Federal Polytechnic

ABSTRACT Compared with synthetic fibers, natural fibers have shown the most significant promise as reinforcement materials for composites. Because they are derived from plants and animals, natural fibers are widely available and reasonably priced. They are also biodegradable. Date palms contain high dietary fiber, which is extracted via chemical, physical, mechanical, and biological techniques and has been employed in the development of composites. The date palm fiber (DPF) composites are developed through resin transfer molding, hand layup, compression molding, and filament winding. The composites developed with date palm fibers have shown remarkable improvements in mechanical, thermal, and physical properties. These appreciable properties possessed by the DPF composites have demonstrated their applications in the automotive industry, building construction, water treatment, biomedical, and pharmaceutical fields. DPFs are environmentally friendly and substitute materials that help achieve sustainable development goals by lowering excessive reliance on nonrenewable resources. This review offers a systematic and quantitative literature-based comparison of the relationships among extraction, processing, and property-performance in DPF composites, providing a comprehensive synthesis not available in earlier studies.

Abstract This study reports the bacterial diversity and bioactive compounds emanating from halophilic bacterial isolates in popular metropolitan marine Oniru Beach, Lagos, Nigeria. The physicochemical analysis of the water sample depicts a moderately saline, slightly alkaline and oligotrophic environment with low oxygen levels, favouring halophilic bacteria growth. Different metal concentrations, including potassium, calcium, and iron, that influence microbial metabolism and secondary metabolite synthesis or production are contained in appreciable amounts. A high-throughput next-generation sequencing approach and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry analysis (GC-MS) revealed the diverse bacterial community and bioactive secondary metabolites produced, respectively. The results obtained from 16S rRNA metagenomics showed the bacterial community phyla Proteobacteria (53.72%), Bacteroidetes (29.43%), Actinobacteria (3.88%), Deinococci (1.59%) and Firmicutes (1.37%) in their order of dominance or abundance. In addition, the five top genera; Acinetobacter (14.00%), Stenotrophomonas (11.60%), Chryseobacterium (2.56%), Enterobacter (5.36%), and Pseudomonas (2.90%) were identified out of the thirty-nine (37) assigned and one (1) assigned genus, indicating a complex and multifunctional microbial community. The phylogenetic identification analysis of extremely halophilic isolates obtained from salt-tolerance assays and 16S rRNA sequencing depicts Serratia marcescens, Staphylococcus edaphicus, and Kurthia gibsonii, which exhibit diverse phenotypic and biochemical traits. The bioactive compounds or secondary metabolites produced by these isolates showed a diverse range of compounds, including dodecane, glycerol, arabinose, galactose, mannitol, 1,12 tri decadiene and 3-tetracadiene. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that Oniru Beach harbours a rich reservoir of halophilic bacteria with specialized adaptations to salinity and metal stress and with diverse secondary metabolism, offering promising avenues for biotechnological applications such as novel bioactive compounds discovery and development

The study investigated why organisations fail to achieve mutually peaceful relationships despite huge investments in community relations programmes using Brass Liquefied Natural Gas Limited in Brass Island, Bayelsa State and the Whispering Palms, a privately owned holiday resort in Iworo-Ajido, Badagry, Lagos State as a case study. The study was predicated on the Social Penetration theory of public relations. With a survey of 370 respondents, the study revealed that Brass Liquefied Natural Gas Limited enjoys a smooth working relationship with the Brass Island communities because of the high level of acceptance of and participation in Brass Liquefied Natural Gas Limited community relations programmes by the members of the host community. The study concludes that the organisational goal of mutual and peaceful coexistence between host communities and organisations does not depend solely on huge investment in community relations programmes. Rather, the host communities' acceptance of the community relations programmes and their participation in executing such programmes are required.

Spices are used globally, and are of great importance in indigenous culinary and traditional medicine applications, they are the product of dried fruits, seed root, bark or vegetative substances. This study synthesized food spice from Lippia multiflora, ginger and turmeric. Some anti-nutritional factors and the chemical composition of the extracted essential oils were evaluated. The chemical composition of the extracted essential oils revealed the presence of over ten (10) compounds, with 2-Pyrrolidinone, 1 methyl (35.21 %), Cyclo-hexane-carboxylic acid (24.00 %), Diethyl Phthalate (15.46 %) and 2-Pyrimidinamine,4,6-dimethyl (5.60 %) being the predominant compounds in the oil. The phytochemical screening of the food spice indicated the respective phytate, oxalate and tannin values for the food spice as; 0.71 mg/100 g, 1.2 mg/100 g and 0.51 mg/100 g respectively. These results are in agreement with previous studies where essential oils were shown to contain complex mixtures of compounds with varying chemical compositions.

Coconut oil is edible oil which is derived from the kernels, meat, and milk of the coconut palm fruit. This study aimed at evaluating the physicochemical properties, mineral elements, phytochemical content of coconut oil and determines the susceptibility pattern of coconut oil against bacteria. The results revealed the average values of the coconut oil contains for alkaloid, tannin, saponins, flavonoid, phenol, steroid, terpenoid, and glycoside were 38.230 mg/100g, 28.124 mg/100g, 16.185 mg/100g, 29.745 mg/100g, 79.167 mg/100g, 0.915 mg/100g, 1.251 mg/100g, and 0.506 mg/100g respectively; which are considered to be responsible for the many benefits attributed to coconut consumption. The mineral elements such sodium (75.350 ppm), calcium (105.400 ppm), potassium (502.55 ppm), magnesium (24.502 ppm), phosphorus (20.372 ppm), and copper, zinc, iron and manganese were present in moderate amounts of 0.442 ppm, 0.393 ppm, 0.772 ppm, 0.629 ppm respectively. The physicochemical analysis reveal the pH level to be neutral, while other parameters such as nitrate, phosphate and ammonia were not detected. The assay of antibacterial activity of standard bacteria organisms showed that Staphylococcus aureus had the highest susceptibility to coconut oil while Pseudomonas aeruginosa had the least. The utilization of coconut oil should be promoted as a functional food in Nigeria and the use of coconut seed flesh in our diets should be encouraged for health supporting functions.

