A Step Towards Autonomous, Biomimetic, Non-GPS Based Navigation Methodology

Global Positioning System (GPS) based navigations have their own inherent weakness; they can be overridden so easily and are not useful inside structures. One method of overcoming the above problem is the use of feature based navigation system. Nature has so much perfected this that copying nature is one of the best approaches available to scientist. In this study, desert ant (Cataglyphis fortis) was imitated. A simple infra-red based active beacons and robot mounted rotating receiver based on TSOP31138 infra-red sensor was implemented using New Three Objects Triangulation Algorithm (ToTAL) in its firmware for the robot pose. The designed robot with the triangulation algorithm was able to compute its pose such that on a grid of 6 m x 6 m, it can home to its base with a maximum error of 14.8 mm

Mechanical Description of a Hyper-Redundant Robot Joint Mechanism Used for a Design of a Biomimetic Robotic Fish

A biologically inspired robot in the form of fish (mackerel) model using rubber (as the biomimetic material) for its hyper-redundant joint is presented in this paper. Computerized simulation of the most critical part of the model (the peduncle) shows that the rubber joints will be able to take up the stress that will be created. Furthermore, the frequency-induced softening of the rubber used was found to be critical if the joints are going to oscillate at frequency above 25 Hz. The robotic fish was able to attain a speed of 0.985 m/s while the tail beats at a maximum of 1.7 Hz when tested inside water. Furthermore, a minimum turning radius of 0.8 m (approximately 2 times the fish body length) was achieved

Investigation of the anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive activities of Hymenocardia acida Tul. (Hymenocardiaceae)

Hymenocardia acida Tul. (Hymenocardiaceae) locally called Orupa, is traditionally used for the treatment of inflammation, including arthritis, rheumatic pain and toothache. The potential antiinflammatory and antinociceptive activities of the aqueous leaf extract of this plant were evaluated in animal models. The extract (50, 100 and 200 mg/kg) significantly (P < 0.05) and dose - dependently inhibited carrageenan and egg albumin-induced rat paw oedema development compared with control group. At 3 h of post-carrageenan administration, the highest dose of the extract (200 mg/kg, p.o) inhibited oedema formation by 66.67%. The reference drug used, indomethacin (10 mg/kg, p.o), gave an inhibition of 72.22%. The inhibitory activity shown by the aqueous leaf extract of H. acida over a period of 6 h in the carrageenan and 3 h in the egg albumin-induced paw inflammation models was comparable to that exhibited by the reference drugs used, indomethacin and cyproheptadine (10 mg/kg, p.o). The extract elicited a significant analgesic activity in the tail immersion test as evidenced by the increase in latency time in seconds as compared with the control at the end of 20 min. In the acetic acid-induced writhing model, the extract showed a dose-dependent reduction in the number of writhes at 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg when compared to the control group. The 200 mg/kg dose produced a complete protective effect, as no abdominal constriction was observed. The results obtained in this study provide some justification for the folkloric uses of H. acida as a remedy for relieving pain and  inflammation.Key words: Anti-inflammatory activity, antinociceptive activity, carrageenan, egg-albumin, Hymenocardia acida

Design and Construction of an Automatic Home and Office Power Control System

In homes and offices, it is very common for occupants to forget to switch OFF the lighting and fans when leaving the premises. This can be attributed to human forgetfulness and the epileptic power supply which causes interruption that results in users forgetting the state of their appliances (whether they are ON or OFF). Consequently, these appliances would continue to work whenever power is restored when the occupants might have vacated the premise. This action is not a small contributor to energy wastage in a country like Nigeria where there is an inadequate energy supply to go round the populace. In this work, a simple but robust automatic home and office power control system is developed to auto-detect the presence of an occupant in the room through the passive infrared (PIR) sensor and control the electrical appliances (lighting and fan source) in the room. Certain conditions must be met for the operation of lighting and the fan source. The lighting comes up when the PIR sensor senses the presence of an occupant and the room is in darkness, while the fan would work when there is an occupant and the temperature in the room is above 35 °C. These conditions are programmed to suit the need of the occupant but cannot be changed by the user. The device automatically switches OFF within five minutes after the last occupant leaves the room

Socio-Economic Benefits of Microgravity Research

Microgravity researches are conducted in low gravity environments. These low gravity environments can be achieved in a number of ways including parabolic aircraft flights, sounding rockets, drop towers, clinostat.  Gravity dominates everything on Earth, from the way life has developed to the way materials interact. The reduction of gravity causes significant changes in the chosen sample which could be cells, plants, micro-organisms and small samples from material sciences. The changes that occur as a result of the effect of microgravity have led to discoveries that have been found to be of socio-economic benefits. Socio-economic benefits involve benefits in wealth, health, economic, environment. Sustainable development in an economy includes economic growth, environmental protection and social equality. Space technology applications such as in microgravity stimulate economic growth and improve the quality of life of people, in this way, it is beneficial to mankind.  Overall, products manufactured in microgravity environments have key properties usually surpassing the best terrestrial counterparts. Commercially, these products have attractive features that facilitate marketing. This review considers the various benefits of microgravity research in life-sciences such as in microbiology, pharmacy, and medicine

