Investigation of changing pattern in goat breeds in Sokoto-Rima River Basin, semi-arid Nigeria

The study examined the changing pattern in goat breeds in Sokoto-Rima River Basin, semi-arid Nigeria. Cluster sampling technique was used to administer the questionnaire to 450 farmers who were sampled from 15 agricultural settlements in fifteen local governments in the basin. Data were analyzed using frequency and percentages. Fifty-three (52.6%) percent of the farmers in the basin rear goats. Sokoto Red (Maradi) accounted for 90.71% of the goat breeds while West African Dwarf Goats (WAD), Hausawa and Sahelian (Desert) goats ranged from 0.42% to 8.02%. Sixty-nine (68.77%) percent of the farmers reared the same breed of goat in the 1970s, 10.13% changed breed while 21.10% did not rear goat in the past. Out of 10.13% farmers that changed goat breed, 7.59% reared Sokoto Red (Maradi) in the 1970s, 1.69% reared Sahelian (Desert) goats while 0.84% reared West African Dwarf (WAD). About ten percent (9.71%) farmers attributed the change in goat breed to climate variability, notably drought. Farmers were affected in the range of one to four drought impacts. The highest (38.38%) were those affected by three impacts, with a range of 0.84% to 15.19% while the least (10.12%) were those affected by four impacts. Size reduction was the greatest consequence of drought on goats while death of goats, reduction in offspring (calving) and milk yield and infertility in male goats were also important. Goats were more resistant to drought than other livestock types.Keywords: farmers, goat breeds, drought impacts, semi-arid tropic

Assessment of the Changing Pattern in Maize Cultivation in Sokoto-Rima River Basin, Nigeria

Maize, a monocotyledonous crop, grown for grain and forage, is the most important cereal crop in sub-Saharan Africa. This study assessed the changing pattern in maize cultivation in Sokoto-Rima River Basin, Nigeria. Questionnaire was administered to 450 respondents from 15 agricultural settlements in 15 local governments in the study area, using clustered sampling technique. Data was analyzed using frequency counts, percentage and pairwise ttest. Results showed that 20 maize varieties exist in the basin. Ten of the twelve varieties planted in 1970's are still being cultivated, two varieties no longer exist while 8 varieties were newly introduced at the time of this investigation. Yellow maize known as ‘Ja Masara’ (40.19%) was the most popular variety in the 1970's. This was closely followed by white maize called ‘Fari Masara’ (39.57%). These two varieties still accounted for over 70% in 2000’s, with white maize accounting for 46.76%. The cultivation of yellow maize decreased by 13.43% while white maize increased by 7.19%. Yellow maize known as project variety ‘Yar Project’ (8.73%) is a new variety that is gaining popularity among the farmers. The pairwise t-test result showed no significant difference between the past and present varieties planted. The factors that determine choice of the varieties cultivated include resistance to pests and diseases, personal preference, yield, the period of maturity and resistance to drought. The cultivation maize in the Basin haves increased by 7.19% over time from 71.7% to 78.89%.Keywords: maize varieties, changing pattern, Sokoto-Rima River Basi

Effect of seasons on spatial variability of rainfall in the Niger Delta, Nigeria

The seasons are the important component of rainfall seasonality that determines the flourishing of agricultural and socio-economic activities in the tropics. This study examined the effect of seasons on the spatial variability of rainfall in the Niger Delta, Nigeria. The mean, percentage of variation and coefficient of variation were used to analyze the data. The result showed that the dry season rainfall ranged from 40 to 100 mm (CV: 49.02 to 151.20%) and the wet season from 2294.8 to 3670.6 mm (CV: 22.28 to 110.05%). The monthly CV varied from 22.28 to 151.20% while the annual CV ranged from 11.59 to 32.07%. A little or no variation in space existed in 3 stations in July with the CV range from 34.02 to 34.80%, 3 stations in September with the CV range from 30.40 to 30.70% and 2 stations in October with the CV range from 32.22 to 32.81%. The CV was highest in January and December with the range of 68.54 to 151.20% and lowest in May and June with a variation of 22.28 to 54.60%. The study concluded that season controls the extent of variation of rainfall in space in the Niger-Delta.Keywords: Rainfall variation, season, spatial variation, coefficient of variatio

