The enzymatic hydrolysis of wood particles and sawdust (waste) and fermentation of resultant sugar to produce bioethanol is both economical and efficient. Sawdust and wood particles contains high amount of cellulose which needs to be broken down to simple sugar (glucose) and fermented to produce ethanol. Trichoderma viride with high enzymatic (cellulase) activity was used to hydrolyse the processed wood particles and sawdust for 5 to 7 days after which the presence of reducing sugar was determined using Fehling's and Anthrone method. The determined sugar (%) of 6.87±0.25 was optimized to 23.90±0.18 by adding commercial sugar. After optimization, the hydrolysate was inoculated with Saccharomyces cerevisiae isolated from palm wine and left to ferment for 7 days. During the fermentation, changes in physicochemical properties such as temperature, pH, titratable acidity, sugar content, specific gravity, biomass and ethanol yield were monitored. The temperature fluctuated between 29 o C and 30 o C with pH decreasing from 5.8 to 4.1, generating a biomass yield of 1.98±0.21 g/L. The sugar content (%) reduced from 23.90±0.18 to 3.83±0.32 and 10.16±0.12 ethanol (%) was obtained at the end of the fermentation. Therefore, it is clearly evident that wood particles and sawdust are potential substrates for the production of ethanol, and extending fermentation days could lead to a higher ethanol yield.

Typhoid infection and its effect on liver function assessment among pregnant women were evaluated. Serum and blood samples were collected and processed for liver function assessment, widal test and microbiological identification of Salmonella typhi using standard methods. A total of ninety (90) patients were studied. Serum alanine transaminase (ALT) and Serum aspartate transaminase (AST) values for healthy pregnant women and pregnant women with typhoid infection had progressive value increase with increase in pregnancy time, except for the slight reduction in the third trimester with ALT. Mean values of healthy pregnant women and pregnant women with typhoid infection (iu/L) for ALT and AST were (8.93 ±1.

Fungi associated with spoilage of smoked catfish (Clarias gariepinus) were evaluated using standard microbiological methods. A total of twenty five (25) samples were collected from Afule, Ariaria, Umugasi, Cemetery and Ahiaohuru markets in Aba metropolis and were analysed. Fungal loads ranged between 2.2 × 10 3 ± 0.02 SFU/g and 4.5 × 10 4 ± 0.14 SFU/g. Four (4) fungal species were isolated to include two molds; (Aspergilus niger, Mucor species) and two yeasts; (Candida species, Rhodotorula species). The most prevalent isolates were Aspergilus niger (80 %)and Mucor species (73.33 %), while the least prevalent was Rhodotorula species (6.67 %). Identified qualities of these fungi were their degradative ability which was observed during pathogenesis study as they render the catfish unfit for consumption with high virulence in causing major mycotic infections. Therefore, there is need for education and awareness campaign among handlers and sellers on proper hygiene practices to avert the imminent health hazards looming the economy from the shabby handling and processing techniques.

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