Effect of produced sand particles and fines on scale inhibitor: a review.

Application of scale inhibitors in oil and gas production is aimed at mitigating scale blockage during production. Many experimental, mathematical, and numerical simulation modeling works have been carried out to evaluate behavior, performance, and interaction of the scale inhibitor chemicals within porous media in relation to their efficiency in solving scale problem. However, the mechanisms underpinning scale inhibitors performance are not well published. Some research works have shown theoretically that not all scale inhibitors pumped into the formation adsorb onto the formation rock. Some of the inhibitors may adsorb on produced loose sand grains or colloidal fine sand particles which float and flow within the pore spaces along with the scale inhibitor mostly in unconsolidated reservoirs. This paper provides a review of research work on the effect of produced loose sand or colloidal fine particles flow on polyphosphonates and polyphosphinopolymer scale inhibitors performances during crude production

Class, Social Status and Power Relations in Death Proverbs of Nsukka Igbo

This paper focuses on class, social status and power relations as seen in proverbs on/about death among the Nsukka Igbo of South East Nigeria. The proverbs are collected from two communities in Nsukka: Edem and Obollo. It investigates these proverbs as sites of power, domination and control. The research is anchored on Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) because of the theory’s interest in discourse, domination and power asymmetry. The relations of class, social status and power manipulation are undertaken without ignoring their place and function in the system within which they operate. The study discovers that death proverbs contain ethical values with which these communities are guided away from chaos, but some of them legitimize domination, the most common being in terms of age and social status. Key words: death, proverbs, Igbo, Nsukka, discourse, power, class, social status, CDA

Factors that affect Teaching and Learning among Undergraduate Radiography Students in two Nigerian Universities.

Objectives: To understand undergraduate radiography students’ perception on effective teaching and learning. Methods: Two hundred (200) radiography students from different academic levels of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Nnewi Campus and University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus, were enlisted.  Self-completion semi- structured questionnaires were used to obtain information from students on their perception of the teaching methods employed by lecturers. Results: Results revealed that factors such as teaching methods, lecturers’ knowledge of the subject,  their disposition at lectures, use of clear concepts and their practical applications, learning environment, use of visual teaching aids, and use of non-judgmental feedback on students’ work can influence effective learning. Other influencing factors included workload and lecture scheduling, student academic level, age, gender and availability of facilities. Conclusion: The academic performance of students is not only influenced by the lecturer’s knowledge of the subject but also the method used, available facilities, the age and academic level of the students.    &nbsp

Variable geographic distribution of Blastocystis subtypes and its potential implications.

Blastocystis is a common intestinal micro-eukaryote found in both humans and non-human hosts and known to be genetically very diverse. It has been divided into numerous subtypes (STs), nine of which have been identified in humans to date. Surveys of ST prevalence have started to emerge over the past few years but to date no data are available for any African country except Egypt and Tanzania. In this study, we determined the prevalence of Blastocystis STs in populations from Libya, Liberia and Nigeria, as well as expanding the dataset available for the UK. A total of 356 Blastocystis STs were identified in this study, 271 from the UK, 38 from Libya, 25 from Liberia and 22 from Nigeria. SSU rRNA gene sequences revealed the presence of eight of the nine STs known from humans but at varying frequencies between countries. ST1 was the most common ST in Libya and Nigeria whereas ST3 showed the highest frequency in the other two countries, as indeed is the case in most populations around the world. ST4 was absent in Libya and ST2 in Nigeria, while no ST5, ST6, ST8 or ST9 infections were detected in any of the three African populations. The picture emerging from this and other surveys suggests that there is significant variation in ST prevalence between populations. Some of the possible reasons for and implications of this diversity are discussed

Intellectual Capital and Corporate Performance of Listed Consumer Goods Firms in Nigeria Stock Exchange

DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/15-6-07 Publication date:March 31st 2023 1.0    Introduction Over the years, business organizations have recognized that resources are pivotal drivers of business success and performance. Resources such as financial, physical and intangible assets of the firm ought to be optimally managed and utilized in order to ensure that the firm achieves its financial objectives of wealth maximization. Intellectual capital is the most innovative feature for firms to act on according to the environmental changes through their knowledge, experience, and capabilities, which is applied to improve the organizational efficiency (Egolum, 2021). It is now a growing need amongst firm to strategize ways by which their resources could be best maximized for optimal financial returns, hence, the particular attention paid to intellectual capital which is popularly believed to contribute towards the value-added of the firm. (Alfiero, Brescia & Bert, 2021; Ovechkin, Romashkina & Davydenko, 2021). Intellectual capital refers to the various intangible assets which can be converted into profits or value but are not reflected in the financial statements of the firm (Ngoc & Duc, 2020). Extant literature classified intellectual capital into three, namely, human capital, structural capital and capital employed efficiency. Human capital refers to the skills, competencies and experience of the employees which altogether enable them contribute value to the course of the firm. While structural capital is the sum of methods, processes and brands that are owned by the firm, capital employed efficiency (CEE) refers to the economic term that reflects the level of exploitation and use of capital of a firm in production and business activities with the view to creating maximum value at the barest or minimum cost. Corporate performance, which ordinarily measures or indicates the extent to which a firm achieves its financial objectives, is all about how to create knowledge and transform that same knowledge into value. Therefore, in total disagreement with the submission of Kasoga (2020) that there is a debate on the empirical nexus between intellectual capital and the corporate performance of firms, the researcher underscores that the significant contribution of intellectual capital towards the enhancement of the corporate performance of firms is undebatable, it is indubitable. This is because almost all corporate researchers in this line have a consensus that ownership of knowledge, applied experience, organization innovation, customer relationship, and professional competencies, experience and skills essentially facilitate value creation amongst firms. However, intellectual capital is often not accounted for properly in the financial reports, and some firms still have low investment in intellectual capital. And so, the corporate performance of such firms with demonstrated inadequacies in their intellectual capital continues to be eroded

