DEVELOPMENT AND PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF A RICE DE-STONING MACHINE USING VIBRATING SIEVES

A rice de-stoning machine using vibrating sieves was designed, fabricated with locally sourced materials and tested. The performance of the machine was evaluated and the results obtained showed that the feed regulator opening has significant effects on the de-stoning rate, de-stoning efficiency and rice losses. The best performance was obtained at feed regulator opening of 20 mm. Above 20 mm opening, the higher the feed regulator opening the higher the de-stoning rate and grain losses, and the lower the de-stoning efficiency. The average capacity of the machine was found to be 31.84 g/sec. and the average efficiency also was 98.3%.     &nbsp

PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF A PALM KERNE NUT CRACKING MACHINE

Palm kernel, which is one of the by- products of palm tree is of great importance to the human race and highly sought for, because it contains oil which could be consumed directly or used as raw materials for other products. The plant is mostly found in the rain forest of Nigeria where the production ofª¤? palm kernel is not the major challenge, but the production ofª¤? clean and unbrokenª¤? kernel (high grade) to be sold to the palm kernel merchants who buy and supply to companies. The development of mobile palm kernel nut cracking machine was made to reduce drudgery, to enhance processing capacity and to determine processing loss. Palm kernel nut cracking occurs when nuts are loaded to rupture without crushing the embedded kernel. The aim of this research work was to assess the performance of the developed mobile palm kernel nut cracking machine. Total sample of four thousand (4,000) palm kernel nuts were divided into five groups of eight hundred palm kernel nuts and each group was further divided into four sub-groups of two hundred (200) palm kernel nuts.ª¤? Each group of five was fed into the hopper and cracked at different shaft speeds in revolutions per minute (rpm). The shaft speeds were determined with a tachometer and it was varied on the engine by adjusting the throttle lever. In a group of five, it was replicated for four different times at the same speed. The cracking efficiency and throughput capacity were calculated. The research work showed that the cracking efficiencies at speeds of 1200, 1800, 2200 and 2400 rpm were 98ª¤¡Þ0.3, 98.5ª¤¡Þ0.08, 98.5ª¤¡Þ0.01 and 99ª¤¡Þ0.04% respectively. The throughput of the machine increased from 10.91 to 38.00 g/s as the speed of the machine increased from 800 to 2400 rpm. Also the performance efficiencies of the developed machine were 93, 94, 95, 94.5 and 94% while the overall efficiencies were 90.86, 92.12, 93.58, 93.08 and 93.06% for the set speeds. It was concluded that the overall performance of this developed palm nut kernel cracking machine were effective because it fell within the range of betweenª¤? 90 to 98% overall efficiency.ª¤

Ergo-effects of designed school furniture and sitting positions on students behaviour and Musculo-Skeletal Disorder in Nigerian tertiary institutions

Improper design of school furniture is one of the contributing factors to back pain among students as indicated in some studies. In the case of designing school furniture where sitting constitutes a considerable time in the school, seat becomes important for comfort. This study is carried out in three selected institutions in Nigeria to determine level of musculoskeletal disorder in students’ and the furniture that they use. 720 questionnaires with 240 students (120 boys and 120 girls) drawn from each participating institutions were administered and 675 responses were received. The results show that the number of students having MSD, accounted for 93.75%. However, the distributions of pain in the body parts in each school were different. The musculoskeletal pain, mostly concentrated on neck, right shoulders right elbow right wrist right hand, upper back and lower back. The result also reveals that most of the students are sitting on chairs with seat that are too high and too deep or too shallow and of tables that are too high. However, it is recommended that further study on effect of designed school furniture and sitting position in larger sample of students’ representative in Nigeria tertiary institutions should be carried out in order to reduce the effect of body pains

Congenital anomalies in low- and middle-income countries: the unborn child of global surgery.

Surgically correctable congenital anomalies cause a substantial burden of global morbidity and mortality. These anomalies disproportionately affect children in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) due to sociocultural, economic, and structural factors that limit the accessibility and quality of pediatric surgery. While data from LMICs are sparse, available evidence suggests that the true human and financial cost of congenital anomalies is grossly underestimated and that pediatric surgery is a cost-effective intervention with the potential to avert significant premature mortality and lifelong disability

Antenatal corticosteroids for women at risk of imminent preterm birth in low-resource countries: the case for equipoise and the need for efficacy trials

