Cost Optimization of Sandcrete Blocks through Partial Replacement of Sand with Lateritic Soil

This work finds a way in which lateritic soil within Ota, Ogun State of Nigeria could be used in the production of hollow sandcrete blocks. This replacement is intended to develop more economic sandcrete blocks since the cost of lateritic soil in Ota is much less than the cost of the conventional fine aggregate used in the production of sandcrete blocks without compromising the intergrity of the blocks. It was deduced from literatures that inclusion of lateritic soil in sandcrete block production results in a lesser quality blocks. However, this work found the maximum permissible replacement that still makes the blocks to be within the recommended standard. The blocks were produced with each lateritic soil sample from different sources replacing sand in steps of ten percent to 60% and their compressive strengths determined and compared with that of a standard sandcrete block to check for the acceptable percentage replacement. In the compressive strength test, 72 numbers of 225 x 225 x 450mm hollow laterised sandcrete block sizes were produced, cured and crushed to determine their twenty-eight-day compressive strength. Cost analysis was performed discovered that the inclusion of the lateritic soil saves the cost of production by 11.89%. This percentage replacement can be recommended to the block moulding industries within Ota with a view to reducing the production costs of the blocks

Deregulation of the Nigerian Telecommunication Sector: Interrogating the Nexus Between Imperialism and Development

This study investigates the deregulation of the Nigerian Telecommunication Sector within the precinct of Imperialism and development. This is premised on the fact that Nigeria’s Telecommunication sector has not only been moribund over the years but has more importantly been dominated by foreign and local bourgeoisies after its deregulation in 1999. In view of this, the study borrows from Structural Imperialism which argues that the elites in the Centre and Periphery states connive, indeed conspire to undermine development in the latter. It relies heavily on the use of secondary data, by virtue of the nature of the work, thus probing the dynamics of these Centre/Periphery trajectories. Findings reveal that certain levels of development have been recorded in the Telecommunication sector particularly in terms of contribution to the Nigerian economy through the ubiquitous provision of telecommunication lines, especially the mobile phones. Similarly, jobs have been created within this sector in terms of its contribution to Nigeria’s GDP profile. However, beneath these efforts, the predatory and materialistic character of the foreign and local bourgeoisie, a permanent feature of the post-colonial Nigerian state remains the greatest bane of the growth of this sector. The study concludes that until this “unholy alliance” between the foreign and local bourgeoisies is demolished, the deregulation effort of the federal government will remain a mirage. To this end, it recommends an immediate measure to increase the legislative oversight of the regulatory body, Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) over the activities of the foreign mobile operators in Nigeria, while not neglecting, indeed promoting the indigenous operators of the telecommunication services in the countr

The Influence of Training on Bricklayers’ Productivity in Nigeria

The global economic situation and the need for construction contractors to remain in business in this competitive environment have made productivity improvement more and more important. This study therefore investigated the impact of formal and informal trainings on the productivity of bricklayers in three commercial nerve centres of Nigeria (Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt).To achieve this, questionnaires, backed up with interviews and on-site measurements were conducted on the management and bricklayers of construction firms who were randomly drawn from the three categories of construction firms in the country (large-sized, medium-sized and small-sized firms). 90 and 180 structured questionnaires were distributed to the management and bricklayers in the study area while 72 and 118 questionnaires were respectively filled and returned in this regard. The results of the descriptive and inferential statistical techniques indicated that training had significant effect on the productivity of bricklayers in Nigeria. Other factors such as monetary and nonmonetary incentives, planning and control, organizational strategy, supervision aspects and general management also had their contributory effects to bricklayers’ productivity. The study concluded that the issue of training should be accorded a priority attention by the managements of construction firms in order to attain greater workers’ productivity on construction sites

Mammography screening in Nigeria – a critical comparison to other countries

Breast cancer is a leading cause of death among women, and according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) there will be a significant increase in the incidence of breast cancer in developing countries such as Nigeria by 2030. However, mammography screening can significantly reduce the mortality and morbidity of women as a result of breast cancer. Therefore, the aim of this review is to evaluate the mammography screening program in Nigeria, compare it with four developed countries and then draw inferences. The Nigerian screening program was evaluated using the following factors: - mode of invitation, frequency of screening, age of the participants, image projections, imaging staff, quality assurance program, and availability. Similarities exist between Nigeria and four developed countries (the United States of America, United Kingdom, Australia and Canada), for instance trained Radiographers do the imaging and the image projections obtained are the same. However, important differences exist, these include mode of invitation, financial model, quality assurance program and availability. On comparison with the four developed countries, various issues have been identified within the Nigerian breast screening programmes. No one simple solution can be offered to address these as the challenges are multi-factorial

Physico-Chemical and Microbiological Analysis of Fermented Cow Milk (Nono) Consumed Within Kaduna Town, North-Western Nigeria

