Inventory of Vegetation and Assessment of Carbon Storage Capacity towards a Low Carbon Campus: a Case Study of Universiti Tun Husein Onn Malaysia, Johor Malaysia

Carbon dioxide, a vital greenhouse gas plays a key role in Earth's carbon cycle, a concentration above ambient temperature results in global warming. High CO2 emission in Universiti Tun Husein Onn Malaysia is due to an increase in a number of automobiles and other greenhouse gases released from building facilities and nearby industries. A study was carried out on 22 common trees planted within the campus on the estimated amount of CO2 sequestered. Estimation of carbon storage of trees was obtained through the assessments of standing biomass as well measurement of their photosynthetic capacity. Results indicated that Spathodea campanulata has the highest CO2 absorption (14.40 µmol/ m-2/s-1) followed by Acacia mangium (14.03 µmol/m-2/s-1), and Cananga odorata with (12.80 µmol m-2 s-1). Alstonia scholaris has the highest aboveground standing biomass accumulation of 106.94 kg, followed by Samanea saman (20.83 kg), and Acacia mangium (19.43 kg). The total biomass accumulated of all the tree species is 200.03 kg. Therefore, species of trees in Universiti Tun Husein Onn Malaysia main campus have the potential to absorb a significant amount of CO2 from the atmosphere thereby contributing to mitigating-the localized effects of global warming

Inventory of Vegetation and Assessment of Carbon Storage Capacity towards a Low Carbon Campus: a Case Study of Universiti Tun Husein Onn Malaysia, Johor Malaysia

Carbon dioxide, a vital greenhouse gas plays a key role in Earth's carbon cycle, a concentration above ambient temperature results in global warming. High CO2 emission in Universiti Tun Husein Onn Malaysia is due to an increase in a number of automobiles and other greenhouse gases released from building facilities and nearby industries. A study was carried out on 22 common trees planted within the campus on the estimated amount of CO2 sequestered. Estimation of carbon storage of trees was obtained through the assessments of standing biomass as well measurement of their photosynthetic capacity. Results indicated that Spathodea campanulata has the highest CO2 absorption (14.40 µmol/ m-2/s-1) followed by Acacia mangium (14.03 µmol/m-2/s-1), and Cananga odorata with (12.80 µmol m-2 s-1). Alstonia scholaris has the highest aboveground standing biomass accumulation of 106.94 kg, followed by Samanea saman (20.83 kg), and Acacia mangium (19.43 kg). The total biomass accumulated of all the tree species is 200.03 kg. Therefore, species of trees in Universiti Tun Husein Onn Malaysia main campus have the potential to absorb a significant amount of CO2 from the atmosphere thereby contributing to mitigating-the localized effects of global warming

Inventory and Assessment of Carbon Storage Capacity of species of Palms in Universiti Tun Husein Onn Malaysia, Main Campus, Batu Pahat, Johor Malaysia

Carbon dioxide constitutes about 0.04% of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Its concentration in the atmosphere influences the climate pattern of the world. The unceasing rise above the ambient level leads to global warming. The increase in CO2 release in UTHM (238.8964 ha), was due to the increasing number of more vehicles, and from other greenhouse gases release from structures, facilities and discharges from neighboring industries calls for attention. A study was conducted on eleven most common species of palms for their capacity to sequester a considerable amount of CO2. The Estimate of carbon storage of the palms plants was obtained by the assessments of the above standing biomass and their photosynthetic capacity. Results show that R. regia has the highest CO2 absorption capacity (10.61 µmol m-2 s-1) followed by O. tigillarium  (7.26 µmol m-2 s-1), and W. bifurcata (6.83µmol m-2 s-1). E. guineensis has the highest aboveground biomass accumulation (0.09kg), followed by R. regia (0.05 kg). E. guineensis has the maximum biomass accumulation (15.13 kg), followed by L. chinensis (12.68 kg), then C. renda sp and R. regia with (8.54kg/8.43) on species abundance.  The total standing biomass captured by all the palms species is 69.32kg (0.069 tons) of carbon. Hence, species of palms plants in UTHM have the capacities to absorb sufficient quantity of CO2 from the atmosphere thus contributing to the reducing-the effects of world-wide warming and climate alteratio

Evaluation of heavy metals contamination in the sediments of some selected water of South Senatorial District of Niger State, Nigeria

