This study assessed the quality of hand-dug drinking water sources in Eku and its environs at Eku I, Samagidi, Eku 2, and Okuechi, using the weighted arithmetic water quality index method. Water samples collected from hand-dug wells at these locations returned values for analyzed parameters. Temperature 26 – 30(⁰C), dissolved Oxygen (D.O) 5.2-8mg/l, biological oxygen demand (BOD) 5.2-8(mg/l), Electrical Conductivity (EC) 77-119(µS/cm), Total suspended solids were (TSS) 20000-120000(mg/l), pH 5.31-7.09, Phosphates 2-9.2(mg/l), Alkalinity 28-160(mg/l), Turbidity, 0.02 -0.19(NTU) Total coliform 2 -48 (cfu/ml) and fungal count 1-502. Variations in the values of these parameters were only significant for phosphate, alkalinity, and turbidity between Samagidi and Okuechi at a level of significance of p≤0.05. D.O, BOD, phosphates, total coliform and TSS levels, exceeded standards recommended by NSDWQ/WHO, rendering these water sources unsuitable for drinking purposes. Cluster analysis revealed three cluster groups; cluster 1(Eku2), cluster 2(Samagidi), and cluster 3(Eku1 and Okuechi), while factor analysis showed a strong correlation with pH, D.O, BOD, phosphate, conductivity, total coliform and fungal counts with water sources in the study stations. The calculated WQI for these water sources is 107.56, 95.18, 103.45, and 110.36 for Eku I, Samagidi, Eku 2, and Okuechi, respectively, classifying them as very poor water quality and unsuitable for drinking purposes. Indiscriminate waste disposal, surface runoff and poor sanitary facilities, and the exposed nature of these wells are major contributors to the deterioration of these wells.
There is an interesting potential for the use of GFRP-pultruded profiles in hybrid GFRP-concrete structural elements, either for new constructions or for the rehabilitation of existing structures. This paper provides experimental and numerical investigations on the flexural performance of reinforced concrete (RC) specimens composite with encased pultruded GFRP I-sections. Five simply supported composite beams were tested in this experimental program to investigate the static flexural behavior of encased GFRP beams with high-strength concrete. Besides, the effect of using shear studs to improve the composite interaction between the GFRP beam and concrete as well as the effect of web stiffeners of GFRP were explored. Encasing the GFRP
... Show MoreBackground: Adipose derived-mesenchymal stem cells have been used as an alternative to bone marrow cells in this study. Objective: We investigated the in vitro isolation, identification, and differentiation of stem cells into neuron cells, in order to produce neuron cells via cell culture, which would be useful in nerve injury treatment. Method: Mouse adipose mesenchymal stem cells were dissected from the abdominal subcutaneous region. Neural differentiation was induced using β-mercaptoethanol. This study included two different neural stage markers, i.e. nestin and neurofilament light-chain, to detect immature and mature neurons, respectively. Results: The immunocytochemistry results showed that the use of β-mercaptoethanol resulted in
... Show MoreImproved oral bioavailability of lipophilic substances can be achieved using self-emulsifying drug delivery systems. However, because the properties of self-emulsifying are greatly influenced by surfactant amount and type, type of oil used, droplet size, charge, cosolvents, and physiological variables, the synthesis of self-emulsifying is highly complex; consequently, only a small number of excipient self-emulsifying formulations has been developed so far for clinical use. This study reports a highly effective procedure for developing self-emulsifying formulations using a novel approach based on the hydrophilic-lipophilic difference theory. Microemulsion characteristics, such as the constituents and amounts of oil and surfactant electrolyte
... Show MoreThe approach of green synthesis of bio-sorbent has become simple alternatives to chemical synths as they use for example plant extracts, plus green synthesis outperforms chemical methods because it is environmentally friendly besides has wide applications in environmental remediation. This paper investigates the removal of ciprofloxacin (CIP) using green tea nano zero-valent iron (GT-NZVI) in an aqueous solution. The synthesized GT-NZVI was categorized using SEM, AFM, BET, FTIR, and Zeta potentials techniques. The spherical nanoparticles were found to be nano zero-valent, with an average size of 85 nm and a surface area of 2.19m2/g. The results showed that the removal efficiency of ciprofloxacin depends on the initial pH (2.5-10),
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