Lignite zone as an indicator to lost circulation belt: a case study of some locations of Anambra State, Southeastern Nigeria

Eighteen (18) water boreholes were studied for lost circulation. When locations of the boreholes associated with lost circulation were plotted on the map of Anambra State a lost circulation belt was observed around the River Niger – Onitsha – Oba – Nnewi axis. Lost circulation intervals range between 20-50m and 75-90m depth and were found to be associated with lignite and peaty clay members of the Ogwashi-Asaba Formation and/or the Ameki/Bende Formation. This suggests that natural rather than anthropogenic factors are responsible for the widespread occurrence of lost circulation in the State, although the latter could aggravate the former. Lignite and peaty clay of the Ogwashi-Asaba and Ameki/Bende Formation cause lost circulation because they are woody to earthy in nature and are easily eroded when they occur above the water table. These conditions favour the development of vugs, leading to increase in permeability and porosity, making the formation prone to lost circulation. Pre-drilling geophysical, geological and hydrogeological investigations are recommended, since these would go a long way to identify the presence or absence of lignite and thus help to avert possible lost circulation intervals. Journal of Applied Sciences and Environmental Management Vol. 10 (3) 2006: 31-3

Assessment of the choice of malaria diagnostic methods among household heads of the Nkwen village in Bamenda-3 municipality

Malaria remains a major threat to life in Bamenda in particular and Cameroon in general. Despite numerous and relatively affordable malaria diagnostic and treatment methods, accurate choice of diagnosis remains a major challenge to the inhabitants of the almost 14,285 households in the Nkwen village of the Bamenda 3 municipality. This study was designed to investigate the key determinants of the choice of malaria diagnostic methods (demand side analysis) in the Nkwen village of the Bamenda 3 municipality. A purposive and randomized sampling method was employed to recruit of 560 household’s heads from the 46 quarters of the Nkwen village. The Multinomial Logistic Regression Model and Chi-Square analysis were used to analyze the collected data. The findings reveal that gender, marital status, educational level, income, household size, age, religion and health insurance policy contribute to the choice of malaria diagnostic methods in the study area. Therefore, the integration of socio-economic factors into malaria control policies will feasibly contribute to malaria decrease in the study area

Online Versus Face-To-Face Nutrition Courses at a Community College: A Comparative Study of Learning Outcomes

Students have been gravitating towards the Online Learning Environment (OLE). The preference for online learning models (OLM) among students has grown more rapidly than for traditional face-to-face models in community colleges in the United States of America. Research about OLMs has focused on teaching efficiency and effectiveness to support the growth of online education. Administrators and teachers have continually sought to gain more knowledge about this issue, especially with concerns regarding engagement of students in an online learning environment. Increased student dissatisfaction with online learning models, a high withdrawal rate, and inadequate student-learning outcomes are some of the factors that have contributed to this comparative analysis of online versus face-to-face learning models. Of the 541 student records collected for this post hoc study, initial analysis indicated that learning outcomes of students enrolled in an online nutrition class showed a statistically significant difference from the learning outcomes of the face-to-face section of the same class, although the difference was small

Operating and Financing a Family Biogas Plant

The paper studied the overview of activities of biogas operations in different parts of the world and the technology involved in the production of biogas from anaerobic digestion of organic wastes in a biogas plant. Different designs of biogas plants operating in different places in the globe were highlighted. Public health aspects of biogas technology activities were fully treated to allay the fear of infection of bacteria of public health significance by the workers. The paper dwelt extensively on the financial options for consideration during the execution of family biogas digester. Solutions were proffered for the popularization and adoption of family biogas digester for cooking in a clean environment. The paper touched on the socio-economic benefits of the deployment of biogas as a source of energy. Keywords: operating, financing, family and biogas plant

Evaluation de la chimiorésistance à la sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine et des mutations des gènes dihydrofolate réductase et dihydropteroate synthétase dans le district de santé de Ndu au nord-ouest, Cameroun

