A Study of Job Satisfaction of Secondary School Administrators in Kano State, Nigeria

This paper was concerned with studying the job satisfaction of secondary school administrators in Kano state, Nigeria. Survey design was used and a random sampling was used to select the study sample of 421 subjects used for the study. The Job Descriptive Index was used to collect data. Five hypotheses were raised in the study and the data collected was analysed using t-test and analysis of variance (ANOVA). Findings of the study showed that there was no significant difference in male and female; public and private; rural and urban administrators' level of job satisfaction. Also, the study found that there was a significant difference in the level of satisfaction with years of experience as well as with age, marital status, school size and educational qualification.African Research Review Vol. 2 (2) 2008 pp. 94-10

Influence of Varietal Difference on Qualities of Osmosized Tomato in the South Western Nigeria

Mechanism of mass transfer phenomena of three major varieties available in the South-western Nigeria market are Roma-VF Koledowo and Ibadan-Local variety. Tomato varieties pre-treated in a binary (sugar and salt) osmotic solution of three solution concentration; three temperature; five osmotic time and fruit to solution ratio 1:10 was studied by developing a conceptual model to describe the Water Loss and Solid Gains. Initial moisture content was determined using the AOAC standards. Statistical analyses of the data within and across varieties were carried out. This study therefore investigated the effect of varietal difference on the qualities of osmosized tomato i.e. the highest water loss and least solid gain. Effect of pretreatment varies with variety with a mean water loss range value of 0.2615-0.3031. Water-loss and Solid gain were significant (p?0.05) for all variables considered. Koledowo with the thickest skin had the least owing to its ability to allow moisture migration Keywords: Water loss, Solid gain, Osmotic time, Varietal difference, Pretreatmen

Analysis of carbon stock density in protected and non- protected areas of Guinea Savanna in Niger State, Nigeria

Quantification of carbon stock has gained major attention in international climate change mitigation and adaptation negotiations. However, poor knowledge of the quantity of carbon stock in respective ecosystems is one major challenge in estimating carbon stock in developing countries. This study is aimed at estimating and comparing carbon stock density of protected (forest reserve) and non-protected (parkland) areas of guinea savanna in Niger state. The research methodology includes field survey inventory, biometric measurements and laboratory analysis. At each of the 45 sampling plot locations, Carbon stock was measured from six pools viz above ground tree, undergrowth, dead wood, litter, root and soil. within a quadrat sampling plot of 500 m2. Four fixed size square frames encompassing 1m2 was used for the undergrowth (shrubs and grasses) and litter. Composite soil samples (for organic carbon) and undisturbed samples (for bulk density) were taken from each of the 1m2 subplot quadrants at two depths (0-15cm and 15-30cm). Soil organic carbon concentration was estimated in the laboratory using Walkley-Black method. The findings of the study revealed that in terms of carbon stock in respective pools, in both protected and non-protected areas, soil pool was the highest, followed by tree and undergrowth; while litter, dead wood and root were the least in carbon stock. The average aggregate carbon stock density in the protected area is 118.2 Mg ha-1 which is greater than 69.3 Mg ha-1 recorded in the non- protected area. It was also observed that there is significant difference in carbon stock density between the forest reserve and parkland study sites where t (43) = 18.34, p < 0.001). The study concludes that if savannas were to be protected from fire, grazing and anthropogenic disturbances, most of them would accumulate substantial carbon and the sink would be larger; with a view to mitigating climate change effect.Keywords: Carbon stock, climate change, density, guinea savanna, mitigatio

Effects of Drying Temperature on The Effective Coefficient of Moisture Diffusivity and Activation Energy in Ibadan-Local Tomato Variety (lycopersicum esculentum)

A study of the mechanism of mass transfer phenomena of Ibadan-local variety was carried out. Ibadan-Local tomato varieties pre-treated in a binary (sugar and salt) osmotic solution of concentration (45/15oBrix), solution temperature (30, 40, 50oC), was studied by developing a mathematical model to describe the Water Loss (WL) and Solid Gains (SG). Drying was monitored at three temperatures (40, 45 and 50oC) until   equilibrium weight was achieved using the oven-dry method. Five thin layer drying models (Exponential, Henderson & Pabis, Page, Modified Page and Logarithmic) were compared and fitted into the experimental values of the non-linear moisture ratio; MR. The diffusion coefficient and activation energy were determined using the Arrhenius equation. Drying occurred in the falling rate phase and different models fit at different temperatures. Calculated values of effective moisture diffusivity varied from 1.17-3.51x10-8 to 1.25-3.13x10-8 and activation energy varied from a maximum of 52.61KJ/mol in treated to 46.81 KJ/mol in untreated tomato. At all temperatures, effective coefficient of moisture diffusivity and activation energy values was higher in osmosized tomato Keywords: Osmotic dehydration, Water loss, Solid gain, Effective moisture diffusivity and Activation energy

