Molecular Toxicity of Popular Toothpaste Formulations on Post-Juveniles of Clarias gariepinus

The widespread use of toothpaste containing various chemical formulations has raised concern regarding their potential impact on aquatic ecosystems. This research examines the molecular toxicity of popular toothpaste brands on post-juveniles of Clarias gariepinus from a commercial fish farm in Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria. Specifically assessing the impact of these toothpaste brands on the mRNA expression levels of the heat shock protein (HSP70), interleukin (IL-1β), melatonin receptors (MEL1C), and growth hormone in comparison to a control group. The results revealed a significant upregulation of HSP70, IL-1β, and MEL1C genes in the exposed group, indicating a potential stress response and immune system activation. Intriguingly, the growth hormone mRNA expression remained unaffected in the treated group compared to the control. These findings underscore the need for further exploration into the potential molecular consequences of common toothpaste ingredients on aquatic organisms, raising important questions about environmental safety and consumer product development

Valorization of Pennisetum purpureum (Elephant grass) and piggery manure for energy generation

This study investigated the biogas production potential of Pennisetum purpureum (Elephant grass) (El-g) codigested with piggery manure (PM) under mesophilic condition in order to combat the menace of weed in cropping systems as well as pollution problems emanating from disposal of PM. Prior to anaerobic digestion (AD), El-g was subjected to a combination of mechanical, thermal and alkaline pretreatments. Using cattle rumen content as inoculum, the pretreated El-g was anaerobically co-digested with PM while the raw El-g was also codigested with PM and served as control experiment. The physicochemical characteristics of feedstock were evaluated before and after the digestion period using standard methods. The initial high concentrations of chemical oxygen demand (COD) reduced significantly after digestion indicating efficiency of the digestion process. Also, there were reductions in concentrations of calcium and other parameter needed for microbial growth after the digestion which indicated their utilization by microbes to generate biogas. Biogas production began on the 5th and 7th days and was progressive until 30th and 24th days in both digestions after which a decline was observed until the end of the experiment. For the digestion period of 37 days, the total biogas recorded from the pretreated and untreated experiments were 409.5 and 184.1 m3 CH4/kg VS with average of 11.07 and 4.98 m3 CH4/kg VS/day respectively. The study concluded that co-digestion with piggery dung enhanced the biogas producing capacity of El-g hence advocated

Efficient land water management practice and cropping system for increasing water and crop productivity in semi‐arid tropics

In Indian semi-arid tropics (SATs), low water and crop productivity in Vertisols and associated soils are mainly due to poor land management and erratic and low rainfall occurrence. This study was conducted from 2014 to 2016 at the ICRISAT in India to test the effect of broad bed furrows (BBF) as land water management against conventional flatbed planting for improving soil water content (SWC) and water and crop productivity of three cropping systems: sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench]–chickpea (Cicer arientinum L.) and maize (Zea mays)–groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) as sequential and pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.)] + pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.] as intercropping, grown under different nutrients management involving macronutrients (N, P, and K) only and combined application of macro- and micronutrients. The results stated that the SWC in BBF was higher over flatbed by 9.35–10.44% in 0- to 0.3-m, 4.56–9.30% in 0.3- to 0.6-m and 3.85–5.26% in 0.6- to 1.05-m soil depths during the cropping season. Moreover, depletion of the soil water through plant uptake was higher in BBF than in flatbed. Among the cropping systems, sorghum–chickpea was the best in bringing highest system equivalent yield and water productivity with the combined application of macro- and micronutrients. The BBF minimized water stress at critical crop growth stages leading to increase crop yield and water productivity in SATs. Thus, BBF along with the application of macro- and micronutrients could be an adaptation strategy to mitigate erratic rainfall due to climate change in SATs

Physiological Response of Capsicum annuum L. to Aqueous Extracts of Allelopathic Plants: A Case of Tithonia rotundifolia and Murraya koenigii

