Seismic Retrofitting: A preparatory approach against the forecasted quakes in the South-Western Part of Nigeria.

The seismic record of Nigeria shows the occurrences of quakes that range from small to medium magnitude as against the belief of some people that Nigeria is aseismic. Researchers in Nigeria have also recently raised alarm that devastating earthquake is likely to be experienced in the nearest future with attention drawn to the south west in Nigeria. The historical seismic data as published in this work had the sizes of quakes presented using the intensity scale. To further give us clarity into the actual sizes of the documented quakes, the intensities were converted to local magnitudes, hence the minimum and maximum quakes ever witnessed in Nigeria were ascertained to be 3.3Ml and 6.5Ml. In response to the seismic alerts and forecast results targeted at the south-west region of Nigeria, seismic retrofitting is recommended for the existing structures along the seismic fault in the south west while the response results published in the works of [1] is recommended as guides to the designs of subsequent structures along the fault in the south west so as to establish safety just if the forecasted quake is experienced

Reliability Assessment of the Nigerian Timber – An Environmental Sustainability Approach in the 21st Century

An important component of environmental sustainability is how we can continue improving human welfare within the limits of the earth’s natural resources. With recent research showing that carbondioxide levels in the air are at their highest in 650,000 years and thus an alarming depletion of the ozone layer, the challenge currently facing many countries is how to respond to the issue of climate change. Steel, reinforced concrete and timber are the most commonly used structural materials worldwide. However, carbondioxide emissions from steel and cement production have been found to be the first and second largest sources of industrial C�� emissions worldwide and this has prompted the inclination towards timber as a structural material. Timber is decomposable or biodegradable as well as renewable and its production does not require the use of high energy fossil fuels as in the production of some other building materials such as steel or even brick. Nigeria is blessed with several timber species in different wood classes but despite the environmentally sustainable and obvious advantages of timber, it is being grossly underutilized as a structural material in Nigeria because there is limited information on the reliability of timber considering the wide property variability between and even within, timber species. This paper addresses the need for reliability analysis of various Nigerian timber species with a view to determining and establishing their structural strength to encourage the use of the Nigerian Timber as a structural material. The need to revise the Nigerian Code of Practice for the structural design of Timber is also emphasized in this pape

Quality Management in Construction Project: Empirical Study of Covenant University Sports Complex

The acceptable level of quality in construction projects has long been a problem. Significant resources are wasted on construction projects because of inefficient or non-existent quality management procedures. Therefore, this study evaluates the quality management and the quality grading practices in the construction project with emphasis on the Covenant University Sports Complex. The quantitative research strategy and questionnaire survey were used as the main data collection instrument for soliciting information from the project participants in order to determine the best key for quality management practice. Moreover, an ultrasonic pulse velocity tester was engaged to assess and evaluate the conditions of concrete structural members. It was found out that management commitment to quality is the most key for effective quality management practices in the construction project. In addition, the ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) test carried out on the randomly selected structural members varied in the range 4.2km/sec to 4.6km/sec. From this, it is inferred that the quality grading and homogeneity of concrete in the tested reinforced concrete columns, beams and slabs fall in the range of “good to excellent concrete”. The findings would assist project participants in implementing an efficient quality grading and management while executing construction projects

An exploration of the collaborative processes of making theatre inspired by science

This research examined the collaborative processes of making theatre inspired by science through the analysis of 16 semi-structured interviews with individual collaborators (eight theatre practitioners and eight scientists). Interviews explored experiences, including their motivations, working processes, challenges, learning and understanding. Roles of scientists in the collaboration ranged from expert advisor to equal creative collaborator. Factors affecting partnerships included curiosity for each other's practice, social interaction and mutual respect. The research suggests that scientists could be motivated to undertake 'Sci-Art' collaborations through personal interest, as well as previously identified motives such as encouragement from their department. The project also identified benefits to researchers from such collaborations, including developing new perspectives on their own practice. © The Author(s) 2011

Targeting pediatric leukemia propagating cells using anti-CD200 antibody therapy.

