Chemical Composition of Wet Precipitation in Ibadan, Nigeria

Rainwater samples were collected for four two-weekly periods at nine sampling points in the city of Ibadan, Nigeria, during May-July, 1999, and analysed for pH, sulphate, nitrate, chloride, phosphate, sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium. The rainwater was predominantly neutral with pH values ranging between 5.8 and 7.0, and averaging 6.60.3. Average concentrations (eq/L) for all the sampling points and sampling periods were: SO42- (4622), NO3- (1.60.3), Cl- (1113), PO43- (3.21.8), Na (11.77.9), K (5.64.4), Ca (3026), and Mg (1.28.8). Concentrations of the various ions in the rainwater decreased slightly with the progress of the sampling period. The deposition flux (kg km-2 month-1) was estimated as: SO42- (390), NO3- (16.8), Cl- (67.6), PO43- (17.5), Na (46.6), K (37.9), Ca (104), and Mg (21.5). (Bulletin of The Chemical Society of Ethiopia: 2002 16 (2): 141-148

Estimations of Depth to Magnetic Contacts and Dykes of Extended Areas in a Typical Southwestern Basement Terrain Using Aeromagnetic Data

Aeromagnetic data of an extensive area covering sheets 243 and 244 (Ilesa-Ado-Ekiti) from the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA) were subjected to data enhancement filters and thereafter profiled into eleven (11)  lines and interpreted quantitatively using forward modeling method to estimate depths to magnetic dykes and contacts of all lines. The profile depths solution revealed depths to dykes ranged from 209 – 494 m and depths to contact ranges from 35 – 498 m. Also, Euler De-convolution solution of structural index one (1) used to model dykes revealed depths ranging from 177-4389.8 m while Euler De-convolution of structural index 0.5 used to model contacts revealed depths ranging from 162-3262.8 m. Lastly, the Local Wave Number (LWN) result showed that depths to the magnetic contacts ranges from 277.2-4529.7m and which resolved best for deepest seated contact. The results obtained from this work are vital information for recognition of geological features such as contacts and dykes

Determination of work index of graphite from Samanburkono (Nigeria) using modified bond's method

This report covers the work index determination of Saman-Burkono graphite. The test sample was obtained from Saman-Burkono in Ningi Local Government Area of Bauchi state, while reference material (coal) was sourced from Okaba coal mine, Ankpa Local Government Area of Kogi State. A known weight of graphite sample and coal were crushed, pulverized and ground using the laboratory milling machine. The two samples were grinded with two cells of diameter 3.5cm and 222g weight. The analysis of the feed size fort the two samples was found graphically to be 180μm and 175μm, and ball mill discharge was 130μm and 140μm respectively. The work index of a coal as reference material was 7.65 kWh/ short ton, this was used to calculate the work index of the graphite which was found to be 11.047 kWh/short ton, being the required energy to comminute one ton of graphite.Keywords: Comminution, Graphite, Saman-Burkono, Nigeria, Modified Bonds metho

Coconut water prevents renal and hepatic changes in offspring of monosodium glutamate-treated Wistar rat dams

Summary: Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is a widely-consumed taste enhancer which has been implicated in the aetiology of renal and hepatic dysfunction in adults and their offspring. There is increasing evidence on the therapeutic properties of Coconut Water (CW) in kidney and liver disorders. This study investigated the effects of CW on renal and hepatic functions in offspring of MSG-fed dams. Twelve female Wistar rats (120 – 140 g) were grouped into four as follows; Control (10 ml/Kg distilled water), MSG (0.08 mg/Kg), CW (10 ml/Kg) and MSG+CW. Treatments were given orally daily commencing two weeks prior to mating, throughout mating and gestation until parturition. All dams received standard rodent diet and drinking water ad libitum throughout the study. After weaning on Post-Natal Day (PND) 28, serum was obtained from offspring for assay of liver and renal function. Histological analysis of the livers and kidneys were performed on both dams and offspring. There was no significant difference in liver enzymes, urea, creatinine and albumin levels amongst the offspring on PND 28. However, liver and kidney sections from MSG dams and their offspring showed early degenerative changes which were not evident in renal and hepatic tissues from CW and MSG+CW dams and offspring. These observations suggest that coconut water protects against monosodium glutamate-induced renal and hepatic dysfunction in dams and offspring.Keywords: Monosodium glutamate, Cocos nucifera water, Foetal programming, Kidney, Live

