Abstract: Ground water samples were collected from different locations within a radius of 25 km of Dass and Ganjuwa Local Government Areas (DG-LGAs here after referred to respectively), Bauchi State, Nigeria. These water samples from 10 sampling points of Bauchi were analyzed for their physicochemical characteristics. Laboratory analyses on samples were performed for pH, Colour, Odour, Hardness, Chloride, Alkalinity, Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) and others. On comparing the results against drinking water quality standards laid by Nigerian Standard for Drinking Water Quality Maximum permissible level (NSDWQ) and World Health Organization (WHO), it was found that some of the samples were non-potable for human consumption due to high concentrations of some of the parameters determined. An attempt was made to find whether or not the quality of ground water in the areas of study suitable for human consumption.

Abstract: Genotypical variations between two commercial coffee cultivars considered as controls (Ruiru 11 and SL28) and five other genotypes under investigation (Cr8, Cr22, Cr23, Cr27 and Cr30) all grown under similar conditions were evaluated. Organic compounds were extracted using C18 Solid Phase Extraction (SPE) cartridges and analyzed by Gas Chromatography- Mass Spectrometry. Untargeted metabolomics data processing of the mass spectra was carried out on XCMS online (a web based platform). The analysis revealed absence of any significant variation in composition of the organic compounds at p = 0.05. However, from the Principal Component Analysis plots the genotypes Cr27, Cr22 and Cr23 clustered close together with Ruiru 11 while the other genotypes showed no distinct clustering pattern. Overall, there was no significant variation in the organic compounds composition across the coffee genotypes grown under similar agronomic practices in the same region and processed uniformly.

Abstract: It has been studied previously that there exist surface potential in a whole tooth. This work is carried out to investigate the cause of human teeth decay in the oral cavity by electrochemical method. The enamel wafer preferentially allows the passage of monovalent cations and it restricts the passage of monovalent anions so that developing an electric potential. The developed surface potentials were measured between enamel crown’s buccal side and tooth root. Surface potentials examined in all the teeth in the presence of KCl. Then the electric potentials developed this way provide an electric driving force for possible degradation and caries formation of enamel by electric means. This difference is the result of the difference in ionic strength of blood and saliva and types of food intake. It is found that potential increased with increasing KCl concentration and after acid corroded, however the addition of fluoride caused the electric current drop significantly. These results suggest that drop in current indicates a significant increase in the electric resistance of the enamel as a result of fluoride and it is also found that potentials can be affected by the surrounding electrolytes.

Abstract: Soils samples from four different dumpsites namely Makama Housing Estate (MHE), Gwallaga (GW), Rafin Makaranta (RM), and Yelwa Makaranta (YM) in Bauchi metropolis were collected and analysed for some heavy metals (Cr, Cd, Pb and Cu) using complexometric method. The results of the analyses showed that the four dumpsites have the following range of mean concentrations: Cd 0.21-1.21 mg/kg; Cr 5.04-8.31 mg/kg; Pb 4.31-10.63 mg/kg and Cu 0.79-2.07 mg/kg. The dumpsite soils were significantly different from those obtained from control sites. The contamination intensities of chromium and lead pollution were strong at Rafin Makaranta using geoaccumulation classification. These may suggested that solid waste dumpsite contributes to heavy metals contamination of the environment.

Abstract: Methanol is used during synthesis of atenolol and therefore present as organic impurity in bulk drug. Gas chromatography with headspace is widely used for the determination of residual solvents in API’s. The presented study is performed to develop and validate gas chromatography method for determination of methanol in atenolol API. The developed method was validated in terms of specificity, linearity, precision, accuracy, limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantitation (LOQ). The developed method was utilized for the investigation of methanol content in bulk drug. The presented method can be utilized for methanol determination in atenolol in pharmaceutical industries.

Abstract: A new adsorbent of alumina-coated magnetite nanoparticles (ACMNPs) modified with cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) was prepared for the separation/preconcentration of trace silicate from water samples and then determined by spectrophotometry method. Silicate was determined based on the molybdenum blue method, which monitored at λ_max of 830 nm. MNPs and ACMNPs characterized by SEM and VSM. Under the optimal experimental conditions, the preconcentration factor, detection limit, linear range and relative standard deviation of silicate were 70 (for 350 mL of sample solution), 0.040 µg mL⁻¹, 0.8-7.0 µg mL⁻¹ and 2.2 % (for 5.0 µg mL^-1, n=7), respectively. The method was applied to the separation/preconcentration and determination of silicate in tap water, river water and seawater samples with satisfactory results.