Effect of an Intelligent Communications System in Enhancing the Power Infrastructure in Developing Countries

Since reliable electric power is key to economic development, education and medical care.  Humanity finds itself confronting an enormous energy Challenge which shows that current patterns of energy use are environmentally unsustainable. Overwhelming reliance on fossil fuels, in particular, threatens to alter the Earth’s climate to an extent that could have grave consequences on the integrity of vital human and natural systems. At the same time, access to energy continues to divide the ‘haves’ from the ‘have-nots’, as a greater part of the world especially Africa still lacks access to one or several types of basic energy services, including electricity, clean cooking fuels and adequate means of transportation. It is necessary to improve the operation of distribution systems and hence the quality of power supply, which can be achieved by use of the intervention of information technology (IT) utilizing the available high speed computers and communication networks. This resulted into reduced technical loss,  support  for  commercial  loss reduction, improved cash flow, low service restoration time, reduction in equipment damage, availability of system information,  better operational  planning,  remote load control and shedding, and improved power quality and reliability. Keywords: grid, reliable, power, costing, Alternatives, billing

Theme: Renewable Energy and Sustainability Experimental and Numerical Study of Drying of Moringa Oleifera Leaves

Drying is a preservation technique to reduce the water content of the food product to a safe level and to minimize biochemical reactions of the degradation and also to increase the shelf life of the product. Moringa being an agricultural product of high chemical, nutritional and medical use is susceptible to degradation due to relatively high moisture content. Moringa leaf is sensitive to sunlight, therefore, forced convection drying method with two types of air velocities (2.2 and 1.2 m/s) was employed in its drying. A batch of moringa leaves of 200g by mass having an initial moisture content of 83% wet basis was dried to desired 14% wet basis  moisture content at average temperature of 40oC. Drying chamber and ambient temperatures, relative humidity, air flow velocity and rate of weight reduction were measured. The experimental and model results were statistically validated. Also numerical modeling of heat and mass transfer that occurred in the drying process was done using COMSOL Multiphysics 4.3b that uses finite element approach. It took between 10 and 12 hours to dry moringa leaves to the desired moisture content at drying air velocity 2.2 m/s and 1.2 m/s respectively. The results predicted from the modelling when compared with the experimental data have a considerably agreement

Application of Data Flow Model to a Wireless Application Protocol for Institutional Information System

ABSTRACT The limitation of information dissemination through files and hard copies pasted on noticeboards and the bottleneck of keeping paper documents necessitated the need for this work. Automating and digitalizing all forms of records about staff and students using current software technologies such as ASP.NET and SQL 2000 eliminates manual dissemination of information. This was achieved by capturing staff and student's biographical data through the paperbased data capturing form. This paper takes a look at how a data flow model can be applied to WAP application for Institutional Information Systems. This resulted into a data-driven mobile web application which leads to the Institutional Information System having components to capture, store, retrieve, and distribute information from the Institution's gateway and security to protect information from unauthorized access

Contactless Palmprint Recognition System: A Survey

Information systems in organizations traditionally require users to remember their secret pins or (passwords), token, card number, or both to con�rm their identities. However, the technological trend has been moving towards personal identi�cation based on individual behavioural attributes (such as gaits, signature, and voice) or physiological attributes (such as palmprint, �ngerprint, face, iris, or ear). These attributes (biometrics) offer many advantages over knowledge and possession-based approaches. For example, palmprint images have rich, unique features for reliable human identi�cation, and it has received signi�cant attention due to their stability, reliability, uniqueness, and non-intrusiveness. This paper provides an overview and evaluation of contactless palmprint recognition system, the state-of-the-art performance of existing studies, different types of ``Region of Interest'' (ROI) extraction algorithms, feature extraction, and matching algorithms. Finally, the �ndings obtained are presented and discussed

Brucellosis as an Emerging Threat in Developing Economies:Lessons from Nigeria

Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa, has a large proportion of the world's poor livestock keepers, and is a hotspot for neglected zoonoses. A review of the 127 accessible publications on brucellosis in Nigeria reveals only scant and fragmented evidence on its spatial and temporal distribution in different epidemiological contexts. The few bacteriological studies conducted demonstrate the existence of Brucella abortus in cattle and sheep, but evidence for B. melitensis in small ruminants is dated and unclear. The bulk of the evidence consists of seroprevalence studies, but test standardization and validation are not always adequately described, and misinterpretations exist with regard to sensitivity and/or specificity and ability to identify the infecting Brucella species. Despite this, early studies suggest that although brucellosis was endemic in extensive nomadic systems, seroprevalence was low, and brucellosis was not perceived as a real burden; recent studies, however, may reflect a changing trend. Concerning human brucellosis, no studies have identified the Brucella species and most reports provide only serological evidence of contact with Brucella in the classical risk groups; some suggest brucellosis misdiagnoses as malaria or other febrile conditions. The investigation of a severe outbreak that occurred in the late 1970s describes the emergence of animal and human disease caused by the settling of previously nomadic populations during the Sahelian drought. There appears to be an increasing risk of re-emergence of brucellosis in sub-Saharan Africa, as a result of the co-existence of pastoralist movements and the increase of intensive management resulting from growing urbanization and food demand. Highly contagious zoonoses like brucellosis pose a threat with far-reaching social and political consequences