The present study evaluated the allelopathic potential of fresh shoot aqueous extracts of Tithonia rotundifolia (FSET) and Murraya koenigii (FSEM) on the germination of seeds, growth, chlorophyll, ascorbic acid and percentage crude protein accumulation of Capsicum annuum. The laboratory experimental results showed that seed germination and juvenile seedling growth of C. annuum were significantly retarded by both FSEM and FSET. The radicle growth was more susceptible to the phytotoxicity of both extracts than the plumule growth. Both plants extract had a concentration-dependent inhibitory effect on the seedling growth of the recipient crop while the FSET was more phytotoxic than FSEM. However, this retardatory effect of aqueous extracts on growth observed in the laboratory was reversed in the soil-cultured experiments such that application of FSEM significantly enhanced all the studied growth parameters (shoot height, number of leaves, leaf area, leaf area ratio, shoot fresh and dry weight, root fresh and dry weight, chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, total chlorophyll, ascorbic acid content in the shoot and percentage crude protein in the shoot and fruits). Likewise, FSET application significantly increased the leaf area, total chlorophyll and percentage crude protein accumulation in the shoot and fruits of the recipient crop at P<.05. This study then emphasizes the fact that T. rotundifolia and M. koenigii are allelopathic plants. The increased ascorbic acid and percentage crude protein accumulation in the aqueous extract-treated crop could, apart from enhancing the nutritional benefits of the test crop, be an adaptive mechanism evolved by the crop to overcome the allelopathic stress posed by the application of the aqueous extracts. These findings therefore suggest that allelochemicals in the aqueous extract of M. koenigii and T. rotundifolia could serve as biofertilizers for boosting the production of C. annuum

Drought Stress Modulation by Biochar and Effects on Soil and Performance of Seedlings of Urban Forest Tree Species

Aims: This study was designed to examine the effects of watering regime and biochar on soil properties and performance of seedlings of urban forest tree species (UFTS) in the nursery. Study Design: The experiment was a 5 by 3 by 2 factorial scheme involving urban forest tree species, watering regimes and biochar amendment or not. Place and Duration of Study: seedlings of five UFTS were raised in the Nursery and Screenhouse of Wesley University, Ondo, a rainforest zone of Nigeria. Methodology: Seedlings of five Urban Forest Tree Species (UFTS) were subjected to watering at 80, 60 and 35% field capacity (FC) with or without biochar amendment. UFTS evaluated are: Bauhinia monandra, Delonix regia, Terminalia catappa, Dypsis lutescens and Veitchia merrillii. Results: Watering regime and biochar amendment exerted significant effects on soil physical and chemical properties, physiological attributes and biochemical constituents and performance o the UFTS evaluated. Watering at 60 and 35% FC increased bulk and particle densities but reduced significantly (P<.05) soil moisture content at field capacity compare with watering at 80% FC. Further, the 60 and 35% FC watering exhibited low N, available K+, Ca2+ and Mg2+. Addition of biochar to the variously watered soil considerably reduced bulk density but remarkably increased porosity, field capacity moisture and plant available moisture. Biochar amendment increased soil pH, total and volatile organic matter contents, available K+ and Ca2+, extractable Mg2+ and dissolved phosphate (PO43+). The responses of growth traits and biochemical constituents of UFTS to watering regimes was species specific. Relative to 80 % FC watering, seedling growth attributes reduced significantly under deficit water application (60 and 35% FC) in addition to remarkable accumulation of osmolytes (osmoprotectants) and enzymatic activities. Biochar amendment enhanced accumulation of osmolytes and activities of superoxide dismutase, guaiacol peroxidase and catalase enzymes of UFTS seedlings. Conclusion: Differential watering and biochar amendment affected soil physical and chemical properties and growth of UFTS seedlings evaluated. Biochar amendment of the variously watered soil enhanced seedling growth, and appear as effective strategy for improving soil properties and UFTS performance, and for mitigation of adverse effects of suboptimal watering

Power System Voltage Stability Margin Estimation Using Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System Enhanced with Particle Swarm Optimization

