Effect of Different Sulphate Types and Concentrations on Compressive Strength of Periwinkle Shell Ash Blended Cement Concrete

The study investigated the compressive strength performance of periwinkle shell ash (PSA) blended cement concrete exposed to sulphate environments. Periwinkle shells were obtained from Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom state, Nigeria; and calcined in a furnace to temperature of 8000C at zero soaking time. Concrete mix of design characteristic strength of 25N/mm2 was adopted as the control. The cement component replaced with PSA at five levels of 0%, 10%, 20%, 30% and 40% were cast, and on hardened exposed to varying concentration of sulphates of magnesium, sodium and calcium at four levels of 0%, 1%, 3% and 5% each for three exposure periods of 62, 92 and 152 days after complete immersion in water for 28 days. Using three replicates in all the tests, a total of 630 cubical (150mm) specimens were cast and tested. The results revealed that compressive strength increased with increase in curing age but decreased as the PSA contents increased. The design compressive strength was attained with 10% PSA content at the age of 28 days. The compressive strength reduction in sulphate solutions was noted to increase significantly (p = 0.005, R2 = 0.995) with increase exposure period and concentration, with the most severe caused by magnesium sulphate and the least by calcium sulphate. The least reduction in compressive strength was experienced with 10% PSA blended cement concrete. Based on the test results the study concluded that 10% PSA content is adequate as supplementary cementitious material for structural concrete to be placed in an aggressive sulphate environment

Performance of Periwinkle Shell Ash Blended Cement Concrete Exposed to Magnesium Sulphate

The study examined the compressive strength of periwinkle shell ash (PSA) blended cement concrete in magnesium sulphate medium. Specimens were prepared from designed characteristics strength of 25 MPa. The cement replacement with PSA ranged between 0 and 40% by volume. A total of 180 cube specimens were cast and cured in water. At 28 days curing, 45 specimens each were transferred into magnesium sulphate of 1%, 3%, and 5% solution, while others were continuously cured in water and tested at 62, 92, and 152 days. The results revealed a higher loss in compressive strength with the control mix, and that it increases with increased in MgSO4 concentration and exposure period, whereas, the attack on the PSA blended cement concrete was less and the least value recorded by 10% PSA content. Therefore, the study concluded that the optimum percentage replacement of cement with 10% PSA could mitigate magnesium sulphate attack

Effect of Batching Methods on the fresh and hardened properties of Concrete

This paper investigated the effect of batching by mass and volume on concrete’s compressive strength and workability. Influence of mix proportion at five levels and various water-cement ratios were also studied. All samples were cured by complete immersion in water and tested up to 28 days. The results indicated higher workabilities for concrete batched by mass than concrete batched by volume at all w/c ratios and mix proportions investigated. The workability increased with increase in w/c ratios in both methods. The compressive strength results showed that for rich structural mixes (1:1:2 and 1:1.5:3), concrete batched by mass had 20 % and 6 % strength increases respectively over the concrete batched by volume. Ordinary structural mix (1:2:4) had 14 % increase while non-structural mixes (1:3:6 and 1:4:8) had 8 % and 6 % increases respectively. In all cases, concrete batched by mass had better fresh and hardened properties of concrete

Fuzzy Rule-based Framework for Effective Control of Profitability in a Paper Recycling Plant

The rapid and constant growth of urban population has led to a dramatic increase in urban solid waste production, with a crucial socio-economic and environmental impact. As the demand for materials continues to grow and the supply of natural resources continues to dwindle, recycling of materials has become more important in order to ensure sustainability. Recycling is one of the best ways for citizens to make a direct impact on the environment. Recycling reduces greenhouse gas emissions that may lead to global warming. Recycling also conserves the natural resources on Earth like plants, animals, minerals, fresh air and fresh water. Recycling saves space in the landfills for future generations of people. A sustainable future requires a high degree of recycling. Recycling industries face serious economic problems that increase the cost of recycling. This highlights the need of applying fuzzy logic models as one of the best techniques for effective control of profitability in paper recycling production to ensure profit maximization despite varying cost of production upon which ultimately profit, in an industry depend. Fuzzy logic has emerged as a tool to deal with uncertain, imprecise, partial truth or qualitative decision-making problems to achieve robustness, tractability, and low cost. In order to achieve our objective, a study of a knowledge based system for effective control of profitability in paper recycling is carried out. The root sum square of drawing inference is found to be the most suitable technique to infer data from the rules developed. This resulted in the establishment of some degrees of influence on the output. To reinforce the proposed approach, we apply it to a case study performed on Paper recycling industry in Nigeria. A computer simulation using the Matlab/Simulink and its Fuzzy Logic Tool Box is designed to assist the experimental decision for the best control action. The obtained simulation and implementation results are investigated and disc

Diagnosis of Prostate Cancer using Soft Computing Paradigms

The process of diagnosing of prostate cancer using traditional methods is cumbersome because of the similarity of symptoms that are present in other diseases. Soft Computing (SC) paradigms which mimic human imprecise data manipulation and learning capabilities have been reviewed and harnessed for diagnosis and classification of prostate cancer. SC technique based on Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) facilitated symptoms analysis, diagnosis and prostate cancer classification. Age of Patient (AP), Pains in Urination (PU), Frequent Urination (FU), Blood in Semen (BS) and Pains in Pelvic (PP) served as input attributes while Prostate Risk (PR) served as output. Matrix laboratory provided the programming tools for system implementation. The practical function of the system was assessed using prostate cancer data collected from the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital. A 95% harmony observed between the computed and the expected output in the ANFIS model, showed the superiority of the ANFIS model over the fuzzy model. The system is poised to assist medical professionals in the domain of diagnosis and classification of prostate cancer for the promotion of management and treatment decisions

