Assessment of Organic Fertilizer Usage by Garden Egg Farmers in Enugu State, Nigeria

The study was undertaken to assess organic fertilizer usage by garden egg farmers in Enugu State, Nigeria. The multistage sampling technique was used to select 80 garden egg farmers. Descriptive statistics and multiple regression analysis were used to analyse data for the study. The mean age of respondents was 39 years. Fifty-five percent (55 %) of respondents were married. The majority (97.5 %) of the respondents used farmyard manure while the average cost of organic fertilizer was N57372.73. A lesser percentage (7.5 %) of respondents in the study applied over 2000 kg of organic fertilizer per hectare with 40 % applying twice per season. The perceived benefit of organic fertilizer was: improvement of soil fertility (2.95 ± 1.12), environment-friendly (2.99 ± 1.23). A constraint identified in the use of organic fertilizer was: slow effect (2.12 ± 1.43), Odorous nature (2.06 ± 1.28) and difficulty in the collection and handling of organic fertilizer (2.72 ± 1.03). The study among other things recommends that farmers be granted credits and extension services that will teach them the required skills in the handling and use of organic fertilizer

Nouvelle méthode de dosage du radon dans l'eau par scintillation dans l'ortho-xylène

Une nouvelle méthode de dosage du radon dans l'eau a été mise au point. Elle consiste à purger le radon par l'argon, à le dissoudre dans l'o-xylène contenant les scintillateurs organiques 2,5 diphényloxazole (PPO) et 2,2' p-phénylènebis-5-phényloxazole (POPOP) et à compter les particules alpha et bêta par scintillation induite. La méthode est rapide, relativement simple, reproductible et sans interférences. Elle est très sensible; la limite de détection est de 0,01 Bq/L pour un échantillon de 2 litres et un temps de comptage de 1 heure. La méthode a été utilisée pour mesurer les concentrations du radon dans l'eau de certains puits au Québec. Celles-ci varient de 1,6 à 627 Bq/L. Ces concentrations sont similaires à celles mesurées dans d'autres pays.A new method for the determination of radon in ground water has been developed. It consists of purging radon with argon and dissolving it in 180 mL of ortho-xylene containing the organic scintillators 2,5 diphenyloxazole (PPO) and 2,2' p-phenylenebis-5-phenyloxazole (POPOP). The scintillation yield of radon in o-xylene, toluene, benzene and hexane has been measured at - 20, 0 and + 20 °C and the highest efficiency was obtained in o-xylene at - 20 °C.The concentration of PPO in o-xylene was varied and the maximum yield occurs at a concentration of 4 g/L. The optimal purging volume of argon was Pound to be 3 liters. The counting efficiency increases from 2.7 to 3.9 counts per disintegration after 3 hours decay time due to the build-up of radon daughters and then Starts to decrease with the hall-life of radon (3.824 days). The detection limit at 95 % confidence level for a 2 liter sample and for 1 hour counting time is 0.01 Bq/L.The method is virtually interference free. Due to the argon purging only radioactive gases can interfere with the measurement. Among these, thoron (Rn-220) and action (Rn-219) will decay before counting due to their short hall-lifes (56s and 4s resp.). The concentration of Kr-85 in air is low (0.0006 Be) when compared with radon, and only 0.05 % of the Kr-85 is transfered to soil and ground water. Kr-85 is also 35 times less soluble than Rn-222 in toluene. The decay products of radon will remain in the water and it is not necessary to know the degree of equilibrium between them and Rn-222. Consequently the counting can begin soon (10 minutes) after the purging of radon and it is not imperative to wait for equilibrium.The method was used to determine the concentration of radon in ground water in Quebec. The activities Pound ranged tram 1.6 to 627 Bq/L; they are similar to these measured in other countries

Residual strain monitoring during composite manufacturing

This work explores a new possibility in accurate measurement of multi-axial residual strains during the production of composite structures. It investigates the usability of the polarization dependent loss (PDL) of an optical fibre Bragg grating as a sensitive indicator of multi-axial residual strains. The experimental work presented is done on a cross-ply carbon fibre reinforced polymer fabricated using an autoclave cycle

Anti Microbial Resistance Profile of E. coli isolates From Tropical Free Range Chickens

Normal intestinal flora of humans and animals constitute enormous reservoir of resistance genes for potentially pathogenic bacteria and may serve as major indictors of selection pressure exerted by anti-microbial use in a given population. A study was conducted in September 2003 at 3 purposively selected peri-urban sites spread across 3 senatorial zones of Imo state, Nigeria to determines the anti-microbial resistance profile of commensal E. coli isolated from free range chickens. The isolates were screened for anti-microbial resistance profile against 10 antibiotics using the disc diffusion method. E. coli strains from local fowls, recorded 100 and 78.9% resistances against ampicillin and cotrimoxazole respectively, while resistance rates against ciprofloxacin, gentamycin and norfloxacin were 0.0, 5.3 and 5.3% respectively. Isolates from free-range cockerels recorded 100% resistance against norfloxacin, cotrimoxazole and ampicillin and 83.3% against nitrofurantoin. Similarly, isolates from old layers, recorded 100% resistance against nitrofurantoin, cotrimoxazole, tetracycline, chloramphenicol and ampicillin and 80% against nalidixic acid. Similar resistance trends were observed in E. coli isolates from free-range turkeys and broiler roosters against the inexpensive broad-spectrum first line antibiotics (ampicillin, nalidixic acid, cotrimoxazole, nitrofurantoin and chloramphenicol), although values varied slightly across poultry types. Resistances against gentamycin were consistently low in isolates from the different types of poultry. Twenty-nine resistance patterns were observed in the E. coli isolates with predominant patterns being distributed widely across poultry types indicating a striking diversity of resistance patterns in the areas

