HARNESSING DAYLIGHTING AND SOLAR GAINS AS SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURAL DESIGNMETHODSIN MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENTS IN LAGOS, NIGERIA.

Thebuilt environment contributes around 40% of the world’s total carbon footprint,resulting in high building energy costs and pollution, as well as detrimental effects on the environment through the use of engines. Energy consumption can be very high in buildings, especially in mixed-us facilities. This paper seeks to analyse and contribute to the existing knowledge on daylighting and solar gain measures, resulting to a sustainable method of achieving energy efficiency in buildings. The methodology adopted for this study involves the use of case studies of two nationalandone international buildings of mixed-use typology which were appraised by evaluatingand criticizing. Criticalanalyses of physical and daylighting measures of existing developments were evaluated, pointing out merits and demerits of existing strategies as adopted in the cases.Findings from this study evince thattheneed for office and residentialspaces despite the unavailability of land in Lagosresulted in the concept of mixed-use developments. Also, some daylighting and solar gainsstrategies have been adopted but not fully maximized in Nigeria, especially the use of light shelves to enhance day lighting. Thispaper recommends that the techniques to be used to enhancedaylightingand solar gains, materials and designs;theplacements and orientations,should be determinedright from conceptualization,through to the architecture process (design and construction)

Develop a safer ground piercing method/process for fiber to the home installation

Cable strike is one of the safety challenges that construction industry’s utilities sector is facing. Such incidents can cause injury and death for operators, as well as costly repairs and compensations. Fiber4all, a Dutch company which is responsible for Fiber-to-the-Home (FttH) connection is suffering from the same problem. Despite specialized equipment, work preparation and process organization cable strikes still occur. Even though the number of such incidents in comparison to the total number of the connections is very low, stakeholders want to avoid such incidents as much as possible. An exploratory study was carried out based on the incidents’ reports from January 2013 till March 2015. Our findings in this study indicate that the majority of cable strikes are associated with human errors and incorrect information in FttH installation. Apart from exploratory study, an investigation was accomplished through six interviews with operators within the FttH work environments. From operators' perspective and their experiences of incident occurrence a taxonomy of the causal factors of cable strikes was constructed. This study suggests to investigate and invest more attention into the human aspect of the system despite the initial understanding, which was more focusing on technology improvements

Les conduites addictives en anesthésie réanimation: à propos d’un cas

L’anesthésie et la réanimation sont des métiers difficiles, faits de contraintes et de stress. En milieu anesthésique, des agents toxicomanogènes sont à la disposition des praticiens pour leur usage professionnel. L'exposition quotidienne, la facilité d'acquisition et d'utilisation de ces agents est un danger aux médecins et infirmiers, susceptibles de développer une toxicomanie. L'addiction ou toxicomanie aux agents anesthésiques ne représente qu'une partie du problème des dépendances chimiques qui incluent, les drogues licites que sont le tabac et l'alcool, mais aussi d'autres agents de la pharmacopée comme les antidépresseurs et les sédatifs. Nous rapportons le cas d'un infirmier anesthésiste, ayant des antécédents psychiatriques, toxicomane, admis au service d'accueil des urgences de l’hôpital militaire Moulay Ismail de Meknés dans un tableau de choc hémorragique compliquant un faux anévrysme rompu de l’artère fémorale commune droite.Key words: Addiction, toxicomanie, anesthésie, Maro

Light propagation through closed-loop atomic media beyond the multiphoton resonance condition

The light propagation of a probe field pulse in a four-level double-lambda type system driven by laser fields that form a closed interaction loop is studied. Due to the finite frequency width of the probe pulse, a time-independent analysis relying on the multiphoton resonance assumption is insufficient. Thus we apply a Floquet decomposition of the equations of motion to solve the time-dependent problem beyond the multiphoton resonance condition. We find that the various Floquet components can be interpreted in terms of different scattering processes, and that the medium response oscillating in phase with the probe field in general is not phase-dependent. The phase dependence arises from a scattering of the coupling fields into the probe field mode at a frequency which in general differs from the probe field frequency. We thus conclude that in particular for short pulses with a large frequency width, inducing a closed loop interaction contour may not be advantageous, since otherwise the phase-dependent medium response may lead to a distortion of the pulse shape. Finally, using our time-dependent analysis, we demonstrate that both the closed-loop and the non-closed loop configuration allow for sub- and superluminal light propagation with small absorption or even gain. Further, we identify one of the coupling field Rabi frequencies as a control parameter that allows to conveniently switch between sub- and superluminal light propagation.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figure

Flavour physics constraints in the BMSSM

We study the implications of the presence of the two leading-order, non-renormalizable operators in the Higgs sector of the MSSM to flavour physics observables. We identify the constraints of flavour physics on the parameters of the BMSSM when we: a) focus on a region of parameters for which electroweak baryogenesis is feasible, b) use a CMSSM-like parametrization, and c) consider the case of a generic NUHM-type model. We find significant differences as compared to the standard MSSM case.Comment: 22 pages, 7 figure

The internal structure of the velvet worm projectile slime : a small-angle scattering study

For prey capture and defense, velvet worms eject an adhesive slime which has been established as a model system for recyclable complex liquids. Triggered by mechanical agitation, the liquid bio‐adhesive rapidly transitions into solid fibers. In order to understand this mechanoresponsive behavior, here, the nanostructural organization of slime components are studied using small‐angle scattering with neutrons and X‐rays. The scattering intensities are successfully described with a three‐component model accounting for proteins of two dominant molecular weight fractions and nanoscale globules. In contrast to the previous assumption that high molecular weight proteins—the presumed building blocks of the fiber core—are contained in the nanoglobules, it is found that the majority of slime proteins exist freely in solution. Only less than 10% of the slime proteins are contained in the nanoglobules, necessitating a reassessment of their function in fiber formation. Comparing scattering data of slime re‐hydrated with light and heavy water reveals that the majority of lipids in slime are contained in the nanoglobules with homogeneous distribution. Vibrating mechanical impact under exclusion of air neither leads to formation of fibers nor alters the bulk structure of slime significantly, suggesting that interfacial phenomena and directional shearing are required for fiber formation

Development of Aloe vera (Aloe barbadensis Miller) Probiotic Lassi Using Lactobacillus fermentum Bacteria

The aim of this research was to investigate the effect of Aloe vera gel on the quality of probiotic lassi. Probiotic lassi was prepared by adding 15% of Aloe vera gel and inoculating with probiotic Lactobacillus fermentum strain. Results showed that physicochemical properties of fortified probiotic lassi were not affected by these modifications during the storage period (P>0.05), however, antioxidant activities, texture and aroma sensory parameters differed significantly (P0.05) after 21 days of storage. Aloe vera probiotic lassi has a beneficial effect on human health