Heavy Metals Concentration in Rhizosphere and Tissues of Smooth Pigweed (A. hybridus) and Bush Okra (C. olitorius) cultivated on an Abandoned Dumpsite

The study assessed the concentrations of Pb, Cr, and Cd in rhizosphere and tissues of A. hybridus and C. olitorius grown on a dumpsite converted to farmland by plant and 0-15 cm depth soil samples which were air-dried, digested and analysed using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry. Some physiochemical parameters that affect transport of soil nutrients into plant tissues were analysed using standard methods. The pH of the rhizosphere soil of C. olitorius was 6.71 and the soil of A. hybridus was slightly alkaline in nature with pH 7.75. The rhizosphere of A. hybridus had the highest concentration of Pb (123.20±90.04 mg/kg) and Cd (0.63±0.63 mg/kg) while Cr was highest in the rhizosphere of C. olitorius (36.57±8.61 mg/kg). The result showed total and bioavailable metal concentrations in the soils were in the order of Pb > Cr > Cd. The order of metal uptake varied with vegetable crop. Metal concentration in tissues of A. hybridus followed the order of Pb > Cr > Cd while C. olitorius was Cr > Pb > Cd. Concentrations of Cd, Pb and Cr exceeded the maximum permissible limit in soil and within allowable limit in the tissue. C. olitorius had transfer factor (TF) < 1 for Cd, Pb and Cr. A. hybridus had similar transfer factor except for Cr with TF > 1. The study concluded that the dumpsite converted to farmland is highly contaminated with Pb, Cr, and Cd and highly accumulated by the vegetables.Keywords: Heavy metals, dumpsite, Transfer factor, vegetables

Risk Assessment of Petrol Filling Stations in a Metropolitical City of Kaduna State, Nigeria

With both their high-risk and high-profit nature, Petroleum filling stations have become a significant subject in risk estimation and assessment studies. Some of the risks associated with this organization include compliance with laid-down standards by monitoring bodies. This study aims to carry out a risk assessment of petroleum filling stations in Kaduna Metropolis, Nigeria. This involved assessing the level of compliance to laid-down standards on environmental conditions and equipment and assessing the awareness of attendants in these petroleum filling stations to the possible risks in their working environment. The design methodology employed for this study was the use of self-administered questionnaires. The study result showed that the respondents were of the perspective that they are exposed to hazards in the petrol filling station. However, risks such as sleeping disorders, memory loss, cancer, etc., due to long-term exposure to hazardous petroleum substances seem to have lots of uncertainty from the attendants

Property Rental Value Classification Model: A Case of Osogbo, Osun State, Nigeria

Residential property rental value forecasting has an impact on property investment decision. This necessitates the need for a study to forecast residential property rental value considering all associated variables including presence of cultural sites in the study area. Data for the study were gathered from the record of recent lettings in the study area. For the purpose of precision, this study adopted three artificial intelligence models. These are artificial neural network, logistic regression and support vector machine as models of classifying the rental value of residential property in Osogbo. The study considered relevant input variables among which are distance to cultural site, age of building, state of exterior/interior of building. Findings from the study revealed that the three adopted forecasting models had over 80% of the forecasted properties correctly classified thus making the residential property rental forecasting very reliable. Also, it was established that, in the study area, distance from cultural site is the property attribute with the highest negative impact on rental value

Influence of Tree Characters and Climate on Litter Characteristics in Daniellia oliveri (Rolfe) Hutch. & Dalziel

Litter production and decomposition rates have great importance inmaintaining the fertility of the soil. The study was carried out to determine the relationship tree characters (girth size, canopy radius, tree height, leaf area and number of primary branches), litter production and quality, and climatic variables among stands of Daniellia oliveri (Rolfe) Hutch. & Dalziel growing in University of Ilorin campus. Twelve trees of different girth sizes were selected and their physiognomic characters measured. Litter samples(leaves and twigs) were collected from the stands on monthly basis  (January to May) using 1 m2 traps. The collected litters were air-dried, ground and analysed for carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium and magnesium using standard methods. Rainfall and temperature data were collected during the sampling months. Girth size range was 0.32 – 0.67 m. Tree height range was 13.90 – 31.81 m. Primary branches range was 3 - 16, crown radii was 2.5 - 5.2 m and leaflet area between 24.62 cm2 and 90.90 cm2. Higher leaf litter was recorded in January and February, but twigs were more in the other months. Leaf and twig litters positively  correlated with girth size (r = 0.572 and 0.614 respectively), but the formeralso correlated with crown radii (r = 0.834). Carbon, calcium and  magnesium contents in leaves and twigs were lower in May compared to January, but reverse trend were observed for nitrogen and phosphorus. The number of rain (rainy days) negatively correlated with total monthly litter (r = -0.291). The study concluded that climatic conditions influence tree characters, which in turn affect litterfall and nutrient returns to the soil. ©JASE

