Effect of non-volatile solute on the freezing point of malonic acid

The mixture of malonic acid and potassium chloride were obtained in various proportions. The freezing point of pure malonic acid was obtained in the range 134 and 135oC which is in agreement with the literature value of 135 OC. the freezing point of all the mixtures were below the literature value of 135 OC. the freezing point depression was found to be directly proportional to the amount of potassium chloride in the mixture. Key word: malonic acid, potassium chloride, freezing point depression

Distribution pattern of some heavy metals in the dust particulates of Funtua Textile Limited, Katsina, Nigeria

The sequential extraction of Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, and Pb in industrial dust particulates collected in ten different sections/Departments of Funtua textile limited and the control site from Dikke village was carried out in order to ascertain the percentage of bioavailable fractions. Analyses of metals in the extracts were done using Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (FAAS). The sequential extractions showed that significant amount of Cu25.87(O1) to 92.73% (E1) was associated with non-residual and 0.09 (E1) to 56.94% (O2) organic bound fractions; similarly, Cd was also associated with the non- residual fractions across the sites with values 42.22(W2) to 97.78% (E2). Cr and Ni exhibited the highest percentage of 73.46(W1) to 100.00 % (W2) and 23.64 (E2) to 77.26 % (S1), respectively. Pb in the particulate dust samples was significantly associated with the non-residual fraction and carbonate bound fraction with range of 21.71(D)–61.68(S2) % across the sites. This study revealed contamination of the particulates dust especially with Cu, Cr and Pb; this implies health risks to human, living or carrying out daily activities along the corridors of this industry.Keywords: Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometry, Funtua textile, Heavy metals, Particulates dust, Sequential extractio

The Effect of Hygroscopic Growth on Urban Aerosols

In this paper some microphysical and optical properties of urban aerosols were extracted from OPAC to determine the effect of hygroscopic growth at the spectral range of 0.25?m to 2.5?m and eight relative humidities (RHs) (0, 50, 70, 80, 90, 95, 98, and 99%). The microphysical properties extracted were radii, volume mix ratio, number mix ratio and mass mix ratio as a function of RH while the optical properties are scattering and absorption coefficients and asymmetric parameters. Using the microphysical properties, growth factors of the mixtures were determined while using optical properties we determined the enhancement parameters and were then parameterized using some models. We observed that the data fitted the models very well. The angstrom coefficients which determined the particles’ sizes distribution  increases with the increase in RHs except at the delinquent point where it decreases with the increase in RHs. The mixture was determined to have bimodal type of distribution with the dominance of fine mode particles. Keywords: microphysical properties, optical properties, hygroscopic growth, parametrazition, enhancement parameters

Heavy Metals Pollution Status of Sediments of Ahmadu Bello University Dam, Zaria-Nigeria

Pollution status of the sediments of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) dam, Zaria-Nigeria, was assessed. Twenty-four samples were collected from specified stations and analyzed for the concentrations of Ni, Pb, Cd, Co, and Cr, using Atomic Absorption Spectrometer. The concentrations of the analyzed heavy metals ranged between 1.162±0.006(A) and 49.878±0.685(K); 53.262±0.075(H) and 105.546±0.842(I); 2.427±0.001(F) and 3.343±0.002 (J); 1.083±0.006(A) and 0.100±0.002(H); 7.572±0.042(E)) and 27.222±0.053 mg/kg (K), respectively. All values were below the permissible limits declared by World Health Organization (WHO) (2006). Pollution load index (PLI) and geo-accumulation index (I-geo) were employed to assess the pollution status of the dam across the sampling stations. The PLI values obtained across the sampling stations ranged between 5.94×10-7 (A)and8.19×10-5 (K).The I-geo found for the concentrations of Ni, Pb, Cd, Co and Cr in the sediments ranged between -6.597(A) and -1.173(K); -3.564(H) and -2.2.577(I); -5.715(F) and -5.297(L); -5.893(D & E) and - 4.047(J) respectively. Results obtained indicate that none of the sampling stations was polluted. The data obtained was subjected to statistical analysis (ANOVA) and P values > 0.05 obtained for the analyzed metals indicate that there were no significant differences in the concentrations of the analyzed metals across the sampling pointsKeywords: ABU dam, Sediments, Heavy metals, Pollution index (PLI), Geo-accumulation index (I-geo

Effect of Ulraviolet Light, pH and Temperature on the Thickening Property of Pectin Extracted from Banana, Orange and Lime Peels

