Assessing awareness on biodiversity conservation among Nigerians: the Aichi Biodiversity Target 1.

The adoption of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets (ABTs) was supposed to increase conservation awareness in different countries and regions of the world. However, there seems to be a limited understanding of the importance of ecosystem services, offered by biological diversity. Thus, the continued decline in biodiversity, especially in developing countries.

Identification of Coronaviruses, Paramyxoviruses, Reoviruses, and Rotaviruses among Bats in Nigeria.

Bats are often consumed by some ethnic groups in Nigeria despite association of bats with many important emerging viruses. More than 300 bats representing eight species were captured during 2010-2011 in eight locations of northern Nigeria. Available fecal swabs (n = 95) were screened for the presence of arenaviruses, CoVs, paramyxoviruses (PMVs), reoviruses, rhabdoviruses, and influenza viruses using generic reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction assays.

Synthesis of thermal insulator using chicken feather fibre in starch-clay nanocomposites.

Incorporating chicken feather fibre (CFF) into natural based-nanocomposite comprising of glycerine plasticized-cassava starch binder with bentonite (BNT) as nanofiller, a thermal insulator (TIN) was synthesized. Central Composite Design (CCD) Response Surface Methodology was employed to carry out the experimental design using two factors (CFF and BNT) along with one response (thermal conductivity) to produce nine materials as insulators, comprising of 0%, 5%, and 10% BNT based on 8 g initial weight of CFF. A sample without CFF was used as the control.

Comparative Analyses of Physicochemical Properties of Artisanal Refined Gasoline and Regular Automotive Gasoline.

Physicochemical properties of artisanal refined gasoline (ARG) and regular automotive gasoline (RAG) sampled from the Eastern Obolo Creek and Mkpat Enin, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria were investigated. This was to compare the physicochemical properties of the two gasoline samples with each other and their compliance with American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards. The finding revealed an antiknock index of RAG (91.

Cardiac and Renal Protective Effect of Vitamin E in Dexamethasone-Induced Oxidative Stressed Wistar Rats.

Vitamin E has been used as antioxidant and in the treatment of various ailments due to oxidative stress. The cardio-protective effect of vitamin E in dexamethasone induced oxidative stress was studied. Forty Wistar rats were randomly assigned to four groups of 10 rats each.

Electrostratigraphy and hydrogeochemistry of hyporheic zone and water-bearing caches in the littoral shorefront of Akwa Ibom State University, Southern Nigeria.

Ground-based electrical geophysical data calibrated with borehole information are conveniently used to delineate subsurface strata because of their inherent capability to assess the lateral and vertical variations in the pore water. In this study, joined geophysical approach of vertical electrical sounding (VES) and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) has been steered to define the strata in the hyporheic zone and in the water bearing caches in the Akwa Ibom State University's littoral shorefront. Four ERTs with each using Wenner array with 5 m electrode spacing were conducted along four profiles at the same locations that VES were conducted.

Datasets on process transesterification of binary blend of oil for fatty acid ethyl ester (FAEE) synthesized via the ethanolysis of heterogeneous doped catalyst.

The data employed the blend of waste used oil and beef tallow for the synthesis of fatty acid ethyl ester (FAEE) via ethanolysis of developed catalyst from calcined fermented cocoa pod husk powder (CFCPHP) doped with burnt cocoa pod husk powder (BCHP). Characterization of the developed doped catalyst (DDC) was carried out using FTIR, SEM, XRD, and BET adsorption analysis, while the basic strength of the DDC was tested through reusability test data. Mathematical optimization of the process condition was carried out through Box-Behnken Experimental Design (BBED) in 29 runs with variations in four variables as catalyst concentration (1.

Human Health Risk Assessment of Heavy Metal Contamination in New Calabar River.

Concentration and human health risks of heavy metals (Pb, Cu, Cr, Cd, As, Ni) in water, sediment, crab (Tympanotonus fuscatus) and periwinkle (Callinectes amnicola) were assayed in New Calabar River, Nigeria. Results revealed that concentration (mg/L) of the metals in water in the two seasons studied, ranged from 1.1E-2 ± 1.

Data on artificial neural network and response surface methodology analysis of biodiesel production.

The biodiesel production from waste soybean oil (using NaOH and KOH catalysts independently) was investigated in this study. The use of optimization tools (artificial neural network, ANN, and response surface methodology, RSM) for the modelling of the relationship between biodiesel yield and process parameters was carried out. The variables employed in the experimental design of biodiesel yields were methanol-oil mole ratio (6 - 12), catalyst concentration (0.

Data on the derived mesoporous based catalyst for the synthesized of fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) from ternary oil blend: An optimization approach.

This work presents datasets on fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) synthesized from the ternary blend of Cucurbita pepo-chrysophyllum albidum -papaya mix oils via methanolysis of mesoporous CaO heterogeneous catalyst derived from the mixture of Citrullus lanatus and Musa acuminate peels. The oils were extracted from the milled powdered using the solvent extraction method. Ternary oil mixed ratio of 33:33:34 with low acid value and density was achieved using simplex lattice design software.

Superstatistics of Schrödinger equation with pseudo-harmonic potential in external magnetic and Aharanov-Bohm fields.

In this work, the thermodynamic properties of pseudo-harmonic potential in the presence of external magnetic and Aharanov-Bohm fields are investigated. The effective Boltzmann factor in the superstatistics formalism was used to obtain the thermodynamic properties such as Helmholtz free energy, Internal energy, entropy and specific heat capacity of the system. In addition, the thermal properties of some selected diatomic molecules of and using their experimental spectroscopic parameters and the effect of varying the deformation parameter of were duly examined.

