RURAL HOUSEHOLDS' SOURCES OF WATER AND WILLINGNESS-TO-PAY FOR IMPROVED WATER SERVICES IN SOUTH-WEST, NIGERIA

Households' source of water is one of the core development indicators recently gaining prominence in Nigeria. This study examined rural households' sources of water and its Willingness to Pay (WTP).  A cross sectional survey involving the use of questionnaire was adopted while a dichotomous choice (DC) with follow up was used as elicitation method. A multi-stage random sampling technique was used to select 437 rural households. Descriptive statistics and Tobit model was used as analytical tool for the study. Results from this study revealed that almost 70% fetched from unimproved water sources. Only 74.4% of the respondents showed WTP for improved water sources. Age(p<0.01), Sex (p<0.01), Education (p<0.01), Occupation(p<0.01), Income (p<0.01), Price of water(P<0.01), Quantity of water (p<0.01), Household size(p<0.01) and Distance(p<0.01) to existing water sources significantly influenced rural households' WTP for these services. Therefore, good water sources should be cited nearer to rural community at a relatively low price by rural households. &nbsp

Second kind Chebyshev collocation technique for Volterra-Fredholm fractional order integro-differential equations

In this work, we present the numerical solution of fractional order Volterra–Fredholm integro-differential equations using the second kind of Chebyshev collocation technique. First, we transformed the problem into a system of linear algebraic equations, which are then solved using matrix inversion to obtain the unknown constants. Furthermore, numerical examples are used to outline the method’s accuracy and efficiency using tables and figures. The results show that the method performed better in terms of improving accuracy and requiring less rigorous work.©2022 JNSMR UIN Walisongo. All rights reserved

Second kind Chebyshev collocation technique for Volterra-Fredholm fractional order integro-differential equations

In this work, we present the numerical solution of fractional order Volterra–Fredholm integro-differential equations using the second kind of Chebyshev collocation technique. First, we transformed the problem into a system of linear algebraic equations, which are then solved using matrix inversion to obtain the unknown constants. Furthermore, numerical examples are used to outline the method’s accuracy and efficiency using tables and figures. The results show that the method performed better in terms of improving accuracy and requiring less rigorous work.©2022 JNSMR UIN Walisongo. All rights reserved

Second kind Chebyshev collocation technique for Volterra-Fredholm fractional order integro-differential equations

In this work, we present the numerical solution of fractional order Volterra–Fredholm integro-differential equations using the second kind of Chebyshev collocation technique. First, we transformed the problem into a system of linear algebraic equations, which are then solved using matrix inversion to obtain the unknown constants. Furthermore, numerical examples are used to outline the method’s accuracy and efficiency using tables and figures. The results show that the method performed better in terms of improving accuracy and requiring less rigorous work.©2022 JNSMR UIN Walisongo. All rights reserved

Enhancing the Mechanical Properties of Lateritic Brick for Better performance

The research considered the production of improved stabilized lateritic Bricks (ISLB) with enhanced mechanical properties. The research data were derived from laboratory experiments which include capillary test, erosion test, abrasion test, density test and compressive strength test. Three batches of 290mm x 140mm x 100mm brick samples were produced which are: the Adobe Unstabilized Lateritic Bricks (AULB), Improved Stabilized Lateritic Brick (ISLB) and the Control Stabilized Lateritic Bricks (CSLB). Brick stabilization was maintained at 5% by weight of cement. Compaction of the bricks were carried out manually; the moulded bricks were carefully extruded in good shape and placed on clean, hard flat surface to allowed to dry under normal atmospheric temperature and pressure . The ISLB was divided into four groups of 12 bricks samples immersed in solution of zycosil and water in the following proportion by volume: (1:100),(1:200),(1:300) and (1:400) for 30 minutes and dried under normal atmospheric temperature and pressure before curing commenced. The result of the capillary test on bricks samples after 24 hours showed that AULB and CSLB has (0.35 and 0.15)kg weight difference equivalent of (0.00599 and 0.00256) kg/m2/min suction rate while the ISLB have 0.05kg weight difference equivalent to 0.000855kg/m2/min suction rate. The result of erosion test for brick durability ranked between very firm for ISLB of 1:100, 1:200 and 1:300 Zycosil Water Solution (ZWS), firm for ISLB of 1:400 ZWS; firm for CSLB and loose for AULB. The abrasion test result showed that the ISLB have abrasion value of (1,2,2 and 2)% while the CSLB and AULB have (3 and 12)% abrasion value. The density of ISLB are (1933.50, 1921.18, 1916.26 and 1908.87) kgm-3 at 28 days while the density of CSLB and AULB were (1926.11 and 1800.49) kgm-3. Density results conform to minimum specification requirement for lateritic bricks of bulk density of 1810kgm-3 as recommended by the Nigeria Building and Road Research Institute (NBRRI). Compressive strength test for the ISLB are (3.16, 3.10, 3.07 and 3.08) Nmm-2 at 28 days while the compressive strength test for CSLB and AULB stood at (3.15 and 2.41) Nm-2 which conforms to NBRRI recommended value of compressive strength ranges of (3 to 3.5) Nmm-2 at 5% stabilization level. It was concluded that the mechanical properties of improved stabilized lateritic brick are better than CSLB and AULB in terms of capillary rise, erosion, abrasion, density and compressive strength

Assessment of Post Fire Structural Strengths of Normal Strength Concrete Subjected to Cyclic Thermal Loadings

