Effect of Biological and Chemical Ripening Agents on the Nutritional and Metal Composition of Banana (Musa spp)

The use of potentially toxic ripening agents is common in developing countries. Four ripening agents namely calcium carbide, potash, African mango and jathropha curcas leaf were used and compared with a control with no ripening agent. Result showed that RB1 and RB2 were the first to ripen at 3days with RB5 at 6th day. Protein content reduced in the ripened samples in the order of 4.12>3.68>3.04>2.52>1.99>1.77%. Protein value was lowest when calcium carbide was used. Fat ash and fiber contents range between 0.28-1.72, 0.75-2.75and 0.50-1.75% respectively. The moisture content increased from 65.50 to 74.0%, while carbohydrate content range is 17.49-29.29%. Pb, Cu, Zn and Mn values of 0.22, 0.87, 1.96 and 0.67ppm was highest in calcium carbide ripened banana and lowest in the control 0.09, 0.26, 0.37 and 0.19 ppm.Keywords: Banana; ripening; ripening agents; postharvest losses; metal contaminatio

Proximate Determinants of Women's Use of Birth Control Methods in Ota,Ogun State

Fertility regulation and pregnancy prevention are among the major health challenges of the 21st century in sub-Saharan Africa, especially in Nigeria. Contraception has been identified as an effective means of combating the problem of unwanted pregnancy and unsafe abortion and it is equally an effective means of family planning and fertility control and therefore very important in promoting maternal and child health. Women between ages 18 and 47 (n=143, mean=30.4 years) were sampled. A survey research questionnaire made up of four trajectories and consisting of sixteen (16) items was used in this study. The study made use of frequency counts, percentage, t-test analysis and regression analysis. The SPSS software was used to analyze the data. Results indicate a good knowledge of types of contraception with more than a third (83%) aware of condom as a contraceptive method. However, very few women were aware of modern contraceptive methods such as implants (9%) and spermicides (5%). The study indicates that knowledge of contraception (β = 2.244; t = 2.356; p < .05), employment status (β = 1.955; t = 2.257;p < .05) and age (β = 1.530; t = 2.203; p < .05) were good predictors of women’s contraceptive use. There was also a significant difference in women’s use of contraceptives based on contraceptive selfefficacy (t = 3.387, p < .05). Based on these findings, the study shows the need for strong advocacy,enlightenment and community mobilization for improved awareness and use of contraceptives in fertility control and preventing unwanted pregnancie

Analysis of Annual Maximum Rainfall Series using Method of L-Moments in Some Selected Sites in South-South Geographical Zone, Nigeria

Determination of the extent of peak rainfall for different return periods is an essential ingredient for the accurate design of hydraulic structures such as drains, dams and culverts as well as detection of flood risk areas. The focus of this study is to analyze annual maximum daily rainfall series in some selected sites within the coastal region of Nigeria using three parameter probability distribution models, namely, Generalized Logistics (GLO), Generalized Extreme Value (GEV) and Generalized Pareto (GPA) with the view of identifying the best fit probability distribution model per station that can be employed to estimate the rainfall magnitude for selected return periods. Specific time series analysis test, namely, detection of outlier and homogeneity test were performed to certify that the data utilized are adequate and suitable. Descriptive statistics such as sample mean, variance, standard deviation, kurtosis, skewness, and coefficient of variation were computed using basic statistical equations. The probability weighted moment parameters (b0, b1, b2 and b3), L-moment values (λ1, λ2, λ3 and λ4) and ratios (τ2, τ 3 and τ4) including the distribution parameters, namely, shape (k), scale (α) and location (ξ) parameters were computed based on L-moments procedures. To select the best-fit probability distribution model per station, carefully chosen goodness-of-fit statistics, namely, root mean square error, relative root mean square error, maximum absolute deviation index, maximum absolute error and probability plot correlation coefficient were employed since they can adequately assess the fitted distribution at a site. Results obtained indicate that the GLO is the best fit distribution for analyzing annual maximum daily rainfall series from Warri and Calabar while GPA for Port Harcourt and Uyo

Comparative Antibacterial Activity of Five Brands of Ciprofloxacin Injectables in Nigeria

