Natural Resources最新文献

{"title":"Three New Species and Six Newly Recorded Species of Jumping Spiders (Araneae: Salticidae) in Taiwan","authors":"Kuo-Ming Chen, Tai-Yu Lin, Y. Ueng","doi":"10.4236/nr.2021.129021","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4236/nr.2021.129021","url":null,"abstract":"From August 2013 to August 2014 at Aogu Wetland of \u0000Chiayi County, Taiwan, a total of 32 adult spiders of Salticidae were \u0000identified, comprising 15 species from 13 genera. This paper describes 3 new \u0000species and 6 newly recorded species as follows: Microbianor formosana sp. nov., Euophrys \u0000taiwanus sp. nov., and Evarcha \u0000chiayiensis sp. nov.; Carrhotus \u0000tristis, Evarcha bulbosa, Menemerus bivittatus, Plexippus petersi, Rhene rubrigera, and Synagelides \u0000zhilcovae. The males distinguish them from other congeners. In addition, \u0000the female Sibianor pullus is \u0000described for the first time. Species morphologies and detailed structures are \u0000depicted in micrographs to compensate for the lack of textual description.","PeriodicalId":19086,"journal":{"name":"Natural Resources","volume":"14 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-09-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"72771859","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Role of Sumbawa Oil in Developing Sumbawa Island as a Destination for Traditional Health Tourism Based on Sasambo Culture","authors":"A. Hakim, Jamaluddin, Syarifa Wahidah Al Idrus, Muhammad Wildane Ganevo","doi":"10.4236/NR.2021.128018","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4236/NR.2021.128018","url":null,"abstract":"The development of tourism is currently a priority for governments in Indonesia, especially the Sumbawa Island. Tourism begins to glance at other sectors or areas not only about the natural scenery but also begins to extend to traditional health tourism by taking advantage of local culturally based local medicinal plants. Considering in Indonesia, especially the Sumbawa Island have an abundance of medicinal plants. It has been promoted as one of the first steps in promoting tourism. The effort and measures involved the use of Sumbawa Oil that is known to have many medicinal properties and to be popular in the community because it has proved capable of being a cure. Sumbawa oil is one of the superior products of the Sumbawa Island which is produced by local communities by utilizing the surrounding natural resources. This oil is not just a traditional medicine but also a local culture obtained from ancestors. All production processes, from the selection of raw materials to processing are carried out based on knowledge from generation to generation. Some producers even have traditional rituals performed during processing. This traditional ritual is believed to be able to increase the medicinal properties of Sumbawa oil. Sumbawa Oil could be a flagship for by-products and traditional medicated educationers that could boost the desire of tourists to visit the Sumbawa Island.","PeriodicalId":19086,"journal":{"name":"Natural Resources","volume":"4 1","pages":"250-256"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-08-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"73084118","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Comparative Assessment of the Phytochemical and Selected Heavy Metal Levels in Cucumis sativus L. and Solanum aethiopicum L. Fruit Sample Grown in South Eastern and North Central Regions of Nigeria Respectively","authors":"C. C. Aniobi, O. Okeke, E. Ezeh, H. Okeke, K. Nwanya","doi":"10.4236/nr.2021.128016","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4236/nr.2021.128016","url":null,"abstract":"Studies were carried out to comparatively assess the phytochemical and \u0000heavy metal levels in Solanum aethiopicum L. and Cucumis sativus L. fruit \u0000samples grown in the South Eastern and North Central regions of Nigeria \u0000respectively using standard analytical procedures and instrumentation. The \u0000fruit samples were assayed for selected heavy metals (Pb, Cd and Cu) using \u0000atomic absorption spectrophotometer after wet digestion of the samples. The \u0000five detected phytochemicals (flavonoids, alkaloids, terpenoids, saponins and \u0000glycosides) were present at varying amounts in the investigated fruit samples \u0000from the South Eastern and North Central regions of Nigeria. The range of mean \u0000values of flavonoids, terpenoids, saponins and glycosides in the S. aethiopicum L. fruit samples from the \u0000two studied regions were 0.50 - 0.57, 0.53 - 1.26, 0.44 - 0.78, 1.12 - 1.93 and \u00000.40 - 0.50 mg/g respectively. The range of mean values of flavonoids, alkaloids, \u0000terpenoids, saponins and glycosides in the C. \u0000sativus L. fruit samples from the \u0000two studied regions of Nigeria were 1.27 - 1.69, 0.53 - 0.55, 0.96 - 1.51, 0.41 \u0000- 0.83 and 0.90 - 1.74 mg/g respectively. The range of mean vales of Pb, Cd, \u0000and Cu in the S. aethiopicum L. fruit \u0000samples from the two studied regions were 0.15 - 0.24, 0 - 0.01, 0.78 - 1.12 \u0000μg/g respectively. 