Assessment of Project Monitoring and Control Techniques in Ondo State Agency for Road Maintenance and Construction (OSARMCO)

Monitoring and control is an essential process in construction project management and delivery. It is therefore imperative for construction companies to employ the usage of the most effective monitoring and control techniques available to meet project objectives. This study examined project management techniques employed by Ondo State Agency for Road Maintenance andConstruction, a construction company in Ondo State, Nigeria.The research design that was used for this study is the survey method where copies of a well-structured questionnaire were distributed to elicit appropriate information from respondents. The results showed thatthere is a relationship existing between the type of project monitoring and control technique used by aconstruction company and project delivery/success and that the use of Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) for time/schedule control and Earned Value Management (EVM) (alongside other monitoring and control techniques) for cost control as used by the company are very effective in meeting set project objectives.Based on the findings, a number of recommendations were made. Among these are, that monitoring and control units should be established withinconstruction companies and welltrained workers/professionals should be put in charge of handling these units and the techniques and tools used therein

ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE IN ENTEROBACTERIACEAE FROM INTENSIVELY-REARED APPARENTLY HEALTHY AND DISEASED POULTRY IN ABEOKUTA, NIGERIA

The emergence and wide-spread dissemination of antimicrobial resistant bacteria strains is a global phenomenon of great public health and economic implications. Antimicrobial resistance was investigated in enterobacteriaceae isolated from apparently healthy and diseased poultry birds using the broth micro-dilution method to determine antimicrobial minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). In all, 504 bacterial isolates including Escherichia coli (471), Klebsiella spp (28) and Salmonella enterica isolates (5) were studied. The isolates were resistant to ampicillin (88.5%), chloramphenicol (62.3%), ciprofloxacin (74.8%), enrofloxacin (81.0%), neomycin (83.9%), norfloxacin (78.8%), streptomycin (91.3%) and tetracycline (83.3%). The geometric mean MIC (µg/µL) of tested antimicrobials for enterobacteriaceae is as follows: ampicillin (102.5), chloramphenicol (48.4), ciprofloxacin (19.1), enrofloxacin (34.5), neomycin (47.7), norfloxacin (24.5), streptomycin (142.2) and tetracycline (62.5). Although rates of resistance to ampillin, streptomycin and tetracycline were similar among isolates from apparently healthy and diseases birds, resistance to chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin, enrofloxacin, neomycin and norfloxacin were significantly higher (p<0.05) in isolates from diseased chickens than in those from apparently healthy chickens. The high rates of antimicrobial resistance in bacteria may contribute to the persistence of pathogens in poultry flock and ineffectiveness of antimicrobial chemotherapy during disease outbreaks.Â

A Security System for Detecting Denial of Service (DDoS) and Masquerade Attacks on Social Networks

This study on a security system for detecting denial of service (DDoS) and masquerade attacks on social networks specifically describes how a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) algorithm was employed. The dataset used for this research is the CICIDS2017 dataset, which contains benign data (no attack present) and the most up-to-date, frequent attacks which resemble true, real-world data. The feature extraction method used was recursive feature elimination (RFE), which reduced 77 columns of the dataset to 10 columns. This research was motivated by the limitation of Alguliyev and Abdullayeva 2019, which focused on the prediction of DDoS attack occurrence by getting related texts in social media. It has a limited attack class that focuses solely on DDoS attacks, and it does not perform social media network prediction in general. The objective of this research is to develop a security system for detecting DDoS and masquerade attacks and evaluate the detection model on social media networks. The system was tested on Facebook and Instagram. The result of the training accuracy that we derived from this research is 99.53%, while the testing accuracy is 99.52%. The result of this research is compared with previous studies’ results. This study recommends that the model implemented can be enhanced more effectively by comparing the accuracy of alternative deep learning algorithms to that of the CNN utilized in the current prediction model

Isolation, optimization, liquefaction, and characterization of lignin from agricultural wastes

