Proximate composition of Pseudotolithus elongatus subjected to different processing techniques

The changes that occur on proximate composition of some common fish processing methods used in Nigeria were studied in order to determine the nutritional content of the processed products. Traditional (smoke drying and sun drying) and modern (electrical oven drying) methods of processing were used to process Pseudotholithus elongatus and the results were compared with the fresh sample to determine the changes that occur during processing. The results for the fresh sample of P. elongatus were 79.50%, 1.50%, 0.8% and 18.2% for moisture, ash, lipid and protein. For the processed products, the moisture content for smoke-dried, sun-dried, salt sun-dried and oven-dried fish were 27.00%, 21.83%, 19.50% and 20.17% . Oven dried had the highest protein content (69.87%) while salt sun-dried had the lowest (54.90%). Lipid content was highest in sun-dried (6.6%) and lowest in smoke-dried (4.6%). Correlation between smoke-dried and sun-dried were r2 = 0.99, smoke-dried and oven-dried were r2= 0.98 and smoke-dried and salt sun-dried were r2= 0.98. There was no correlation between the fresh and the processed P.elongatus. The present findings revealed that processing affect the nutritional composition of fish

Parameters for Design and Construction of a Pilot Scale Pyrolysis Gas-Furnace

The objective of this study is to analyse the design parameters for a pyrolysis furnace designed and built for experimental purposes using the principle of heat transfer. The furnace was made of a casing of low carbon steel sheets inside which the refractory bricks were moulded, forming the furnace cavity to prevent heat loss. The pyrolysis capsule was made of high carbon steel tube with flanges which can be opened for batch loading of the precursors and evacuation of products. The furnace was designed to be gas-fired due to high efficiency and cleaner nature of gas energy. The pyrolysis capsule is installed along the centre of the furnace cavity where combustion takes place. The heat energy accumulated around the capsule is being absorbed into the pyrolysis chamber where precursors are being loaded, the regulation of the temperature of the combustion chamber via the installed feedback mechanism to monitor and control the system. The capsule has a Nitrogen gas inlet for the inert environment needed for effective pyrolysis process and an outlet duct for pyrolysis oil collection and gas recovery. The experimental initial conditions were inputted in Solidworks Flow Simulation to determine the heat distribution at different regions of the furnace and thus made it easy to determine the furnace combustion chamber temperature at which the pyrolysis temperature will be attained inside the pyrolysis chambe

Web-based material requisition system in the supply chain of construction businesses

In the construction project delivery process, the supply chain of construction businesses can only be efficient and effective based on the prompt availability of building materials. Whereas, the process of requisition for the materials on the construction site, if not handled appropriately, can adversely affect construction performance. Therefore, the study was aimed at developing a web-based material requisition system (W-BMRS) that will make the supply chain on construction sites seamless and more effective. A use case and an activity block diagram provided an understanding of the users and functionalities of the material requisition platform. In addition, using a different user interface and a database system including a programming language to connect them, the study developed a web-based material requisition system for construction firms using the model view controller (MVC) model. The MVC model comprised of using MySQL, HTML, and PHP. The W-BMRS was tested by sending materials requisition through the supply chain of a construction firm. The results were presented via screenshots of the web-based platform. In conclusion, any construction firm can register on the platform and make use of the web-based materials requisition system to maximize productivity and optimize the use of ICT in their materials’ supply chain process

Developing an AdaptableWeb-Based Profile Record Management System for Construction Firms

One of the administrative roles of the human resource unit is concerned with employee record management. However, an inadequate profile record system of construction workers can adversely affect the construction worker, firm, and project in planning, auditing, welfare, and so on. Therefore, the study was aimed at developing a Web-based profile record management system that can be adapted for personal use by construction firms. A use case diagram and an activity block diagram helped to understand the users’ capabilities and functionalities of the Web-based profile record management system. In addition, using different user interface and a database system including a programming language to connect them, the study developed Web-based profile record management system for construction firms using the model view controller (MVC)model. The MVC model comprised of using MySQL, HTML, and PHP, respectively, in the design. Data was inputted into the Web-based profile record management system while results were presented using screenshots of the Web-based platform. In conclusion, any construction firm can register on the platform and make use of the Web-based profile record management system in order to improve record keeping attributes of construction workers’ profile and enhance the construction operations of construction firms in Nigeria

