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Rare Earth Elements of Ajali Sandstone, SW, Anambra Basin in Nigeria: Implication for Soil Genesis
Full text linkThe Ajali Sandstone, South-western, Anambra Basin, was studied for Rare
Earth Elements (REEs), using a Phillips 45 channel Inductively Coupled
Plasma (ICP) Emission Spectrometer. The standard deviation of the REEs
(Dy, Er, Eu, Y, Yb, La and Nd) averages 3.5 mg/L, 0.34 mg/L, 0.32 mg/L,
3.93 mg/L, 1.96 mg/L, 4.02 mg/L and 2.24 mg/L respectively for each of
the sampled locations. The REEs concentrations showed both positive and
negative concentration anomalies. The enrichment or depletion of the
REEs is generally attributed to their tendency to be incorporated into
plagioclase preferentially over other minerals. The Ajali Formation is
predominantly sand/sandstone, with clay occurring only as
intercalations/thin beds of clay drapes with the increasing particle
size of the sand grains, makes the rate of adsorption and distribution
of REEs in the soil low, and explains the low values of REEs
concentration. Soil organic matter (SOC) plays an important role in the
adsorption and migration of REEs in the Ecosystems. The SOC is linearly
associated with REEs Concentration as it increases with increasing
content of SOC. The Ajali Sandstone studied falls in the vicinity of
abandoned cropland to cropland in a lower/gentle slope region,
correspondingly low in soil organic matter content and as such slow
rate of distribution and migration of REEs concentrations in the Ajali
Sandstone. The sesquioxides such as Fe oxides increases as REEs
contents increases. The 0.46 mean value of Fe2O<sub>3</sub>
in the Sandstone of the area studied implies a low REEs adsorption rate
and subsequently the very low REEs concentrations of the soils. The
distribution of REEs within the Ajali Formation soils were grossly
affected by the factors that influenced the adsorption and migration
rate of the minerals during magmatic fractionation process, hence the
low REEs concentration of the Sediments
In-vitro development of Nauclea diderrichii (de Willd. & Th. Dur) Merrin liquid-M Smedia supplemented with Benzyl Amino Purine (BAP) and Naphthalene Acetic Acid (NAA)
Full text linkThe growth of plantlets in Temporary Immersion Bioreactor system (TIBs)
relies on initial successful liquid phase transition process. The
response of N. diderrichii explants was assessed in liquid-M Smedia
with a view to mass produce its seedlings using TIBs. Seven treatments
consisting (A) 0.0/0.0, (B) 0.0/0.1, (C) 0.1/0.0, (D) 0.2/0.1, (E)
0.3/0.2, (F) 0.4/0.3 and (G) 0.5/0.4mg/lBAP/NAA combinations were
studied. Each group consist of seven replicates and group A without
Growth Regulators (GR) serves as control. The results at 4 Weeks after
Inoculation (WAI) showed that effects of the growth regulators were
significant on shoot length and number of adventitious shoots while
number of roots and leaves were closely related. Treatment E produced
highest number of adventitious shoots (3.6) which was higher than 0.9
shoots from treatment G and closely related to others. Maximum number
of leaves (16.6) was produced by treatment F followed by E (15.7) while
the least (12) was obtained in treatment A. The highest number of roots
(4.9) was obtained from treatments B, followed by E (4.3) with the
lowest being recorded in C (2.43). Liquid MS medium supplemented with
0.3/0.2mg/lBAP/NAA shows some promise for plantlets generation for the
purpose of multiple shoot production of N. diderrichii in TIBs
Geospatial Analysis of Vehicular Emissions in some Parts of Benin City, Nigeria
Full text linkDecline in air quality over the years has been linked to the growing
rate of urbanization and the increase in the number of vehicles plying
the roads. The focus of this study is to monitor the incidence of
vehicular emissions in some parts of Benin City and employ
geostatistical techniques such as kriging interpolation to study the
spatial distribution of some selected pollutants around the study area.
