Isolation and Identification of Air Borne Fungal Spores and Fragments in Buildings Within Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto, Nigeria

- Indoor air contains a complex mixture of microorganisms, microorganism fragments, and by products such as molds, bacteria, endotoxins, mycotoxins, and volatile microbial organic compounds. Airborne fungi and bacteria can be toxic, allergenic and/or infectious. A research was conducted to determine the number and types of airborne fungal spores in Buildings of Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto, Nigeria. Five (5) areas were chosen within the University for the Survey, these were student Hostel, Staff Quarters, Botanical garden, Microbiology laboratory and city campus of Usmanu Danfodiyo University. . A total number of fifteen (15) petri dishes containing potato dextrose agar each were vertically placed in each sampler and exposed at end of each height and site for 10 and 20 minutes respectively. A total of thirteen (13) different fungal specie were identified namely; Aspergillus Niger, A. flavus, A fumigates, A. ustus, A. terreus, Fusarium solani, F. oxysporum, Alterneria altenata, Rhizopus oryzae, R. stolonifer, Helminthosporum sp., Penicillum candidum and Absedia corymbifera. Aspergillus Niger had the highest frequency of occurrence of (14.9%), Helminthosporus species had the least frequency of occurrence of (1.5%). Conclusively it was observed that the concentration of fungal spores was high in the upper surface than the ground level at the time of the survey

Transport on flexible Rydberg aggregates using circular states

Assemblies of interacting Rydberg atoms show promise for the quantum simulation of transport phenomena, quantum chemistry and condensed matter systems. Such schemes are typically limited by the finite lifetime of Rydberg states. Circular Rydberg states have the longest lifetimes among Rydberg states but lack the energetic isolation in the spectrum characteristic of low angular momentum states. The latter is required to obtain simple transport models with few electronic states per atom. Simple models can however even be realized with circular states, by exploiting dipole-dipole selection rules or external fields. We show here that this approach can be particularly fruitful for scenarios where quantum transport is coupled to atomic motion, in adiabatic excitation transport or quantum simulations of electron-phonon coupling in light harvesting. Additionally, we explore practical limitations of flexible Rydberg aggregates with circular states and to which extent interactions among circular Rydberg atoms can be described using classical models.Comment: 9 Pages, 5 Figure

Corporate incentives for obtaining higher level of carbon assurance: seeking legitimacy or improving performance?

Purpose - With the growing attention around carbon emissions disclosure, the demand for external carbon assurance on emissions reports has been increasing by stakeholders as it provides additional credibility and confidence. This study investigates the association between the higher level of external carbon assurance and improvement in a firm's carbon emissions. It provides an understanding of corporate incentives for obtaining a higher level of carbon assurance, particularly in relation to carbon performance enhancements. Design/methodology/approach - Data are collected from 170 US companies for the period 2012-2017, and are analysed using a change analysis. Generalized method of moment (GMM) is used to address endogeneity. Findings - Following the rationales taken by legitimacy and ‘outside-in’ management views, our findings reveal that a higher level of carbon assurance (i.e. reasonable assurance) marginally improves firms’ carbon performance (i.e. reported carbon emissions). This is consistent with ‘outside-in’ management view suggesting that a higher level of assurance could be utilised as a tool for accessing more information about stakeholders’ needs and concerns, which can be useful in enhancing carbon performance. Research limitations/implications - Our findings are generalizable to US firms and may not extend to other contexts. Practical implication – The implication of this study for companies is that a high level of sustainability assurance is a useful tool to access detailed information about stakeholder concerns, of which internalisation can help to marginally improve carbon performance. For policymakers, the insights into and enhanced understanding of the incentives for obtaining carbon assurance can help policymakers to develop effective policies and initiatives for carbon assurance. Considering the possible improvements in carbon performance when obtaining a high level of sustainability verification, governments need to consider mandating carbon assurance. Originality/value – This study extends the existing studies of assurance in sustainability context as well as in carbon context by explaining why companies voluntarily get expensive external verification (i.e. higher level of assurance) of their carbon emissions disclosure. This study responds to calls in the literature for empirical research investigating the association between environmental performance and external assurance with a focus on level of assurance

