Effects of Occupational Hazards on Employees’ Productivity

It is a fact that profit maximization serves as the key/core objective for setting up business organizations (Bamiduro; 2006); however, in achieving this objective, there is the need to consider the welfare and safety of workers in the organization. Considering the welfare and safety of employees in order to boost productivity and profitability, hazard must be minimized or prevented because it serves as a negative catalyst for declined productivity. This paper tends to illuminate the effect of occupational hazards on employees productivity because it negatively affects productivity, which in turn affects organizational profitability. The researchers adopted the combination of secondary and primary sources of data. The secondary data involves the use of journals, periodicals, internet, and related materials while the primary data envelops questionnaires from respondents. Chi-square was used to test the hypothesis while the data collected through questionnaire was analyzed using descriptive (percentages) and inferential statistics (regression analysis and coefficient of multiple determinations (R2).The results of the study indicate that constant exposure of employees to hazardous substances reduces productivity. The results also indicate that training of employees on accident prevention can positively affect productivity. The conclusion is that occupational hazards have negative effect on productivity. The recommendation is that organizations need to provide safe and conducive environment for the performance of the job. There is also the need to provide training and educative programmes in order to prevent or minimize occupational hazards and boost productivity. Keyword: Effect, occupational hazards, employees, productivity, and organization

POST RESETTLEMENT PATTERN OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC CHANGE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN JEBBA VILLAGES, NIGERIA

ABSTRACT The construction of Jebba Dam in the1980s had resulted in the displacement of about 6,000 rural dwellers from 42 villages who were later resettled into 21 planned settlements in the hinterland. The introduction of social infrastructures in the new resettled village was supposed to bring improved living conditions among the resettlers in new locations as against conditions in their former settlements. This study is a survey of the households' present situation as a means of assessing their living conditions.30% of the rural household heads were interviewed through the use of questionnaires in order to measure changes that have taken place in their new settlements as well as in their living conditions. The process of factor analysis has revealed that there have been various aspects of rural change depicted by socioeconomic patterns differentiated at variance by settlements. It has also been established that that disparity exists on the resettlement impacts among the villages in their new locations. While some are advantaged in term of accessibility to public goods and services on the basis of their locations, others are relatively disadvantaged. Although the relocation activities and Jebba lake creation brought about improved opportunities in fishery, employment access roads, etc., effort should be made to monitor and maintain the resources to enhance sustainability

Fabrication and Testing of a Manual Charcoal-Fired Groundnut Fryer

Groundnut is an agricultural product that is of great value to both man and animals. It serves as raw material for industries. Frying is the process of generating characteristic aroma, flavour and colour required by consumers for acceptance of such fried food. The wide range usage of groundnut and its products has led to increase in its demand. However, the local methods of roasting Groundnut seeds after it has been shelled has some associated problems and difficulties which make it ineffective, laborious and time consuming. A manually operated Groundnut seed roaster was constructed with the aim of improving on the traditional methods commonly used in the Nigeria. The machine shows the roasting efficiency (Er) to be in the realm of 98.0% with percentages of seed damaged (loss) in the range of 2.00-20.0%.   The average and optimum time for roasting was estimated to be in the range of 4 minutes. Keywords: Groundnut, charcoal, groundnut fryer, mechanization, heat , manual DOI: 10.7176/JNSR/9-4-0

Effect of Cooking and Roasting on Nutritional and Anti-Nutritional Factors in Kenaf (Hibiscus Cannabinus L.) Seed Meal.

The effect of cooking and roasting on levels of nutrients and anti-nutritional factors in Kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus) seed meal was investigated. Significant (p < 0.05) variation existed in the nutrient levels among the raw, cooked and roasted kenaf seed meal. Roasting resulted in a significant (p < 0.05) increase in crude protein and mineral composition. The processing methods had no significant (p > 0.05) effect on the phytic acid but significantly (p < 0.05) reduced the tannin content of the kenaf seed meal. While cooking significantly (p < 0.05) reduced the trypsin inhibitors, roasting did not significantly (p > 0.05) alter the trypsin inhibitory activities in Kenaf seed meal  when compared with the unprocessed kenaf seed meal. Key words: Hibiscus cannabinus; Kenaf seed meal; Cooking; Roasting; Nutrient; Anti-nutritional factor

Morphology of GPS and DPS TEC over an equatorial station: validation of IRI and NeQuick 2 models