Seven (7) georeferenced points, namely; University of Benin Main Gate,
Ekosodin junction, Agen Junction, Super D junction, Nitel junction,
Okhunmwun junction and Oluku Market junction were used for data
collection. Pollutant from vehicular emission, namely; dinitrogen oxide
(NO2), carbon monoxide (CO) including the total radiation were
monitored in the morning and evening for a period of 35 days (7th July
to 12th August 2020) with the aid of portable toxic gas monitors and
radiation alert meters. Other parameters of interest which were also
measured include; maximum temperature and wind speed using infra-red
thermometers and portable anemometer. To ascertain the quality of the
data, selected preliminary analysis, namely; test of normality, test of
homogeneity, outlier detection and reliability test were done. Results
of the study revealed a growing concentration of CO and NO2 around
Ugbowo maingate and Okhunmwun community especially during the peak
hours
Optimization of Bioethanol Production from Cassava Peels
Full text linkThe bioethanol production from waste is acquiring attraction as a
strategy for increasing energy security. This study aims to optimize
the production of ethanol from cassava peel using Box Bhenken
experimental design. The total carbohydrate content of about 90% in
cassava peel was subjected to enzymatic hydrolysis using Alpha-amylase
followed by Simultaneous Saccharification and Fermentation (SSF) by
Saccharomyces cerevisiae for bioethanol production. The production of
bioethanol from cassava peels was investigated for 1-4 hours
(hydrolysis time), 0.5\u20131.5mg/L (enzyme loading), and 1-5 days
(incubation time). A statistical model was developed and validated to
predict the yield of bioethanol after fermentation, and the Response
Surface Methodology (RSM) was used to optimize the conditions. The
results revealed that the maximum ethanol yield of 1.911% was obtained
at the optimum hydrolysis time, enzyme loading, and incubation time
(i.e. 2.5 hours, 1 mg/L, and 3 days respectively)
Chlorophytum sabiense (Asparagaceae): A New Speices from Nigeria
Full text linkChlorophytum Ker-Gawl. is a monocotyledonous perennial herb. Its
perennating organ is rhizome which may be tuberous or not. The genus
like other Liliales is characterized by having tricarpellay syncarpous
ovary. In the present study, samples of the species collected from the
North Central part of Nigeria and used for this study, were observed to
have multiple carpels fused at the base and with free styles. This is
the main diagnostic feature of the newly identified species.
Multicarpellary syncarpous ovary is not only new for the genus but also
for the tribe Asphodeleae of Hutchinson's system. The carpels consist
of; 3 with long free styles and 3 with short free styles. Placentation
is axile, with three chambers, suggesting carpellode situation in few
of its carpels. The new taxon is therefore named Chlorophytum sabiense.
Omokanye, sp. nov. TYPE: Nigeria, Sab
Effect of Soil Amendments on Leaf Pigmentation and N2 Status in Cassava ( Manihot esculenta Crantz) grown in Crude Oil Contaminated Soil
Full text linkGrowth studies on TMS 30572, NR8082 and Local cassava cultivars grown
on previously crude oil polluted soil were conducted to assess effects
of oil palm bunch ash (OPBA), dried poultry manure (DPM) on Leaf
pigmentation and N2 status of test crops. In addition, physical and
chemical properties of soils were determined. The pH was raised from
5.62\ub11.50 in control soil to values that ranged between
6.97\ub11.23 to 9.24\ub11.89 in soil treated with organic
amendment. The result of organic amendment ensures reduction of C: N
ratio from 50:1 in control to critical threshold that ranged between
8:1 \u2013 10:1 for improved decomposition and soil quality. SPAD
measurement revealed no significance (P 64 0.05) in readings for
both treatments and control experiments. However, the interactive
effect of both cassava variety and type of amendments were significant.
