The Properties of Soil Under the Canopy of the Locust Bean Tree (Parkia biglobosa), in Relation to Tree Biomass, in Farmland in Oyo Area, South Western Nigeria

The African locust bean (Parkia biglobosa) is a multi-purpose tree that is commonly retained on small-holder farms in the savanna region of West Africa. Studies that examined the effects of the tree on soils underneath its crown did not examine the biomass parameters of the tree while those that studied the biomass parameters of the tree species did not consider the soil. This study examines the properties of soil under the locust bean tree canopy in farmland in the derived savanna of Oyo area, south-western Nigeria. It also quantitatively characterized the girth, height and crown diameter of locust bean trees in the peasant farms and correlated them with the properties of soils underneath the trees. The soil was sampled at two depths of 0- 10 and 10- 20 cm under and outside Parkia canopies. The t-test was used to compare the means of soil properties under and outside Parkia canopy in order to ascertain whether statistically significant differences exist between them. Organic matter was slightly higher (18- 19%) under Parkia canopy. Exchangeable magnesium, calcium and cation exchange capacity were significantly higher in soil under the tree canopy. This is due to the slightly higher organic matter, reduced leaching under the tree canopy as a result of rainfall interception, the trapping of dust and aerosols by tree crowns and the greater concentration of earthworm casts under Parkia canopy. The properties of the 0- 10 cm layer were more strongly correlated with Parkia biomass parameters than those of the 10- 20 cm layer. Tree height was strongly and positively correlated with soil clay (0.70), organic matter (0.73), total nitrogen (0.69) but negatively correlated with sand content (-0.80) of the 0-10 cm layer. The growth of Parkia trees and seedlings will be enhanced in the more clayey sites but would be retarded in areas with predominantly sandy soils and this should be taken into consideration in afforestation, community forestry and shelterbelt projects involving the establishment of Parkia trees. Keywords: Parkia biglobosa, tree canopy, tree biomass, soil physical properties, soil chemical properties, soil-plant correlatio

DEVELOPMENT OF A MOBILE BASED DIABETES RETINOPATHY DETECTION SYSTEM

Diabetes Retinopathy is a common retinal complication associated with diabetes. It is a major cause of blindness in the world most especially developing countries like Nigeria, which shares the largest percentage in Africa. Therefore early detection will be highly beneficial in effectively controlling the progress of the disease. The focus of this paper is to solve the problems of inadequate number of specialist who can handle growing number of people afflicted with the disease; and unavailability of mobile device that can aid early detection of diabetes retinopathy disease. Hence, in this paper a Mobile based Diabetes Retinopathy Detection System was developed to make it available for the masses for early detection of the disease

Fractionation and ecotoxicological implication of potentially toxic metals in sediments of three urban rivers and the Lagos Lagoon, Nigeria, West Africa

The potential environmental impact of sediment-bound Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb and Zn in three trans-urban rivers in Lagos state and in the Lagos Lagoon was assessed by use of the modified Community Bureau of Reference (BCR) sequential extraction. The quality of the data was checked using BCR CRM 143R and BCR CRM 701. Good agreement was obtained between found and certified/indicative values. Of the rivers, the Odo-Iyaalaro, was generally the most contaminated and the Ibeshe the least. Higher concentrations of metals were generally found in the dry season compared to the wet season. Cadmium and Zn were released mostly in the acid exchangeable step of the sequential extraction, indicating that they have the greatest potential mobility and bioavailability of the analytes studied. Chromium and Cu were associated mainly with the reducible and oxidisable fractions, and Pb predominantly with the reducible and residual fractions. Sediments with the highest pseudototal analyte concentrations also released higher proportions of analytes earlier in the sequential extraction procedure. The study suggests that, during the dry season, potentially toxic metals (PTM) may accumulate in sediments in relatively labile forms that are released and can potentially be transported or bioaccumulate in the rainy season. Application of risk assessment codes and Hankanson potential risk indices indicated that Cd was the element of greatest concern in the Lagos Lagoon system. The study indicated that there is a need to strengthen environmental management and pollution control measures to reduce risk from PTM, but that even relatively simple strategies, such as seasonal restrictions on dredging and fishing, could be beneficial

DEVELOPMENT OF A GROUND-BASED MODEL FOR REMOTE CROP CONDITION MONITORING SYSTEM

Agricultural activity is not only one of the basic activities of the human society, but also the premise for the development of human society. Besides, it has close relation with the development and stabilization of nowadays society. It is of great significance to monitor the growth level of crops in order to obtain crop condition information at early stages in the crop growing season thereby, resulting into a good and quality product at the point of harvest, hence improve food security. This paper develops a ground-based model for remote crop condition monitoring system using the Arduino platform. Considering temperature – a major factor that affects the growth of crops and destruction of farm products by pests, animals or objects. This model was designed to sound an alarm when temperature rises beyond 400C or approaching 00C or when a destructive object is detected.  The model uses electronic devices like the breadboard, Arduino board, Ultrasonic sensor, Liquid Crystal, Display, Piezo Buzzer and the LM35 temperature sensor. For the purpose of simulation, the model circuit was fabricated using the Proteus Design Suite software. The operation of the model is designed and tested using the Arduino software