Treating refractory pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) remains a challenge despite impressive remission rates (>90%) achieved in the last decade. The use of innovative immunotherapeutic approaches such as anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor T cells does not ensure durable remissions, because leukemia-propagating cells (LPCs) that lack expression of CD19 can cause relapse, which signifies the need to identify new markers of ALL. Here we investigated expression of CD58, CD97, and CD200, which were previously shown to be overexpressed in B-cell precursor ALL (BCP-ALL) in CD34(+)/CD19(+), CD34(+)/CD19(–), CD34(–)/CD19(+), and CD34(–)/CD19(–) LPCs, to assess their potential as therapeutic targets. Whole-genome microarray and flow cytometric analyses showed significant overexpression of these molecules compared with normal controls. CD58 and CD97 were mainly co-expressed with CD19 and were not a prerequisite for leukemia engraftment in immune deficient mice. In contrast, expression of CD200 was essential for engraftment and serial transplantation of cells in measurable residual disease (MRD) low-risk patients. Moreover, these CD200(+) LPCs could be targeted by using the monoclonal antibody TTI-CD200 in vitro and in vivo. Treating mice with established disease significantly reduced disease burden and extended survival. These findings demonstrate that CD200 could be an attractive target for treating low-risk ALL, with minimal off-tumor effects that beset current immunotherapeutic approaches

Study of Energy Efficient Building Design Techniques: Covenant University Health Centre

Energy efficiency, which is a key factor of sustainable building design is very beneficial to building occupants. This has made the focus on sustainability in the design, to be highly desirable. Studies show that two third of the energy used in existing residential buildings in Nigeria is generated via electricity, however; due to epileptic power supply, high cost of energy and high carbon emission, there is a need to minimize energy demand in the facility. This research evaluated sustainable design strategies and their effects on energy efficiency in warm humid climate of Nigeria. The climate, building envelope, heating, ventilation and air conditioning and lighting systems constitute are the main factors responsible for energy intake of a building. The research was based on case study of Covenant University Health Centre and data was collected through visual survey. The case study revealed that the building, at the time of construction did not consider sustainable design strategies in terms of materials of the building envelope, wall and window shading as well as natural means of cooling. Only lighting was considered

Correlating the thermomechanical indexes of concrete modified with anacardium occidentale nutshell ash using linear model polynomial analysis

This study correlated the thermal and mechanical properties of concrete produced with anacardium occidentale (cashew) nutshell ash (AONA). Cashew nutshells, agricultural waste products, was valorized to obtain AONA. AONA was replaced at 5, 10, 15, and 20 wt% of cement to produce concrete grade 25 MPa. Density, compressive strength, and thermal conductivity of the concrete samples were determined at 28 days curing, and the results were correlated using regression model analysis. The experimental findings revealed that the compressive strength increased with increasing AONA content. Moreover, both density and thermal conductivity reduced as AONA content increased. Besides, the correlation yielded a high precision with 97% “R2”. Thus, AONA has proved to exhibit higher mechanical strength with excellent thermal insulation when utilized as supplementary cementitious material (SCM) in concrete production. The developed model can also be applied to the correlation of thermomechanical properties of concrete incorporating SCMs in that time, energy, and cost in conducting laboratory works would be reduced

Effects of rest period on the strength performance of geopolymer concrete

The study investigated the effects of rest period on the short-term mechanical property of geopolymer concrete (GPC) that could possibly be easy to embrace in the field to achieve an optimum strength performance. The study utilized both corncob ash (CCA) and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) as sustainable construction binders with a view to building sustainable infrastructure. Also, sodium silicate gel (Na2SiO3) and sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution was used as an alkaline activator, and prepared in 14 molar concentration of NaOH pellets using a mix ratio of grade 30 MPa and grade 40 MPa concretes. GGBFS was substituted in 0, 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100% by volume of CCA. The rest periods (RP) for the fresh concrete were selected as 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 days before being demoulded. Thereafter, the concrete samples were removed from the moulds and cured under ambient conditions for 7, 28, 56 and 90 days. The compressive strength of the hardened concrete samples was then determined. The study findings reveal an optimum strength performance at 4 days rest period for all classes of concrete produced when compared with 1, 2, 3 and 5 days. Thus, this result can be practically employed and incorporated in the design of geopolymer concrete and at the construction site