EFFECT OF GOEMETRY ON THE ANALYSIS OF THERMAL EXPLOSION OF A STRONGLY EXOTHERMIC CHEMICAL REACTONS

This study is devoted to investigate the effect of geometry on thermal explosion of a strong exothermic chemical reaction with variable pre-exponential factor under Bimolecular, Arrhenius and Sensitised reaction rate, neglecting the consumption of the material are examined. Analytical solutions are constructed for the governing nonlinear boundary-value problem using perturbation technique together with a special type Hermite-pade approximation and important properties of the temperature field including bifurcations and thermal criticality are discussed. It is shown that temperature field is highly influenced by the geometry

Evaluation of Homogeneity from Ore-bodied in Nigeria for Secondary Mineral Prospective

Samples from ore–bodied areas at different locations in Papalanto and Ifo in Ogun-State, South-West of Nigeria, where Ewekoro cement industry is situated, were analyzed so as to recover some secondary minerals of economic value. The following parameters were evaluated, conductivity, turbidity, colour, pH and other chemical parameters. Variations of Dissolved Oxygen (DO), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), sulphate, nitrate, phosphate, chloride ion contents, and temperature were also studied. Mineral-forming heavy metals were in the ranges Fe: 89.0–1080 mg/l; Mg: 869–1120 mg/l; Pb: 23–80 mg/l; Zn: 180-480 mg/l. The concentration of nitrate is 20-35 mg/l; phosphate: 8-80mg/l; Dissolved Oxygen (DO): 30–45 mg/l; Total Dissolved Solids (TDS): 89-900 mg/l; pH: 6.1-8.5; Conductivity: 10-18μs/cm3 and temperature ranged between 25-27oC. Also in the tabulation are the results of the homogeneity of four geochemical explorations from other Nigerian ore-bodied environments for comparison. Correlations of some of the physical and chemical parameters have been established with the view of providing conditions for the formation of secondary minerals and the types of such minerals expected from the studied areas. The minerals may include the following groups of minerals: Adelite, Melilite, Cancrinite and Copriapite. The study apart from the present knowledge on ore-based baseline also present information on the pollution studies of the area under investigatio

Crude Oil Characterization using Gas Chromatography, Ion Mobility Spectrometry and Mass Spectrometry

The characterization of crude oils at the compositional level remains challenging due to their high chemical complexity and isomeric diversity. The present work expands the analytical separation space of chemical components in crude oils by coupling gas chromatography (GC), trapped ion mobility spectrometry (TIMS), and mass spectrometry (GC-TIMS-MS and TIMS-FT-ICR MS) for the effective separation and identification of isomeric compounds. The coupling of GC and TIMS-MS platform enhanced the peak capacity and showed complementary isomeric separation. The combination of GC-TIMS-MS and GC-EI-MS technique provided a comprehensive characterization of PAHs and similar compounds from crude oils on the basis of retention data, ion mobility, accurate mass, isotopic pattern distribution, ion mobility-based theoretical candidate assignment, electron ionization (EI) fragmentation patterns and database search together with reference standards. The possibility of both targeted and untargeted screening of isomeric and isobaric species was demonstrated with additional characterization metrics not available in traditional GC-EI-MSn workflows. The identified PAH compounds (including 16 Environmental Protection Agency targets) showed signature patterns across four deasphalted crude oils. The differences in the PAH concentration ratio enabled to determine thermal maturity, lithology, and microbial contribution to each oil formation. For the first time, an exhaustive list of GC-accessible compounds, characterized by RT, CCS, m/z, chemical formula, and peak area were used to differentiate crude oils from different origin. The use of different atmospheric pressure ionization sources and polarity ion mode added another degree of specificity by discriminating molecular chemical class compounds based on isomeric content at chemical formulae level. Lastly, photooxidation products of PAH and PASH were separated and identified by chemical formulae and mobility value

Factors affecting social media use by entrepreneurs and the impact of this use on the opportunity recognition process

