Comparative Analysis of Pre and Post-migration Livelihood Outcomes of Households with Absentee Heads in Osun State, Nigeria

Migration is often linked with a deleterious impact on rural area production and development. Although, the change of location for better opportunities also affect the lives and livelihoods of the migrant households’ in the rural communities. The study was a comparative analysis of the pre and post-migration living outcomes of absentee households’ heads in Osun State, Nigeria. A multistage sampling procedure involving the simple random sampling was used to select 120 absentee household heads. Data collected with interview schedule was subjected to descriptive statistics, t-test and correlation analyses. Findings showed that more men (76.7%) migrated, leaving women to become the interim household heads. It was found that migrants have a higher average monthly income level (₦44,400). Prior to migration, most families were in the lower financial well-being category (83.3%), while only 55% remained in that category after migration. This follows the result of the t-test which revealed that a significant difference (t=0.00; p<0.05) exists between the well-being of migrant’s household before and after migration. Thus, it was concluded that unless the rural push factors are removed, rural-urban migration will continue at an increasing rate because benefits and opportunities acquired in the process influence the well-being of the rural households. The study recommends that enabling environment, facilities and opportunities should be created in the rural communities to transform livelihoods and improve the wellbeing of the people via interventions by national and international agencies

EVALUATION OF VIABLE OPERATING STRATEGIES FOR PUBLIC TRANSPORT BETWEEN FUNAAB CAMPUS AND CAMP TERMINUS IN ABEOKUTA

Transportation is a live wire for national development regardless of a nation industrial capacity, population or technological development. It gives expressions to policy initiative in areas like health, education, employment, etc., and in the absence of it, these facilities would be inaccessible. Viable operating strategies for public transport between Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Ogun State Nigeria Campus and Camp Terminus in Abeokuta were evolved. Traffic study was conducted for seven (7) days to determine traffic volume and peak periods (morning and evening) along the route. Questionnaires were administered to the road users to obtain factors (availability of vehicles, travel time from Camp Terminus to FUNAAB, road condition, operational cost, comfortability of the vehicle) needed to generate operating strategies. These factors were subjected to statistical analysis. The traffic volume revealed that Private cab had the highest traffic flow for a.m. peak period (8: 00 – 9: 00 am) from Mondays to Thursdays while Public cab had the highest on Fridays to Sundays, and at the pm peak period (4:00 – 5:00 pm), Public cabs had the highest traffic volume on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays while the Private cabs had the highest on the rest days of the week. The analysis of the sampled population showed that public cab had the least total time travel (36.1 minutes) followed by mini- bus (37.8 minutes) while the school bus had the highest (43.7 minutes) and this justified the reason why 40% of the population choose to travel by public cab, 33% by mini– bus  and 27% by the school bus. However, for the viability of the operating strategies, more public cab and min-buses should be provided to ply the road because of their lesser travel time, also provision of more school buses because of the large number of passengers they carry per trip should be provided.     &nbsp

DESIGN AND PRODUCTION OF ASBESTOS FREE BRAKE PAD USING CASHEW NUTSHELL

A brake is a mechanical device used in controlling the speed of a moving vehicle using a frictional material and dissipates the absorbed kinetic energy as heat to the surroundings. A new brake pad composition has been developed with the Cashew Nutshell (CNSL), Silicon Carbide (SC), Steel Dust (SD), Carbon Black (CB), Epoxy Resin and Hardener (ERH). Five different samples of varying constituents were made with two different sieve sizes for each sample was investigated. The result showed that sample D of the 100 μm with composition 55g of (CNSL), 15g of (SC), 10g of (SD), 5g of (CB) and 15g of Epoxy resin and hardener had the best properties. The Brinell hardness value, Coefficient of Friction, Porosity, Ash content, Density and Wear rate were 75.65, 0.3528 1.925, 45.6, 1.521 kg/m3  for 100 μm and 1.17  respectively. These values are acceptable, though the 75μm samples fared better in many of the test results but lacked in the aspect of density when compared with the other sieve grades.  This shows that Cashew Nutshell can be used as filler in the production of eco-friendly brake pads

Evaluation of A Clay Mineral Deposit in Abeokuta, South-West Nigeria

Clay, in regard to its origin is unique. The kaolin of the mine of Ajebo has a hydrothermal geological formation. It presents itself a fragile and crumbly material, of whitish colour. Therefore, the objective of this paper was to evaluate the clay mineral of Ajebo deposit, its microstructure using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and thermal analysis (DSC/TG). The results showed that Ajebo clay belongs to the kaolin group (Kaolinite, nacrite, dickite, and halloysite). Elementary analysis showed the mineral to be composed mainly of aluminium, oxygen and silicon, with a low content of iron. The dehydrated state of the mineral was confirmed by XRD analysis; the basal spacing reflections indicate a sharp peak at 7Å of d001 and the absence of a peak at 10Å, which is indicative of hydrated kaolin. The SEM/SE studies indicated that Ajebo clay mineral particles are smaller than 10μm, forming agglomerates. &nbsp

