Impact of Prepaid Energy Metering System on the Electricity Consumption in Ogbomoso South Local Government Area of Oyo State

Electricity is one of the basic requirements for people and they are widely used for domestic, industrial and agricultural purposes. Every meter is a device that measures the amount of electrical energy consumed by a residence, business or an electrically powered device. This paper presents the impact of prepaid energy metering system on electricity consumption in Ogbomoso South Local Government Area of Oyo state. The results of the paper revealed that about 95% of the pre-paid meter users in the local government area are conscious of electricity management, about 74% of the post-paid meter users were just wasting the energy. The introduction of the pre-paid metering system has increased the revenue collection and hence, reduced the revenue generation of the local government area because of the reliability nature of the metering system. The pre-paid metering system has created a positive impact on the electricity consumption as well as the increment in the price tariff of the electricity. Keywords: Energy metering system, Electricity consumption, Post-paid metering system, Pre-paid metering system, Solid state electronic meters (SSEM)

Impact of Embedded Generation on Power Distribution System Voltage Collapse

The term “embedded generation”(EG) refers to electricity generation connected at distribution level rather than transmission level. E.G. can reduce the effect of losses while providing reactive power and contingency reserves to the network. It can also reduce the need for new transmission and distribution facilities consequently reducing overall costs. A distribution system is the system of an overall power system which links the bulk system to the individual customers. Voltage stability is an important performance index which defines the quality of supply. This paper presents the impact of embedded generation (EG) on power distribution system voltage collapse. ABUAD is considered as a case study in the research paper. The voltage stability indices (VSI) are calculated and assessed. The distribution network is reconfigured and the new values of VSI were computed to analyze the optimum configuration. The result of the paper showed that after thee reconfiguration of the system network the maximum KW, KVAR and KVA connected loads on the four selected transformers have increased by 9.11%, 9.04% and 8.44% respectively. The VSI for transformer T1 has increased from 0.0035 to 0.00362 while the VSI for transform T2 also decreased from 0.003845 to 0.0037 after the network reconfiguration. The VSI for transformer T3 and T4 remained constant even after the system network has been modified. The distribution system can be optimized for improved performance indices of which voltage stability is significant. Keywords: Embedded Generation, Voltages Collapse, Stability Index, Distribution Networks, Reconfiguration, Improved Performance, Transformers

Effect of Thermal Treatment on Chemical, Biological and Mechanical Properties of African Whitewood (Triplochiton scleroxylon K. SCHUM)

The thermal modification of wood is a potential alternative method for improving wood properties. This paper evaluates the effect of thermal treatment on the chemical, biological and mechanical properties of African Whitewood (Triplochiton scleroxylon K. Schum) by subjecting the wood to three temperature (200, 170, 140 ℃) at three different time (3, 6, 12 h). Fourier Transformed infrared (FT-IR) spectrometer was used to ascertain the effect of heat treatment on the chemical constituent of the wood while mechanical properties were determined by Modulus of Elasticity (MOE) and Modulus of Rupture (MOR). Durability of heat-treated wood against subterranean termites using field test was also investigated.  FTIR results provided information on the chemical constituents after heat treatment revealing the cellulose and hemicelluloses of Triplochiton scleroxylon wood samples. The decreasing intensity of hydroxyl groups stretching at 3341 cm-1 indicated that heat-treated samples have lost some of their hydroxyl groups. The results showed that the MOR of heated-treated wood at 200 ℃ was significantly higher than the untreated samples. There was also a 26% increase in the MOE of the 170 ℃ heat-treated wood relative to untreated samples. Wood samples thermally treated at 170 ℃ and 200 ℃ as well as untreated wood samples were strongly degraded in term of weight loss (WL) by termite though the degree of degradation varied based on temperature and time in which the wood was modified. However, heat-treated wood at 140 ℃ gave the lowest WL of 20.41% compared to other treated and untreated wood samples. Therefore, strength properties and termites’ resistance of African whitewood also known as Obeche wood in Nigeria could be improved when thermally modified at 170 ℃ and 140 ℃ respectively

