Hematological Parameters of three Strains of Local Cocks in Northern Nigeria

The study was conducted to determine the hematological parameters of three strains of the Nigerian indigenous cocks. A total of 15 sexually matured (14-18 month of age) breeders cocks comprising (5 normal feathered, 5 frizzled feathered and 5 naked neck) were used for the experiment. The study was conducted from October to December 2016 at the Teaching and Research Farm University of Maiduguri. Blood samples were collected from 9 breeder's cocks which were randomly selected 3 per genotype and used for hematological parameters examination. Hematological examination such as Packed Cell Volume (PCV), Red Blood Cell ( RBC) , Haemoglobin (Hb), White Blood Cell (WBC), Mean Corpuscular Haemoglobin concentration ( MCHC), Mean Corpuscular Haemoglobin (MCH) and Mean Corpuscular Volume ( MCV) showed significant (P 0.05) different between normal feathered and frizzle feathered but there is significant difference ( P< 0.05) with naked necked cock. Neutrophil ( N) showed significant (P0.05) difference between normal feathered and naked neck feathered , fizzle feathered and necked neck respectively but showed significant (

Women and the HIV/AIDS Epidemic: The Issue of School Age Girls’ Awareness in Nigeria

This study was conducted to examine women and the HIV/AIDS epidemic: the issue of school age girls’ awareness in Nigeria information was elicited from 1,222 randomly selected regular under-graduate female students from the 11 faculties of the University of Lagos, Nigeria, with the use of a standardized structured questionnaire. Results of the major objective of the study, that is the level of HIV/AIDS awareness among female undergraduate students, showed a moderate level of awareness, including other specific objectives of age, level of study and marital status. In contrast, at the graduate level—the 600 level of study—medical students showed a high degree of awareness, and it was only divorce as a sub-variable of marital status that showed a low level of awareness. The paper then made some recommendations, that what is needed in Nigeria is to address the cultural, biological and socio-economic conditions contributing to women greater vulnerability to HIV/AIDS epidemic

Structure and hydration of the C4H4 •+ ion formed by electron impact ionization of acetylene clusters

Here we report ion mobility experiments and theoretical studies aimed at elucidating the identity of the acetylene dimer cation and its hydrated structures. The mobility measurement indicates the presence of more than one isomer for the C4H4 •+ ion in the cluster beam. The measured average collision cross section of the C4H4 •+ isomers in helium (38.9 ± 1 Å2) is consistent with the calculated cross sections of the four most stable covalent structures calculated for the C4H4 •+ ion [methylenecyclopropene (39.9 Å2), 1,2,3-butatriene (41.1 Å2), cyclobutadiene (38.6 Å2), and vinyl acetylene (41.1 Å2)]. However, none of the single isomers is able to reproduce the experimental arrival time distribution of the C4H4 •+ ion. Combinations of cyclobutadiene and vinyl acetylene isomers show excellent agreement with the experimental mobility profile and the measured collision cross section. The fragment ions obtained by the dissociation of the C4H4 •+ion are consistent with the cyclobutadiene structure in agreement with the vibrational predissociation spectrum of the acetylene dimer cation (C2H2)2 •+[R. A. Relph, J. C. Bopp, J. R. Roscioli, and M. A. Johnson, J. Chem. Phys.131, 114305 (2009)]. The stepwise hydration experiments show that dissociative proton transfer reactions occur within the C4H4 •+(H2O)nclusters with n ≥ 3 resulting in the formation of protonated water clusters. The measured bindingenergy of the C4H4 •+H2O cluster, 38.7 ± 4 kJ/mol, is in excellent agreement with the G3(MP2) calculated binding energy of cyclobutadiene•+·H2O cluster (41 kJ/mol). The binding energies of the C4H4 •+(H2O)n clusters change little from n = 1 to 5 (39–48 kJ/mol) suggesting the presence of multiple binding sites with comparable energies for the water–C4H4 •+ and water–waterinteractions. A significant entropy loss is measured for the addition of the fifth water molecule suggesting a structure with restrained water molecules, probably a cyclic water pentamer within the C4H4 •+(H2O)5 cluster. Consequently, a drop in the binding energy of the sixth watermolecule is observed suggesting a structure in which the sixth water molecule interacts weakly with the C4H4 •+(H2O)5 cluster presumably consisting of a cyclobutadiene•+ cation hydrogen bonded to a cyclic water pentamer. The combination of ion mobility, dissociation, and hydration experiments in conjunction with the theoretical calculations provides strong evidence that the (C2H2)2 •+ ions are predominantly present as the cyclobutadiene cation with some contribution from the vinyl acetylene cation