Isolation, identification and anti-cancer activity of minor alkaloids from Triclisia subcordata

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The Universal Basic Education (UBE) Programme in Nigeria: Problems and Prospects

This paper looked at the role of education in the development of a nation, noting among others that education enables people to be good citizens. It therefore saw the need for a qualitative education in Nigeria as such education is what empowers its recipients to be useful members of the society and prepares them for success in life. The paper traced educational development in Nigeria from Independence to the launching of the Universal Basic Education (UBE) in September 1999. The UBE was launched in Nigeria to address the problems that brought about the failures of the previous educational policies and programmes that existed before it. The aim was to address the agitations and yearnings of the Nigerian people for an educational system that would be more relevant to the socioeconomic, political and cultural background of the country. However, the UBE itself is also being bedeviled by a lot of problems. The paper examines these problems and considers the benefits of proper implementation of the UBE programme. Suggestions were made for a way forward

Analysis of a domestic trigeneration scheme with hybrid renewable energy sources and desalting techniques

In this paper, experimental tests of a hybrid trigeneration pilot unit based on renewable energy sources are presented and analyzed. The plant provides electricity by coupling four photovoltaic/thermal collectors and a micro-wind turbine, fresh water by means of hybrid desalination (membrane distillation, and reverse osmosis), and sanitary hot water coming from the photovoltaic/thermal collectors and an evacuated tubes collector. Plant design was previously modeled to cover the power, freshwater and sanitary hot water for a typical family home (four residents) isolated from the power and water networks. The hybrid pilot unit has been tested from May 2017 to March 2018 in Zaragoza (Spain). Results from those tests show that daytime assessment of power, freshwater and sanitary hot water produced allowed a good coverage of scheduled energy and water demands. Flexible operation due to the combined production of power and heat was also observed. State of charge of the batteries and the temperature of the sanitary hot water tank are the key control variables, which allow to give priority to power, freshwater or sanitary hot water production according to the ordered demands or economic incentives. Environmental assessment of the pilot unit along its life cycle also has shown very low impacts with respect to the conventional supply of energy and water

Histopathological Alterations in the Liver and Kidney of the Fish Chrysichthys nigrodigitatus due to Heavy Metals in Niger River

Surveillance and monitoring of concentrations of heavy metals in water bodies may serve as an early alert system on bioaccumulation of heavy metals in aquatic food chain therein.  Histopathological examination of target tissues of the fish would reveal harmful effects of chemical pollutants like heavy metals in fish. This study determined the concentrations of heavy metals in water columns and in the fish Chrysichthys nigrodigitatus of Niger River at Onitsha as well as pathological alterations in liver and kidney tissues of the fish. Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer was used in determination of concentrations (mg/l) of heavy metals namely, Zinc (Zn), Iron (Fe), Copper (Cu), Lead (Pb), Mercury (Hg), Cadmium (Cd), and Arsenic (As) in water and fish samples from the Niger River during the dry season of 2011 and proceeding wet season of 2012. Annual mean concentrations of Zn, Fe, Cu, Hg, Cd, and Arsenic in water columns were significantly lower (P<.05) than those in the fish. Annual mean concentrations of Zn, Cu, Cd, Hg, and Arsenic in fish however complied with WHO Standards in Aquatic Foods but Fe and Pb exceeded the WHO Standards. Extensive hyperaemia, oedematous sinusoids, hepatocytes in apoptosis with pyknotic nuclei, and wide spread necrotic hepatocytes with mononuclear leucocytes infiltrations and pigment deposits in liver tissues, as well as severe hyperaemia of the interstices with degenerating and necrotic tubular epithelial cells in kidney tissues were the major characteristic histopathological findings in the fish. Bioaccumulation of heavy metals in the fish indicated that Niger River at Onitsha was experiencing impairment, and that prolonged exposure of fish to heavy metals in the river may result in increased morbidity and mortality as well as reduced productivity in fish. Potential health risks associated with human consumption of heavy metal-contaminated fish and other aquatic food chain need not be over emphasized. Similar studies should be carried out in other Nigerian water bodies in order to increase the national information bank on chemical pollution which will help in the formulation of evidence-based policy decisions on methods of achieving sustainable environment. Keywords: Niger River, pollution, heavy metals, fish, bioaccumulation, liver and kidney, histopatholog