Pectin is a polysaccharide used as rheology modifier in products such as food and beverages. This work assessed the effect of UV light, pH and temperature on the thickening property of pectin extracted from banana, orange and lime peels. Pectin was extracted using alcohol precipitation method and was analyzed using FT – IR spectrometer and GCMS. pH and UV light degradation/depolymerization of pectin solutions were carried out using viscometric and statistical methods. Increase in temperature negatively affects the viscosity of the samples. The viscosity of the banana, orange and lime pectin samples decreased on exposure to UV light for both 30 and 60 days. The observed decrease in the kinematic viscosity of the samples might be attributable to depolymerization which might have occurred with the samples on exposure to the UV light. The viscosity of the samples remained the same at the pH of 4, 7 and 10. Analysis of variance (one way) indicated significant difference in the kinematic viscosity measured to determine the effect of ultraviolet light and temperature (p < 0.05). No significant difference in viscosity was observed in the effect of pH (p > 0.05). Therefore, exposure to sunlight of pectin containing food drinks can cause decline in the quality of the product.Keywords: Pectin, viscosity, temperature, UV light, p

Genetic Diversity of Selected Upland Rice Genotypes (Oryza sativa L.) for Grain Yield and Related Traits

Seventy-seven upland rice genotypes including popular cultivars in Nigeria and introduced varieties selected from across rice-growing regions of the world were evaluated under optimal upland ecology. These genotypes were characterised for 10 traits and the quantitative data subjected to Pearson correlation matrix, Principal Component Analysis and cluster analysis to determine the level of diversity and degree of association existing between grain yield and its related component traits. Yield and most related component traits exhibited higher PCV compared to growth parameters. Yield had the highest PCV (41.72%) while all other parameters had low to moderate GCV. Genetic Advance (GA) ranged from 9.88% for plant height at maturity to 41.08% for yield. High heritability estimates were recorded for 1000 grain weight (88.71%), days to 50% flowering (86.67%) and days to 85% maturity (71.98%). Furthermore, grain yield showed significant positive correlation with days to 50% flowering and number of panicles m-2. Three cluster groups were obtained based on the UPGMA and the first three principal components explained about 64.55% of the total variation among the 10 characters. The PCA results suggests that characters such as grain yield, days to flowering, leaf area and plant height at maturity were the principal discriminatory traits for this rice germplasm indicating that selection in favour of these traits might be effective in this population and environment

Electronic structure and X-ray magnetic circular dichroism in Sm-doped Bi₂Se₃

We studied the structural, electronic, and magnetic properties of Sm-doped Bi2Se3 using a GGA approximation in a frame of the fully relativistic spin-polarized Dirac linear muffin-tin orbital band-structure method. The Xray absorption spectra (XAS) and X-ray magnetic circular dichroism at the Sm M4,5 edges were investigated theoretically from first principles. The calculated results are in good agreement with experimental data. The complex fine structure of the Sm M4,5 XAS in Sm-doped Bi2Se3 was found to be not compatible with a pure Sm3+ valency state. The interpretation demands mixed valent states

Collaborative Shift-Scheduling and Perceived Procedural Justice as Predictors of Clinical Decision-Making in Managed Care Practice among Selected Samples of Health Workers in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, Nigeria

This study examined the roles of collaborative shiftwork schedule and procedural justice as predictors of clinical decision-making in managed care practice among a selected sample of health workers in Abuja, Nigeria. The study was survey design conducted among 197 healthcare workers were selected using convenient sample from public and private healthcare institutions in Abuja. The Bergen Shift Work Sleep Questionnaire (BSWSQ) developed by Flo et al. (2012) was used to assess shiftwork collaborative scheduling. Procedural justice was measured using the Procedural Justice Scale (OJS) developed by Niehoff and Moorman (1993). While The Clinical Decision-Making Survey (CDMS) developed by Ferrell et al. (1991) was used to measure clinical decision-making. The result revealed that shiftwork did show significant relationship with clinical decision-making among psychiatric nurses [r (197) = .451, p <. 01]. Results from the multiple regression showed that procedural justice significantly predicted clinical decision-making among healthcare workers [? = .331, p <0.01]. The result of this study suggest that healthcare workers who engage in shift-schedule with a high perception of procedural justice have higher propensity to provide enhanced clinical decision-making at the workplace. The Nigerian healthcare reforms and policies should be reviewed, specifying issues relating to collaborative shiftwork for healthcare workers

A Rapid Method of Crude Oil Analysis Using FT-IR Spectroscopy

This study determines the viability of the use of Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy as a substitute to traditional petroleum geochemical methods for crude oil characterisation. IR spectra of Crude oil sample containing a mixture of both degraded (sample 151) and non-degraded (sample 145) oils at different concentrations were determined. The IR fingerprints agree with results obtained from GC analysis. Partial least square regression analysis was used to predict saturates for omitted mixtures (10 and 80% 151) and also saturates of five other samples (i.e. 145, 149, 172, H1 and AL10) within acceptable error limits. It therefore, follows, that although some improvements might still need to be made, FTIR spectroscopy can indeed be a viable, simple, cheaper and faster technique of crude oil characterisation compared with the traditional fractionation methods.Keywords: FTIR-ATR spectroscopy; GC-MS; Partial least squares (PLSR). Rapid analysis