Perception and safety practices to zoonotic diseases transmission among small ruminant farmers in Ona-Ara local government area of Oyo State

The study examined the awareness and safety practices to zoonotic diseases transmission among small ruminant farmers in Ona-Ara local Government area of Oyo state. Random sampling was used to select 50% of the farmers association in each village to give total number of 110 respondents in the study area. Data was obtained using structured interview schedule and described statistically with Chi Square and PPMC for the hypotheses. The study revealed that most (71.8%) of the respondents were male, 77.3% were married and 54.9% fell above 51 years of age. Also, the study revealed that 48.2% of the respondents had no formal education while few (7.2%) had secondary education with 49.1% of the respondents being Christians and 47.3% Muslim. The study further showed that most (75.5%) of the respondents had low level of awareness towards zoonotic disease transmission while 24.5 % had high awareness on zoonotic diseases. Also, most (50.9%) of the respondents had unfavourable perception towards zoonotic diseases transmission while 49.1 % of them had favourable perception. Also, most (91.8%) of the respondents regularly carried out routine disease monitoring on their animals, bondage the wounds of their animals (91.8%), wash or sanitize their hands after contact with diseased animals (75.5%) and apply disinfectant (70.9%). Hypothesis of the study revealed that there was no significant relationship between socio-economic characteristics of the respondents and their use of safety practices except marital status (x2=29.748, p=0.000) and years of experience (r=0.342.  p=0.000) which were significantly related. PPMC analysis showed that there was significant relationship  between the level of awareness and safety practices (ᵪ2 =0.420, p=0.000). Also, there was significant relationship between respondents’ perception on zoonotic disease transmission (r= 0.294, P=0.02). It is therefore recommended that appropriate authorities should create adequate enlightenment programmes on zoonotic disease transmission through various media to ensure a balance in the level of utilization of zoonotic disease information and safety practices among farmers. Keywords: Awareness, safety practices, zoonotic diseases, small ruminant farmer

Effect of Tree Leaves on Rumen Fermentation, Microbial Count and Blood Urea Nitrogen of West African Dwarf Goats

This experiment was carried out to assess the effect of Azadirachta indica, Newbouldia laevis and Spondias mombin leaves on rumen fermentation, microbial count and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) of West African Dwarf (WAD) goats. Sixteen WAD bucks (11.6 ? 0.9 kg in body weight) were allocated to 4 treatments: 1) Control and 2) 40 g/day of Azadirachta indica, 3) 40 g/day of Newbouldia laevis and 4) 40 g/day of Spondias mombin leaves arranged in a completely randomised design. The ground leaves were included in concentrate diets served on dry matter basis at 2% of body weight while Panicum maximum was fed ad libitum. The control diet had no tree leaves. Data were collected on chemical composition, rumen fermentation and microbial ecology, and BUN. Saponin was highest (P < 0.05) in S. mombin (8.14%) while A. indica and N. laevis had 5.78% and 1.56%, respectively. Rumen ammonia nitrogen was least (P < 0.05) in goats fed A. indica (8.35 mg/dL) while the highest (P < 0.05) total volatile fatty acid (TVFA) was obtained from goats fed S. mombin with 125.51 mM. Goats fed N. laevis yielded the highest (P < 0.05) acetate with 70.65 mol/100 mol while propionate production was highest (P < 0.05) in the rumen of goats fed S. mombin (27.15 mol/100 mol). Viable bacteria count was lowest (P < 0.05) in rumen of goats fed A. indica (3.95?1012 cfu/ml) while the least (P < 0.05) protozoa population was obtained from the rumen of bucks fed S. mombin (4.18?109 cfu/ml). All goats in the treatments containing tree leaves had higher (P < 0.05) and a rapid increase in BUN between 0 and 6 h post feeding when compared with the Control. It is concluded that feeding ground leaves of S. mombin to goats increases rumen total volatile fatty acid and propionate production and reduces the protozoa population

