FUDMA JOURNAL OF SCIENCES

EFFECT OF CRUSHED DOUM PALM SHELL AS PARTIAL REPLACEMENT OF COARSE AGGREGATE IN CONCRETE

2021-06-08T10:38:50+00:00

The use of alternative materials in place of natural aggregate in concrete production has been getting attention all around the globe; this makes concrete a sustainable and environmentally friendly construction material. In this study the use of crushed doum palm shell (CDPS) as partial replacement for coarse aggregate in concrete production was investigated. The concrete grade 30 was used for the research with a water /cement ratio of 0.45. The control sample contained normal concrete ingredient cement, fine aggregate and coarse aggregate. The CDPS replacement by weight was varied at 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, and 25% respectively for the test sample. The 28-day compressive strength of the concrete using Doum palm shell aggregate was found to be 28.0 and 20.2 MPa at 5 and 10% replacement under full water curing and it satisfies the requirement for structural lightweight concrete which was more than 17MPa. The study recommended replacement of coarse aggregate up to a maximum of 10 % crushed doum palm shell for structural light weight concrete and it encourage the use of agricultural wastes in construction as an environmental protection and cost reduction measure. However, results from laboratory investigations indicated that crushed doum palm shell (CDPS) has good potential as a coarse aggregate for production of structural lightweight concrete, especially for low-cost housing and also for use in earthquake prone areas.

BIOFILM ERADICATION ACTIVITY OF PARTIALLY PURIFIED FRACTION OF ETHYLACETATE EXTRACT OF ACALYPHA WILKESIANA LEAVES ON CANDIDA ALBICANS I, II AND PARAPSILOSIS

2021-06-11T19:04:00+00:00

Candida spp produce highly structured biofilms composed of multiple cells encased in an extracellular matrix. Sessile cells are known to decrease drug diffusion toward biological targets. This research is aimed at evaluating the biofilm eradication activity of partially purified fraction of ethylacetate extract of Acalypha wilkesiana leaves on sessile cells of C. albicans I, II and C. parapsilosis. Column Chromatography-TLC was used to fractionate and partially purify the extract using a bioassay guided fractionation. Preparative TLC was used to purify the most potent fraction. Antifungal effects of the extract and percentage biofilm eradication was determined by microdilution method. Antibiofilm activity of the purified fraction on the morphology of the sessile cells of Candida spp was evaluated by scanning electron microscopy. The purified fraction had MIC of 1.25mg/ml on C. albicans I, II and C. parapsilosis, respectively. MFC of 2.5mg/ml on C. albicans I and II but there was no total death observed on C. parapsilosis. The fraction had IC₅₀ significantly (p ≤ 0.05) different from that of the reference drugs. There was significant (p ≤ 0.05) increase in the biofilm eradicated by corilagin, amp B., voriconazole, caspafungin, compared to the purified fraction on C. albicans I, II and C. parapsilosis. There was decrease in biomass of sessile cells on the morphology of C. albicans I, II and C. parapsilosis in all treated plates compared to the control. Therefore, the purified fraction of ethylacetate extract of A. wilkesiana leaves has a potential to eradicate the biofilms formed by Candida spp.

ASSESSMENT OF RADIATION EXPOSURE LEVEL IN BLACKSMITHING WORKSHOP IN GOMBE, GOMBE STATE

2021-06-12T10:49:54+00:00

Measurement of terrestrial background ionizing radiation of blacksmith workshops of Gombe State, Nigeria was carried out using well-calibrated Geiger-Muller counter meters and a meter tape. The measured average exposure rate of two line-sections are 0.018±0.002 and 0.017±0.002 mRh^-1. Estimated equivalent dose rates for the two line-sections are 1.50 and 1.45 mSvy^-1. The average absorbed dose rates estimated in line-section one and line-section two are 154.94 and 149.97 nGyh^-1 respectively. Annual effective dose equivalent (AEDE) of 0.48 mSvy^-1 was obtained for outdoor exposure in line-section one while in line-section two, AEDE was 0.23 mSvy^-1. The calculated mean excess lifetime cancer risk values for the blacksmith workshop sections are 0.83x 10^-3 and 0.80 x 10^-3. The obtained values for background ionizing radiation in the line-sections of blacksmith workshop were above the recommended standard limit by ICRP while the absorbed doses (D) were above the recommended value and AEDE calculated in two line-sections of blacksmithing workshops were within the safe values this implies that blacksmithing activities in these areas may not influence the doses received by public. The excess lifetime cancer risk (ELCR) estimated were higher than their world permissible values of 0.29 x 10^-3 respectively. The calculated dose to organs showed that the testes have the highest organ dose of 0.153 mSvy^-1while liver has the lowest organ dose of 0.086 mSvy^-1. This result shows that exposure to

