ASSESSMENT OF NOISE POLLUTION FROM SAWMILL ACTIVITIES IN ILORIN, NIGERIA

This study examined noise pollution from sawmilling in Ilorin metropolis, Nigeria. Noise measurements wer using HD600 digital data logging sound level meter in conjunction with structured questionnaire which was designed to elicit noise related information. The results of the study showed that the background noise within the sawmills was 58.1-64.86 dB(A) while machine equivalent noise the noise measurements are above the recommended limit of 85 dB(A) and these high noise intensities can initiateor perpetuate some work related health challenges. sawmill noise on the metropolis was developed. disturbed and complain of noise-related ailments such as tinnitus (96.6%), headache (86.6%) and hearing impairment (71.9%). Therefore noise prevention and control strategies are suggested in addition to frequent audiometric tests, training, education, and enforcement of noise regulations

Business Plan for Ade Farm Food Production Company NIG LTD

Ade Farmers Food Production is a family farms business, it focuses to produce more food in quantity and to be packaging in a different kg, also to be added to the value of Nigeria economies and to contribute many benefits for communities. In addition, we have a plan to extend to many countries in Asia, like Malaysia, China, Dubai. Farmers Food production is one of the successful food farms. The idea behind the business is to provide healthy and delicious semovita and emails to the public. In addition to semovita and mails the company plans to produce and market manure compost garden amendment products. Farmers Food productions being formed from the family successful food farms, The latter has long-researched horticultural and agronomic techniques, as well as compost and land blending technology now being promoted by the farmer association of Oyo state agencies. The company is a combination of cutting edge, highest quality, and efficient food technology and production

Growth Characters of Nerica Rice (O.sativa × O.glaberrima) as Affected by Cowdung and Nitrogen Fertilizer in Mubi Adamawa State Nigeria

Field experiment were conducted during the 2011 and 2012 cropping seasons at the Teaching and Research Farm of the Department of Agriculture Technology. Federal Polytechnic Mubi to study the effects of different levels of cowdung and nitrogen on the growth of NERICA rice. The experiments were laid out in a split plot design with cowdung levels (0,1,2 and 3 t/ha) assigned to the main plots and collected on growth characters were subjected to analysis of variance. Significant different means were separated using least significant difference (LSD). Results obtained showed significant (P =0.01) effect on plant heights at 6,9 and 12 weeks after sowing in 2012 season while there were no significant (P=0.05) effect on plant heights at 6,9 and 12 weeks after sowing in 2011 season. It was observed that tallest plants were recorded from application of cowdung and nitrogen at the rate of 3 t/ha and 180 kg N/ha (99.92 cm and 109.25 cm) respectively while the shortest plant were recorded from 0 t/ha and 0 kg N/ha (75.92 cm and 64.17 cm) respectively. The highest weight of dry matter per plant and weight of dry matter per plot were obtained from application of cowdung and nitrogen at the rate of 3 t/ha and 180 kg N/ha in both seasons, while the least were obtained from 0 t/ha and 120 kg N/ha. Based on the findings, it would be concluded that optimum growth of NERICA-3 rice in Mubi agro ecological zone would be obtained by a combined rate of 3 t/ha and 180 kg N/ha. Keywords: NERICA, Cowdung, Nitrogen, Growth, Yield, Fertilizer

The genetic characteristics of cephalic abnormality and its aquaculture implication in Clarias gariepinus (Burchell 1822)

Cephalic abnormality in nine mating groups involving Clarias gariepinus with cephalic abnormality, non Cephalic and Maiduguri origin were investigated to determine the level and the genetic basis of the occurrences and its aquaculture implication. The highest mean percentage survival in a Cephalic crossed with non cephalic group was 68.6% whereas the last mean percentage survival was 25.7% in the group of Maiduguri cross with Maiduguri parent. Cephalic abnormality was observed in the crosses with both female and male cephalic with a total frequency ranging from 0 % to 70.8. %. The least number of cephalic abnormality was 18.5% which involved a cross of non cephalic with cephalic, and the highest was 70.8%. This level of cephalic abnormality shows that the defect was hereditary. This result implies that, the genetic factor is a major contributor in the feature of cephalic abnormality in Clarias gariepinus

Cost Appraisal of Municipal Solid Waste Transfer to Disposal Site Using Visual Basic Program

Collection of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) accounts for a significant proportion of most municipal budgets, and has drawn some degree of researchers‟ interest. This study was conducted in Ota, Southwest Nigeria, to explore the use of Visual basic program as an innovative tool to select the most economic haulage system among three systems found in literature (conventional-, modified- and Stationary- hauled system) for collection and transfer of MSW to disposal sites. Factors that affect the costs of collection and transportation of waste such as: vehicle cost, total time spent on waste collection, and gross travel cost, were considered in the analysis. The result of the study shows that the stationary hauled method of waste collection is the optimal and economical method of collection. This method recorded a 56% and 43% reduction in total cost of daily travel per waste collection, as compared to the conventional and the modified systems, respectively. The application of visual basic program proffers implementable solutions to reduce the cost of MSW transportation to disposal sites. This would reduce travel time and costs of vehicle fueling, and increase the prompt collection of waste which would in turn facilitate the development of an aesthetically balanced and environmentally friendly municipality that would perhaps boost economic development