Ecological risk estimation of heavy metal pollution in roadside dust of Ado-Odo Ota, Southwestern Nigeria

Increased industrial, commercial and transport activities have constantly introduced air pollutants such as heavy metals in the atmosphere. Roadside dust samples were collected from 10 locations along Ota-Benin road, analysed for Cr, Cd, Co, Ni, Pb, Fe, Mn, Cu, As and Zn, and the ecological risk was evaluated for the heavy metals’ concentration in the roadside dust particles using the Hakanson method. The results revealed that Cd (3.103 mg/kg) and Cu (mg/kg) surpassed the threshold effect level. Pollutant source identification analysis revealed possible origin from motor oil, plastics, metalliferous extraction, dyes, and paints industries. The contamination factor for Ni was found to be at a moderate level in location SM8, SM9 and SM10 and a similar category was observed for Pb in location SM7, SM8, SM9 and SM10. Zn concentration in location SM5, SM6, SM7, SM8, SM9 and SM10 fell within the moderate contamination factor zone as well. Furthermore, the mean i r E of the individual metals in the sample region followed the order of Cd > Ni > Pb > As > Cu > Zn > Cr indicating a high risk associated with cadmium within the sample region

Investigation of the Performance of Site Diversity through Rain Gauge Measurements in South-South Nigeria

Site diversity is an effective technique to mitigate rain attenuation, especially in regions where rainfall rates are high. The South-South region of Nigeria is characterized by the tropical rain forest climate, exhibiting high rainfall rates almost all year round. This paper  investigates the performance of site diversity technique  in the South-South Nigeria at Ka-band frequency of 20 GHz. Rainfall data obtained from the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) over a period of five years (2010 to 2014) were analysed to derive the one-minute rainfall rate distribution for four selected earth stations (University of Uyo, Uyo; Akwa Ibom International Airport, Uyo; Margaret Ekpo International Airport, Calabar; and Port Harcourt International Airport, Port Harcourt) within the South-South Nigeria. The link parameters of NigComSat-1R were used with the ITU-R model for rain attenuation to estimate the rain attenuation distribution through an annual cumulative distribution and percentage of outage time between 0.01 to 100 %. Site diversity (SD) was implemented, taking University of Uyo as the reference site. The results obtained shows that the SD gain between the University of Uyo and Port Harcourt International Airport is higher than the SD gain recorded between University of Uyo and Margaret Ekpo International Airport. This is consistent with the fact that longer distances between the earth stations yield higher SD gain

A review of the mineralogical and geotechnical properties of some residual soils in relation to the problems of road failures: A case study of Nigeria

Poor geotechnical and mineralogical properties of soils used for road construction are a significant factor responsible for pavement failures. This is because most soils encountered at failed portions of some pavements do not meet the specifications according to relevant standards. It is with this in mind that this study carried out a systemic review on some residual soils in Nigeria, with a focus on their locations, geotechnical, and mineralogical properties in comparison to standards specified in the Nigerian specification for road and bridges. This study also reviewed how these properties have contributed to various road failures in different regions of the country. It was observed that the geotechnical and mineralogical properties of most residual soils in some regions of Nigeria did not meet up with the standards stipulated by the Nigerian Specification for road materials. Reviews carried out on the place of geotechnical and mineralogical characteristics on various road failures in Nigeria showed that a high volume of research works was carried out in the south-western and southeastern parts of the country compared to the Northern region

Investigation of the Performance of Site Diversity through Rain Gauge Measurements in South-South Nigeria

Site diversity is an effective technique to mitigate rain attenuation, especially in regions where rainfall rates are high. The South-South region of Nigeria is characterized by the tropical rain forest climate, exhibiting high rainfall rates almost all year round. This paper  investigates the performance of site diversity technique  in the South-South Nigeria at Ka-band frequency of 20 GHz. Rainfall data obtained from the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) over a period of five years (2010 to 2014) were analysed to derive the one-minute rainfall rate distribution for four selected earth stations (University of Uyo, Uyo; Akwa Ibom International Airport, Uyo; Margaret Ekpo International Airport, Calabar; and Port Harcourt International Airport, Port Harcourt) within the South-South Nigeria. The link parameters of NigComSat-1R were used with the ITU-R model for rain attenuation to estimate the rain attenuation distribution through an annual cumulative distribution and percentage of outage time between 0.01 to 100 %. Site diversity (SD) was implemented, taking University of Uyo as the reference site. The results obtained shows that the SD gain between the University of Uyo and Port Harcourt International Airport is higher than the SD gain recorded between University of Uyo and Margaret Ekpo International Airport. This is consistent with the fact that longer distances between the earth stations yield higher SD gain