• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.235-242
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• 2021

Seed morphology, physiology and environmental conditions have influence on germination of any tropical seeds and their appropriate handling, processing and handling enhances seeds emergent. This study therefore investigated effects of storage durations under different temperatures on germination of Bombax costatum seeds from different provenances. Fresh 25 seeds of B. costatum in four replicates were collected from four different provenances (Aponmu, Oluwa, Ibadan and Oyo). They were surface sterilized, thoroughly washed in distilled water and stored at four different temperature regimes: 28℃, 21℃, 5℃ and -17℃. Samples were taken every 2 months for germination test for 18 months. Germination assessment was carried out daily and recorded. The experimental design was 4×4×10 factorial in 4 replicates. Data were subjected to percentages and analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results showed that there were significant differences among storage temperatures, storage durations and provenances on germination percentage. Freshly collected seeds from Aponmu and Oyo had the highest mean germination of 100% followed by seeds from Ibadan (89.3%). Seeds from Oyo provenance stored 5℃ had germination of 94.0%, 88.70% and 78.7% at 2nd, 4th and 6th month respectively. Seeds from Ibadan and Oyo stored at 28℃, 21℃ recorded 0.0% starting from 8 months of storage. Germination of B. costatum seeds from the four provenances decreased with increase in storage duration at different temperatures.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.56 no.5
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• pp.485-486
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• 2023

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.56 no.2
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• pp.257-263
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• 2012

The selection of suitable delignification conditions and optimization of process variables is crucial to the successful operation of chemical pulping processes. Soda pulping of Carpolobia lutea was investigated, as an alternative raw material for pulp and paper production. The process was optimized under the influence of three operational variables, namely, temperature, time and concentration of cooking liquor. Equations derived using a second - order polynomial design predicted the pulp yield and lignin dissolution with errors less than 8% and 11% respectively. The maximum variations in the pulp yield using a second order factorial design was caused by changes in both time and alkali concentration. Optimum pulp yield of 43.87% was obtained at low values of the process variables. The selectivity of lignin dissolution was independent of the working conditions, allowing quantitative estimations to be established between the pulp yield and residual lignin content within the range studied.

• International Journal of Knowledge Content Development & Technology
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.19-29
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• 2022

The new age is characterised by information communication technology, where computers, laptops, mobile gadgets such as palmtops, tablets, mobile phones and the internet have made their way to every sphere of life from our domestic environments such a homes, small retail shops, banks to large industries and the world at large. Over time, so many questions about the ethical use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) have emerged on who has access to what technology and the use of it and like every other technological invention. This paper will look at the morality involved in making use of ICT to promote ethical use of data or information in a virtual environment. ICT also possesses both positive and negative impacts; the questions that these impacts raise are what this piece attempts to answer, providing global scrutiny to these ethical issues, situations and questions; and providing recommendations in line with global best practices.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.331-337
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• 2019

Digitaria exilis L. is an under-utilized crop with high nutritional and medicinal values. It thrives in and is well-adapted to arid areas with low soil nutrients. Using biochemical markers, this study investigates the mechanisms by which D. exilis responds to osmotic stress. Three accessions Dinat Iburua (DIN), Jakah Iburua (JAK) and Jiw Iburua (JIW) were collected from National Cereal Research Institute, Niger State. Two accessions, NG/11/JD/061 and NG/11/JD/062 were also collected from National Centre for Genetic Resources and Biotechnology, Ibadan. Murashige and Skoog medium of approximately 1.2 L was supplemented with polyethylene glycol 6000 to create osmotic pressures of -9.29, -13.93, -20.13, -26.32, -32.51, and 0 MPa (control). Sterilized seeds were inoculated in the medium and placed in the growth room for 4 weeks. Proline accumulation was significantly high in all JAK plants under osmotic stress. Proline and ascorbate peroxidase (p<0.05) activities were directly correlated, thus reinforcing the survivability of JAK during stress. Catalase (CAT) activity was also significantly induced in JAK under osmotic stress, which synergistically improved its tolerability. As a result, >50% of OH-, H₂O₂, and NO radicals were scavenged. However, other accessions including DIN, NG061, NG062, and JIW showed variations in their responses to different levels of osmotic stress, although not significant. Therefore, JAK possesses a well-equipped free radical quenching system that is protected by the accumulation of the osmolyte proline; therefore, accession JAK is considered osmotolerant. CAT and superoxide dismutase activities were osmostabilized against oxidative stress by proline.

• Mycobiology
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.164-169
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• 2011

Spent mushroom compost (SMC) of Pleurotus pulmonarius (an edible fungus) was used as soil conditioner for the improvement of growth of four common Nigerian vegetables (Abelmoschus esculentus, Lycopersicum esculentum, Capsicum annum and Capsicum chinense). The results of these investigations showed that the vegetables responded well to the SMC treatment. Each of them attained its best growth and gave the highest number of flowers and fruits when planted on 6 kg of depleted garden soil supplemented with 600 g of SMC. The control experiment that has the seedlings of the vegetables planted on 6 kg of depleted garden soil only, without the application of SMC, showed stunted and poor growth, with few or no flower and fruit production. A. esculentus was the best utilizer of iron utilizing 118.0 mg/kg in the SMC used. Similarly; this vegetable utilized 1.48 mg/kg of nitrogen in the SMC. The highest height in each vegetable was attained with 6 kg of depleted garden soil supplemented with 600 g of SMC. At 9 wk, A. esculentus has the mean height of 85.0 cm while these values significantly increased to 100.00 cm at 14 wk ($p{\leq}0.05$). At 9 wk, L. esculentum has the highest mean height of 65.00 cm which increased to 71.00 cm after 14 wk. It was also observed that A. esculentus has the highest mean number of fruits (9.00), followed in order by C. chinense (8.00) and L. esculentum (7.00) ($p{\leq}0.05$) while, C. annum produced the least mean number of fruits (5.00). No fruits production was seen in the control experiments. The results of these findings were discussed in relation to the usage of SMC as possible organic fertilizer for the improvement of growth of vegetables in Nigeria.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.45-52
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• 2022

