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.

Yield and disease resistance of plantain (Musa spp., AAB group) somaclones in Nigeria

Abstract: This study examined the potential of somaclonal variation for the improvement of plantain. Approximately 500 somaclones each of ‘Agbagba’ (False Horn plantain) and ‘Bise Egome’ (French plantain) were field evaluated for their agronomic performance and response to the black Sigatoka disease. The micropropagated populations were independently generated from a number of suckers from each accession. Significant differences between micropropagated accessions and crop cycles were observed. Differences between plants derived from suckers of the same accession were also expressed, indicating the chimerical nature of variation in the traits studied. None of the plants of the micropropagated populations from ‘Bise Egome’ exhibited significantly better disease tolerance and agronomic performance than the source accession. However,one somaclonal variant of ‘Agbagba’ (‘AO 2B2-2’) expressed lower susceptibility to the black Sigatoka disease. Compared to ‘Agbagba’, ‘AO 2B2-2’ had a higher bunch weight, more fruits per bunch with higher average weight, greater average length, and greater average girth. These data clearly show that, in contrast to previous reports, it is possible to recover superior somaclonal mutants in Musa.

Competition between Corcyra cephalonica (Stainton) and Ephestia cautella (Walker) in cocoa beans

Abstract: Competition between Corcyra cephalonica (Stainton) and Ephestia cautelici (Walker) was studied in broken cocoa beans using the two species alone, introduced one before the other and together. Both species of moths cannot co-exist for an extended period and in competition E. cautella becomes extinct. The results offer an explanation of recent evidence that C. cephalonica is rapidly becoming the most important pest of stored cocoa beans in Ghana today.

The Rationale for Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty in Africa.

Abstract: Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness in Africa. The condition is treatable but not curable. There are numerous obstacles to glaucoma care in Africa, including availability, accessibility and affordability of treatments, as well as medication nonadherence among patients. Medical therapy is costly relative to the average income in Africa and it requires daily self-dosing by patients. Surgery is of limited availability in many regions in Africa, and a high proportion of patients refuse surgery because it is expensive. Selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT) proves to be a favorable alternative to medical or surgical care, as it is highly effective and safe in people of African descent, more cost-effective than medical therapy, quick and easy to perform, and portable. The procedure also requires no postoperative care, thus obviates the issue of nonadherence. In uncontrolled studies, SLT has a high response rate and it lowers intraocular pressure by 30% to 40%, which exceeds the goal in international guidelines for initial therapies. The African Glaucoma Consortium (AGC), a member-driven stakeholder collective, has been formed in part to develop the infrastructure for continent-wide improvements in glaucoma care. It embraces SLT as a potential key tool in their development plans. The mission of AGC includes improving clinical care by educating existing and new health care professionals to expand the provider network, by conducting trials to identify optimal care strategies for glaucoma in Africa, and by facilitating the development of an integrated network of Centers of Excellence to bring SLT and other crucial glaucoma therapies to communities throughout Africa.

Physical and chemical characteristics of refined vegetable oils from rubber seed (Hevea brasiliensis) and bread-fruit (Artocarpus altilis)

Abstract: Crude vegetable oil obtained by solvent extraction from rubber seed (Hevea brasiliensis) and breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis) were subjected to alkali refining (neutralisation), degumming and bleaching. At each stage of refining, the crude and the refined oil were analysed for their physical and chemical characteristics notably specific gravity, moisture and volatile matter content, saponification, iodine values, peroxide value, unsaponifiable matter, fatty acids and free fatty acids. Results showed an improvement in the quality of the oil after refining. Refining decreased the free fatty acids and peroxide value, which are some of the characteristics that determine stability. There was a very slight decrease in saponification value and unsaponifiables matter after refining. Refining did not have much effect on the fatty acid composition except slight nonconsistent decreases in saturated and unsaturated fatty acids. There was no decrease in iodine value.

Insight into the Adsorption and Inhibitive Effect of Spironolactone Drug on C38 Carbon Steel Corrosion in Hydrochloric Acid Environment

Abstract: The inhibitive effect of spironolactone drug (SPR) on C38 carbon steel corrosion in 10% hydrochloric acid solution was investigated using weight loss and two electrochemical techniques, namely electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and potentiodynamic polarization (PDP), in the temperature range between 30 and 60 °C. Spironolactone was found to act as an inhibitor for the acid corrosion of C38 carbon steel. Inhibition efficiency of the drug increased with an increase in concentration of SPR but decreased with increase in temperature. The maximum inhibition efficiencies obtained with 7.2 × 10–3 M SPR at 30 °C were 98.1%, 95.0% and 95.8% for weight loss, EIS and PDP technique, respectively. Anodic and cathodic polarization curves reveal that SPR is a mixed-type inhibitor. Impedance data show that charge transfer process controlled the mechanism of corrosion. The adsorption of SPR on the C38 steel surface was found to be spontaneous and obeyed Langmuir isotherm at all studied temperatures. The adsorption is a mixed adsorption involving both chemisorption and physisorption. The carbon steel surface was assessed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), which also revealed the protective ability of the drug for C38 carbon steel in 10% HCl solution. Quantum chemical calculations in the framework of the density functional theory were undertaken to theoretically describe the adsorption and inhibition action of SPR on the C38 steel surface.