OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF GALLIUM PHOSPHIDE (GaP)

Optical properties of Gallium Phosphide (GaP) have been investigated by means of Kramers Kronig method. Optical properties such as refractive index, extinction coefficient, dielectric constant, transmittance, absorption coefficient, reflectance, reflection coefficient and optical conductivity are presented in the energy range 1.03 «¤?? 6.01eV. The calculated optical properties of GaP indicate promising device applications such as the design of optoelectronic devices, electronic and photonic devices

Spatial Variability of Soil Morphorlogical and Physico-Chemical Properties in Ladoke Akintola University of Technology Cashew Plantation, Ogbomoso.

To study the spatial variability of soil morphological, physical and chemical properties in the Cashew plantation of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Oyo State of Nigeria eight profile pits were dug, described and examined. The result of the analysis and the variability grouping put colour value in AP and B1 as least variable. Stoniness (AP) and structure (AP and B1) were moderately variable properties. Colour (AP, B1 B2 and B3), structure (B2 and B3), stoniness (B1, B2 and B3), concretion (AP B1, B2 and B3) and boundary forms (B1, B2 and B3) have extremely variable properties. pH (H2O and KCl), Na+ base saturation were least to variable. Fe2+, cu 2+, Mg2+, k+, CEC, Ex. Acidity, extractable Mn2+ , organic carbon (g/kg), organic matter (g/kg), and available phosphorus were extremely variable soil properties.The available moisture of soil was very low thus water holding capacity (WHC) and wilting point (WP) of the soil was very low. .The gravel content of the land was high at the surface and reduced down the slope... Bulk density parameter of the land was very high at the surface. The land was very low in plant nutrients, this result show that the soil of the cashew plantation is highly variable and that management techniques that would be flexible enough to carter for the variation noticed should be adopted, such as organic fertilizer application

Evaluation of CD4+ T Cells in HIV Patients Presenting with Malaria at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital Nigeria

CD4 count is an important immunological marker of disease progression in HIV seropositive patients. This study was carried out to determine the effect of malaria or fever of unknown origin on the population of CD4+ T lymphocytes of HIV seropositive patients attending the highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) clinic of the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Ilorin, Nigeria. 36 subjects were selected for this study. Ongoing history of fever was used as a case definition for malaria and malaria was confirmed from microscopic examination of thick and thin film of blood sample obtained from the patients during presentation with fever. The CD4 count was evaluated during presentation of fever and post-fever using flow cytometry. There was significant decrease in CD4 count of the patients. However, upon classifying the patients into 2 groups - those that returned to the clinic after a week and those that returned after a month - a significant increase in CD4 count was noticed in the group that returned after a week, while a significant decrease was noticed in the group that returned after a month (at p value of 95%). Further classification of the patients based on presence of malaria parasite, and body temperature resulted in varying effects on CD4 count post-fever (in the general group, 27 were positive for malaria parasites. Of these 27, there was an increase in CD4 count in 9 (33.3%). However in the group that returned after a week, all 6 (100%) that were positive for malaria parasites showed increase in CD4 count. Five (26.3%) of the 19 patients that had body temperature within the range of 35.5-37.4^o^C showed an increase in CD4 count, while 7 (41.2%) the 17 patients that had body temperature of 37.5^o^C and above showed an increase in CD4 count. The results led to the conclusion that while some components of the immune response to malaria could strengthen the immune system of HIV seropositive patients by increasing their CD4 count, other components will suppress their immunity by decreasing their CD4 count, accelerating the progression to AIDS

Metropolitan Infrastructure and Property Values: An African Experience

This paper evaluated impact of infrastructure in residential property on its property values in Ibadan, Nigeria. A total number of 450 questionnaires were administered out of which 423 questionnaires were retrieved. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data collected for the study). The study revealed that burglary proof was seen as the strongest index of satisfaction in the study area, this was followed by security guard. Kitchen and fenced round ranked third and fourth respectively, while bathroom/toilet and access road ranked fifth and sixth respectively. Water supply ranked seventh, while drainage channel ranked lowest in the study area. The paper concluded that property developers that want to invest in residential buildings development should endeavor to provide infrastructure that will attractive rental values on their residential property in Ibadan in particular and towns and cities in developing nations

Causal relationship between material price fluctuation and project’s outturn costs