Acridine-based thiosemicarbazones as novel inhibitors of mild steel corrosion in 1 M HCl: synthesis, electrochemical, DFT and Monte Carlo simulation studies.

Electrochemical, surface morphology, density functional theory and Monte Carlo simulation methods were employed in investigating the effects of (2,2')-2,2'-(3,3,6,6-tetramethyl-9-phenyl-3,4,6,7-tetrahydroacridine-1,8(2,5,9,10)-diylidene)bis(-phenylhydrazinecarbothioamide) (IAB-NP), (2,2')-2,2'-(3,3,6,6-tetramethyl-9-phenyl-3,4,6,7-tetrahydroacridine-1,8(2,5,9,10)-diylidene)bis(-(2,4-difluorophenyl)hydrazinecarbothioamide)IAB-ND) and (2,2')-2,2'-(3,3,6,6-tetramethyl-9-phenyl-3,4,6,7-tetrahydroacridine-1,8(2,5,9,10)-diylidene)bis(-(2-fluorophenyl) hydrazinecarbothioamide) (IAB-NF) on mild steel corrosion in 1 M HCl solution. From the studies, compounds IAB-NP, IAB-ND and IAB-NF inhibit mild steel corrosion in the acid and the protection efficiencies were found to increase with the increase in concentration of each compound. At the optimum inhibitor concentration of 1.

Rotation-vibrational energies for some diatomic molecules with improved Rosen-Morse potential in D-dimensions.

By using the Nikiforov-Uvarov method, we solve the Schrödinger equation for the improved Rosen-Morse potential model in D spatial dimensions. We obtained the rotation-vibrational energies and the wave function, respectively. The ro-vibrational energies spectral of NO(aπ) and [Formula: see text] in D-dimensions have been computed by using the rotation-vibrational energy eigenvalues equation.

Geochemical discrimination of bulk organic matter in surface sediments of the Cross River estuary system and adjacent shelf, South East Nigeria (West Africa).

Knowledge of the sources, distribution and fate of organic matter (OM) in estuarine and adjacent shelf sediments are important for the understanding of the global biogeochemical cycles. Bulk organic carbon (C-org), total nitrogen (TN), biogenic silica (BSi), stable carbon (δC-org) and nitrogen (δN) isotopes, and sediment grain sizes were measured to study the spatial distributions and sources of sediment OM in the Cross River estuary system (CRES) and adjacent shelf. Surface sediments in the CRES were composed of clayey silt and sandy silt, while the adjacent shelf sediments were mainly silty sand.

Modeling and optimization of lucky nut biodiesel production from lucky nut seed by pearl spar catalysed transesterification.

In 2015, the Worldatlas recorded 50 countries whose source of income is fossil fuel and its derivatives. Surprisingly, these countries solely depend on this source of energy up to 100% (Omar, Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia) because of technology improvement. It's so sadden that apart from its adverse effect on the economics of the countries, fossil fuels harmful effects on the universe cannot be overlooked.

Bound state solutions of Schrödinger equation with modified Mobius square potential (MMSP) and its thermodynamic properties.

We solved the Schrödinger equation with the modified Mobius square potential model using the modified factorization method. Within the framework of the Greene-Aldrich approximation for the centrifugal term and using a suitable transformation scheme, we obtained the energy eigenvalues equation and the corresponding eigenfunction in terms of the hypergeometric function. Using the resulting eigenvalues equation, we calculated the vibrational partition function and other relevant thermodynamic properties.

Data on CaO and eggshell catalysts used for biodiesel production.

This research investigated the production of biodiesel from soybean oil (transesterification process) using pure calcium oxide and calcium oxide obtained from eggshell as heterogeneous catalysts. Uncalcined eggshell and calcined eggshell catalysts produced were analysed using XRF and XRD spectrometers. The processing parameters considered during the transesterification of the soybean were methanol/oil mole ratio, catalyst concentration and reaction time and their effects on biodiesel yield were evaluated.

The effects of breed, season and parity on the reproductive performance of pigs reared under hot and humid environments.

A research aimed at evaluating the reproductive performance of pigs as influenced by breed, season, and parity was carried out. Reproductive performance records of 1383 sows made up of 204 primiparous and 1179 multiparous large white (687) and Duroc × large white crosses (696) obtained over a 3-year period (2013 to 2016) were used. Data on reproductive performance taken were farrowing rate, litter size at birth and at weaning, piglet weight at birth and at weaning farrowing interval and pre-weaning mortality.

Fingerprints of resistant Escherichia coli O157:H7 from vegetables and environmental samples.

Background: Some routes of transmission of Escherichia coli O157:H7 to fresh produce include contaminated irrigation water and manure polluted soils. The aim of the present study was to determine the genetic relationships of E. coli O157:H7 isolated from some produce growing region in Nigeria using enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus (ERIC) DNA fingerprinting analysis.

Heavy Metal Concentration in Periwinkle - Tympanotomus fuscatus in Iko River Estuary, Nigeria.

Background: Heavy metals are intrinsic, natural constituents of our environment and are generally present in small amounts in natural aquatic environments. Humans may be contaminated by organic and inorganic pollutants associated with aquatic systems by consumption of contaminated aquatic foods from the environment. Relevant patents relating to heavy metal concentration in aquatic molluscs were reviewed.

Gas chromatographic fingerprinting of crude oil from Idu-Ekpeye oil spillage site in Niger-delta, Nigeria.

Samples were collected from an oil polluted site in Niger-delta, Nigeria. Gas chromatographic analyses carried out on the samples revealed an abundance of n-alkanes within the n-C8-n-C23 region. The pristane/phytane ratio of 5.