Adsorption of Aqueous Using Granular Adsorbents from Accanthospermum hispendum DC

Granular activated carbons have been important adsorbents for the decontamination of aqueous environmental contaminants. Acanthospermum hispidum weed represents a ready available source of low-cost adsorbents in sub-Saharan Africa that has barely been paid attention. The effects of pH, contact time, concentration, adsorbent dosage, particle size and temperature on the adsorptive removal of Pb (II) from aqueous solutions over activated carbon granules from the thorns of Accanthospermum hispindum (AC-T) were for the first time investigated and compared with those of the leaves (L), the sodium hydroxide modified thorns (NaOH-T) and regular thorns (T) of this plant. These adsorbents were characterised by the surface charge analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the Attenuated Total Reflectance Fourier Transform infrared (ATR FTIR) spectroscopy. The SEM revealed a wafer-like appearance for the AC-T with a large distribution of open pores. The adsorption data of lead uptake onto the adsorbents were examined using two pseudo-order kinetic schemes and three isotherm models. To fully understand the adsorption capacities of the adsorbents, batch desorption recoveries were studied. The FTIR depicted the various functionalities responsible for the adsorption. Adsorption over AC-T was found to agree with pseudo second-order kinetic scheme, the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm. This material exhibited the highest adsorption capacity. The order of reusability of the adsorbents is T < AC-T < NaOH-T

Communication Ability and Verbal Communication Apprehension of Senior High School Adolescents With Intellectual Disability: Research Based on Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) and Measure of Elementary Communication Apprehension (MECA)

The purpose of this study are: firstly, to determine the effect of Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) on the verbal communication skills of senior high school adolescent with intellectual disability; secondly, to determine the verbal communication apprehension in of senior high school adolescents with intellectual disability before and after PECS treatment; thirdly, to determine the difference verbal communication apprehension of senior high school adolescents with intellectual disability as revealed by sexes. Experimental design for verbal communication skills used Analysis of Covariance with Randomized Completely Block Design (RCBD) based on six phases of pre- and post-test. Senior high school student from class X-XII (n = 13) became sample of this research. Questionnaire used was in the form of the Measure of Elementary Commu-nication Apprehension (MECA) questionnaire while the data analysis used Analysis Cova-riance for verbal communication skill, t-paired test for verbal communication apprehension, and verbal communication apprehension between sex were analyzed by t-test with a 5% level of significance. The results showed that: (1) PECS can improve the verbal communication skills between phases of PECS with the effectiveness as follows: 105.14%, 18.49%, and 43.11%; (2) PECS have not affected the verbal communication apprehension of senior high school adolescents with intellectual disability (tcale = - 0.305 < ttable = - 1.771); and (3) There is no significant differences in verbal communication apprehension of senior high school adolescents with intellectual disability based on sexes (tcale = 0.232 < ttable = 2.342)

Herbage Quality of Dwarf Napier Grass Under a Rotational Cattle Grazing System Two Years After Establishment

Dwarf Napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum Schumach) of a late-heading type (dwarf-late, DL), introduced by the Dairy Promotion Organization, Thailand, has a high over-wintering ability and is suitable for grazing. The objective of this study was to examine the digestibility and crude protein (CP) concentration of DL Napier grass both before and after rotational grazing in relation to the daily liveweight gain of cattle 2 years after establishment in the lowland area of Kyushu, Japan

Seed Health, Quality Test, and Control of Seed-borne Fungi of Some Improved and Local Cultivars of Rice (Oryza sativa L.) in Kano, Northwestern Nigeria

