Rivers State University of Science and Technology

About: Rivers State University of Science and Technology is a education organization based out in Port Harcourt, Rivers, Nigeria. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Threatened species. The organization has 1826 authors who have published 1833 publications receiving 15183 citations.

Effects of Lambda Cyhalothrin on the behaviour and histology of gills of Sarotherodon melanotheron in brackish water

Abstract: Pyrethroids like Lambda Cyhalothrins, are synthetic insecticides that contaminate and modify the physico-chemical integrity of receiving water bodies and are toxic to the resident life forms. When applied at a given site may find their way into natural water bodies through leaching, precipitation, percolation, drift, or runoff. The aim of this study was to determine the acute toxicity, behavioural effects and histopathological effects on gills of Sarotherodon melanotheron exposed to Lambda Cyhalothrin (LCT) in brackish water. Four hundred and sixty (460) fingerlings of Sarotherodon melanotheron (mean length – 8.0 cm) and (mean body weight – 8.9 g) were exposed to various concentrations (3, 5, 7, 9, 11 and 13 mg/L) of a pyrethroid insecticide – Lambda Cyhalothrin in brackish water in the Marine Pollution Monitoring Laboratory in the University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria. An acute toxicity bioassay (96 h) was carried out to determine the LC50 of the toxicant. The histopathological effects of the toxicant on the gills and behaviour of fish were recorded. Physico-chemical parameters of the test solution were measured. At the end of the test period, fish from each concentration was dissected and the gills removed for histological studies following standard methods. The results revealed a 96 h LC50 of 9 mg/L. The behavioural-somatic responses include: erratic swimming, surfacing, hyperventilation, loss of reflex, skin (scale) discolourations, caudal bending, etc. These aberrations were seen to have increased with corresponding increase in the concentrations of the toxicant and length of exposure. There were pathological alterations such as cellular infiltrations, fusion of the lamellar, hyperplasia, tissue inflammations, vacuolation, tissue degeneration and necrosis that appeared more severe with increasing concentrations. The observed behavioural and histopathological alterations at the various test concentrations were indications that the toxicant may have impaired their normal physiological integrity. The findings also showed that LCT although toxic to Sarotherodon melanotheron in brackish water, required high concentrations. The use of LCT in brackish water, fish farms or zones close to aquatic water systems should be discouraged.

Enterprise energy analytic cloud portal for user-centric on-demand profile access in smart green energy management system

Abstract: The absence of real time energy consumption information (RTECI) has often made electricity users in many developing countries to be at loggerheads with their service providers. A cloud based metering infrastructure is developed as a viable solution. This paper offers basic information regarding cloud based advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) for analysis in extended smart green energy management system (e-SGEMS). The system has novel flexibilities in automated energy monitoring platform for both end-users and their utility vendors. Lean system approach involving Software Development Life Cycle framework is applied. The system allows users to obtain their exact consumption pattern in Kw, Kw/Month and Kw/Year using a negligible cost reflective tariff of 0.17 as derived from a renewable metered micro-gird. The proposed system contrasts with existing systems in terms of full ISO 14000 quality assurance compliance metrics and on-demand/real time consumption profiling. MySQL and Java server page are used for the metering simulation and cloud integration. The hardware runs on C++ executable scripts. The system is validated through a full cycle usability tests in loaded and non-loaded case scenarios. This solution provides real-time access to energy consumption information at the point of metering in an access controlled cloud environment. Flexibility and cost effectiveness characterizes the system for smart grid mixed energy metering paradigm.

A thermometric study on the kinetics of the acid dissolution of aluminium in the presence of Napoleonaea imperialis seeds extract and iodide ions

Abstract: Abstract The dissolution of aluminum alloy AA 1060 in 0.5 M and 1.0 M HCl was investigated using thermometric measurements. The reaction number of the aluminum coupons varied linearly with the concentration of the acid. Addition of Napoleonaea imperialis seed extract to the dissolving aluminium coupons lowered the reaction number in both concentrations of HCl by inhibiting the dissolution process. The inhibition efficiency of Napoleonaea imperialis seed extract was enhanced to a considerable extent in the presence of iodide ions with the synergistic parameter S > 1. The adsorption of Napoleonaea imperialis extract on the aluminium surface best aligned with the Langmuir adsorption isotherm model. The values of the free energy, ΔGadsfor the adsorption process revealed the process to be spontaneous and physisorptive.

Influence of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L Walp) variety on protein quality and sensory properties of akara, a popular West African cowpea-based food

Abstract: The influence of newly developed cowpea varieties (IT81D-699, IT82E-18, IT84S-2246-4 and TVx3236) on the proximate composition, protein quality and sensory properties of akara, a popular West African cowpea-based food, was investigated and the results obtained were compared with those for akara prepared from a local blackeye cowpea variety. Protein quality was evaluated using weanling albino rats fed diets which were formulated to supply 10% protein using defatted akara samples, with casein as a control. Akara samples prepared from IT81D-699 and TVx3236 had crude protein contents, texture and overall acceptability comparable to those of akara prepared from the blackeye variety. Also, akara diets formulated using IT81D-699 and TVx3236 showed significantly (p < 0.05) higher values for weight gain, protein efficiency ratio, net protein ratio and true digestibility than diets formulated with IT82E-18, IT84S-2246-4 and blackeye, suggesting an improvement in the nutritional quality of akara produced using these (IT8ID-699 and TVx3236) newly developed cowpea varieties. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry