The architecture and chemistry of a dug-out : the Dufuna canoe in ethno-archaeological perspective

This research work emanated from a joint research project between the Johann-Wolfgang Goethe-University Frankfurt am Main, Germany and the University of Maiduguri, Nigeria; as outlined in the Bilateral Agreement of July 21st 1988.1 The research program is interdisciplinary in nature involving these areas: Archaeology, Geography, Linguistics and Historical Ethnology; all under the general theme of West African Savannah. Considerable research work has already been carried out in these areas by German explorers and scholars dating back to the mid-nineteenth century. The project is funded by the German Research Foundation. The present paper addresses itself purely to one and very important aspect of an archaeological campaign undertaken in the Chad Region of Nigeria in late 1990/1991 season. In consequence to reconnaissance survey and excavation conducted at a site called Gajiganna, abundant lithic materials were noticed and collected. The crucial question one poses to the site which lacks physical outcrops in and within the precinct of the settlement are, what could have been the source of the raw materials at the site? Were they transported from somewhere to the site? If so, why was it necessary for the materials to be brought to this site? These and other related questions posed a serious commodity problem for most sites in Borno with lithic materials

Relationship between the national universities commission resource allocation parameters used in allocating funds to teaching and learning and research and development and the outcomes of federal universities in Nigeria

The National Universities Commission Resource Allocation Parameters were developed by the National Universities Commission (NUC), for the allocation of funds to all the federal universities in Nigeria. However, the outcomes of the universities in their core tasks of teaching and research have left much to be desired, considering the volume of funds allocated to them annually. The funding parameters were described as input driven and does not therefore consider the outcomes of the federal universities, especially in their core tasks of teaching and research. The basic aim of this study, therefore, was to examine the relationship between the NUC funding parameters with the outcomes of the federal universities in Nigeria. A mixed mode design was adopted by the study where qualitative data was first collected, analyzed and then, together with relevant literatures, used to develop a survey instrument for the quantitative phase of the study. The study surveyed 209 senior management staff of the federal universities in Nigeria, and the results were analyzed using the IBM SPSS for Windows and SEM-PLS3. Factor analysis was conducted to identify the number of factors for the study, from where the measurement and structural models were built to identify the relationship between the funding parameters and the outcomes of the federal universities. The findings revealed that there is a positive and a statistically significant relationship between academic support, academic facilities and academic research with the teaching outcomes of the federal universities, while only academic support and academic facilities showed a similar relationship with research outcomes. The study has thus been able to fill the knowledge gaps that exists in the relationship between the funding parameters used in allocating funds to teaching and research with the outcomes of the federal universities in Nigeria

Modified palm oil fuel ash (pofa) as quartz replacement for the production of porcelain

Utilization of silica rich ash such as palm oil fuel ash (POFA) in the ceramic industry due to the increasing demand for porcelain with improved performance is inevitable. Wastes are produced from the industry in form of empty fruits bunches, kernel and fibers. Palm oil industries burned the waste to produce heat to the boiler and generate electricity, the ash produced is known as palm oil fuel ash. POFA has similar chemical property with quartz, thus can be used as quartz replacement. The objectives of this research are to modify POFA, determined its effect on physico-mechanical properties of porcelain and develop a formulation model. To remove the moisture of POFA, the powder was dried in an oven at 110 °C for 24 hours and ground to a sufficient fineness ≤ 50 μm for 12 hours at 250 rev/min. POFA powder underwent heat and HCL acid treatments. Standard porcelain of 50 % clay, 25 % feldspar and 25 % quartz was adopted. Quartz was substituted with POFA at 0, 15, 20 and 25 wt.% and mixed homogeneously with the composition of porcelain, dry pressed into pallets at 91 MPa and sintered at 1100 °C, 1150 °C, 1200 °C and 1250 °C for 2 hours soaking time. Modified POFA (SiO2, Al2O3, Fe2O3, MgO, CaO, and P2O5) were then added to the optimum composition (1150 °C, 15 wt.% of POFA and 2 molar HCl acid treatment) at 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10 and 15 wt. % mixed homogeneously, dry pressed and sintered at 1150 °C to identify their effect on physico-mechanical properties of porcelain. Densification was achieved at lower sintering temperature by addition of POFA. Due to formation of mullite and crystalline phase, the highest values of bulk density, compressive strength, and Vickers micro hardness were found to increase by addition of Fe2O3 at 5 wt. % as 2.515 g/cm3, 177.08 MPa and 829 HV respectively. The results of developed polynomial regression models show a very good prediction similar to the experimental value. Hence, POFA has a greater future in ceramic industry due to its flexibility and chemical properties. It is therefore evidently concluded that, addition of Fe2O3 at 5 wt. % enhanced both physical and mechanical properties of porcelain

A treatise on the Surveyor lunar landing dynamics and an evaluation of pertinent telemetry data returned by Surveyor I

Dynamic behavior of Surveyor landing system and surface material during lunar landin

Impact of climate change on first generation biofuels production in the 21st century

This study assessed the potential (near, medium, and long term) impacts of climate change on first generation corn bioethanol and soybean biodiesel production in Gainesville, Florida, USA. The Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer-Cropping System Model (DSSAT-CSM) was used to simulate biomass and grain yield under climate change scenarios in the 21st century with direct effect of CO2. Weather projection was made for each scenario using the 10 year weather data for the baseline period (1981–1990). Precipitation is projected to increase by +20, +10, -10, and -20% every month throughout the growing season. Daily minimum and maximum air temperatures are projected to increase by +1.5, +3, and +5oC. Atmospheric CO2 is projected to increase by +70 and +350ppm. Simulated yields (grains/seeds and by-products) were then used as inputs into the LCA models. Results show that while bioethanol from corn and biodiesel from soybean offers some potential for GHG emissions savings per cultivated ha of set-aside land, this is tempered by rising air temperature. However, increased atmospheric levels of CO2 relative to current condition would reduce the severe impact of warming. Only soybean biodiesel will be positively affected by climate changes