Molecular and Physiological Factors of Neuroprotection in Hypoxia-Tolerant Models: Pharmacological Clues for the Treatment of Stroke

The naked mole-rat possesses several unique physiological and molecular features that underlie their remarkably and exceptional resistance to tissue hypoxia. Elevated pattern of Epo, an erythropoietin (Epo) factor; c-fos; vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF); and hypoxia-inducible factors (HIF-1α) contribute to the adaptive strategy to cope with hypoxic stress. Moreover, the naked mole-rat has a lower metabolic rate than any other eutherian mammal of comparable size that has been studied. The ability to actively reduce metabolic rate represents a strategy widely used in the face of decreased tissue oxygen availability. Understanding the different molecular and physiological factors that induce metabolic suppression could guide the development of pharmacological agents for the clinical management of stroke patient

Anthropometric design of furniture for use in tertiary institutions in Abeokuta, South-western Nigeria

Students sit for most of the time on school furniturein the classroom. However, the design of schoolfurniture in Nigeria using the anthropometric dataof the users has yet to be given adequate attention.This study was carried out to obtainanthropometric data of students in higherinstitutions of learning in Nigeria for the design ofergonomics chairs and tables for use by students inthose institutions. Seven hundred and twenty (720)students in three selected institutions participatedin the study. Various body dimensions (sittingelbow height, shoulder height, knee height,popliteal height, buttock-popliteal length, statureand body weight) of the students were measuredusing standard anthropometer and 5 th, 50th, and95 th percentiles of the data obtained werecomputed using a SPSS 16.0 statistical package.The existing furniture dimensions in the selectedinstitutions were also measured. Based on theobtained anthropometric data, this paper proposesfurniture design dimensions for seat height, seatdepth, seat width, backrest height (upper), armrestand desk height for students in the selected tertiaryinstitutions. The present study may be a pointer tothe effect that in the design of tables and chairs foruse in higher institutions, the anthropometric dataof the Nigerian students were not considered. It ishereby recommended that similar study should becarried out in other sections of the country

On the Effects of Saturation Terms on A SEIR Epidemic Model with Infected and Susceptible Compartments

The importance of the saturation term in an SEIR (Susceptible, Exposed, Infected, and Recovered) epidemic model was examined in this article. To estimate the basic reproduction number (R0), examine the stabilities and run numerical simulations on the model, the next generation matrix, the Lyapunov function and Runge-Kutta techniques were used. The numerical simulation results reveal that, the saturation term has a significant influence in the model’s susceptible and infected compartments. However, as demonstrated by the simulation results, saturation term has a greater influence on vulnerable people than on infected people. As a result, greater sensitization programs through seminars, media, and awareness will be more beneficial to the vulnerable class than the afflicted class during disease eradication

Design, fabrication and evaluation of fish meal pelletizing machine

A 113.1kg/h fish meal pellet processing machine which produced 4mm diameter pellet, with an average length of 6mm was designed and fabricated. Design values of 210 was used for the maximum angle that the hopper wall formed with the vertical in the discharge zone, a critical stress of 1.3kPa of the ground particulate materials, and a density of 2.4521kg/m3 of the particulate materials, were used to obtain a hopper smallest outlet diameter of 12.7cm with a capacity of 24,118cm3 which proved efficient for the pelletizing machine. Two 3-cm diameter shafts carried the speed reduction gears with the perforated disc attached to the roller cutters on one end, while at the other end a 5hp motor was connected to the speed reduction gear by pulleys with diameters of 6cm and 12cm respectively. The speed reduction was 1:5 over a motor speed of 2000rpm. The fish meal pelletizing machine utilized 4kg of ingredients to produce 3.77kg pellets at an efficiency of 94.2%. The percentage loss due to unprocessed ground particulate materials was 5.8%.The moisture content of the fish meal pellets after 7days of drying in open air was 26.5% (wet basis). When tested for floatation, the pellets stayed afloat for 9 days, while the un-dried pellets only remained afloat for 2days. A combination of the weight of the twin roller cutters and the addition of some starch to the ground particulate materials assisted the compacting and gelatinization of pellet formed. This machine will be useful to medium and small scale aquaculture farmers and also reduce the need for foreign sources of fish meal in the aquaculture industry, thus conserving foreign exchange.Keywords: Ground particulate materials; mixing; compacting; gelatinizing; pelletizin

Electrocatalytic properties of prussian blue nanoparticles supported on poly(m-aminobenzenesulfonic acid)–functionalized single-walled carbon nanotubes toward the detection of dopamine

Edged plane pyrolytic graphite electrode (EPPGE) was modified with and without Prussian blue (PB) nanoparticles and polyaminobenzene sulphonated single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTPABS) using the chemical deposition method. The electrodes were characterised using microscopy, spectroscopy and electrochemical techniques. Results showed that edged plane pyrolytic graphite-single-walled carbon nanotubes-prussian blue (EPPGE-SWCNT-PB) electrode gave the best dopamine (DA) current response which increases with increasing PB layers