Effect of rural-urban migration on household food security in Umuahia South Local Government Area of Abia State, Nigeria

This study analyzed the effects of rural-urban migration on household food security in Umuahia South Local Government Area of Abia State, Nigeria. Specifically the study examined the socio-economic characteristics of the migrants’ household; identified the causes of rural-urban migration in the study area and determined the food security status of the respondents in the study area. A total of 120 respondents were randomly selected across 10 villages in the study area. A structured questionnaire was used to collect primarydata. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics and ordinary least square multiple regression model. The results of the descriptive statistics showed that the respondents have a mean age of 49 years and majority of the migrants’ household were educated and married, with male dominated household constituting 79.16 % and mean household size of 5 persons. It also showed that most (81.66%) of the respondents were engaged in farming occupation with mean income of ₦50,737.The three main causes of rural-urban migration in the study area were: search for job, better education and join spouse. The results of the food security status showed that 66.67% of the respondents have food security index of less than 1. The results of the regression analysis showed that age, household size and food from friends were the major determinants of food security in the study area. The study thus recommends that government through its relevant agencies should encourage sustainable food production through subsidizing farm inputs and giving improved seedlings to farmers to boost their productivity and achieve the sustainable development goal of zero hunger by 2030.Keywords: rural-urban migration, household and food securit

Probing the mechanism of simultaneous bioenergy production and biodegradation process of Congo red in microbial fuel cells

BACKGROUND: Many approaches have been employed to increase the understanding and consequently the performance of Microbial Fuel Cells to obtain simultaneous power production and biodegradation. This study uses recombinant Escherichia coli K-12 with MtrA, MtrC and MtrCAB inserts previously prepared using synthetic biology to evaluate the involvement of each of these genes in bioenergy production and biodegradation of Congo red using a double chamber microbial fuel cell. RESULTS: MtrC was the key gene required for energy production corresponding to an average voltage of 360 mV (external resistance 1 K&) and power density of 59 mW/m2, while E. coli with MtrCAB insert showed the highest decolourisation which reached 80% in 36 h under microbial fuel cells conditions. Coloumbic efficiency was 1.2% for E.coli with MtrCAB compared to 2.5% and 2.3% for MtrC and MtrA inserts, respectively. Riboflavin seems to be involved in the electron transferring, its concentration was highest for E.coli with MtrA insert despite its poor performance in both bioenergy production and dye degradation. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that electrons are mutually exclusive between electricity production, dye degradation and other cellular activities. This study helps us improve our understanding of the dual bioenergy/decolourisation process taking place in MFCs in order to maximize the outcome

Benchmarking et selection des technologies de pyrolyse et de gazéification adaptées à la valorisation des CSR et du Bois-B sous forme du gaz

For a methanation reaction to occur, it is important that the synthesis gas has a minimum H2 / CO ratio of 3 or H2 / CO2 of 4. The higher these ratios, the greater the conversion of carbon oxides to methane. It is also important that the synthesis gas does not contain nitrogen for the reason that this reduces the partial pressure of the main reactive species in the produced syngas. However, due to the common practice of using air as an oxidant in gasification processes, the synthesis gas produced contains about 50% nitrogen. The purification of this gas has significant financial implications. Another important consideration is that the gas that will be in the methanation process must be tar-free. The low particle load of the syngas is also considered to be part of the criteria for measuring the quality of the syngas produced. However, a major constraint in this project is the issues linked to the thermochemical upgrading of SRFs and Bois-B.In this report, therefore, gasification and pyrolysis processes as well as pre-treatment techniques for CSR and Bois-B in order to be able to transform them into high quality syngas has been proposed. Knowing that this syngas must be transformed into biomethane by biological methanation, this report is divided into two parts: parite A - "Benchmarking of Existing Pyrolysis and Gasification Technologies"; and part B ‘Production of Biomethane from Syngas issued from SRFs and Bois-B’.Pour qu’une réaction de méthanation se produise, il est important que le gaz de synthèse ait un rapport minimum H2 / CO de 3 ou H2 / CO2 de 4. Plus ces rapports sont élevés, plus la conversion des oxydes de carbone en méthane est facile. Il est également important que le gaz de synthèse ne contienne pas d'azote pour la raison que ceci réduire la pression partielle des principales espèces réactives dans le syngaz produit. Mais, en raison de la pratique courante d'utilisation de l'air comme oxydant dans les procédés de gazéification, le gaz de synthèse produit contient environ 50% d'azote. La purification de ce gaz a des implications financières importantes. Une autre considération importante est que le gaz qui sera dans le processus de méthanation doit être exempt de goudron. La faible charge de particules du gaz de synthèse est également considérée comme faisant partie des critères de mesure de la qualité du gaz de synthèse produit. Cependant, une contrainte majeure dans ce projet est les enjeux liés à la valorisation thermochimique des CSR et du Bois-B.Dans ce rapport, donc, les technologies différent de gazéification et pyrolyse ainsi que les techniques de prétraitement de CSR et du Bois-B afin de les valoriser sous forme de gaz sont proposés. Sachant que ce syngaz doit être transformé en biométhane par méthanation biologique, ce rapport est devisé en deux partie: parite A - ‘Benchmarking des Technologies Existantes de Pyrolyse et de Gazéification’ ; et partie B ‘La Production de Biométhane à partir du Syngaz issu des CSR et du Bois-B

