Evaluation of land surface temperature parameterization approaches using surface- layer observations

Surface temperature (Ts) is vital to the study of land-atmosphere interactions and climate variabilities. However, observed Ts data are still very scarce in humid tropical region. There is therefore a need to parameterize and improve the representation of Ts in Global Climate Models using available meteorological data. Six land surface temperature parameterization approaches (Force restored, Liebethal, Holtslag, Equilibrium Gradient, Tracy and Gottsche approaches) were validated with actual measurements using the Nigeria Micrometeorological Experiment (NIMEX) surface layer observations. The Liebethal approach showed the best agreement with the measured data with average coefficient of determination, mean bias error and root mean square error of 0.96 ± 0.01, 0.08 ± 0.04oC and 0.85 ± 0.14oC, respectively, in simulated Ts. The results also showed that the Force restored and Tracy approaches are applicable for land surface temperature parameterization in this region.Keywords: Surface Temperature, Climate Change, Humid, Parameterization, Mean Bias Erro

Growth response, nutrient and mineral retention, bone mineralisation and walking ability of broiler chickens fed with dietary inclusion of various unconventional mineral sources

Growth response, nutrient and mineral retention, bone mineral content and walking ability of broiler chicken fed dietary inclusion of various unconventional calcium sources were studied using 160‐day‐old broilers. Four isonitrogenous, isocaloric diets balanced for Ca and P were formulated such that oyster shell, snail shell, wood ash and limestone were used as main non‐phytate (Ca from other sources apart from plant) calcium sources. Each dietary treatment consisted of 40 birds replicated four times with 10 birds per replicate. A single diet was fed to the broilers throughout the duration of the study which lasted for 8 weeks. Broilers fed diet containing oyster shell as calcium sources recorded the highest (p < 0.05) feed intake of 5863.30 g, while those fed diet containing limestone consumed the least intake (p < 0.05) of 5432.56 g. Occurrence of lameness and evidences of gaits were highest (p < 0.05) for broilers fed diet containing wood ash. Lowest (p < 0.05) Ca and ash retention were recorded for broiler fed diet containing wood ash as Ca sources. Similar tibia ash values were recorded for broilers fed oyster shell, snail shell and limestone. Wood ash inclusion resulted in a low Ca availability hence its inclusion in feeds for broilers should be discouraged

Hand geometry recognition: an approach for closed and separated fingers

Hand geometry has been a biometric trait that has attracted attention from several researchers. This stems from the fact that it is less intrusive and could be captured without contact with the acquisition device. Its application ranges from forensic examination to basic authentication use. However, restrictions in hand placement have proven to be one of its challenges. Users are either instructed to keep their fingers separate or closed during capture. Hence, this paper presents an approach to hand geometry using finger measurements that considers both closed and separate fingers. The system starts by cropping out the finger section of the hand and then resizing the cropped fingers. 20 distances were extracted from each finger in both separate and closed finger images. A comparison was made between Manhattan distance and Euclidean distance for features extraction. The support vector machine (SVM) was used for classification. The result showed a better result for Euclidean distance with a false acceptance ratio (FAR) of 0.6 and a false rejection ratio (FRR) of 1.2

Physiological responses of cowpea simultaneously exposed to water deficit stress and varying light intensities at vegetative and reproductive growth stages

A combination of stresses as it occurs on the field poses more challenges to crop production than individual stress. Crops’ response to single stress also differs from that of combined stresses. The morpho-physiological responses of two cowpea varieties (IT89KD-288 and IT99K573-1-1) to a combination of stresses (water deficit stress and high light intensity) were investigated at different growth stages. Three levels of light intensities (L3: 259 Lux- 36%, L2: 394 Lux-55% and L1: 710.2 Lux-100%) were imposed using one, two and zero layer(s) of the net, respectively, while, water deficit stress at four levels (W1: no water stress; 0-5 bars, W2: moderate water stress; 5-15 bars, W3: moderately-severe; 15-40 bars and W4: severe water stress; 40 -70 bars) was imposed differently at vegetative and reproductive growth stages. Data were collected on the cowpea yield, Leaf Temperature (LT), Chlorophyll (C), Photosynthesis (P), Stomatal Conductance (SC) and Canopy Transpiration Rate (CTR). Exposure to W4 under L1 considerably reduced cowpea yield by 80% compared to those grown under L3 and full watering. Reduced light intensity enhanced cowpea grain yield irrespective of water deficit stress and IT89KD-288 was superior to IT99K573-1-1. Reduction in light intensity also increased the SC from 55.18 in L1 to 76.88 in 36 % L3. Full light intensity without water stress (100% light intensity), increased C content, while severe water stress reduced the C content and CTR. Photosynthesis was, however, reduced under low light intensity compared to 100% light intensity. It was also observed that water deficit stress imposed at the reproductive stage did not affect P, CTR and SC unlike that of the vegetative stage. In conclusion, reduced light intensity enhanced cowpea tolerance to water deficit and increased yield. Cowpea response was dependent on growth stage, variety and severity of stress