Temperature insensitive cure cycle monitoring of cross-ply composite laminates using the polarization dependent loss property of FBG

very important aspect of the composite manufacturing process is the appearance of residual strains and stresses during the curing cycle. Composites exhibit large residual strains after curing. Therefore, in this paper, we propose to follow the evolution of the polarization depend loss peaks (amplitude and wavelength) of fibre Bragg gratings during the manufacturing of the composite material to highlight the residual strains appearanc

Substituent effects on the magnetic resonance spectra of 1, 4-disubstituted benzenes

The Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectra of five complete series of para-substituted benzenes have been investigated: the benzoic acids, benzonitriles, benzoyl chlorides, methyl benzoates and nitrobenzenes. Precise values of aromatic proton chemical shifts and coupling constants were obtained from LAOCOON3 computer analyses of the spectra. Using the relative internal chemical shift technique of Beachell and Beistel, excellent linear correlations among all five series were found. All substituents gave proton shifts which lay on the least-squares line, so it is concluded that all substituents are well behaved. Using the correlation plots the chemical shifts of the aromatic ring protons can be predicted to 0.01 ppm. Highly resolved, first-order spectra were observed at 100 MHz for the 4-alkyl-nitrobenzenes. The group designations A₂B₂X, A₂B₂XX\u27 and A₂B₂XX\u27X were assigned to 4-nitro-cumene, 4-ethyl-nitrobenzene and 4-nitro-toluene respectively. Basic spin wave functions were constructed for both the A₂B₂X and A₂B₂XX\u27 systems and both diagonal and off-diagonal matrix elements were evaluted. No methyl-ring proton coupling was found for 4-t-butylnitrobenzene and ring proton spectrum was simply A₂B₂. The perturbed valence bond model of Beistel has been used to rationalize substituent effects on the p.m.r. spectra of the para-substituted benzenes. This model assumes that the hybridization of the skeletal atoms can be perturbed from sp² to (sp²+Δp) or (sp²-Δp), depending on the directive abilities of the substituent. The perturbation influences the proton shift upfield relative to benzene when the proton is bonded to a carbon hybridized (sp²+Δp), and downfield for a carbon hybridized (sp²-Δp). Available carbon-13 shift data has proved consistent with the proposed model. The directive abilities of the substituents decrease in the sequencer N(CH₃)₂, NH₂, OCH₃, OH, F, CH₃, C₂H₅ , H, C₃H₇, Cl, C₄H₉, Br, CN, COOCH₃, COCl, I and N0₂. That is according to the hybridization of the central atom, its relative nuclear charge and the principal quantum number of the valence electrons. The groups COH, CONH₂ and COCH₃ have not been included in the sequence since complete series were not studied. Files of spectral data and selected measurements suggest that these groups lie between CN and COOCH₃ in the order indicated --Abstract, pages iii-iv

Evaluation of Salmonella isolates obtained from poultry farms in Abia and Imo States for the presence of plasmids

This study was conducted to determine whether there exists the presence of plasmid from Salmonella isolated from poultry farms in Abia and Imo states southeast Nigeria. Forty Salmonella isolates were used for the study. The alkaline phosphate method of Birnboin and Doly was employed. Three buffers A, B and C made up of different concentrations and volumes with adjusted pH were used. A (400 mM Tris, 200 mM Na Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid), B (3 M Na, acatic acid) and C (10 mM Tris, 2 M Na Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid). The test organisms sub-cultured on MacConkey agar (MCA) were processed at various centrifugation rates and time. The suspected pure plasmid deoxyribonucleic acid was mixed with ethidium bromide and loading dye using agarose gel. The set up was viewed under ultraviolet transillumination with gel documentation apparatus. Plasmid cure was conducted with ten multidrug resistant Salmonella isolates. Danifor Biotechnology method was used for the plasmid curing experiment. Three curing agents, sodium deodecyl sulphate curing agents (100), sodium deodecyl sulphate (10 g or 10%) and nutrient broth (100 ml) were used. Plasmid DNA was detected from the Salmonella isolates evidenced with bands at 100 bp. There was plasmid cure as supported by the zones of inhibition by some of the antibiotics when compared with the original isolates.Keywords: Cure, DNA, multidrug resistant isolates, plasmid, Salmonell

Optimization of Energy Consumption in The Residential Sector, Using Automated Control Systems

With limited energy resources for sustainable and balanced national development it is becoming more and more important to solve tasks of optimization of energy consumption. This optimization is important not only for major Russian companies (which provide major share of tax inflows for the state budget), but also for homes in order toreduce the energy consumption. This article discusses a complex approach in the field monitoring and energy management of apartment buildings as part of the energy management program using an automated thermal and electrical energy management system developed by NGO VEST in Tomsk. It is shown that the power monitoring data allow to make economically effective decisions in reducing energy consumption costs in residential buildings. The creation of the Analytical Center and the use of an automated energy management system give the opportunity to reduce costs of heat consumption in apartment buildings and, as a consequence, increase the efficiency of use of budgetary funds, used for subsidizing the northern regions of Russia