No abstract

A study was conducted to investigate the impact of cement dust pollution from LARFAGE cement Industry, Ewekoro on physicochemical and microbiological properties of surrounding soil microbes. The physiochemical characteristics determined were soil pH using pH meter, moisture content was determined using oven drying method, electrical conductivity was determined on a 1:1(V/V) soil/water mixture. While heavy metals contents were determined using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. Microbial species were examined using disc diffusion method. The results showed that, pH of the soil ranged from 6.27±0.03- 6.47±0.03. The areas closer to the factory site (500m) had highest pH values (6.47). The soil moisture content ranged from 15.78±2.52- 9.65±1.16, with values decreasing progressively away from the factory site. The levels of heavy metals except Mg, Zn and Na were higher within the factory than in the control. Cr, Fe, Pb, Fe, Cd, Ca and Cu were significantly higher at P<0.05 in all localities than in control. Isolated microbial flora consists of 5 bacteria genera belonging to, Corynebacterium, Clostridium, Bacillus, Flarobacterium and Micrococcus, and 8 fungal genera belonging to Aspergillus, Penicillium, Trichoderma, Mucor, Nocrolia, Geotrichum, Rhizopus and Fusarium. The bacteria and fungi was influenced by the cement dust deposition. The minimum counts of bacteria 1.89±0.34 and 1.99±0.09 X 108 in polluted soil and 1.85±0.51 X 104 control soil were lower than the fungal counts 10.33±2.33 X104 – 15.00±1.15 X 104 in both soils. The lower counts of bacteria compared to fungi may be as a result of nutrient status of the soil. Microbial population diversity increased steadily away from the factory. Thus, the variation is attributed to the impact of pH and heavy metals on microbial population.

Heavy metals have been implicated as Lagoon pollutants from sources such as agriculture, mining and manufacturing industries and waste water treatment works. A study was carried out in the University of Lagos lagoon to investigate the seasonal bioavailability of the heavy metal contaminants Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb and Zn. The physical parameters pH, redox potential, temperature, TDS and conductivity were measured on site. Dried sediment samples were extracted using the Community Bureau of Reference (BCR) sequential procedure and analysed by ICP-OES. A certified reference material (CRM), BCR 701 (lake sediment) was used for quality assurance with recoveries ranging between 80-120%. Statistical analysis (ANOVA) showed that there was a significant difference between metal distribution in the dry and wet seasons. Cr and Cd were partitioned in the residual fraction (unavailable for uptake). Cu, Pb and Zn were in the available fractions (carbonate, Fe/Mn oxide and organic). Cu was highest in the Fe/Mn oxide and organic fractions. This indicated that an increase in reducing agents and organic matter will avail the Cu. Zn was distributed in all fractions while Pb was found in the Fe/Mn oxide fraction (3.93- 21.3 %). Results showed that the bioavailability of Cu, Pb and Zn was high. Metal bioavailability by BCR indicates a potential risk of pollution in lagoon sediments as the available metals exceeded the permissible Sediment Quality Assessment Guidelines (SQAG’s) from Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Organophosphate pesticides (also known OPPs) have for many years been the choice candidate globally for pest control. OPPs have for over 80 years, been used in gardens, fields and greenhouses as crop protection agents, and even in homes as insecticides and mosquito abatement. Thus, year after year and with the repeated application of organophosphate agents, many problems have appeared as a result of excessive use of pesticides. The adverse effects of pesticides are well documented in human health, environment, pesticide residue in crops, soil and water contaminated by these pesticides. Therefore, it is necessary to shed more light on the risks associated with the irresponsible usage of organophosphate pesticides.

The development of precise DNA editing nucleases that induce double-strand breaks (DSBs) - including zinc finger nucleases, TALENs, and CRISPR/Cas systems - has revolutionized gene editing and genome engineering. Endogenous DNA DSB repair mechanisms are often leveraged to enhance editing efficiency and precision. While the non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) and homologous recombination (HR) DNA DSB repair pathways have already been the topic of an excellent deal of investigation, an alternate pathway, microhomology-mediated end joining (MMEJ), remains relatively unexplored. However, the MMEJ pathway's ability to supply reproducible and efficient deletions within the course of repair makes it a perfect pathway to be used in gene knockouts. (Microhomology Evoked Deletion Judication EluciDation) may be a random forest machine learning-based method for predicting the extent to which the location of a targeted DNA DSB are going to be repaired using the MMEJ repair pathway. On an independent test set of 24 HeLa cell DSB sites, MEDJED achieved a Pearson coefficient of correlation (PCC) of 81.36%, Mean Absolute Error (MAE) of 10.96%, and Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) of13.09%. This performance demonstrates MEDJED's value as a tool for researchers who wish to leverage MMEJ to supply efficient and precise gene knock outs.