0.31 - 0.40, 0.02 - 0.05 and 0.62 - 0.96 μg/g were the range of mean values of Pb, Cd \u0000and Cu respectively in the C. sativus L. fruit samples from the two studied regions of Nigeria. Of the \u0000three investigated heavy metals, only Cd was at toxic levels in the C. sativus L. fruit samples from the \u0000South Eastern and North Central regions of Nigeria. This is therefore a health \u0000concern to the fruit consumers that includes these fruits in their habitual \u0000daily fruit diets. Although the therapeutic and pharmaceutical benefits that would be derived from consuming, the investigated fruit \u0000samples has been \u0000shown in this study, there is therefore a possible risk of undue exposure to \u0000environmental pollutants such as heavy metal, especially through growing these \u0000fruits in polluted soils resulting from unwholesome anthropogenic practices. \u0000For fruit consumers to derive maximum health benefits from consuming these \u0000fruits, pollutants like heavy metals must be at non-toxic levels and this can \u0000only be achieved by ensuring that these fruits samples are grown and harvested \u0000in environments with less anthropogenic activities.","PeriodicalId":19086,"journal":{"name":"Natural Resources","volume":"3 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-08-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"77985832","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Evaluating Drinking Water Treatment Methods in the Njala University and Neighboring Mokonde Communities in Southern Sierra Leone","authors":"A. Barrie, Abubakarr Swaray, M. Barrie, J. Beah","doi":"10.4236/nr.2021.128019","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4236/nr.2021.128019","url":null,"abstract":"Rural communities in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are always faced with the challenge of securing safe water for beneficial uses. Most communities lack a centralized water supply system and, thus, each residence utilizes the treatment method that they can afford. This study evaluated three treatment methods for drinking water in the Njala University and Mokonde communities in southern Sierra Leone. In the perceived natural treatment, residents in the Mokonde community believe that groundwater has been purified by the soil media and, hence, does not require further treatment. In the conventional treatment, the Njala University Water Works use sand filtration and chlorine disinfection to treat water from the Taia River. The third treatment method, first flush diversion, was introduced by Njala University researchers in 2014. We studied the populations of coliform bacteria and E. coli in untreated and treated water samples to determine if each of the treatment methods supported the beneficial use of drinking. This study concludes that the natural filtration does not remove pathogens in the well water. Even though the first flush and conventional treatments were efficient in reducing microbial populations in the water, the World Health Organization’s 100% removal guideline was not achieved most of the time. Therefore, all three treatment methods did not support the beneficial use of drinking. Further treatment was needed to render the water potable.","PeriodicalId":19086,"journal":{"name":"Natural Resources","volume":"4 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-08-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"78662221","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Comparative Assessment of the Proximate and Mineral Composition of Cucumis sativus L. and Solanum aethiopicum L. Fruit Samples Grown in South Eastern and North Central Regions of Nigeria Respectively","authors":"H. Okeke, O. Okeke, K. Nwanya, C. Offor, C. C. Aniobi","doi":"10.4236/nr.2021.128017","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4236/nr.2021.128017","url":null,"abstract":"Studies were carried out to comparatively assess the proximate and mineral \u0000composition of Solanum aethiopicum L. and Cucumis sativus L. fruit samples grown in the \u0000South Eastern and North Central regions of Nigeria respectively, following \u0000standard analytical procedures and instrumentation. The mineral elements (Na, \u0000K, Zn and Ca) were determined using atomic absorption spectrophotometer after \u0000wet digestion of the samples while the proximate parameters (ash content, moisture content, crude fibre content, crude protein \u0000content, crude fat content and carbohydrate content) were determined in \u0000accordance with standard analytical procedures. The mean range of the moisture, \u0000crude fibre, crude protein, crude fat, ash and carbohydrate contents in the S. aethiopicum L. fruit samples grown in the North Central and South Eastern regions \u0000of Nigeria were 72.49 - 88.23, 2.15 - 3.67, 1.31 - 1.85, 0.43 - 0.76, 0.51 \u0000- 0.84 and 3.18% - 5.72% respectively. Additionally, the moisture, crude fibre, \u0000crude protein, crude fat, ash and carbohydrate contents in the Cucumis sativus L. fruit samples grown in \u0000the South Eastern and North Central regions of Nigeria, had mean range of \u0000values of 93.60 - 98.76, 0.53 - 0.77, 2.14 - 2.84, 0.29 - 0.46, 0.90 - 1.14 and 3.88% - 4.66% respectively. The \u0000range of mean values of Na, K, Zn and Ca in the S. aethiopicum L. fruit \u0000samples from the South Eastern and North Central regions of Nigeria were 0.36 - \u00000.57, 1.92 - 2.80, 0.84 - 1.01 and 0.43 - 0.61 μg/g respectively. Also, Na, K, \u0000Zn and Ca had mean range of