Ultra-Deep Water High Pressure Riser Concept Offshore Brazil

Master's thesis in Offshore technology : subsea technologySince the 1950s, risers have continued to be an important part of an oil and gas producing field. As the primary equipment that conveys fluids to and from the topside vessel, it is important that a riser is designed to withstand all conditions it will be subjected to during its lifetime. With hydrocarbon exploration activities moving into ultra-deep water, research related to the structural integrity of a riser deployed in ultra-deep water has become necessary. The ultra-deep water region considered in this thesis work is the Santos Basin located about 300 km offshore Brazil. The Santos Basin is a benign environment that is not characterized by hurricanes, typhoons or extreme weather conditions. However, oil producing activities in this region would require a vessel that has storage capabilities due to the distance the region is from shore. With this requirement in mind, different floaters were evaluated and a spread-moored Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel was selected for this thesis work. The selection of the spread-moored FPSO presented a new challenge; high motion sensitivity. Since FPSOs are high motion vessels, risers connected to them will experience fatigue damage in their touchdown zone. However, after evaluation of different riser concepts, the Steel Lazy Wave Riser (SLWR) was selected because it has the ability to decouple its touchdown zone from vessel motions due to the presence of buoyancy modules fitted along the lower section of the riser. With the selection of spread-moored FPSO and a SLWR, material selection for the SLWR was carried out. For ultra-deep water deployment, a riser’s material should posses ultra-high strength, good weldability, high collapse resistance, high operating pressure and excellent low-temperature toughness. These material properties are found in the API 5L X65,X80 and X90 carbon steel grade material. Hence, they were the selected material used for the SLWRs in this thesis work. Dynamic and fatigue response analysis was conducted on the SLWRs made of each material and it was observed that all the three materials met the requirements of the DNV-OS-F201 reference standard with the X65 riser having the worst dynamic response, followed by the X80 riser, followed by the X90 riser. Also in past SLWR deployments with spread-moored FPSOs, risers were usually connected to hang-off points along the port side of the vessel. In this thesis work the SLWRs were connected to hang-off points both along the port side of the vessel and along the middle of the vessel. The purpose of doing this was to investigate if buoyancy can be saved by connecting a riser along the middle of the vessel rather than the along the port side. From the results of the investigation, it was observed that about 7.5% of buoyancy could be saved by connecting a riser to the middle of the vessel rather than to the port side of the vessel. In addition, it was observed that risers connected to the middle of the vessel showed an increase of at least 246% in the minimum fatigue life observed. Overall, all the riser materials considered in this study all meet the dynamic and fatigue response criteria. Therefore, further work should be carried out as given in the recommendations of this thesis work to select the most suitable material for deployment in the ultra-deep water region of the Santos Basin, offshore Brazil

Water chemistry of some rivers draining the basement complex in Southwestern Nigeria

Nous avons effectué une étude physico-chimique pendant quinze mois, des eaux des fleuves Owena, Ohoo et Orunro, dans le bassin sud-ouest nigérian afin d'en relever le pH, la conductivité, l'alcalinité, O2 dissous, CO2, silicate-SI,PO4-P, NO3N, Fe, Cl-, Ca2+, Mg2+ et la matière dissoute ... Le pH, la conductivité, l'alcalinité et le CO2 total sont en rapport direct avec le mode saisonnier des précipitations et les crues. La composition des eaux reflète la composition chimique et l'altérité des bassins des fleuves (granite-gneiss, les amphiboles et schistes ordinaires

Impact of climate variability on cassava yield in the humid forest agro-ecological zone of Nigeria

This study examined cassava yield response to variable climate in the humid forest agro-ecological zone of Nigeria. The data employed for this study was sourced from the archives of Nigeria Meteorological Agency, Lagos State and Ogun State Agricultural Development Program, Abeokuta. Bivariate correlation, multiple regression and Z-distribution were employed for data analysis. Results show that monthly, seasonal and annual rainfall did not affect the yield of cassava but monthly, seasonal and annual minimum and maximum temperature was significantly related to cassava yield at p ≤ 0.05. Non-climatic factors have a greater influence on cassava yield than climatic factors in the study area. Nevertheless, climatic factors influenced cassava yield more at Abeokuta than Ijebu-Ode. Cassava yield was lower from 1987-1993 (with negative significant impact in 1987 and 1988 at p ≤ 0.01) than 1994-2012. These results demonstrated that climate variability needs to be taken into account in cassava impact assessment.Keywords: cassava yield, impact, climate variability, rainfall, temperatur