Purpose: A section of project management literature attributes overruns to estimators’ deceit and delusion. An example of this is Flyvbjerg’s theorisation of strategic misrepresentation and optimism bias. To show that such a notion is not true entirely, the study elicits evidence relating to how costs of projects often fluctuate erratically as prices of construction materials change throughout contract cycle times. The purpose of this paper is to examine the causal relationships between persistent changes in prices of construction materials and project’s outturn costs. Design/methodology/approach: The authors obtained and analysed price data of construction materials published in a Nigerian national daily in the 16 years between 2000 and 2015. Additional data were obtained from a quantity surveying firm to validate the archival data on material prices, and to compare the firm’s robust database of project estimates and the corresponding outturn costs of specific building elements (detailed in the study). The goal of the analysis is to explore spontaneity and causal impact in the relationship between changes in prices of construction materials and project costs. Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Anderson-Darling tests were used to obtain the probability distributions of the causal relationships. Findings: Findings show disproportionate positive correlations between changes in material prices and outturn costs in Nigeria. An important dimension to this, however, is that although fluctuations in material costs often trigger variations to project costs, outturn price only accounts for about one-third of actual cost variability. Recovery of costs, not least profit making, under these conditions is a complex process. Originality/value: This paper concludes that dynamism in cost attributes is neither a deceit nor a delusion; understanding and tolerating them is not a systemic weakness, rather an essential key to project success and stakeholder satisfaction. Findings from the study also bring measured certainties to the transformation of variable costs into fixed price outcomes, an important consideration that will help contract estimators and project managers to understand the likelihood of fluctuation in material costs and how these might trigger variability in project costs

HCME: An Environment-Friendly I.C. Engine Fuel

The study revealed that Hura crepitans oil is a good candidate for Hura crepitans methyl ester (HCME) production. Two steps (esterification and transesterification) production stages influenced the high yield of HCME. Three possible experimental runs were performed in each step, the best of the three conditions were 1.45 (% v/v) for H2SO4 conc., 5:1 for methanol/oil molar ratio, 40 min for reaction time which gave 1.06 % for FFA in the first step, in the second step, 92.70 %(w/w) of HCME was obtained at 0.55% KOH, 5:1 methanol/oil molar ratio, 60 oC temperature and 30 min reaction time. The produced HCME had fuel properties which satisfied both ASTME D6751 and EN 1424 standards. The fatty acid profile of the HCME revealed the dominant fatty acids were linoleic (64.50%), oleic (17.54%) and palmitic (12.70%). Exhaust emissions from an internal combustion (I.C.) engine revealed that there is 60% decreased in CO, 58% decreased in NOx, 60% decreased in HC, 39% decrease in smoke opacity and 42% decreased in BSFC at B20, respectively. Flue gas temperature increased by 12% at B20, 45% increased in BTE at B50 when compared to pure diesel (AGO). Hence, it can be concluded that B20 (20% HCME + 80% AGO) will provides the best emission reduction at the lowest cost

Resistance of strains of rice weevil, Sitophilus oryzae (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) to pirimiphos methyl

Insecticidal resistance of five strains of Sitophilus oryzae (L.) to pirimiphos methyl (Actellic®) was investigated in the laboratory at 28 ± 2oC and 89 ± 5% relative humidity. Rice infested by S. oryzaewas sampled from Nigerian stores in Akure (Ondo state), Ibadan (Oyo state), Ikotun (Lagos state) and Ilesha (Osun state) and a laboratory culture (in Akure). Twenty adult weevils from each location were exposed to filter papers impregnated with liquid pirimiphos methyl at one of seven concentrations ranging from 0.0 to 5.0%. Mortality rates of the rice weevils were observed at 3, 6 and 24 h after treatment. The mortality of weevils increased with increasing concentration and period of exposure. Irrespective of the strain, 100% mortality was observed in all the treatments at 24 h after exposure to pirimiphos methyl. Weevils sampled from Ibadan were the most resistant, while laboratory strains were the least resistant at 2 and 5% concentrations.Keywords: Strains, insecticide, Pirimiphos methyl, Resistance, Sitophilus oryzae

Farmers’ Behaviour towards Utilisation of Jatropha Curcas for Environmental Mitigation in Oyo State, Nigeria

