Screening of lactic acid bacteria from the gut of Chrysichthys nigrodigitatus for use as probiotics in aquaculture production

Lactic and bacteria (LAB) namely Lactobacillus plantarum l and L. pentosus were isolated from the gut of Chrysichthys nigrodigitatus using Bergey's manual of determinative bacteriology (API- 50 CHL, BioMerieux). They are beneficial and safe organisms that improves disturbances of the indigenous microflora and host's immune system. Gut removed from fish samples were dissected and divided into 3 regions: fore gill, mid gut and hind gut. Lactobacillus plantarum l and L. pentosus were isolated from these regions using MRS (de Man, Rogosa and Sharpe) agar and broth after subsequent culture and sub culture to obtain discrete colonies. They were characterized as gram-positive, non-motile, catalase negative and non-sporulating bacteria

The production of Wara cheese from locally sourced coagulants and its nutritional evaluation

The use of vegetable extracts as milk coagulants has evolved recently in soft cheese processing. In this study, two types of cheeses were produced from locally sourced raw cow milk using two different coagulants, Calotropis procera leaf and CaCl2. Protein, fat, Zn, Mg, and Fe were the nutrients and minerals that were assayed. The protein (18.4%), Fat (7.93%), Mg (4.13%), Zn (4.01%), Fe (2.59%) of Calotropis procera coagulated cheese was significantly higher than CaCl2 coagulant produced cheese with protein content of (9.13%), Fat (5.53%), Mg (2.34%), Zn (2.59%), Fe (1.13%). The higher ash content in the cheese produced with CaCl2 coagulant makes it susceptible to microbial growth, as a result, reducing its shelf-life. The study suggests that cow milk and Calotropis procera produced cheese appears promising in nutritional contents with further quality improvemen

Energy Analysis of Biodiesel Production From Waste Groundnut Oil

The objective of the study was to carry out energy analysis of biodiesel production from Waste groundnut oil (WGO). 13 experimental runs were designed by Minitab software 16 to carried out the trans-esterification of WGO which involved the variation of catalyst concentration and methanol/oil mole ratio. Total Input energy and output energy of the process were determined to obtain the energy efficiency of the process. The results of the research gavehighest biodiesel yield of 92 % at the methanol/oil mole ratio of 7 and catalyst concentration of 0.7 wt/wt % Oil. The calculated input energy and output energy of 124.51MJ/Land 98.47 MJ/L respectively were obtained. The energy efficiency obtained from the biodiesel production was 0.72. The net energy of -35.04 MJ while the energy productivity of 0.08 kg.MJwas arrived at. Further research work on how to reduce input energy during biodiesel production needs to be carried out

TREATMENTS OF BIODIESEL WASHING WATER

The main objective of this study was to produce biodiesel from palm kernel oil and to purify the biodiesel washing water generated through adsorption, acidification, coagulation and filtration treatment processes. Removal efficiencies of these treatment processes were investigated by analysing biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), pH, conductivity, total dissolved solids (TDS) and elements present in the biodiesel washing water (before and after treatments). The results of the trans-esterification process showed that the highest biodiesel yield of 87.6% was obtained at a reaction time of 65 minutes and methanol to oil mole ratio of 6:1.The overall removal efficiencies obtained using the stated water treatment processes were 65% (BOD), 38% (COD), 75% (TDS) and 94%(conductivity).The treated washing water met the waste water discharge standards of FEPA. Hence, adsorption, acidification, coagulation and filtration, were effective in treating biodiesel washing water

Acid Hydrolysis of Lignocellulosic Content of Sawdust to Fermentable Sugars for Ethanol Production

This study evaluates the yield of glucose from acid hydrolysis of cellulosic content of sawdust, at ambient temperature and atmospheric pressure, and the effect of yeast concentration on its subsequent fermentation to ethanol. The method used involves acid hydrolysis of sawdust, with varying acid molarities of 18M, 15M, 10M, 5M and 1M. The product, consisting mainly of simple sugars, was subsequently fermented with varied concentrations of yeast of 0.5g/20ml, 1g/20ml, 3g/20ml, 5g/20ml and 7g/20ml in order to obtain ethanol. The result obtained shows that there is a gradual increase in the glucose yield with increasing acid molarity from 1M until a critical optimum point is obtained at a high acid concentration of 15M. Beyond the molarity of 15M up to the 18M limit, there exists a decline in the ethanol yield, from the optimum point. The ethanol yield from the fermentation of the resulting fermentable sugars gave the same pattern as the glucose yield irrespective of the yeast concentration used for fermentation. The evaluation of the concentration of yeast on the fermentation of hydrolsed lignocellulosic contents shows that the optimum ethanol yield is obtained at a yeast concentration of 3g/20ml for all the varying acid concentrations. A combination of acid concentration of 15M and yeast concentration of 3g/20ml therefore gives the optimum conditions, at moderate temperature and pressure, for the acid hydrolysis of sawdust’s lignocellulosic content and the fermentation of the resulting product

