Volume 12, Issue 1, January 2024 Edition - GSJ Journal Publication


CHEMICAL, FUNCTIONAL, PHYSICAL AND MICROBIAL PROPERTIES OF SNACK FROM BLENDS OF RICE, BAMBARA GROUNDNUT INCORPORATED WITH AFRICAN EGG PLANT LEAVES (ANARA) []


This study was conducted to assess the chemical, physical, and sensory qualities of snacks made from mixtures of rice, bambara nut, and powdered African eggplant leaf. Rice was processed into flour by sorting, washing, drying, milling, and sieving it. While African eggplant leaves were destalked, rinsed, and dried at room temperature before milling, Bambara groundnut was sorted, washed, soaked, dehulled, dried, milled, and sieved. African eggplant, rice, and bambara groundnut flours were combined in varying ratios to make biscuits, with 100% wheat biscuits acting as the control. The biscuits' sensory attributes were identified. The most favoured samples, RBU, RUB, URB, UUB, and UBR, which scored 6.80, 7.40, 7.40, 6.00, and 7.70 correspondingly for sensory overall acceptability, were put through routine tests for chemical, physical, microbiological, and functional qualities. The range of the biscuits' physical characteristics, including weight, diameter, thickness, and breath, was 5.36 to 18.81g, 56.40 to 58.52mm, 4.53 to 8.83mm, and 53.52 to 56.56mm, respectively. The biscuit's concentration of vitamins A (0.52 - 0.94mg/100g), B1 (0.01 - 0.07mg/100g), and B3 (0.23 - 0.36mg/100g) slightly increased. The samples' bulk densities, ability to absorb water and oil, and ability to swell ranged from 0.47 to 0.71 g/ml, 72.85 to 199.16%, 48.23 to 115.125, and 17.51 to 36.00%, respectively. The sample biscuits had no mold growth, and the viable counts were satisfactory in general. The study concludes that items with additional value, such as biscuits, can be manufactured using composite flours made of rice, bambara groundnut, and African eggplant leaves.

DETERMINATION OF PARA-PHENYLENEDIAMINE IN HENNA COSMETIC PRODUCTS IN BENGHAZI []


Red or natural henna is a very popular cosmetic preparation used in Libya as part of many traditions. Black henna is another type of cosmetic products and it may contain paraphenylene-diamine (PPD), it is chemical substance which can stain the skin black quickly, but can cause toxic reactions such as severe allergic reactions . the aim of our study to detect the level of PPD in various cosmetic preparations. Method: ten samples were collected from different sites in Benghazi city during august 2022 and they analyzed quantivily and qualititvilty for detection PPD level in the sample using Gas chromatography–mass spectrometer (GC-MS). Results: Seven samples were containing PPD with a large variations in their abundance (from 2.33 to 37.04 %) and the rest three samples were free from PPD. The level of PPD in six (6) samples were higher than allowed maximum concentration of PPD in hair dyes as specified by European Union EU, which is 6.0% however the EU banned the use of PPD directly on the skin. Conclusion: The presence of PPD in black henna will definitely lead to many subsequent problems such as allergic skin reactions and may cause toxicity to organs such as the heart and kidneys and may lead to death if the patient is not treated quickly.

La CDEAO et la gestion des crises sécuritaires en Afrique de l’Ouest dans Allah n’est pas obligé d’Ahmadou Kourouma []


Through Allah is not obliged, Kourouma tells the story of the war in Liberia and Sierra Leone from the point of view of a child soldier who crisscrosses these bruised countries. Particular emphasis is placed on the role of ECOWAS in the management of these crises. Using discourse analysis, how these events were managed by the sub-regional organization is studied in this article. It follows from these analyses that these crises are linked to social disparities. As a solution undertaken, the Ust-African community puts on the negotiating table the military option, under the influence of Nigeria, and sanctions for a return to normalcy while some heads of state support rebel factions against the legitimate government. Keywords: ECOWAS, crisis, intervention, sanction

The Family Business Entrepreneurial Dilemma! Navigating through challenges faced by Family Businesses in Africa []


This paper provides a pedestal and an ontological perspective within which family businesses operate in Africa. Significantly, Small and medium sized businesses in Africa are the engines that drive economic development and contribute significantly to the Gross Domestic Products (GDP) of most countries. The paper argues that family businesses assume a vital role in African economies as well as the economies of many developing nations across the globe. This role is distracted by potential sources of discord among family members affecting generational transitions, family relationships, ownership issues, major investment decisions, and appropriation of profits, leadership appointments and succession frameworks. Overcoming egos and internal conflicts to find family business next leader-and put a succession plan in place before it is too late underlines one of the key controversies of family businesses history. The paper explores many of the challenges and complexities experienced by family businesses in enhancing their sustainable continuity want to share my insight, experience, research, and my point of view, and I want to open a platform a start a conversation with all Africans locally and in diaspora on issues facing family businesses and what is it that, together we can do to create successful family businesses. To obtain critical data required to make informed recommendations, the present study focused on existing literature on family businesses experiences and also conducted eleven in-depth, face-to-face interviews to gather empirical data from next-generation representatives from family-owned companies in a few selected countries across Africa. The primary finding of the study shows family businesses in Africa are still challenged and are incapacitated by intentional and non-intentional faults amongst which are governance crisis and paranoid; inclusive of structural issues based on failure to separate family issues from ownership as the root cause of constrained development of most family businesses. . Ensuring objectivity and meritocracy in appointments is vital to the long-term success of a family business. The study recommends the adoption of a radical African family business ethos framework build around global business trends which encourages the maintaining of family values, succession planning and introducing further professionalism into the family firm as opposed to the traditional family business model, which fails to distinguish economic ownership from social threads that ties it. Further research is recommended to look at a longitudinal study on family businesses owned by women entrepreneurs and another study on creation of effective network of African Family businesses for sustainable livelihood-the unfinished future.

Thermogravimetric and Thermal Differential Analysis Instrumental Study of Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute Compressed Stabilized Earth Block Decomposition on Temperature Basis []


The Nigeria Building and Road Research Institute (NBRRI) had over the years keyed into the production of compressed stabilized earth Blocks using not more than 95% laterite and not less than 5% cement stabilization as binder compacted with 3KN compaction pressure. The interlocking compressed stabilized earth blocks (ICSEBs) had been characterized for compressive test, fire resistance, and thermal conductivity among others. Nevertheless, these blocks required further test such as thermal decomposition and it’s kinetic to ascertain the extent to which these blocks could be used. In this study, thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis instrumental tests were carried out on the ICSEB via TGA 4000 PerkinElmer model and degas in Nitrogen atmosphere with a purge rate of 20 mL/minute. The heating rate was at 10 oC/min, 15 oC/min and 20 oC/min in the temperature range of 30 oC – 950 oC based on the ASTM D standard. The results revealed that devolatilization and oxidation stability of the ICSEB occurred in the temperature range of 246.03℃ - 553.34℃ with greater mass loss of 93.75% at 10℃/min heating rate, 85.20% at 15 oC/min heating rate and 86.69% at 20 oC/min heating rate respectively devoid of water of hydroxylation at the first phase of the decomposition. The differential thermal analysis revealed that the ICSEB as depicted on the curves decomposed at the peak of 351 oC for 10 oC/min heating rate, 380 oC for 15 oC/min heating rate and 400 oC for 20 oC/min heating rate respectively. Thus; the determined thermal stability of NBRRI-ICSEB is considered low heat bearing material that could not withstand heating up to 600℃.