Irrigation and manure application influence on in vitro digestibility of herbaceous legumes

The study was conducted to investigate the effects of swine manure rates (0, 5, 10 tonha-1) and irrigation frequencies (2 and 4 days interval) on in vitro fermentation characteristics of three herbaceous forage legumes (Lablab purpureus, Mucuna pruriens and Vigna unguiculata). The experiment was a factorial design with three replicates. The legumes were harvested 12 weeks after sowing. The results showed no significant (p &gt; 0.05) difference in crude protein content for all the parameters determined while lowest neutral detergent fibre content was 450.00 g kg-1 in legumes fertilized with 10tonha-1 manure and the highest was 482.78 g kg-1 in unfertilized legumes. Tannin contents ranged (p &lt; 0.05) from 3.60 g kg-1 in V. unguiculata to 6.60 g kg-1 in M. pruriens. Application of 10 tonha-1 manure caused (P&lt;0.05) higher total anaerobic bacteria count (TABC) (1.65 x106 cfu/ml), dry matter (63.98%) and crude protein (59.5 %) digestibility to be produced by the legumes compared to other manure rates. Lablab purpureus had highest TABC (1.13 x106 cfu/ml) while M. pruriens recorded highest DMD (62.22%) and CPD (58.00%). Legumes irrigated at 2 days intervals had higher TABC content (1.13 x106 cfu/ml) while legumes irrigated at 4 days interval had higher DMD (57.91%) and CPD (52.50%). In conclusion, application of 10 tonha-1 manure rate at 4 days irrigation frequency of the legumes will go a long way to improve the digestibility and availability of nutrients to ruminants

Nutritive Quality of Hay and Silage from Natural Grazing Land in South Western Nigeria

In the tropics, inadequate nutrition caused by scarcity of forages and its low quality constitutes a major constraint to good performance of ruminant animals (Lukuyu et al. 2011). Herbage availability during the wet season often exceeds animal requirements (Chakoma et al. 1999). As the dry season sets in, the protein level of the accumulated forages drops and the fibre level increases, with an increase in lignin content while voluntary intake decreases. Due to lack of quality forage especially in the dry season, animals feeding on them tend to lose weight and their productivity will be negatively affected. In order to reduce the limitations of feeds for ruminant animals especially during dry season, there is need to develop feed conservation strategies. The use of high quality forages appears to be the most feasible option to serve this purpose. Therefore, conservation of excess forages produced in the rainy season can be utilized as supplements during the dry season to be able to alleviate poor performance of ruminant animals and will also enhance incomes of small-scale farmers. The aim of this study was to determine the suitability of conserved forages (hay and silage) from the natural grazing land as dry season supplementary feed for ruminant animals grazing in natural pastureland

Geophysical and Hydrochemical Investigation of a Municipal Dumpsite in Ibadan, Southwest Nigeria