Automation of the Requisition Process in Material Supply Chain of Construction Firms

Construction materials play a crucial role in the project delivery process. However, the process of requisition for the materials on construction site if not handled appropriately can adversely affect the performance of quality, cost, and time. Therefore, the study was aimed at developing an automated materials requisition system which will make the supply chain on construction sites seamless and more effective. A use case diagram and an activity block diagram helped to understand the users and functionalities of the material requisition platform. In addition, using different user interface and a database system including a programming language to connect them, the study developed an automated Web-based material requisition system for construction firms using the model view controller (MVC) model. The MVC model comprised of using MySQL, HTML, and PHP, respectively, in the design. The automated materials requisition system was tested by sending material requisition through the supply chain of a construction firm. Result of the automated system was presented via screenshots of the Web-based platform. In conclusion, any construction firm can register on the platform and make use of the automated materials requisition system in order to maximize the productivity and optimize the use of ICT in their materials’ supply chain process

A Solvable Regime of Disorder and Interactions in Ballistic Nanostructures, Part I: Consequences for Coulomb Blockade

We provide a framework for analyzing the problem of interacting electrons in a ballistic quantum dot with chaotic boundary conditions within an energy $E_T$ (the Thouless energy) of the Fermi energy. Within this window we show that the interactions can be characterized by Landau Fermi liquid parameters. When $g$, the dimensionless conductance of the dot, is large, we find that the disordered interacting problem can be solved in a saddle-point approximation which becomes exact as $g\to\infty$ (as in a large-N theory). The infinite $g$ theory shows a transition to a strong-coupling phase characterized by the same order parameter as in the Pomeranchuk transition in clean systems (a spontaneous interaction-induced Fermi surface distortion), but smeared and pinned by disorder. At finite $g$, the two phases and critical point evolve into three regimes in the $u_m-1/g$ plane -- weak- and strong-coupling regimes separated by crossover lines from a quantum-critical regime controlled by the quantum critical point. In the strong-coupling and quantum-critical regions, the quasiparticle acquires a width of the same order as the level spacing $\Delta$ within a few $\Delta$'s of the Fermi energy due to coupling to collective excitations. In the strong coupling regime if $m$ is odd, the dot will (if isolated) cross over from the orthogonal to unitary ensemble for an exponentially small external flux, or will (if strongly coupled to leads) break time-reversal symmetry spontaneously.Comment: 33 pages, 14 figures. Very minor changes. We have clarified that we are treating charge-channel instabilities in spinful systems, leaving spin-channel instabilities for future work. No substantive results are change

Anemia prevalence in women of reproductive age in low- and middle-income countries between 2000 and 2018

Anemia is a globally widespread condition in women and is associated with reduced economic productivity and increased mortality worldwide. Here we map annual 2000–2018 geospatial estimates of anemia prevalence in women of reproductive age (15–49 years) across 82 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), stratify anemia by severity and aggregate results to policy-relevant administrative and national levels. Additionally, we provide subnational disparity analyses to provide a comprehensive overview of anemia prevalence inequalities within these countries and predict progress toward the World Health Organization’s Global Nutrition Target (WHO GNT) to reduce anemia by half by 2030. Our results demonstrate widespread moderate improvements in overall anemia prevalence but identify only three LMICs with a high probability of achieving the WHO GNT by 2030 at a national scale, and no LMIC is expected to achieve the target in all their subnational administrative units. Our maps show where large within-country disparities occur, as well as areas likely to fall short of the WHO GNT, offering precision public health tools so that adequate resource allocation and subsequent interventions can be targeted to the most vulnerable populations.Peer reviewe