Anomalous behaviour of thermoluminescence from quartz: a case of glow peaks from a Nigerian quartz

Anomalous behaviour displayed by a thermoluminescence (TL) glow peak as radiation dose increases in a Nigerian quartz is presented. The glow curves of the phosphor have four clear glow peaks. The peak temperatures of the first three glow peaks were found to be constant with change in radiation dose at 82, 148 and 200ºC for the sample readout at a heating rate of 1ºCs[superscript (-1)]. The peak temperature of the fourth peak, which is at around 320ºC for a sample irradiated to a dose of 63 Gy and heated at 1ºCs[superscript (-1)], displays anomalous behaviour with increase in dose relative to the first three peaks. The temperature at which this peak occurs increases with dose to about 335ºC for 177 Gy and then decreases thereafter as dose is further increased. The change is explained on the assumption that the peak may be complex consisting of several overlapping first-order glow peaks each with different TL behaviour

Patterns of Urinary Schistosomiasis Infection in Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo State, Nigeria.

This study used geographic information system as a tool to further understand the epidemiology of urinary schistosomiasis in Akure North Local Government Area (LGA) of Ondo state. Spatial, disease and demographic data were integrated using ARCGIS 10.0 to determine infection patterns of urinary schistosomiasis. A total of 463 randomly selected households were screened for urinary schistosomiasis of which 31.7% households harboured at least one individual positive for schistosomiasis.  Spatial statistics showed infection pattern to be clustered.  The hot spot revealed areas that contributed most to the clustered pattern of infection. The entire study area is endemic for schistosomiasis with low to high risk of infection. Keywords: GIS, Urinary Schistosomiasis, Households, Infection Patter

Determination and Evaluation of Fuel Properties of Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea, L.) Biofuel Blended with Diesel

Vegetable oils have attracted attention as potential renewable resources for the production of alternatives for petroleum based diesel fuel. This study focused on the evaluation of fuel properties of groundnut oil and its ethyl ester blended with diesel to establish their suitability for use in compression ignition engines. Twenty biodiesel blends (10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 and 100%) of groundnut oil and its ethyl ester by volume with Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) were used. The fuel properties of the biodiesel blends such as specific gravity, viscosity, cloud and pour point, flash point, heating value, sulphur content and carbon content were determined according to ASTM standards. Data were analyzed using ANOVA and correlations between fuel properties and blending ratios of groundnut biofuel with AGO were developed. Pure AGO was used as a basis for comparison. Results showed that viscosity of 10 - 30% groundnut ester-AGO blends (5.5 – 5.8 mm2/s) fell within the limit specified by ASTM standards. The heating values of groundnut biodiesel blends decreased from 38.4 – 30.07MJ/l.  Groundnut ethyl-ester had higher cloud point of 7oC compared to -12oC obtained for AGO. The flash points, cloud and pour points of groundnut oil and its ethyl-ester AGO blends were higher than for reference AGO. The specific gravity obtained for all groundnut ester-diesel blends ranged from 0.8 – 0.9 and it fell within limit specified by international standards. All the biodiesel blends had sulphur contents ranging from 9.16 – 13.2% and lower than that of reference AGO. Predictive fuel properties’ models gave R2 of 0.55-0.98. Biodiesel blends with 10 and 20 percent groundnut ethyl ester content were found to have acceptable fuel properties for use as supplementary fuel in compression ignition engines

DESIGN, FABRICATION AND OPTIMIZATION OF OPERATIONAL PARAMETERS OF A SMALL SCALE DE-FEATHERING MACHINE

The aim of this work is to design and fabricate a small scale de-feathering machine and investigate into the optimal operational parameters for de-feathering. The fabricated de-feathering machine has its electric motor placed by its side for easy coupling, detachability and prolonged life span of motor. It has a door by its side for easy removal of the carcass.  The materials used for the fabrication of the de-feathering machine were carefully selected to ensure minimal damage to the carcass. The optimal scalding temperature of 60 oC, scalding time of 56.56 seconds, and de-feathering time of 12 seconds was found to have the highest efficiency of 96.6 %. The machine was able to achieve the desired quality. It saves time and it is of high efficiency. Keywords:  DESIGN, FABRICATION AND OPTIMIZATION, DEFEATHERING MACHINE DOI: 10.7176/ISDE/12-3-04 Publication date:September 30th 2021

EXPLORING SOURSOP KERNEL AS A SUSTAINABLE BIOFUEL: ANALYZING PHYSICAL AND SOLID FLOW PROPERTIES FOR FEASIBILITY ASSESSMENT

  Soursop kernel is an oil-bearing seed containing about 25% non-edible oil per 100 g sample making it a potential feedstock for biofuel production. However, exploring the full potential of the oil requires data to design and fabricate appropriate machines for its processing. So, this necessitates a thorough examination of its physical and solid flow behaviour in relation to moisture contents. The experiments conducted on rewetted samples revealed that as moisture content (mc) increased from 8% to 32.5% dry basis (db), the length, width, thickness, arithmetic and geometric mean diameter, volume, surface area, sphericity, and thousand kernels weight increased from 11.40-12.06 mm, 7.04-7.92 mm, 4.58-5.34 mm, 7.69-8.44 mm, 7.12-7.49 mm, 6.5–8.13 cm3, 160.19-199.05 mm2, 0.62- 0.66 and 186.4–291 g, respectively. The true density decreased from 720 to 670 kg/m³, whereas the bulk density increased from 470 to 570 kg/m³. The angle of repose linearly increased from 25.8° to 39.2° as moisture content increased. The highest mean values for coefficients of friction were observed on mild steel surfaces (0.44 for static and 0.53 for dynamic) at 8.0% mc (db) while the lowest values were recorded on stainless steel surfaces (0.20 for static and 0.37 for dynamic) at both 32.5% and 8.0%, (mc, db). The data obtained will prove beneficial to engineers in the design and development of appropriate machines, as well as other handling and processing equipment such as oil expellers, so as to explore the full industrial application of the oil for biodiesel production and other chemical productio

