An electrical resistivity investigation was carried out in parts of the College of Education (Technical) Asaba to delineate the subsurface lithologic units with special emphasis on the competence and suitability for engineering foundations. A total of ten (10) vertical electrical sounding and two (2) horizontal profiling stations were covered within the study area using the Schlumberger and dipole-dipole configurations. The acquired data was analyzed using WinResist and RES2DINV Software; the subsurface within the study area is composed of mostly 3 geoelectric layers: topsoil, clay/sandy clay/clayey sand and sand. The second and third layers have relatively low resistivity ranging between 29 – 94 Ωm and consist of incompetent clayey material underlying about 60 % of the investigated study area. The interpreted field results showed a significant clay overburden that is over 5 m thick. A fourth layer of sand with resistivity values ranging between 451 – 1258 Ωm was encountered at depths between 4.9 – 11.5 m; the thickness of this layer with reference from the borehole log is greater than 20 m. It is therefore recommended that the incompetent clayey material be avoided or excavated before constructing any structure.

This study examined the levels of metals (Mg, Al, Si, P, S, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Zr, Nb, Mo, Ag, Sn, Sb, Ta, Pt, Au, Pb, and Bi) in onion bulbs and leaves in light of the latent toxicity, unsolvable character, and snowballing behaviour of heavy metals. The onion bulbs and leaves were randomly selected from the Samaru market chopped, dried, and ground into a powder for X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometer (XRF) measurement. Except for concentrations of Si, Ti, Zr, and Ag, with the value of 9.996, 4.051, 2.047 and 2.082 mg/kg in the onion bulbs and 20.23, 5.861, 1.175 and 1.538 mg/kg in the onion leaves respectively, which were higher than the permissible level of 0.800, 0.530, 0.000005 and 0.014 respectively, all the metals analysed were at or below the World Health Organization's (WHO) permissible limit. The findings generally indicated that Si, Ti, Zr, and Ag poisoning could result from eating onion bulbs and leaves from the Samaru market due to the Si, Ti, Zr, and Ag health risks. To avoid metal poisoning and subsequent bioaccumulation of the metal in the systems of consumers and the ecosystem at large, there is a need for a quarterly examination of the metal content in the onion bulb and onion leaf in the Samaru market.

The physical properties of crystalline compounds are highly essential for predicting their applications in various nanodevices. Density functional theory is very useful in that regard. Herein, some physical properties such as structural stability, and electronic, optical and mechanical properties of two-phase bulk WSe2 have been comparatively investigated by first principle calculations. Band structure calculations elucidate that the materials are indirect band gap semiconductors having band gap energy in the range 1-1.5 eV. It was observed that the hexagonal crystal has higher absorption coefficients compared to the trigonal phase. Analysis of elastic constants of the materials carried out using the Born criteria method indicates that all systems are mechanically stable at room temperature. Our findings are in close agreement with the previous experimental and theoretical results, this further suggests that the materials are promising in optoelectronics applications.

A geophysical study has been carried out using the electrical resistivity method, Very LowFrequency Electromagnetic (VLF-EM) and physiochemical analysis to investigate the effects of groundwater contamination in the vicinity of an open dumpsite at Idugosa. A Vertical Electrical sounding was carried out at 100 m away from the dumpsite and the results revealed an H-type curve with 3- layers, with a low resistivity value of 90.0 Ωm, thickness of 9.8 m and depth of 11.3 m at the weathered basement. The control VES revealed 5 –layers of HK-type curve. The resistivity of the weathered and fractured basement ranged from 241.8 Ωm to 2908.4 Ωm with a thickness range of 3.5 m to 13.6 m and a depth range of 5.6 m to 19.1 m. Results of the horizontal profiling using Wenner profiling revealed a low resistivity value of 1.6 Ωm to 3.8 Ωm at a depth of 15 m to 30 m, concentrated at stations 20 to 100. The bottom of the western part showed that the leachate plume had infiltrated and contaminated the groundwater in the zone. The VLF-EM with the three profiles revealed high current density values on the KarousHjelt filter plot at distances of 20 m to 38 m for profile 1, 25 m to 50 m and 75 m to 95 m for profile 2, revealing the presence of contaminants which is mainly from decayed organic matter from waste bodies and heavy metals from the dumpsite. Profile 3 which is further away from profile 1 revealed that the contamination is reduced as we move further away from the dumpsite at about 10 m to 20 m, 50 m to 60 m and 90 m respectively. The physio-chemical analysis results showed a pH range of 6.73 – 7.17 which is within the World Health Organization (WHO) standard (6.5 - 8.5). The Electrical Conductivity (EC) value of the Idugosa dumpsite was found to be 804.9 μS/cm, which is above the WHO standard for EC values, which should not exceed 400 μS/cm. This high value can be attributed to the infiltration of the leachate plume from the dumpsite. The EC for Idugosa control which is 188.0 μS/cm is within the WHO limit for groundwater, thus its safe for consumption.