The scientific basis for antenatal corticosteroids (ACS) for women at risk of preterm birth has rapidly changed in recent years. Two landmark trials-the Antenatal Corticosteroid Trial and the Antenatal Late Preterm Steroids Trial-have challenged the long-held assumptions on the comparative health benefits and harms regarding the use of ACS for preterm birth across all levels of care and contexts, including resource-limited settings. Researchers, clinicians, programme managers, policymakers and donors working in low-income and middle-income countries now face challenging questions of whether, where and how ACS can be used to optimise outcomes for both women and preterm newborns. In this article, we briefly present an appraisal of the current evidence around ACS, how these findings informed WHO's current recommendations on ACS use, and the knowledge gaps that have emerged in the light of new trial evidence. Critical considerations in the generalisability of the available evidence demonstrate that a true state of clinical equipoise exists for this treatment option in low-resource settings. An expert group convened by WHO concluded that there is a clear need for more efficacy trials of ACS in these settings to inform clinical practice

Strengthening retinopathy of prematurity screening and treatment services in Nigeria: a case study of activities, challenges and outcomes 2017-2020.

OBJECTIVES: Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) will become a major cause of blindness in Nigerian children unless screening and treatment services expand. This article aims to describe the collaborative activities undertaken to improve services for ROP between 2017 and 2020 as well as the outcome of these activities in Nigeria. DESIGN: Descriptive case study. SETTING: Neonatal intensive care units in Nigeria. PARTICIPANTS: Staff providing services for ROP, and 723 preterm infants screened for ROP who fulfilled screening criteria (gestational age <34 weeks or birth weight ≤2000 g, or sickness criteria). METHODS AND ANALYSIS: A WhatsApp group was initiated for Nigerian ophthalmologists and neonatologists in 2018. Members participated in a range of capacity-building, national and international collaborative activities between 2017 and 2018. A national protocol for ROP was developed for Nigeria and adopted in 2018; 1 year screening outcome data were collected and analysed. In 2019, an esurvey was used to collect service data from WhatsApp group members for 2017-2018 and to assess challenges in service provision. RESULTS: In 2017 only six of the 84 public neonatal units in Nigeria provided ROP services; this number had increased to 20 by 2018. Of the 723 babies screened in 10 units over a year, 127 (17.6%) developed any ROP; and 29 (22.8%) developed type 1 ROP. Only 13 (44.8%) babies were treated, most by intravitreal bevacizumab. The screening criteria were revised in 2020. Challenges included lack of equipment to regulate oxygen and to document and treat ROP, and lack of data systems. CONCLUSION: ROP screening coverage and quality improved after national and international collaborative efforts. To scale up and improve services, equipment for neonatal care and ROP treatment is urgently needed, as well as systems to monitor data. Ongoing advocacy is also essential

PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF A LOCALLY DEVELOPED CASSAVA CHIPPING MACHINE

&lt;p&gt;ENGLISH ABSTRACT: A cassava chipping machine was designed and constructed, and its performance evaluated. The results showed that motor speed has significant effects on chipping capacity, chipping efficiency, and chips geometry. The higher the motor speed, the higher the chipping capacity and the lower the chipping efficiency of the machine. The machine has a maximum capacity of 245 kgh–1 at 500 rpm, and maximum chipping efficiency of 92.6% at a speed of 300 rpm. The overall best performance of the machine is obtained at a speed of 400 rpm with chipping efficiency of 86.5% and chipping capacity of 240 kgh–1.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die vertoning van ‘n prototype spaandermasjien is bepaal na ontwerp en vervaardiging. Die resultate toon dat motorsnelheid ‘n betekenisvolle invloed het op spaanderuitset, spaanderrendement en spaandervorm. Hoër snelheid verhoog die spaanderuitset, maar tegelyke tyd verlaag die prosesrendement. Die maksimum prosesuitset is 245 kilogram per uur teen 500 omwentelinge per minuut. In den breede is die beste vertoning by 40 omwentelinge per minuut by ‘n rendement van 86.5% en ‘n uitset van 240 kilogram per uur.&lt;/p&gt

Soybean Oil as an Alternative to Soluble Oil in Machining Mild Steel Materials

This paper investigates the use of soybean oil as alternative cutting fluid to soluble oil in machining a mild steel material. Soybean oil and soluble oil (Standard) are used as cutting fluid when machining a mild steel material and their effect on the mild steel material was observed for 70 days. The results of the study shows that the use of soybean oil lead to a slight corrosion of the mild steel than that of the soluble oil used in the time past. The inability of soybean performance at 100% level to that of soluble oil may be due to racidity (decomposition) of soybean oil on the mild steel material, and the heat generated during machining. Although soybean shows a very high correlation (r) (0.782 and 0.730) on the rate of corrosiveness of the metal samples and looked more stable than soluble oil (fig.1) but still needs a further work. The result obtained by using chi-square (x2) also confirmed the above assertion by having soybean (B1) and soluble oil (S1) as not significant and soybean (B2) and soluble (S2) as significant. Nigeria Journal of Pure and Applied Physics VOLUME 1, AUGUST 2000, pp. 17-2