Single nucleotide polymorphism (rs1035130C>T) in the interleukin 18 receptor 1 gene and susceptibility to severe P. falciparum malaria in Lafia, North-central Nigeria

The interleukin 18 receptor 1 (IL18R1) gene encodes a potent cytokine receptor that is critical for IL18 binding and subsequent signal transduction. This gene is a member of the IL1 receptor family that resides in a cluster of genes on human chromosome 2. Several polymorphisms have been shown to exist on this gene locus and some were found to be associated with inflammatory diseases but there is paucity of data on association with malaria. This study therefore, was aimed at determining the possible association of the rs1035130C>T coding polymorphism with severe malaria in Lafia, North-central Nigeria. The rs1035130C>T polymorphism was genotyped in a total of 214 participants including 98 severe malaria cases and 116 asymptomatic controls. DNA was extracted from blood spotted on filter paper using the QIAamp® DNA Mini Kit. The ABI PRISM® 3100 Genetic Analyzer was used to sequence the polymorphic locus. Our data showed a significantly higher frequency (P=0.021) of the CT heterozygous genotype in the asymptomatic control group (25.0%) than in the severe malaria group (13.27%). In addition, the frequency of the minor T allele was significantly higher (P=0.013) in the asymptomatic controls compared to the severe malaria cases. However, the TT homozygous genotype was not found in the severe malaria group. These results suggest a contributory role of the rs1035130C>T polymorphism in regulating host susceptibility or resistance to severe malaria and consequently have implications for understanding the molecular mechanisms of malaria pathogenesis.Keywords: Malaria, Interleukin, rs1035130C>T, Polymorphism, Genotype

Alkylating efficiency of sodium azide on pod yield, nut size and nutrition composition of Samnut 10 and Samnut 20 varieties of groundnut (Arachis hypogea L.)

Mutation has been utilised to improve growth and yield of many food crops, but only little effort has been made to ascertain the nutritional advantages in such improved crops. The present study evaluates the alkylating efficiency of sodium azide of different concentrations on pod yield, nut size and nutritional composition of two groundnut varieties. Dry seeds of groundnut (Arachis hypogea L.); Samnut 10 and Samnut 20 varieties obtained from the Ministry of Agriculture, Ilorin, Kwara State of Nigeria were treated with different sodium azide concentrations (10, 20, 30, 40 and 50mM) for 12 hours. Seeds soaked in distilled water for 12 hours were used as control for each variety. The treated seeds and control were sown in planting bags in randomized complete block design with three replicates. Alkylating effects of the treatments were studied on pod parameters and nut size while proximate analysis was carried out on the nuts to determine their nutritional composition. The results showed that sodium azide treatment of 50 mM produced significantly taller plants with more branches and leaves. Analysis of collected data revealed that sodium azide is effective in achieving significantly earlier- maturing plants with higher pod yield, bigger nut size and heavier nuts. All concentrations of Sodium azide applied induced significant higher crude protein and fat with respect to control in samnut 10 while 50 mM yielded highest protein and fat in samnut 20 variety. Generally, nutritional values of the studied groundnut were improved by sodium azide treatments with respect to protein and fat content which are the most important constituents in groundnut utilization as food or raw material for edible oil. The study concluded that the alkylating effect of sodium azide was effective on pod yield, nut size and other nut characteristics of groundnut and could be employed to improve protein, crude fat and other nutrition contents of the nuts for human and animal consumption as well as industrial applications.Key words: Alkylating effect, nutrition composition, sodium-azid

Sodium chloride stress induced differential growth, biomass yield, and phytochemical composition responses in the halophytic grass Aeluropus lagopoides (L.)