The present study was conducted to evaluate the level of contamination of heavy metals in the sediment samples of some water of south senatorial district of Niger State, Nigeria. Composite surface sediment samples (54) were collected from the fore, middle, and rear parts of the six (6) selected water bodies; digested and analysed for heavy metal concentration following the standard methods. The results obtained illustrated the decreasing concentrations of the heavy metals in the order of Fe (197.9±47.6) > Mn (77.32±15.83) > Zn (15.37±2.65) > Cr (13.04±1.43) > Pb (2.50±0.56) > Cd (0.72±0.1) mg Kg-1. The overall concentrations of the studied metals were below the continental crust values as well as the sediment quality guidelines utilized in this study. Enrichment Factor (0.51 to 24.97) indicated a no to moderate enrichment for the heavy metals. The contamination factor ranged from 0.22 to 2.61 for the heavy metals. The degree of contamination of the sediment samples revealed a low degree of contamination in the sediment samples for all the sites. The geo-accumulation index illustrated none to moderate pollution (Class 0,3,4) of the sediment samples by the heavy metals. However, a negative moderate relationship existed between redox potential and pH; and between conductivity and chromium showing their dependence on each other. Thus, this study presents an indication of heavy metal contamination process in the selected water bodies and may serves a guide to other studies of metropolitan water bodies in order to determine for suitable remediation procedure

Phytochemical analysis and antibacterial activities of ginger (Zingiber officinale) collected from different parts of Kaduna State against selected bacteria isolated from wound

This study was aimed at screening the phytochemical constituents of Z. officinale extracts from different zones of Kaduna State, Nigeria and evaluating its antibacterial activity against some clinical bacteria isolates. The samples of Z. officinale were obtained from three zones of Kaduna State. The clinical isolates including Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were obtained from Garkuwa Specialist Hospital, Kaduna. The phytochemicals were analyzed qualitatively and agar well diffusion assay as well as tube dilution methods were used to determine the antibacterial activity. The study revealed the presence of phytochemicals such as phlobotannins, saponins, alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, steroids and glycoside in the extracts. The highest activity was observed with the methanolic extract of Z. officinale from zone 3 at the concentration of 50 mg/ml against P. aeruginosa (31.6 mm). Likewise, the methanolic extract of Z. officinale obtained from zone 3 had the greater MIC toward P. aeruginosa (12.5 mg/ml). Whereas, the values of MBC of methanolic crude extract of Z. officinale obtained from the three zones are the same (50 mg/ml). The study shows the potential of Z. officinale in the treatment of bacterial infections

Relationship between Housing Condition, Soldiers' Social Life and Morale in Coral Barracks, Nigeria

Despite the numerous empirical studies that have been conducted on housing conditions, there is still very little research work carried out on military barracks life, the impact of the condition of the barracks' accommodation on the soldiers' social life and morale. Thus, this paper presents a study on the relationship between housing conditions, soldiers' social life, and morale in Coral Barracks Nigeria and covers only the non-commissioned officers' quarters. A quantitative method using a questionnaire survey was used with a sample size of 260. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics as well as parametric measurements. A total number of 194 questionnaires retrieved from the respondents were used in the analyses. Building services attributes had a strong and significant positive correlation. Moreover, neighbourhood and soldiers' life correlate significantly, negative but weak, while physical housing attributes and neighbourhood attributes correlate significantly but negatively and weak with children's life. Neighbourhood attributes and soldiers' morale recorded a significant, negative but weak correlation. In light of these findings, this study recommends that a standard strategic plan for efficient barrack housing construction, management, and maintenance is designed

Effect of Light Quality and Quantity on the Accumulation of Flavonoid in Plant Species

Light effects including its intensity, wavelength, and duration are important environmental factors that affects flavonoid accumulation. Ultraviolet (UV) light can induce flavonoid biosynthesis. Under normal condition, flavonoids are produced in response to stress, and they function as UV filters. In this paper, we review how light quality and quantity affect the accumulation of flavonoid in plant species. High light intensity can influence flavonoid accumulation, but in heliophytes, the opposite is true. Some medicinal plants require shady environment for flavonoid accumulation. In monocots, the flavonoid is situated in both epidermis and mesophyll while in dicot, it is found only in the epidermis. This review leads to a conclusion that high variation in flavonoids accumulation in response to light can occur within and between plant species

Management of educational innovations: effects of infusing “critical thinking” into Islamic finance curricula

