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Sustainability
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Sustainable Development Initiatives towards Poverty Alleviation
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Sustainable Development Initiatives towards Poverty Alleviation

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2016) | Viewed by 31184

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Anthony I Okoh

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Science and Agriculture, University of Fort Hare, Alice, South Africa
Interests: Applied and Environmental Microbiology; Water quality; Bioactive compounds
Prof. Dr. Voster Muchenje

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Science and Agriculture, University of Fort Hare, Alice, South Africa
Interests: Agriculture; meat science

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Over the past decades, higher education institutions all over the world, and in particular in developing countries, have experienced profound changes aimed at ensuring that they remain progressive and effective in providing solutions to society’s multifarious challenges. In this regard, several milestones have been achieved in our classroom pedagogies, and in research and community engagement initiatives pursuant to meeting the mandates of various aspects of sustainable developmental initiatives towards poverty alleviation. The outcomes of these initiatives need to be properly disseminated into the public domain for the benefit of society, which is the motivation for this Special Issue. The title of this Special Issue forms a key sub-theme in the recently concluded centenary conference of the University of Fort Hare, Alice, South Africa, which took place between 4th and 6th of July 2016. Building upon the commendable outcomes of the presentations at the conference, we now invite manuscripts from the international community for consideration for full paper publication in this Special Issue within the following focal areas:

  • Public, environmental, traditional and allied health in a developing economy.
  • Water resources management
  • Leadership & transformation
  • Mentoring and capacity building
  • Biochemical and physical sciences
  • Fuelling sustainable development with renewable energy
  • Sustainable agriculture and food security;
  • Climate change and global warming,
  • Space exploration
  • Indigenous knowledge

Prof Anthony I Okoh
Prof Voster Muchenje
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • sustainable devolopment
  • poverty alleviation
  • water
  • agriculture
  • health
  • indigenous knowledge