Geospatial Mapping and Multi-criteria Evaluation of Surrounding Flood Risk Communities of Usman Dam Abuja-Nigeria

There is concern of flood increase in recent decades due to its effect on human life and man’s environment. This study thus mapped and analysed flood risk communities around the Usman dam in Abuja, Nigeria, using geospatial techniques. Spatial data were captured which included positional coordinates, Landsat enhanced thematic mapper (ETM), soil map, and shuttle radar topographic mission (SRTM). The factors of flooding and their effect on the area under study were identified. The results of the study revealed based on the criteria weights that, slope (0.24) and elevation (0.24) were the most important factors contributing to flooding in the study area followed by drainage proximity (0.16), land use land cover (LULC)(0.12), and soil (0.08), respectively. The results also showed that, the built-up area, farmland, forest, grassland, rock outcrop and water body covered about 278.0 km2, 306.9 km2, 1406.6 km2, 1635.8 km2, 387.5 km2 and 386.9 km2, respectively of the study area. Moreover, it was found out that 6.41% of the settlements were located in the highly vulnerable areas, while 64.02% were located within the areas moderately vulnerable to flooding. However, the remaining 29.57% were located in the low vulnerable areas. It was suggested based on the results of the study that settlements close to the river course and dam reservoir, and along the flood plains should be relocated to the low vulnerable areas (eastern parts of the study area) in order to prevent future flood hazard. Keywords: Environment, Flood Risk Management, Geo-spatial Mapping, Hazard, Multi-criteria Analysi

Context-Aware Driver Distraction Severity Classification using LSTM Network

Advanced Driving Assistance Systems (ADAS) has been a critical component in vehicles and vital to the safety of vehicle drivers and public road transportation systems. In this paper, we present a deep learning technique that classifies drivers’ distraction behaviour using three contextual awareness parameters: speed, manoeuver and event type. Using a video coding taxonomy, we study drivers’ distractions based on events information from Regions of Interest (RoI) such as hand gestures, facial orientation and eye gaze estimation. Furthermore, a novel probabilistic (Bayesian) model based on the Long shortterm memory (LSTM) network is developed for classifying driver’s distraction severity. This paper also proposes the use of frame-based contextual data from the multi-view TeleFOT naturalistic driving study (NDS) data monitoring to classify the severity of driver distractions. Our proposed methodology entails recurrent deep neural network layers trained to predict driver distraction severity from time series data

INTESTINAL HELMINTHIASIS AMONG CHILDREN AND ADULTS IN SOME HOSPITALS IN KANO METROPOLIS

Infection with parasitic helminthes is often recognized as one of the important public health problems in tropical Africa. The majority of this infection occurs in resource-limited settings like Sub-Saharan Africa including Nigeria. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of intestinal helminthes among children and adults in some hospitals in Kano metropolis. The study involved a cross-sectional survey of 134 stool samples where 84 were collected from children and 50 from adults. The samples were examined usingdirect wet mount and formol-ether concentration technique. The overall prevalence of intestinal helminth infection observed was 11.2%. In the study, three different parasites were identified. These include Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuristrichura and Hookworm. In terms of isolation rate, Hookworm was the commonest intestinal helminth observed in children 5 (50%) while Ascarislumbricoides was the most isolated 3 (60%) in adults