Environmental concerns have triggered the search for green chemicals for the replacement of fossil-based chemicals. The need for a cleaner environment is the pivot for the search for green chemicals from biomass as a replacement for the fossil-based chemicals. Thus, the present study focuses on the isolation, optimization, liquefaction, and characterization of lignin from agricultural wastes namely:  ground nutshell (GNS), palm front base (PFB), palm kernel shell (PKS), male palm fruit (MPF) and baobab pod shell (BPS). Lignin yield was optimized by varying concentrations of sodium hydroxide, biomass to liquor ratio, time, and temperature. From the results, PKS had the highest lignin yield (100 %) while GNS gave the lowest yield (13.7%). The best optimization condition was 25% w/v NaOH concentration, 130 oC, and biomass to liquor ratio 1:40 for PKS for a period of 120 min. The lignin obtained from PKS was liquefied, using polyethylene glycol 400 (PEG400) and ethylene glycol (EG) as liquefying solvents. However, the lignin for gas chromatography-mass spectrometer (GC-MS) analysis was isolated using the copper alkaline extraction method.  Lignin samples were characterized using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and gas chromatography-mass spectrometer (GC-MS). The results obtained from the characterization showed monomeric phenolic products with fewer ether bonds present. Similarly, the extent of liquefaction and the quality of liquefied products (bio-polyol) from the respective solvents used were observed. The two bio-polyols (PEG400 and EG) had hydroxyl numbers: 450 mg KOH/g and 445 mg KOH/g, liquefaction yield: 93.22% and 92.22%, and residue contents: 3.39% and 3.49% respectively. The qualities of the obtained bio-polyol are suitable for rigid bio-based foam synthesis

The Impact of Ethical Tax Behaviour on Tax Compliance of Tax Authority and Corporate Taxpayers of listed Manufacturing Companies in Nigeria

The development of tax payment decision-making models (Sociological, Economical and Psychological) has focused on economic and behavioural factors affecting tax compliance. The issue of tax evasion, which remains an ethical problem for companies, has been a general concern in developed and developing countries alike. The main problem of this study is low tax collection on the part of relevant tax authority, couple with non-tax compliance behaviour of the corporate taxpayers in Nigeria. This study examined the effect of tax fairness of tax authority on tax compliance behaviour of taxpayers in the Nigerian manufacturing sector. This study adopted a survey research method, and 400 copies of the questionnaire were administered to the selected listed manufacturing companies in Nigeria and relevant tax authority staff (FIRS). Theory of Planned Behaviour underpinned this study and Correlation analysis, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Multiple Regression analysis were also employed. The study found that there is a significant level of tax compliance among the listed manufacturing company in Nigeria. The study also shows that the tax authority’s perception of fairness of -2.769 (0.006) has a significant impact on corporate taxpayer’s compliance behaviour. Based on the above findings, the study recommends that taxpayers need to file accurate tax returns, transparency in total income declaration and minimize the risk of breaching of tax laws within the entity, while tax authority should apply tax laws consistently without bias (fairness), also adhere strictly to moral and ethical code of conduct. Keywords: Taxes, Ethics, Tax Authority, Manufacturing, Nigeri

Foreign aid, human capital and economic growth nexus: Evidence from Nigeria

This study investigates the link between aid and human capital in promoting economic growth of Nigeria. The study used two models; the first model was used to test the validity of the medicine model in Nigeria; while the extended model was used to investigate the effect of aid and human capital shocks on growth using Engle-Granger and Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) estimation techniques respectively. The findings from the first model suggest that persistent increase in foreign aid flows beyond a particular point (the optimal point) may adversely affect growth thus confirming the proposition of the Medicine Model. Evidence from the study’s extended model indicates that growth in Nigeria is sensitive to human capital shock via education while the response from aid shock is trivial in the long run. The mechanism through which aid impacts economies is influenced by many heterogeneous factors, notably; the role played by the recipient governments is often not considered. Our implication from the obtained results is that government expenditures on education with additional inflows of aid can promote economic growth in Nigeria. However, there is also an indication that attainment of economic growth might be challenging for this aid-dependent country

Evaluation of Resistance Pattern and Plasmid Profile of Staphylococcus Species Isolated from Clinical and Community Samples in Ibadan South-West, Nigeria

Aims: Staphylococcus species have been a major human pathogen of public health importance globally. This study was designed to evaluate the resistance pattern and plasmid profile of Staphylococcus species isolated from clinical and community settings. Methodology: Staphylococcus species from clinical (55) and community (53) which were previously isolated in University of Ibadan and her teaching hospital and identified as S. epidermidis (92.6%), S. aureus (6.5%) and S. xylosus (0.9%) were used. The antibiogram and plasmid profiles were determined by standard procedures. Results: In clinical isolates of S. epidermidis, 30.9, 34.5, 40.0, 41.8, 60.0, 76.4, and 89.1% were resistant to chloramphenicol (CHL), streptomycin (STR), erythromycin (ERY), gentamycin (GEN), tetracycline (TET), cotrimoxazole (COT), and cloxacillin (CXC) respectively. Correspondingly, in community isolates of S. epidermidis, 28.3, 32.1, 50.9, 26.4, 58.5, 90.6 and 92.5% were resistant to these antibiotics. The only clinical S. xylosus isolated was resistant to all the antibiotics except CHL and STR. In the clinical isolates of S. aureus, 5.5, 5.5, 7.3, 7.3, 7.3, 9.1 and 9.1% were resistant to ERY, CHL, STR, GEN, TET, COT and CXC respectively. In community isolates, only one S. aureus was resistant to COT, CHL, ERY, GEN and STR while two were resistant to CXC. Plasmid profiling showed that 33/35 (94.3%) of clinical and 17/19 (89.5%) of community isolates had plasmid of size 23.13 kb. Conclusion: The increasing resistance and similarity of plasmid profile of the community isolates to clinical isolates call for urgent establishment of antibiotic surveillance system to minimize the emergence of drug resistance pathogens in the community

