Implication of Future Carbon Dioxide Injection on Selected Niger-Delta Reservoir Rocks and Fluids

Mitigation against increasing carbon dioxide, CO2, in the atmosphere is uppermost in environmental research due to its negative effects and the most effective approach is in the area of underground carbon storage. In this research, a model was developed to study the possible alteration of porosity and permeability during CO2 injection to Kwale sandstone reservoir, Kwale shales, Imeri oil sand and Ota Kaolinitic clay. The proposed model combined the Timur model irreducible water saturation equation and the Coates-Dumanoir permeability equation, to describe CO2 injection influence on the Kwale reservoir permeability. The proposed model gave permeability values ranging from 0.06 milliDarcy to 92.46 milliDarcy for the Kwale sandstones and shale; 2.01 to 10.2 milliDarcy for Imeri oil sand and 1.8 to 10.2 milliDarcy for Ota Kaolinitic clay samples. In comparison, the Timur model gave permeability values from 0.0 to 634 milliDarcy; Tixier values range from 0.0 to 10053 milliDarcy; Coates-Dumanoir gave values of 6.68 - 8550 milliDarcy while Aigbedion gave values ranging from -3.7 to 5.94 milliDarcy. The published Kwale sands permeability ranges from 0.8 to 87 milliDarcy. During this research it was discovered that the injection of CO2 into Kwale sandstones resulted in an increase in the porosity of the sandstone, which is an indication of possible reaction between the injected CO2 and the formation. This made the Kwale sandstone formation a potential CO2 storage reservoir. It was concluded that the black Kwale shale lacked storage integrity as the stored gas may migrate to nearby reservoirs. The grey shale is recommended for CO2 storage as there was observed increase in porosity which is an indication of possible reaction with the CO2 to form new minerals which will make the gas to remain underground. Imeri oil sand formation is too porous and is recommended, with reservation, as a potential CO2 storage reservoir. The Ota Kaolinitic clay with its moderate initial porosity and reducing porosity with CO2 injection is a potential storage reservoir for CO2. It was observed that there is no single equation to describe the permeability variation with time for the samples considered but the permeability is a second degree polynomial in time and porosity immediately after injection but has an exponential relationship with the time/porosity after some days of injection. Moreover, research was conducted on the possible leakage of the stored CO2 to a nearby formation being drilled or produced. It was observed that this leakage will create drilling problems due to its side effect on the properties of the drilling mud and the oil in place. CO2 leakage into a nearby producing reservoir will affect the property of the producing oil negatively and there may be need for further treatment of the crude at the surfac

Effects of ethanolic leaf extract of Chrysophyllum albidum G. on biochemical and haematological parameters of albino Wistar rats

The effect of oral administration of the leaf extract of Chrysophyllum albidum G. on biochemical and haematological parameters were investigated in albino rats for 16 days. The extract did not show any significant effect (p > 0.05) on the plasma concentrations of total bilirubin, albumin and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) as well as the packed cell volume (PCV), haemoglobin (Hb), red blood cell (RBC), reticulocytes, neutrophils, lymphocytes, eosinophils, basophils, mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC) and mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH). The concentration of the platelets was significantly decreased (p < 0.05) at 1000 mg/kg body weight, while white blood cell (WBC) was significantly increased at 500 mg/kg body weight. The doses significantly reduced (p < 0.05) plasma levels of AST, ALT, total protein, glucose and creatinine while urea was significantly increased. While the extract significantly increased the lung, brain and liver-body weights, the kidney, heart, testis, spleen and epididymis-body weights were not significantly affected. The result suggests that the leaf extract of C. albidum contains antiplatelet and hypoglycemic properties and exhibited selective organ toxicity to the rats

Bacteriological and Physicochemical Studies on Three Major Dams in Ekiti State, Nigeria

The bacteriological and physicochemical properties of public water supply system in Ekiti State, Nigeria were analyzed, using treated and untreated water samples from selected dams. The antibiotic sensitivity of 140 E.coli (as water indicator) isolated was evaluated using microbiological standard methods. The plasmid profile of 20 selected resistant isolates was done using agarose gel electrophoresis method. The coliform and E. coli count were apparently high with average range of 28.6x102 to 39.8x103CFU/ml and 13.0x102 to 8.4x103CFU/ml respectively. Though less than 3% of the isolated E. coli was sensitive to ofloxacin, nalixidic acid and nitrofurantoin, only 24(17.1%) was resistant to amoxicillin. Among the multidrug resistant isolates about 92.9% were resistant to at least four antibiotics while 7.0% were resistant to all the eight antibiotics used. Out of 20 MDR isolates selected, only one (1) showed absence of plasmid as other harbored plasmids ranging from 1 to 4. The size of the plasmids in kilobase pair ranged between 2.03 and 3.13. The physicochemical properties and mineral content of the water samples were all within WHO permissible limits with pH range of (7.40-7.80) and temperature range of (27.5-28.0)0C. The occurrence of plasmid-mediated multidrug resistant E. coli in a public water supply system in rural community heightens public health concern as discussed in this work. Keywords:Ureje, Ero, Egbe, multidrug resistance, plasmid mediated, physicochemica

EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION AND PUBLIC SECTOR FRAUD: EVIDENCE FROM KWARA STATE, NIGERIA

This study examines the relationship between fraud and employee motivation in the Kwara State public sector with a view to ascertain what will happen to fraud occurrence if good salary, allowances and perquisites, effective working hours, conducive environment, timely promotion are put in place. Multistage sampling technique was used in obtaining the primary data used from 870 respondents selected from 7 local governments in the state and were analysed using Ordinary Least Square Regression and Friedman ANOVA test but interpreted using R2, adjusted R2, Durbin Watson Statistics, F statistics and t statistics. The results show that employee motivational factors (salary, perquisites and regular promotion) can reduce fraud activities among the state employees; this is in consonance with theoretical expectations (Douglas McGregor’s theory Y, Abraham Maslow’s needs theory and Fredric Herzberg’s two-factor theory). Contrarily, allowances, conducive environment and training show a positive relationship with fraud and this is at variance with a-priori expectations. The study recommends that government should improve the working conditions of its employee including the provision of improved salary structure, prompt payment of entitlements and regular promotions as well as provided adequate training to motivate employees towards efficiency, commitment and inhibit fraud inclinations. If all these are in place and erring officials are made to face the full wrath of the law without bias, the state economy in particular and Nigeria economy in general will be better for it.Â

Assessment and biological treatment of effluent from textile industry

The assessment of effluent generated from international textile industry (Nig) Ltd. Odongunyan Industrial Estate Ikorodu Lagos was carried out. The effluent was analyzed for biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total solid (TS), suspended solid (SS), dissolved solid (DS), odour and colour intensity prior to biological treatment with mixed culture of Aspergillus  niger and Aspergillus wentil. The product of biological treatment was analyzed after 5 days of treatment. The result revealed that the effluent was initially of high BOD, COD, TS, DS, SS and colour intensity. The method used in this work has significantly reduced COD to well below 250 mg/l and BOD &lt; 30 mg/l, TSS &lt; 30 mg/l which are the upper limit for disposal into surface water. The result indicates remarkable overall COD reduction from 800 mg/l to 200 mg/l (75%), BOD (97.3%) from 750 mg/l to 20 mg/l and bioremediation of TSS &lt; 30 mg/l (99.5%), DS (99.6%) and SS (99.3%).Key words: Textile industrial effluent, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus wentil

Factors that affect the uptake of community-based health insurance in low-income and middle-income countries : a systematic protocol

Many people residing in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) are regularly exposed to catastrophic healthcare expenditure. It is therefore pertinent that LMICs should finance their health systems in ways that ensure that their citizens can use needed healthcare services and are protected from potential impoverishment arising from having to pay for services. Ways of financing health systems include government funding, health insurance schemes and out-of-pocket payment. A health insurance scheme refers to pooling of prepaid funds in a way that allows for risks to be shared. The health insurance scheme particularly suitable for the rural poor and the informal sector in LMICs is community-based health insurance (CBHI), that is, insurance schemes operated by organisations other than governments or private for-profit companies. We plan to search for and summarise currently available evidence on factors associated with the uptake of CBHI, as we are not aware of previous systematic reviews that have looked at this important topic

Blood profiles of African catfish Clarias gariepinus fingerlings fed diets supplemented with three strains of Lactobacillus plantarum

A 10-week feeding trial was carried out to evaluate strain-specific effects of Lactobacillus plantarum on blood profiles of African catfish Clarias gariepinus fingerlings. A catfish diet was formulated and divided into five portions (experimental diets). The first portion served as control (with no probiotic added to it, labeled as NP) while the second portion received 2.5g kg-1 multi-species commercial probiotics (CP). The third, fourth and fifth portions were the experimental diets that contained 2×109cfu/g of L. plantarum strains of ascension numbers LC333558, LC333559 and LC333560, and labeled as LP58, LP59 and LP60, respectively. Fifteen apparently healthy C gariepinus fingerlings (4.86±0.59g) were stocked in an experimental tank of 70 litres capacity, while the experimental feed was fed to the fish in triplicate tanks. Similar rearing conditions were maintained in all experimental tanks. The results showed significant (p0.05) difference between the fish fed control diet and probiotics supplementation diets in some of the haematological parameters examined. Probiotics supplementations did not affect total and differential leukocytes among different experimental groups. Except for RBC counts, fish groups fed with strains LB59 and LB60 had similar effects and appeared to have better haematological values than groups fed with LB58. Strains-specific effect of L. planatrum was also observed in creatinine levels among the experimental groups. Hence, it can be concluded that strains of L. plantarum affected some haematological parameters of C. gariepinus fingerlings positively, while dietary supplementation of L. plantarum LC333559 strain could be employed to improve haematological parameters of C. gariepinus fingerlings