Effects of interacting variables on the release properties of chloroquine and aminophylline suppositories

Purpose: The individual and interaction effects of formulation variables on the release of suppositories were investigated using a 23 factorial experimental design. The variables studied were nature of base (B), type of drug (D), and presence of surfactant (S). Method: Suppositories were formulated with theobroma oil and Witepsol H15 as bases at ‘low' and ‘high' levels respectively. Chloroquine and aminophylline, both water-soluble drugs, were incorporated as active constituents at ‘low' and ‘high' levels respectively while Tween 80 was incorporated as surfactant in some of the formulations. Disintegration time and time taken for 50% of the drug to dissolve were used as assessment parameters. Results: The inclusion of surfactant in the suppository formulation proved to be the most significant variable in the formulation. The ranking for the individual coefficient values for the formulations was S>>B>D for disintegration time DT and S>>>D>B for the dissolution parameter t50. While the ranking for the interaction effects was B-D>B-S>S-D on DT and on t50 S-D>B-S>B-D. Conclusion: The results suggest that in formulating water-soluble drugs such as chloroquine and aminophylline as suppositories in a hydrophobic base, the presence of a surfactant is the most influential variable. Keywords: Suppositories, chloroquine, aminophylline, surfactant, interacting variables. > Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research Vol. 3 (1) 2004: pp. 285-29

Multi-Temporal Remote Sensing of Landuse Dynamics in Zaria, Nigeria

This study assesses the impact of growth of Zaria town on the changing pattern of the different landuse/land cover types within and around the town, using Remote Sensing and GIS techniques. Zaria is witnessing rapid rate of urbanization as a consequence of the establishment of the Ahmadu Bello University at Zaria in 1962. It is one of the fastest growing settlements in northern Nigeria. The increasing population from the University community has led to serious competition for land among different landuse types. Multi-temporal satellite imageries for three and half decades (1973, 1990, 1999 and 2006) were used to assess the impact of the growth of Zaria town on the changing pattern of the different landuse/land cover (LULC) types using Remote Sensing GIS techniques. The images were transformed, enhanced, sampled and re-sampled, classified and crossed for change detection. Results of the analysis showed that although there are year to year variations in area under each landuse type, net change detection showed that built up area has been on the increase each year encroaching on scrubland, farmlands and fadama to shrink. Keywords: change detection, image crossing, multi-temporal, multi-spectral

Phytosociological analysis of woody plant species as determinant of above ground carbon stock in the Guinea Savanna Ecological Zone of Nigeria

Estimation of the magnitude of forests as carbon sinks or sources require accurate and reliable estimate of biomass density of the forests. However, poor knowledge of the quantity of biomass per species in a given ecosystem is one most uncertain factor involved in estimating carbon stock in developing countries. The aim of this study is to examine the relative phytosociological importance of woody species in determining above ground biomass/carbon stock in the Guinea savanna ecological zone of Nigeria. The research methodology employed field survey inventory, biometric measurements and laboratory analysis. Measurement was carried out in 45 quadrat sampling plots of 500 m2. Destructive biomass sampling was used for biomass estimation. The phytosociological analysis carried out in this study revealed that ecologically dominant tree species in the study area in decreasing order were Vitellaria paradoxa,(32.73) Irvingia gabonensis, (28.38) Parkia biglobosa, (23.20) Anogeissus leiocarpus, (21.64) and Pterocarpus erinaceous (15.73). Others include Detarium microcarpum (13.85) Prosopis Africana (13.69) Danellia oliveri (11.91) Afzelia Africana (10.80); together accounting for about 65.2 % of total species dominance. By contrast, tree species that contribute most to the above ground biomass stock in the study area were Anogeissus leiocarpus, (705.82 kg) Parkia biglobosa, (631.47 kg) Pterocarpus erinaceous, (522.23 kg) Irvingia gabonensis (469.72 kg) and Vitellaria paradoxa (381.80 kg). Finding in this study implies that Anogeissus leiocarpus is the tree species with highest potential to store carbon in the study area. The study recommends that the identified ecologically dominant tree species be well protected in order to exploit their carbon sequestration potential for mitigating climate change.Keywords: Phytomass, Carbon, Climate Change, Mitigation, Sequestratio