Human Capital and Energy Infrastructure: Implications for Economic Growth in Nigeria

Both hypothetical and empirical evidences have found the roles that human capital and energy infrastructure in spurring the economic growth of a nation as very germane. These key variables are undoubtedly working together in a quest to achieve equitable redistribution of the nation’s economic resource and ensuring poverty reduction. This study is based on an attempt to use co-integration and ARDL modeling framework to examine the empirical evidence of the impact of the different components of human capital and energy infrastructure on economic growth in Nigeria between 1981 and 2018. Findings from the study showed that the quality of educational, transportation and communication facilities had a significant and contemporary influence on economic development. In the same way, investment in physical resources calculated by gross fixed capital development, quality of healthcare facilities, availability of power supply were also found to have a positive impact with a lag effect on economic growth. Implicitly, an increase in these facilities over the past decade in terms of their availability and efficiency would boost economic development over the current period. The study therefore recommended that education and health should be given an unwavering focus on investment by the policy maker as components of human capital coupled with energy infrastructure if the desired growth for which Nigeria aspires is to be attaine

Global horizontal irradiance in West Africa: evaluation of the WRF-solar model in convection-permitting mode with ground measurements

The number of solar power plants has increased in West Africa in recent years. Reliable reanalysis data and short-term forecasting of solar irradiance from numerical weather prediction models could provide an economic advantage for the planning and operation of solar power plants, especially in data-poor regions such as West Africa. This study presents a detailed assessment of different shortwave (SW) radiation schemes from the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model option Solar (WRF-Solar), with appropriate configurations for different atmospheric conditions in Ghana and the southern part of Burkina Faso. We applied two 1-way nested domains (D1 = 15 km and D2 = 3 km) to investigate four different SW schemes, namely, the Community Atmosphere Model, Dudhia, RRTMG, Goddard, and RRTMG without aerosol and with aerosol inputs (RRTMG_AERO). The simulation results were validated using hourly measurements from different automatic weather stations established in the study region in recent years. The results show that the RRTMG_AERO_D01 generally outperforms the other SW radiation schemes to simulate global horizontal irradiance under all-sky condition [RMSE = 235 W m−2 (19%); MAE = 172 W m−2 (14%)] and also under cloudy skies. Moreover, RRTMG_AERO_D01 shows the best performance on a seasonal scale. Both the RRTMG_AERO and Dudhia experiments indicate a good performance under clear skies. However, the sensitivity study of different SW radiation schemes in the WRF-Solar model suggests that RRTMG_AERO gives better results. Therefore, it is recommended that it be used for solar irradiance forecasts over Ghana and the southern part of Burkina Faso

Investigation of the Inhibitive Properties of Alchornea laxiflora leaves on the Corrosion of Mild Steel in HCl: Thermodynamics and Kinetic Study

Staff PublicationThe use of naturally occurring compounds as corrosion inhibitors is of potential interest because of their cost effectiveness, abundant availability and environmental acceptability. Therefore, the study investigates the inhibition efficacy of acid extract of Alchornea laxiflora leaves on mild steel in acidic medium using gravimetric method. Experiments were performed by varying the immersion time, concentration of extract and the temperature. The results showed that acid extract of Alchornea laxiflora leaves is a potential inhibitor for the corrosion of mild steel in acidic medium. The corrosion rate of mild steel in 1M HCl decreases with increase in the concentration of the extract. The inhibition efficiency increases progressively as the concentration of the extract increases but decreases with rise in temperature and the exposure time. The highest inhibition efficiency observed in the presence of the extract was 96 %. Activation energy was found to be 21.81 kJ mol-1 for the blank and increases to 82.57 kJ mol-1 in the presence of the extract. Thermodynamic parameters such as enthalpy change, entropy change and Gibb’s free energy were evaluated. Kinetics of the reaction in the presence of the extracts revealed that it follows a first order reaction and the half-lives increase as the concentration of the extract increases. Adsorption studies revealed that Langmuir adsorption isotherm is the best adsorption model applicable to the adsorption of the extract on mild steel surface. Preliminary investigation of the phytochemical con