East African Journal of Biophysical and Computational Sciences

The Influence of Vat Leach Reprocessed Tailings on Heavy Metals Levels around Sekenke Gold Mine, Iramba District, Tanzania

2024-10-28T12:26:30+03:00

Soil pollution is a worldwide phenomenon which results from both natural and anthropogenic activities. This has resulted in several health and physiological problems in both plants and human. This study investigated the concentration of heavy metal contaminants at Senkenke gold mining areas in nine tailings samples before processing and in nine tailing samples after processing using XRF Rigaku Nex CG and arsenic was determined using AAS equipped with a continuous flow of VGA. Arsenic mean concentration in unprocessed samples was 32.873 ± 26.284 mg/kg, while in processed tailings was 24.390 ± 19.394 mg/kg. The mean concentration of Pb in unprocessed tailing was 44.012 ± 37.091mg/kg, while in processed tailing was 38.402 ± 28.270 mg/kg. The mean concentration of Cd in unprocessed tailing was 4.513 ± 1.022 mg/kg, while in processed tailing was 3.089 ± 1.329 mg/kg. Chromium mean concentration in unprocessed tailing was 194.526± 22.670 mg/kg while in processed tailing was 141.352 ± 30.726 mg/kg. The Igeo values found in the following increasing order in unprocessed tailing Zn < Fe < Pb < Cr < As < Cd while in processed tailing was in the following increasing order Zn < Fe < Cr < As < Pb < Cd. The PLI values calculated for tailing samples are found to 4.423 for unprocessed tailing and 2.807 for processed tailing which shows that the soils are polluted and the environment is deteriorated in their quality. The findings revealed that the soils and mine tailings in the study area were polluted with heavy metals, particularly As, Pb and Cr and mostly Cd. The heavy metal concentrations decrease from unprocessed tailing to processed tailings. This pollution poses significant environmental and health risks.

An Ethnobotanical Study of a Medicinal Plant Justicia Schimperiana (Sensel) in Adaba and Shashemene Districts West Arsi Zone, Southern Ethiopia

2024-04-04T12:21:33+03:00

Justicia schimperiana is an evergreen shrub growing in the wet part of Ethiopia. The plant is known by different names among the localities and is commonly termed Sensel. It is usually used for medicinal purposes for various communicable and non-communicable diseases. However, the extent of the ethnobotany of this plant has not been studied well before, so the aim of this study is to assess the palaeobotanical knowledge of the Sensel plant (Justicia schimperiana). Parallel to the sample plant collection, a total of 30 informants (21 male and 9 female) were selected to collect ethnobotanical information from two districts. Among the informants, 7 key informants who are known as traditional healers were selected purposefully. Ethnobotanical data were collected through semi-structured interviews and group discussions were analyzed. The study indicates that the community, mainly those of low economic status and people who have failed to be healed by modern medication from their health problems, depend on an indigenous herbal remedy medication like sensel. Hence, the sensel plant is used to prepare a remedy for human and animal diseases like rabies, hepatitis, skin diseases, communicable diseases, asthma, malaria, abdominal disorders, livestock diseases, and other human-related ritual problems.

Cattle Trypanosomosis and Associated Risk Factors in Abala Abaya District, Wolaita Zone, Southern Ethiopia

2025-03-09T07:42:48+03:00

Cattle trypanosomosis is a unicellular protozoan disease that causes serious economic losses due to its impact on production and productivity. A cross sectional study was done in Abala Abaya district, Wolaita zone, southern Region of Ethiopia. The study was conducted from November 2023 to April 2024 with the objective of estimating the prevalence of cattle trypanosomosis and assessing the associated risk factors for the occurrence of the disease. Systemic random sampling technique was used to select 256 study cattle. Buffy coat technique was used to examine for the presence of Trypanosoma spp. and to measure PCV of each studied animal. The overall prevalence of cattle trypanosomosis was 18.8% (n=48, 95% CI=14.4-24.0). Two species of Trypanosoma were identified in area, namely: T. congolense (62.5%) and T. vivax (22.9%). The proportion of T. congolense was significantly higher (p< 0.05) than Trypanosoma vivax. The mean PCV of cattle infected by trypanosome significantly (p <0.05) lower than the non-infected cattle. Generally, this study revealed that the prevalence of trypanosomosis was higher in Abala Abaya. Further research to explore the prevailing lower overall mean PCV of cattle in the area and timely implementation of different feasible control measures are recommended.

The Effect of CuO Nanoparticle Variation on the Green Synthesized ZnO/CuO Nanocomposites for Antibacterial Activities

2025-03-09T04:00:33+03:00

Plant extracts play critical role in synthesizing nanomaterials for a wide range of applications in human health and managing environmental pollutions. The present work focuses on varying CuO NP’s concentration in ZnO/CuO nanocomposites (NC) synthesized with orange peel extracts (ZnO/CuO WE NC) for its antibacterial activities. The concentration of CuO with respect to ZnO NP fixed as 10:10, 10:20, 10:30, and 10:40 of CuO:ZnO. The as-synthesized NC was characterized using UV-Vis, FTIR, XRD, and SEM spectroscopes. Accordingly, the UV-Vis result reveals that the absorption spectra range from 312-328 nm confirming that the incorporation of orange peel extract provides strong absorption peaks along with the increasing concentration of CuO in the composite while it provides narrow energy band gap of ZnO/CuO WE NC from 3.97 to 3.78 eV. FTIR analysis revealed that the stretching vibration of Zn-O and Cu-O are observed around 480 cm^-1 and 600 cm^-1, respectively for all ratios of WE NC. XRD indicated that the formation of hexagonal wurtzite structure and the crystallite size ranges from 24.12 to 3.17 nm. The SEM image showed the morphology of 10:20, 10:30, and 10:40 are aggregated, smooth, polished, and smaller in size compared to 10:10 ZnO/CuO WE NC, which is a cluster and flake-like structure. The antibacterial activities of 10:10, 10:20, 10:30, and 10:40 ZnO/CuO WE NC were evaluated against two bacterial strains. Remarkably, 10:40 ZnO/CuO WE NC provided strong antibacterial action against P. aeruginosa. Thus, the as-synthesized 10:40 ZnO/CuO WE NC is so profound to combat bacterial infectious diseases.