Effect of storage methods on some selected mineral and ascorbic acid content of red and white onion (Allium cepa)

The study investigated the influence of three different storage conditions in minimising the postharvest losses of onions. The fresh onion walla-walla variety (red and white) were obtained from Modibbo Isah Farms, Bichi, Kano State, Nigeria. The onions were stored for eight weeks under three different storage conditions which include: Ambient temperature (30 ± 2 ºC), refrigeration storage (5-7 ºC) and control cupboard temperature storage (45-50 ºC) during which the samples were analysed weekly. During the storage period of onion bulbs, the temperature ranged between (29-32 ºC) while the relative humidity was between (70 – 95 % RH).The mineral (calcium, sodium and potassium) content was determined by Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry while Ascorbic acid was determined by the 2, 6- dichlorophenol indophenol (DCPIP) titration. The result showed that some components of the stored onions decreased with an increase in the storage period and these include: ascorbic acid (9.62-3.87mg/100g) and sodium content (12.13-11.77mg/kg). While some parameters also showed an increase with an increase in the storage period and these include: potassium content (30.00-72.12mg/kg) and calcium content (55-105mg/kg)

Isolation and Identification of Air Borne Fungal Spores and Fragments in Buildings Within Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto, Nigeria

- Indoor air contains a complex mixture of microorganisms, microorganism fragments, and by products such as molds, bacteria, endotoxins, mycotoxins, and volatile microbial organic compounds. Airborne fungi and bacteria can be toxic, allergenic and/or infectious. A research was conducted to determine the number and types of airborne fungal spores in Buildings of Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto, Nigeria. Five (5) areas were chosen within the University for the Survey, these were student Hostel, Staff Quarters, Botanical garden, Microbiology laboratory and city campus of Usmanu Danfodiyo University. . A total number of fifteen (15) petri dishes containing potato dextrose agar each were vertically placed in each sampler and exposed at end of each height and site for 10 and 20 minutes respectively. A total of thirteen (13) different fungal specie were identified namely; Aspergillus Niger, A. flavus, A fumigates, A. ustus, A. terreus, Fusarium solani, F. oxysporum, Alterneria altenata, Rhizopus oryzae, R. stolonifer, Helminthosporum sp., Penicillum candidum and Absedia corymbifera. Aspergillus Niger had the highest frequency of occurrence of (14.9%), Helminthosporus species had the least frequency of occurrence of (1.5%). Conclusively it was observed that the concentration of fungal spores was high in the upper surface than the ground level at the time of the survey

Parental knowledge and impact on growth in children with congenital heart diseases in Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital

Abstract: Objectives: Parental knowledge of a child’s heart disease, treatment and prevention of complications may promote a better health related behavior towards the care of the child. Most of these children often present with failure to thrive which the parents may not associate with the disease. This study is aimed at determining the knowledge of parents of children with congenital heart disease (CHD) and the impact of the disease on their growth.Methods: This was a cross sectional study consisting of parents and children with CHD attending the Pediatric Cardiology Clinic of Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital. Relevant information was gotten from pre-tested questionnairescontaining data such as age, anthropometric parameters, educational level of parents and knowledge of their children’s cardiac defect.Results: Out of the one hundred and three parents recruited in this study, ninety-one (88.3%) of the parents knew the correct cardiac diagnosis. which had no statistically significant association with their educational status. There was statistically significant association between maternal educational status and ability to name the medications (X2= 27.01, df=12, p=0.008). A total of sixty nine (67%) children have a WAZ score of ≤−2 and <3 while forty five (43.7%) have an HAZ of ≤−2.Conclusion: Adequate knowledge will ensure better compliance to medications which can reduce morbidity and early mortality before surgical intervention. Therefore continuous patient/caregiver education is imperative for their long time survival because even surgery may not completely eliminate all complications associated with it.Keywords: Congenital heart disease, Parental knowledge, growth

Time, cost and construction of public primary school classrooms in southwestern, Nigeria (2020 - 2024)

This paper employed a planning strategy to determine the time and cost of constructing classrooms in South-western public primary schools in Nigeria from the year 2020 to 2024. The paper embraced the mixed-method research design by employing the qualitative and quantitative approaches to gain an in-depth understanding of the variables investigated. The study population comprised 8401 public primary schools in the six Southwestern states of Nigeria. The study sample comprised 1092 schools, 15 architects and quantity surveyors using the Research Advisor. The purposive sampling technique was used to select three out of the six Southwestern states. In each state, the simple random sampling technique was employed in selecting the schools and their head teachers, architects and quantity surveyors to respond to the questionnaire. An official document containing the primary data on pupils' flow collected from the offices of Universal Basic Education Boards of the selected state was used to generate baseline enrolment figure and to  corroborate the data that was provided by the schools under investigation. In particular, Primary School Pupils’ Flow Questionnaire (PSPF-Q) was administered on primary school head teachers, Cost Schedule Form Questionnaire (CSF-Q) on quantity surveyors and Time Schedule Form Questionnaire (TSF-Q) on architects. The results showed that N5,819,298,322.76 is the mean cost of constructing the required number of classrooms per state in Southwestern Nigeria in the year 2020, N7,820,342,573.22 in the year 2021, N10,363,911,641.54 in the year 2022, N13,585,830,755.00 in the year 2023 and N17,639,959,050.00 in the year 2024. Also, a maximum of 22 days, 15 hours is needed for the construction of one classroom based on the assumption that one worker will be allocated to each task per time. The study concluded that the government should be able to plan for the construction of the needed number of  classrooms based on the time and cost estimate in this work. Keywords: Time, Cost, Construction, educational planning, public primary schoo

