The Effectiveness of Human Capital Development in Triacta Nigeria Limited (Road Construction Company).

2015 dissertation for MA International Human Resource Management. Selected by academic staff as a good example of a masters level dissertation. The aims of the study was to examine the concepts of human capital development in improving employee training and development of TRIACTA Nigeria Limited, to examine the management model for improving human capital development (2001’s Human Capital Theory) and to examine the forms/types (On-the-job Training (OJT) and Off-The-Job training) of human capital development in TRIACTA Nigeria Limited. This study used a sample size of (100) one hundred respondents, representing a population of about one thousand employees of the firm. This sample was non-randomly selected from three out of seven sites of the firm, where construction activities usually go on simultaneously and data was collected from the questionnaires that were presented to the sample size selected. The collected data was analysed using micro soft excel package to obtain the table and charts. The findings of the research shows that training and development of TRIACTA employees has positive impact in enhancing the specific-firm skills, knowledge, expertise and competencies of the employees and in achieving the goals and for long term survival and sustainability of the firm. The study also draws conclusions and made recommendations for the company in the areas where there is need for further training and development of their employees to equip them with the relevant skills, knowledge and expertise to be able to face future challenges

Metal Organic Frameworks as Biosensing Materials for COVID-19

The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic outbreak is the most startling public health crises with attendant global socio-economic burden ever experienced in the twenty-first century. The level of devastation by this outbreak is such that highly impacted countries will take years to recover. Studies have shown that timely detection based on accelerated sample testing and accurate diagnosis are crucial steps to reducing or preventing the spread of any pandemic outbreak. In this opinionated review, the impacts of metal organic frameworks (MOFs) as a biosensor in a pandemic outbreak is investigated with reference to COVID-19. Biosensing technologies have been proven to be very effective in clinical analyses, especially in assessment of severe infectious diseases. Polymerase chain reactions (PCR, RT-PCR, CRISPR) - based test methods predominantly used for SARS-COV-2 diagnoses have serious limitations and the health scientists and researchers are urged to come up with a more robust and versatile system for solving diagnostic problem associated with the current and future pandemic outbreaks. MOFs, an emerging crystalline material with unique characteristics will serve as promising biosensing materials in a pandemic outbreak such as the one we are in. We hereby highlight the characteristics of MOFs and their sensing applications, potentials as biosensors in a pandemic outbreak and draw the attention of researchers to a new vista of research that needs immediate action

A censorious appraisal of the oil well acidizing corrosion inhibitors

Well acidizing is a common stimulation technique for maximizing the output of oil reservoirs. It helps to overcome the low permeability of wellbore by creating new flow channels or enlarging old ones. Corrosion challenge is encountered during the process since tubings are metallic. Corrosion inhibitors are the defence mechanism used in mitigating corrosion problem during acidizing. This review has identified and grouped acidizing corrosion inhibitors into organic-, and polymer-based. The performance of these inhibitors at temperatures of ≥60 ◦C and acid concentration of ≥15 wt% is considered. It is noted that greater percentage of studies revolve round the 60 ◦C. Above 100 ◦C, the number of scientific articles decreased considerably. Four classes of intensifiers for acidizing corrosion inhibitors have been identified: formic acid, potassium iodide, copper iodide, and antimony chloride. Their chemistries have been discussed. The research gaps identified include (i) scanty information on acidizing inhibitors at temperatures ≥150 ◦C, (ii) limited information on natural polymers and plant biomaterials as acidizing inhibitors, (iii) scanty information on the mechanism of inhibition at temperatures ≥150 ◦C, and (v) limited information on the composition of corrosion products under acidizing conditions. Thus, recommendations for future researches have been given

Aspartame as a Green and Effective Corrosion Inhibitor for T95 Carbon Steel in 15 wt.% HCl Solution

Oil well acidizing, although a stimulation process, induces the corrosion of metallic equipment and well tubing. There is, at present, a high demand for effective and less toxic hightemperature corrosion inhibitors for the acidizing process due to the failing of the existing inhibitors at high temperatures occasioned by increases in the well depths. In this study, aspartame (ASP), a commercially available natural compound, is examined as a corrosion inhibitor for T95 carbon steel in 15 wt.% HCl solution at 60, 70, 80, and 90 �C using the weight loss, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), potentiodynamic polarization (PDP), scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDX), and optical profilometry (OP) techniques. It was found that ASP possesses a corrosion inhibiting effect at the studied conditions. Inhibition efficiency increased with increases in temperature. With 2000 ppm ASP, inhibition efficiency of 86% was achieved from the weight loss method at 90 �C after 4 h of immersion. Results from the electrochemical techniques are in good agreement with the weight loss results. PDP results reveal that ASP acted as a mixedtype corrosion inhibitor under the investigated conditions. The inhibition ability of ASP is due to adsorption on the steel surface and has been confirmed by the SEM, OP, and EDX results. ASP is a promising active compound for the formulation of acidizing corrosion inhibitors