Malaria Preventive Practices among Pregnant Women in Ebonyi State, Nigeria

Malaria remains a global health challenge especially in sub-Sahara Africa where the most dangerous species thrive. It is a popular belief that the best way of halting the spread of any communicable disease is to adopt health preventive practices. A cross-sectional survey was carried out to determined malaria preventive practices among pregnant women in Ebonyi State, Nigeria. Stratified sampling technique was used in selecting 504 pregnant women attending antenatal clinic in 12 hospitals in the state. A face validated, self constructed questionnaire which was subjected to a reliability test using Cronbach Alpha method yielded a reliability value of 0.91. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics of mean and inferential statistics of T-test and ANOVA. Results showed that pregnant women often (  = 1.70-3.05) adopted most of the malaria preventive practices. There was a significant difference in 9 out of 11 malaria preventive practices adpted by women who reside in urban and rural areas in favour of women who reside in the urban areas. Level of education significantly affected malaria preventive practices in favour of women with post secondary education. Intervention efforts should focus on rural pregnant women and formulated to accommodate the less educated members of this group. Keywords: Malaria, Preventive practices, Pregnant women, Ebonyi State, Nigeri

Conversion of solid waste to activated carbon to improve landfill sustainability

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.Landfills’ heterogeneous composites waste were evaluated as precursors for generation of activated carbon (AC). A single step chemical activation process was applied involving irradiation with microwave energy and impregnation with KOH. The average percentage yield of AC from active landfill precursor was higher than that from closed landfill for all depths sampled. Increase in impregnation ratio and irradiation power decreased the average percentage yield for both landfill precursors (Active: 38.1 to 33.1%) (Closed 42.1: to 33.3%). The optimum pH range for adsorption of methylene blue was pH 6-7, while adsorption increased with increase in temperature over the range 30 to 50oC. Carbonyl and hydroxyl groups were the major functional groups on the surface of AC. The properties of the AC are potentially suitable for the removal of cationic dyes and pollutants. AC generated from the landfill composite were comparable to that from some other biomass being managed through AC generation. This is the first report to demonstrate the possible reuse of landfill composite as AC. The reuse option of landfill composite could provide a means of sustainable management of landfilled municipal waste

DEVELOPMENT OF AN IMPACT ASSESSMENT ALGORITHM FOR THE ADOPTION OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY IN BASIC EDUCATION USING CROSS-IMPACT METHOD

In many countries, the adoption of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in basic education has been continuously linked to higher efficiency, productivity, and educational outcomes, including quality of cognitive, creative and innovative thinking. This paper focuses on the development of an impact assessment algorithm for evaluating the adoption of ICT in basic education using Cross-impact method. A questionnaire on adoption of ICT in basic education was designed based on Government Policy (GP), Teacher Competency (TC), Availability of ICT infrastructure (IF), Integration of ICT in school curriculum by Ministry of Education (MC), Student preparedness in adopting ICT in learning process (SC) and Perception of schools’ management in adoption of ICT in schools (MI), which are the six major events considered. The questionnaire was administered to experts in basic education within the selected South-Western states of Nigeria (Oyo, Lagos and Ekiti). Experts’ opinions from the administered questionnaires were quantitatively analysed using descriptive statistic in Statistical Package for Social Sciences. The results obtained from the analysis of questionnaires were used to derive the Initial Probability (InitProb) and generate the Conditional Probability Matrices (CondProbMatrices) for occurrence and non-occurrence of the six events under consideration. The impact assessment algorithm was developed such that its starting instructions would determine the consistence of the InitProb and the CondProbMatrices using the three fundamental laws of probability calculus (Normalization, Product and Addition rules). These are followed by sequential instructions which would determine the occurrence of each event in the CondProbMatrices. Then, through repetitive instructions, each event would be selected at random and its occurrence and non-occurrence would be determined using a random number generator. The last group of instructions would successively determine the impact of each event on other alternative events. Thus, the developed impact assessment algorithm could replace the existing user perspective method of evaluating the adoption of ICT in basic education

Multivariate analysis of the effects of age, particle size and landfill depth on heavy metals pollution content of closed and active landfill precursors

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.Multivariate analysis of a heavy metal pollution survey of closed and active landfill precursors was carried out in order to compare environmental risk levels in relation to age, particle size and depth of the precursors. Landfill precursors (77) were collected and analyzed for 15 USEPA toxic heavy metals using ICP-MS. Heavy metals concentrations in closed landfill precursors were significantly higher than those in the active landfill for 11 of 15 heavy metals investigated (closed landfill order: Fe > Al > Mn > Cu > Pb > Ba> Co > Cr > Ni > Cd > As > Se > Ti). Cluster analysis and correlation studies indicated the distribution of the metals was more influenced by landfill precursor size than by depth of the sample. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that 10 of 15 of heavy metals of both landfill precursors were from similar anthropogenic sources. Heavy metals pollution indices (Igeo > 5, EF > 40 and CF > 7) of both active and closed landfill precursors exceeded limits in the order of Zn > Cd > Pb > Cu > Ag, indicating a major potential health risk influenced by age and particle size of precursor. Zn, Cd, Cu and Pb of both landfill precursors exceeded the USEPA set standard for assessment of human health risk for each of the metals (1×10 -4 to 1× 10-3). This study highlights the need for the integration of a clean-up process for precursors from both types of landfill to reduce possible environmental pollution during a reuse process