Concrete is a composite construction material consisting basically of a binder, aggregates, water and with or without admixture to modify either or both its physical and chemical properties. The rate at which concrete structures especially buildings are gutted by fire hazards is on the increase and this has adverse effect on the strength, hence, the need to assess the post fire structural strengths of Normal Strength Concrete(NSC). NSC of grade 50 was produced and cast into specimens of sizes 150mm cubes and 100mm x 100mm x 500mm reinforced concrete beams. The concrete cubes and beams were subjected to elevated cyclic thermal loadings after 7, 14 and 28 days of curing, while the rate of heating was maintained at 1oC/min until the target temperature of (100, 130, 160, 200 and 250)o C where attained and this was maintained for one hour and then allowed to cool at 1oC/min to room temperature of 32oC. Unstressed Residual Uniaxial Compressive Test (URUCT and Flexural Strength Test (FST) were conducted on the cubes and reinforced concrete beams, respectively. Direct Tensile Strength Test (DTST) was performed on the high yield (460N/mm2) steel reinforcement. The result showed that the residual compressive strengths of concrete cubes decreases with increase thermal loadings. The expected strengths of 0.69 and 0.97 of the 28 days strength for 7 and 14 days respectively were met. The flexural strengths decrease with increase in thermal loadings. The flexural strength of the concrete beams at 28 days of 15.25N/mm2 at thermal loading of 32oC was reduced to 8.16/mm2 at thermal loading of 160oC; while the strength at 14 days of 12.19 N/mm2 at thermal loading of 32oC was reduced to 7.62N/mm2 at thermal loading of 160oC and finally, the strength at 7 days of 10.13N/mm2 at thermal loading of 32oC was reduced to 5.82N/mm2 at thermal loading of 160oC. All the results met the specification for high yield steel of 12% elongation at fracture. It was concluded that within the thermal loading range adopted, the tensile strength of the reinforcement was not impaired beyond the limit specified by the code

Design and Construction of an Automatic Home and Office Power Control System

In homes and offices, it is very common for occupants to forget to switch OFF the lighting and fans when leaving the premises. This can be attributed to human forgetfulness and the epileptic power supply which causes interruption that results in users forgetting the state of their appliances (whether they are ON or OFF). Consequently, these appliances would continue to work whenever power is restored when the occupants might have vacated the premise. This action is not a small contributor to energy wastage in a country like Nigeria where there is an inadequate energy supply to go round the populace. In this work, a simple but robust automatic home and office power control system is developed to auto-detect the presence of an occupant in the room through the passive infrared (PIR) sensor and control the electrical appliances (lighting and fan source) in the room. Certain conditions must be met for the operation of lighting and the fan source. The lighting comes up when the PIR sensor senses the presence of an occupant and the room is in darkness, while the fan would work when there is an occupant and the temperature in the room is above 35 °C. These conditions are programmed to suit the need of the occupant but cannot be changed by the user. The device automatically switches OFF within five minutes after the last occupant leaves the room

Genetic analysis of grain yield and resistance of extra-early-maturing maize inbreds to northern corn leaf blight

Open Access Article; Published online: 11 Feb 2021Maize (Zea mays L.) is a food security crop in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Incidence of northern corn leaf blight (NCLB), caused by Exserohilum turcicum, in lowlands of SSA during the past decade has caused 30–70% reduction in maize yield. This study (a) examined the combining abilities of extra-early maize (EEM) inbreds and classified them into heterotic groups; (b) elucidated gene action controlling resistance to NCLB; (c) assessed grain yield (GYLD) and yield stability of EEM hybrids underNCLB infection; and (d) identified testers. One hundred and fiftyEEMhybrids, obtained by crossing 15 inbreds each of white- and yellow-endosperm maize using the North Carolina Design II, plus six checks, were evaluated in nine environments, six of which were inoculated with an isolate of E. turcicum and three of which were non-inoculated in 2018 and 2019. The white and yellow inbreds were placed in three heterotic groups using the heterotic grouping based on general combining ability (GCA) of multiple traits and stability of GYLD using the genotype plus genotype × environment (GGE) biplot analysis. The GCA, specific combining ability (SCA) and genotype × environment (G×E) interactions were significant for GYLD, disease severity, and other measured traits. The GCA effects were more important than the SCA effects for GYLD and NCLB severity scores across environments, implying that recurrent selection could facilitate improvement for GYLD and NCLB resistance. Three inbred testers and four single-cross testers were identified for developing high-yielding NCLB-resistant hybrids. Four white and five yellow single-cross hybrids were identified for on-farm testing and possible commercialization

Income and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission trade-offs on smallholder farms at two sites in northern Nigeria

This study analyses the trade-offs between welfare (measured by income) and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions using a farm-level optimisation model that incorporates the predominant cereal (sorghum), legumes (groundnut, soybeans), livestock (cattle, goats and sheep) and trees (locust bean, camel’s foot) representative of production systems at two contrasting sites in northern Nigeria. The optimisation model maximises the value of total farm production, subject to constraints on GHG reductions of 10%, 25% and the maximum reductions that allow households to meet minimum consumption requirements. Substantive reductions in livestock and legume production would be required to achieve the maximum possible reductions from current emissions and would reduce household income by 22% and 44%, respectively. Under current production practices, reductions in GHG emissions reduce household income, which suggests the need for further research on productivity-enhancing technologies that could both enhance income and reduce GHG emissions in these production contexts