The Effect of Electrolyte on Dye Sensitized Solar Cells Using Natural Dye from Mango (M. indica L.) Leaf as Sensitizer

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) were fabricated with mango leaf dye extracts as natural dye sensitizers at pH value of 5.20 and temperature of 18.1˚C. Methanol was used as dye-extracting solvent. DSSCs from dye extract of M. indica L. with KMnO4 electrolyte had the highest photocurrent density of 1.3 mA/cm2 and fill factor FF of 0.46 for the sun at its peak. Potassium permanganate (KMnO4) had a photocurrent density of 1.3 mA/cm2 and FF of 0.8 at sundown. Potassium Iodide (KI), Potassium Bromide (KBr) and Mercury Chloride (HgCl2) electrolytes had 0.2 mA/cm2, 0.08 mA/cm2 and 0.02 mA/cm2 photocurrent densities respectively. The fill factors of 0.09, 0.03 and 0.003 respectively for sun overhead while 0.08 mA/cm2, 0.01 mA/cm2 and 0.01 mA/cm2 were the values of photocurrent densities respectively at sundown. The fill factors were 0.02, 0.0006 and 0.003 respectively at sundown. The maximum power Pmax of the DSSCs were 0.5 mW/cm2, 0.10 mW/cm2, 0.01 mW/cm2 and 0.012 mW/cm2 respectively at 1300 h at 1630 h 0.9 mW/cm2, 0.14 mW/cm2, 0.005 mW/cm2 and 0.0015 mW/cm2 respectively

Incidence of Lipolytic Mycoflora in Domestic Wastewater

The decomposition of domestic effluent by mycoflora was investigated. The microbial load enumerated for the period of 13 days, using standard microbiological techniques revealed the average total bacterial count between the range of 1.97 x 106 CFU/ml and 1.25 x 107 CFU/ml, the total coliform count have a mean range between 1.29 x 106 CFU/ml and 0.56 x 107 CFU/ml while the total fungal count showed a mean range of 3.17 x 106 CFU/ml to 2.14 x 107 CFU/ml. One hundred and twenty fungal isolates were obtained from the wastewater with the highest occurred organism as Fusarium moniliforme (19.2% occurrence), followed by Fusarium oxysporium (14.2%) and the least occurred organism Aspergillus versiculor (0.8%). The acidic pH and turbidity values obtained ranged from 3.41 - 5.98 and 1.63 - 1.79 respectively. Only 39 (32.5%) of the fungi isolates showed ability to degrade lipids with varying potentials; of which four (10.3%) were grouped among high and slight lipolysis. Among the lipolytic fungal isolates, Aspergillus spp. showed the highest occurrence of 79.5%, followed by 5.1% occurrence of Penicillium spp., Fusarium spp. and Rhizopus spp. while Absidia spp. and Thermophillus spp. showed the laeast occurrence (2.6%). It is significant that fungi associated with oil-rich wastewater also attribute the potentials of degrading the lipid component of sewages, an advantage in the treatment process. Keywords: Mycoflora, oil-rich wastewater, lipolytic, fung

Income mix and liquidity of Nigerian deposit money banks : evidence from dynamic panel models

Liquidity crunch is one of the greatest challenges that deposit money banks are confronted with which negatively affect their strength and stability and ultimately leading to collapse of some. Arising from this, the study focused on the “effect of income mix on liquidity of Nigerian deposit money banks.”The study adopted an ex post facto research design, while ten out of all the listed banks were purposefully selected. The study obtained secondary data from the annual reports and accounts of the sampled banks from 2008 to 2017. Series of preliminary analyses involving descriptive and correlation analyses were conducted while generalized method of moment was employed in testing the hypotheses. The study found that all the variables of interest on income mix individually exhibit no significant effect on liquidity (P > 0.05), in effect, ratio of interest income, fee and commission income, foreign exchange income and other income were found to influence liquidity negatively while investment income was found to exert positive effect on liquidity. The study’s conclusion arising from the findings is that income mix has significant positive joint effect on liquidity management. Arising from the conclusion, the study recommends that bank should keep diversifying their income base as such strategy significantly improves liquidity, while also improving on the interest income, fee and commission income, foreign exchange income and other income.peer-reviewe