The identification of Plasmodium falciparum enoyl acyl-carrier protein reductase (pfENR) is considered as a potential biological target against malaria. Trema orientalis is considered a rich source of phytochemicals useful in malaria treatment. This study evaluated the in-vitro inhibitory activity of the extract and isolated compounds of T. orientalis leaf; the isolated compounds and the analogues of the most active compound were subjected to in-silico molecular docking studies on pfENR. The methanolic extract of T. orientalis was subjected to repeated chromatographic separation which led to the isolation of some compounds. The isolated compounds from the plant were examined for their antimalarial activity using β-hematin inhibition assay. Virtual screening via molecular docking and ADMET studies were conducted to gain insight into the mechanism of binding of ligand and to identify effective pfENR inhibitors. The isolated compounds and the analogues of the most active isolates were gotten from PubChem library for use in docking study. Hexacosanol and β-sitosterol showed inhibition of the β-hematin formation. The docking results showed that hexacosanol, β-sitosterol and the analogues of β-sitosterol displayed binding energy ranging between -6.1 kcal/mol and -11.6 kcal/mol. Sitosterol glucoside has the highest docking score. Some of the ligands showed more binding affinity than known bioactive compounds used as reference. Analogues of β-sitosterol has been shown to be potential inhibitors of pfENR, therefore, the findings from this study suggest that sitosterol glucoside and ergosterol peroxide could act as antimalarial agents after further lead optimisation investigations.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.315-321
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• 2014

Forest timber production potential of any site is oftentimes measured quantitatively by site index, which is defined as dominant height of a particular stand at a specified age. A site index was developed for estimating site quality of monoculture Pinus caribaea plantations in southwestern Nigeria using a base age of 25 years. Dominant height data were collected from 60 Temporary Sample Plots (TSPs) of $20{\times}20m$ in plantations of 15 to 37 years. Linear and non-linear models as been widely applied in quantitative forest measurements were fitted to dominant height-age data and the best site index equation is : $SI=Exp^{(InHd-23.495(A^{-2}-0.04)}$. The site index curves constructed for the three sites (Omo Forest Reserve - OFR (J4), Oluwa Forest Reserve - OLFR and Shasha Forest Reserve - SFR) across the southwestern Nigeria using the chosen equation revealed that a 15 year old Pinus caribaea in the study area attained average dominant heights of 25, 22 and 21 m in OFR (J4), OLFR and SFR respectively. The site index equation and curves proffer veritable insight into better silvicultural options and management practices for the future plantations suitable sites.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.119-125
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• 2018

The tropical forests in developing countries are faced with the problem of illegal exploitation of trees. However, dearth of empirical means of expressing the dimensions, structure, quality and quantity of a removed tree has imped conviction of offenders. This study aimed at developing a model that can effectively estimate individual tree basal area (BA) from stump diameter (Ds) for Tectona grandis stands in Omo Forest Reserve, Nigeria, for timber valuation in case of illegal felling. Thirty-six $25m{\times}25m$ temporary sample plots (TSPs) were laid randomly in six age strata; 26, 23, 22, 16, 14, and 12 years specifically. BA, Ds and diameter at breast height were measured in all living T. grandis trees within the 36 TSPs. Least square method was used to convert the counted stumps into harvested stem cross-sectional areas. Six basal area models were fitted and evaluated. The BA-Ds relationship was best described by power model which gave least values of Root mean square error (0.0048), prediction error sum of squares (0.0325) and Akaike information criterion (-15391) with a high adjusted coefficient of determination (0.921). This study revealed that basal area estimation was realistic even when the only information available was stump diameter. The power model was validated using independent data obtained from additional plots and was found to be appropriate for estimating the basal area of Tectona grandis stands in Omo Forest Reserve, Nigeria.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.7-16
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• 2020

Tree size distribution modelling is an integral part of forest management. Most distribution yield systems rely on some flexible probability models. In this study, a simple finite mixture of two components two-parameter Weibull distribution was compared with complex four-parameter distributions in terms of their fitness to predict tree size distribution of teak (Tectona grandis Linn f) plantations. Also, a system of equation was developed using Seemingly Unrelated Regression wherein the size distributions of the stand were predicted. Generalized beta, Johnson's SB, Logit-Logistic and generalized Weibull distributions were the four-parameter distributions considered. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and negative log-likelihood value were used to assess the distributions. The results show that the simple finite mixture outperformed the four-parameter distributions especially in stands that are bimodal and heavily skewed. Twelve models were developed in the system of equation-one for predicting mean diameter, seven for predicting percentiles and four for predicting the parameters of the finite mixture distribution. Predictions from the system of equation are reasonable and compare well with observed distributions of the stand. This simplified mixture would allow for wider application in distribution modelling and can also be integrated as component model in stand density management diagram.