Urban Development And Housing Demolition In Abuja City: The Benefits Of Adopting The Principles Of Sustainability

In the last thirty years, Abuja the Federal Capital of Nigeria has experienced rapid urbanisation in a formerly agrarian community. The city has been developing prior to the emergence of the master plan, which is influenced by the rapid rate of construction. The critical need of vital infrastructure for the ever-increasing population in Nigeria’s capital has led to an increase in informal settlement and demand for more housing and other associated services. The present city differs from its initial master plan so far, as there is a real spatial segregation between low and high-income groups. And it’s relegates the low income earners to informal settlements which do not meet people’s basic needs. This journal paper critically analyses the impact of different planning policies and the schemes under which the city has been expanding, which includes housing demolitions to maintain the master plan. This result shows a clear demonstration that the policies regarding the demolition of informal settlements are not the best solution to the Abuja master plan and it is socially/economically unsustainable but rather there are potential benefits in the adaptation of sustainability principles in the urban development of Abuja city

Development of a semi-active car suspension control system using magneto-rheological damper model

In this paper, the development of a semi- active suspension control of quarter car model using fuzzy-based controller has been done. The quarter car model to be used here can be described as a nonlinear two degrees of freedom system which is subject to excitation from different road profile. The semi-active control is designed as the fuzzy control inferred by using two single input rule fuzzy modules, and the road model is used as the control force is released by actuating an electromagnetic shaker. To implement semi-active suspension system experimentally, the MR damper is used here as the adjustable damper. The MR damper is a control device that consists of a hydraulic cylinder filled with magnetically polarizable particles suspended in a liquid. MR dampers dissipate vibration by absorbing energy. Magnetorheological (MR) fluids dampers are very effective to control vibration, which use MR fluids to produce controllable damping force and provide both the reliability of passive systems and the facility of active control systems with small power supply. Due to their mechanical simplicity, high dynamic range, low power requirements, large force capacity, and robustness, offer an attractive means of vibration protection. The objectives of this are modeling of semi-active suspension system, developing controller and understanding the characteristics of the MR damper to provide effective damping for the purpose of suspension isolation or suppression car model. In this work pid, fuzzy logic and fuzzy-hybrid controller are used to control semi-active car suspension system

The Ångström Exponent and Turbidity of Soot Component in the Radiative Forcing of Urban Aerosols

In this work, we extracted data from Optical Properties of Aerosols and Clouds (OPAC) using FORTRAN program to model the effect of soot on optical depth, scattering coefficient, absorption coefficient, single scattering albedo, extinction coefficient and asymmetry parameter at spectral range of 0.25 to 1.00 ƒÝm for eight different relative humidities (RHs) (0, 50, 70, 80, 90, 95, 98 and 99%). The concentration of sootwas varied as 1.10 ¡Ñ 10.., 1.20 ¡Ñ 10..and 1.30 ¡Ñ 10.......... while the insoluble and water soluble were kept constant at 1.50 and 15,000 cm-3 respectively. The optical parameters were used to determine the Radiative forcing (RF).Origin 50 software was used to plot the graphs. SPSS 16.0 Software was used to determine the Angstrom exponent, ƒÑ and Curvature, ƒÑ2. The ƒÑ reflects the dominance of fine-mode particles while ƒÑ2 at 0% RH reflectsthe dominance of coarse-mode particles and at 50-99%RHs reflects the dominance of fine-mode particles, the turbidity, ƒÒ indicates a relatively hazy atmosphere, the Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) show a relatively highervalue indicating a polluted urban air, the asymmetry parameter, g falls between 0.64 and 0.77. However, from our graphs of Radiative forcing against wavelength, we report that addition of soot concentration reflectswarming effect; therefore soot has a relatively high absorption coefficient.Keywords: Soot, Angstrom exponent, Turbidity, Radiative forcing, Aerosol

Nurturing students’ spiritual development in secular contexts: a case study of Evangelical theological education in Australia

The awareness of secularisation may not have served as a focus for curricula development in theological education, yet it critically shapes the entire educational process influencing values and practices. Australian theological colleges need to be aware of, and alert to their secular, westernised culture that places a high premium on individual rights, personal liberty, and freedom. This article reports on an Australian study discussing the nature of secularised contexts and the relevance of evangelical theological education to these contexts, especially the role of spiritual formation as a key component to better equip theological students to deal with their secular context. The article argues for stronger awareness of, and preparedness for robust engagement with secularised contexts. It highlights the importance of engaging the influence of secularisation values in theological education

