The Role of State and Professional Bodies in Developing Code for Structural Concrete – Learning from other Nations

In order to arrest the rampant structural failures of buildings, there have been call for the development and adoption of structural design codes that will capture all relevant environmental issues that are peculiar to Nigeria.  This paper presents the results of analysis of data collected from the public domain (libraries and internet sources) on Nations with acceptable structural design codes in concrete and allied materials. Some of the findings are that: (i) Code or Standard does not necessarily need to be a legal document or backed by the state to enjoy wider acceptance or be recognized, (ii) it is possible for people in the same professions to form professional association and regulate the operation of the profession by setting standard of practice which can be recognized, not only by people, but also acceptable to the State and (iii) whether a standard developed as a legal document or recommendations of professional association, openness and consideration for the inputs for all are necessary. This is to ensure that the operation of the standard will not run contrary to the public good, or in violation of the common law, or infringe the rights of a subject/citizen. Keywords — Building failures, Codes, Concrete, Legal document, Professional bodies, Structures

Simulation of Temperature Extremes Over West Africa With MPAS

A large ensemble of 51 simulations with the Model for Prediction Across Scales (MPAS) has been applied to assess its ability to reproduce extreme temperatures and heat waves in the area of West Africa. With its global approach the model avoids transition errors influencing the performance of limited area climate models. The MPAS simulations were driven with sea surface temperature (SST) and sea ice extent as the only boundary condition. The results reveal moderate cold biases in the range from −0.6° to −0.9°C for the daily mean temperature and −1.2° to −2.0°C for the area mean of the daily maximum temperature. The bias in the number of tropical nights ranges from +3 to −10 days. An underestimation by up to 50% is also present regarding the number of summer days. The heat wave duration index is underestimated regionally by 10%–60%. MPAS simulations are generally closer to the reanalysis results than they are to the observational reference. The results from long term runs and from short term runs with selected SST years are similar. Shortcomings in the reproduction of the temperature and precipitation indices found in the present investigation indicate that the global MPAS approach does provide a fidelity similar to that of the regional climate models

CAM-EULAG: a non-hydrostatic atmospheric climate model with grid stretching

This study evaluates the capability of a non-hydrostatic global climate model with grid stretching (CEU) that uses NCAR Community Atmospheric Model (CAM) physics and EULAG dynamics. We compare CEU rainfall with that produced by CAM using finite volume dynamics (CFV). Both models simulated climate from 1996 to 2000, using the same parameterization schemes

Factors Associated with Treatment Success among Pulmonary Tuberculosis and HIV Co-infected Patients in Oyo State, South West-Nigeria

Background The co-existence of Tuberculosis (TB) and Human immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is  known to increase morbidity and mortality in patients. The determinants of treatment success in TBHIV co-infection are not yet well studied. Such information can help optimise treatment and reduce morbidity and mortality.Objective To determine factors associated with antitubercular treatment success among TB I HIV coinfected patients.Methods A cross sectional study was carried out in fifty  three DOT clinics and treatment centres  using tuberculosis patient's records from January 2009 to December 2010 in Oyo state, Nigeria. The study population consisted of 7905 tuberculosis patients. Information on variables of interest were obtained with the use of data extraction forms. Chi-square and logistic regression were used to test the relationship between TB I HIV coinfection and socio-demographic variables, clinical characteristics and treatment success.Results Prevalence ofTB I HIV co-infection was found to be 14.2%. Patients with TB-HIV co-infection  were younger and more likely to be females. There were statistically significant association between treatment success and gender, marital status and patient point of care. After adjusting for other variables, it was found that patients receiving treatment in private facilities were independently less likely to be successfully treated compared with those receiving care in Public facilities. Female patients were also independently more likely to have better treatment outcome than male.Conclusion In addition to patients' point of care, gender of the patients can adversely impact on their treatment success. Efforts from the government to strengthening the private public mix, health education and media awareness on adherence to treatment to improve treatment success should be intensified in the country.Keywords: Tube rc ulosis; Human immunodeficiency virus, Directly observe therapy short-course;  Treatment success, Coinfection

Impact of rainfall onset date on crops yield in Ghana

Rainfall onset date (ROD) influences farmer planting decisions, yet there is a dearth of information on the extent to which ROD influences crop yield. This study assesses the effect of ROD on the yield of four crops (Maize, millet, rice, and sorghum) in Ghana. It uses crop yields from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and employs the Decision Support System for Agro-technology Transfer (DSSAT) crop model to simulate maize yields from 1985 to 2004. The crop model simulations were forced with weather data from the gridded Global Meteorological Forcing Dataset (GMFD). The relationship between crop yields and RODs from three datasets (observed, satellite, and GMFD) are studied. The results of the study show a good correlation between MoFA and FAO crop yield data (with correlation coefficient (r) of 0.97, 0.92, 0.77, and 0.99 for maize, millet, rice, and sorghum, respectively). RODs from satellite observation feature a high correlation with RODs from station observation (r = 0.72), but RODs from GMFD feature weak correlations (r < 0.3) with both observation datasets. The study finds a negative correlation between observed RODs and crop yields (i.e. an early onset corresponds to high yields) but a positive correlation between GMFD RODs and crop yields (i.e. an early onset correspondence to low yields). The DSSAT model reproduces the observed yield pattern, but with substantial biases. The findings of this study can be used to advise small-holder farmers on planting dates and crop variety selection