An Automated System for Sorting of Freshly Harvested Tomato Fruits

Fruit sorting determines market value. Farmers and traders commonly use physical-eye inspection and handpicking for sorting, but this is labour-intensive and ineffective. This research work aims to develop a sensor-based automated system for sorting freshly harvested tomato fruits. The automated system sorts tomato fruits into small, medium, and big sizes for market value. To evaluate the system performance, 115 fruits were machine-sorted and compared to eye-inspection and physical measurement. Physical measurement was done by measuring the minor, intermediate, and major diameters of each fruit with a Vernier calliper. While the eye-inspection was carried out by manual human examination with the eye. Results show average percentage error between physical measurement and automated sorting is 10.264%, which implies 89.736% accuracy. The influence of conveyor speed at three levels (2.8, 3.4, and 3.9) cm/sec on overall system performance was evaluated, and the optimum speed of 3.4cm/sec was obtained

Heavy metal pollution in benthic fishes from Kiri Dam in Guyuk local government area of Adamawa State, Nigeria

Heavy metal concentrations in lungfish (Polypterus annectens), African carp (Heterotis niloticus) and catfish (Clarotes laticeps) in Kiri Dam in the Guyuk local government area, Adamawa State, Nigeria were studied. The concentrations of lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), nickel (Ni) and iron (Fe) were determined. These metals concentrations were measured by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) in order to assess the fish contamination with these metals. The gills, muscles, bones and  intestines were analysed for each heavy metal. This research shows that catfish had the highest heavy metals  concentrations. Catfish Pb concentrations were 0.832, 0.480, 0.661 and 0.810 mg/L in the gills, muscles,  bones and intestine, respectively. The gills accumulated the highest level of these metals in C. laticeps  compared to the other species. Lungfish and African carp had higher concentrations of Cd in the examined parts of their bodies. Based on the results, it is apparent that the metal levels in all the fish species were below the recommended concentrations for human consumption, indicating that the study area is relatively less polluted with heavy metals.Key words: Heavy metals, pollution, fishes, Kiri Dam, Nigeria

Hydrothermal treatment of waste plastics : an environmental impact study

This paper presents the attributional life cycle assessment results of a study of plastic recycling using hydrothermal treatment (HTT), a chemical recycling technology. HTT was investigated due to its potential to address current gaps in the plastic recycling system, largely due to several plastic packaging materials and formats that are currently not processed by traditional mechanical recycling technologies. As society transitions towards a net-zero-based circular economy, assessments should be conducted with a futuristic outlook, preventing costly mistakes by employing the right technologies in the right areas. The results using ReCiPe 2016 impact assessment methodology shows HTT with a GWP of 478 kg CO2 eq. per tonne can generate up to 80% reduction in climate change impacts when compared with comparable end-of-life treatment technologies whilst conserving material with the system. Additionally, the GWP could be reduced by up to 57% by changing how electricity is generated for on-site consumption. This represents a new understanding of the chemical recycling of polymers by establishing a prospective life cycle assessment study that looks to introduce a step-change in the recycling system and highlights the benefits of introducing this technology as opposed to the current model of disposal through incineration or landfill

The effect of polycystic ovarian syndrome on the mental health of women of reproductive age

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is defined as a hormonal disorder that is prevalent among women of reproductive age. It affects the metabolic, endocrine, and reproductive systems of the body as well as mental health. We compared up to 20 peer-reviewed literature that displayed the relationship between PCOS and mental health. We searched the PMC/NCBI/NIH database and we used the following keywords while searching the database: "polycystic ovarian syndrome" or "PCOS" and "mental health" or "depression" or "anxiety" or "low self-esteem" were included in the search for articles. Women of reproductive age are seen to be affected by PCOS. The effect of polycystic ovarian syndrome on the mental health of women of reproductive age has serious complications. Complications include an increased rate of anxiety and depression in the individual. When there is an increase in depression and anxiety, it tends to affect the physical changes and the confidence of women with PCOS. PCOS has been proven to be incurable but its symptoms can be managed. PCOS is linked with mental health and it has serious implications on the psychological health of the individual. Management of PCOS should include an early assessment of the patients’ mental health. If required, medications for mental health improvement should be prescribed in addition to medication for treating the physical and biochemical symptoms of PCOS.

Electrochemical Immunosensor for Ultra-Low Detection of Human Papillomavirus Biomarker for Cervical Cancer