Kidney failure has become a growing problem at Hadejia Emirates over the last decade. This can be attributed to water pollution, possibly due to heavy metal contamination of River Hadejia that affects organisms living in it, such as fish. This study is aimed to determine the concentration of heavy metals (As, Cd, Cr, Pb) in two fish muscles. The research was conducted on tilapia and catfish where two samples of both fishes were used. The fish tissues were cut and oven-dried at 110 °C, and then a motor and pestle were used to powder the dried fish sample. A wet digestion method was used based on the analytical methods for Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (AAS). The result obtained shows that the concentrations of heavy metals (Cr, Cd, As and Pb) in both fishes were found to be 0.3220 ± 0.0028; 0.1656 ± 0.002 (𝑚𝑔/𝑘𝑔), 0.0319 ± 0.0018; 0.0333 ± 0.0018 (𝑀𝑔/𝑘𝑔), 0.0697 ± 0.0011; 0.1035 ± 0.0015 (𝑚𝑔/𝑘𝑔) and 1.008 ± 0.0035; 0.600 ± 0.002 (𝑚𝑔/𝑘𝑔) respectively. The mean concentration value of the two samples of both tilapia and catfish were found to be above WHO standard limit except for cadmium in tilapia which is below WHO standard limit.

Borate glass systems have been extensively studied for practical applications in optical display devices by virtue of their peculiar luminescence efficiency. However, the attainment of high emission from borate glass materials via apposite control of rare earth ions (REIs) contents remains a topical issue in Material Physics. In this paper, we report the influence of REIs (Dy3+, Eu3+, and Sm3+) on multiple-colour emission of magnesium sodium borate (MSB) glasses fabricated by using the conventional melt-quenching method. These glasses were optically characterized via X-ray Diffraction (XRD), UV-VIS-NIR and Photoluminescence techniques. The XRD pattern confirms the amorphous nature of the as-prepared glasses. The absorption spectra disclosed several absorption bands at 347 nm (6H15/2 → 6P7/2) for Dy3+, 393 nm (7F0 → 5L6) for Eu3+ and 403 nm (6H5/2 →6P5/2) assigned for Sm3+ respectively. Also, the emission spectra radiate at 463 nm (4F9/2 → 6F11/2 + 6H9/2), 612 nm (5D0 → 7FJ) and 599 nm (4G5/2 → 6H7/2) for Dy3+, Eu3+, and Sm3+ correspondingly, wherein Dy3+ emits blue, yellow, and red light, Eu3+ emits red light and Sm3+ emits reddish-orange light. Finally, 1.0 mol% content of Dy3+, Eu3+, and Sm3+ in MSB glasses was found to be optimal and hence considered the best optical host for colour display devices.

A study of the occurrence of the first intense Geomagnetic storm (G4) to hit the Earth since the start of the Solar Cycle 25 is carried out. This study analyzed the Geomagnetic Storm that occurred between the 28th of October and the 7th of November 2021. The values of the Disturbance storm time (Dst) index of the storm reach -115 nT (G4) which occurred on the 4th of November at 1300UT. The storm is the first intense magnetic storm that occurred in the solar cycle 25. It is also a multiple-step storm with moderate two-step storm occurrence which occurred on the 5th and 6th of November at 1500UT and 0600UT respectively towards the recovery phase after the intense storm. The interplanetary magnetic field (IMF)Bz (nT) during these storm events decreases. Our analysis shows that the rise in solar wind speed, temperature and the enhancement of pressure plays a significant role in the occurrence of the first intense Geomagnetic storm of Solar Cycle 25.