values of \u00001.36 - 4.08, \u000010.16 - 13.09, 0.45 - 0.66 and 5.85 - 9.3 μg/g respectively in the C. sativus L. fruit samples grown in the South Eastern and North \u0000Central regions in Nigeria. The levels of the determined proximate of \u0000parameters and mineral elements in \u0000the studied fruit samples from the investigated regions of Nigeria were \u0000statistically significant. This therefore indicates that the geographical \u0000locations where these fruit samples grew could have significantly impacted on \u0000their nutrient content levels. The levels of the determined proximate parameters from the selected regions of \u0000Nigeria shows that \u0000consumption of the fruit samples (S \u0000aethiopicum L. and C. sativus L.) especially regularly, would help supply \u0000the essential nutrients and minerals required for a healthy living.","PeriodicalId":19086,"journal":{"name":"Natural Resources","volume":"15 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-08-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"90087706","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Consistency of Agricultural, Forestry and Mining Policies with Sustainable Forest Management in the East and South Regions of Cameroon","authors":"Jervais Nkoulou, D. Bitondo, R. Atyi, C. Bakoumé","doi":"10.4236/nr.2021.127015","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4236/nr.2021.127015","url":null,"abstract":"The eastern and southern regions of Cameroon, lower middle income country, need to increase their level of land use by the agricultural, forestry and mining sectors in order to develop. At the same time, Cameroon is committed to managing its forests sustainably to meet the needs of present and future generations. This study assesses the compatibility of agricultural, forestry and mining policies with sustainable forest management in the East and South forest regions. Five analytical criteria were used and the analysis was carried out through surveys of key informants in the private sector, public administrations and civil society. The study showed that from 2013 to 2018, the contributions of the agricultural, forestry and mining sectors to GDP grew by about 74%, 65% and 60%, respectively. Agricultural, forestry and mining policies have an average compatibility rate of 45% with sustainable forest management, of which 52% for the forestry sector, 43% for the agricultural sector and 40% for the mining sector. Nonetheless, there are 21 causes of incompatibility, including 1) the non-involvement of all relevant public administrations in policy-making, 2) the low efficiency of the control system of exploitation activities, and 3) the poor coordination of actions in the three sectors. It was proposed to a) improve the legal and regulatory framework of the three sectors of activity and b) develop land-use planning tools among other measures to align existing policies with sustainable forest management.","PeriodicalId":19086,"journal":{"name":"Natural Resources","volume":"42 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-07-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"90863553","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Population Structures and Diets of Two Species of Pisodonophis (Ophichthidae) from the Southwest Coast of Taiwan","authors":"Feng-Jiau Lin, Hsiao-Yun Chang, Chun-Wen Tsao, Hung-Du Lin, Y. Ueng","doi":"10.4236/nr.2021.126014","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4236/nr.2021.126014","url":null,"abstract":"This study was used to lift nets and trap net fishing at intertidal zone of lagoon and \u0000estuarine regions of southern Taiwan. From July 2013 to July 2018, a total 420 \u0000specimens of Pisodonophis were analyzed, the average total body length (TL) and average body weight (W) \u0000of P. boro eels \u0000are 68.4 ± 11.9 cm and 140.4 ± 86.1 g (N = 194), respectively. Typically, P. cancrivorus eels are smaller \u0000(TL = 52.8 ± 9.2 cm) and lighter (W = 107.9 ± 73.7 g [N = 119]) than P. boro eels. The natural \u0000logarithmic linear relationships between the TL and W of P. boro and P. cancrivorus are respectively \u0000expressed as ln(W)b = 2.4405 ln(TL) − 5.4448 (R2 = 0.796, \u0000N = 194) and ln(W)c = 3.2168 ln(TL) − 8.2027, (R2 = 0.934, N= 119). P. cancrivorus typically preys on shrimp, crab, and fish; lab assessment revealed that the \u0000frequencies of occurrence of these foods in their guts were 49%, 21%, and 15%, \u0000respectively (N = 100). The main catch months of P. boro were during the rainy \u0000season, and that of P. cancrivorus were the winter season in Taiwan. The average W values of P. boro from Jhuoshuei and \u0000Puzih estuaries were 343.2 ± 218.8 g (N = 91) and 140.4 ± 86.1 g (N = 194), \u0000respectively. Furthermore, the results of the study revealed that the Puzih \u0000estuary is overfished. We suggest that fishery \u0000management units should develop some protection measures for the conservation \u0000of aquatic ecosystems in estuarine regions. For example, the P. boro weighing less than 113 g will be released back to the estuary.","PeriodicalId":19086,"journal":{"name":"Natural Resources","volume":"209 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-06-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"73031969","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Recovering