Seasonal Distribution and Variations of Abundance of Phytoplankton Community in Ikere Gorge Dam, Oyo State, Southwest Nigeria

Factors influencing the distribution and variations of abundance of phytoplankton of dams are yet to be accounted for in Southwest Nigeria. Therefore, the objective of this paper was to evaluate the seasonal distribution and variations of abundance of phytoplankton community in Ikere Gorge Dam, Oyo State, Southwest Nigeria using standard techniques. Data obtained show that a total of 494 microalgal taxa belonging to eight divisions were recorded. Zygnematophyceae comprised 360 taxa (64%), Bacillarophyceae 22 taxa (14%), Chlorophyceae 66 taxa (13%), Cyanophyceae 20 taxa (4%), Dinophyceae 8 taxa (1%), Trebouxiophyceae 13 taxa (2%), Ulvophyceae 3 taxa (0.02%), Xanthophyceae 2 taxa (0.01%). The observations and results confirm hypotheses that phytoplankton abundance varies more between season (wet and dry) than spatially in Ikere gorge dam. No single taxon or a combination of two or three taxa accounted for more than 80% of the phytoplankton abundance. Canonical correspondence analysis revealed DO, TDS, nitrate-nitrogen and water transparency as the major water quality variables driving variation in the composition of plankton communities in the dam. This study showed seasonality is the major factor influencing the diversity and abundance of phytoplankton community through changes in concentrations of DO, nitrates, and phosphate. Ikere Gorge dam showed a strong seasonal variation in physico-chemical water quality variables owing to the size of the dam that is not well-mixed, and with long water residence times. This study contributes to understanding the water quality, determinant factors, and drivers of biological communities in dams of tropical regions that are being influenced by anthropogenic activities

A Mobile Palmprint Authentication System Using a Modified MNT Algorithm, Circular Local Binary Pattern, and CNN (mobileNet)

A few approaches have been proposed for hand segmentation in palmprint recognition. Skin-color information does not process sufficient information for discrimination in complex backgrounds and variable illumination. The use of guides has also been proposed, which restricts hand placement during capturing. Contour tracing algorithms have also been proposed in the literature. This worked in an even background scenario with no objects or patterns around the hand. In the case of uneven background with objects present, the traditional contour tracing algorithm cannot accurately segment the hand from the background. Hence, this paper proposes a modified Moore Neighbor Tracing (MNT) algorithm for hand detection and key-point extraction in complex backgrounds. The hand image is converted to grey, and the edges in the hand image are detected. The modified algorithm then transverses selected edges and returns the peak and valleys of each finger. This is then used to crop the palm. The modified algorithm improves the accuracy of hand detection in complex backgrounds with an F-Score of 0.8657. A mobile palmprint biometric system was also presented using Circular Local Binary Pattern (CLBP) and Convolutional Neural Network (CNN). The system showed an accuracy of 98.3% for hands captured with the mobile device and the CASIA online database. An accuracy of 99.0% was also recorded for GPDS and PolyU online databases

