Utilization of Selected Browses Species by Primates in Four Locations of Obudu Cattle Ranch, Cross Rivers State, Nigeria

The study examines the extent and intensity of lopping as well as their relation to free size in Becheve Nature Research (BNR), Golf Course Range (GCR), Beau Range (BR), and Ikwette Range (IR) all located at Obudu Cattle Ranch, Cross River State, Nigeria. Four species, Afzelia africana, Daniellia oliveri, Pterocarpus erinaceous and Ficus thoningii. were chosen for the study. The vegetation study and results indicate varying degrees of utilization between the locations of the tree species. The crown condition had difference between the locations of the tree species. The frequency of crown condition is higher in BNR and Ikwette Range. The BNR had the highest frequency of woody plant that provide primate food with value 0.52 while Golf Course range, Beau range, Ikwette range has 0.32, 0.30, and 0.27 use value respectively. The human use value is more in Golf Course Range with 0.324 and very minimal in BNR with 0.29. The mean crude fiber (CF) content of the four plants (11.52%) is low. In conclusion, the spatial distribution of food strongly influences primates’ patterns of movement. Keywords: Utilization, browse species, human use, Obudu Cattle Ranc

Treatment of Acid Mine Drainage with Coal Fly Ash: Exploring the Solution Chemistry and Product Water Quality

A treatment process for Acid mine drainage (AMD) using coal fly ash (CFA) was developed. AMD was treated with CFA as the alkaline agent at different CFA: AMD ratios and pH, electrical conductivity (EC) evolution monitored over time. In a separate experiment two AMD sources with differing chemistry were treated with the same CFA to evaluate the impact of AMD chemistry on the treatment process and product water quality. Various CFA: AMD ratios were stirred in a beaker for a pre-set time and the process water chemistry determined. pH was observed to increase in a stepwise manner with buffer zones observed at 4-4.5, 4.5-7 and 6-8. AMD with low concentration of Al3+, Fe2+, Fe3+ and Mn2+ didn’t exhibit these buffer zones. Two competing processes were observed to control the evolving pH of process water: dissolution of basic oxides (CaO, MgO) from CFA led to pH increase and hydrolysis of AMD species such as Al3+, Fe2+, Fe3+ and Mn2+ led to pH decrease. These processes initiated mechanisms such as precipitation, adsorption and ion exchange that led to decrease in inorganic contaminants as the treatment progressed. Inorganic contaminants removal was directly related to amount of CFA in reaction media. Precipitation of insoluble hydroxides and Al, Fe-oxyhydroxysulphates contributed to removal of major and minor chemical species. Precipitation of gypsum contributed to removal of sulphate. Na, K and Mg remained largely in solution after initial decrease. Significant leaching of B, Sr, Ba, and Mo from CFA was observed and was directly linked to amount of CFA in the reaction media. This will be a shortcoming of the treatment process since other processes may be required to polish up the product water. The treatment of AMD with CFA was observed to depend on CFA, AMD chemistry, treatment time and might therefore be site specific

PROXIMATE AND MINERAL COMPOSITION OF SPICED, SMOKED CATFISH Clarias gariepinus (Burchell, 1822)

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Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon and microbial load of naturally preserved smoked African mud catfish Clarias gariepinus (Burchell, 1822)

 Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) and microbial load of naturally preserved smoked African mud catfish (Clarias gariepinus Burchell, 1822) were examined. The experimental design was Complete Randomized Design (CRD) with the treatments been the variously preserved C. gariepinus catfish (garlic, ginger, garlic-ginger homogenate preserved and the control without spices). PAH and the microbial load were determined using standard experimental procedures. All PAH values were within internationally recommend value for human consumption, the aerobic mesophilic counts of unpreserved smoked catfish was significantly higher (p < 0.05) than other preserved smoked C. gariepinus (2.51 ± 0.01- 8.98 ± 0.02 log cfu/g); while garlic-ginger preserved smoked catfish product had the lowest aerobic mesophilic counts (2.48 ± 0.01-8.92 ± 0.01 log cfu/g) during the period of the experiment. Similar trends were observed in the mould fungal, Staphylococcal, coliform, Salmonella and Shigella counts. However, Staphylococcal counts, coliform count and Salmonella and Shigella counts were not detected in the samples at the onset of the experiment. The preserved smoked fish are good and safe for human consumptions when stored at ambient temperatures (25-36oC) for 56 days. The combination of garlic and ginger provide a much stronger antibiotic effect than the individual ingredients

Shifts in age pattern, timing of childbearing and trend in fertility level across six regions of Nigeria: Nigeria Demographic and Health Surveys from 2003-2018.