Integrating Information and Computer Technology in Teaching Mathematics in Junior Secondary School in Akwa Ibom State

The study was concerned with integrating information and computer technology in teaching mathematics in Junior Secondary School in Akwa Ibom State. A total of 8 mathematics teachers were drawn from 4 schools in Uyo Local Government Area that met the criteria like having computer facilities in school and presenting candidate for junior certificate examination for the past 22 years. A total of 100 junior secondary three students in 2012/2013 session took part in the study. The instruments used in gathering data were secondary school teachers’ questionnaire (SSTQ) and junior secondary three examination results in mathematics. The questionnaire was face and content validated by a team of experts in internets services. The statistical tools used in analyzing the data were t-test difference of two means and Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation Co-Efficient. The result showed that students who were taught mathematics using ICT facilities performed significantly better than those taught without it. Moreover, there was a significant relationship between the availability of ICT facility in schools and students’ effective usage. It was recommended amongst others that computer and internet facilities should be provided in schools by government so as to enhance effective teaching and learning of science and mathematics in schools. Keywords: Information, Computer, Technology and Mathematic

A GIS Performance Analysis of a 3G wireless Cellular Network

In this paper, GIS performance Analysis of a 3G wireless cellular network is presented. The research is motivated by the need for network operators and mobile users to have on the spot assessment of the network performance. This was achieved by studying the effect of population, road structure and visibility on the Erlang traffic of an existing 3G Network. The result expectedly revealed that densely populated areas are likely to experience high traffic and poor signal reception. Road structure analysis shows poor service quality along major roads due to high traffic within the study area while the visibility analysis revealed that the terrain structure of the study area does not support good visibility. Keywords: GIS, 3G wireless cellular Networks, Erlang Traffic, Base Transceiver station

Efficacy of Balanced Scorecard on Performance of Banks in Nigeria

This study examines the efficacy of balance scorecard (BSC) on the performance of banks in Nigeria as one of the most topical issues in the banking sector. The study was motivated by the imperfections of traditional performance measurement system which is inadequate as it is limited to financial analysis and does not provide for an integrated analysis of performance that captures the non-financial variables, such as customer, learning and growth and internal business process. The study was based on expost facto research design and made use of historical data of five selected banks spanning a period of eleven years (2007-2017). It was hypothesized that customer internal business process, learning and growth and financial perspectives have no significant effect on the performance of banks in Nigeria. The result indicates that customer perspective and internal business process perspective have significant effect on performance of banks in Nigeria, while financial perspective and learning and growth perspective have no significant effect on banks performance in Nigeria. It was recommended that banks in Nigeria should adopt the BSC approach to measure and manage their performance in view of its capacity to provide a comprehensive information on bank performance evaluation. It was further suggested that banks should be more innovative on customer and internal business process aspect of their operations in order to maximize performance. It is also stressed that banks should accord learning and growth components of their operations a significant attention. Keywords: Balanced Scorecard, Bank Performance and Measurement, Nigeria DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/11-23-05 Publication date: August 31st 201

A Survey Of HIV-Related Knowledge And Attitude Among Dental Nursing Students In South Western Nigeria

Objective: To assess HIV-related knowledge and attitude among dental nursing students in South Western Nigeria. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional survey of the entire 97 final year dental nursing students from 4 colleges of health technology located in South Western Nigeria was conducted in University of Benin Teaching Hospital during their external clinical posting between June 2006 and June 2007. A self-administered questionnaire elicited information on demography, HIV/AIDS knowledge, source of information, interpersonal communication concerning HIV/AIDS, attitudes towards HIV testing, occupational risk perception and willingness to care for HIV patients. Results: Response rate was 91.8% (89/97). About three quarter (73%) was in 21-25 years age group. Male: Female ratio was approximately 1:12. The respondents’ overall mean HIV/AIDS knowledge score was 13.2±1.8 out of 16 points. Level of knowledge was influenced by marital status, state of origin and sources of information (

Informed consent for surgery in Nigeria: Is the practice adequate?

To evaluate the adequacy of the use of informed consent in surgical practice from the patients’ perspective. The study was carried out in the department of Surgery, University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Calabar, over a six-month period. A structured questionnaire was administered post operatively on patients, and parents/guardians of minors, who agreed to participate in the exercise. Data obtained included sociodemographic characteristics, description of surgery they had, whether surgical procedure was explained to them pre operatively or not, who gave the explanation, their level of understanding and their opinion on the process of obtaining the consent. Ninety one patients participated in the study. Male to female ratio was 3.8:1, with average age of 33.6 years (SD ± 13). Most of them (94.6%) had some level of formal education. Seventy nine patients (86.8%) knew the description of the surgical procedure. Pre operative explanation of the surgical procedure was given to 70.3% of the patients but 27.5% of these did not understand the explanation. A significant number of the patients (51.6%) were not satisfied with the explanation given. Even though all the patients had the consent form signed either by themselves or on their behalf by a close relative, 46.2% of them did not understand the content of the consent form and 67.1% did not understand the implication of what they had signed. The practice of informed consent for surgery is not adequate. Surgeons need to be further educated to improve their practice in this regard. The consent process needs to be simplified to enhance patients’ understanding and participation