The dysfunctional environment caused by soil erosion, wind erosion, deforestation, desertification, issues of flood was due to the effect of greenhouse gases emanating as a result of various activities of man and industries. Consequently, this has prompted the exploitation of Jatropha curcas for mitigating the environment. Therefore, this study was carried out to examine farmers’ behaviour towards utilisation of Jatropha curcas for mitigation of environment in the study area. A multistage sampling procedure was used in selecting 120 farmers from 217 trained Jatropha farmers across Ido and Akinyele Local Government Areas in Oyo State. The data was analysed using frequencies, percentages, mean scores, and pearson product moment correlation. The result for the study showed that majority of the respondents had mean age of 44.4± 10.8 with majority also being male (66.7%) and formal education (91.7%). The result revealed that there was significant relationship between socio-economic characteristics of the respondents and farmers’ behaviour towards utilization of Jatropha curcas for environmental mitigation. There was correlation between farmers’ awareness on cultivation of Jatropha curcas and their behavior towards utilisation of Jatropha curcas for environmental mitigation (r = 0.399**, p < 0.05). The respondents’ attitude was significantly related to their behavior towards utilization of Jatropha curcas for environmental mitigation (r = - 0.182*, p < 0.05). The study showed that awareness and attitude of farmers strongly influence their behaviour towards utilization of Jatropha curcas for environmental mitigation. The implication of this study is to ensure that the environment becomes free of hazards and degradation which affect survival of the ecosystem and biodiversity. Hence, government should join in the advocacy to open continuous channels of communication on the importance of Jatropha to motivate farmers to having right behaviour towards utilization of Jatropha curcas as a measure to mitigate the environment. Keywords: Behaviour, utilisation, Jatropha curcas, farmers, mitigation, environmen

Bioaccumulation of Heavy Metals by Moringa Oleifera in Automobile Workshops from three Selected Local Governments Area, Ibadan, Nigeria

Plants accumulate minerals essential for their growth from the environment alongside with heavy metals from contaminated areas.This study investigated bioaccumulation of heavy metals by Moringa oleifera in automobile workshops in three selected local government areas in Ibadan. This was done with a view to determining the concentration and type of heavy metals accumulated in the tissues of Moringa oleifera grown around automobile workshops. Barks, leaves and seeds of M. oleifera were collected from three automobile workshops in each of the local government area and from a control site. The samples were dried, ground and analyzed for heavy metals content (Cu, As, Pb, Cd, Cr, Mn and Zn) using ICP-MS. The mean level of heavy metals obtained ranged from 0.018 ± 0.001 to 0.356 ± 0.021 in the leaves, 0.012 ± 0.001 to 0.255 ± 0.016 in the seed and 0.048 ± 0.003 to 0.989 ± 0.003 in the bark. The concentration of heavy metals recorded followed the trend of Cu > Zn > Mn > Pb > Cr > As > in the leaves; Zn > Cu > Pb > Cr = Mn > As in the seeds and Zn > Cu > Mn > Pb > Cr > As> in the barks. The overall concentration of heavy metals bioaccumulated by this plant follows the trend; bark > leaves > seeds. The increase in the concentrations of heavy metals observed in the barks, leaves and seeds of M. oleifera collected from automobile workshops to that of control site indicated the impact of mechanical activities in introducing trace metals to the environment.The study further suggested that Moringa olifera in polluted sites may accumulate trace metals in any of its parts; hence care should be taken when harvesting the plant for medicinal purpose

EVALUATION OF VIABLE OPERATING STRATEGIES FOR PUBLIC TRANSPORT BETWEEN FUNAAB CAMPUS AND CAMP TERMINUS IN ABEOKUTA

Transportation is a live wire for national development regardless of a nation industrial capacity, population or technological development. It gives expressions to policy initiative in areas like health, education, employment, etc., and in the absence of it, these facilities would be inaccessible. Viable operating strategies for public transport between Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Ogun State Nigeria Campus and Camp Terminus in Abeokuta were evolved. Traffic study was conducted for seven (7) days to determine traffic volume and peak periods (morning and evening) along the route. Questionnaires were administered to the road users to obtain factors (availability of vehicles, travel time from Camp Terminus to FUNAAB, road condition, operational cost, comfortability of the vehicle) needed to generate operating strategies. These factors were subjected to statistical analysis. The traffic volume revealed that Private cab had the highest traffic flow for a.m. peak period (8: 00 – 9: 00 am) from Mondays to Thursdays while Public cab had the highest on Fridays to Sundays, and at the pm peak period (4:00 – 5:00 pm), Public cabs had the highest traffic volume on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays while the Private cabs had the highest on the rest days of the week. The analysis of the sampled population showed that public cab had the least total time travel (36.1 minutes) followed by mini- bus (37.8 minutes) while the school bus had the highest (43.7 minutes) and this justified the reason why 40% of the population choose to travel by public cab, 33% by mini– bus  and 27% by the school bus. However, for the viability of the operating strategies, more public cab and min-buses should be provided to ply the road because of their lesser travel time, also provision of more school buses because of the large number of passengers they carry per trip should be provided.     &nbsp