Site suitability analysis and route optimization for solid waste disposal in Yola Town, Adamawa State Nigeria

Solid waste management system is a tedious task that is facing both developing and developed countries. Site Suitability analysis and route optimization for solid waste disposal can make waste management cheap and can be used for sustainable development. However, if the disposal site(s) is/are not sited and handle properly, it can cause environmental pollution and affect public health, hence the application of GIS and Remote Sensing to waste disposal Site Suitability analysis and route optimization for solid waste in Yola town. Different factors or criteria were considered in relation to solid waste disposal sites. In order to achieve the aim of this paper, the Boolean logic was used, where suitable areas were assigned value 1 and unsuitable area were assigned 0 for each of the criteria. The Boolean images were overlaid to produce the suitability map. The result of the suitability analysis gave a total of six sites out of which three met the criteria of size having an area of 612.75Ha which constitute 6.12% of the total area of the study area. The optimized route were generated connecting the proposed disposal site which are truck 1, truck 2, and truck 3 with distances of 19.65km, 17.16km and 22.11km respectively. It is recommended that remote sensing and GIS can be used in increasing efficiency of solid waste management in an urban settlement.Keywords: Solid waste, Suitable site, Route Optimization, GIS, Remote Sensing and Disposal sit

Knowledge Sharing in Organisations: Finding a Best-fit Model for a Regulatory Authority in East Africa

Knowledge is an essential organisational asset that contributes to organisational effectiveness when carefully managed. Knowledge sharing (KS) is a vital component of knowledge management that allows individuals to engage in new knowledge creation. Until it’s shared, knowledge is considered useless since it resides within the human brain. Public organisations specifically, are more involved in providing and developing knowledge and hence can be classified as knowledge-intensive organisations. Scholarly research conducted on KS has proposed a number of models to help understand the KS process between individuals but none of these models is specifically for a public organisation. Moreover, to really reap the benefits that KS brings to an organization, it’s imperative to apply a model that is attributable to the unique characteristics of that organisation. This study reviews literature from electronic databases that discuss models of KS between individuals. Factors that influence KS under each model were isolated and the extent of each of their influence on KS in a public organization context, were critically analysed. The result of this analysis gave rise to factors that were thought to be most critical in understanding KS process in a public sector setting. These factors were then used to develop a KS model by categorizing them into themes including organisational culture, motivation to share and opportunity to share. From these themes, a KS model was developed and proposed for KS in a medicines regulatory authority in East Africa. The project recommends that an empirical study be conducted to validate the applicability of the proposed KS model at a medicines regulatory authority in East Africa

Synthesis and Structural studies of Novel Macro cyclic Ligand Type N2S3 Donor atoms and Its Complexes with Some Transition Metals

A  new pentdentate potential ligand HL was prepared by condensation reaction of  2-mercapto-5-methyl-benzene -1,3-dicarboaldahyde II with 1,2–diaminoethylsulfide–1,2–dichloroethene I in presence of methanol as a solvent .The new derivative (HL) was identified on the basis of microelmental analysis, (C.H.N.S), 1HNMR, 13CNMR ,FT- IR and UV-Vis spectroscopies. (HL) has been used as chelating ligand to prepare a new series of first row transition element complexes at pH (6-9) range. The colored solid complexes were isolated and characterized on the basis of (C.H.N.S)elemental analyses, UV-Vis, FT.IR spectroscopy ,as well as the proton and carbon-13 NMR for  Zn,Cd and Hg(II) complexes were recorded to investigate the stereochemistry of the prepared complexes.The results obtained  from elemental , spectral data and magnetic susceptibility revealed  that all complexes were octahedral  geometries of  the general formula ,[MLCl]Cln, n=1 for  CrIII, FeIII and  n=0 for MnII, CoII ,NiII and CuII in contrast  ZnII, CdII and HgII complexes  were octahedral  of electrolytic behavior  in 1:1 suggesting the  formula [ML(H2O]Cl  , M= ZnII, CdII, HgII . Keywords -: metal complexes, structural study and polydentate ligands N2S3 system

Evaluation of combined heat treatment techniques of testing hardness and tensile strength of mild carbon steel commonly used in Nigeria

This study investigated effect of combined heat treatment on the hardness and tensile strength of 0.25 - 0.35 grade of medium carbon steel. Heat treatment at 900 °C for four hours was done and six specimens of each were then quenched in water. Results showed that the hardness and tensile strength ranged from 113.7 to 184.4 HB and from 383.84 to 621.2 N/mm2, respectively, for hardening temperature from 700 to 950 °C; and were from 180.2 to 125.5 HB and 594.7 to 4143 N/mm2, respectively, when the steel was quenched from 900 °C for tempering temperatures from 250 to 600 °C. The result of tempering (from 250 to 600 °C) when previously quenched (from 850 °C) steel showed decreasing values of hardness (from 400 to 248 HB) and of tensile strength (from 1320 to 819 N/mm2). The microstructure of the normalized sample was observed to be finer and more homogenized than the one observed in the as-rolled condition of the sample. This invariably led to the higher hardness and tensile strength values recorded.Keywords: Hardness, Tensile strength, quenching, microstructure, ferrit

Mechanical Properties of Self-Compacting Concrete Subjected to Elevated Temperature

