Potentially toxic metals in irrigation water, soil, and vegetables and their health risks using Monte Carlo models.

Food safety has become a serious global concern because of the accumulation of potentially toxic metals (PTMs) in crops cultivated on contaminated agricultural soils. Amongst these toxic elements, arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), and lead (Pb) receive worldwide attention because of their ability to cause deleterious health effects. Thus, an assessment of these toxic metals in the soils, irrigation waters, and the most widely consumed vegetables in Nigeria; Spinach (Amaranthushybridus), and Cabbage (Brassica oleracea) was evaluated using inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES).

Assessment of Radium Equivalent Activity and Total Annual Effective Dose in Cassava cultivated around Ewekoro Cement Factory.

In this study, cassava tubers cultivated in the Ewekoro cement area were investigated with the aid of Hyper Pure Germanium (HPGe) detector in order to assess the radionuclide content. Twenty-seven (27) samples of both arable soil and cassava tubers were studied at different sites to the epicenter of the mining activity. The results revealed the highest activity concentrations of K-40, Ra-226, and Th-232 to be 194.

Heavy metal contamination of selected mining fields in North-Central Nigeria.

This study evaluates the causes, concentration and the associated health risks of selected heavy metals (HMs) in soil samples collected from beryllium and gold mining fields in Nigeria. The samples of soil were collected manually and analysed by means of Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (AAS). Seventy-two (72) samples were analysed which presented varying degrees of concentration of the selected HMs.

Soil-to-plant transfer of K, U and Th and radiological risk assessment of selected mining sites in Nigeria.

One of the major route through which humans are exposed to ionizing radiation is via food chain, which is consequent of soil-to-plant transfer of radionuclides. This work reported the activity concentrations of K, U and Th in samples of water, soil and guinea corn grains collected from Beryllium and Gold mining sites in Kwara, Nigeria. In-situ measurements at approximately 1 m in the air was carried out using a well-calibrated portable Gamma Spectrometer (Super Spec RS-125), while the soil, water and the guinea corn samples were analyzed using a '3 × 3' inch lead-shielded NaI (Tl) detector.

Social support as a correlate of depression among people living with HIV and AIDS in Nigeria.

Background: Depression is a highly prevalent mental disorder among PLHIV, whilst social support is important in disease prevention, health promotion, therapeutic measure especially for PLHIV.

Objectives: To ascertain the different types and sources of social support and their association with depression among PLHIV in Nigeria.

Materials And Methods: The study was a correlation with 2515 PLHIV in three teaching hospitals in South-Eastern Nigeria.