Background: Ciprofloxacin, a widely used antimicrobial agent, is available in Nigeria in various tablet and injectable dosage forms. In this era of fake and substandard drugs, it is important to be sure of the quality and antimicrobial potency of ciprofloxacin injectables imported and sold in Nigeria.Objectives: This study is aimed at evaluating and comparing the antibacterial efficacy of five different brands of ciprofloxacin infusion available in Nigeria against clinical bacterial isolates.Method: Ultraviolet-visible (UV-VIS) spectroscopy was used to determine the percentage content of active pharmaceutical ingredient in each brand, while antibacterial activities were compared against five bacterial strains including: Escherichia coli (E), Klebsiella pneumoniae (K), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Ps), Proteus mirabilis (Pr), Staphylococcus aureus (St) and Salmonella typhi (Sa). Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) and the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBCs) were determined by broth dilution method. Statistical analysis of the results obtained was done by ANOVA.Result: The percentage content of all the five brands of ciprofloxacin injection was not less than the specification (95-105%) of the British Pharmacopoeia, BP (2009). The susceptibility test showed that 16 out of 30 (53.3%) isolates were multidrug resistant. Ciprofloxacin was active on most of the clinical isolates which justify its wide use in treating infections in Nigeria; however, resistance to ciprofloxacin is increasing.Conclusion: Comparing the different brands, there was slight variation but no significant difference (p&gt; 0.05) in their antibacterial activity (p= 0.96, 0.999 for sensitivity at 10μg/ml and MIC respectively). Keywords: Ciprofloxacin brands, Fake drugs, Physicochemical analysis, Antibacterial, Antimicrobial resistanc

Emission dispersion modeling and geospatial analysis of vehicular emissions in some parts of Benin City, Nigeria

Over the years, decline in air quality has been connected to the growing rate of urbanization and increasing number of vehicles on the roads. Most of the pollutants emitted from vehicular activities have been observed to have adverse effects on individuals as well as the atmosphere. Although, the focus of this study is to develop an emission dispersion model to predict the concentration of specific air pollutants with distance, the application of geostatistical technique such as Kriging interpolation to study the spatial distribution of pollutants from vehicular emissions around the study area was also exemplified. Seven (7) georeferenced points, namely, Ugbowo main gate, Ekosodin junction, Agen junction, Super D junction, Nitel junction, Okhunmwun junction and Oluku market junction were used for data collection. Pollutants from vehicular emissions, namely, nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO) including the total radiation were monitored in the morning and evening for a period of 35 days (7th July to 12th August 2020) with the aid of portable toxic gas monitors and radiation alert meters. Other parameters of interest, which were also measured include maximum temperature and wind speed using infra-red thermometers and portable anemometer respectively. To ascertain the quality of the data, selected preliminary analysis, namely, test of normality, test of homogeneity, outlier detection and reliability test were done. Result of the study showed a high concentration of NO2, CO and total radiation around Ugbowo main gate and Okhunmwun community and environs especially during the peak hours of evening (5.0 p.m. – 6.0 p.m.) when the traffic load is high

Generalized Adaptive Backstepping Synchronization for Non-Identical Parametrically Excited Systems

In this paper, we investigate the synchronization of chaotic systems consisting&nbsp;of non-identical parametrically excited oscillators. The backstepping design, which is a&nbsp;recursive procedure that combines the choice of a Lyapunov function with the design of a&nbsp;controller is generalized and employed so as to achieve global chaos synchronization&nbsp;between a parametrically excited gyroscope and each of the parametrically excited&nbsp;pendulum and Duffing oscillator. Numerical simulations are implemented to verify the&nbsp;results

Nutrition Tea Club : engaging students in reading scientific papers

Many students do not engage with reading the scientific literature, which is a core skill in undergraduate students. The learning environment has an important impact upon learning. It was postulated that taking reading out of the formal learning environment might impact upon students’ willingness to engage with the literature, and confidence in doing so. A staff-student research partnership initiative funded by Kingston University allowed this hypothesis to be tested. Three Tea Club sessions, informal drop-in reading sessions were offered in a student-owned space within the Students’ Union. Refreshments were supplied, aiming for a ‘coffee house’ feel. Although the numbers of students who engaged with the Tea Club were small, evaluations were positive. In particular students valued the opportunity for peer learning. However the chosen environment was too noisy. Future sessions will be offered within a different, less noisy environment with facilities for refreshments, and will be offered throughout the academic year to facilitate student engagement.Keywords: Learning environment, peer support, extracurricular, scientific readin