Nigeria's population is projected to increase from 200 million in 2019 to 450 million in 2050 if the fertility level remains at the current level. Thus, we examined the shifts in the age pattern of fertility, timing of childbearing and trend in fertility levels from 2003 and 2018 across six regions of Nigeria. This study utilised the 2003, 2008, 2013, and 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey datasets. Each survey was a cross-sectional population-based design, and a two-stage cluster sampling technique was used to select women aged 15-49 years. The changes in the timing of childbearing were examined by calculating the corresponding mean ages at the birth of different birth orders for each birth order separately to adjust the Quantum effect for births. The Gompertz Relational Model was used to examine the age pattern of fertility and refined fertility level. In Nigeria, it was observed that there was a minimal decline in mean children ever born (CEB) between 2003 and 2018 across all maternal age groups except aged 20-24 years. The pattern of mean CEB by the age of mothers was the same across the Nigeria regions except in North West. Nigeria's mean number of CEB to women aged 40-49 in 2003, 2008, 2013 and 2018 surveys was 6.7, 6.6, 6.3 and 6.1, respectively. The mean age (years) at first birth marginally increased from 21.3 in 2003 to 22.5 in 2018. In 2003, the mean age at first birth was highest in South East (24.3) and lowest in North East (19.4); while South West had the highest (24.4) and both North East and North West had the lowest (20.2) in 2018. Similar age patterns of fertility existed between 2003 and 2018 across the regions. Nigeria's estimated total fertility level for 2003, 2008, 2013 and 2018 was 6.1, 6.1, 5.9 and 5.7, respectively. The findings showed a reducing but slow fertility declines in Nigeria. The decline varied substantially across the regions. For a downward change in the level of fertility, policies that will constrict the spread of fertility distribution across the region in Nigeria must urgently be put in place. [Abstract copyright: Copyright: © 2023 Olowolafe et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Gender variation in self-reported likelihood of HIV infection in comparison with HIV test results in rural and urban Nigeria

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Behaviour change which is highly influenced by risk perception is a major challenge that HIV prevention efforts need to confront. In this study, we examined the validity of self-reported likelihood of HIV infection among rural and urban reproductive age group Nigerians.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This is a cross-sectional study of a nationally representative sample of Nigerians. We investigated the concordance between self-reported likelihood of HIV and actual results of HIV test. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to assess whether selected respondents' characteristics affect the validity of self-reports.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The HIV prevalence in the urban population was 3.8% (3.1% among males and 4.6% among females) and 3.5% in the rural areas (3.4% among males and 3.7% among females). Almost all the respondents who claimed they have high chances of being infected with HIV actually tested negative (91.6% in urban and 97.9% in rural areas). In contrast, only 8.5% in urban areas and 2.1% in rural areas, of those who claimed high chances of been HIV infected were actually HIV positive. About 2.9% and 4.3% from urban and rural areas respectively tested positive although they claimed very low chances of HIV infection. Age, gender, education and residence are factors associated with validity of respondents' self-perceived risk of HIV infection.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Self-perceived HIV risk is poorly sensitive and moderately specific in the prediction of HIV status. There are differences in the validity of self-perceived risk of HIV across rural and urban populations.</p

Geochemistry and mineralogy of the Campanian Sandstone of Lokoja-Basange Formation, Middle Niger Basin (Lokoja sub-basin), Nigeria: Implications for provenance, weathering, tectonic setting and paleo-redox condition