Benchmarking et selection des technologies de pyrolyse et de gazéification adaptées à la valorisation des CSR et du Bois-B sous forme du gaz

For a methanation reaction to occur, it is important that the synthesis gas has a minimum H2 / CO ratio of 3 or H2 / CO2 of 4. The higher these ratios, the greater the conversion of carbon oxides to methane. It is also important that the synthesis gas does not contain nitrogen for the reason that this reduces the partial pressure of the main reactive species in the produced syngas. However, due to the common practice of using air as an oxidant in gasification processes, the synthesis gas produced contains about 50% nitrogen. The purification of this gas has significant financial implications. Another important consideration is that the gas that will be in the methanation process must be tar-free. The low particle load of the syngas is also considered to be part of the criteria for measuring the quality of the syngas produced. However, a major constraint in this project is the issues linked to the thermochemical upgrading of SRFs and Bois-B.In this report, therefore, gasification and pyrolysis processes as well as pre-treatment techniques for CSR and Bois-B in order to be able to transform them into high quality syngas has been proposed. Knowing that this syngas must be transformed into biomethane by biological methanation, this report is divided into two parts: parite A - "Benchmarking of Existing Pyrolysis and Gasification Technologies"; and part B ‘Production of Biomethane from Syngas issued from SRFs and Bois-B’.Pour qu’une réaction de méthanation se produise, il est important que le gaz de synthèse ait un rapport minimum H2 / CO de 3 ou H2 / CO2 de 4. Plus ces rapports sont élevés, plus la conversion des oxydes de carbone en méthane est facile. Il est également important que le gaz de synthèse ne contienne pas d'azote pour la raison que ceci réduire la pression partielle des principales espèces réactives dans le syngaz produit. Mais, en raison de la pratique courante d'utilisation de l'air comme oxydant dans les procédés de gazéification, le gaz de synthèse produit contient environ 50% d'azote. La purification de ce gaz a des implications financières importantes. Une autre considération importante est que le gaz qui sera dans le processus de méthanation doit être exempt de goudron. La faible charge de particules du gaz de synthèse est également considérée comme faisant partie des critères de mesure de la qualité du gaz de synthèse produit. Cependant, une contrainte majeure dans ce projet est les enjeux liés à la valorisation thermochimique des CSR et du Bois-B.Dans ce rapport, donc, les technologies différent de gazéification et pyrolyse ainsi que les techniques de prétraitement de CSR et du Bois-B afin de les valoriser sous forme de gaz sont proposés. Sachant que ce syngaz doit être transformé en biométhane par méthanation biologique, ce rapport est devisé en deux partie: parite A - ‘Benchmarking des Technologies Existantes de Pyrolyse et de Gazéification’ ; et partie B ‘La Production de Biométhane à partir du Syngaz issu des CSR et du Bois-B

Essays in Public Economics and School Finance

This dissertation consists of three papers on public economics and school finance. Each focuses on school districts in California, exploring how they manage their finances. Given the structure of the California’s school funding system, districts in the state uniquely situated compared to school districts elsewhere and other types of local governments more broadly. The results of the analyses, however, are instructive and could be relevant in other contexts.In the first chapter, I explore categorical funding programs—additional funds available to applying districts that are targeted to specific purposes or student groups. These are the most significant of the limited options for California school districts to raise revenues. The use of these funds is restricted, however, and districts often face a choice between altering their educational program and forgoing the new revenues. This paper analyzes the impacts of the availability of categorical funds on school district decision-making. Using detailed school district financial data and focusing on results for four major programs, I use a difference-in-difference research design by exploiting the timing of each program’s introduction or elimination and find that district spending decisions are significantly influenced by these categorical programs, as participating districts react by shifting their spending patterns to accord with program goals. The influence of categorical funding on district spending patterns is accompanied by mixed results for student outcomes. Suggestive evidence shows that some programs have benefits for students in participating districts while other programs have minimal impacts on student achievement.The second chapter examines school district savings. In any given year, California school districts hold a significant portion of their revenues in reserves. While some amount of saving is fiscally prudent, such high savings raise a question of whether this reserve behavior is appropriate. Revenues held in reserve are not spent on services for the students that generated them and research in other contexts has raised concerns about agency issues—the self-interested use of savings on the part of managers potentially at the expense of the broader organization. In this paper, we explore the determinants of reserves in California school districts. With estimates of these determinants, we then identify districts that hold significant excess reserves and examine whether these districts exhibit agency issues. We find that revenue volatility, total enrollments, and declines in enrollment are key determinants of district reserves. District that hold substantial excess reserves also spend more on administrative expenses relative to other districts, indicating some potential for agency issues. However, further analysis finds that these high-saving districts also have higher average student achievement, suggesting that their reserves behavior and the associated administrative spending may actually reflect a premium paid for higher quality management.The third chapter is on the volatility of revenues. California school districts have little control over their revenues—most rely heavily on state aid for the bulk of funding. This funding fluctuates from year to year, and in the case of recessions, can be subject to substantial reductions. Typically, income or revenue volatility suggests a need to smooth consumption in order to avoid disruptions when shortfalls occur. Using nearly 30 years of detailed financial data, we explore how districts manage this variation and the associated uncertainty. We find that, on average, California districts spend nearly all new revenues, responding myopically to annual changes. There is, however, substantial variation between districts in the management of revenue volatility. These differences in management are related to district characteristics like region or grades served, as well as student demographics and the level of available resources. We continue our examination and find that differences in management are related to student achievement and class sizes