Wood Waste to Produce Briquettes Enriched with Commercial Kraft Lignin","authors":"C. E. Silva, F. J. Gomes, L. A. R. Batalha, R. Lelis, A. Carvalho, A. Carneiro, A. M. Carvalho","doi":"10.4236/NR.2021.125013","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4236/NR.2021.125013","url":null,"abstract":"Aiming to use lignocellulosic biomass as energy source, one of the process that may aggregate values is the densification process, which allows the production of bioenergy using solid fuels, mainly for reducing transportation costs. In this research, solid fuel from co-briquetting of wood residues from sawmill using commercial kraft lignin as binder was investigated. The effects of compression pressure (900, 1200 and 1500 PSI) and briquette formulation (varying wood and kraft lignin proportion) on the quality and characteristics of briquettes were evaluated. The main findings were that briquetting of wood residues with kraft lignin resulted in an improvement of bulk density, strength rupture modulus, low heating value (LHV) and high heating value (HHV). The briquettes using 4% and 6% of kraft lignin, and submitted to 1200 to 1500 PSI, presented higher bulk density and strength resistance, respectively. On the other hand, the heating values showed the highest results with the addition of 2% lignin at 900 PSI, being the legal range for additives in briquettes for many countries such as in European Union.","PeriodicalId":19086,"journal":{"name":"Natural Resources","volume":"25 1","pages":"181-195"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"74059235","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Diversity and Influence of Environmental Factors on the Spatio-Temporal Distribution of the Ichthyofauna of Malonda Lagoon (Congo Brazzaville)","authors":"Tenda Hélène Dembe Louvinguila, A. Zamba, V. Mamonekene, Lérège Batiabo Mikembi, Freedom Honest Poaty Ngot, J. Goma-Tchimbakala","doi":"10.4236/NR.2021.125011","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4236/NR.2021.125011","url":null,"abstract":"This study was initiated with the aim of studying the diversity and spatio-temporal distribution of fish in the Malonda lagoon, one of the coastal ecosystems of the Base Guinea in the Republic of Congo. The fish were sampled over a period of two years in three zones each including three stations known as: Mangrove, Grass and Full water. One station upstream towards the freshwater zone, one station downstream towards the mouth and one station in the containment zone. The catches were made using monofilament gillnets of 8, 10, 20 and 30 mm mesh size. During the rainy season, 1516 specimens belonging to 29 species, 17 families and 12 orders were collected. In the dry season, 768 specimens belonging to 20 species, 11 families and 8 orders were collected. For both seasons, the family Cichlidae is the most diversified. The marine forms are the most represented compared to the continental forms. Redundancy Analysis with forward selection coupled with Monte Carlo permutation tests showed that in the rainy season four variables influenced the distribution of species (Depth: 48%, Vase: 16%, Nitrogen: 10% and Transparency: 10%); in the dry season three variables influenced the distribution of species (Vase: 38%, Nitrogen: 14% and Oxygen: 11%). Ecological indices showed that the Malonda lagoon is already undergoing either anthropic or natural impacts, its state of ecological integrity is disturbed, the values of Shannon diversity and Equitability indices are not close to maximum values. The results of this study will serve as an ecological database for the proper management of these ecosystems.","PeriodicalId":19086,"journal":{"name":"Natural Resources","volume":"61 1","pages":"147-163"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"84672518","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Gas Valorization in the Republic of Congo: Production of Electricity from National Gas Reserves","authors":"Prince Valdano Itoua, Durell Esperance Ndinga Manguet","doi":"10.4236/NR.2021.125012","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4236/NR.2021.125012","url":null,"abstract":"The environmental impact of greenhouse gases based on natural gas flaring influences the rate of gas recovery around the world. In the Republic of Congo, the natural gas reserve in 2019 is estimated at 90 billion cubic meters (BCM). In this study, from the Congolese gas reserve we used five gas turbines with a capacity of 150 MW each; these five turbines consume 1.69 billion cubic meters (BCM)/year for the power of 273.750 MW and consumption of 6.57 billion kilowatt-hours. The results of this study revealed that an investment capital of 192,305,137 euros was required with a net profit of 9,581,250 euros at an annual rate of return of 4.98% with an investment payback period of approximately 20 years. This will allow the Congolese government to accomplish its policy of valuing gas and developing the country; the electricity produced by the National Petroleum Company of Congo (SNPC) will be sold to the Electrical Energy of Congo (E2C) at 0.06 euro/kWh.","PeriodicalId":19086,"journal":{"name":"Natural Resources","volume":"31 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"82074819","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}