Fish sorting assessments of Clarias gariepinus fingerlings raised in fish tanks

Fish sorting assessments of Clarias gariepinus fingerlings stocked and raised in fish tanks were undertaken for a 6-month culture period: Sorting was undertaken from the first, second, and third months of stocking the fish fingerlings while the control was not sorted at all. The sorting assessments revealed that the twice sorting of fish fingerlings stocked with a Marginal Rate of Return (MRR) of 3.44 was significantly different (p>0.05) from those sorted once with MRR of 0.912, and three times with MRR of 2.65 respectively, thus making twice sorting most advisable for fish farmers utilizing Clarias gariepinus fingerlings for tank aquacultur

Compositional Analysis of Lignocellulosic Materials: Evaluation of an Economically Viable Method Suitable for Woody and Non-woody Biomass

The determination of the composition of lignocellulosic substrate is a crucial step in order to determine the overall efficiency of the processes designed to convert lignocelluloses to ethanol. Standard methods as gravimetric, chromatography, and spectroscopic are routinely explored in the scientific literature. This paper details our investigations in the application of economically viable gravimetric methods particularly suitable for developing countries. The methods were proven to be reproducible and representative for the analysis of biomass as sugarcane bagasse, siam weed, shea tree sawdust

Global genetic diversity of var2csa in Plasmodium falciparum with implications for malaria in pregnancy and vaccine development

Malaria infection during pregnancy, caused by the sequestering of Plasmodium falciparum parasites in the placenta, leads to high infant mortality and maternal morbidity. The parasite-placenta adherence mechanism is mediated by the VAR2CSA protein, a target for natural occurring immunity. Currently, vaccine development is based on its ID1-DBL2Xb domain however little is known about the global genetic diversity of the encoding var2csa gene, which could influence vaccine efficacy. In a comprehensive analysis of the var2csa gene in >2,000 P. falciparum field isolates across 23 countries, we found that var2csa is duplicated in high prevalence (>25%), African and Oceanian populations harbour a much higher diversity than other regions, and that insertions/deletions are abundant leading to an underestimation of the diversity of the locus. Further, ID1-DBL2Xb haplotypes associated with adverse birth outcomes are present globally, and African-specific haplotypes exist, which should be incorporated into vaccine design

Recent advances in silica glass optical fiber for dosimetry applications

In this paper, we review the highly promising silica glass, fabricated as doped and undoped optical fiber for intended use in radiation dosimetry. The dosimetry techniques reviewed here, underpinned by intrinsic and extrinsic defects in silica glass, focus on Thermoluminescence (TL), Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) and Radioluminescence (RL), with occasional references to the much more established Radiation Induced Attenuation (RIA). The other focus in this review is on the various materials that have been reported earlier as dopants and modifiers used in silica glass optical fiber radiation dosimeters. This article also elaborates on recently reported optical fiber structures, namely, cylindrical fibers, photonic crystal fibers and flat fibers, as well as dimensions and shapes used for optimization of dosimeter performance. The various types of optical fiber radiation dosimeters are subsequently reviewed for various applications ranging from medical dosimetry such as in external beam radiotherapy, brachytherapy and diagnostic imaging, as well as in industrial processing and space dosimetry covering a dynamic dose range from μGy to kGy. Investigated dosimetric characteristics include reproducibility, fading, dose response, reciprocity between luminescence yield to dose-rate and energy dependence. The review is completed by a brief discussion on limitations and future developments in optical fiber radiation dosimetry

Fabrication and characterization of a Gallium co-doped Erbium optical fiber

In this paper, fabrication and characterization of a Gallium co-doped Erbium fiber is presented, highlighting Gallium as a new potential co-dopant to be used in rare-earth doped fibers. This fiber was fabricated using standard MCVD and solution doping method. Fiber characterization setups for fluorescence lifetime, absorption and ASE spectrum are discussed in detail. We go on to show that fluorescence lifetime of 6.02 ms, NA of 0.12, cutoff wavelength of 1.4 μm and a peak absorption of 45 dB/m at 1550 nm is achievable using Gallium as the co-dopant for an Erbium doped fiber