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The major purpose of the dental pumice is to clean and make tooth surfaces smooth, it is a highly siliceous material derived primarily from volcanic activity. In a quest to make pumice readily available, an alternative material to pumice was developed. 100 µm particle sizes of both powdered eggshell and glass were mixed, in ratios of 1.5:8.5, 2:8, 1:9, and 0:10 to obtain J85, J90, J95, and J100 respectively. A scanning electron microscope with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) was used for morphological characterization and elemental composition. The research questionnaire was structured for dental practitioners for quality assessment purpose. The results showed that J100 had more porosity, with a smaller pore diameter than J95, J90, and J85 respectively. EDS revealed the presence of 16 elements in the fabricated pumice. J85, J90, J95, and J100 of particle sizes 100, 80, and 50 µm were set at different magnifications (500x, 1000x, and 1500x) respectively. This revealed that the fabricated polishing materials (FPMs) have porous structures, thus making them good for polishing and cleaning tooth surfaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, the production of biofuels as an alternative energy source from renewable raw materials to complement energy needs has become of utmost importance. The goal of this study was to compare bioethanol production from pineapple and white cassava peels utilizing inoculants such as Neurospora crassa, Aspergillus oryzae and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The cassava and pineapple peels were obtained from the white cassava and abacaxi pineapple, respectively. The fungal isolates: Neurospora crassa, Aspergillus oryzae, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae were isolated from burnt wood, steamed rice, and fresh palm wine (from oil palm) at 37°C. Sabouraud Dextrose Agar (SDA) at pH 5.6 was used to grow the fungal isolates, and morphological observations were used to confirm the isolates. The substrates were fermented with different inoculant combinations, distilled on days 4 and 8, and the physicochemical parameters were determined. The results showed that Aspergillus oryzae and Saccharomyces cerevisiae in combination gave the highest bioethanol yield of 48.67±5.7 ml with the pineapple peels at day 8; whereas Aspergillus oryzae and Neurospora crassa in combination gave the highest bioethanol yield of 38.33±2.03 ml with the cassava peels at day 4. This observation was statistically significant (p<0.05). The findings led to the conclusion that pineapple peels have a higher bioethanol yield than cassava peels. The inoculants utilized in this research work indicate the best prospects for bioethanol production from abacaxi pineapple and white cassava. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]