The rising popularity and increasing financial acceptance of cryptocurrency are having a profound impact on global scale. Unlike the current fiat currencies, bitcoins offer a unique possibility to predict their price. Despite the fact that many individuals are investing in cryptocurrencies, little is known about their dynamic properties and predictability, which puts money at risk. The aim of this paper is to evaluate and compare different regression algorithms in order to forecast the price of most popular cryptocurrency – Bitcons. Secondary bitcoin historical data from Kaggle which features an updated daily record of 24 variables over a seven-year period ARE considered. Since the bitcoin data is so volatile, we implemented an effective pre-processing of data in order to have a better prediction result. The different models applied include – Linear Regression, Ridge Regression, LASSO Regression and Elastic Net Regression model. However, elastic net performed better with an RMSE of 0.0228 without showing signs of overfitting.

The rising need for affordable and eco-friendly housing occasioned by a surge in global population growth, the ever-increasing cost of building materials and environmental concerns has been an issue of concern over the last few decades. This has necessitated continuous research and development of affordable and eco-friendly building materials for low- and middle-income earners. This research evaluated the effect of oil palm fibre on the compressive strength of compressed earth blocks. Oil palm fibre was added to the soil matrix at 0%, 0.5%, 1% and 1.5% by weight of laterite. The blocks were cured for 28 days after which they were tested. The results obtained indicate that the addition of palm fibre up to 1% in the matrix increased the compressive strength to a maximum of 1.38N/mm2. Further addition of palm fibre in the matrix resulted in a decrease of the compressive strength. An optimum reinforcement of the blocks with 1% palm fibre is recommended.

The management and mitigation of hazardous chemicals pose significant challenges to environmental and human health. This comprehensive review critically examines the efficacy of biological and chemical methods for the detoxification of hazardous chemicals. Hazardous chemicals, ranging from organic pollutants to heavy metals, often contaminate soil, water, and air, leading to adverse ecological and health impacts. Traditional chemical-based approaches have limitations, such as secondary pollutant generation and high operational costs. In contrast, biological methods harness the metabolic activities of microorganisms, plants, and enzymes to transform or degrade hazardous compounds. This review evaluates the performance of biological systems, including bioremediation, phytoremediation, and enzyme-based approaches, in detoxifying various classes of hazardous chemicals. Additionally, chemical methods, such as advanced oxidation processes, redox reactions, and adsorption, are scrutinized for their efficiency in chemical degradation and transformation. The comparative analysis considers factors like effectiveness, cost, environmental impact, and applicability to different chemical classes. Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of these detoxification approaches is essential for informed decision-making in environmental remediation and industrial processes. This review offers valuable insights into the selection of appropriate detoxification methods, based on the nature of the hazardous chemicals and the desired environmental and economic outcomes.

This study was conducted to investigate the Knowledge, Attitude, and Perception (KAP) of farmers in Uyo regarding broadcast media reports on soil contamination. A survey sample of 384 respondents took part in the study. The research assessed the level of awareness among farmers concerning soil contamination as conveyed through broadcast media, as well as their attitudes towards such information and overall perceptions of the issue. Findings showed that Uyo farmers were familiar with the concept of soil contamination. This suggests that the majority of them have been exposed to information about soil contamination through mass media sources. Broadcast media reports on soil contamination provide accurate and reliable information to farmers. Uyo farmers rated broadcast media source of information about soil contamination and agricultural practices as trustworthy. The study recommended that broadcast media reports should be presented in the local language(s) spoken by Uyo farmers and should be tailored to their cultural context. This approach enhances comprehension and receptiveness, fostering a deeper understanding of soil contamination issues and solutions.

PurposePrevious studies have postulated that an advance payment system (APS) positively impacts the contractor's working capital and is paramount to ensuring an efficient and effective project cash flow process. However, scant research has been undertaken to empirically establish the cash flow performance and domino effect of APS on project and organisational performance.Design/methodology/approachThe epistemological design adopted a positivist philosophical stance augmented by deductive reasoning to explore the phenomena under investigation. Primary quantitative data were collected from 504 Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) registered contractors (within the grade bandings 1–9) in South Africa. A five-point Likert scale was utilised, and subsequent data accrued were analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM).FindingsEmergent findings reveal that the mandatory use of an APS does not guarantee a positive project cash flow, an improvement in organisational performance or an improvement in project performance.Practical implicationsThe ensuing discussion reveals the contributory influence of APS on positive cash flow and organisational performance, although APS implementation alone will not achieve these objectives. Practically, the research accentuates the need for various measures to be concurrently adopted (including APS) towards ensuring a positive project cash flow and improved organisational and project performance.Originality/valueThere is limited empirical research on cash flow performance and the domino effect of APS on project and organisational performance in South Africa, nor indeed, the wider geographical location of Africa as a continent. This study addresses this gap in the prevailing body of knowledge.