Community awareness and evaluation of surface water bodies in Osogbo, Osun State, Nigeria

This study covers the examination of socio-economic characteristics of residents, identification of different types of surface water bodies, determination of level of accessibility of those water bodies, the evaluation of the water bodies and the identification of the challenges being faced by communities in Osogbo, Osun State, Nigeria using four hundred (400) well-structured questionnaires. Data obtained were analyzed using frequency counts and percentages with Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 15. Result showed that, 58.3% were married, the male (54.2%) respondents were higher than the females, and the occupation of the majority were informal sector (37.1%). Also, the highest age group was 15-25 years (34.3%) while family size of 2-3 members (61.1%) were higher than the other categories. Educational qualifications ranged from 2.2% - Primary School Certificate holders to 30.5% - NCE/OND/HND (30.5%) graduates. Eighty-one percent of the respondents were aware of the water bodies. River (37.7%) and stream (38.1%) were the major water sources in the study area, and one of the rivers was dammed and used for religious and traditional purposes. The Rate of obtaining the water varied from regularly (19.6%) to rarely (28%) while the Reasons for obtaining water ranged from its natural state (5.9%) to lack of portable water source (27.4%). Approximately fifty-three percent (52.7%) respondents had contacted one disease or the other ranging from bilharzias (6.2%) to malaria (18.1%) due to the use of the water while scarcity during the dry season has often resulted in frequent clashes among most users. Therefore, this study suggests that government and its agencies should provide portable water, care and maintenance of surface water bodies.Keywords: public perception; surface water; disease; Nigeri

Evaluation of changing pattern in livestock types in Sokoto-Rima River Basin, a tropical semi-arid region of Nigeria

The study examined the changing pattern in livestock types in Sokoto Rima-River Basin, semi-arid Nigeria. Clustered sampling technique was used to administer questionnaire to 450 respondents from 15 agricultural settlements in 15 Local Government Areas in the basin. Data were analyzed using frequency counts, percentages and pairwise t-test. Seventy-one percent (70.7%) of the farmers reared livestock in the 1970s, out of which 10.2 to 13.6% reared only cattle, sheep and goats while the combination of cattle and sheep, cattle and goats, sheep and goats, and cattle, sheep and goats varied from 3.6 to 20.2%. In the 2000s, 80% of the farmers reared livestock, with a variation of 10.4 to 11.6% for cattle, sheep and goats only, and 2.9 to 26% for cattle and sheep, cattle and goats, sheep and goats and cattle, sheep and goats respectively. The total of 39.6 to 45% farmers in the basin reared cattle, sheep and goats in the 1970s while 44.7 to 55.1% reared it in 2000s. The rearing of cattle only, sheep and goats, and cattle, sheep and goats together increased by 0.2% to 6.6% while sheep only, goats only, cattle and sheep, and cattle and goats decreased by 0.3% to 2%. The total cattle reared has increased by 5.1% over time, while that of sheep and goats increased by 10.1% and 11.4% respectively. Sheep are 2.4% more than goats and 10.4% more than cattle. Livestock rearing has increased by 9.3% during the study period. A pairwise t-test showed no significant difference between the livestock types in the 1970s and 2000s in the study period.Keywords: livestock, goat, sheep, cattle, Sokoto Rima River Basi

α-Amylases by strains of Candida albicans and Fusarium sp.: Expression and characterization

In this investigation, a defined medium was inoculated with Candida albicans and Fusarium sp. Incubation was at 28oC. The composition of the medium was potassium dihydrogen sulphate, magnesium sulphate, calcium sulphate, hydrated iron sulphate, manganese sulphate, copper sulphate, zinc sulphate, thiamine, biotin, sodium nitrate (nitrogen source) and galactose (carbon source). Proteins which exhibite