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

2136 KiB  
Article
Analytical and Thermal Evaluation of Carbon Particles Recovered at the Cyclone of a Downdraft Biomass Gasification System
by Nwabunwanne Nwokolo, Sampson Mamphweli and Golden Makaka
Sustainability 2017, 9(4), 645; https://doi.org/10.3390/su9040645 - 19 Apr 2017
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 5663
Abstract
Gasification of biomass gives off syngas that is contaminated mostly by carbon particulates and tars. The degree of contamination is attributed to factors such as gasification process, type of gasifier and type of biomass material. Downdraft gasifier minimizes the production of tar to [...] Read more.
Gasification of biomass gives off syngas that is contaminated mostly by carbon particulates and tars. The degree of contamination is attributed to factors such as gasification process, type of gasifier and type of biomass material. Downdraft gasifier minimizes the production of tar to a tolerable limit for engine applications; however, carbon particles still pose a challenge particularly with the integration of a heat exchanger for the purpose of heat recovery from the product gas. The presence of carbon particles in the syngas does influence the heat recovery process and materials used in the recovery. Hence, there is need for the characterization of these carbon particles to ascertain their chemical compositions, thermal properties and morphological features. This study was aimed at evaluating the characteristic features of carbon particles recovered from the syngas stream during gas cleaning at the cyclone. The elemental analysis of the carbon particle samples was performed using energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. An electron beam from scanning electron microscopy was passed through the sample surface at a magnification of 1000× and an accelerating voltage of 15 kV to determine the morphological features of the carbon particles. Their thermal properties were investigated using a thermogravimetric analyzer at a heating rate of 10°C/min. A weight loss of approximately 5.4 wt % was recorded at the maximum temperature of 900 °C. Silicon, oxygen and carbon were found to be the dominating elements in the carbon particulate. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Development Initiatives towards Poverty Alleviation)
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585 KiB  
Article
Comparative Physicochemical and Microbiological Qualities of Source and Stored Household Waters in Some Selected Communities in Southwestern Nigeria
by Mary A. Bisi-Johnson, Kehinde O. Adediran, Saheed A. Akinola, Elizabeth O. Popoola and Anthony I. Okoh
Sustainability 2017, 9(3), 454; https://doi.org/10.3390/su9030454 - 19 Mar 2017
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 5809
Abstract
In this study, we evaluated the physicochemical and microbial qualities of source and stored household waters in some communities in Southwestern Nigeria using standard methods. Compared parameters include: physicochemical constituents; Temperature (T), pH, Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Total Hardness (TH), Biological Oxygen Demand [...] Read more.
In this study, we evaluated the physicochemical and microbial qualities of source and stored household waters in some communities in Southwestern Nigeria using standard methods. Compared parameters include: physicochemical constituents; Temperature (T), pH, Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Total Hardness (TH), Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), Magnesium ion (Mg2+) and Calcium ion (Ca2+) and microbiological parameters included Total Coliform Counts (TC), Faecal Coliform Counts (FC), Fungal Counts (Fung C), Heterotrophic Plate Counts (HPC).Comparing Stored and Source samples, the mean values of some physicochemical parameters of most of the stored water samples significantly (p < 0.05) exceeded that of Sources and ranged in the following order: T (15.3 ± 0.3 °C–28.3 ± 0.5 °C), pH (6.4 ± 0.1–7.6 ± 0.1), TDS (192.1 ± 11.1 ppm–473.7 ± 27.9 ppm), TH (10.6 ± 1.7 mg/L–248.6 ± 18.6 mg/L), BOD (0.5 ± 0.0 mg/L–3.2 ± 0.3 mg/L), Mg2+ (6.5 ± 2.4 mg/L–29.1 ± 3.2 mg/L) and Ca2+ (6.5 ± 2.4 mg/L–51.6 ± 4.4 mg/L). The mean microbial counts obtained from microbial comparison of different points (Stored and Source) of collection showed that most of the stored water had counts significantly exceeding (p < 0.05) those of the source water samples (cfu/100 mL) which ranged as follows: TC (3.1 ± 1.5–156.8 ± 42.9), FC (0.0 ± 0.0–64.3 ± 14.2) and HPC (47.8 ± 12.1–266.1 ± 12.2) across all sampled communities. Also, the predominant isolates recovered from the samples were identified as Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterobacter aerogenes, Aspergillus spp., Mucor spp., Rhizopus spp. and Candida spp. The presence of these pathogenic and potentially pathogenic organisms in the waters and the high counts of the indicator organisms suggest the waters to be a threat to public health. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Development Initiatives towards Poverty Alleviation)
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2964 KiB  
Article
Thermal, Economic and Environmental Analysis of a Low-Cost House in Alice, South Africa
by Overen Ochuko Kelvin, Meyer Leroy Edson and Makaka Golden
Sustainability 2017, 9(3), 425; https://doi.org/10.3390/su9030425 - 13 Mar 2017
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 9096
Abstract
Indoor and outdoor temperature variation results in heat transfer between the inner and outer space of a house, subsequently drifting the indoor temperature out of the thermal comfort zone. This leads to occupants spending a significant amount of their income on space heating [...] Read more.