Twenty six road-cut sandstone samples from two lithological sections of Lokoja-Basange Formation in Middle Niger Basin (Lokoja sub-basin) situated by the side of Auchi-Igarra road (07º 07.201'N, 006º 13.011'E) were investigated using integrated mineralogical, geochemical and pore water chemistry studies. The medium to coarse grained sandstone bodies are poorly sorted suggestive of deposition in a low energy setting, probably in a shelf or floodplain. The observed variations in the sandstone colourations are attributed to the nature of the cementing materials. Based on the mineralogical composition, two specific geochemical intervals were established; the first interval revealed quartz and kaolinite as major crystalline minerals with traces of hematite. The second geochemical interval showed quartz and kaolinite as the major crystalline minerals with minor quantities of grossite and halloysite. The geochemical datasets obtained revealed mature, lithic arenites including sub-greywacke and protoquartzites. The inverse correlation between redox potential (Eh) and electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS) and Mg (at 0.05 significant levels) suggest well oxygenated environment of deposition. The high chemical index of alteration (CIA), plagioclase index of alteration (PIA), and chemical index of weathering (CIW) indices revealed high detrital input dominated by intense chemical weathering. This process eventually led to the formation of clay minerals by hydration and leaching of all major cations, such as Ca+2, K+, and Na+, present in feldspar minerals. The average mineralogical index of alteration (MIA) values are indicative of intense to extreme weathering of mineralogical component of the detrital materials from the source areas. The studied sandstones samples are plotted in the field of the active and passive continental margin settings. The mean ratio of Ti/Zr also corroborates active and passive continental margin settings. The higher ratios of La/Y and La/Th and corresponding lower ratios of La/Co and Th/Co indicates felsic source rock. Moreover, the lower ratios of Ba/Sr, Cr/Zr, Ti/Zr and higher ratio of Zr/Y probably suggest felsic source rock. Based on the previously established thresholds, the low Cu/Zn ratios in the studied sandstone samples suggest deposition under oxidizing conditions. Keywords: Lokoja-Basange Formation, Middle Niger Basin, Mineralogy, Geochemistry, Pore water chemistry, provenance, tectonic setting, weathering, Redox proxy

Mineralogy and Geochemical Appraisal of Paleo-Redox Indicators in Maastrichtian Outcrop Shales of Mamu Formation, Anambra Basin, Nigeria

The Mamu Formation exhibits two types of shales, viz. grey and dark shales. The geochemical and mineralogical compositions of these shales were investigated using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and Laser Ablation- Inductively Coupled Plasma Spectrometry (LA-ICPMS) and X-ray diffraction techniques. The basal part of the section is characterized by presence of quartz and kaolinite as the major crystalline minerals with minor quantity of hematite. The presence of hematite in the basal part of the shale sequence suggests oxidizing diagenetic environment of deposition. The second geochemically specific interval (upper part) is characterised by quartz and kaolinite as major crystalline minerals with traces of halloysite and grossite. The ternary plot of these major elements indicates the majority of shale samples examined are variably enriched with SiO2 relative to Al2O3 and CaO. The positive correlations of K2O, TiO2, and Na2O, with Al2O3 indicate that these elements are associated entirely with detrital phases. Some trace elements such as Cr, Ni, and V are positively correlated with Al2O3 which suggest that these elements may be bound in clay minerals and concentrated during weathering. The K2O/Al2O3 ratio is close to the lower limit of clay mineral range, which suggests that kaolinite is the dominant clay minerals. The Al2O3/TiO2 and low Cr/Ni ratios suggest that felsic components were the main components among the basement complex source rocks. The geochemical indices such as Th/Cr, Cr/Th, Th/Co and Th/Cr ratios suggest that these shales were derived from felsic source rocks. The chemical index of alteration values indicates that these shales have experienced strong chemical weathering at the source area. In addition, the depletion of Na and Ca also illustrates an intense chemical weathering of the source rocks. The mineralogical index of alteration values of the studied shale samples indicates an intense to extreme weathering of mineralogical components. The shale units exhibits different degrees of trace-element enrichment, with the approximate order of enrichment relative to an average shale being Co &gt; Pb &gt; Ni &gt; Zr &gt; Cu &gt; Rb &gt; V &gt; Cr &gt; Ba &gt; V &gt; Sr &gt; U. The inverse correlation between Eh, pH, EC and TDS in outcrop Maastrichtian shale samples suggests well oxygenated environment of deposition. In addition, based on previously established thresholds, V/Cr, Ni/Co, Cu/Zn and U/Th ratios support that these shales were deposited under oxidizing diagenetic environment. Keywords: mineralogy, geochemistry, paleo-redox conditions, trace element enrichments, shales, Mamu Formation, Anambra basin, Nigeria

Lightning a Fundamental of Atmospheric Electricity

This paper discussed briefly the basic connection between lightning phenomena and atmospheric electricity. Characteristics pertaining to lightning discharges were reviewed in order to elucidate some elementary mystics that are still associated with lightning events in some parts of the world and that lightning strike when and where it will. Various lightning protection principles were discussed. The essence of lightning protection device is to prevent lightning strikes from taking place over or around an installation or structure