Assessment of Municipal Waste Disposal Methods: A Case Study of Ibadan, Nigeria.

In order to prevent health hazards that can occur as a result of inappropriate waste disposal, this study was carried out to identify the various municipal waste disposal methods practiced, and present the methods that are mostly adopted in the South Sahara region. It also analyzed the effects of these methods practiced on individuals and environment, and proffered solutions to the problems facing the populace as a result of these inappropriate methods of waste disposal. The third largest city of Africa located in Nigeria, called Ibadan was used as a case study. Questionnaires of population size 5000 were administered to households in all Local Government Areas of Ibadan. 4500 questionnaires were completely filled and returned. The rating results derived from the survey revealed that the most practiced municipal waste disposal method is open burning. Keywords: Environmental Assessment, Health, Waste Disposal, Open Burning

Physiological Responses of Rabbit Bucks Fed Diets Containing Cotton Seed Cake Supplemented with Carrot (Daucus Carota) or Ginger (Zingiber Officinale)

Twenty-four (24) weaner rabbit bucks, aged 6 – 7 weeks were used to investigate the physiological responses of rabbit bucks fed diets containing cottonseed cake supplemented with carrot or ginger. The bucks were allotted to four (4) dietary treatments of six (6) rabbits each. The treatment diets (T1, T2, T3 and T4) contained 16% crude protein such that soyabean meal (SBM) was the main protein source for the control diet (T1). In T2, the SBM was completely replaced with Cottonseed cake (CSC). In T3 (CSC + Carrot), 5g/ kg diet of carrot was added to the composition in T2; while in T4 (CSC + Ginger), 5g/ kg diet of ginger was added to the composition in T2. Animals were fed for nine (9) weeks after which blood was collected for both haematological and serum biochemical analyses. The haematological variables determined were Packed Cell Volume (PCV), Red Blood Cell count (RBC), Haemoglobin concentration (Hb), Platelet count, White Blood Cell count (WBC) and the differential counts. The haematological indices, Mean Corpuscular Haemoglobin (MCH), Mean Corpuscular Volume (MCV), and Mean Corpuscular Haemoglobin Concentration (MCHC), were also determined. The serum biochemical variables determined included total protein, albumin, urea, creatinine, aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), cholesterol, triglyceride and glucose. The results indicated that lymphocytes, neutrophils and platelet counts were significantly (P<0.05) affected by treatment. Lymphocyte count for T4 (CSC + Ginger) was significantly (P<0.05) higher (78.0%) than for other treatments which were not significantly different from one another. Neutrophils for T4 was significantly (P<0.05) lower (18.0%) than for others (29.0; 30.7 and 30.7% for T1, T2 and T3 respectively). Platelet count was significantly (P<0.05) depressed by CSC (T2). Albumin and urea were depressed (P<0.05) by CSC (T2) and CSC + Ginger (T4). Creatinine was significantly (P<0.05) elevated by T3 (1.24mg/dl). The AST and ALT increased significantly (P<0.05) from 20.77 to 43.30 iu/L and 21.42 to 43.17 iu/L, respectively in T1 and T4. Cholesterol level was significantly (P<0.05) higher for T2 than for other treatments. It was concluded that CSC had adverse effects on the serum biochemical parameters of rabbit bucks. Carrot or ginger supplementation demonstrated a potential to correct the adverse effect with ginger exhibiting a greater influence, suggesting the need to always supplement CSC-based diets for rabbits with either of the products to safeguard the health of the animals. Keywords: Haematology, Serum biochemistry, cottonseed cake, carrot, Ginger, Rabbit buck

MYCOLOGICAL EVALUATION OF DIFFERENTLY PRESERVED TILAPIA FISH IN ABEOKUTA NORTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT, NIGERIA