A study on the composition of heavy organic precipitates at various locations of a petroleum production line: wellhead, separator, and flowline

The heavy fractions from crude oil samples from different locations of a petroleum production line was investigated by gravimetric precipitation technique through the varying of n-alkane precipitant(s) type, volume, and volume ratios. The type of heavy organics (HOs) obtained at the different locations was studied using chromatographic fractionation into saturates, aromatics, resins and residual asphaltenes. Saturates and aromatics compositions were qualitatively and quantitatively determined by Gas Chromatographic-Flame Ionization Detection (GC-FID), while Ultraviolet-Visible spectroscopy was used for the resins. The results obtained show that the amounts of HOs precipitated changes with precipitants type, volume, and volume ratios and are in the order: wellhead (WH) > flowline (FL) > separator (SR). With changes in the total volume of precipitant binary mixtures, maximum precipitation is obtained at 40 mL/g of oil. Between 70–80 mL/g of oil, the amount of precipitate produced remain constant for all samples. There is no clear-cut trend in the concentration of individual and total saturate and aromatic compositions of the heavy organics along the different locations of the production system. However, the concentration of resins increases in the order: separator > flowline > wellhead

Molecular gas and dust around a radio-quiet quasar at redshift 4.69.

Galaxies are believed to have formed a large proportion of their stars in giant bursts of star formation early in their lives, but when and how this took place are still very uncertain. The presence of large amounts of dust in quasars and radio galaxies at redshifts z > 4 shows that some synthesis of heavy elements had already occurred at this time. This implies that molecular gas--the building material of stars--should also be present, as it is in galaxies at lower redshifts (z approximately = 2.5, refs 7-10). Here we report the detection of emission from dust and carbon monoxide in the radio-quiet quasar BR1202 - 0725, at redshift z = 4.69. Maps of these emissions reveal two objects, separated by a few arc seconds, which could indicated either the presence of a companion to the quasar or gravitational lensing of the quasar itself. Regardless of the precise interpretation of the maps, the detection of carbon monoxide confirms the presence of a large mass of molecular gas in one of the most distant galaxies known, and shows that conditions conducive to huge bursts of star formation existed in the very early Universe

Newly detected ozone-depleting substances in the atmosphere

Ozone-depleting substances emitted through human activitiescause large-scale damage to the stratospheric ozone layer, and influence global climate. Consequently, the production of many of these substances has been phased out; prominent examples are the chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), and their intermediate replacements, the hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs). So far, seven types of CFC and six types of HCFC have been shown to contribute to stratospheric ozone destruction 1,2. Here, we report the detection and quantification of a further three CFCs and one HCFC. We analysed the composition of unpolluted air samples collected in Tasmania between 1978 and 2012, and extracted from deep firn snow in Greenland in 2008, using gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection. Using the firn data, we show that all four compounds started to emerge in the atmosphere in the 1960s. Two of the compounds continue to accumulate in the atmosphere. We estimate that, before 2012, emissions of all four compounds combined amounted to more than 74,000 tonnes. This is small compared with peak emissions of other CFCs in the 1980s of more than one million tonnes each year 2. However, the reported emissions are clearly contrary to the intentions behind the Montreal Protocol, and raise questions about the sources of these gases

Reduction and Return of Infectious Trachoma in Severely Affected Communities in Ethiopia

Trachoma is one of the leading causes of blindness in the developing world. The World Health Organization has a multi-pronged approach to controlling the ocular chlamydial infection that causes the disease, including distributing antibiotics to entire communities. Even a single community treatment dramatically reduces the prevalence of the infection. Unfortunately, infection returns back into communities after treatment, at least in severely affected areas such as rural Ethiopia. Here, we assess whether additional scheduled treatments in 16 communities in the Gurage area of Ethiopia further reduce infection, and whether the disease returns after distributions are stopped. In communities with the highest levels of trachoma ever studied, we find that repeated mass oral azithromycin distributions gradually reduce the prevalence of trachoma infection in a community, as long as these treatments are given frequently enough and to enough people in the community. Unfortunately, infection returns into the communities after the last treatment. Sustainable changes or complete local elimination of infection will be necessary to stop the return of ocular chlamydial in communities with very high prevalence of the disease