Assessment of runway excursion causal factors and mitigation strategies

Runway excursion (RE) is a significant cause of many aircraft accidents worldwide. Statistic reveals that accident associated with RE is on the increase. Although RE accident fatalities are usually lower with respect to loss of control (LOC) caused accidents, however the aircrafts involved in RE caused accidents are usually write-off. In response to the raising threat to aviation safety, the Research and Development (R&D) division of the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT), Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Base, Kaduna Nigeria was tasked to conduct a study on RE problem. The study gathered of three kinds of secondary information associated with RE accidents: 1) statistical summaries, 2) accident report that cited runway excursion accident and 3) stakeholders inputs. Using this resources, the RE causal factors were identified. This paper described the study method, stakeholder viewpoint; key identified causal factors for RE caused accidents and mitigation strategies.Keywords: Aircraft accident, causal factor, runway excursion, mitigation strategie

From ‘Vagabonds’ to Ethnobotanical Relevance: Weeds of the Campus Sites of Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Nigeria

A survey of the weed flora of the campus sites of the Olabisi Onabanjo University was undertaken. Several visits were made to the disturbed and undisturbed vegetation of the sites for collection of weeds after which the weeds were prepared in accordance with conventional herbarium practice. A total of seventy-three (73) weed species belonging to twenty-seven (27) families were identified and found to be present within the area of study. The family Poaceae seems to have the highest number of weed species (twelve) available within the area followed by Asteraceae with ten (10) species. Amaranthaceae, Cyperaceae and Euphorbiaceae are also in abundance. These weeds have been discovered to be useful, against the mindset of the uninformed that they are useless or ‘vagabond’ plants. Medicinal uses as well as percentage occurrence of each family are presented. From this study it is obvious that the University sites are not only rich in plant biodiversity but that the plants are also very rich in socio-economic values. It is therefore advisable that these plants should be protected from going into extinction so that all would not be lost due to developmental activities

Evaluation of Level of Service of Traffic at Major Road Intersections in Ibadan, Nigeria

Transportation has been of immense benefits to the social, economic and political development of communities, however, it is sometimes characterised with negative impacts such as traffic congestions, delays, environmental pollutions and crashes. In this study, the level of service of selected major road intersections in Ibadan were investigated. Traffic volume of each intersection approach was conducted from 7am - 7pm on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, delay studies were carried out during the morning, afternoon and evening peak hours and level of service for each approach was determined from the average delay per vehicle. The traffic volume reveals that passenger cars are the predominant vehicles at all the approaches and the morning and afternoon peak hours occurred between 8 to 9am and 2 to 3pm, respectively. The level of service for all the approaches is B, indicating slight reduction in capacity of the intersections. Keywords: Transport, Traffic volume, Traffic delay, Traffic congestion and Road intersection DOI: 10.7176/JIEA/9-7-05 Publication date: December 31st 201

Adequacy of Technical Facilities for Maternal Health Care Delivery in Public Secondary and Tertiary Facilities in Osun State, Nigeria

Nigeria has one of the highest maternal mortalities and morbidities in the world, and the need to address these challenges continues to engage the attention of relevant stakeholders but very little attention has focused on technological resources within the maternal health research agenda. This study aims to identify and determine the adequacy of the key equipment for emergency obstetric care (EmOC) services in public-sector secondary and tertiary health facilities in Osun State, Southwest, Nigeria. Using a two-stage probability sampling procedure, 7 health facilities based in 6 randomly selected Local government areas (LGAs) were involved in the study. Data were obtained through the use of primary and secondary sources. For primary sources, a questionnaire was administered to 112 health workers and the study also utilized a checklist for equipment inventory. For secondary sources we reviewed existing hospital records on technology acquisition and maintenance. Relevant descriptive and inferential statistics were used for the data analysis. Almost three-fifths (58.1%) of the health workers considered the technical facilities for the delivery of EmOC in their facilities as inadequate, the proportion of health workers with such opinion was significantly higher in secondary compare to tertiary facilities (60.0% vs 40.0%, p=0.003). The inventory review and use of the checklist also showed varying degree of inadequate technical facilities; none of the facilities had all the 26 equipment considered as essential for comprehensive EmOC in functional state. We concluded that the public sector facilities in Osun State have inadequate technical facilities for EmOC; addressing this technological challenge will be critical to improving maternal health outcomes and statistics in Nigeria

FAMILY COMMUNICATION ON HIV / AIDS AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN A NORTHERN STATE OF NIGERIA

Most Adolescents in Nigeria, like many others in Africa, are potentially at risk for contracting HIV through unprotected sexual intercourse. Yet the issue of how to help youth avoid risky sexual behaviour through family communication / education on HIV/AIDS is still of serious arguments within the society. This study examines the practice of family communication on HIV / AIDS among secondary school students. A descriptive study using 420 secondary school students selected by multi-stage random sampling was done. Self administered semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect relevant data. Only 48 (12.1%) reported family as the first source of information. However, most of the students 315 (79.7%) had family communication on HIV/AIDS with their family members. There is a gender difference in practice of family communication. Significantly higher proportion of the female students had family communication more than their male counterparts. The educational status of the parents significantly determined whether or not a student had family communication on HIV/AIDS. There is considerable level of family communication in the study population which should be encouraged further to cut across all members of the family