Fungi load and diversity of differently preserved tilapia fish obtained from Olomoore market, Abeokuta North local Government, Nigeria were evaluated. Fish samples were purchased, differently processed (smoking, salting, freezing) and analyzed for the presence of fungi. Microbial loads on the gills and the skin of fish samples were examined and characterised using standard microbiological procedures. The progression of growth was also monitored within 10-day storage period. The fungi isolated from the differently processed tilapia were Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus spp, Branchysporum nigrum, Candida albican, Candida spp., Fusarium solani, Fusarium spp., Paecilomyces spp., Rhizopus stolonifer and Aspergillus 8flavus. No significant variation (p>0.05) was recorded in the fungal count of the skin during the first day of processing. However, significant variation (p<0.05) existed in the fungal count of the gill of the fish during the first day of processing. On the tenth day frozen fish skin had the highest fungal count while smoked fish skin possessed the lowest fungal count. There were significant difference (p<0.05) in the fungal count of the skin and the gill of differently processed fish samples during the storage. Similarly, significant variation (p<0.05) existed in the fungi count of the gill during the tenth day of processing

Grid Computing: A Desirable Tool for Electronic Governance

This paper explained how Government at different levels can apply Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to achieve efficiency, effectiveness, transparency and accountability in Government to Government (G2G), Government to Employee (G2E), Government to Citizen (G2C) and Government to Business (G2B).   This application is referred to as Electronic Governance (e-Governance).  The system enables citizens to make best use of automated administration processes that are accessible on-line.  Grid computing is an ideal solution to this type of administrative processes.  This paper therefore presents how Grid computing can be used to effectively and efficiently meet the yearnings of citizenry.   Generally, we demonstrated the creation of a virtual environment by using Grid technologies to a specific e-governance application on distributed resources. We presented a framework for the adoption of grid computing for                   e-governance management using Electronic Bill server (EB server), Comprehensive Welfare and Social Services server (CWSS server) and Corporation sever (C server).  Experiments were run with the Grid environment and without Grid environment by considering the number of jobs completed and the period to complete various jobs submitted for processing using MATLAB. The numbers of jobs completed by EB server by using Grid are: 20, 40, 60, 80,100 and 120 while 15, 25, 33, 60, 72 and 90 were completed without Grid under the same condition.  The numbers of jobs completed by CWSS server with Grid are: 30,50,70,90,120 and 130 while 22.5, 37.5, 52.5, 67.5 90 and 97.5 were completed without Grid.   The numbers of jobs completed by Corporation server under Grid are: 30,50,70,90,120 and 130 while 24, 40,56,72,96 and 104 were completed without Grid.   The period to complete various jobs submitted for processing by the EB server under Grid are: 18, 30, 42, 54,72 and 88minutes while 30,50,70,90,120 and 130minutes were required without Grid.  For CWSS server, the period to complete various jobs submitted for processing under Grid are: 6.5, 19.5, 32.5, 45.5, 58.5,78 and 84.5minutes while 10, 30,50,70,90,120 and 130minutes were required without Grid.  For Corporation server, the period to complete various jobs submitted for processing under Grid are:  6.4,19.2,32,44.8,57.6, 76.8 and 82.2minutes while 10,30,50,70,90 120, and 130minutes were required without Grid. The result of simulation revealed that implementing an e-Governance solution was cost effective, efficient, consistent and reduced job processing time with high quality of result and providing better services to citizens. Keywords: E-Governance, Grid Applications, Grid Computing, Grid environment, Grid Infrastructure and Grid Resource Broker

Automated classification of African embroidery patterns using cellular learning automata and support vector machines

Embroidery is the art that is majorly practised in Nigeria, which requires creativity and skills. However, differentiating between two standard embroidery patterns pose challenges to wearers of the patterns. This study developed a classification system to improve the embroiderer to user relationship. The specific characteristics are used as feature sets to classify two common African embroidery patterns (handmade and tinko) are shape, brightness, thickness and colour. The system developed and simulated in MATLAB 2016a environment employed Cellular Learning Automata (CLA) and Support Vector Machine (SVM) as its classifier. The classification performance of the proposed system was evaluated using precision, recall, and accuracy. The system obtained an average precision of 0.93, average recall of 0.81, and average accuracy of 0.97 in classifying the handmade and tinko embroidery patterns considered in this study. This study also presented an experimental result of three validation models for training and testing the dataset used in this study. The model developed an improved and refined embroiderer for eliminating stress related to the manual pattern identification process