RETROSPECTIVE STUDY OF MALARIA PREVALENCE IN SELECTED HOSPITALS IN ZARIA, NIGERIA

2021-06-12T10:49:32+00:00

A retrospective study of laboratory records in selected hospitals in Zaria was carried out to determine the trend of malaria prevalence between 2001 and 2005. Data was obtained from the following selected hospitals: St Luke’s Anglican Hospital, Wusasa, Salama Infirmary, Saidu Dange railway Hospital and Sick Bay, Ahmadu Bello University, Main campus, Samaru. The selection of the hospitals was based on their geographical location and sizes. The prevalence was consistently high over the years; 2001–44.1%, 2002–59.45%, 2003–59.35%, 2004–58.30% and 2005–64.25%. There was no significant difference (P>0.05) between malaria infection in males and females. Infection rates were significantly higher in children than adults (P<0.05) in all hospitals sampled except Salama Infirmary. Sick Bay in the main campus, Samaru had the least prevalence consistently over the five years period – 2001-27.0%, 2002-26.3%, 2003-21.8%, 2004-25.9% and 2005-33.2%. No clear seasonal variation over the years was observed. The study clearly showed consistent high prevalence over the five years period. Record keeping was useful as it provided data bur devoid of specific ages of attendees. Specific ages of hospital attendees rather than “children” or “adults” should be recorded and other demographic variables such as occupation and other socio-economic proxies should be included in laboratory record books

PREDICTION OF CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE USING DEEP NEURAL NETWORK

2021-06-12T10:49:10+00:00

eural Network (DNN) is now applied in disease prediction to detect various ailments such as heart disease and diabetes. Another disease that is causing a threat to our health is kidney disease. This disease is becoming prevalent due to substances and elements we intake. Ignoring the kidney malfunction can cause chronic kidney disease leading to death. Frequently, Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) and its symptoms are mild and gradual, often go unnoticed for years only to be realized of late. We conducted our research on CKD in Bade, a Local Government Area of Yobe State in Nigeria. The area has been a center of attention by medical practitioners due to the prevalence of CKD. Unfortunately, a technical approach in culminating the disease is yet to be attained. We obtained a record of 1200 patients with 10 attributes as our dataset from Bade General Hospital and used the DNN model to predict CKD's absence or presence in the patients. The model produced an accuracy of 98%. Furthermore, we identified and highlighted the Features importance to rank the features used in predicting the CKD. The outcome revealed that two attributes: Creatinine and Bicarbonate, have the highest influence on the CKD prediction.

PHYTOCHEMICAL AND ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITIES OF A. CHEVALIERI HAMS (FABACEAE) STEM

2021-06-12T10:48:48+00:00

Albizia chevalieri Hams (Mimosaceae/Fabaceae), mostly found in the Northern Sahel Savannah region of Nigeria as well as in Nigér and Senegal is a tree of the acacia type with a long list of folklore therapeutic claims that include its use as purgative, taenicidal, cough remedy, dysentery, cancer, diabetes mellitus, tuberculosis and snake bite remedy. However, many bacterial species have been reported to develop resistance to antibiotics commonly prescribed for dental infections. Therefore, the need to search for natural products for remedy to this problem cannot be overemphasized. The stem was collected, dried and powdered. The powder was thereafter extracted with distilled water and subsequently with methanol. Phytochemical screening was carried out using standard methods. Agar well diffusion, agar dilution and spread plate methods were employed to determine the zone of inhibition, Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC), Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) and rate of killing respectively. Phytochemical screening of methanol and aqueous extracts of Albizia chevalieri stem revealed the presence of phenol, alkaloid, saponins, tannins, steroids, triterpenes, flavonoids and carbohydrate as secondary metabolites. The two extracts showed broad spectrum of activity but the aqueous extract had larger zones of inhibition of 32 mm against S. mutans while methanol extract had higher zone of inhibition on S. aureus (24 mm). Low MIC and MBC values ranging from 6.25 mg/ml and 12.5 mg/ml respectively. The results obtained also provided scientific evidence for the use of A. chevalieri in folklore medicine in the treatment of tooth infections.