Social media is believed to play an essential role in supporting entrepreneurial business and opportunity recognition. However, little is known about the factors that drive social media use and how social media capabilities impact entrepreneurial opportunity recognition. In exploring the role of social media to understand the potential role of social media use on entrepreneurial opportunity recognition, the study was based on the Technological-Organization-Environmental (TOE) and the Opportunity Recognition Frameworks. A mixedmethod study was conducted with data collected from a developed economy (Australia) and a developing country (Nigeria). An initial research model was developed based on the extant review of literature on social media use and entrepreneur opportunity recognition. Firstly, qualitative data were collected via interviews with 14 entrepreneurs, which identified eight factors under four broad categories (technology, environment, individual and social media platform factors) that influence entrepreneur social media use. Also, five social media capabilities were identified (networking, searching, observing, experimenting, and social media data analytics) to drive entrepreneurial opportunity recognition. Comparing the qualitative data with themes developed from published literature, the initial research model was revised. In the second stage, a survey of 568 entrepreneurs was used to validate the model and its associated relationships. The analysis suggests that four general factors influence social media use; platform perception, absorptive capacity, platform abuse and external pressure. In addition, the use of social media was found to influence opportunity recognition through four of the five identified capabilities: searching, observing, experimenting, and data analytics. However, the findings indicate differences on how social media capability drives opportunity recognition amongst entrepreneur in Australia and Nigeria, which can be explained based on their individualist and collectivist culture respectively. Interestingly, the multi-group analysis revealed that the influence of social media capabilities on opportunity recognition might vary depending on the entrepreneur's gender and the age of their business. The theoretical contribution and practical implications of the findings to social media companies, entrepreneurs, and policymakers were discussed. The study limitation includes being a cross sectional study, focusing on small businesses and evaluating two countries

A Sociolinguistic Approach to Security Challenges and Sustainable National Development in Nigeria

The study is a sociolinguistic approach to solving security challenges and enhancing sustainable national development in Nigeria. It argues that language and society influences each other and as such language could be used to solve societal problems. In doing so, the paper x-rays the functions of language in human society as propounded by Halliday and Stubbs. It discusses the multilingual nature of Nigeria, the concept of national development as well as security challenges facing the country. The paper notes that the dominant use English language against the indigenous languages in nearly all communicative domains in Nigeria has failed the nation in its bid to overcome numerous security threats. This may not be unconnected with the low literacy level in the country. As a result, the paper recommends a tripartite language policy vis-à-vis the use of English language, the indigenous languages as well as the Nigerian Pidgin depending on the contextual demand. The paper also advocates the adoption of more indigenous languages, apart from the three major ones- Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba, for use. This will imply a revision of Nigeria's language policy and the constitutional provisions on language

Personality, Foreign Policy and National Transformation: An Assessment of the Olusegun Obasanjo’s Administration (1999-2007)

Since independence in 1960, Nigeria has played various significant roles in world affairs beginning with her immediate neighbors in the West African sub region and the world at large. Leadership and personality have been central in these dynamic roles. For instance, between 1999 and 2007, Nigeria‟s foreign relations and domestic policies were creative and eventful, which have been linked to the personality and leadership of Olusegun Obasanjo, the president of Nigeria at that time. Utilizing secondary data, the paper shows that Obasanjo‟s personality and leadership traits launched Nigeria from isolationism to diplomatic influence and relevance in world affairs. The paper further submits that Nigeria earned a positive international image, the removal of the pariah status as well as economic re-invigoration. It thus recommends amongst others, the need for both current and future leaders of Nigeria to exhibit outstanding personality and leadership in the face of festering socio-political as well as economic challenges. By such unusual display of effective leadership, Nigeria will regain its position in effectively contributing to global development and also record success in her national transformation agend

GROWTH PERFORMANCE, NUTRIENT DIGESTIBILITY AND BLOOD INDICES OF FINISHING BROILER CHICKENS FED VARYING LEVELS OF PRE-GELATINIZED CASSAVA GRITS AS A REPLACEMENT FOR MAIZE