Effect of Processing Parameters on Solvent Oil Expression from Loofah Seeds (Luffa cylindrica L.) using Response Surface Methodology

Luffah cylindrica plant grows in the wild, around uncompleted buildings and fenced walls. The percentage oil composition of its seeds is about 30% oil. The research focused was the extraction oil from loofah seed using a solvent extraction methodology. Optimum conditions for oil extraction were determined using Response Surface Methodology of Central Composite Rotatable Design. A total of 20 experimental runs were used to investigate the optimum condition considering three independent variables at five levels each: extraction temperature (55, 60, 65, 60, 75ºC), seed/solvent ratio (0.04, 0.05, 0.06, 0.07, 0.08 g/ml) and extraction time (4, 5, 6, 7, 8 hr.). An empirical model equation that could be used to forecast oil yield as a function of the independent variables was developed. The optimum oil yield obtained was 27.43% at the extraction temperature (74.05ºC), seed/solvent ratio (0.05 g/ml) and extraction time (5.35hr). The analysis of variance showed that extraction temperature and time had significant effect on oil yield (p = 0.05). The interaction of the independent variables with oil yield gave R2 and R2 adj. values of 0.98 and 0.93, respectively. The result showed that the selected independent variables had a significant effect on oil yield, thus an optimum condition was established

History of Corruption and National Development: The Case of Nigeria

Nigeria, with a population of over 140 million people, is the most populous country: in Africa: one in five Sub-Saharan Africans is a Nigerian. The country is also rich in both human and natural resources. Billions of dollars were generated yearly from the sale of crude oil and vet nothing to show for this huge revenue in terms of infrastructural development and the living standards of Nigerians. This state of affairs has been attributed to the prevalence of corruption. This paper examines phenomenon called corruption. It discusses the causes and impacts. The paper attributed the causes of corruption in Nigeria to socio-cultural and the political and economic situation of the country. The paper contends that corruption has been responsible for the instability of successive Nigerian administration since independence to date. Besides, it creates negative image and loss of much needed revenue for developmental purposes: it devalues the quality of human life: robs educational and health sectors of revenues; it slows down administrative processes thereby making the execution of government policies to be ineffective. The paper recommends among others, enlightenment of the citizen on the danger of excessive materialism and the culture of “get rich quick”. Besides, the property of any corrupt official should be confiscated and should also be imprisoned for life to serve as a deterrent to others. Keywords: Corruption, Development, Kleptocracy, Prebendalisr

Computational Numerical Solution for Traveling Salesman Problem

This paper examined and analyzed the desire of Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP) to find the cheapest way of visiting all given set of cities and returning to the starting point.     We presented a unique decomposition approach model for TSP in which the requirements and features of practical application in communication network, road transportation and supply chains are put into consideration.  We used a Mathematical Modeling solution with the application of Ant Colony Search Algorithm (ACSA) approach for result computation.  In our approach, different Agents were created for difference purposes.   Information agent gathered information about best tour and detected the solution agent that arrived at a given point with information message containing details of where the solution agent has come from as well as best tour cost.  The place ant performs local pheromone decay on the relevant links.   This help to avoid random visit to irrelevant edges and allows the place ant to calculate the cost of tour of all place ants including the latest pheromone level on the links to each of the place ants. The solution agent uses available information to decide  which node to visit next and informs the place ant of  its decision to move to a given destination and update better tour  previously sampled while information about where to go next also obtained.  The place ant updates its pheromone value for that link using the equivalent of the algorithm for local pheromone update.  The cycle continues until solution agent arrives at its destination. The main advantage of our approach is that it permits the use of mixed integer programming and combinatorial optimization techniques to compute real optimal routing path, solving the problem in practice by returning actual shortest route with its numerical value and not the best effort result as provided by some previous models and analytical methods. The implementation was carried out using C# programming language.  Data used were generated and the performance evaluation of the model was carried out through simulation using Matlab 7.0.  The result shows that by considering all possible paths between a node as the source and another as the destination, all possible routes for a particular journey with shortest route in each case were generated. Keywords: Ant Colony, Combinatorial Optimization, Mixed Integer Programming, Pheromone, Search Algorithm and Traveling Salesman