Cultivar TMS 30572 was found to be brought to high productivity under
treatment with combined OPBA + DPM and recorded highest chlorophyll
content per unit area of leaf surface with Chl. a/Chl.b ratio of 2.13
and thicker leaf blade. While Leaf chlorophyll is directly associated
with the efficiency and capacity of the photosynthetic apparatus and
hence chlorophyll content in this study was found to be directly
related to good health status of the test crops. Results revealed that
quality of crude oil contaminated soil was greatly enhanced by organic
amendment
Assessing the Level of Heavy Metals Concentration in Soil around Transformer at Akoko Community of Ondo State, Nigeria
Full text linkSome heavy metals have bio-importance as trace elements but the
bio-toxic effects of many of them in human biochemistry are of great
concern. The level of heavy metals concentrations of transformer oil
polluted soil was assessed in Akungba Akoko community of Ondo State,
Nigeria using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. The concentration of
heavy metals investigated ranges from: Cu (1400-18)mg/kg, Fe (96700-
15500)mg/kg, Cd (2- 0.5)mg/kg, Mn (62-29)kg/mg, Ni(5-1)mg/kg,
Al(27-11)mg/kg, Zn(1400- 44)mg/kg, Pd (68-20)mg/kg and Ca (570-
135)mg/kg. From the study, it was observed that some transformer sites
had more concentration of heavy metals than others, as a result of the
heavy metals content of the transformer soil released to the
surrounding soil, while in some samples of these heavy metals were
absent or are below detection limit. Comparing the results with the
World Health Organisation (W.H.O) maximum allowable limit in soil with
results of the results of different samples collected, majority of the
results were found to fall below W.H.O limit which implies that those
sites are still contamination free with respect to the specific heavy
metal and caution needs to be taken urgently to avoid potential
contamination. Meanwhile, heavy metal concentration at some sites have
gone beyond the W.H.O maximum allowable limit, calling for immediate
remediation of the site
Performance Evaluation of Outpatient Department Waiting Line System in a City Hospital in Nigeria
Full text linkIn this paper, performance evaluation of outpatient department waiting
line system in a city hospital in Nigeria has been studied using a
multiple server queuing model. The relevant data used in the research
were collected for a period of four weeks through direct observations
and interviews. The results of the research showed that with Two
Doctors for the morning session patients spent an average of
1.0233hours in the system, out of which 0.932hours are spent on the
queue with 95.45% Doctor Utilization. When the numbers of the Doctors
were increased to 3, 4 and 5, it was found that a patient will spend an
average of 0.125hours, 0.0975hours and 0.0924hours in the system
respectively. In each of the 3, 4 and 5 Doctors increased, the system
will have 63.64%, 47.73% and 38.18% Doctors utilization respectively.
With one Doctor for the evening session, the system has 54.55% Doctor
Utilization and patient spent 0.2hours in the system. The overall
results showed that there is need to increase the number of Doctors to
3 or 4 for the morning session to achieved optimal service delivery
while one Doctor in the evening session should be maintained. The
results from the research could serves as important information to the
management of the hospital for better services delivery
Forest Product Industry and Engineered Wood Products: The Nigerian Experience
Full text linkThe forest product industry in Nigeria is barely surviving rather than
thriving. Faced with a lot of challenges, the industry has witnessed
the closure of many wood processing industries while a few are
operating at low capacity. This paper examines engineered wood products
and the outlook on wood and wood products in Nigeria. It discusses some
of the challenges that have inhibited the growth of the industry and
provides recommendations for reinventing the industry through
development of modern value-added wood products for sustainable
building construction
Quantitative and Qualitative Assessment of Phytochemicals in Methanolic Extracts of Hurricane Weed ( Phyllanthus amarus Schumach. &Thonn) Plant
Full text linkThe phytocomponents of the leaf and root extracts of Phyllanthus amarus
(Euphorbiaceae) were studied. The constituents of the leaves and roots
were identified and quantified by using GC-MS. Result from the
phytochemical analyses showed the presence of saponins, tannins,
phenolics, anthocyanins, and glycosides in both leaves and root of the
plant. Alkaloids and triterpenoids were, however only absent in the
root of P. amarus but present in the leaves of the plant. Flavonoids,
coumarins and steroids were absent in the leaves but present in the
root part. The mean concentration of the phytochemicals investigated in
leaves are 0.73\ub10.01%, 1.85\ub10.03%, 1.12\ub10.01%,
1.80\ub10.01%, 1.59\ub10.50%, 0.13\ub10.10%, and 0.86\ub10.01%,
for saponins, tannins, phenolics, anthocyanins, alkaloids,
triterpenoids, and glycosides respectively, while the mean
concentration of the phytochemicals investigated in roots are
0.91\ub10.01%, 1.53\ub10.03%, 0.70\ub10.01%, 2.97\ub10.10%,
2.47\ub10.03%, 0.62\ub10.01%, 0.90\ub10.01% and 2.02\ub10.10%
for saponins, tannins, phenolics, steroids, flavonoids, anthocyanins,
glycosides and coumarins respectively. Furthermore, the GC-MS analysis
of methanol extracts of the leaves and root of P. amarus revealed the
presence of three medicinally important bioactive compounds, which are:
9-Octadecenoic acid which has percentage of abundance of 92.23% and
82.46% in leaves and roots of the plant respectively, followed by
n-Hexadecanoic acid and Tetradecanoic acid with their corresponding
percentage of abundance of 7.7% and 17.54% for leaves and root. These
analytical results suggest the plantto possess a significant role in
phyto-medicine. The importance of this plant was discussed in line with
the role they play in ethnomedicinal life of the people