This study evaluates the growth and biochemical changes in Aeluropus lagopoidesi (L.) Thawaites. induced by different sodium chloride (NaCl) concentrations to understand the effects and tolerance of the plant to salinity regimes. A. lagopoides stolons were grown on Hoagland media in three replicates. At four weeks after planting, 0, 100, 300, and 500 mM of NaCl were added to the media as treatments, and this was repeated at 2-week intervals. Data were collected and analyzed on growth and biological yield of the plants at 3, 6, and 9 days after the final salt stress. Also, sodium, potassium, and calcium ions present in the root and shoot of the treated plants were determined, while the number of salt crystals extruded from the leaf was counted. The amounts of proline, amino acids, and total soluble sugars in response to salt concentrations were evaluated. There was a significant variation in the growth of A. lagopoides in response to the NaCl concentrations. Generally, a concentration of 500 mm adversely affected plant growth and biomass yield. The concentration of sodium ions in the tissue of treated plants increased with NaCl concentration, while the concentration of potassium and calcium ions decreased. Total amino acid and proline in the plant tissue increased with salinity, while soluble sugar increased from 3-6 days but declined remarkably on the 9th day after NaCl applications. The study demonstrated salt stress tolerance in A. lagopoides and suggested its potential as a biotechnological model plant for salt tolerance improvement of economically important crops in high-salinity zones

Use of stool culture as a non invasive method for the diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori from stool of diarrhoeic children in western Nigeria

Background: Helicobacter pylori has been associated with chronic diarrhoea, iron deficiency anaemia, growth retardation, gastric malignancies, peptic ulcer disease, and gastritis among children. Diagnosis of this infection has been invasive using biopsies while stool culture is not common or routinely practiced. This study was designed to detect and isolate H.pylori from stool of diarrhoeic children and highlight possible use of such for routine laboratory diagnosis of H.pylori infections.Material and methods: Two hundred and sixty faecal samples obtained from diarrhoeic children were screened for H. pylori antigen, using H. pylori stool antigen test kit (HpSA) and cultured on modified DENTS medium. Cholestyramine and nitrobluetetrazolium salt were added to the stool and the medium respectively to aid isolation of H. pylori. Correlation of BMI and H. pylori infection of the children was also evaluated.Results: Twenty-six (10%) samples showed growth on culture while 91 (35%) tested positive for H. pylori antigen. Of the 26 children with positive culture, 16 had a low BMI. HpSA has sensitivity and specificity of 11.5% and 62.4%. There was a significant association (χ2 = 12.86, df=2, P-value = 0.004) between age group of participants and use of HpSA kit.Conclusion: Stool culture for recovery of H. pylori is feasible in our environment and diarrhoeic children should be screened for H. pylori using both HpSA and culture. H. pylori is suggested to be screened routinely especially among children having diarrhoea and are underweight. Albeit, other causes should be eliminated before concluding on the reason for the underweight.Keywords:  Helicobacter pylori, stool culture, HpSA, BMI, Cholestyramine, Nitrobluetetrazolium sal

Detection of efflux pump activity among clinical isolates of Staphylococcus and Micrococcus species

Purpose: To detect efflux pump activity (EPA) and screening a suspected efflux pump inhibitor (EPI) [1- (3-(trifluoromethyl)benzyl]-piperazine (TFMBP)], which could help in reducing multi-drug resistance (MDR).Methods: Eighteen isolates, viz, 14 S. aureus, 2 S. lentus, 1 S. xylosus and 1 Micrococcus species from various hospital infections of admitted patients were screened for antibiotics susceptibility to 11 classes of antibiotics including oxacillin and β-lactamase production. Efflux pump activity (EPA) was determined by minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) technique in the presence and absence of TFMBP, the isolates were also screened for MDR genes.Results: All the isolates were resistant to ampicillin (10 μg) and penicillin (10 μg), but sensitive to bacitracin (10 μg). Majority of the isolates were MDR 12/18 (66.7 %), 10 (55.6 %) were inducible β- lactamase producers and 3 (16.7 %) were intrinsic β-lactamase producers. Seven (38.9 %) were resistant to oxacillin and also produced carbapenemase enzyme. Eight (66.7 %) of the 12 MDR isolates gave evidence of EPA with TFMBP. However, no MDR genes were detected.Conclusion: Staphylococcus and Micrococcus species exhibit EPA in antibiotic resistance while a suitable EPI such as TFMBP when combined with specific antibiotics could help combat this menace.Keywords: [1-(3-(Trifluoromethyl)benzyl]-piperazine, Efflux pump activity, Oxacillin resistant S. aureus, Multidrug resistant, Carbapenemas