Response of Broiler Birds to Choline Chloride in Semi Arid Sokoto, Nigeria

A study was carried out to evaluate growth performance and carcass characteristics of broiler birds fed with varying level of choline inclusion in their diets; T1 (control), T2 (10g/10kg) and T3 (20g/10kg). A total of 225 marshall broiler chicks were randomly divided into three (3) treatment group of 75 birds each. Each group was divided into five (5) replicates of fifteen (15) birds each laid in a completely randomized design. Feed and water was supplied ad-libitum and the experiment lasted for 49 days. The total feed intake (1316.75-14442.18) (24437.13-31999.76) for starter and finisher respectively, body weight gain (6227.30-8241.20) (10956.64-14182.96) for starter and finisher respectively, feed conversion ratio (1.73-2.26) (2.21-2.48) for starter and finisher respectively. Many (thigh, wings, back) of the carcass parameters measured were not significantly (p>0.05) affected by the treatments but significant difference (p<0.05) was observed in drum stick, breast and neck.  However, significant difference (p<0.05) was also observed in gizzard, liver and bile, heart, lungs, legs and head. There was significant difference (p<0.05) in primal cuts per live weight, primal cuts per dressed weight, organs per live weight and organs per dressed weight. In view of the results obtained, it can be concluded that treatment two (10g/10kg) performed better in terms of total body weight (TBW) and feed conversion ratio (FCR). Also in the carcass characteristics, treatment two performed better in terms of breast yield, drumstick, percentage of primal cuts from live weight (P/LW) and percentage of primal cuts from dressed weight

Spatial Analysis of Water Quality in Parts of Rivers Niger and Kaduna Catchments, North Central, Nigeria

It is understood that human activities have continue to alter the physico-chemical patterns of water and it’s resources, which has resulted into poor water quality in the study area. As comprehensive distribution of water quality parameters in the study area is of great interest, there exist a golden opportunity to consider a study with GIS aided spatial coverage beyond laboratory analytical dimensions. Thus, a total of thirty two (32) samples of water and sediment were collected during rainy and dry season for physico-chemical analysis. Water samples collected were analysed in situ for seven (7) parameters using HANNA multiparameter analyser and eight (8) other parameters were analysed in the analytical laboratory following standard methods. The finding revealed a significant number of parameters analysed were beyond regulatory limits. It is hence recommended that visible policies aimed at ensuring good water quality in the study area are critical for sustainability

Pesticides and Fertilizers Use in Parts of Rivers Niger and Kaduna Catchments, North Central, Nigeria

Pesticides and fertilizers use in parts of Rivers Niger and Kaduna catchments, north central, Nigeria was investigated. Contamination of the rivers and their resources due to unsustainable use of pesticides and fertilizers by local farmers are a major problem in the study area. Also, data from the study of pesticides and fertilizer use remain scanty and therefore needed. The objective is to find the opportunity for all stakeholders to improve on the overall environmental performance. Extensive field survey was conducted using various participatory appraisals techniques involving key stakeholders in the area. Collated data were analysed using descriptive statistical methods (frequency percentage). The results of findings identify unsustainable use of fertilizers and pesticides by farmers in the study area. It further shows respondents in the study area applied high rate of fertilizers and pesticides during farming activities which obviously improved crop yield but in turn lead to water quality degradation. Virtually, majority of the farmers have little or no measures towards ensuring protection of water and biota from the potential danger of pesticides and fertilizers use in the study area. These attitudes discovered could lead to water quality degradation, biodiversity disruption and subsequent negative impact on economic development in the study area. In view of the above, it is recommended that visible and effective environmental management policies in respect of agrochemicals use in the study area be put in place to guarantee cleaner and healthier environment for all

Performance of metakaolin based geopolymer concrete at elevated temperature

Due to the carbon dioxide emission arising from the production of cement, alternative concrete that is environmentally friendly such as metakaolin geopolymer concrete have been developed. However, the performance of metakaolin based geopolymer concrete (MKGC) when exposed to aggressive environment particularly elevated temperature has not been investigated. Therefore, this paper assessed the performance of MKGC exposed to elevated temperatures. MKGC cube specimens of grade 25 were produced using a mix ratio of 1:1.58:3.71.After preparing the specimens, they were placed in an electric oven at a temperature of 60oC for 24 hours. Thereafter, the specimens were stored in the laboratory at ambient temperature for 28 days. The specimens were then exposed to elevated temperatures of 200, 400, 600 and 800oC. After exposure to elevated temperatures, the MKGC specimens were subjected to compressive strength, water absorption and abrasion resistance tests. Results show that at 600 and 800oC, the MKGC lost a compressive strength of 59.69% and 71.71% respectively. Higher water absorption and lower abrasion resistance were also observed. Keywords: Cement, Compressive Strength, Metakaolin Concrete, Elevated Temperature