Cyber deception against DDoS attack using moving target defence framework in SDN IOT-EDGE networks

Software Defined Networking (SDN) networking paradigm advancements are advantageous, but they have also brought new security concerns. The Internet of Things (IoT) Edge Computing servers provide closer access to cloud services and is also a point of target for availability attacks. The Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks on SDN IoT-Edge Computing caused by botnet of IoT hosts has compromised major services and is still an impending concern due to the Work From Home virtual office shift attributed by Covid19 pandemic. The effectiveness of a Moving Target Defense (MTD) technique based on SDN for combating DDoS attacks in IoT-Edge networks was investigated in this study with a test scenario based on a smart building. An MTD Reactive and Proactive Network Address Shuffling Mechanism was developed, tested, and evaluated with results showing successful defence against UDP, TCP SYN, and LAND DDoS attacks; preventing IoT devices from being botnet compromised due to the short-lived network address; and ensuring reliable system performance

Catalytic Synthesis of Ethyl Ester From Some Common Oils

Catalytic conversion of ethanol to fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEE) was carried out by homogeneous and heterogeneous transesterification of melon seed, shea butter and neem seed oils using NaOH, KOH and 5wt%CaO/Al2O3 catalyst systems respectively. Oil content of the seeds from n-hexane or hot water extract ranged from 25.0-33.3% and increased in the order melon seed< shea butter seed < neem seed. The heterogeneous catalyst maintained an optimal activity after 5 cycles of reusable applications and produced higher FAEE of 95.63% than 91.2% and 92.8% obtained with KOH and NaOH respectively. After purification by distillation of excess ethanol and neutralisation and separation of the homogeneous catalysts, the FAEE was subjected to qualitative analysis to determine its potential application as commercial biodiesel based on international specifications. With the exception of neem seed oil FAEE that shows high acid value and total ash content the esters could be used directly or as blend in diesel engines to give good performance. Key words: Ethyl ester, synthesis, catalytic activity, common oils, biodiesel potential

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) in Nigeria: fundamental science and potential implementation risks

Carbon dioxide Capture and Storage (CCS) is a novel global technology encompassing the isolation and transportation of CO2 from emission points followed by storage in appropriate geological formations. Although the process had been projected to play a great role in enhancing oil recovery from partly depleted oil and gas reservoirs as well as mitigating global climate change by 2030, the science, technology, and potential consequences of its application are not well understood in many African countries like Nigeria that are majorly dependent on oil and gas economy and contributing emitters of greenhouse gases. This paper described the fundamental science of CCS and addressed the potential risks of its future implementation in Nigeria. Critical analysis of the country’s oil and gas activities coupled with economic and political situation indicates that CCS project in Nigeria would be faced with challenges such as long implementation time, inefficient technology, gas leakage from geological storage, capture and storage costs and implementation decision and strategies. Key words: Carbon, capture, storage, implementation, problem

Climate Change Situation in Zamfara State: Farmers’ Awareness and Agricultural Implications

Farmers’ awareness on climate change and the agricultural implications in five local governments of Zamfara state were carefully investigated. The research methodology utilized a Rapid Rural Appraisal approach to interview the farmers on the basis of targeted and influential factors such as awareness, mitigation and adaptation strategies and the sources of information on climate change. A batch of 300 local farmers was interviewed in each of the five local governments. The outcome of the study revealed to a high degree that while the farmers are aware of the climate change and its agricultural consequences, the different options utilized for the handling of its challenges are crude (i.e. low grade) with great perception that adaptation strategies are likely to be more effective for the region. Keywords: Climate change; implications; knowledge; farmers; handling

Climate Change Perspective and Adaptation Among Local Farmers in Sokoto State, Nigeria

Perspectives of farmers on climate change and the strategy they employed in handling its impacts in five local governments of Sokoto state was studied. The study employed a Rapid Rural Appraisal technique to interview the farmers on key parameters such as awareness, mitigation and adaptation strategies and the sources of information on climate change. The study interviewed 300 farmers in each of the five local governments and concluded that while the respondents are aware of the climate change and its effects, the techniques employed for the mitigation of its effects are crude with adaptation strategies likely to be more effective. Keywords: Climate change; perception; adaptation; mitigation; strategy.

