The Global production of plastics has exceeded over 300 million metric tons. Billions of tons of plastic waste that is generated gets accumulated as plastic debris in soil, sediments, oceans and surface water with no obvious strategy to tackle them. The plastics disposed in the water and land ultimately disintegrate to microplastics, widely accepted as particles <5 mm size. These microplastics are ubiquitous contaminants prevalent in the environment and pose great ecological hazard. Ensuring sustainability of coastal marine areas worldwide and reducing biodiversity loss has long been identified as a global challenge. However, dearth of scientific strategies and standardized protocols for fast and accurate detection of microplastics is a matter of concern and needs immediate attention. Therefore, robust, reliable and high through-put detection method for microplastics in oceanic environment is highly sought after. Quite a few studies have explored the potential of Nile red a solvatochromic dye in detection of microplastics. However, often Nile red alone cannot be used in quantifying microplastic due to false positives generated by staining of organic matter. In this work, we have adopted a method based on costaining of microplastics using Nile red dye and Methylene blue by fluorescence microscopy. We have observed that Nile red overestimated microplastic particles and this study serves as foundation to our future work.

Forensic evaluation of crime scenes normally involves examination of textile fibers, to find out the association between an individual and a crime scene, or between a suspect and a victim. The forensic samples normally include a mix of various types, sizes (micro to nano -scale) and shapes of natural and synthetic fibers, which are very difficult to differentiate/identify. Various sophisticated analytical instruments are being used to carry out the examination of these fibers. They involve various microscopy and spectroscopy based techniques, most of which are very complex and highly sensitive. Further, they may require a series of sample preparation steps to get high selectivity and are highly time consuming. Here we report a fluorescence microscopy based synthetic (plastic) fiber detection method using Nile Red (NR) dye, which provides high selectivity for synthetic fibers. The methodology involves the use of NR dye which selectively stains the fibers collected on filter papers following separation from samples/soils and water. The selectivity of NR towards the fibers is due to their non-polar property. Binding with NR makes the fibers fluoresce when viewed under a fluorescence microscope. This selectivity of NR for fibers makes the identification of fibers lot easier and less timeconsuming in forensic samples when compared to the more commonly used optical microscopy (where the presence of naturally-occurring substances of similar size can result in more errors). The paper will discuss optimisation of various parameters and method validation for detection of synthetic fibers and microplastics from soil samples. As an example, our method has shown to provide distinct clarity for the analysis of microfibers. The potential for the application of the method for faster forensics analysis will be discussed.

Chemical composition and nutritive parameters of maize stover (Zea mays) fractions and cassava (Manihort esculanta) foliage for sustainable ruminant production was studied. Cassava foliage and fractions of maize stover (stem and leaf) were gathered and oven dried for proximate composition, fibre fractions and nutritive parameters (Dry matter intake (DMI), Digestible dry matter (DDM) and Relative feed value (RFV) were calculated. The experimental design was a completely randomized design (CRD). Results shows a significant difference (P<0.05) in the all the parameters considered for the proximate composition across the experimental treatments. The contents ranged from 85.21 – 88.77% for dry matter (DM), 6.27 – 19.72%, 1.89 – 3.78%, 14.89 – 17.08%, 51.88 – 62.47%, 3.27 – 11.23% and 36.90 – 56.70% for crude protein (CP), ether extract (EE), crude fibre (CF), neutral detergent fibre (NDF), ash and non-fibre carbohydrate (NFE), respectively. Cassava foliage had highest (P<0.05) contents of fibre fractions considered. The acid detergent fiber (ADF), acid detergent lignin (ADL), cellulose (CEL) and hemicellulose (HEM) were 59.18%, 18.36%, 26.50% and 27.10%, respectively for CSL. There was a significant different (P<0.05) in the phytochemical contents across the experimental materials. Similar (P>0.05) value was recorded for DMI, DDM and RFV. Conclusively, the experimental treatments exhibited nutritional qualities that made them a feed resources for ruminant production. Cassava foliage had better proximate composition and fibre fractions, therefore it is recommended for the farmers.

This study was conducted to assess the chemical composition and in-vitro digestibility for dietary inclusion of Delonix regia seeds meal (DSM) for sustainable ruminant production. Four experimental treatments were formulated and DSM was included and varied as T1 (35/0%), T2 (20/15%), T3 (15/20%) and T4 (0/35%), respectively, each treatment were replicated and analyzed for the proximate composition and in-vitro analysis. There were significant differences (P<0.05) in the nutrients and fiber fractions (CP, EE, ash, OM, NFE, NDF, ADF and hemicellulose) across the experimental treatments as CP ranged between 10.50 – 13.60% and decreased with inclusion of DSM. The NFE, NDF and hemicelluloses were similar (P>0.05) in T1 and T4. In-vitro analysis indicated that the methane gas volume was significantly (P<0.05) influenced with the dietary inclusion of DSM across the experimental treatments as T2 had the highest volume of CH (0.61mL) while the least was recorded for T1 (0.47 mL). There was no significant difference (P>0.05) for 24hrs gas production, CH percentage, CH reduction percentage, in-vitro dry matter digestibility (IDMD), in-vitro organic matter digestibility (IOMD), metabolizable energy and fermentation efficiency across the treatments. Conclusively, the nutrients profile of the experimental treatments justifies the utilization of DSM for sustainable ruminant production. Similarity in post in-vitro parameters across treatments is an indication that inclusion of DSM will go a long way to resolve the challenges of feed and feeding for ruminant production.