This study was conducted to document and evaluate plants species that have the ability to repel insects in Katsina. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to obtain the data of the plant species with the repellence activity. A total number of 50 respondents were interviewed among which the majority were males 56% and above 60 years 30%. The result reported a total number of 20 plants species with insect repellence activity that were distributed in 15 families with Lamiaceae being the family with highest number of species. The leaves of the plants are the most plant part used for the repellence (42 %), the mode of preparation of the plants materials varies with burning to generate smoke being the most adopted mode of preparation. The 20 plants species were found to repel 12 different insects species which are distributed in 7 orders, Diptera having the greatest number of insects (3) and plants species that repel them (15) with mosquito being repelled most by the plants species in the order. It was observed from the study that plants species from different families have the ability to repel a particular insect. The results obtained could provide a baseline information for further scientific investigation to strengthen the concept of plant-based insects repellents.

Wood is an important source of energy that has been used for eras in cooking, boiling water, lighting, and heating. This study was carried out to evaluate the performance of a dual-pot improved cook stove. The designed stove's performance was contrasted with a standard charcoal stove that is readily available in the marketplace using standard methods. Water Boiling Test (WBT) and Controlled Cooking Test (CCT) were performed on the stoves. According to the WBT, the dual pot Improved Cook Stove's thermal efficiency, specific fuel consumption, burning rate, time to boil, and firepower were found to be 81%, 0.045, 0.0072 kg/min, 30 min, and 3700W, respectively. On the other hand, with the conventional charcoal stove, the results were 58.7%, 0.10, 0.0062 kg/min, 65 min, and 3200W, respectively. According to the CCT, the dual pot improved cook stove's specific fuel consumption and cooking time were found to be 0.136 and 52 minutes, respectively, and 0.232 and 83 minutes, respectively, for the conventional charcoal stove. The Improved Cook Stove reduces indoor air pollution, minimizes harmful effects on human health and reduces the money spent on fuel than the Conventional Charcoal Stove

Heavy metal pollution of water bodies is a threat to public water supplies and also to consumers of fishery resources. This study aimed at assessing the concentration of heavy metals distribution in five (5) fish species of Matan Fada Area in Argungu river, Lungu and Laka Lakes. Five (5) fish species; Alestes baremose, Hyperopisus bebe occidentalis, Hydrocynus brevis, Clarias gariepinus and Tilapia zilli were sampled from February to April, 2023 at three different locations. Heavy metals (Cadmium, Iron, Copper, Lead and Chromium) were detected in the muscles of the five fish species using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (AAS). The heavy metal levels detected were in the range: Cd: 1.00 ± 0.00 to 3.00 ± 0.00 mg/kg; Fe: 7.67 ± 0.11 to 41.98 ± 0.79 mg/kg; Cu: 1.00 ± to 4.25 ± 0.00 mg/kg; Pb: 1.00 ± 0.00 to 13.83 ± 0.00 mg/kg; and Cr: 0.42 ± 0.00 to 1.75 ± 0.00 mg/kg. The heavy metal with the highest mean concentration in all fish species is Fe, followed by Cu, Pb, Cd and Cr. This gave a ranking of: Fe > Cu > Pb > Cd > Cr. All the values exceeded the recommended value set by WHO (2017). The findings indicated that the five fish species have high concentrations of Cd, Fe, Cu, Pb and Cr, which can be dangerous for people who consume these fish species from the Matan Fada Area of the Argungu river and the two neighboring lakes.

This study focuses on the petrography and palynological analyses of the Upper Cretaceous sedimentary facies in Ankpa, North Central Nigeria. The primary aim was to unravel the organic composition, age and the prevailed peleoenvironmental conditions of the sediments. The methodology employed towards achieving these was the application of palynological analysis on 20 samples composed of coal and claystone, recovered from the coal mine. The samples were subjected to series of laboratory procedures such as decarbonisation with dilute HCl, sample digestion with hydrofouric acid, sieving of the samples with 10µ mesh, oxidation, heavy liquid separation, rinsing with ethanol, and mounting of the macerals on glass slides. Subsequently, the organic residues were microscopically analyzed using an OPTIKA G-150 microscope, facilitating the identification and counting of pollen, spores, dinoflagellates, and algae. In establishing the age and paleoenvironment of deposition of the sediments, marker species and stratigraphically significant forms were considered. The stratigraphic interval 0.05 to 23.8 m is composed of claystone at the upper part with dominant underlying coal beds. The palynostratigraphy of the coal measure was defined based on recovery of marker palynomorphs which belongs to Spinizonocolpites baculatus Assemblage Zone, characterized by the co-occurrences of Constructipollenites ineffectus, Auriculiidites sp., Proxapertites operculatus, Longapertites microfoveolatus, Retidiporites magdalenensis, Syncolporites marginatus, Cingulatisporites ornatus, Buttinea andreevi, Proteacidites sp., and Inaperturopollenites sp., all indicative of Late Maastrichtian age. The co-occurrence of terrestrially derived miospores and marine peridinacean form of dinoflagellates such as Andalusiella polymorpma senegalinium sp., and Oligosphaeridium sp. are indicative of fluviomarine setting. However, evidence of sea level fluctuation was noticed whereby the coal interval of about 12.4 m which is rich in pollen, spores, dinoflagellates, and algae suggest a shift in coastline further landward compared to the overlying claystone. The ETA Zuma coal is characteristically similar to other coal deposits such as Mamu Coal Measure, dated late Maastrichtian on the basis of similarity in palynomorph assemblage.