This research was carried out to evaluate the health and quality of rice seed. The germination of seed and presence of rice seed related fungi were recorded and used to evaluate the effect of seed dressing chemicals on germination and vigor index over untreated rice seeds. Seven cultivars commonly grown in Kano, Kano State, Northwestern Nigera “FARO 52” (WITA), “FARO 44” (SIPI), “FARO 60” , (improved varieties), “Kwandala” , “Jamila” , Ex-china, and “JIF” (local varieties) were used in this study. The seed dressing chemicals used were Apron Star 42 WS, Dress Force 42WS and ZEB-Care 80%WP. This study was performed under three main tests, i.e dry inspection, blotter tests, agar plate and microscopic examination. The highest number of healthy seeds (94.16%) was recorded from “JIF” variety and lowest (64.77%) from “Jamila” . The highest number of deformed seeds was observed from variety “FARO 44” whereas the lowest noted on “JIF” . The identified fungi were Fusarium spp., Bipolaris oryzae, Aspergillus flavus, Curvularia lunata, Aspergillus niger, and Nigrospora oryzae., Rhizoctonia spp. and Rhizopus spp. Highest seed infection was recorded for A. flavus, A. niger, and Fusarium spp., and the least with C. lunata and N. oryzae. Treated seeds with Zeb-care (Mancozeb 80% WP), increased their vigor index over untreated by 62.78% and can be recommended as seed dressing chemical for optimun control of rice seed- borne pathogens

Effect of Aqueous Leaf Extract of Borreria verticillata Species of Sudano-Sahelian Savanna on CCl4 Induced Hepatotoxicity

Preliminary phytochemical screening of Borreria verticillata species of Sudano-Sahelian savanna and the effect of aqueous leaf extract of the plant were studied in CCL4-induced hepatotoxicity rats. Screening of the aqueous extract indicates the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, glycosides, sterol and saponins. While athraquinone was absent. Serum levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine amino transferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), total protein (TP) and bilirubin (BL) were analysed in rats intraperitoneally administered with 100 mg/kg CCl4 followed by oral treatment with 300mg/kg of aqueous leaf extract of B. verticillata for 48 and 96hrs. The rats treated for 48 hours after had serum AST, ALT, ALP, TP and BL levels not statistically different (P>0.05) compared to both normal control and positive control (treated with 100mg/kg standard drug) although the value of positive control was slightly lower than the test values. However, the test values were statistically lower compared to toxicity control at P< 0.05. The serum AST, ALT, ALP, TP and BL levels when the treatment was extended to 96 hours showed similar pattern to 48 hours treatment. Even though the test values with respect to the enzymes activity were slightly lower in the extended treatment. This result indicates the hepatocurative properties of aqueous leaf extract of B. verticillata on CCL4-induced hepatotoxicity rats, which could be attributed to its phytochemical contents. Keywords: Borreria verticillata, Hepatotoxicity, Hepatocurative, Aqueous leaf extract, CCL

Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) dan Communication Apprehension (CA) pada Remaja Tunagrahita Jenjang SD di SLBN Salatiga

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of PECS on verbal communication skills skills of adolescent tunagrahita and test the difference of anxiety verbal communication adolescent tunagrahita based on gender. Experimental design for verbal communication skills used Analysis of Covariance with Randomized Completely Block Design (RCBD) based on 6 phases of pre and post test. The subjects of this research was seven elementary students. Data collection used the Measure of Elementary Communication Apprehension (MECA) questionnaire and be analyzed using Covariance Analysis, verbal communication anxiety pre and post test analyzed by Wilxocon and the difference verbal communication anxiety by sex analyzed by Mann Whitney U. The results of this study show that PECS can improve verbal communication skills and affect verbal communication anxiety in elementary school adolescent with intellectual disability and also differ based on se

Modification of Institute for Agricultural Research Multi-Crop Thresher for Improved Performances

In millet producing areas of Nigeria, the predominant method of threshing is traditional. It involves beating the millet panicle with a stick, over a log of wood or by pounding using mortar and pestle. This method is inefficient, time-consuming, labor intensive, prone to drudgery, uneconomical, low output and gives product contaminate with extraneous material such as stones and sand. Though imported threshers are effective in millet threshing; they are expensive, complexed in design and required skillful personnel for operation. An Institute for Agricultural Research  (IAR) multi-crop thresher for sorghum, millet, and wheat was modified for improved performances. The performance of the modified thresher was evaluated using Ex-borno variety of pearl millet. Two levels of moisture content; 9.21% and 10.81%, four feed rates levels; 3, 4, 5 and 6 kg/min, four levels of drum speed; 700, 800, 900 and 1000 rpm were considered during the experiment. The test results indicated as high as 98.78% threshing efficiency, a minimum of 1.02% grain damage, maximum cleaning efficiency of 97.19%, and 2.50% scatter loss and maximum throughput capacity of 194.02 kg/hr. In comparison to the previous thresher, threshing efficiency, mechanical grain damage, cleaning efficiency, scatter losses, and throughput capacity have improved by 2.01%, 330.56%, 9.79%, 10.78%, and 69.86% respectively. The developed thresher is anticipated to increase the farmer’s productivity due to improved performances.Keywords: Millet, Threshing Efficiency, Cleaning Efficiency, Feed Rate, cylinder Spee