Shortage of human capital has been identified in the Islamic financial industry. It is believed that the infusion of critical thinking would boost the students’ level of professional field-related knowledge and provide them with the necessary confidence, the key to professional performance measurement. This study incorporates critical thinking into the curriculum of BWSR2013 “Risk Management and Takaful Planning”. The class syllabus was divided into two sections, with each preliminary section followed by a quiz and pilot data collection, and final data collection. A SemPLS was run on SmartPLS. The results showed that lack of critical thinking in Islamic finance curricula might eventually result in a shortage of skilled professionals in the Islamic financial industry. The findings showed a great correlation between knowledge acquisition, competency and critical thinking. The students’ own perceptions also indicated that the infusion of critical thinking contributed to their increased confidence (self-assurance) in the subject matter learned in this course. The results of the analysis showed that investment in teaching Islamic Finance on part with critical thinking was of utmost importance for the success of the finance industry. Competent professionals are much needed in this field and will continue to remain an unfulfilled ideal if the current system of learning and teaching Islamic Finance continues as it is. The level of confidence and self-assurance of the students can only increase if students learn how to think critically and are capable of providing solutions to real-life problems. The findings showed that the regular graduates lacked expertise also lacked confidence in their own skills. However, no significant relationship between expectation and self-assurance could be ascertained. It is recommended that this study is replicated on a large scale to vindicate the wider positive implications of critical thinking in Islamic finance training curricula

Inventory and Assessment of Carbon Storage Capacity of Non-Timber Plants in Universiti Tun Husein Onn Malaysia, Main Campus, Batu Pahat, Johor Malaysia

Carbon dioxide, an important greenhouse gas performs a fundamental role in Earth's carbon cycle. Its continuous rise has been observed to result to enhanced greenhouse effect which has led to global warming. The increase in CO2 discharge in UTHM (238.8964 ha), owing to more vehicles, and other greenhouse gases from building amenities and close by industries is a concerning issue. Nineteen most common nontimber plants were studied for their capacity to sequester significant amount of CO2. Estimation of carbon storage of non-timber plants was obtained by assessments of standing biomass and their photosynthetic capacity. Results indicate that Sanchezia speciosa has the highest CO2 absorption capacity (15.37µmol m-2 s-1) followed by Hibiscus rosa S. (11.27µmol m-2 s-1), and Ixora coccinea with (9.90µmol m-2 s-1). Baphia nitida has the highest aboveground biomass accumulation (1.0620 kg), followed by Tabernae montana (0.6842 kg), and Cordyline fruticosa (0.1597 kg). Ixora coccinea has the highest biomass accumulation (646.4160 kg), followed by Tabernae montana (220.9966 kg), and Baphia nitida (129.5640 kg) on species abundance. The total biomass captured by the all the species is 1319.2486 kg (1.3192 tons) of carbon. Hence, species of non-timber plants in UTHM have the capacities to absorb a substantial quantity of CO2 from the atmosphere thus contributing to reducing the effects of world-wide warming and climate alteration

The Role of School Libraries in Promoting Reading Culture among Secondary School Students in Benue State

This study examined the role of school libraries in promoting reading culture among Secondary School Students in Benue State. Four objectives were achieved. The study population was 136 subjects comprising of Senior Secondary School 1 and 2 students and same was used as sample size. The instrument for the study is a structured questionnaire titled ‘Role of School Libraries in Promoting Reading Culture among Secondary School Students Questionnaire (RSLORCSSSQ)’. Data collected was analysed using descriptive statistics, precisely mean. Research question 1 was on the purpose of library use by students. Findings revealed that the students read in the library to “catch funs”, for personal intellectual development, to while-away time, for personal intellectual development and to hide from school works. Findings revealed that students read once a week in the library. Findings also revealed that students spend less than an hour reading in the library. It was found that students prefer poetry, newspapers and magazines, novels and story books and comics. The study also found that the hours for opening the libraries is not convenient for students, most of the school library materials are outdated and are not relevant for students, the school always closes libraries and the school lacks library periods. The study concluded that non-integration of the library in the school curriculum, and “catch funs” were the major causes of poor reading culture. It was recommended that school administrators should encourage students to read to pass examinations, have vast knowledge about the world and development of their personal intellectual capacity, students should learn how to spend enough time of at least 2-3 hours reading in the library as it will enable them cover wide in their books and integration of school library activities into the school curricula should be suitable for students to enable them make good use of school library