Self-compacting concrete flows and fills reinforcement gaps and corners of formworks without the need for vibration during the pouring process. The problem associated with the production of self-compacting concreteis the use of a high dosage of cement which necessitates the addition of supplementary cementitious materials to curtail this effect. As a result, the impact of a ternary blended pozzolanic materials on the mechanical properties of SCC exposed to extreme temperatures was investigated. A quantitative research approach was employed and an experimental design method was adopted. The materials used were cement, rice husk ash, metakaolin, and pulverized burnt bricks. Laboratory tests conducted at the hardened stage were compressive strength, weight loss, and ultrasonic pulse velocity of self-compacting concretesubjected to 200°C, 400°C, 600°C, and 800°C elevated temperatures. At 800°C elevated temperature, the result of residual compressive strength shows that SCC produced withaddition of the ternary blend at 10% had a higher value of residual compressive strength of 27.3% over the control specimens. Control specimens were found to have the least values of weight loss in comparisonto the self-compacting concreteproduced with the addition of the ternary blend. The result of residual UPV shows that self-compacting concrete produced withaddition of the ternary blend at 10% had a higher value of 8.6%over the control specimens. When self-compacting concreteis to be produced with a ternary blend of rice husk ash, metakaolin, and pulverized burnt bricksand subjected to an elevated temperature of up to 800°C, 10wt.% is the optimum cement replacementleve

Pharmacognostic investigation of the leaves of Gisekia pharnacioides

Pharacognostic investigation of the fresh, powdered and anatomical sections of the leaves of Gisekia pharnacioides Linn was carried out to determine its macro- and microscopical characters and also some of its physical constants. Externally, the leaves possess a symmetrical base, an entire margin,obtuse apex and a pilose surface. Internally, its shows the presences of an anisocytic stomata, unicellular, uniseriated-covering trichomes with swollen base and an acute apex, prism and clustered crystals of calcium oxalate and fiber elements. The chemo-microscopy revealed the presences of lignin,mucilage, proteins, starch grains, fats and oils. Phytochemical studies of the powdered leaves revealed the presences of tannins, alkaloids, resins, cardiac glycosides, flavoniods and some carbohydrates. The results of the study could be useful in setting some diagnostic indices for the identification and preparation of a monograph of the plan

Measuring students’ understanding in counting rules and its probability via e-learning mode: a Rasch measurement approach

Probability is a study of the rules that offers the foundational theory for the development of statistics. This sets out the investigation where students’ understanding of counting rules and its probability were explored using the Rasch measurement approach. A test instrument with 20 items was developed and administered to 74 students taking the STA150 Probability and Statistics course. Data were captured through an interactive e-learning platform that is dmodo.com and analyzed using Winsteps 3.81.0. The results from the Wright map showed that 83.8% of the students have the ability that matched well with the difficulty of the while 16.2% of the students need to be given more attention on the topic. The study was also able to show that the items can be replicated in other samples of similar characteristics. Keywords: students’ understanding; counting rules; probability Raschmeasurement model; Wright map

MULTI-DIMENSIONAL MODEL FOR FLOOD VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT IN MOKWA: A CASE OF DOWNSTREAM COMMUNITIES OF KAINJI DAM, NIGER STATE, NIGERIA

One of the most devastating and expensive natural hazards in the world today is flooding. Hence, several attempts have been made by different scholars and researchers across the globe and in Nigeria to study flood vulnerability. These studies focused on assessing either the physical or social components of vulnerability without a holistic assessment of all vulnerability components. A multi-dimensional approach to flood risk assessment is required to provide a holistic view of residents’ degree of vulnerability to flooding. However, where the multidimensional approach was adopted the result were aggregated and not localized to specific areas. Therefore, this study attempts to quantify the vulnerability indicators using the participatory approach and develop a multi-dimensionalapproach for flood vulnerability assessment in Mokwa, Nigeria. Vulnerability was explored through the lens of four dimensions (economic, environmental, physical, and social) and eighteen indicators. The indicators were scrutinized and standardized for easy aggregation and comparability. The indicators were weighted unequally using Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP). Nine communities and 382 households were selected purposively from the downstreamarea of the Kainji dam for sampling. The data collected were subjected to descriptive and inferential statistics using XLSTAT (2014) and spatial analysis in ARCGIS 10.7 environment. The flood vulnerability index revealed that the communities experienced high flood vulnerability from all dimensions; economic (0.71), physical (0.66), social (0.62), and environmental (0.57). The study reported a multi-dimensional flood vulnerability index of 0.65, which implies a high level of vulnerability to flooding. This study has found significant variations in all dimensions of vulnerability among the communities. The study concludes that the multi-dimensional approach to flood vulnerability provides information on the vulnerable population as well as the factors driving vulnerability in the area. The study recommends the use of a multi-dimensional approach, sophisticated models, site-specific indicators, and fine-resolution satellite data for future vulnerability assessment

Analysis of Channel and Structure of Cattle Marketing Intermediaries in Mubi Local Government Area of Adamawa State, Nigeria

This study determined the Marketing Channel and Structure of Cattle among Intermediaries in Mubi Local Government Area of Adamawa State, Nigeria. Objectives of this study area to examine the marketing channel for cattle; determine the marketing structure of the intermediaries and identifying the major constraints in cattle marketing in the study area. Simple random sampling technique was employed to select 123 respondents in Mubi International Cattle Market. Primary data were collected through the use of structured questionnaire from the market. Descriptive statistics and Gini-coefficient were used in analyse the data of this study. The result shows that 87% sell live cattle, 13% sell butcher pieces, while 61.8% and 27.6% sell their cattle in secondary and terminal markets respectively. About 73% had their major source of trading cattle in north-east and 26% are from other countries (Cameroon, Chad and Niger). Gini- coefficients of 0.5673, 0.6340, 0.452 and 0.5719 were obtained for wholesalers, retailers, butchers and brokers respectively, while Respondents indicates that insurgency (insecurity) (78%), inadequate market information (74%), inadequate credit facility (73.2%), cost of transportation (72.4%), double charges by market officials been the least (48.8%) were some of the major constraints. The study recommended that good roads, better and cheap means of transportation should be provided to the marketers through their cooperatives