Blending of Nsu and Ibeku Clays: A Solution Towards the Replacement of GP 107-3 Refractory Brick in the Metallurgical Industry

This study has compared the thermo-physical properties of local content refractories produced from blends of Ibeku and Nsu Clay deposits of Nigeria with an imported clay product, GP 107-3 aluminosilicate refractories of Germany. The properties considered are apparent porosity, bulk density, linear shrinkage, cold crushing strength, refractoriness, thermal shock resistance. The results revealed that some of the blends of the Ibeku and Nsu refractory bricks produced can suitably substitute for the imported aluminosilicate refractories utilized in metallurgical and allied industries. Ibeku sample enhanced the thermo- physical properties of Nsu sample

Measurement and Comparison of Total Electron Content for Assessment of Ionospheric Models during April 7, 2000 Geomagnetic Storms

Ionospheric modelling is a major approach to predicting the behavior of the ionosphere particularly in regions where Global Positioning Systems (GPS) are not readily available. Hence, the objective of this paper is to measure and compare Total Electron Content (TEC) for Assessment of Ionospheric Models during April 7, 2000 Geomagnetic Storms. Measured Total Electron Content (TEC) from experimental records (April 5 - 9, 2000) were compared with those predicted by the improved versions of the International Reference Ionosphere (IRI-2012 and IRI-Plas2015) and the NeQuick models. The mean values of TEC in five days of the months were plotted against the hours of the same day and the root mean square error of the models which shows their deviations from the GPS data were used to observe the diurnal variations in TEC and the performances of the ionospheric models respectively. The data obtained confirmed that TEC has their highest values during the midnight period and lowest values during the sunset period at the Australian stations and we also confirmed that European stations had their highest TEC values during the daytime and their lowest values during the night time. We affirmed that the North American station in USA had its highest TEC values during the night time and lowest values during day time. The Asian station had its highest TEC values during the day time and lowest values during the midnight period. However, NeQuick, IRIPlas2015, and NeQ-IRI produced better estimate of TEC than the IRI-2001 and IRI-2001COR at all locations during the phases of the geomagnetic storm

Comparative Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) Analysis of Chemical Compounds of Moringa oleifera Leaves and Seeds from Abakaliki, Nigeria

Moringa oleifera is a medicinal plant widely used in forkloric medicine in Africa and Asia for the treatment of ailments such as ulcer, wound, inflammation, heart problem, cancer, stroke, obesity, anemia and liver damage. Moringa oleifera leaf and seed samples from Abakaliki, Nigeria were used for chemical constituents’ analysis. The chemical constituents of the methanol extract of Moringa oleifera leaves and seeds were investigated using Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Sixteen chemical constituents were identified in the leaf methanol extract with 9-octadecenoic acid (20.89%), L-(+)-ascorbic acid- 2,6-dihexadecanoate(19.66%), 14 –methyl -8-Hexadecenal  (8.11%) , 4- hydroxyl-4-methyl-2-pentanone (7.01%), 3-ethyl-2, 4-dimethyl-pentane (6.14%) and phytol (4.25%), octadeamethyl-cyclononasiloxane (1.23%), 1, 2-benzenedicarboxylic acid ( 2.46%), 3, 4-epoxy- ethanone comprising (1.78%), N-(-1-methylethyllidene)-benzene ethanamine (1.54%), 4, 8, 12, 16-tetramethylheptadecan-4-olide (2.77%), 3-5-bis (1, 1-dimethylethyl)-Phenol (2.55%), 1-Hexadecanol (1.23%), 3, 7, 11, 15-tetramethyl-2 hexadecene-1ol (1.17%), hexadecanoic acid (2.03%) and 1, 2, 3-propanetriyl ester-9 octadecenoic acid(1.23%) as the chemical constituents while five chemical constituents were identified in methanolic seed extract with oleic acid (84%), L-(+)- ascorbic acid- 2,6-dihexadecanoate (9.80%), 9-octadecenoic acid (1.88%), methyl ester-hexadecanoic acid (1.31%) and 9-octadecenamide (0.78%) as the chemical constituents.  The compounds identified through the GC-MS analysis were used in various applications as anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, cardio protective, cancer preventive, flavour and anti-infertility agents. Keywords: GC-MS analysis, chemical constituents, Moringa oleifera, methanol extract, leaves and seed