Comparative study of the macroinvertebrate community composition and water quality of Ona and Opa rivers, Southwestern Nigeria

Macroinvertebrate samples of Ona and Opa rivers were taken fortnightly between April and August, 2013 with the aid of a dip net of 500µm mesh size with the aim of evaluating the macroinvertebrate community composition and the water quality of the rivers. A total of 617 individuals macroinvertebrate belonging to 29 species were collected. Ona River was dominated by Chironomid larvae while Opa River was dominated by Trichoptera species. Margalef’ species richness and Shannon-wiener’s species diversity indices both revealed that Opa River is higher in terms of species richness and diversity. The physico-chemical parameters of the two water bodies showed a slightly marked variation, especially for Dissolved Oxygen, Conductivity and Total Dissolved Solids. Ona River was relatively lower in DO level but showed a higher TDS level than Opa River. The species composition and the water quality both indicated that Ona River is more stressed than Opa River due to greater impacts of anthropogenic activities which brought about the observed organically-induced pollution in the water body

Expert System-Based Predictive Cost Model for Building Works: Neural Network Approach

Project managers need accurate estimate of building projects to be able to choose appropriate alternatives for their constructions. Estimated costs of building projects, which hitherto have been based on regression models, are usually left with gaps for high margin of errors and as well, they lack the capacity to accommodate certain intervening variables as construction works progress. Data of past construction projects of the past 2 years were adjusted and used for the study. This model is developed and tested as a predictive cost model for building projects based on Multilayer Perceptron Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) with Levenberg Marqua. This model is capable of helping professionals save time, make more realistic decisions, and help avoid underestimating and overestimating of project costs. The model is a step ahead of Regression models

Gender-Based Competitive Performance In Built Environment Technical Related Courses In A Tertiary Institutionː Covenant University Case Study

Technical Education in recent times has witnessed high patronage in term of subscription from male and female candidates; this is against the school of thought that believes that technical-based disciplines are cut out for men. However in recent times, female candidates seem to be outperforming their male counterpart breaking the norms which tends to have defied reasonable logic. It is against this background that this study carried out comparative analysis of academic performances of male and female students studying technical-based disciplines in selected tertiary institution. Covenant University in Nigeria was chosen as a location of the study. Random sampling method was used in the study, with a sample of 80 students. A structured questionnaire in Likert scale was administered on student of technical based discipline, Eighty (80) questionnaires was administered on the students to harvest their perspective. The responses were further collated, analyzed with SPSS software, processed with Mean Item Score method and presented in tables and charts. Some factors were identified as being responsible for the trend, which includes: Age diference, emotional maturity, intelligence quotient, educational background, external interference, famiy problem, teachers challenge, complex curriculum, psychological problem, family problem, mode of subject delivery, attention to detail among others. Model was presented of an ideal metrics that influences higher performance of female students over their counterpart and what could be done to improve performance of all gender components

Determinants of Sustainable (Solar) Energy Efficiency in Research Institutes in Kaduna State, Nigeria

Solar energy is a renewable form whose importance as a sustainable alternative solution to the perennialenergy crisis in Nigeria, among others cannot be overemphasized. Of the three main classes of renewable energy (hydropower; solar, geothermal, wind; and biomass/combustibles which includes firewood, wastes,etc.)solar energy category is the least developed or utilized despite its inexhaustible potentiality as longas the solar system continues to exist. This study investigated the solar energy efficiency of the research institutes in Kaduna State Nigeria, as well as identified its determinants for beneficial harmonization of methods of improvement. The research technique applied was cross-sectional survey based on randomlyselected sample size of 60 respondents from the two Energy research institutes in the State(located at Kakuri/Kaduna and Zaria). A total of 55 questionnaires were retrieved representing over 91% response rate. Data obtained from the field survey by means of questionnaires were analyzed with descriptive(frequencies and proportions) and inferential statistics (Pearson product-moment correlation and Standard multiple regression analyses) with the aid of IBM SPSS 21 software. Results of data analyses revealed that thestudy population perceived Overall Performance rating of the Solar System in the facilities (buildingsand their environments) or dependent variable (d.v.)to be over 88%, a mean score of 9 on a 10 point scale which is very good. Three predictorswere identified in the study area,with total Adjusted R Square of .744 that explained 74.4 per cent of the residual variation in the d.v. The predictors and their standardized beta coefficients are ‘Dependency on Public power supply other than Solar System in the facility (-3.094)’,‘energy subsidy through use of the active strategies- solar panel(- 2.582)’, and ‘Ages of Respondents (.322)’.The study recommended for improvement to the d.v. by reduction in ‘dependence on Public power supply in the facilities’ andreduction in ‘energy subsidy through the use of the active strategies (solar panel)’with corresponding increase in passive strategies, among others for optimum solar energydevelopment

Spin-Hall-Active Platinum Thin Films Grown Via Atomic Layer Deposition

We study the magnetoresistance of yttrium iron garnet/Pt heterostructures in which the Pt layer was grown via atomic layer deposition (ALD). Magnetotransport experiments in three orthogonal rotation planes reveal the hallmark features of spin Hall magnetoresistance. We estimate the spin transport parameters by comparing the magnitude of the magnetoresistance in samples with different Pt thicknesses. We compare the spin Hall angle and the spin diffusion length of the ALD Pt layers to the values reported for high-quality sputter-deposited Pt films. The spin diffusion length of 1.5nm agrees well with platinum thin films reported in the literature, whereas the spin Hall magnetoresistance $\Delta \rho / \rho = 2.2\times 10^{-5}$ is approximately a factor of 20 smaller compared to that of our sputter-deposited films. Our results demonstrate that ALD allows fabricating spin-Hall-active Pt films of suitable quality for use in spin transport structures. This work provides the basis to establish conformal ALD coatings for arbitrary surface geometries with spin-Hall-active metals and could lead to 3D spintronic devices in the future.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figure

SPARC 2021 - Against all odds : Salford postgraduate annual research conference book of abstracts

Welcome to the Book of Abstracts for the 2021 SPARC conference. Our conference is called “Against All Odds” as we celebrate the achievements of our PGRs and their supervisors, who have continued to excel despite the most challenging circumstances. For this reason, we showcase the work of our PGRs alongside the outstanding supervision that they receive, with our Doctoral School Best Supervisor awards. We also focus on developing resilience and maintaining good mental health in the research environment, supported by exceptional keynote speakers, including our very own Dr Michelle Howarth and Ruby Wax OBE, which makes this year’s conference extra special