Performance of lateritic concrete under environmental harsh condition

This is an investigation of weathering characteristics of Laterized concrete with laterite-fine aggregate ratio as a factor. It was done with a view of ascertaining the suitability of laterite as aggregate substitutes at 0, 10, 20, 30 and 40% of fine aggregate used in the construction industry. The weathering characteristics were examined by conditioning laterized concrete cubes to varying temperatures, chemical and alternate wetting and drying, which all represent the operating weather conditions (wet and dry seasons) in tropics, including Nigeria. The mix proportion used was 1: 2: 4, the curing age of the laterized concrete was based on 28days curing age, while the compressive strength of the treated laterized concrete cubes was determined. The result of this research showed that the compressive strength of laterized concrete with laterite-fine aggregate ratio variation decreases when subjected to alternate wetting and drying and increases when subjected to magnesium sulphate (Mg2SO4). It was also discovered that a laterized concrete with a laterite-fine aggregate ratio of 20% conditioned to a temperature range of 100oC attained optimum compressive strength of 12.90 Nmm-

Comparative Analysis Of Portland Cements In Nigeria

Portland cement remains the most common type generally in use throughout the world as a basic ingredient of concrete. Five brands of Portland cement commonly available in Nigeria were investigated through series of tests conducted to determine their strength characteristics, setting time, soundness, workability and fineness among others and examined if they meet the minimum standard as stipulated by the British Standard Institute. Five brands of cement considered were Dangote, Elephant, Burham, Diamond and Purechem. The results show that all the brands examined meet the British Standard requirements on all the tests subjected to. Burham cement was fastest with initial setting time of 100 minutes ahead of other, while Dangote cement was the least with initial setting time of 180 minutes. The strengths characteristics of the five brands are similar with slight difference recorded. Dangote cement had the highest strength at 28th day curing period of 474 KN as the crushing load while the least strength was of Purechem at 370.6 KN as the rushing load

Effects of Precipitation Hardening Variables on Al–Zn–Mg-Sn Alloy as Sacrificial Anode in Seawater: Experimental and Statistical Analysis

This research investigated the effects of tin composition and heat treatment variables on the Al-Zn-Mg alloy as sacrificial anode in seawater using gravimetric technique and statistical analysis. Tin was alloyed with Al-Zn-Mg in varied proportions (0%, 0.01%, 0.05% and 0.1%) to determine the optimum anode efficiency in the marine environment. Precipitation heat treatment was performed by first subjecting the samples to solution treatment at 5380C for 2 hours and later subjected to varying hardening temperatures and times. The samples were hardened for 4, 8 and 12 hours at each of the hardening temperatures of 1300, 1600 and 1900 centigrade. The anode efficiency increases as the tin concentration increases. The experimental result of this study showed that the Al-Zn-Mg alloy with 0.1% tin gives the optimum anode efficiency. It was revealed that the Al-Zn-Mg alloy without tin composition exhibited high output current capacity when hardened at 1900C for 4 hours. Predictive model developed in this work was in consonance with experimental observation except the following; at hardening temperature of 1600C, the model recommended 12 hours as against 4 hours of laboratory experiment and at hardening temperature of 1300C it advocated 8 hours as against 12 hours

Pulverised Sewage Sludge Ash Partial Replacement of Cement In Concrete

The potential of the ash produced from the incineration of sewage sludge, as partial replacement of cement in concrete has generated research interest in recent times as a result of the increase in its production due to rapid urbanization and the problem of getting functionally adequate landfill sites for its disposal. Physical properties if sewage sludge from one of the two waste treatment plants located at the University of Ibadan were investigated. The properties evaluated were specific gravity, colour, particle size distribution and pH. The colour of the sewage sludge changed from greenish-brown when fresh to brownish-orange after incineration when the organic materials had been burnt off. The specific gravity was 1.9 while the pH was 7.32. The particle size grading of the pulverized sewage sludge was similar to that of cement, which it was meant to partially replace. The properties if fresh and hardened concrete, in which cement was partially replaced with 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20% of pulverised sewage sludge ash by weight, were determined. There was an improvement in workability with increasing sludge ash content. The best performance of sludge ash concrete was attained with 10% sludge ash content. Concrete with up to 20% replacement of cement with pulverized sewage sludge ash produced concrete with properties above grade 20 concrete