10 Samples of two different types of fermented cow milk tsala (locally prepared diluted milk) and kindrimo (locally prepared concentrated milk) were collected from different locations around Kaduna metropolis, and analyzed for their physicochemical properties and microbiological quality.  The average levels of major chemical components were for: tsala: acidity (0.106%), protein (2.732%), fat (6.54%), total solid (7.68%), ash content (0.638%), and carbohydrate (82.80%); and for kindirmo: acidity (0.122%), protein (3.59%), fat (8.2%), total solid (10.06%), ash content (0.436%) and carbohydrate (77.70%). The average pH values obtained were   (4.09) and (4.42) respectively. The bacteria isolated includes; staphylococcus spp, lactobacillus spp, streptococcus spp, shigella spp, enterobacter, salmonella spp, protein Spp and mirococcus Spp. The fungi isolated included Aspergillus, yest, trichoderma, mucor and cardida. The result of the microbial count revealed that the total aerobic count on tsala ranged between 3 x 103 – 25 x 103 cfu/ml, while for Kindirmo the value ranged between 3 x 103 – 24 x 103 cfu/ml with sample 2E recording too numerous aerobic bacteria count. The coliform count on tsala ranged between 4 x 103 – 10 x 103 while kindirmo recorded a ranged of 1 x 103 – 25 x 103 cfu/ml. The fungi count in tsala ranged between 22 x 103 – 28 x 103 cfu/ml while that of kindirmo ranged between 10 x 103 – 22 x 103 cfu/ml.   The microbiological quality of the two fermented cow milk shows a high level of bacteriological contamination which may pose public health threat and indicates poor hygienic practices and therefore the need for improved hygienic standards. Keywords: microbiological quality, Physico-chemical composition, tsala, kindirmo, Kaduna

Empirical Determination of Losses in an Optical Fibre Link

This paper analyses the characteristics of signal loss in optical fibre link with splicing loss forming part of the total loss with the loss measurement carried out with the aid of Optical Time Domain Reflector.An Optical Time Domain Reflectometer (OTDR) is made up of a detector and a laser. Light signals are sent into the fibre using a laser and a demodulator or a detector on the other end to receive the signals. The received signal is displayed on a graph. The transmitted signal is a pulse with a given amount of energy. A clock determines the time duration of the signal. This paper explains the splicing using Optical Time Domain Reflectometer. These losses in an optical fibre cable arise from spliced points and joints with either connectors or any other passive fibre optic device. The study shows that losses along optical fibre arise from the splice joint, connector joint and along the fibre length as attenuation loss. These losses were obtained from readings of the optical time domain reflectometer. The study also shows that the combined splicing and connector loss is higher than attenuation loss. Here, splicing and connector loss contributes 75% of the total losses while attenuation losses account for the remaining 25%. An attempt should, therefore, be made to reduce splices in order to minimize losses when using optical fibre cabling

Comparative Study Of Managements’ Retention Policies And Academic Staff Turnover In Federal And State Higher Institutions In Lagos State, Nigeria, (2001 – 2010)

The study has the purpose of determining the managements’ academic staff retention policies in public higher institutions in Lagos State between 2001 and 2010 and the extent to which the same affected turnover, in particular how it affected the Federal and State higher institutions. The federal higher institutions considered are the University of Lagos, Federal College of Education and Yaba College of Technology. While the State higher institutions are the Lagos State University, Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education and Lagos State Polytechnic. Anchored on expost-facto research design, the study population was the 3,253 academic staff as at 2010 broken down into1,960 population from Federal and 1,293 from State higher institutions. The actual sample size was 474 academic staff made up of 190 from Federal and 284 from State higher institutions Sampling was done through the simple random technique. The two instruments used for data collection were questionnaire and records from the institutions. Data were analysed using the simple percentages, means, Tables and ANOVA. Guided by two null six hypotheses, findings indicated a significant difference in managements’ retention policies between Federal and State higher institutions in Lagos State and a significant difference in academic staff turnover among the academic staff structures of Federal and State higher institutions in the state. Based on these findings, recommendations were made some of which are: increase in funding to higher institutions especially State owned ones; construction of capital projects to be made a matter of policy; creation of career opportunities for academic staff; and promotion of academic staff as at when due. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n20p181

Sonographic diagnosis of pregnancy and study of gestational changes in rabbit-does

This study was carried out to evaluate early pregnancy diagnosis using ultrasound and baseline information on the sonographic features of the reproductive cycle of  rabbit-doe. Eight adult does, that had kittened at least once and an Ultrasound machine (Medison S600V®) with a 6.5 MHz transcutaneous curve-linear probe, were used for the study. Rabbit-does were mated naturally by the introduction of a doe to a buck. Abdominal regions were shaved liberally from the level of xyphoid cartilage to the pelvic area and aquasonic gel applied. The uterus was scanned on day 5 post-coitus and  thereafter on days 7, 12, 15, 20, 25, 27 and 29, using the bladder as a land mark. Embryonic vesicles, visualized as small anechoic (darkened) structures were first seen on day 7 of gestation. Hypoechoic structures within vesicles corresponding to embryo and placenta were seen on day 12 with an increase in size at day 15 of gestation. Bony formation, bi-parietal diameter, vertebrae column, fetal heart and fetal heart rate were visible with progressive gestational age. This study demonstrated that ultrasound can be used effectively to diagnose pregnancy in rabbit-doe as early as day 7 of gestation. Also there is a correlation between the sonographic observable changes with gestational age.Key words: Ultrasonography, Rabbit, Pregnancy Diagnosis, Gestation

Capital Flight and the Economic Growth: Evidence From Nigeria

This research examined the impact of capital flight and its determinants on the Nigerian economy using the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model to analyze data source from the period of 1981 to 2015. The variables included current account balance, capital flight, foreign direct investments, foreign reserve, inflation rate, external debt, and the real gross domestic product. It was to examine the existence of a long run relationship among the variables studied. The result indicates that capital flight has a negative impact on the economic growth of Nigeria. Therefore, there is a need for government to implement policies that will promote domestic investment and discourage capital flight from Nigeria