Qualitative Exploration of factors affecting Uptake and Demand for Contraception and other Family Planning Services in North-West Nigeria

In spite of the improvements in knowledge about family planning (FP), the contraceptive prevalence rate and unmet need for FP remain poor in most parts of Northern Nigeria. This study sought to explore specific factors that influence contraceptive uptake and demand in North-West Nigeria. Key Informant and In-depth Interviews were conducted using guides among stakeholders in two selected states in North-West Nigeria, Kebbi and Sokoto States. Interviewees were selected purposively to include Reproductive  Health Focal Persons at the local government level, service providers,  Women of Reproductive Age (WRA) and FP coordinators. Factors inhibiting contraceptive uptake included lack of health education, religion, fear of spousal rejection and side effects. Poor government funding and  inadequate number of health workers were also identified as systemic factors. Suggested methods of overcoming identified challenges include; task-shifting, increased stakeholder participation and political will.Keywords: Contraceptive demand, North-West Nigeria, factors affecting FP demandMalgré l'amélioration des connaissances sur la planification familiale (PF), le taux de la prévalence contraceptive et les besoins non satisfaits en PF restent pauvres dans la plupart des régions du nord du Nigéria. Cette étude a cherché à explorer des facteurs spécifiques qui influencent l'adoption et la demande des contraceptifs dans le nord-ouest du Nigéria. Des entretiens avec des informateurs clés et approfondis ont été menés à l'aide de guides parmi les parties prenantes de deux États sélectionnés du nordouest du Nigéria, les États de Kebbi et de Sokoto. Les personnes interrogées ont été choisies à dessein pour inclure les personnes focales en santé de la reproduction au niveau du gouvernement local, les prestataires de services, les femmes en âge de procréer (FAP) et les  coordinateurs de PF. Les facteurs inhibant l'adoption des contraceptifs comprenaient le manque d'éducation  sanitaire, la religion, la peur du rejet du conjoint et les effets secondaires. Le financement insuffisant du  gouvernement et le nombre insuffisant d'agents de santé ont également été identifiés comme des facteurs  systémiques. Les méthodes suggérées pour surmonter les défis identifiés comprennent: le transfert de tâches, la participation accrue des parties prenantes et la volonté politique.Mots-clés: Demande des contraceptifs, nord-ouest du Nigéria, facteurs affectant la demande de P

Anti-fluoroquinolone resistance activity of E558: A natural product

Fluoroquinolone resistance (FQR) has paralleled the abuse of this class of antibiotics in Nigeria ever since the patent rights expired in 2003. However, nature has a potent way of uncoupling unfavourable synergies targeted against the serenity of the biosphere. In this preliminary study, we examined the antibacterial activity of E558, a medicinal plant product against multidrugresistant gram-negative isolates from immunocompromised patients with acute respiratory infections. The agar-well diffusion method was employed to screen for antibacterial activity against strains of Klebsiella pneuminiae, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The organisms were initially subcultured on McConkey agar followed by streaking standard innoculum of the bacterial strains on Mueller-Hinton agar plates. A known concentration of crude extract was loaded into the well bored on the plates and then incubated at 37 °C for 24 hours. Antibiotic susceptibility testing (AST) was carried out to monitor resistance of isolates. Protein profiling with sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) as well as restriction endonuclease mapping with agarose gel electrophoresis was employed to study alterations in the genomic DNA of selected organisms. A reverse mutation was observed in the morphology of organisms exposed to E558 compared to the organism without exposure. AST result further revealed that strains in the reverted zone, which were originally resistant to fluoroquinolones and other antibiotics had become susceptible with very wide zone of inhibition (≥ 40 mm; CLSI-sensitive). Restriction mapping and SDS-PAGE respectively revealed there are major differences in the genomic composition and protein profile of the reverted strains when compared to the original organisms. It can therefore be deduced that E558 possibly contains bioactive compound(s) with potent antitumour and anti-fluoroquinolone resistance activity