Resveratrol-Based Nanoformulations as an Emerging Therapeutic Strategy for Cancer

Resveratrol is a polyphenolic stilbene derivative widely present in grapes and red wine. Broadly known for its antioxidant effects, numerous studies have also indicated that it exerts anti-inflammatory and antiaging abilities and a great potential in cancer therapy. Regrettably, the oral administration of resveratrol has pharmacokinetic and physicochemical limitations such as hampering its effects so that effective administration methods are demanding to ensure its efficiency. Thus, the present review explores the published data on the application of resveratrol nanoformulations in cancer therapy, with the use of different types of nanodelivery systems. Mechanisms of action with a potential use in cancer therapy, negative effects, and the influence of resveratrol nanoformulations in different types of cancer are also highlighted. Finally, the toxicological features of nanoresveratrol are also discussed.CR would like to acknowledge the UID/EQU/00511/2020 Project—Laboratory of Process Engineering, Environment, Biotechnology and Energy (LEPABE), financed by national funds through FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC). NC-M acknowledges the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology under the Horizon 2020 Program (PTDC/PSI-GER/28076/2017). Some of the components of the illustrations are taken from freepik and flaticon

Pharmacognostic and Acute Toxicity Study of Burkea Africana Root

Burkea africana is a plant that belongs to then family Fabaceae; it is widely spread in tropical Africa including Nigeria. It is of valuable in  ethnomedicine especially in the treatment of antidote for venomous stings and bites, cutaneous and sub cutaneous parasitic infection, convulsion and pulmonary troubles. Despite the fact that roots of Burkea africana have several medicinal properties, no standardization parameter has been  assessed. Due to lack of standard parameters, proper identification and ascertaining quality and purity in the events of adulteration has been thwarted. The objective of the study was to establish some important pharmacognostic profile and safety margin of Burkea africana root with the hope of assisting in its standardization for quality, purity and safety. Elemental analysis was carried out using acid digestion method and phytochemical composition of the plants was evaluated using standard method. Acute toxicity was achieved using Lorke method to determine the LD50. Chemomicroscopical evaluation revealed the presence of cellulose, tannins, starch, lignin, calcium oxalate, suberin, aleurone grain and mucilage with the exception of calcium carbonate. The average moisture contents, total ash, acid insoluble, water soluble ash, alcohol extractive value and water extractive values in the powdered plant material were 3.8%, 7.5%, 4.43%, 8.07%, 25.0% and 20.33% respectively. In addition, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, Cd and Cu were found to be within the safety limit. Phytochemicals which include alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins, tannins, carbohydrates and triterpenes were detected in both aqueous and methanolic extracts. The LD50 of Burkea africana was found to be greater than 5000 mg /kg and could be considered safe for consumption. Keywords: Elemental analysis, Burkea africana, Pharmacognostic, Phytochemica

Study of Temporal Point Process as A Renewall Process with the Distribution of Inter Event Time is Exponential Family

Study of inter event time is a part of temporal point process modeling. In this study, temporal point process is consider as a renewall process which is the inter event times have independent identity distributions. The conditional Intensity of the process coincides with so called hazard rate. In this paper we analyze hazard rate with assume that the distribution of inter event times of hazard rate is exponential family., that are exponential, Pareto, and Rayleigh. To estimate the parameter of hazard rate, Maximum Likelihood Estimates (MLE) method is used. The simulation of Conditional Intensity value is given at the end of the paper. The result shows that all of the distribution gives the hazard rate value are different