Handling practices and contamination of raw milk sold for consumption in markets of Kwara State, Nigeria

Milk handling practices in the Nigerian informal sector are usually poorly done. This is a threat to food safety and public health. We investigated the common practices by handlers involved in the milk processing and the contamination levels of raw cow milk marketed for consumption in Kwara State, Nigeria. In a cross-sectional survey, a pretested questionnaire (n = 500) was administered to consenting vendors to assess practices employed in milk processing. Raw cattle milk (n = 1225) sold in markets of Kwara State were assessed for contamination using the Total aerobic count (TAC) and Total coliform count (TCC) methods. Data were analysed by descriptive and inferential statistics. The majority of respondents were married (84%), females (65.2%), and had no formal education (43.2%). Some unwholesome practices among vendors such as pooling unsold milk (40.6%), adding unsterilized water to milk (22.2%), and sourcing water from streams (53.2%) were reported. Females (OR = 0.09; 95% CI: 0.040, 0.170; p < 0.001) and those with tertiary educational level (OR=0.01, 95% CI: 0.002, 0.041; p < 0.001) were less likely to be associated with unsatisfactory hygienic practices. All TAC and TCC were higher than 5logcfu/ml and higher counts were observed in the dry season. Because of public safety, a high-level hygienic and good milk handling practices – while enlightenment of vendors on standard hygiene, are required

Handling practices and contamination of raw milk sold for consumption in markets of Kwara State, Nigeria

Milk handling practices in the Nigerian informal sector are usually poorly done. This is a threat to food safety and public health. We investigated the common practices by handlers involved in the milk processing and the contamination levels of raw cow milk marketed for consumption in Kwara State, Nigeria. In a cross-sectional survey, a pretested questionnaire (n = 500) was administered to consenting vendors to assess practices employed in milk processing. Raw cattle milk (n = 1225) sold in markets of Kwara State were assessed for contamination using the Total aerobic count (TAC) and Total coliform count (TCC) methods. Data were analysed by descriptive and inferential statistics. The majority of respondents were married (84%), females (65.2%), and had no formal education (43.2%). Some unwholesome practices among vendors such as pooling unsold milk (40.6%), adding unsterilized water to milk (22.2%), and sourcing water from streams (53.2%) were reported. Females (OR = 0.09; 95% CI: 0.040, 0.170; p < 0.001) and those with tertiary educational level (OR=0.01, 95% CI: 0.002, 0.041; p < 0.001) were less likely to be associated with unsatisfactory hygienic practices. All TAC and TCC were higher than 5logcfu/ml and higher counts were observed in the dry season. Because of public safety, a high-level hygienic and good milk handling practices – while enlightenment of vendors on standard hygiene, are required

Pattern of utilisation of oral glucose tolerance test: the experience of Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano

Oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) is the gold standard test for the diagnosis of type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). It is considered as the oldest dynamic function test in clinical practice and has several advantages over other plasma-based tests for diagnosis of type 2 DM, notably random plasma glucose (RPG) and fasting plasma glucose (FPG). For instance, it is the only means through which diagnosis of impaired glucose tolerance can be made, and has a higher diagnostic yield compared to FPG. There is paucity of data on the utilization of OGTT particularly in northern Nigeria. This study therefore aimed to determine the utilization of OGTT in a tertiary Hospital in Kano, Northwestern Nigeria. This was a retrospective study carried out in Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital between January, 2013 and December, 2014. Following ethical approval, Hospital records of all clients who had OGTT in Chemical Pathology department of the Hospital were retrieved. The OGTTs were done using the 75g, 120 Minutes as recommended by WHO. Plasma Glucose were analyzed using quantitative glucose oxidase method described by Trinder. Data obtained were entered into Microsoft Excel and analyzed using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 20.About 335 OGTTs were performed during the study period but 312 were selected. Majority of the clients were females, 290 (92.9%), aged between 20-39 years (74.0%). About 2/3rd of the clients 224 (78.5%) were pregnant women referred from antenatal clinic due to previous history of Gestational Diabetes  Mellitus (GDM), previous macrosomic baby, and unexplained intra uterine foetal death. Non-obstetric indications for OGTT encountered were obesity, impaired fasting glycaemia and suspected acromegaly. Majority of clients who had OGTT were pregnant women who were referred for obstetric indications. Previous history of GDM was the commonest indication for OGTT. There was under-utilization of OGTT for non-obstetrics medical indications.Keywords: OGTT, Diabetes mellitus, Gestational Diabetes, Nigeri