Optimal Sensor Locations for Structural Identification

The optimum sensor location problem, OSLP, may be thought of in terms of the set of systems, S, the class of input time functions, I, and the identification algorithm (estimator) used, E. Thus, for a given time history of input, the technique of determining the OSL requires, in general, the solution of the optimization and the identification problems simultaneously. A technique which uncouples the two problems is introduced. This is done by means of the concept of an efficient estimator for which the covariance of the parameter estimates is inversely proportional to the Fisher Information Matrix

Integrated water and soil conservation for food security in Niger, preliminary results

As a result of growing population pressure and limited fertile land availability, Nigerien farmers increasingly rely on marginal lands for food crops production. These degraded lands, however, generally provide poor millet yields due to their low soil nutrient content and imbalanced partitioning of water in the root-zone. This study evaluates the agronomical, hydrological and soil quality parameters of water and soil conservation techniques (i.e. zaï, demi-lunes and no-till with scarification) which tackle these two major crop growth limitations by means of an in situ root-zone water balance experiment. Preliminary results from the first cropping season from June to October 2011 show overall low yields. The 2011 season was characterised by erratic rainfall with a severe dry spell during flowering stage. The control and manure treatment did not yield grain, but simply applying manure did increase dry matter production with a factor of 20. The highest grain yield was produced by the zaï, 134 kg/ha, which was 3 and 9 times better than respectively the grain yield of demi-lunes and no-till with scarification treatments. The zaï treatment moreover reduced cumulative actual evaporation as measured using mini-lysimeters during a 10 day drying cycle. In conclusion, until now the synergistic effect of the water-harvesting practices and the supply of manure show promising potential to rehabilitate and to increase the agronomic efficiency of marginal land in Niger. Future work will focus on the impact of the treatments on yield, soil quality properties and on the root-zone water balance

Quality assessment of groundwater from Hadejia Local Government Area of Jigawa State, Nigeria

The physicochemical and trace metal levels of groundwater (borehole) from Hadejia Local Government Area of Jigawa State used for drinking and other domestic  purposes were analyzed to assess its equality. A total of 20 sampling points were selected for the study, the groundwater samples were collected and analyzed for physicochemical and trace metals values. Levels of various physicochemical  parameters which include Temperature, pH, Electrical conductivity(EC), Total  Dissolved Solids(TDS), Total Hardness, Magnesium, and Calcium were determined using standard analytical methods. The concentration of NO3 -, Cl -, Fe, Cu, Zn, Mn, Cr, and Pb were determined spectrophotometrically using CHEMetrics Model V-2000spectrophotometer which is    pre-programmed to measure 30 analytes automatically, using CHEMetrics Vacu-Visuals self-filling ampoules. The results  showed that concentration of Mn, Cr, and Pb are found to be slightly higher above the maximum permissible limit of Nigerian  Standard for Drinking Water Quality 0.2, 0.5 and 0.01mg/L respectively, while Fe, Cu, and Zn concentration are below or within the permissible limit of 0.3, 1.0, and 3.0 mg/L respectively set by NSDWQ in majority of the boreholes. The values for   physicochemical variables EC, pH, Temperature, TDS, Total Hardness, Ca, Mg, Cl -, and NO3 - were found to be below or within the permissible limit set by the NSDWQ. Thus, it is concluded that the current status of the water in most of the boreholes considered for this study is fit as a source of drinking for the community; it is recommended that those boreholes with higher level of Mn, Cr, and Pb should be closed and new ones constructed to enhance good drinking water delivery to the community. Keywords: Groundwater, Hadejia, Physicochemical Parameters

Edge Detection: A Collection of Pixel based Approach for Colored Images

The existing traditional edge detection algorithms process a single pixel on an image at a time, thereby calculating a value which shows the edge magnitude of the pixel and the edge orientation. Most of these existing algorithms convert the coloured images into gray scale before detection of edges. However, this process leads to inaccurate precision of recognized edges, thus producing false and broken edges in the image. This paper presents a profile modelling scheme for collection of pixels based on the step and ramp edges, with a view to reducing the false and broken edges present in the image. The collection of pixel scheme generated is used with the Vector Order Statistics to reduce the imprecision of recognized edges when converting from coloured to gray scale images. The Pratt Figure of Merit (PFOM) is used as a quantitative comparison between the existing traditional edge detection algorithm and the developed algorithm as a means of validation. The PFOM value obtained for the developed algorithm is 0.8480, which showed an improvement over the existing traditional edge detection algorithms.Comment: 5 Page

Shuttle payload bay dynamic environments: Summary and conclusion report for STS flights 1-5 and 9

The vibration, acoustic and low frequency loads data from the first 5 shuttle flights are presented. The engineering analysis of that data is also presented. Vibroacoustic data from STS-9 are also presented because they represent the only data taken on a large payload. Payload dynamic environment predictions developed by the participation of various NASA and industrial centers are presented along with a comparison of analytical loads methodology predictions with flight data, including a brief description of the methodologies employed in developing those predictions for payloads. The review of prediction methodologies illustrates how different centers have approached the problems of developing shuttle dynamic environmental predictions and criteria. Ongoing research activities related to the shuttle dynamic environments are also described. Analytical software recently developed for the prediction of payload acoustic and vibration environments are also described