Redressing the growing concern of the education sector in Nigeria

The status of the Nigerian educational system at the moment is unenviable. It is low in quality and standard, limited in its reach and disturbing in its future. There have been some deliberate attempt/efforts by government to redress the declining fortune of the educational system. Some International donor agencies, like UNICEF, the World Bank, UNESCO, and DFID are also collaborating with government at all levels with a view to coming up with a holistic approach in addressing educational concerns. The intention of this paper is to enhance debates on how to redress past mistakes and unintended failures within the Nigerian education policies, programmes and provisions. The paper is of the view that Nigeria requires a system that will insulate education from unnecessary politicization. Education formulation and policy consideration should be for the good of all. The paper is also of the view that there is need for a holistic reorientation, re-engineering and re-branding of education, especially teacher training and recruitments, if effective quality of education is to be achieved in Nigeria. Government should also ensure that all reports, pronouncements and positions canvassed by educational accreditation, visitations and probe panels are implemented. Key Words: Education, Minimum academic standard; Politicization of education; Quality, Teacher recruitment

Urban Vacant Land and Spatial Chaos in Ogbomoso North Local Government, Oyo State, Nigeria

Vacant land is seen as important component of urban environment capable of generating a detrimental effect on quality of life and the living environment The study attempts to examine the characteristics distribution pattern utilization and the attendant challenges of urban vacant land within Ogbomoso north a local government area in Oyo State Southwestern Nigeria with a view to assessing the level of maintenance of the vacant lands In order to achieve these objectives both primary and secondary data were employed Primary data were gathered through direct survey and interviews Simple random sampling was used to purposively select 320 adult interviewed from a compiled list of households obtained from National Population Commission Secondary data were obtained from internet books and journals Data were analyzed making use of descriptive and inferential statistics to present discussio

An Analysis of Urban Secondary School Studentsa Interest in Teaching Profession in South-Western Nigeria

The study analyzed Senior Secondary School Students interest in teaching profession in Oyo city South-western Nigeria Data used for this study were collected through questionnaire administration for 270 students randomly selected in nine secondary schools in the study area A vocational interest inventory of items constructed and validated by the researchers with reliability co-efficient of 0 78 obtained was the instrument used for data collection The data collected from the interviews were analyzed using descriptive statistics and chi-square test The result of finding showed that 68 5 of the sampled population had interests in a profession that involved dealing with children while 27 6 had interest in becoming career teacher but 78 3 of sampled population preferred teaching as a career to any other profession if teachers remuneration were highly increased There was no relationship between gender and response to profession that involves dealing with children but there was significant relationship between students interest in teaching profession and increase in teachers remuneration The study concluded that the students have weak feeling of interest to be career teacher owing to poor affinity of their parents and teachers to teaching profession poor work environment and inducement in teaching profession The study therefore recommended the needs for proper coordination of the necessary machineries towards innovation in policies that can arouse young people s interest in teaching professio

Determinants of choice of health facility for reproductive morbidity by female traders in a Nigerian city

Background: Reproductive health (RH) services are important to reduce reproductive morbidity and mortality. This is only possible if such services are used. Knowledge of the determinants of choice health facility for reproductive morbidity is useful to design interventions aimed at increasing utilization of RH services.Objective: This study therefore explored the determinants of choice of health facility for reproductive morbidity among female traders within Ibadan metropolis.Methods: This was a cross-sectional study using interviewer-administered questionnaire among 410 female traders aged 15-49 years selected by systematic random sampling in Aleshinloye market in the city of Ibadan, Nigeria. Government and private hospitals were classified as orthodox health facilities. Data was analysed using logistic regression at 5% significance level.Results: Mean age was 34.6 ± 7.8, 78.2% were married and 58.7% had secondary education. Above half (52.9%) used orthodox health facilities. Perceived quality of care influenced the use of orthodox facilities and likelihood of using the same facility in the future. Factors predicting the use of orthodox health services were social economic status (OR 2.77 95%CI 1.06-6.73), delay in attaining conception (OR 2.70 95%CI 1.39-5.22), menstrual problems (OR 2.15 95%CI 1.19-3.90) and complications in previous pregnancy (OR 2.11 95%CI 1.21-3.78).Conclusion: The use of orthodox health facilities was affected by respondents’ past experience of reproductive morbidity and socioeconomic status. These factors should be borne in mind in planning interventions for improvement in reproductive health service utilisation.Keywords: Reproductive morbidity, Orthodox healthcare services, Healthcare seeking behaviour, Female traders, Nigeri

University Students, Academic Structures and the Processes of Integration

This special issue on Finding a Place to Belong: University Students, Academic Structures and the Processes of Integration contains nine papers on opportunities of belonging and highlights the cultivation of belonging as a fundamental for addressing inequality and inequity in a linguistically and culturally diverse higher education context. Here, belonging challenges the dominant university ideology, which can elude the marginalised or underserved student and staff groups of learning communities. The combination of individual/group agency and identity negotiation for developing and implementing enablers of belonging reveals the challenges and complexity of deconstructing belonging. The papers focus on the barriers and opportunities of belonging and the interaction of agency and enablers of belonging, such as equitable vision, policy, programmes and commitment, as a product of belonging