Formulation of critical micellar concentration of non- phosphate detergents by surface tension measurement

Non-phosphate builders which are environmentally friendly are required for use in detergent formulation to replace the sodium tri-poly phosphate (STPP). Phosphates are excellent fertilizer for algae, bacteria, and other flora and fauna in rivers, lakes and  oceans, making them bloom at very rapid rates. This exhausts the oxygen supply both in the surface and in the bottom layers of water bodies, and leading the death of fishes. Sodium metasilicate a non-phosphate builder from Lokoja Quartzite was used to  formulate a non-phosphate biodegradable synthetic detergent using 25%, 50% and 75% sodium hydroxide concentrations. The critical micellar concentration (CMC) of a non-phosphate  detergent was determined via measurement of surface tension. This method is rapid, reliable and cheap compared to the  fluorescence polarization method which required a sophiscated materials such as 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene as fluorescence probe. The detergents formulated with 75% and 50% sodium hydroxide concentrations have CMC values of 8.6685 mM and 6.9348 mM respectively. From this study, a non phosphate builder synthesized from Lokoja Quartzite has potential of protecting aquatic animals when compared with the conventional STPP currently used in our detergent formulation. Also, the simple and economical approach for determination of detergent’s CMC has demonstrated it’s potentials. These values agree well with the literature value ranges between 7 to 10 mM.Keywords: Detergent; CMC; Surfactants; Non-phosphate;  1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatrien

Operational evaluation of Obafemi Awolowo University main gate – Ede Road intersection

Vehicular traffic at Obafemi Awolowo University has increased over the years, resulting in delay at The Main Gate – Ede Road Intersection. This paper evaluated its present level of service with a view to addressing this situation. Geometric survey of the intersection was carried out. Peak hour traffic studies were conducted for a week and the traffic characteristics and volume were determined using standard procedure. The level of service (LOS) of the intersection was thereafter obtained. The geometrics of the intersection showed that, two lanes exist on the East Bound (EB) and West Bound (WB) approaches, as well as a dual lane on the North Bound (NB) and South Bound (SB) approaches. The traffic volume count was 1378, 931, 1168 and 1123 veh/h for the NB, SB, EB and WB respectively. The level of service at the intersection is B, thus implying that it exhibits a slight delay. Keywords: Level of Service, Road intersection, Road geometry, Traffic dela

Reduction of Sulphur Content of Urals Crude Oil Prior to Processing Using Oxidative Desulphurization

The presence of sulphur in crude oil poses enormous challenges as regards its negative environmental and economic impacts. As such, the safety of the personnel and the equipment is at high risk during the processing of Urals crude oil in Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company (KRPC) because of its sour nature. This study was aimed at reducing the sulphur content of the Urals crude oil prior to processing by subjecting it to oxidative desulphurization where peracetic acid was used as the oxidant in the actual mass-to-stoichiometric mass ratio ranging from 1 to 5. The oxidized sulphur compounds were thereafter extracted using acetic acid as the extraction solvent. Furthermore, atmospheric distillation was carried out on both the raw and the desulphurized crude oil samples. Finally, the sulphur contents of the various crude oil samples and their fractions were analyzed. The results showed drastic reductions in the sulphur contents up to actual mass-to-stoichiometric mass ratio of 2 but the reductions became progressively insignificant afterwards. Meanwhile, the highest reduction in the sulphur content of the crude oil was 61.6 % while those of the gasoline, kerosene, diesel and residue were 32.0, 45.1, 68.9 and 75.0 % respectively. Therefore, peracetic acid is an effective oxidant for oxidative desulphurization of the crude oil.Keywords: Sulphur content, Crude oil, Oxidative desulphurization, Thiophenic compound