PHYSICO-CHEMICAL AND MICROBIAL ASSESSMENT OF DIFFERENT WATER SOURCES IN OTA, OGUN STATE, NIGERIA

Pollution of water bodies is one of the areas of major concern to en vironmentalists and requires continuous assess ment. This necessitated the evaluation of the physical, chemical an d microbiological quality of water from the primary sources of supply in different locations of Ota using standard methods. Results of the values of the surface and potable water in the study area showed that turbidity(0.19 to 11.6 NTU), conductivity (36.5 to 396 µs/cm), salinity (10 to 80 mg/L), alkalinity (0 to 64 mg/L), nitrate (0.20 to 4.60 mg/L), total hardness (5.0 to 80.0 m g/L), total solid (4000 to 7000 mg/L) total suspended solids (3967 to 6978 mg/L) total dissolved solids (17.9 to 198 mg/L), dissolved oxygen (4.50 to 9.60 mg/L), biochemical oxygen demand (ND to 4.67 mg/L), MPN c ount (2 to 1600 MPN/100 ml) and the faecal coliform counts ranged between ND to 2.5×104. The Physico chemic al parameters of most of the samples analysed were within the limits set by both National and International standa rd regulatory bodies for drinking and domestic waters (SON, 2007; WHO, 2011). Overall, the potable water sources are suitable for drinking, but the faecal contamination in Iju River makes it unfit for drinking

Effect of Methanol extract of Musca domestica larva on some Enzymes and Haematological parameters in Trypanosoma brucei brucei - infected rats

This study investigated the effect of methanol extract of Musca domestica (400mg/kg body weight) on some biomarker enzymes and haematological parameters in Trypanosoma brucei  brucei - infected rats. Twenty albino rats were intraperitoneally infected with Trypanosoma brucei brucei and were grouped into five (5) groups of four (4) rats each. Group1 was set up as infected not treated (0.2ml normal saline/kg body weight), group 2 was treated with diaminazene aceturate (standard drug), group 3 as prophylactic treated (treatment for 72 hours before inoculation of parasite), group 4 as early treatment with the extract (treatment commenced after the sight of parasite) and group 5 as the control (uninfected untreated) group. Results shows significant (p&lt;0.05) decrease in liver AST and ALT activities with concomitant increase in serum activities of the infected untreated rats when compared with the early treated, prophylactic treated, standard treated and normal control. Serum ALP activity of the infected not treated group was significantly (p&lt;0.05) higher when compared to the control group and other experimental groups. No significant (p&gt;0.05) difference in the liver ALP activities of the extract treated infected groups with standard drug treated group However, serum and liver GGT activities of the uninfected untreated (control) was significantly lower (p&lt;0.05) than all the other experimental groups. Haematological studies shows significant decrease (p&lt;0.05) in packed cell volume (PCV) , haemoglobin concentration (Hb) and red blood cell count (RBC) of infected not treated when compared to infected prophylactic treated and infected early treated. There was likewise significant increase in white blood cell count (WBC) of infected not treated compared to infected prophylactic treated and infected early treated. Findings from this study showed that methanol extract of Musca domestica larva has trypanocidal properties thereby ameliorating the T. brucei induced biochemical changes in rats.Key words: Musca domestica larva, Haematology, Trypanosomiasis, Enzymes, Methanol, Extract

Pattern of primary caesarean deliveries in a Nigerian tertiary hospital

Background: Primary caesarean section (CS) has become a major driver of the steadily rising total caesarean rate. This study determined the primary CS rate, pattern and associated factors.Methods: It was a retrospective, hospital-based cross-sectional study of 645 pregnant women who had primary caesarean section over a 3-year period in Lagos state university teaching hospital, Lagos, Nigeria. Data obtained were expressed in frequency and percentages.Results: Primary CS accounted for more than 50% of all the CS done during the study period with a primary CS rate of 16.7% and total CS rate was 30.6%. Primary CS was commonest among women of age group 30-39years (50.1%) and women with no prior parous experience (58.6%). The commonest indication for primary CS was poor progress in labour due to cephalopelvic disproportion, which occurred in 170 women (26.4%), followed by suspected foetal distress in 94 women (14.6%) and hypertensive disease in pregnancy in 91 women (14.1%). Post-operative wound infection and/or dehiscence was the most prevalent post-operative complication occurring in 12.1% of women who had primary CS.Conclusions: Primary CS rate is increasing and relatively more common among primiparous women. Cephalopelvic disproportion, suspected foetal distress and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy are the leading indications for primary CS.