Les données cliniques sur la résistance au sulfadoxine-pyriméthamine(SP) sont peu précises dans plusieurs localités du Cameroun. En plus, très peu d’informations sont disponibles sur la corrélation entre les marqueurs moléculaires, la résistance et l’échec du traitement avec SP. Dans l’optique de mieux appréhender cette situation, nous avons entrepris d’évaluer l’efficacité du sulfadoxine-pyriméthamine (SP), ainsi que le potentiel des marqueurs moléculaires dans le suivi de la résistance dans trois sites du district de santé de Ndu. 296 patients de tout âge infectés par la forme non compliquée de Plasmodium falciparum ont été soumis à un traitement au SP pendant la période d’avril 2001 à novembre 2004, et les résultats évalués. Une évaluation des mutations des gènes de dihydrofolate réductase (dhfr) et  dihydroptéroate synthétase (dhps) du P. falciparum dans le sang de 100 patients d’âges inférieurs ou égaux à 10 ans a été effectuée le jour de leur admission en clinique. Les résultats obtenus indiquent 51,28% de patients qui donnent des réponses cliniques et parasitologiques adéquates, 33,33% d’échec thérapeutique précoce, 4,49% d’échec thérapeutique tardif, et 9,89% d’échec parasitologique tardif. Les mutations de la Gly437 ont été retrouvées dans 37% des échantillons. L’indice génotypique de resistance calculé suivant ce marqueur était de 0,76. Les mutations liées à la Asn108 ont été retrouvées dans 87% des échantillons, avec un indice génotypique de résistance de 1,79. En conclusion, il découle de nos résultats cliniques et moléculaires que la thérapie SP aurait un effet thérapeutique de courte durée dans le district de santé de Ndu. D’autre part, les génotypes mutants dhfr et dhps seraient des facteurs potentiels d’alerte précoce dans l’augmentation de la résistance au SP.Mots clés: Plasmodium falciparum, dhps, dhfr, marqueurs moléculaires, S

Water budget analysis of Agulu Lake in Anambra State, Nigeria

The elements of water budget equation were analyzed for the Agulu lake area and underlying aquifers. The water budget implications for soil and gully erosion were evaluated in relation to the geological formations and hydrogeotechnics. Results show that rainfall constitutes the main source of precipitation. It ranges from 1714.04mm to 1995.53mm annually. The potential groundwater aquifer volume is 1.5 X 107m3. Discharge from aquifers contributes 7.4 X 107m3 water annually. The amount of 1.72 X 105m3 that is 60% of precipitation is lost to evaporation; 17 to 21% to infiltration. The quasi steady state of the lake water level and volume shows surface and groundwater continuity as explained by the small difference between total input and output values of the computed water budget of the lake and the aquifer. Flood studies indicate that 19.5% of the annual precipitation constitutes runoff, the main agent of gully and soil erosion, flooding and landslides. The other factors that control the distribution and location of gullies are lithologic and stratigraphical, while topography/geomorphology controls gully distribution within various geologic units. A typical gully is about 500m X 50m X 30m long, wide and deep respectively. The destruction to life and property by runoffs/floods demands joint and sustained efforts by the community dwellers, NGOs, Local Government Areas, State governments, Federal Government and the International Communities. Journal of Applied Sciences and Environmental Management Vol. 10 (3) 2006: 27-3

Extent and Distribution of Groundwater Resources in Parts of Anambra State, Southeastern, Nigeria

The extent and distribution of groundwater resources in parts of Anambra State, Nigeria has been investigated. The results show that the study area is directly underlain by four different geological formations including, Alluvial Plain Sands, Ogwashi-Asaba Formation, Ameki/Nanka Sands and Imo Shale, with varying water storage and yielding capacities. Borehole depths within the Alluvial Plain Sands are shallow (5-30m) yet the sands are excellent aquifers with high yields (3-5 litres/sec) especially along the Anambra West – Onitsha -Ogbaru L.G.A. axis. Elsewhere the yield is low (about 0.5litres/sec) and may dry up at peak dry season periods. The Ogwashi-Asaba Formation occurs in a north-southerly trend and underlies Ekwusigo, Nnewi North and South and Ihiala Local Government Areas. This formation consists of multiple aquifers and a depth to water table ranging from 50 to 110m. Within it, transmissivity values of 37.54 to 95.5m2/day and a yield of up to 5litres/sec were recorded. The Ameki/Nanka Sands is a prolific water producer and underlies Aguata, Anaocha, Njikoka,Dunukofia, Oyi and Anambra East Local Government Areas. Four aquifer horizons were identified within this formation, designated; shallow, upper, middle and deep aquifers. The most exploited are the upper and middle aquifers, while the least, but most prolific is the deep aquifer with an average yield of 5litres/sec. Imo Shale, because of its sedimentological nature is a poor aquifer. The gravelly intercalations within this formation are usually too thin to sustain continuous water pumping. This study indicates that the extent and distribution ofgroundwater within the study area is controlled predominantly by lithology and other secondary factors including topography and nearness to source of recharge

Improving communicative competence through mime: Bringing students’ ‘out-of-school’ literacy practices into Japanese university EFL oral communication classes

This study uses the Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) approach to emphasize interaction in EFL study to prepare students for real life communication outside of formal language teaching contexts. Using mime drama techniques to show a range of literacy practices, the study seeks to show that establishing creative links between students’ language use and learning inside and outside of the classroom is essential for making formal education more relevant to students’ life experiences and identities. The study examines the benefits and challenges of experimental CLT in a Japanese university EFL oral communication class and concludes that bringing students’ ‘out-of-school’ literacy practices from outside the context of formal education into the EFL classroom acknowledges their investment in classroom language practices, secures student engagement, and yields perceived improvement