Detection of Hepatitis B Virus from Inmates in Correctional Facilities in Niger State

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of Hepatitis B virus infection among inmates of selected correctional facilities in Niger state, Nigeria. Blood samples were collected from inmates in three correctional facilities (Bida, Kontagora and Minna). Questionnaires were administered to get their bio-data and 5ml of blood sample was collected from a total of 344 inmates. The plasma was separated and tested for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) using rapid chromatographic immunoassay test (ICT) and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay test kits (ELISA) . All the HBsAg positive samples were subjected to further test using 5-panel HBV test card. Out of the 344 samples collected, 75 (22%) were positive by ICT for HBsAg. ELISA gave an overall prevalence rate of 25% (87/344) as additional 12 samples were positive. The result of the 5-panel showed that HBsAg, HBsAb, HBeAg, HBeAb and HBcAb were present in 87, 19, 20, 47 and 68 plasma respectively. This implies that 87 persons were infected, 19 had immunity against the virus, 20 had active viral replication, 47 with no viral replication and 68 with onset of acute infection. The HBV infection was highest in the age bracket 21-30 years (29.7%) and lowest in 61-70% (0%). Out of the associated risk factors, sharing of objects showed statistically significant association with the high prevalence of the HBV. This study showed the prevalence of HBV among inmates. As such, there is need for constant screening of the inmates for effective prevention measure and proper clinical management strategy

Solid acid catalysts in heterogeneous n-alkanes hydroisomerisation for increasing octane number of gasoline

As the current global environmental concerns have prompted regulations to reduce the level of aromatic compounds, particularly benzene and its derivatives in gasoline, ydroisomerisation of n-alkanes is becoming a major alternative for enhancing octane number. Series of solid acid catalysts comprising of Freidel crafts, zirconias, MoO3-based (MOB), chlorinated Al2O3, heteropoly acids and bifunctional zeolite based catalysts have been tested in this respect. This paper reviewed important studies conducted on these catalysts with the aim of identifying areas requiring further investigation(s). Freidel craft catalysts are currently abandoned due to corrosion and disposal problems. MOB and heteropoly acids have good resistance to nitrogen and sulphur in a reaction stream but have poor thermal stability, difficult to regenerate and with mechanism their action only partly resolved. Bifunctional zeolites on the other hand are increasingly becoming promising catalysts due to resulting high acidity, activity and easy regeneration properties. Both solid and gaseous acid modifiers could similarly modify their textural characteristics. The activities of all catalysts could under uncontrolled conditions lead to side reactions such as cracking, aromatisation and dehydrogenation. Keywords; Solid acids, n-alkanes, hydroisomerisation catalysts, gasoline, octane number

Supported Molybdenum Carbide as n-Hexane Upgrading Catalyst

Catalytic upgrading of n-hexane to corresponding isomers was successfully achieved at 1 atm using molybdenum carbide supported sulphated zirconia as hydroisomerisation catalyst. The characterization data generally indicated the formation of the carbide phase from molybdenum oxide precursor to proceeds stepwise at high temperatures, with increase in crystallinity after carburization. There was also limited destruction to the structural composition of the sulphated zirconia support. Production of isomerised hexanes increased with increase in space velocity but decreased significantly with increase in either hydroisomerisation temperature or contact time. Overall, the catalyst shows good upgrading properties towards n-hexane, suggesting its potentials as gasoline upgrading catalyst. Keywords: Molybdenum carbide, sulphated zirconia, n-hexane, upgrading, potentials

Rate of co-infection with malaria parasites and Salmonella typhi in Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria

Background: Typhoid and malaria co-infection is a major public health problem in many developing countries. Most of the co-infections treated are based on methods of diagnosis plagued with assumptions which possibly exaggerate the situation. Thus the aim of this work was to investigate the rate of co-infection with respect to the use of Widal test and blood culture methods for diagnosing typhoid fever in Zaria, Nigeria. Method: A total of 218 blood samples were collected from patients with a clinical suspicion of malaria and typhoid fever and examined for malaria parasites and S. typhi infection. Results: Sixty samples were positive for malaria parasites, 22 of which were positive for typhoid by the Widal test and only one by the culture method. The rate of co-infection was significantly high when typhoid was diagnosed by Widal (10.1%) than by blood culture method (0.5%). A correlation analysis showed no specific relationship between malaria parasite load and the level of Salmonella antibody titres in malaria patients (r = 0.05 and 0.08 for somatic and flagella antigens of S. typhi respectively). Conclusion: The incidence of typhoid and malaria co-infection will greatly reduce if the diagnosis of typhoid fever in malaria endemic areas such as Zaria is bases on blood culture. Keywords: Malaria, typhoid fever, co-infection Annals of African Medicine Vol.2(2) 2003: 64-6

A review on reversible logic gates

In recent years, reversible logic circuits have applications in the emerging field of digital signal processing, optical information processing, quantum computing and nano technology. Reversibility plays an important role when computations with minimal energy dissipation are considered. The main purpose of designing reversible logic is to decrease the number of reversible gates, garbage outputs, constant inputs, quantum cost, area, power, delay and hardware complexity of the reversible circuits. This paper reveals a comparative review on various reversible logic gates. This paper provides some reversible logic gates, which can be used in designing more complex systems having reversible circuits and can execute more complicated operations using quantum computers. Future digital technology will use reversible logic gates in order to reduce the power consumption and propagation delay as it effectively provides negligible loss of information in the circuit.&nbsp;&nbsp; Keywords: Garbage output, Power dissipation, quantum cost, Reversible Gate, Reversible logic