September 2015

A comparison of functional properties of native Malawian cocoyam, sweetpotato and cassava starches

Cassava, cocoyam and sweetpotato constitute underexploited but yet important sources of starch for the Malawi industry. The functional properties of starches isolated from cassava, cocoyam and sweetpotato were studied and compared. Results revealed diverse functional properties among the starches from the different sources. With increasing temperature, water binding capacity, swelling power and solubility of the...

Author(s): Davies Emmanuel Mweta, John Danwell Kalenga-Saka and Maryke Labuschagne

September 2015

Spectra characterization, flavonoid profile, antioxidant activity and antifungal property of Senecio bifrae and its copper complex

This study describes the synthesis, spectra characterization using UV-Visible and Infra-Red spectroscopic methods, flavonoid profile, antioxidant activity and antifungal property of Senecio biafrae-Cu complex and Senecio biafrae. UV-Visible spectra revealed bathochromic shifts for Senecio biafrae-Cu complex in comparison with Senecio biafrae which could be due to complexation.  Differences between vibration spectra...

Author(s): Azeez L., Ogundode S. M., Ganiyu O. T., Oyedeji O. A., Tijani K. O. and Adewuyi S. O.

September 2015

Influence of Indian Ocean zonal circulation on variability and predictability of Ethiopia highlands vegetation

The vegetation fraction over the Ethiopian highlands exhibits large seasonal and multi-annual variability in the period 1982 to 2014. Northern areas are more sensitive to rainfall due to the brevity of the wet season. Differences in the regional climate during periods of high and low vegetation are analyzed using composite fields of rainfall, wind, humidity, sea temperatures, salinity and currents; and correlations at...

Author(s): Mark R. Jury