeria dramatically dropped from 1.5 million barrels per day in 2006 to 0.2 million in 2013, ceasing entirely by early 2014. Consequently, Nigeria faced a sudden depletion of trade surpluses and reduced foreign reserves. This study delves into the immediate and long-term challenges confronting Nigeria, particularly examining the impact of recent oil and gas price fluctuations on key macroeconomic factors. Findings highlight the balance of payments' high elasticity to oil price shifts and low elasticity to money supply changes with a coefficient of determination of 78.69%. Additionally, the exchange rate shows low elasticity to oil price changes and moderate elasticity to money supply variations with a coefficient of determination of 82.80%

Production of Polyhydroxyalkanoates, a bacterial biodegradable polymers

There has been considerable interest in the development and production of biodegradable polymer to solve the current problem of pollution caused by the continuous use of synthetic polymer of petroleum origin. Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are known to be accumulated as intracellular inclusion in some bacteria. The materials properties exhibited by PHAs, ranging from stiff, brittle to rubber-like makes it a close substitute for the synthetic plastic. The high cost of PHAs production has restricted its applications. The possibility of producing this polymer commercially and at comparable cost has been the main focus in this area. Key Words: Polyhydroxyalkanoates, biodegradable polymer, bioplastic, poly(3-hydroxybutyrate), biosynthesis. African Journal of Biotechnology Vol.3(1) 2004: 18-2

Economic Impact of Recreational Fishing in Alabama

Abstract Anglers’ direct mail survey data were used with IMPLAN (Impact Analysis for Planning), input-output system, to estimate the economic impact of recreational fishing in Alabama and the Alabama Black Belt. Separate economic impacts are analyzed for the Black Belt and the State; and direct, indirect, and induced economic impacts were estimated for government revenues, income, and employment. Possible increases in these impacts were also estimated for hypothetically improved recreational fishing sites, using the ‘ideal’ hypothetical site characteristics. The results showed a direct total value added impact of $102.5m; indirect impact of$24.7m, and an induced impact of $8.3m, which all add up to a total impact of$135.5m in total value added to the State. The total labor impact for the state is 4,442 jobs created as a result of anglers expenditures. Therefore, these results are expected to encourage the improvement of water resources for recreational fishing purposes. Keywords: Anglers, IMPLAN, Recreation, Fishin

Financial Integration and Financial Development: Evidence from Sub-Saharan African (SSA) Countries

The study examined the effects of financial integration on financial development for 49 Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries for the period 2002 to 2021. Five independent metrics of financial development and two financial integration measures were utilized to ensure robustness of the anticipated results. Using a dynamic panel GMM-SYS estimation technique, it was discovered that the impacts of financial integration on financial development in SSA are highly dependent on the proxies employed to capture these two variables of financial integration. Financial integration has a beneficial influence on private sector credit, domestic credit, liquid liabilities, and finance size, when proxied by the interest rate spread. However, this measure of financial integration limits the volume of financial activity of financial intermediaries as it’s negatively correlated. Similarly, when measured using gross private capital flows, financial integration has statistically positive effects on financial development as measured by liquid liabilities but has a negative impact on financial development as measured by finance activity and financial size in Sub-Saharan African nations. The general implication of these findings is that the influence of financial integration on financial development in SSA is complex. However, before reaching a firm conclusion about the relationship between these two variables, several transmission mechanisms by which former influences the latter, as well as their various proxies, must be considere

Bioremediating silty soil contaminated by phenanthrene, pyrene, benz(a)anthracene, benzo(a)pyrene using Bacillus sp. and Pseudomonas sp.: Biosurfactant/Beta vulgaris agrowaste effects

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are recalcitrant contaminants which are routinely found in numerous environmental matrices, contributing to ecological degradation. In this study, the removal of LMW and HMW PAHs with 4- and 5 benzene rings, by Bacillus licheniformis STK 01, Bacillus subtilis STK 02 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa STK 03, was evaluated in silty soil for a period of 60 days. Subsequently, a biosurfactant produced from Beta vulgaris agrowaste was used to augment the removal of the aforementioned PAHs in mono- and co cultures. The isolates proved to be proficient in removing the contaminants, with B. licheniformis STK01 cultures achieving the highest removal rates. Biosurfactant supplementation significantly enhanced the removal of benzo(a)pyrene- a 5-ring benzene HMW PAH. The highest removal rates achieved in biosurfactant supplemented cultures were: 100% for phenanthrene, 95.32% for pyrene, 82.71% for benz(a)anthracene and 86.17% for benzo(a)pyrene. The kinetic data used to simulate removal rates were suitably described by first-order kinetics, with the rate constants showing that phenanthrene removal was rapid in cultures without biosurfactant (k = 0.0620 day-1) as well as with biosurfactant (k = 0.0664 day-1), while the removal rates for others followed in the order of their increasing molecular weight. The synergy of the bacterial isolates and the biosurfactant produced from B. vulgaris agrowaste could be used in environmental bioremediation of PAHs even in silty soil.Keywords: Benz(a)anthracene, benzo(a)pyrene, bioremediation, biosurfactant, Beta vulgaris, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon

A Structure/Function Analysis of Nhsl1b in Facial Branchiomotor Neurons

The goal of this study was to identify critical regions of a novel gene, Nance-Horan syndrome-like 1b (nhsl1b). It was previously discovered that C-terminal truncation of the Nhsl1b protein in nhsl1b mutants resulted in a loss of migration in the facial motor neurons of the hindbrain (Walsh et al. 2011). As nhsl1b expresses many isoforms, multiple targets were investigated in order to determine which transcript bears the largest impact on the motor neurons. Using confocal microscopy to observe immunostained embryos, we examined a mutation in an nhsl1b transcript that encodes a WHD, a domain that is known to function within the actin nucleation and polymerization pathways. In situ hybridization and injection of antisense morpholino oligonucleotides indicate that it is not the WHD but another transcript (ex1bnhsl1b) that is necessary for migration. The control experiments for rescuing the mutant phenotype have successfully been performed, but inducing expression of full length nhsl1b in the nhsl1b mutants is proving difficult

Transport of nitrogen oxides and nitric acid pollutants over South Africa and air pollution in Cape Town

The deteriorating air quality in Cape Town (CT) is a threat to the social and economic development of the city. Although previous studies have shown that most of the pollutants are emitted in the city, it is not clear how the transport of pollutants from neighbouring cities may contribute to the pollution. This thesis studies the transport of atmospheric nitrogen oxides (NOx) and nitric acid (HNO3) pollutants over South Africa and examines the role of pollutant transport from the Mpumalanga Highveld on pollution in CT. The study analysed observation data (2001 - 2008) from the CT air quality network and from regional climate model simulation (2001 - 2004) over South Africa. The model simulations account for the influences of complex topography, atmospheric conditions, and atmospheric chemistry on transport of the pollutants over South Africa. Flux budget analysis was used to examine whether the city is a net source or sink for NOx and HNO3. The results show that north-easterly flow transports pollutants (NOx and HNO3) at low level (i.e., surface to 850 hPa) from the Mpumalanga Highveld towards CT. In April, a tongue of high concentration of HNO3 extends from the Mpumalanga Highveld to CT, along the southern coast. The flux budget analysis shows that CT can be a net sink for NOx and HNO3 during extreme pollution events. The study infers that, apart from the local emission of the pollutants in CT, the accumulation of pollutants transported from other areas may contribute to pollution in the city.Environmental SciencesM. Sc. (Environmental Science