Geophysical and hydrochemical investigations have been undertaken within a reclaimed site of municipal dumpsite in Ibadan, southwestern Nigeria with a view of assessing the impact of effluent from the ancient dumpsite on the soil and groundwater sytem. The study area is underlain by precambrian Basement Complex rocks mainly granite gneiss. The geophysical investigation involved electrical resistivity methods using dipole-dipole profiling and Schlumberger Vertical Electrical Sounding (VES), while the hydrochemical investigation involved physical, chemical and microbial analyses of water samples within the reclaimed land and active dumpsite. A total of 175 sampling points were occupied using dipole-dipole profiling, while 29 Schlumberger electrical soundings were carried out. In addition, water samples from available nine wells in the area whose static water levels range between 1.2 m and 7.4 m were analysed. The results from electrical surveys show that the study area is underlain by a maximum of four subsurface layers namely the topsoil, the weathered layer, the partly weathered/fractured basement and the fresh basement whose resistivities values range from 41-495 ohm-m, 13-643 ohm-m, 86-720 ohm-m and 2800 ohm-m and above. Their thickness of the overburden units varies from 0.7- 49.5 m. The partly weathered/fractured basement constitute the main aquifer. The resistivity distribution of the topsoil and weathered layer indicates that parts of these layers have been infiltrated by plumes from the reclaimed land and active dumpsite, especially in areas characterised by low resistivity (&lt;30 Ohm-m). In most cases, the suspected leachates are held within the clayey overburden and are prevented from infiltrating the aquifer by local barriers. There are indications that the leachate migration is topographically controlled. The hydrochemical analysis of samples from the wells show that the concentration of the analysed anions (Cl-, S042- and N03-) and cations (Na+,  Ca2+, Mg2+ and Fe+) are within the World Health Organisation (2004) and Standard Organisation of Nigeria (2007) permissible limits. This indicates that the aquifer system in the area might be free from contamination. However, there is possiblity of future impacts on wells in the area from downwards  migration of the effluents from active dumpsite and other anthropogenic activities relating to human impacts on existing geo-environmental systems. Keywords: effluent, contaminantion, hydrochemical analysis, leachate, aquifer

Effects of Prior Heat Stress on the Growth and Phytochemical Contents Accumulation of Amaranthus hybridus (Linn.)

The present study aimed at investigating the impact of abrupt heat stress on growth and phytochemical contents accumulation in Amaranthus hybridus. The treatments were as follows: control without heat treatment, seedlings subjected to heat at 45 oC for two hours and seedlings subjected to heat at 45 oC for four hours. After the stipulated time for each category, plants were removed from the Gallenkamp oven and were transplanted into other sets of thirty six pots (of 21 cm deep and 24 cm in diameter), as well as the control. The seedlings were kept in a screen house to minimise extraneous factors such as pests and rodents. They were watered daily with 200 mL of tap water in the morning and 200 mL of tap water in the evening until they were fully established. The phytochemical contents were determined at vegetative, flowering and fruiting stage using ethanolic extracts from the dried leaves of plant samples. From the results obtained, it was observed that leaf, shoot and root fresh and dry weights of the stressed plants were lower than the control plants. Exposure of the plants at different durations of heat treatment enhanced and inhibits the quantities of phytochemicals at different growth stages. From the present study it can be concluded that heat stress, on the basis of global warming in the future, will likely have overall negative effects on the growth of Amaranthus hybridus that will become more severe as the time of exposure increases and and might cause variation in the level of phytochemical constituents of Amaranthus hybridus at different growth stages

High Incidence of Forest Fires and Preventive Measures in Cocoa Research Institute Plantations Ibadan, Oyo State

This study was carried out to ascertain the high incidence of forest fire and its preventive measures in Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria(CRIN) plantations Ibadan, Oyo state. Fire is used as work tool by rural population, it serves as land clearing method for agricultural land, flushes management for livestock, wastes disposal, honey gathering, animal tracking and hunting. A multistage sampling approach was used to select 120 respondents. Data were collected using interview schedule on socioeconomics characteristics, perceived causes of forest fire, effect of forest fire and preventive measures to forest fire. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistic. The result revealed that the mean age was 44.9 years and majority (72.7%) were male, 83.0% of them were married. Also a very good number of respondents (97.7%) has various level of education. Bush burning to eradicate weed as a perceived cause of forest fire was ranked 1st with the mean value of 1.36. Destruction of CRIN mandate crops parent materials as the effect of forest fire was ranked 1st with the mean value of 1.42 and controlled bush burning was ranked 1st with mean value of 1.64 among the preventive measure of forest fire. It was revealed that significant relationships were observed between sex (?2= 6.000, p = 0.014), Religion (?2= 8.693, p= 0.013) on the preventive measures of forest in CRIN plantations