Copper (II) Adsorption by Calcium-alginate Shea Butter Cake

This study investigated the utilization of modified shea butter cake for the removal of Cu(II) ions from aqueous solution. Instrumental analysis such as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray Diffractometer (XRD) was used for the characterisation of the solid sorbent. Batch equilibrium study was carried out to evaluate the adsorption capacity, and process parameters such as initial metal ion concentration, time, pH, and adsorbent dosage. An optimum pH of 5, equilibrium time of 30mins and adsorbent dosage of 40 beads was obtained. The Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms were used to fit the experimental data and values fits the Langmuir more adequately with correlation coefficient unity (1.000) at 10mg/l of initial metal ion concentration. The Kinetic study using the Pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second were used to determine the rate constants and experiments data best fits the pseudo-second –order with calculated amount adsorbed approximately equal to the experimental values. The results indicate that modified shea butter cake could be employed as an adsorbent for the removal of copper (II) ions in an aqueous solution. Keywords: Shea butter cake, process parameters, kinetics, Copper (II)

MATHEMATICAL ANALYSIS OF THE ROLE OF DETECTION RATE IN THE DYNAMICAL SPREAD OF HIV-TB CO-INFECTION

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) co-existing with Tuberculosis (TB) in individuals remains a major global health challenges, with an estimated 1.4 million patients worldwide. These two diseases are enormous public health burden, and unfortunately, not much has been done in terms of modeling the dynamics of HIV-TB co-infection at a population level. We formulated new fifteen (15) compartmental models to gain more insight into the effect of treatment and detection of infected undetected individuals on the dynamical spread of HIV- TB co-infection. Sub models of HIV and TB only were considered first, followed by the full HIV-TB co-infection model. Existence and uniqueness of HIV and TB only model were analyzed quantitatively, and we shown that HIV model only and TB only model have solutions, moreover, the solutions are unique. Stability of HIV model only, TB model only and full model of HIV-TB co-infection were analyzed for the existence of the disease free and endemic equilibrium points. Basic reproduction number () was analyzed, using next generation matrix method (NGM), and it has been shown that the disease free equilibrium point is locally asymptotically stable whenever  and unstable whenever this threshold exceeds unity. i.e., Numerical simulation was carried out by maple software using differential transformation method, to show the effect of  treatment and detection of infected undetected individuals on the dynamical spread of HIV-TB co-infection. Significantly, all the results obtained from this research show the importance of treatment and detection of infected undetected individuals on the dynamical spread of HIV-TB co-infection. Detection rate of infected undetected individuals reduce the spread of HIV-TB co-infections

Sulphide Scavengers in Oil and Gas Industry – A Review

Upotreba čistača sulfida je često korištena praksa u poslovima proizvodnje i obrade u industriji nafte i plina. Posebno je zahtjevno istraživanje i razvoj novih kemijskih sastojaka prihvatljivih za okoliš i namijenjenih očuvanju zdravlja osoblja i učinkovitoj zaštiti materijala u raznim uvjetima. Ovaj članak uključuje ažuran pregled napora koje je industrija dosad uložila kako bi uporabom nekih kemikalija minimalizirala ili eliminirala različite probleme koje uzrokuje sumporovodik tijekom poslova bušenja na naftu i plin. Uspoređene su prednosti i mane uporabe različitih kemikalija za pročišćavanje sumporovodika iz isplake i proizvedenih fluida.The application of sulphide scavengers is a widely adopted practice in production and processing operations in the Oil and Gas Industry. Particularly challenging is the search and development of new chemistries, which is aimed at safeguarding the health of personnel and maintaining good protection of materials under a variety of conditions whilst being environmentally acceptable. This paper includes an up to date history of the efforts which have been put forth so far in the industry to minimize or eliminate the various problems caused by hydrogen sulphide during Oil and Gas drilling operations by the use of some chemicals. The advantages and disadvantages of using the various chemicals for scavenging hydrogen sulphide drilling fluids and produced fluids are compared