Pre gelatinized cassava grit (PGCG) is a new cassava product produced mechanically and commercially for poultry feeding. Five dietary treatments were formulated with PGCG replacing maize at 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100 % in broiler starter (0-4 weeks) and finisher (4-8 weeks) diets. Two hundred (200) day-old broiler chickens were allotted to the five dietary treatments in a completely random design.  Each treatment was replicated four times with 10 birds per replicate and 40 birds per treatment. At the end of week 4 and 8 of the experiment, data were collected on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, haematological and serum biochemical indices. Final weight and weight gain were significantly (P < 0.05) highest in broilers fed 25 % PGCG diet, followed by those fed control diet. While, (P < 0.05) similar and lower values were obtained from broilers fed other PGCG diets. Feed intake decreased (P < 0.05) with PGCG in the diets at the starting and finishing phases. Dry matter and crude protein digestibility was (P < 0.05) highest in starting broilers fed 25 % PGCG diet, while digestibility (P < 0.05) declined with higher levels of PGCG. At the finishing phase, digestibility of all nutrients was similar (P < 0.05). Apparent metabolizable energy was (P < 0.05) higher in birds fed PGCG diets in the starting and finishing phases. Haematological and serum biochemical indices showed no significant (P>0.05) difference in the broiler chickens fed varying levels of PGCG in the diets. Broiler chickens fed PGCG above 25% in the diet had significantly (P < 0.05) higher proventriculus values when compared with those fed the control diet and 25% PGCG diet. The study revealed that substituting maize with 25 % PGCG in broiler diets improved growth and nutrient digestibility. Reduction in weight gain and non significant increased thiocyanate at higher PGCG inclusion should be improved for effective utilization of pre gelatinized cassava grit in broiler diets. &nbsp

An Evaluation of the Energy Consumption and Co2 Emission associated with Corn Cob Ash Compared with the Cement Clinker

This study compares the energy consumption and the carbon dioxide emission associated with the production of Corn Cob Ash with a view to determining its viability and environmental sustainability as a pozzolan. CCA meeting the requirements of ASTM C618-12 (1994) was produced through two separate processes of open air burning and controlled incineration in an electric muffle furnace. In the first method the quantity of kerosene fuel used in the burning process was measured used in computing the external energy input and the associated CO2 emission, using published World Bank data on heating, thermodynamic property and carbon content of various fuels. In the second method, the energy consumption was computed as a product of the name plate rating (in KW) of the muffle furnace and the time taken (in hours) to turn the measured quantity of corn cob to ash. The result reveals the ash yield of corn cob as an average of 3.6% and 1.7% for open air burning and controlled incineration respectively. Corresponding values for energy consumption were 4.3MJ and 216166MJ per kg of ash respectively. CO2 emission associated with the fuel consumption in open air burning was 0.27Kg per Kg of pozzolanic ash. These compare more favorably with the corresponding data of 5.16MJ and 0.97Kg CO2 established for Portland cement clinker production; in that less energy was consumed and less CO2 was emitted and at the same time found an alternative use for the biomass waste.  The paper concludes that CCA is a viable and environmentally sustainable source of pozzolan when it is derived from burning processes that take advantage of corn cob as a fuel, rather than being specially burnt in a furnace. The paper therefore recommends that biomass waste be should be promoted as a clean energy source  and the resulting ash harnessed as pozzolan as  a way of reducing the consumption of cement; leading to reduced green house gas emissions and contribution to global warming from the construction industry. Keywords: Carbon dioxide emission, Cement, Corn cob ash, energy consumption, global warming, pozzola

On the Beta-Nakagami Distribution

This study is focused on combining Nakagami distribution and beta distribution with a view to obtaining a distribution that is better than each of them individually in terms of the estimate of their characteristics and parsimonious in their parameters using the logit of beta (the link function of the Beta generalized distribution by Jones (2004)). The resulting model, beta Nakagami distribution is better in terms of its flexibility and shape. The statistical properties of the proposed distribution such as moments, moment generating function, the asymptotic behavior among others were investigated. Our findings showed that beta Nakagami apart from being flexible, has better representation of data than Nakagami distribution.  It therefore describes situations better than the Nakagami distribution

On the Exponentiated Weibull Distribution for Modeling Wind Speed in South Western Nigeria

One of the bases for assessment of wind energy potential for a specified region is the probability distribution of wind speed. Thus, appropriate and adequate specification of the probability distribution of wind speed becomes increasingly important. Several distributions have been proposed for describing wind distribution. Among the most popular distributions is the Weibull whose choice is due to its flexibility. An exponentiated Weibull distribution is proposed as an alternative to model wind speed data with a view to comparing it with the existing Weibull distribution. Results indicate that the proposed distribution outperforms the existing Weibull distribution for modeling wind speed data in terms of minimum Akaike information criterion (AIC) and likelihood function. Thus, the exponentiated Weibull can be used as an alternative distribution that adequately describe the wind speed and thereby provide better representation of the potentials of wind energy