Communication modes in Nigeria and their contributions to tourism development in Enugu State, Nigeria

Communication networks have over time become instrumental in tourism development, especially in the face of globalisation and modern technological advancement. Their importance in tourism sector is notable and due to the nature of the industry, various high tech communication technologies (wireless communication networks, visual, audio and print media) are employed in the sector around the world. They are used to advertise tourism products and create awareness of services, tourism product development, marketing, distribution and training of tourism personnel. The increasing competitiveness in the global tourism market encourages tourism operators to invest more in promotion, knowledge and quality in order to achieve satisfactory growth. Therefore, it is extremely important to be in touch with the latest technological trends and have the knowledge required to effectively respond to the challenges of global competition. In order to project the paramount role that communication networks play in the tourism industry in Nigeria, this study uses Enugu State as a case study and examines the different communication network outfits obtainable in the state. To adequately prosecute the study, ethnographic method of data collection was used by conducting semi-structured in-depth interviews with the management of the different communication outfits in Enugu Metropolis as well as the users of these networks within the study area. A total of 500 residents were selected and interviewed to get their views on the different communication networks that are used for tourism development. Findings revealed that the communication networks in the state have not been fully utilised because of high cost of access to information, low living standard of the populace, and low educational standard (high illiteracy level) among others. The study concludes that even in the face of these challenges, the Nigerian tourism industry should embrace the use of modern communication networks because of the technological advancement they afford in this twenty first century, and because of the fragmented nature of the tourism industry

Evaluation and Performance of Path Profile Characteristics in Communication System

This study presents the evaluation and performance of path profile characteristics in communication system, to determine the path profile characteristics such as margin fade (dB), receiver power (dBm), 2-ray propagation model (dB), free space propagation model (dB), LOSMAX (km) and critical distance (km). Data were obtained from Network ‘A’, using three different links within a geographical location in Edo State. Receiver power is mathematic model, the sensitivity of the receiver, which depends on the bandwidth (data rate) (dBm) of antennas were considered in this analysis. All the path profile characteristics were determined, it was observed, that increase in path length distance of microwave line of sight, will necessitate the increase in transmitter power in decibel. The Path length distance and margin fade of the three basic mobile propagation links were determined. It was observed that path length distance characteristic as such the length of distance, obstacle, reflection, diffraction from ground, water bodies and atmosphere resulted to the pattern of radio margin fade signal obtained in receiver antenna. The margin fade determined are 28.83 dB, 12.95 dB and 21.24 dB for the three different links considered from Network ‘A’ in Auchi, Nigeria

DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF A MULTIPOINT TEMPERATURE DATALOGGER

 In this work, a low cost six- multipoint temperature data logger was developed. It was designed using LM35 as the sensor, and arduino Uno as the data processing element. The response time of the sensor was observed to be between three and four minutes. The comparative evaluation of the system with other established thermometers show that no two temperature meters gave the same values. However the most important thing is that all the systems recorded the same temperature flow pattern. This indicates that the systems actually senses change in the surrounding effectively. In relation to the alcohol thermometer, the designed system shows an accuracy of +0.4oC at temperatures below 300C and +1.850C at temperatures above 300C. The system gives room for effective and adjustable temperature data logging procedure. Hence, the system is recommended for use in monitoring low temperature systems. http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/njt.v35i2.3

Ultra-ductile and low friction epoxy matrix composites

We present the results of an effective reinforcement of epoxy resin matrix with fullerene carbon soot. The optimal carbon soot addition of 1 wt. % results in a toughness improvement of almost 20 times. The optimized soot-epoxy composites also show an increase in tensile elongation of more than 13 %, thus indicating a change of the failure mechanism in tension from brittle to ductile. Additionally, the coefficient of friction is reduced from its 0.91 value in plain epoxy resin to 0.15 in the optimized composite. In the optimized composite, the lateral forces during nanoscratching decrease as much as 80 % with enhancement of the elastic modulus and hardness by 43 % and 94%, respectively. The optimized epoxy resin fullerene soot composite can be a strong candidate for coating applications where toughness, low friction, ductility and light weight are important.Comment: 24 pages, 7 Figures, 1 Table in Polymer Testing (2015

Comparative evaluation of partial replacement of soybean meal with raw and oven-dried cassia tora seedmeal on the performance of broiler chickens

This study was conducted to comparatively evaluate partial replacement of soybean meal with raw and oven-dried Cassia tora seed meal (CTSM) on the performance of broiler chickens. An eight-week feeding trial involving two hundred and eighty eight (288), day-old chicks purchased from a reputable chick dealer in Uyo Metropolis was used for the study. Four experimental diets each of raw and oven-dried CTSM was formulated such that diets 1, 2, 3, and 4 contained 0%, 5%, 10%, and 15% CTSM respectively. The birds were randomly assigned to the eight dietary treatments of 36 birds each. A treatment was replicated thrice, with 12 birds per replicate in a completely randomized design (CRD). The parameters evaluated were body weight gain, feed intake, feed conversion ratio and blood parameters. Data obtained were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA), using SPSS version 20. The results showed that the dietary treatments significantly influenced the growth indices. Weight gain was highest at 10% inclusion of raw CTSM and also at 15% inclusion of oven-dried CTSM. Feed intake response was highest at 10% inclusion of raw CTSM and 15% inclusion of oven-dried CTSM while feed conversion ratio (FCR) was greatly improved at these inclusion levels. The inclusion of raw and oven-dried CTSM at 10% and 15% respectively did not adversely affect carcass qualities and organs. Inclusion of raw CTSM up to 15% adversely affected carcass quality and haematological parameters. Also, haematological parameters of broiler chicken were best at 10% and 15% inclusion of raw and oven-dried CTSM respectively. When all parameters were considered, performance of broiler chickens was best at 10% inclusion of raw CTSM and 15% inclusion of oven-dried CTSM. It is therefore recommended that raw CTSM can only be incorporated into the diets of broiler chickens up to 10% without any detrimental effect. But oven-dried CTSM can be incorporated up to 15% without any detrimental effect. &nbsp

Magnetic Resonance Imaging Pilot Study of Intravenous Glyburide in Traumatic Brain Injury.