A chemotaxonomic approach to the alkane content of three species of Anthocleista Afzel. (Loganiaceae)

The chemotaxonomic significance of leaf wax n-alkanes was studied in three species of Anthocleista Afzel. Identification of alkane components were determined by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography -mass spectrometry (GC-MS) data. In all, fourteen alkanes were identified, ranging from tetracosane (C 24 H 50 ) to heptriacontane (C 37 H 76 ). Tetracosane, pentacosane and heptriacontane were the major components in all the three species of Anthocleista. A. djalonensis and A. vogelii were characterized by high percentages of tetracosane (28.81 and 39.14%, respectively), whereas in A. nobilis heptriacontane (C 37 H 76 ) was the major component being 24.76%. Significant correlation between A. djalonensis and A. vogelii (r = 0.884 and p = 0.000) at 0.01 implies a probable closeness between these species. However, the result obtained in this study provides further evidence of chemotaxonomic significance

Effects Of Photoperiod On Testicular Functions In Male Sprague-Dawley Rats

Variation in reproductive status in response to photoperiods has been observed in laboratory rats. We investigated the effects of photoperiod on testicular activity in Sprague-Dawley rats ( Rattus norvigicus ) maintained in experimental photoperiodic condition. Twenty four adult male rats weighing 170±10g were conditioned to different lighting conditions of Light/Dark (LD) Cycle for 6 weeks. Group 1, Control group (LD12:12, light on from 07:00hr to 19:00hr). Group 2, Short Photoperiod group (LD 8:16hr, light on from 09:00hr to 17:00hr). Group 3, Long Photoperiod group (LD 16:8hr, light on from 05:00hr to 21:00hr). A significant influence of different lighting conditions on the testicular parameters was observed. Short photoperiod showed a suppressing effect (P<0.001) on testicular weight, sperm motility sperm viability and sperm counts, while long photoperiod had an inducing, though insignificant, effect on the measured parameters. The results confirmed that Sprague-Dawley rats are photoresponsive and changes in the photoperiod could influence their reproductive functions

Effects of Folic Acid Intake on Serum Lipid Profiles of Apparently Healthy Young Adult Male Nigerians

The effects of folic acid intake on serum lipid profile of apparently healthy young adult males were investigated. Ten apparently healthy young adult males (19-22years) were requested to observe 10-12h overnight fast prior to the days of appointment. Blood samples were collected 1h after the intake of appropriate volume of physiological saline (control), 5mg and 10mg of folic acid respectively at 4days interval. Compared with the control, 5mg and 10mg folic acid resulted in similar pattern of significant reduction in serum cholesterol and LDL-C (p<0.05) while there was large scale increase in HDL-C (P<0.05). Furthermore, the intake of 5mg folic acid produced significant increase in triacylglycerol while the 10mg folic acid intake resulted in significant decrease in serum triacylglycerol concentration (P<0.05). These results indicate that folic acid supplementation may provide additional benefit to humans since it increases the blood level of good cholesterol (HDL-C) and reduces the blood level of 'bad' cholesterol. These effects are additional to the well known haematological benefits of folic acid supplementation

Neck circumference is independently associated with relative systemic hypertension in young adults with sickle cell anaemia

Abstract Background A seemingly interesting observation in patients with sickle cell anaemia (SCA) is that they usually have lower systemic blood pressures (BP) and insulin resistance than persons in the general population in spite of chronic inflammation and vasculopathy. However, relative systemic hypertension (rHTN) has been linked to pulmonary hypertension, increased blood viscosity and renal insufficiency, which could indicate a risk of developing cardiometabolic disorder (CMD) in SCA. We therefore hypothesized that neck circumference (NC) and CMD marker; triglyceride glucose (TyG) index would independently predict rHTN in young adults with SCA in steady state. Methods We compared the anthropometrical, hematological, hemorheological and CMD markers between SCA patients with normal BP < 120/70 mmHg; nHTN, n = 65) and those with rHTN (BP ≥ 120/70 mmHg, n = 32). Results Our results showed that SCA with rHTN had significantly higher body weight, waist circumference, NC, plasma viscosity, systolic and diastolic BP. Results also indicated that NC (OR: 2.98; 95% CI 1.46 to 6.10, p < 0.01) was a predictor of rHTN in SCA independent of gender, age, weight, waist circumference, BMI, blood viscosity, triglyceride or TyG. A receiver operating characteristic curve analysis also showed that NC was the most efficient predictor of rHTN than other CMD markers. Conclusion The present study demonstrates that increased NC is a salient risk factors that is independently associated with rHTN in SCA. The finding therefore underscores the utility of NC in early detection and stratification of systemic hypertension, particularly in individuals with SCA