We investigated total electron content (TEC) at Ilorin (8.50°&thinsp;N 4.65°&thinsp;E, dip lat. 2.95) for the year 2010, a year of low solar activity in 2010 with Rz = 15.8. The investigation involved the use of TEC derived from GPS, estimated TEC from digisonde portable sounder data (DPS), and the International Reference Ionosphere (IRI) and NeQuick 2 (NeQ) models. During the sunrise period, we found that the rate of increase in DPS TEC, IRI TEC, and NeQ TEC was higher compared with GPS TEC. One reason for this can be attributed to an overestimation of plasmaspheric electron content (PEC) contribution in modeled TEC and DPS TEC. A correction factor around the sunrise, where our finding showed a significant percentage deviation between the modeled TEC and GPS TEC, will correct the differences. Our finding revealed that during the daytime when PEC contribution is known to be absent or insignificant, GPS TEC and DPS TEC in April, September, and December predict TEC very well. The lowest discrepancies were observed in May, June, and July (June solstice) between the observed values and all the model values at all hours. There is an overestimation in DPS TEC that could be due to extrapolation error while integrating from the peak electron density of F2 (NmF2) to around  ∼ 1000&thinsp;km in the Ne profile. The underestimation observed in NeQ TEC must have come from the inadequate representation of contribution from PEC on the topside of the NeQ model profile, whereas the exaggeration of PEC contribution in IRI TEC amounts to overestimation in GPS TEC. The excess bite-out observed in DPS TEC and modeled TEC indicates over-prediction of the fountain effect in these models. Therefore, the daytime bite-out observed in these models requires a modifier that could moderate the perceived fountain effect morphology in the models accordingly. The daytime DPS TEC performs better than the daytime IRI TEC and NeQ TEC in all the months. However, the dusk period requires attention due to the highest percentage deviation recorded, especially for the models, in March, November, and December. Seasonally, we found that all the TECs maximize and minimize during the March equinox and June solstice, respectively. Therefore, GPS TEC and modeled TEC reveal the semiannual variations in TEC.</p

Response surface methodology and artificial neural network analysis of crude palm kernel oil biodiesel production

Response surface methodology (RSM) and Artificial neural network (ANN) analysis of crude palm kernel oil (CPKO) biodiesel production, using KOH and NaOH catalysts, were carried out in this research work. The four process parameters considered during the produc- tion process and modelling stages were 6–12 mol ratio of methanol/oil, 0.7–1.7 wt/wt% catalyst concentration, 48–62 °C reaction temperature and 50–90 min reaction time. Log sigmoid function and Levenberg marquardt technique were adopted in ANN while Box- Benkhen method was utilised for RSM. The results revealed that KOH catalyst process pro- duced higher yield of biodiesel (87 – 99%), compared to the yield obtained from NaOH catalysed process (79 –91%). The regression coefficients for RSM models were 0.9324 for KOH catalysed process and 0.8935 for NaOH catalysed process, while the overall correla- tion coefficients for ANN models were 0.82921 for KOH catalysed process and 0.89396 for NaOH catalysed process, an implication that RSM is a better analytical tool (compare to ANN) in models formulatio

Patient characteristics associated with COVID-19 positivity and fatality in Nigeria: retrospective cohort study

Objective: Despite the increasing disease burden, there is a dearth of context-specific evidence on the risk factors for COVID-19 positivity and subsequent death in Nigeria. Thus, the study objective was to identify context-specific factors associated with testing positive for COVID-19 and fatality in Nigeria. Design Retrospective cohort study. Setting: COVID-19 surveillance and laboratory centres in 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory reporting data to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control. Participants: Individuals who were investigated for SARSCoV-2 using real-time PCR testing during the study period 27 February–8 June 2020. Methods: COVID-19 positivity and subsequent mortality. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to identify factors independently associated with both outcome variables, and findings are presented as adjusted ORs (aORs) and 95% CIs. Results: A total of 36 496 patients were tested for COVID-19, with 10 517 confirmed cases. Of 3215 confirmed cases with available clinical outcomes, 295 died. Factors independently associated with COVID-19 positivity were older age (p value for trend<0.0001), male sex (aOR 1.11, 95%CI 1.04 to 1.18) and the following presenting symptoms: cough (aOR 1.23, 95% CI 1.13 to 1.32), fever (aOR 1.45, 95% CI 1.45 to 1.71), loss of smell (aOR 7.78, 95% CI 5.19 to 11.66) and loss of taste (aOR 2.50, 95% CI 1.60 to 3.90). An increased risk of mortality following COVID-19 was observed in those aged ≥51 years, patients in farming occupation (aOR 7.56, 95% CI 1.70 to 33.53) and those presenting with cough (aOR 2.06, 95% CI 1.41 to 3.01), breathing difficulties (aOR 5.68, 95% CI 3.77 to 8.58) and vomiting (aOR 2.54, 95% CI 1.33 to 4.84). Conclusion: The significant risk factors associated with COVID-19 positivity and subsequent mortality in the Nigerian population are similar to those reported in studies from other countries and should guide clinical decisions for COVID-19 testing and specialist care referrals

Production of Adhesive from Cassava Starch

The research work investigated the production of adhesive from cassava starch. Cassava tubers were processed into starch-based adhesives, using two different gelatinization enhancers (that is HCl and NaOH) which were introduced separately. The adhesives were produced by considering two varied process parameters, namely percentage weight of borax in starch solution (8 – 20%) and reaction temperature (65 – 850C). Comparative analysis of the adhesive obtained (using HCl and NaOH as gelatinization enhancers) include the determination of its bond strength, viscosity, drying time, pH and density. As the borax weight percent increases up to 14 % and reaction temperature reduces (using NaOH) the drying time increases, while the drying time reduces as both the borax weight percent and temperature reduce (using HCl). The results of the adhesive physical properties fall within the standard range for each of the properties and this implied that the adhesive produced was of high qualit