Trends in Aridity of the Arid and Semi-Arid Regions of Northern Nigeria

Aridity index (AI) is a numerical indicator of the degree of dryness of the climate at a given location. These indicators serve to identify and delimit regions that suffer from a deficit of available water, a condition that can severely affect the effective use of agricultural land and water resources development. The focus of this paper is to determine the trend and map out the aridity of the drought prone areas of northern Nigeria. Three decade’s (1981–2010) annual rainfall and, minimum and maximum temperature records for 11 synoptic meteorological stations were collected from NIMET Office, Lagos and used. De Martonne’s aridity index formula was applied to the data and aridity indices were derived for the region. The derived aridity indices were subjected to time series analysis and classification of the region into aridity zones was carried out based on the derived aridity indices from which an aridity map of the region was produced. Results of the time series analysis show that only Kaduna indicated a decreasing aridity while the other stations exhibit a significantly positive tendency towards increasing dryness. The region is classified into four aridity zones based on the aridity indices as: slightly humid zone (Kaduna and Zaria areas), moderately arid areas (Yelwa, Gusau, Kano and Bauchi), semi arid regions (Sokoto, Potiskum, Maiduguri) and the arid zone (areas around Nguru, Hadejia and Kano). It is concluded that the drought prone areas of northern Nigeria are witnessing increasing aridity which accounts for the shrinking of most dams and other surface reservouirs in the region. This has necessitated accessing of underground water from even the third aquifer at some locations. It is recommended therefore, that the dredging of all the existing dams in northern Nigeria be undertaken in order to improve the storage of more water, just as proper water policy for its sustainable use be formulated by Nigeria. Keywords: aquifer, aridity, drought, dryness, Indices, time serie

Nutritional and Sensory Characteristics of Bread Produced from Wheat and Cassava Flour, Fortified with Sorrel Seed Protein Isolate

The possibility of making bread from composite flour containing 60-80% wheat flour, 10-25% cassava flour and 5-15% Sorrel seeds protein isolate was investigated. The proximate composition, mineral constituents, functional and sensory evaluation were analyzed using standard methods.  The results of the analysis showed that crude protein (8.80±0.36 to 18.70±0.35) and crude fibre (0.77±0.02 to 1.58±0.04) contents of the composite breads increased significantly with increased incorporation of cassava flour and sorrel seed protein isolate flours. The moisture (34.00±1.00 to 32.04±1.00), ash (1.22±0.03 to 0.66±0.03), carbohydrate(54.99±0.25 to 46.83±0.77) and fat (0.24±0.01 to 0.20±0.02) contents were  observed  to  decrease  significantly  with  corresponding  increase  in  the  percentage  of  the  composite  flours from 5-25% for both cassava flour and sorrel seed protein isolate flour. The results of the mineral contents showed that calcium element increased as the level of composite flour increased, while sodium, potassium and magnesium decreased as the level of inclusion increased. The functional properties, water and oil absorption, and swelling index of the composite flour showed varying degrees of variation from the control sample (100% wheat flour). The results of the sensory evaluation showed  that there were no significant  differences  (P>0.05)  in taste, texture, colour, flavour, appearance  and  overall acceptability, however, the  mean  sensory  scores  decreased  with increased  addition  of  cassava flour and  sorrel seed protein isolate  in the composite flour.  The outcome of the research showed that, nutritious bread could be produced from the composite flours of wheat, cassava and sorrel seeds protein isolate.Keywords: Bread, Wheat, cassava, Protein Isolat

EXPLORING SOURSOP KERNEL AS A SUSTAINABLE BIOFUEL: ANALYZING PHYSICAL AND SOLID FLOW PROPERTIES FOR FEASIBILITY ASSESSMENT

  Soursop kernel is an oil-bearing seed containing about 25% non-edible oil per 100 g sample making it a potential feedstock for biofuel production. However, exploring the full potential of the oil requires data to design and fabricate appropriate machines for its processing. So, this necessitates a thorough examination of its physical and solid flow behaviour in relation to moisture contents. The experiments conducted on rewetted samples revealed that as moisture content (mc) increased from 8% to 32.5% dry basis (db), the length, width, thickness, arithmetic and geometric mean diameter, volume, surface area, sphericity, and thousand kernels weight increased from 11.40-12.06 mm, 7.04-7.92 mm, 4.58-5.34 mm, 7.69-8.44 mm, 7.12-7.49 mm, 6.5–8.13 cm3, 160.19-199.05 mm2, 0.62- 0.66 and 186.4–291 g, respectively. The true density decreased from 720 to 670 kg/m³, whereas the bulk density increased from 470 to 570 kg/m³. The angle of repose linearly increased from 25.8° to 39.2° as moisture content increased. The highest mean values for coefficients of friction were observed on mild steel surfaces (0.44 for static and 0.53 for dynamic) at 8.0% mc (db) while the lowest values were recorded on stainless steel surfaces (0.20 for static and 0.37 for dynamic) at both 32.5% and 8.0%, (mc, db). The data obtained will prove beneficial to engineers in the design and development of appropriate machines, as well as other handling and processing equipment such as oil expellers, so as to explore the full industrial application of the oil for biodiesel production and other chemical productio