An overview of anti-diabetic plants used in Gabon: Pharmacology and Toxicology

© 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Ethnopharmacological relevance: The management of diabetes mellitus management in African communities, especially in Gabon, is not well established as more than 60% of population rely on traditional treatments as primary healthcare. The aim of this review was to collect and present the scientific evidence for the use of medicinal plants that are in currect by Gabonese traditional healers to manage diabetes or hyperglycaemia based here on the pharmacological and toxicological profiles of plants with anti-diabetic activity. There are presented in order to promote their therapeutic value, ensure a safer use by population and provide some bases for further study on high potential plants reviewed. Materials and methods: Ethnobotanical studies were sourced using databases such as Online Wiley library, Pubmed, Google Scholar, PROTA, books and unpublished data including Ph.D. and Master thesis, African and Asian journals. Keywords including ‘Diabetes’ ‘Gabon’ ‘Toxicity’ ‘Constituents’ ‘hyperglycaemia’ were used. Results: A total of 69 plants currently used in Gabon with potential anti-diabetic activity have been identified in the literature, all of which have been used in in vivo or in vitro studies. Most of the plants have been studied in human or animal models for their ability to reduce blood glucose, stimulate insulin secretion or inhibit carbohydrates enzymes. Active substances have been identified in 12 out of 69 plants outlined in this review, these include Allium cepa and Tabernanthe iboga. Only eight plants have their active substances tested for anti-diabetic activity and are suitables for further investigation. Toxicological data is scarce and is dose-related to the functional parameters of major organs such as kidney and liver. Conclusion: An in-depth understanding on the pharmacology and toxicology of Gabonese anti-diabetic plants is lacking yet there is a great scope for new treatments. With further research, the use of Gabonese anti-diabetic plants is important to ensure the safety of the diabetic patients in Gabon.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Effect of Thermal Pretreatment on the Yield of Biogas from Microcoleous Vaginatus

Biomass is being looked upon as one of the promising renewable energy sources for the future, with growing interest in microalgae conversion into biogas through anaerobic digestion. Recently, the ability of microalgae to treat waste water has doubled its potentials material today. However, in spite of the progress made in that regards, there are still challenges of algae conversion to biofuel, due to the presence of complex cell wall in some algae. Cell wall inhibits bacteria growth during degradation. In this research work 10 grams of Microcoleous vaginatus was treated in an oven at varying temperatures of 70, 75 and 80 oC for an hour, out of which 4 g was measured into 250 ml serum bottle for digestion at mesophilic temperature of 37 oC. Based on the results of proximate analysis, 69%increase in carbohydrate was attained with 72.7 – 148% reduction in moisture content. The biogas yield of untreated sample was 4.36 mLg−1 VS, while, pretreated samples at 70, 75 and 80 ℃ produced 8.39, 9.07 and 9.38 mLg−1VS (volatile solid) of biogas. This&nbsp; corresponds to 92, 108 and 115% higher than that of untreated samples. However, thermal treatment of M. vaginatus prior to digestion show positive effect on carbohydrate extraction and enhanced biogas and methane yield as well. Therefore, this makes the substrate a good feedstock for biogas production. Keywords: Biomass, pretreatment, thermal, anaerobic digestion, degradation, Microcoleous vaginatus

Fuzzy antiwindup schemes for NCTF control of Point-Topoint (PTP) positioning systems

The positioning systems generally need a controller to achieve high accuracy, fast response and robustness. In addition, ease of controller design and simplicity of controller structure are very important for practical application. For satisfying these requirements, NCTF (nominal characteristic trajectory following) controller has been proposed as a practical PTP positioning control. However, the effect of actuator saturation can not be completely compensated due to integrator windup because of plant parameter variations. This study presents a method to improve the NCTF controller for overcoming the problem of integrator windup by adopting fuzzy anti-windup schemes. Two fuzzy antiwindup schemes based on Mamdani and Takagi-Sugeno fuzzy system are developed and evaluated their effectiveness. The improved NCTF controller with the proposed fuzzy anti-windup schemes is evaluated through simulation using dynamic model of a rotary positioning system. The results show that the improved NCTF controller with Takagi-Sugeno-based fuzzy windup is the best scheme to compensate for the effect of integrator windup