Profile of bacterial pathogens contaminating hands of healthcare workers during daily routine care of patients at a tertiary hospital in northern Nigeria

Background: Healthcare associated infections (HAIs) have been recognized as a critical challenge affecting the quality of healthcare services provided. A significant proportion of these infections result from cross-contamination of microorganisms which are often acquired and spread by direct contact with patients or contaminated adjacent environmental surfaces through the hands of healthcare workers (HCWs). The objectives of this study are to profile bacterial pathogens commonly found on the hands of health care workers while routinely attending to patients in thehealthcare facility and to determine their antibiotic susceptibility pattern.Methodology: The fingers of the dominant hand of 300 HCWs at the Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital (BDTH), Kaduna, Nigeria, were imprinted on 5% Sheep blood, MacConkey, and Mannitol salt agar plates and incubated at 37°C for 24 hours. Bacteria isolates were identified by Gram staining and conventional biochemical tests. The susceptibility of isolated bacteria to selected antibiotics was determined by the modified Kirby–Bauer disk diffusion method and interpreted using the 2012 guidelines of the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute.Results: Bacteria were isolated from the hands of all 300 HCWs, with coagulase negative staphylococci (CONS) being the most frequent (67.0%, 201/300). Other bacteria identified were Staphylococcus aureus (23.7%, MRSA of 3%), Streptococcus pyogenes (2.7%), and Enterobacteriaceae (6%). The isolates were highly sensitive to ofloxacin 96.7% (290/300), augmentin 87.7% (263/300) and ceftriaxone 87.3% (262/300).Conclusion: This study demonstrates a high rate of contamination of hands of HCWs with potentially pathogenic bacteria, some of which were multidrug resistant. Concerted efforts should be made to implement programs dedicated to improve hand hygiene practices in the tertiary health care facility. Keywords: Hand hygiene, bacterial, pathogen, healthcare workers, healthcare associated infection   French title: Profil d'agents pathogènes bactériens contaminant les mains des travailleurs de la santé lors des soins quotidiens de routine auxpatients d'un hôpital tertiaire dans le nord du Nigéria   Contexte: Les infections associées aux soins de santé (IHA) ont été reconnues comme un défi critique affectant la qualité des services de santé fournis. Une proportion importante de ces infections résulte de la contamination croisée de micro-organismes qui sont souvent acquis et propagés par contact direct avec des patients ou des surfaces environnementales adjacentes contaminées par les mains des travailleurs de la santé (TS). Les objectifs de cette étude sont de dresser le profil des agents pathogènes bactériens que l'on trouve couramment dans les mains des travailleurs de la santé tout en s'occupant régulièrement des patients dans l'établissement de santé et de déterminer leur profil de sensibilité aux antibiotiques.Méthodologie: Les doigts de la main dominante de 300 travailleurs de la santé au Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital (BDTH), Kaduna, Nigéria, ont été imprimés sur des plaques de gélose au sang de mouton à 5%, MacConkey et Mannitol et incubés à 37°C pendant 24 heures. Les isolats de bactéries ont été identifiés par coloration de Gram et tests biochimiques conventionnels. La sensibilité des bactéries isolées aux antibiotiques sélectionnés a  été déterminée par la méthode de diffusion sur disque modifiée de Kirby-Bauer et interprétée en utilisant les lignes directrices de 2012 du Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute.Résultats: les bactéries ont été isolées des mains des 300 TS, les staphylocoques à coagulase négative (CONS) étant les plus fréquents (67,0%, 201/300). Les autres bactéries identifiées étaient Staphylococcus aureus (23,7%, SARM de 3%), Streptococcus pyogenes (2,7%) et Enterobacteriaceae (6%). Les isolats étaient très sensibles à l'ofloxacine 96,7% (290/300), à l'augmentationin 87,7% (263/300) et à la ceftriaxone 87,3% (262/300).Conclusion: Cette étude démontre un taux élevé de contamination des mains des travailleurs de la santé par des bactéries potentiellement pathogènes, dont certaines étaient multirésistantes. Des efforts concertés devraient être faits pour mettre en œuvre des programmes visant à améliorer les pratiques d'hygiène des mains dans les établissements de soins de santé tertiaires. Mots-clés: hygiène des mains, bactérienne, pathogène, personnel de santé, infection associée aux soins de santé       &nbsp