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the causative agent for cervical cancer. Of the various types of HPV, the high-risk HPV-16 type is the most important antigenic high-risk HPV. In this work, the antigenic HPV-16 L1 peptide was immobilized on a glassy carbon electrode and used to detect several concentrations of the anti-HPV-16 L1 antibody, and vice versa. Two electrode platforms were used: onion-like carbon (OLC) and its polyacrylonitrile (OLC-PAN) composites. Both platforms gave a wide linear concentration range (1.95 fg/mL to 6.25 ng/mL), excellent sensitivity (>5.2 μA/log ([HPV-16 L1, fg/mL]), and extra-ordinarily low limit of detection (LoD) of 1.83 fg/mL (32.7 aM) and 0.61 fg/mL (10.9 aM) for OLC-PAN and OLC-based immunosensors, respectively. OLC-PAN modified with the HPV-16 L1 protein showed low LoD for the HPV-16 L1 antibody (2.54 fg/mL, i.e., 45.36 aM), proving its potential use for screening purposes. The specificity of detection was proven with the anti-ovalbumin antibody (anti-OVA) and native ovalbumin protein (OVA). An immobilized antigenic HPV-16 L1 peptide showed insignificant interaction with anti-OVA in contrast with the excellent interaction with anti-HPV-16 L1 antibody, thus proving high specificity. The application of the immunosensor as a potential point-of-care (PoC) diagnostic device was investigated with screen-printed carbon electrodes, which detected ultra-low (ca. 0.7 fg/mL ≈ 12.5 aM) and high (ca. 12 μg/mL ≈ 0.21 μM) concentrations. This study represents the lowest LoD reported for HPV-16 L1. It opens the door for further investigation with other electrode platforms and realization of PoC diagnostic devices for screening and testing of HPV biomarkers for cervical cancer

Electrospun carbon nanofibers as an electrochemical immunosensing platform for Vibrio cholerae toxin : aging effect of the redox probe

Please read abstract in the article.The National Research Foundation (NRF)http://pubs.acs.org/journal/acsodfhj2021Chemistr

Hydrothermal treatment of waste plastics : an environmental impact study

This paper presents the attributional life cycle assessment results of a study of plastic recycling using hydrothermal treatment (HTT), a chemical recycling technology. HTT was investigated due to its potential to address current gaps in the plastic recycling system, largely due to several plastic packaging materials and formats that are currently not processed by traditional mechanical recycling technologies. As society transitions towards a net-zero-based circular economy, assessments should be conducted with a futuristic outlook, preventing costly mistakes by employing the right technologies in the right areas. The results using ReCiPe 2016 impact assessment methodology shows HTT with a GWP of 478 kg CO2 eq. per tonne can generate up to 80% reduction in climate change impacts when compared with comparable end-of-life treatment technologies whilst conserving material with the system. Additionally, the GWP could be reduced by up to 57% by changing how electricity is generated for on-site consumption. This represents a new understanding of the chemical recycling of polymers by establishing a prospective life cycle assessment study that looks to introduce a step-change in the recycling system and highlights the benefits of introducing this technology as opposed to the current model of disposal through incineration or landfill

Effects of Gasoline on Blood Cells and Liver Functions of Albino Rats (Rattus rattus)

The acute toxicological effects of gasoline on blood cells, and liver functions of albino rats were investigated. The rats were intraperitoneally injected with gasoline at different dose levels and were observed within 24 hours for signs and symptoms of toxicity. From the pilot study, 35.0g/kg was obtained as the minimum dose of gasoline that caused 100% death (LD100). Furthermore, LD50 study gave 12.30g/kg as the dose of gasoline that caused 50% death in rats (median lethal dose). The symptoms observed included occurrence of pallor, sedation, respiratory distress, coma and death and they were dose-dependent. Death rate increased with increase in the concentration of gasoline. The results of the hematological parameters obtained showed decrease in the mean + SEM values with increase in doses of gasoline injection. The biochemical parameters obtained showed an increase in the ALT and AST levels from 0.00 to 35.0g/kg and a corresponding increase in the ALP level from 0.00 to 35.0g/kg, indicating a case of hepatotoxicity. Direct and total bilirubin were also increased with increase in the doses of gasoline. The results, of this study showed that exposure to gasoline is potentially toxic and the degree of toxicity may be influenced by the dose or concentration to which persons are exposed. Keywords: Albino Rat, Gasoline, Histopathology Journal of Medical Laboratory Science Vol. 13 (2) 2004: pp. 24-2

Microwave Irradiation Controls the Manganese Oxidation States of Nanostructured Li[Li0.2Mn0.52Ni0.13Co0.13Al0.02]O 2 Layered Cathode Materials for High Performance Lithium Ion Batteries

A hybrid synthesis procedure, combining microwave irradiation and conventional annealing process, is described for the preparation of lithium-rich manganese-rich cathode materials, Li[Li0.2Mn0.54Ni0.13Co0.13]O2 (LMNC) and its aluminum-doped counterpart, Li[Li0.2Mn0.52Ni0.13Co0.13Al0.02]O2 (LMNCA). Essentially, this study interrogates the structure and electrochemistry of these layered cathode materials when subjected to microwave irradiation (these microwave-based produced are abbreviated herein as LMNC-mic andLMNCA-mic). The nanoparticulate nature of these layered cathode materials were confirmed by SEM. The crystallinity and layeredness were determined from the XRD analysis. The XPS measurements proved a definite change in the oxidation states of the manganese due to microwave irradiation. The galvanostatic charge-discharge characterization showed that the aluminum-doped cathode material obtained with the assistance of microwave irradiation has superior electrochemical properties. In summary, the electrochemical performance of these cathode materials produced with and without the assistance of microwave irradiation decreased as follows: LMNCAmic > LMNCA > LMNCmic > LMNC.CSIR, South Africa’s Department of Science and Technology (DST) and National Research Foundation (NRF) under the “Nanotechnology Flagship Programme” (Grant No: 69849).http://jes.ecsdl.orghb201