Evidence of dynamical transition and maximum predictability of air temperature, relative humidity and dew point temperature

Monitoring and predicting the climatic phenomenon are the major global concern because of its devasting effects on people's lives and their environments. As a result of this, there is a need to understand the natural processes that control the dynamic evolution of the climatic phenomenon. Air temperature and relative humidity data collected from Nsukka station by the Centre for Atmospheric Research (CAR), measured in 5 minutes time steps from 1st January till 31st December, 2012 have been analysed. Dew point temperature was calculated from the actual readings of air temperature and relative humidity using appropriate empirical relation. In this paper, Average Mutual Information (AMI), False Nearest Neighbour (FNN) and Lyapunov Exponent methods were used to study changes and transitions in the dynamics of these meteorological parameters or temporal deviations from their overall dynamical regimes. The results show that the dynamic model needed to describe the data has 4-5 dimensions for air temperature, 4-6 for relative humidity and 4-5 for dew point temperature. Positive and negative Lyapunov exponents were observed in the air temperature, relative humidity and dew point temperature time series. This indicates that there exists periodicity inherent in the chaotic behaviour of these meteorological time series, causing a transition from chaoticity (positive Lyapunov exponent) to periodicity (negative Lyapunov exponent) and thereafter to chaoticity (positive Lyapunov exponent). The results, therefore, provide additional information about the climate transitions, maximum predictability and also, for formulating a weather prediction model

Design and Construction of a Pure Sine Wave Inverter

This research is a design and implementation of a sine wave inverter circuit developed to run AC appliances at a low cost which high efficiency. The design consists of two stages i.e. the DC-DC step up stage and a DC-AC Inverter stage. The DC-DC step up converter is based on a push-pull design to step 24VDC to 300VDC. Pulse width modulation was used i.e. the SG3525 pulse width Modulator. The DC-AC inverter stage comprised of four power mosfets in an H-bridge configuration, driven by a 40 kHz square wave encoded/modulated by a 50Hz sine wave that was derived from a TL084 quad op amp sine wave oscillator. An output voltage range of about 240-260VAC from 300VDC input was obtained. A low pass filter was used to filter out the high frequencies and thus isolate the harmonics so a 50 Hz fundamental frequency was retained

Application of gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS)-based metabolomics for the study of fermented cereal and legume foods:a review

A new era of cutting-edge technologies and advancements in analytical platforms and omics sciences is disruptively bringing a paradigm shift in fundamental and translational research. Metabolomics is one of the omics strategies that yields big data and has gained popularity in a wide spectrum of applications. Among various analytical platforms used in metabolomics, gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) allows the measurement of thermally stable (volatiles and semi-volatiles) metabolites, with an advantage of spectral reproducibility. Cereal and legume-based fermented foods are part of the food culture in various countries throughout the world. Thus, this review provides an overview of recent applications of GC-MS-based metabolomics in the food fermentation field, specifically cereal and legume-based fermented foods. This emerging use of metabolomics in food fermentation studies illustrates the potentials of this omics science to elucidate metabolome landscapes of fermented foods. Such insights would advance our predictive understanding of fermentation processes and molecular descriptions of resultant food products; a necessary step for improvements and sustainability in food industry. Furthermore, the review echoes the current need of collaborative efforts in the scientific community (in this field) to harness and maximise the potentials of metabolomics in food fermentation studies

Design and Construction of an Automatic Transfer Switch for a Single Phase Power Generator

An Automatic Transfer Switch (ATS) for a single phase power generator has been designed to enable the automatic operation and transfer of power supply between a public utility supply and a power generator. The ATS, which is a switchgear control system, provides a functional system that provides an automatic switching of power supply between a primary source (public utility) and a secondary power source (generator). The methods employed in designing the ATS involve the use of electromechanical type relays, contactors, voltage monitoring relays and delay timer relays as main components of the system. Incorporated in the ATS is a digital multimeter (DMM) made up of a 12V d.c and a 5V d.c power supply unit, precision rectifier unit, current transformer and Microcontroller (PIC 16F877) to convert the measured analogue alternating current(a.c). voltage and current quantities to digital values for display on the liquid crystal display (LCD). The result of the automatic transfer switch demonstrates its ability to perform automatic power change over activities easily and with little or no human interactio

Development and Characterization of a Composite Anthill chicken Eggshell Catalyst for Biodiesel Production from Waste Frying Oil

The primary aim of this research is to synthesis composite anthill-chicken eggshell catalyst, which is characterized and employed for the synthesis of biodiesel from waste frying oil. The as-synthesized catalyst was characterized using various characterization techniques, such as Xray fluorescence (XRF), Fourier transform infrared radiation (FTIR), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Basicity. The influence of different reaction parameters on the catalytic reaction, reaction time, catalyst loading and reaction temperature in the range of 50–75°C were studied at fixed methanol/oil ratio of 6:1. The experimental data obtained showed that at reaction time of 2 h, catalyst loading of 5 wt% and reaction temperature of 60°C, the biodiesel yield was 70%. The synthesized catalyst was found to convert low-grade oil into biodiesel via a single-step transesterification process, and its activity has the potential for improvement