Oestrous cyclicity disruption in Wistar rats subjected to partial sleep deprivation

Background: Chronic partial sleep deprivation continues to be a global problem. Studies have shown that oestrous cyclicity is disrupted by total sleep deprivation. The relationship between partial sleep deprivation – the predominant form of sleep deprivation in the current global society – and the oestrous pattern remains elusive. This study examined oestrous cycle patterns of rats subjected to partial sleep deprivation.Methods: Thirty female Wistar rats were divided into control and Sleep-Deprived (SD) groups of fifteen rats each. Oestrous patterns were monitored for two weeks before sleep deprivation and throughout the study. Sleep deprivation was induced using the modified multiple platform method. Five animals were sacrificed under thiopental anaesthesia during proestrus on days 7, 14 and 21. The ovaries, uteri and adrenal glands were examined. Data were compared using t-test at p<0.05.Results: Proestrus and oestrus frequencies reduced in the SD groups; metestrus frequency increased in the 7 days and 14 days SD and diestrus frequency increased in 21 days SD group. Cycle lengths increased in the 14 days and 21days SD groups. The SD groups had inflammation of ovary and uterus, as well as adrenal medulla hyperplasia.Conclusion: Partial sleep deprivation reduces frequencies of phases characterized by sexual activity and ovulation while increasing cycle lengths in Wistar rats. Thus, adequate sleep is important for women who are trying to get pregnant.Keywords: Sleep deprivation, Oestrous cycle, Adrenal medulla, rat

Reference values for the six-minute walk test in Nigerian adolescents aged 10 to 18 years

Objective: To determine baseline six-minute walk distance in Nigerian adolescents and establish its relationship with age, gender and anthropometric parameters.Methods: One hundred and eighty healthy adolescents (10 – 18 years) were recruited from three schools. Six-minute walk test was conducted as described by the American Thoracic Society. Demographic and anthropometric characteristics were related to achieve six-minute walk distance. A mathematical formula for predicting six-minute walk distance was generated.Results: The mean ± SD six-minute walk distance was 590.1 ± 72.02 m and was significantly longer in males (p= 0.001) among adolescents aged 10- 16 years. Age was the only characteristic significantly associated with six-minute walk distance following multiple linear regression analyses. The formulae, [six-minute walk distance = 317.3 + 21.5 x age (years) in males and 117 + 33.0 x age (years) in females] closely approximated to measured six-minute walk distance.Conclusion: This study has derived reference values for 6-minute walk test in adolescents; the use of these reference values should consider age and gender variations.Keywords: Exercise test; Six-minute-walk; Adolescents; Nigeri

Design of a Bimodal Home Automation System using ESP8266 and ATMEGA328 Microcontroller

Home automation systems are garnering increasing popularity and widespread use due to the relative ease of domestic management and comparatively high return on technology investment tied to its adoption. However, Nigeria and other emerging ICT economies are yet to fully actualize and maximize the inherent potential of these smart home technologies due to endemic challenges associated with poor infrastructure, erratic power supply and unreliable Internet connectivity. These challenges necessitate an innovative paradigmatic shift that could provide a pragmatic technological solution suitable to the context of Nigeria and other developing climes. For most smart home systems in this research context, the status quo is based on choosing whether the design would be for short- or long-range communication network. Short-range designs which are usually realized with Bluetooth technology suffer from limited range issues while poor connectivity, bandwidth and latency issues are some of the problems plaguing Wi-Fi-based long-range designs. Consequently, this research presents a hybrid adaptive architecture that combines desirable features of both short- and long-range modes. The proposed smart home system is based on using embedded systems which use mobile application to send messages to ESP8266 Wi-Fi module. Together with notifications received from the monitoring unit, these messages are parsed by Arduino's ATMEGA328 microcontroller from where instruction codes are sent for controlling the load by switching ON or OFF various relays connected to the load

Design of a Bimodal Home Automation System using ESP8266 and ATMEGA328 Microcontroller