In the current era of e-mobility and for the planning of sustainable grid infrastructures, developing new efficient tools for real-time grid performance monitoring is essential. Thus, this paper presents the prediction of the voltage stability margin (VSM) of power systems by the critical boundary index (CBI) approach using the machine learning technique. Prediction models are based on an adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) and its enhanced model with particle swarm optimization (PSO). Standalone ANFIS and PSO-ANFIS models are implemented using the fuzzy ‘c-means’ clustering method (FCM) to predict the expected values of CBI as a veritable tool for measuring the VSM of power systems under different loading conditions. Six vital power system parameters, including the transmission line and bus parameters, the power injection, and the system voltage derived from load flow analysis, are used as the ANFIS model implementation input. The performances of the two ANFIS models on the standard IEEE 30-bus and the Nigerian 28-bus systems are evaluated using error and regression analysis metrics. The performance metrics are the root mean square error (RMSE), mean absolute percentage error (MAPE), and Pearson correlation coefficient (R) analyses. For the IEEE 30-bus system, RMSE is estimated to be 0.5833 for standalone ANFIS and 0.1795 for PSO-ANFIS; MAPE is estimated to be 13.6002% for ANFIS and 5.5876% for PSO-ANFIS; and R is estimated to be 0.9518 and 0.9829 for ANFIS and PSO-ANFIS, respectively. For the NIGERIAN 28-bus system, the RMSE values for ANFIS and PSO-ANFIS are 5.5024 and 2.3247, respectively; MAPE is 19.9504% and 8.1705% for both ANFIS and PSO-ANFIS variants, respectively, and the R is estimated to be 0.9277 for ANFIS and 0.9519 for ANFIS-PSO, respectively. Thus, the PSO-ANFIS model shows a superior performance for both test cases, as indicated by the percentage reduction in prediction error, although at the cost of a higher simulation time

Effects of Oral Maternal Administration of Caffeine on Reproductive Functions of Male Offspring of Wistar Rats

Summary: Caffeine was investigated for its possible fetal programming effects on reproductive function of male offspring. Sixty-five pregnant Wistar rats were grouped into four. Group 1 was control and received distilled water. Groups 2, 3 and 4 were treated orally with 1.14, 3.42 and 5.70 mg/kg body weight of caffeine respectively. Each group was subdivided into four based on gestation days (GD) 1-7, 8-14, 15-21 and 1-21. The day of parturition was taken as postnatal day zero (0). Male offspring were sacrificed on postnatal day 70. Parameters determined were: weight at birth, body weight at postnatal day 21 and 70, anogenital distance (AGD) index, sperm parameters, reproductive organ weight, histology and hormonal profile (testosterone, FSH and LH). Data were analyzed using Analysis of Variance. Level of significance was taken at P<0.05. Male offspring belonging to caffeine treated dams showed dose dependent significant decreases in birth weight. Male offspring from dams treated with caffeine during GD 1-7 and GD 1-21 had a significant increase in their AGD index. Also, male offspring from dams treated with 1.14 and 5.70 mg/kg body weight of caffeine during GD 8-14 had a significant increase in AGD index. Dams treated with 3.42 mg/kg body weight of caffeine during GD 15-21, had a significant increase in the AGD index of their male offspring. The sperm motility of offspring from dams treated with 5.70 mg/kg body weight of caffeine during GD 1-7 and GD 1-21 were significantly increased. Offspring of GD 8-14 and GD 15-21 dams treated with 3.42 and 5.70 mg/kg body weight of caffeine respectively, showed significantly reduced serum testosterone level. There was a significant decrease in the weight of testes of offspring from dams treated with caffeine during GD 8-14. Histological sections of testes of offspring from caffeine treated dams showed interstitial congestions, edema, reduced germinal epithelial height and detached basal membrane. Maternal caffeine exposure during different gestational periods adversely affected birth weight and some reproductive indices in male offspring of Wistar rats.Keywords: Caffeine, Anogenital distance index, Wistar rat, Sperm motility, Testosterone