Impact of germination on the techno‐functional properties, nutritional composition, and health‐promoting compounds of brown rice and its products:a review

Rice is a popular grain and forms part of the daily diet of people throughout the world. However, the consumption of rice and its products is sometimes limited by its high glycemic index due to its high starch content, low protein content and quality, and low bioavailability of minerals due to the presence of anti‐nutritional factors. This has partly stimulated research interest in recent times toward the use of bioprocessing techniques such as germination as cheap and natural means to improve the nutritional quality, digestibility, and health properties of cereals, including rice, to partially achieve nutrition and food security in the developing regions of the world. This review highlights the impact of germination on the nutritional quality, health‐promoting properties, and techno‐functional characteristics of germinated brown rice grains and their products. The review demonstrated that germinated rice grains and their products have improved nutritional quality and digestibility, modified functional properties, and showed antioxidant, anti‐inflammatory, anti‐diabetic, anti‐obesity, anti‐cancer, and anti‐cardiovascular activities. Germination appears to be a suitable bioprocessing method to improve the nutritional quality and bioactive constituents and modify the techno‐functional properties of rice grains for diverse food applications and improved global nutrition and food safety

Design of A Water Transmission and Storage System for Sustainable Reuse of Wastewater Within A University Community

This research is aimed at designing a wastewater transmission system from storage to treatment and, eventually to storage in an elevated steel tank. The work includes the design of a 750,000-litre capacity underground concrete reservoir and a 125,000-litre capacity elevated steel tank. For the transmission design, field activities involved the use of Magellan eXplorist 350H North America G.P.S. and Google Earth to determine coordinates of different points in a selected private university campus, southwest Nigeria as well as the lowest and the highest elevation points. The highest point in the university was located at the postgraduate hall of residence, and the lowest point was located at the schools constructed wetland within the campus. WaterCAD was used to design the flow path network, while the water storage design software used for this project are StaadPro.V8i, Orion 18, and AutoCAD 2013. StaadPro.V8i was employed for the analysis and design of the underground storage facility and the elevated steel tank, while the Orion software was utilized for concrete design and detailing of the underground storage facility. The results from all the design applications were exported to the AutoCAD environment for editing and proper scaling. This study has revealed that the construction of a 750 m³ underground storage tank would be highly efficient and economical when compared to a smaller tank. Also, both the hydrostatic forces acting internally within the underground tank and active and passive pressure acting externally toward the wall has shown to possess zero impact on the shear wal

Making management (more) relevant: breaking down disciplinary walls and pursuing neglected independent variables

The Walls Project encourages educators to broaden management teaching beyond individual and organizational variables and outcomes to systemic variables and outcomes. Its focus is on discovering independent variables that have social and environmental impacts and are currently neglected. Founded by six individuals who met at a RMLE UnConference in 2017,the Project decided to share pedagogical materials, examine them for commonalities, and present their findings at the MOBTC conference in 2019. This article summarizes these materials with an eye to revealing several variables of consequence, such as socioeconomic status and belief in economic growth, which are studied and taught infrequently in business schools. We suggest that researchers examine business curricula for similar neglected variables, study their impact across systems levels, and then develop them pedagogically to enhance management education that has a social and environmental impact

Black Rap 2020 v.1 issue 2

https://publications.lakeforest.edu/black_rap/1001/thumbnail.jp

Genome-wide association study of primary open-angle glaucoma in continental and admixed African populations.

Primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) is a complex disease with a major genetic contribution. Its prevalence varies greatly among ethnic groups, and is up to five times more frequent in black African populations compared to Europeans. So far, worldwide efforts to elucidate the genetic complexity of POAG in African populations has been limited. We conducted a genome-wide association study in 1113 POAG cases and 1826 controls from Tanzanian, South African and African American study samples. Apart from confirming evidence of association at TXNRD2 (rs16984299; OR[T] 1.20; P = 0.003), we found that a genetic risk score combining the effects of the 15 previously reported POAG loci was significantly associated with POAG in our samples (OR 1.56; 95% CI 1.26-1.93; P = 4.79 × 10-5). By genome-wide association testing we identified a novel candidate locus, rs141186647, harboring EXOC4 (OR[A] 0.48; P = 3.75 × 10-8), a gene transcribing a component of the exocyst complex involved in vesicle transport. The low frequency and high degree of genetic heterogeneity at this region hampered validation of this finding in predominantly West-African replication sets. Our results suggest that established genetic risk factors play a role in African POAG, however, they do not explain the higher disease load. The high heterogeneity within Africans remains a challenge to identify the genetic commonalities for POAG in this ethnicity, and demands studies of extremely large size