Home automation systems are garnering increasing popularity and widespread use due to the relative ease of domestic management and comparatively high return on technology investment tied to its adoption. However, Nigeria and other emerging ICT economies are yet to fully actualize and maximize the inherent potential of these smart home technologies due to endemic challenges associated with poor infrastructure, erratic power supply and unreliable Internet connectivity. These challenges necessitate an innovative paradigmatic shift that could provide a pragmatic technological solution suitable to the context of Nigeria and other developing climes. For most smart home systems in this research context, the status quo is based on choosing whether the design would be for short- or long-range communication network. Short-range designs which are usually realized with Bluetooth technology suffer from limited range issues while poor connectivity, bandwidth and latency issues are some of the problems plaguing Wi-Fi-based long-range designs. Consequently, this research presents a hybrid adaptive architecture that combines desirable features of both short- and long-range modes. The proposed smart home system is based on using embedded systems which use mobile application to send messages to ESP8266 Wi-Fi module. Together with notifications received from the monitoring unit, these messages are parsed by Arduino's ATMEGA328 microcontroller from where instruction codes are sent for controlling the load by switching ON or OFF various relays connected to the load

INFLUENCE OF GRADED LEVELS OF INSTANT NOODLE WASTE IN THE DIETS ON THE PERFORMANCE, CARCASS TRAITS AND HAEMATOLOGY OF BROILER CHICKENS

An eight week feeding trial was conducted to assess the replacement value of instant noodle waste meal (INW) on the performance characteristic, carcass and haematological parameters of broiler chickens. Ninety, one-day old Anak 2000 chicks were randomly allocated to three treatment groups namely, diet 1 (0% INW), diet 2 (50% INW) and diet 3 (100% INW) in a completely randomized design (CRD). Each treatment group had three replicates of ten chicks each. The inclusion of instant noodle in the diet did not have significant (P>0.05) effect on the performance of the broiler chickens at both starter and finisher phases. The inclusion of instant noodle waste had no significant (P>0.05) effect on the carcass traits and organ weights in broiler chickens. No significant (P>0.05) effect was observed for the packed cell volume, hematocrit, haemoglobin, leucocytes, and mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration among the treatments. However, mean corpuscular volume and mean corpuscular haemoglobin were significantly (P< 0.05) influenced by the instant noodles inclusion, in the diets. Based on the present results INW could replace maize fraction of the diet partially or wholly without any adverse effect on performance, carcass and health status of broiler chickens

Principal component and stepwise discriminant analysis of the morphometric traits of three dual-purpose breeds of chicken

Using the principal component procedure of SAS, 10 variables; body weight (BW), body length (BL), breast girth (BG), shank length (SL), thigh length (TL), comb length (CL), comb height (CH), wing length (WL), wattle length (WAL) and wattle thickness (WT) obtained from three dual-purpose chicken breeds (Shika, Kuroiler, and Sasso), variables were separated. Similarly, stepwise discriminant analsis procedure of the SAS software was employed to evaluate variables that contribute to the overall differences in breeds. Results showed three principal components (PC1, PC2 and PC3) were extracted for all the breeds and pooled data. 45.60% of total variance was accounted for by PC1, 28.17% by PC2 and 16.22% by PC3. The principal components partitioning of total variance were 50.80, 15.10 and 9.70%, 50.82, 19.90 and 14.90%, and 48.63, 14.00 and 12.67% for Shika, Kuroiler, and Sasso breeds respectively, with different factor loadings. Communalities ranged from 0.43-0.97, 0.45-0.83, 0.45-0.88 and 0.45-0.90, indicating that a good amount of variance was accounted for. Stepwise discriminant analysis indicated that seven morphometric traits, TL, SL, WAL, WL, CL, CH and BL, contributed significantly (P&lt;0.001) to the separation of the birds into breeds. TL and SL, however, indicated higher discriminating power compared to others. The principal component analysis allowed for better understanding of the complex correlations among traits and reduced the number of traits along with high communalities, using only PC1, PC2 and PC3the first three PCs, without loss of information. Summary of stepwise discriminant analysis shows that lengthwise measures of long bones of the body of chickens, such as thigh and shank, are viable metrics for phenotypic differentiation of birds in the studied population.Keywords: Principal Component, Stepwise discriminant Analysis, Morphometric traits, chicken