Schistosome Specific Antibodies in Individuals Co-Infected with Malaria in Southwest Nigeria

A cross-sectional study design in two primary schools in Ibadan and Akure was used to determine the prevalence of urinary schistosomiasis, and the human humoral immune response to schistosome antigens in individuals with malaria co-infection. Urine samples were collected from 163 children, while 112 gave blood samples. Malaria parasitaemia was determined by microscopy after Giemsa staining and schistosomiasis by centrifugation technique. Serum samples were analyzed for antibodies to crude S. mansoni soluble egg, adult worm antigens, and crude S. haematobium egg antigen by ELISA. The sample population consisted of 40% (62/163) infected with schistosomiasis, 31% (50/163) with malaria, and 6% (10/163) co-infected. All the co-infected students had asymptomatic malaria with parasite densities ranging from 200 - 4,420 parasites/ul blood. IgG titres to the various Schistosoma antigens did not vary significantly. However, antibody titres to the soluble egg antigen increased with age of volunteers. Antigen specific isotype distribution showed a higher prevalence of IgG3 and IgG4.Keywords: Schistosomiasis, antibodies, co-infection, malaria, ELISANigerian Journal of Parasitology, Vol. 33 [2] September 2012, pp. 133-13

Effect of Particle Size and Transparent Solar Dryer Cover on the Proximate Analysis of Dried Onion

In this work, we investigate effect of particle size and transparent solar dryer cover on the proximate analysis of dried onion. A solar drying unit was developed and constructed for drying the of red onion slices in order to determine the proximate composition of fresh and dried red onion using multi-crop direct solar dryer. Also, the evaluation and effect of particles size and multi-crop transparent solar dryer cover on the proximate analysis of red onion during drying. Consequently, the higher efficiency of the solar collector was obtained at the higher airflow rate. The moisture content of dried onion slices was strongly affected by the thickness of the onion slices and the density of the polyethylene. The final moisture content of dried onion slices ranged from 10.85% to 13.01%, 4.95% to 6.01% ash, 4.69% to 5.26% fibre, 11.17% to 13.09% fat, 6.70% to 5.60% protein and 68.64% to 68.03% carbohydrate for particle sizes of 3 mm, 5 mm and 7 mm dry-basis depending on drying temperature cycle for low density polyethylene cover. While the final moisture content of dried onion slices ranged from 9.85% to 12.01%, 5.96% to 6.01% ash, 3.69% to 4.26% fibre, 13.17% to 12.09% fat, 5.70% to 6.60% protein and 61.64% to 58.03% carbohydrate for particle sizes of 3 mm, 5mm and 7mm dry-basis depending on drying temperature cycle for high density polyethylene cover

Effect of Temperature on Drying Characteristics and Quality of Three Nigerian Onion Varieties Using a Fabricated Electrically Powered Dryer

The research work is done to evaluate the effect of temperature on drying characteristics and quality of red, cream and white varieties Nigerian onion using a locally fabricated electrically powered dryer. Clean onion samples of 1.5 kg from each of the three varieties were sliced into 3 mm thickness. Fresh samples of the three onion varieties were analyzed to determine the initial values of protein, fat, ash, crude fibre, and moisture content on a dried basis (m.c.d.b.) using recommended AOAC methods.. Vitamin C and microbial loads content were determined before loading into a locally fabricated electrically-powered dryer. The onion samples were dried at varying pre-determined temperatures of 50, 60, and 70 oC. After drying, the proximate compositions, vitamin C and microbial loads were also determined. The protein, fat, ash and crude fibre of the fresh onion samples were 1.5, 0.5, 0.6 and 0.5%, respectively, while m.c.d.b, vitamin C content and microbial loads ranged from 85.1-88.2%, 8.1-8.3 mg/100 gm and 4.45-5.39 mg. Red onion samples were dried for 13:15h, 12:10h and 10:30h; white onion samples for 13:00h, 12:25h and 10:40h; while cream onion samples for 13:10h, 12:35h and 10:15h at 50, 60, and 70 oC, respectively. The protein, fat, ash, crude fibre, m.c.d.b, vitamin C content and microbial loads of the dried onion samples at all the drying temperatures ranged from 10.110.4, 1.1-1.5, 3.3-3.5, 5.5-5.8, 5.5-6.9%, 3.1-4.9 mg/100 gm, 1.314.17 mg, respectively. The drying temperature had a significant effect (p-value < 0.05) on the quality of all the onion samples. At 70 oC, protein, fibre, ash, fat and pungency retention were significantly (p< 0.05) high and within acceptable limits while microbial loads were low with the reduction in Vitamin C contents in all the onion varieties. Therefore, onion can best be dried at 70 oC to achieve the optimum quality and flavour required for its use as a spice