SUSTAINABLE ENERGY ANALYSIS OF NIGERIAN ROAD TRANSPORTATION SECTOR: EFFECTS OF INFLUENCED FUEL DEMAND PATTERNS

Petrol and diesel utilisations in the Nigerian road transportation sector have been assessed, using exergy efficiency and improvement potential as parameters. The mean petrol engine exergy efficiency was 13.05%, while that of diesel engines was 10.79%. The average improvement potential of petrol engines was 2.07×1011 MJ, which was 75.6% of average input exergy. Diesel engines had an average improvement potential of 5.15×1010 MJ, which was 69.2% of average input exergy. Practical constancy of the exergy efficiencies of the engines left input exergy values as the sole determining factors of improvement potentials of the systems. Petrol fuel was found to be utilised, away from sustainable path, more than diesel fuel. This observation was found attributable to subsidisation of petrol downstream sector and simultaneous deregulation of the diesel downstream sector as well as the preponderance of petrol engines in the road transportation sector. In conclusion, it was recommended that a mechanism be put in place to check the unsustainable petrol fuel utilisation in the transport sector

Gendered performances in sport: an embodied approach

Despite significant advances in recent years, gender inequalities remain apparent within the context of sport participation and engagement. One of the problems, however, when addressing gender issues in sport is the continued assumption by many sport practitioners that the experiences of women and men will always be different because of perceived physiological characteristics. Adopting a focus based solely upon perceived gendered differences often overlooks the importance of recognising individual experience and the prevailing social influences that impact upon participation, such as age, class, race and ability. An embodied approach, as well as seeking to move beyond mind/body dualisms, incorporates the physiological with the social and psychological. Therefore, it is suggested that while considerations of gender remain important, they need to be interpreted alongside other interconnecting and influential (at varying times and occasions) social and physical factors. It is argued that taking the body as a starting point opens up more possibilities to manoeuvre through the mine field that is gender and sport participation. The appeal of an embodied approach to the study of gender and sport is in its accommodation of a wider multi-disciplinary lens. Particularly, by acknowledging the subjective, corporeal, lived experiences of sport engagement, an embodied approach offers a more flexible starting point to negotiate the theoretical and methodological challenges created by restrictive discourses of difference

The International Natural Product Sciences Taskforce (INPST) and the power of Twitter networking exemplified through #INPST hashtag analysis

Background: The development of digital technologies and the evolution of open innovation approaches have enabled the creation of diverse virtual organizations and enterprises coordinating their activities primarily online. The open innovation platform titled "International Natural Product Sciences Taskforce" (INPST) was established in 2018, to bring together in collaborative environment individuals and organizations interested in natural product scientific research, and to empower their interactions by using digital communication tools. Methods: In this work, we present a general overview of INPST activities and showcase the specific use of Twitter as a powerful networking tool that was used to host a one-week "2021 INPST Twitter Networking Event" (spanning from 31st May 2021 to 6th June 2021) based on the application of the Twitter hashtag #INPST. Results and Conclusion: The use of this hashtag during the networking event period was analyzed with Symplur Signals (https://www.symplur.com/), revealing a total of 6,036 tweets, shared by 686 users, which generated a total of 65,004,773 impressions (views of the respective tweets). This networking event's achieved high visibility and participation rate showcases a convincing example of how this social media platform can be used as a highly effective tool to host virtual Twitter-based international biomedical research events

The effect of water activity on the heat resistance of Salmonella typhimurium

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:DX191844 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Induction of Genotoxicity by Concurrent Exposure to Titanium Dioxide and Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles in Mice

The recent surge in the application of nanotechnology and the specific attractive properties of nanomaterials have led to widespread applications of nanoparticles particularly in life sciences, pharmaceutical, cosmetics and textile industries. This widespread use has also led to worldwide distribution of nanoparticles and consequent increased likelihood of human exposure thereby raising concerns about their safety. Due to the rapid increase in their applications and their exponential industrial production, workers are constantly exposed to these nanoparticles in their workplace. Some previous studies have reported that nanoparticles may generate potential harm to the environment and are both genotoxic and cytotoxic to humans. Other studies argue that they are not. This study therefore aims to assess the genotoxic and cytotoxic potential of a concurrent exposure to nanoparticles using titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2.NPs) and zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO.NPs) in mice. Four groups 2 of mice made up of five animals each were exposed to four different concentrations (25 mg/kg body weight (bw); 50 mg/kg bw, 75 mg/kg bw and 100 mg/kg bw) of the nanoparticles. Each concentration comprised 50% titanium oxide nanoparticles and 50% zinc oxide nanoparticles given separately by oral gavaging for five consecutive days while the control group was treated with distilled water. Bone marrow was harvested for micronucleus assay and the incidence of micronuclei in polychromatic erythrocytes was scored per 1,000 cells. The results showed a concentration dependent increase in the frequency of micronuclei occurrence which was statistically significant at the concentration of 100 mg/kg bw (P < 0.05). Also the ratio of polychromatic erythrocytes to normochromatic erythrocytes was statistically significant at this concentration. This result shows that concurrent exposure to titanium oxide nanoparticles and zinc oxide nanoparticles induces both genotoxicity and cytotoxicity in mice.Keywords: Nanoparticles, Titanium oxide, Zinc oxide, genotoxicity, micronucleus, erythrocyte