Development of Automatic Switch using PIR and SSR for Day and Night Detection

None conservative attitude is observed among the African people in non-conservative utilization of public power supply. Individuals are often observed power on the lightings, cooling systems when not needed at homes, offices and commercial centers. This increases power bills and may hinders a nation from diverting power to industrial areas, limiting the process of industrialization and waste of energy. To avert these, this paper presents development of automatic switch using passive infrared sensor (PIR) and solid state relay (SSR) for day and night detection. The objective of this project is to replace the electromagnetic relays which may fail as a result of carbon forming resulting from arching in existing designs with solid state relay. Also, the system is to conserve energy more by ensuring that bulbs are not powered on during the day time except in cases of darkness. The circuit was designed using components such as; power supply, PIR sensor, Light Dependent resistor (LDR) sensor, Microcontroller and SSR, as showed in the circuit figures 1 and 8. The system is achieved using PIC16f628 which is programmed using Micro-C, SSR for switching, PIR for human detection and LDR to detect night and day. The system was tested and worked perfectly. It helped to conserve energy

Screening for diabetes mellitus in a Nigerian family practice population

Background Diabetes mellitus is a non-communicable disease with a rising prevalence worldwide. Most of the increase in prevalence is projected to be in the developing countries. As it is recognised that the onset of the disease and its complications predate the symptoms, it is expedient that screening procedures are undertaken to diagnose the disease in the individual as early as possible to minimise the risk of complications. Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease necessitating life-long therapy, usually with drugs. This creates a life-long financial burden on the family, especially in low socio-economic communities in West Africa, where the majority of the population still lives on less than one dollar a day. This affects the wellbeing of the entire family, hence the need for early detection, prompt and adequate management of the disease and avoidance of its complications. Methods The study is an incidental screening to determine the prevalence of diabetes mellitus, its risk factors and the clinical characteristics of diabetics in a Nigerian family practice population. Four hundred and twenty subjects aged 15 years or older were recruited by systematic random sampling in a family practice in South West Nigeria over a three-month period. Data collected include the subjects\' socio-demographic data, family history of diabetes mellitus and hypertension, and history of tobacco and alcohol use. The subjects\' weight and height were measured and their body mass index (BMI) calculated. Each subject was examined for peripheral neuropathy, lens opacity and hypertension. Fasting blood glucose was measured using a glucometer and urine was tested for albumin. Those with a fasting blood glucose of greater than 6.1 had a fasting blood glucose determination by the standard spectrophotometric method. Results Ten (2.38%) subjects were known diabetics, while 57 (13.6%) were known hypertensives. Ten (2.38%) new diabetics were identified, and 7.5% of the females compared to 5.8% of the males were diabetic. Alcohol intake, obesity, age above 44 years and a positive parental history of diabetes were the significant risk factors (p < 0.01) for diabetes in the study. Proteinuria and peripheral neuropathy were the significant complications (p < 0.01). Conclusions It is concluded that diabetes is a common problem in our practice, with a prevalence of 4.76%, half of which was previously undiagnosed. Alcohol intake, obesity, positive parental history and age over 44 years were the identified risk factors. Peripheral neuropathy, proteinuria and high blood pressure were the identified complications. It is recommended that routine screening of people at high risk of diabetes mellitus in family practice be commenced. The glucometer, a relatively cheap item of equipment in the practice, is a highly useful, sensitive and specific tool for this purpose. South African Family Practice Vol. 49 (8) 2007: pp. 1

The Challenges and Panaceas to Power Distribution Losses in Nigeria

Energy losses in the distribution network and its subsystems&nbsp;have been issues&nbsp;of great concerns&nbsp;in Nigeria’s power sector. For decades, several studies have been conducted on the challenges facing the power sector in Nigeria with most focus directed on the distribution subsystems. The major challenge in the distribution system is the high energy losses which are detrimental to the techno-economic benefits of the power systems. However, details of the distribution system challenges&nbsp;and the probable solutions have not been efficiently presented. In this study, some of these challenges are presented and the potential solutions are proposed. The features of the Nigeria distribution network, the technical and non-technical sources of losses as well as the identified challenges are presented before discussing&nbsp;the potential solutions. The panaceas so provided were from the understanding of some published works and other related materials as well as the in-depth understanding of the authors. This article can serve as a guide for the utilities and stakeholders in the power sector for efficient management operations and improved customer service delivery

A Review of Structures and Performance of Ternary Blends of Rice Husk Ash and Some Wastes in Concrete

The field of structural engineering has in recent times begun to widen its scope from the traditional analysis and design, into the development of new structural materials. This is because the use of non-renewable materials in forming and framing structural projects are raising serious environmental concerns bothering on sustainability of materials, especially cement, to produce structural concrete. Cement has been found to be a major contributor to greenhouse gases which affect the environment negatively. Waste from both the industrial and agricultural industries are gradually becoming sources of material to partly replace cement in concrete because of their pozzolanic properties. The agro-based pozzolanic materials include Rice husk Ash (RHA), Saw dust ash (SDA), Palm oil fuel ash (POFA) amongst others. To further widen the scope and resource base of pozzolanic materials for concreting, ternary blends consisting of agro-based pozzolans are being researched into. These research efforts however appear to be uncoordinated, and thus there is a need to juxtapose these efforts together to see the extent of work done on such ternary blends and present their relevant structural properties. This is with a view to helping identify gaps in such research as a means of preventing wastage of research energies. This paper presents a review of structural properties of some agro-based ternary blends used in structural concrete.  It is concluded that more research effort is needed, especially in the development of practical and acceptable guidelines that will aid their application in concrete, for sustainable production of structural concrete

Serospositivity of Hepatitis B and C among Blood Donors in Private Laboratories in Lagos Nigeria

Background:. Difficulties in meeting demand of blood transfusion by government hospitals have dictated the need for patronizing laboratories by both government and private hospitals.Objective: The study was undertaken to ascertain the prevalence HBsAg and hepatitis C Virus of blood donors in private laboratories in Lagos Nigeria.Result: A total of 315 participants were used for this work 298 were male (94.6%) Seventeen (17) 5.4%were females.  4.8% tested positive for HBsAg. Male constitute 80% prevalence of the positive group. Analysis of gender related prevalence of HBsAg showed that prevalence was higher in females (17.3%) than males (4%).prevalence of 1.5%.was Hepatitis C (HVC Ab).positive participants are in the age range of 21-30.Conclusion:  The result revealed a decline in prevalence of viral hepatitis among voluntary blood donors in Lagos Nigeria. Key words: hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, blood donor

Application of Mechatronics in Agriculture: A review

Mechatronics has found quite a number of useful applications in agriculture. Agriculture as one of the oldest industries, dating as far back as the nomadic age originally depended solely on human effort, then apprehended animal labour, and then came mechanical advances such as diesel/steam-engine tractors and mechanical tools with hydrostatic power which needed control. The answer to unresolved problems relies on more advances that necessitate the replacement of human intellect to meet the requirements for superior autonomy in more indefinite and unstructured environments. Promising disciplines in this framework include Mechatronics, Large-scale optimization and Complex system automation, and our focus is on the advancement of irrigation system. Some of the applications of mechatronics in agriculture and their processes are discussed to gain insight on the state of the art, advantages and weaknesses of several methods employed