Indoor and outdoor temperature variation results in heat transfer between the inner and outer space of a house, subsequently drifting the indoor temperature out of the thermal comfort zone. This leads to occupants spending a significant amount of their income on space heating and cooling to achieve thermal comfort. The aim of this study is to analyze the thermal, economic and environmental impact of a low-cost house. A low-cost house located in Golf Course, Alice was used as a case study. The outdoor and indoor weather conditions of the house were monitored for periods covering summer and winter seasons. To maintain indoor thermal comfort, 3412.57 kWh of heating and 3214.75 kWh cooling energy were required in winter and summer seasons, respectively. At a rate of 1 ZAR equal to 13.34 USD and 29.39 c/kWh, the energy consumption results in $1003.02 worth of heating energy in winter and $944.88 of cooling energy in summer. In both seasons, to supply the equivalent amount of thermal energy used in the house from a coal-fired power plant, 9.65 ton of CO2, 81.71 kg of SO2 and 39.50 kg of NO2 gases will be emitted into the atmosphere. Promoting and enforcing energy efficient design in low-cost housing will not only bring about energy savings, but will also provide a year-round indoor thermal comfort. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Development Initiatives towards Poverty Alleviation)
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211 KiB  
Article
A Report on the In Vitro Antioxidant Properties of Vachellia karroo Leaf Extract: A Plant Widely Grazed by Goats in the Central Eastern Cape of South Africa
by Emrobowansan M. Idamokoro, Patrick J. Masika and Voster Muchenje
Sustainability 2017, 9(2), 164; https://doi.org/10.3390/su9020164 - 15 Feb 2017
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 4088
Abstract
The polyphenolic constituents and antioxidant activity of aqueous and acetone extracts of Vachellia karroo leaves were determined in order to evaluate its efficacy in scavenging radicals such as DPPH, ferric reducing power and nitric oxide as an antioxidant model. The flavonols and flavonoid [...] Read more.
The polyphenolic constituents and antioxidant activity of aqueous and acetone extracts of Vachellia karroo leaves were determined in order to evaluate its efficacy in scavenging radicals such as DPPH, ferric reducing power and nitric oxide as an antioxidant model. The flavonols and flavonoid and phenolic content of the leaf extracts were also accessed using benchmark phytochemical reaction methods. Results of the phytochemical analyses revealed the presence of flavonoids and flavonol and phenolic compounds in the leaf extracts. The total phenolic content values in the aqueous and acetone leaf extracts were 7.40 and 11.09 mg tannic acid equivalent/g of extract powder, respectively. The total flavonol and flavonoid content values of the aqueous leaf extracts were 9.90 and 53.23 mg quercetin equivalent/g of extract, respectively, while those of the acetone leaf extracts were 1.18 and 5.18 mg quercetin equivalent/g of extract, respectively. At 0.2 mg/mL, the values for the scavenging activities of the acetone and aqueous extracts of the V. karroo leaves were significantly higher (p < 0.05) than that of the ascorbic acid but comparable to BHT against ferric oxide radicals. The findings from the study reveal that the antioxidative potentials of V. karroo leaf extract and could serve as free radical inhibitors, possibly acting as principal antioxidants. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Development Initiatives towards Poverty Alleviation)
3810 KiB  
Article
Synergistic Effects of n-Hexane Fraction of Parkia biglobosa (Jacq.) Bark Extract and Selected Antibiotics on Bacterial Isolates
by Oluwatayo E. Abioye, David A. Akinpelu and Anthony I. Okoh
Sustainability 2017, 9(2), 228; https://doi.org/10.3390/su9020228 - 8 Feb 2017
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 5761
Abstract
The incidence of resistance to commonly used antimicrobial agents by microbial pathogens demands increased effort in the development of effective ways of treating infections and diseases. The n-hexane fraction of lyophilized crude bark extract of Parkia biglobosa (Jacq.) was prepared and, in [...] Read more.
The incidence of resistance to commonly used antimicrobial agents by microbial pathogens demands increased effort in the development of effective ways of treating infections and diseases. The n-hexane fraction of lyophilized crude bark extract of Parkia biglobosa (Jacq.) was prepared and, in combination with selected antibiotics, assayed for antimicrobial activity against some selected bacterial pathogens using time-kill assay. Protein leakage analysis of the combined agents was performed using Bradford protein quantification method. Determination of active compounds present in the n-hexane fraction was done using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). While time-kill assay detected 43.33% synergy; 56.67% indifference and no antagonism at 1/2 × minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), 1 × MIC exhibited 55% synergy, 45% indifference and no antagonism. Protein leakages from the cells of selected bacteria ranged from 1.20 µg/mL to 256.93 µg/mL. The presence of a phenyl group, an aromatic ring and phenolic compounds in the n-hexane fraction was confirmed at 2162 cm−1–2020 cm−1, 1605 cm−1–1533 cm−1 and 1438 cm−1–1444 cm−1 spectra peaks, respectively. The observed antibiotic−n-hexane fraction synergistic interaction revealed the improved antibacterial activity of the selected antibiotics. Hence, exploration of a combination of antibiotics with plant secondary metabolites is hereby advocated in the global quest for means of combating infectious diseases caused by multidrug-resistant pathogens. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Development Initiatives towards Poverty Alleviation)
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