MAPPING SCHOOLS FOR INCLUSIVITY IN IFE CENTRAL LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF OSUN STATE, NIGERIA

The investigation created data sets using administrative boundaries and road networks in Ife Central Local Government area of Osun State, Nigeria. The study also mapped spatial distribution of primary schools in the study area and determined its primary school enrolments. The geo-database was also linked while a spatial decision support system for educational planning purposes in Ife Central LGA. These were with a view to ascertain the importance of GIS technologies in school mapping. The study gathered through field work using the Global Positional System (GPS) tool to collect the coordinate positions of the primary schools while oral interviews were held with 10 head teachers (N=31) or their proxies. The data so gathered were incorporated into the Geographic Information System (GIS) environment for analysis of water body in the study area while direct estimation of schools’ enrolments, number of classrooms, number of teachers and their qualifications using survey approach. Results indicated the existence of 276 classrooms, 4677 pupils and 416 teachers in the 31 public primary schools located in little ‘water body’ areas; and major roads concentrated towards the southern part of the LGA. Most of the primary schools are located in the south (4.25 to 7.235 degrees) while the northern part of the study area had only four primary schools (7.237-7.350 degrees). The enrolment range of primary schools in the south was 259 to 600 pupils much more than enrolment range in the northern part (30 to 144). Results also showed the existence of a range of two classrooms (L.A. Middle School in Iremo Ward 1) to 22 classrooms at Baptist Elementary School in Ilare Ward 4 in the study area. The teachers possessed both Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) which is described as ‘highly qualified middle level manpower in the National Policy of Education’ (Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2013) and Bachelor degrees. The study recommended, among many other steps, a better spread of the schools towards the northern part in order to reduce the distance of schools thus complying with United Nations Children Fund two kilometres distance from homes in the study area; the need to build more classrooms in the northern part and thus divert some resources from the south to the northern part of the study area particularly in the urban slums; and thus, disaggregating crowded settlement in the south. The study concluded that the GIS technology was capable of engendering inclusivity and efficiency in the management of schools’ establishment. Article visualizations

EFFECTS OF ACCESS TO PASTURE AND INTEGRATION WITH RABBITS ON PERFORMANCE AND CARCASS CHARACTERISTICS OF BROILER CHICKEN

The study was conducted during rainy season (June-August) to determine the performance and carcass characteristics of broiler chicken raised on partial free range and integration with rabbits using 180 unsexed Anak broiler chicks

Structural Integrity of A 2-Storey Building Using None Destructive Testing Method

The paper assessed the condition of the existing two-storey building of six classrooms in Government Girls Day Secondary School, Gumel, Jigawa State. The method of Non Destructive Testing (NDT) using a rebound hammer was adopted. Five structural elements(slabs, beams, columns, staircases and foundations) were assessed. The cumulative average strength of the five structural elements was 32.7 RN. Results revealed that despite signs of physical defects on the building such as cracks, exposed column reinforcement bars, etc. it was still considered safe for use. The study recommended that to prevent the building from deteriorating further, periodic structural assessment and good maintenance practice should be carried out. This is to prolong the life span of the building and prevent any threat to the building users and third parties. Keywords: Non-destructive test, Rebound hammer, structural integrity, structural component

Performance of metakaolin based geopolymer concrete at elevated temperature

Due to the carbon dioxide emission arising from the production of cement, alternative concrete that is environmentally friendly such as metakaolin geopolymer concrete have been developed. However, the performance of metakaolin based geopolymer concrete (MKGC) when exposed to aggressive environment particularly elevated temperature has not been investigated. Therefore, this paper assessed the performance of MKGC exposed to elevated temperatures. MKGC cube specimens of grade 25 were produced using a mix ratio of 1:1.58:3.71.After preparing the specimens, they were placed in an electric oven at a temperature of 60oC for 24 hours. Thereafter, the specimens were stored in the laboratory at ambient temperature for 28 days. The specimens were then exposed to elevated temperatures of 200, 400, 600 and 800oC. After exposure to elevated temperatures, the MKGC specimens were subjected to compressive strength, water absorption and abrasion resistance tests. Results show that at 600 and 800oC, the MKGC lost a compressive strength of 59.69% and 71.71% respectively. Higher water absorption and lower abrasion resistance were also observed. Keywords: Cement, Compressive Strength, Metakaolin Concrete, Elevated Temperature

EVALUATION OF DIFFERENT SOURCES OF PHOSPHORUS ON PERFORMANCE AND BLOOD CHARACTERISTICS OF BROILER CHICKENS

This research was conducted to investigate the utilization of rock phosphate as an alternative phosphorus source in broiler diet. Rock phosphate is known to contain high amount of calcium and phosphorus, but its utilization has been limited due to its fluorine contents. A total of 250 Sayed broiler chicks were purchased at day old and brooded. After brooding, 210 very active and health chicks were allotted at random to 3 dietary treatments, each with 5 replicate pens such that 14 birds were assigned to each replicate and a total of 70 birds made up a treatment. The result showed that there were no significant (P >0.05) variations among all the parameters determined. Different sources of phosphorus did not show any significant difference (P>0.05) on performance of broiler at both starter (28 days of age) and finisher (56 days of age) among the dietary treatment groups for all parameters evaluated. Also, there were no significant (P >0.05) variations among all the blood parameters determined. Mean values of calcium obtained from blood serum of broiler finisher chickens in this study ranged between 2.38 mmol/l and 2.44 mmol/l (4.76 – 4.88 mEq/l or 9.52 – 9.76 mg/dl