Fulani cattle productivity and management in the Kachia grazing reserve, Nigeria

Kachia Grazing Reserve (KGR) in northern Nigeria was home to some 10,000 Fulani pastoralists and their 40,000 cattle in June 2011. This study examines productivity and management of cattle belonging to livestock keepers within the reserve before and after a mass immigration event when 3,000 refugees moved into the reserve with their cattle to escape inter-community violence during May 2011. Data, on livestock management strategies (transhumance) and production parameters (herd size, composition, fertility, dynamics), were collected in March, June and October 2011.Cattle productivity in KGR is geared to supporting Fulani households while maintaining herd wealth. High offtake of young animals, especially the selling of heifers, was an unusual finding and may indicate that KGR pastoralists have been restricting their herd size voluntarily as well as limiting milk production to household requirements. This is probably due to the absence of a commercial milk market and a higher reliance on the sale of young stock to meet cash needs.Despite the widespread perception that grazing reserves are promoting sedentarisation of Fulani pastoralists and curbing transhumance, the inhabitants of the KGR were observed to practise wide-ranging transhumance both during wet and dry seasons driven by the limited availability of grazing. Some households selected a sub-sample of animals for transhumance rather than sending their whole herd, and some maintained cattle on alternative land-holdings outside the reserve. KGR households described modifying their usual transhumance practices in response to the mass immigration event and insecurity.Nevertheless, the herd demography results from this study are broadly similar to data obtained from other studies over the past 40 years, indicating that productivity and management practices have remained relatively unchanged

Activity and Corresponding Mass Concentrations of 40 K and 238 U in Well Waters from Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, Nigeria

Abstract Ago-Iwoye, situated on the basement complex has similar geological setting to Abeokuta which had been reported to be significantly high in radioactivity when compared to the world's average. The major source of water for the populace in Ago-Iwoye was from the wells dug at different locations across the town. The 238 U and 40 K concentrations in the water samples were measured using gamma-ray spectroscopy method and the health risks due to consumption of the waters were determined. The mean activity concentrations were 25.1±10. . The cancer mortality and morbidity risks were less than the reported world average of 1.0x10 -3

Assessment of external and internal doses due to farming in high background radiation areas in old tin mining localities in Jos-plateau, Nigeria

Farming on soils situated in high background radiation areas can result to enhanced radiation exposure scenarios and pathways to humans. To assess the likely levels of exposures, farm soil samples were collected from different farmlands in three old tin mining localities (Bitsichi, Bukuru and Ropp) in Jos Plateau Nigeria, known for high radiations. The soil samples were analyzed for the activity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K, using gamma-ray spectroscopy. The outdoor annual effective dose rates were calculated using the activity concentrations of the radionuclides and were found to vary from 0.07 mSv to 2.02 mSv across the three localities. Considering dust generation from soil tillage and inadvertent ingestion of soil particles, the likely internal radiation hazards were estimated using conservative dust and soil loading factors. The total average annual effective dose rates due to 226Ra and 232Th that could result from dust inhalation and ingestion of soil particles were 16.9 µSv, 8.1 µSv and 8.8 µSv, respectively for Bitsichi, Bukuru and Ropp. Though these values are about 5% the outdoor exposures to the farmers in those farms and greater than 1 µSv y-1, from the point of view of radiation protection and risk, they are significant. It suffices to say, therefore, that the results of this study will create the possibility of the importance to evaluate the health risk among the farming population and workplace environments which often is not covered by regulations concerning health protection

Radiological and related chemical health impact assessments of uranium in pipe borne water from some waterworks in Lagos metropolis, Nigeria

The common purifying technique of water for public (human) consumption in Nigeria is by chlorination which only eliminates the microbial contaminants, but the radioactive contaminants remain unaffected. There had been no serious radiological and related chemical health impact assessments of pipe borne water in the country. Water samples were collected from five waterworks across Lagos Metropolis and a single crystal NaI (Tl) detector was used to determine the activity concentration of 238U radionuclide in the water. The radiological health impact assessment determined includes annual effective dose rates and risk of incurring cancer. Using activity concentrations obtained and the relation from United State Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), the chemical health impact such as life average daily dose (LADD) and hazard quotient (HQ) due to ingestion of 238U in water were determined and data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The mean 238U activity concentrations were 15.3±4.1 Bql-1, 14.6±5.2 Bql-1, 9.7±2.0 Bql-1, 11.0±2.9 Bql-1 and 11.3±1.8 Bql-1 for Agege, Shomolu, Iju, Saka and Amuwo respectively. The least mean effective dose, 0.3±0.1 mSvy-1 was obtained in Iju while the highest, 0.5±0.2 mSvy-1 was obtained in Agege and Shomolu. The least mass concentration of 174.2±35.7μgl-1 was obtained in Iju and the highest of 274.9±73.3 μgl-1 was obtained in Agege. The highest mean cancer mortality and morbidity risks, (0.6±0.2) x10-3 and (0.9±0.2) x10-3 respectively were obtained in Agege. The activity concentrations of radionuclide in the water were low hence the morbidity and mortality risks in the study were low when compared to the world average value of 1.0x10-3. The result showed high radioactivity and chemical levels therefore caution and control should be taken to avoid any health crisis later in future.Keywords: uranium impact assessment, pipe born water, water works, Lagos metropolis, Nigeri