Pre-clinical studies of traumatic brain injury (TBI) show that glyburide reduces edema and hemorrhagic progression of contusions. We conducted a small Phase II, three-institution, randomized placebo-controlled trial of subjects with TBI to assess the safety and efficacy of intravenous (IV) glyburide. Twenty-eight subjects were randomized and underwent a 72-h infusion of IV glyburide or placebo, beginning within 10 h of trauma. Of the 28 subjects, 25 had Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) scores of 6-10, and 14 had contusions. There were no differences in adverse events (AEs) or severe adverse events (ASEs) between groups. The magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) percent change at 72-168 h from screening/baseline was compared between the glyburide and placebo groups. Analysis of contusions (7 per group) showed that lesion volumes (hemorrhage plus edema) increased 1036% with placebo versus 136% with glyburide (p = 0.15), and that hemorrhage volumes increased 11.6% with placebo but decreased 29.6% with glyburide (p = 0.62). Three diffusion MRI measures of edema were quantified: mean diffusivity (MD), free water (FW), and tissue MD (MDt), corresponding to overall, extracellular, and intracellular water, respectively. The percent change with time for each measure was compared in lesions (n = 14) versus uninjured white matter (n = 24) in subjects receiving placebo (n = 20) or glyburide (n = 18). For placebo, the percent change in lesions for all three measures was significantly different compared with uninjured white matter (analysis of variance [ANOVA], p < 0.02), consistent with worsening of edema in untreated contusions. In contrast, for glyburide, the percent change in lesions for all three measures was not significantly different compared with uninjured white matter. Further study of IV glyburide in contusion TBI is warranted

Recent Results From the EU POF-PLUS Project: Multi-Gigabit Transmission Over 1 mm Core Diameter Plastic Optical Fibers

Recent activity to achieve multi-gigabit transmission over 1 mm core diameter graded-index and step-index plastic optical fibers for distances up to 50 meters is reported in this paper. By employing a simple intensity-modulated direct-detection system with pulse amplitude or digital multi-tone modulation techniques, low-cost transceivers and easy to install large-core POFs, it is demonstrated that multi-gigabit transmission up to 10 Gbit/s over 1-mm core diameter POF infrastructure is feasible. The results presented in this paper were obtained in the EU FP7 POF-PLUS project, which focused on applications in different scenarios, such as in next-generation in-building residential networks and in datacom applications

A Review of Environmental Implications of Dredging Activities

Dredging is a global anthropogenic excavation activity of removing sediments from water bodies and depositing it elsewhere. It is a mixed blessing as it has both beneficial and adverse impacts. This paper is on a review of environmental implications of dredging. The objective of the paper is to review previous works by researchers on the environmental consequences of dredging. The method used is a review of academic/journal articles, internet materials, conference / workshop papers, textbooks, bulletins and publicly available materials on dredging activities. The results of the study revealed that previous authors whose works were reviewed have a convergent view that apart from the beneficial impacts of dredging (e.g. keeping waterways navigable, flood and storm protection and provision of materials for road construction and building), it has lots of adverse environmental impacts, including environmental pollution, erosion, widespread hydrological changes, reduction in the population of aquatic lives like destruction of fish spawning grounds and benthic organisms and resuspension of particulate matter column that has elevated levels of lead, copper, zinc and nickel in Phytoplankton. Recommendations of the study include: (1) establishment of environmental legislations and regulations for dredging operation; (2) use of green technology in dredging activities to minimize suspension of sediments and contamination/pollution of dredging environments; and (3) creation of awareness among dredging contractors, regulators and marine communities where dredging take place on the economic and ecological values of the marine ecosystems that are usually very sensitive, fragile and productive

Investigating the cyclic breaking of butyl-, methyland ethyl-biodiesel from waste vegetable oil using ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometry

The main advantage of biodiesel to fossil-diesel is attributed to the ester functional group in its structure. Many researchers have affirmed that the functional group assists the diesel engine to function at its peak. However, the efficiency of the biodiesel to keep the mechanical piston-strokes in the diesel engine is experimentally presumed low especially if the engine works for a long time. In this research, it was proposed that the cyclic break down of the ester functional group of biodiesel is a major disadvantage. Butanol, ethanol and methanol biodiesel were produced in the laboratory using waste vegetable oil from restaurant. The Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy or spectrophotometer (UV–Vis) was used to investigate the cyclic break down in the Butyl-, Methyl- and Ethyl- biodiesel. The Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy or spectrophotometer (UV–Vis) was used to probe the various biodiesel samples with a start and stop wavelength of 500 and 900 nm respectively. The wavelength interval was 1 nm at a high scanning speed. Between 500–550 and 800–850 nm, the Ethyl- and Butyl- biodiesel had an absorbance of 2.7 and 1.6 respectively with 3 peaks each. Methyl-biodiesel had the highest absorbance of 1.7 at 600–650 nm with 1 peak. The computational extrapolation of all outcomes affirms that cyclic breaking is highest in Butylbiodiesel. The most resilient biodiesel type was the Ethyl-biodiesel. However, it was recommended that cyclic breaking may be preserved by ratio-mixing of biodiesel with fossil-diesel