Optimization of Process Parameters for the Carbonization of Flamboyant Pod Bark (Delonix Regia)

This study investigates the carbonization of flamboyant pod bark (FPB) for the purpose of production of effective activated carbon from the agricultural residue. Central Composite Design (CCD) under the Response Surface Methodology was employed to combine the selected process parameters [Temperature (300 - 600 0C) and Time (30 - 65 mins)] for the carbonization. FPB were collected within the fields of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, mechanically cracked, crushed, washed with distilled water and sun-dried for seven days before eventually subjecting to carbonization, after which the resultant yields were determined and the statistical analysis was evaluated. The maximum (45.45%) and minimum (11.82%) yields were obtained at Run 1 (3000C/30 mins) and Run 11 (6000C/ 65 mins). The quadratic model equation is given as Yield = 23.27 - 3.48A - 4.38B - 2.81A2 + 0.19B2 + 0.11AB and the R2 value for the model equation is 0.9705 while the adjusted as well as predicted R2 values are 0.9459 and 0.8578, respectively. The numerical optimization by the Design Expert (6.0.8) software suggested minimum yield of 12.89%, (600 0C/ 65 mins) at desirability of 0.941. This research has indicated the suitability of using CCD for the optimization of process parameters for the carbonization of Flamboyant Pod Bark

Analysis of Impact of Sectoral Government Expenditures on Economic Growth in Nigeria: Bound Test Co-integration Approach

This study empirically investigated the impact of government expenditures on adjudged critical sectors on economic growth in Nigeria (1984-2013). With the purpose of determining to what extent the government expenditures on these sectors are contributing to the achievement of growth objective. The study employs quantitative analysis by the use of Auto-Regressive Distributed Lag model (Bound Test Co-integration Approach) to determine both short-run and long run impact of Government expenditures on economic growth with the aid of Econometric package E-View 7. The necessary residual tests were conducted and the analysis was found to be reliable. The  specific ARDL estimates of the analysis reveals that government expenditure on defence retards the economic growth  and government expenditure on agriculture promote the economic growth while government expenditure on education and transport/communication have no impact on economic growth in the long-run. In the short run, none of the government expenditure on these sectors contributes to the growth objective. The study concludes that the reason for the failure of public expenditures to achieve the fiscal objectives is not unconnected to the fact that the level of fiscal indiscipline in these sectors is outrageous to the extent that it serves as drag to the economic growth. Consequently, the study decries policy prescription that the Government expenditures on these sectors should be increased except in the education sector to meet the UNDP recommendation.  And, further recommends that fiscal indiscipline in whatever manner among the political office holders and government officials must be mitigated to the barest minimum by ensuring that the fund budgeted are actually spent on the right course. The government should avoid the proliferation of anti-graft agencies but strengthen the available ones (EFCC and ICPC) by necessary legislations to carry out their functions diligently without unnecessary political interference. Keywords: Sectoral Government Expenditures, Economic growth, Auto-Regressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) Model.

A Hybrid Algorithm for Topology Optimization of Additive Manufactured Structures

Most topology (TO) algorithms involve the penalization of intricate structural features to eliminate manufacturing difficulties. Since additive manufacturing is less dependent on manufacturing constraints, it becomes necessary to adapt these algorithms for AM. We propose a hybrid algorithm consisting of an adaptive meshing strategy (AMS) and a modified form of the bidirectional evolutionary structural optimization (BESO) method. By solving a standard cantilever problem, we show that the hybrid method offers improved performance over the standard BESO method. It is proposed that the new method is more suitable for optimizing structures for AM in a computational efficient manner.Mechanical Engineerin

Evaluation of Full Text Search Retrieval System

With a number of search engines on the web and each with different indexing and ranking methods and different coverage, finding the one that gives the best results for a query becomes a bit challenging. The main problem however, that existing Search engines have to deal with is how to avoid irrelevant information and to retrieve the relevant ones. This current work presents a new approach for retrieving relevant information on the Web, by adopting breadth-First search algorithm. The implementation result of the retrieval system was analysed using recall and precision model for three departments at Elizade University. By learning from users’ behaviour, the approach can return very high quality search results, with a strongly reduced computing load

Effect of Processing on Fatty Acid and Phospholipid Compositions of Harms (Brachystegia eurycoma) Seed Grown in Nigeria

A comprehensive study on the effect of processing on fatty acid and phospholipid compositions of Brachystegia eurycoma seed flour was conducted. Processing methods (boiling, fermentation and roasting) were adopted using standard analytical techniques. The most concentrated fatty acids (%) were linoleic acid (47.95 – 50.91) > oleic acid (26.51 – 30.91) > palmitic acid (11.51 – 14.16) > stearic acid (3.06 – 5.54). Lenoceric, erucic, and arachidic acids were present with none of them recording up to 1% while caprylic, capric and margaric acids were not at the detection limit of GC. All the processing methods increased the contents of palmitic, palmitoleic, linoleic and linolenic acids. The oleic acid content was reduced in boiled, fermented and roasted samples by 60.93, 59.97 and 63.77%, respectively. The phospholipid analysis gave result (%) of phosphatidic > phosphatidylinositol > phospatidyserine > phosphatidyethanolamine concentrations. Generally, the processing methods showed deviations in fatty acid and phospholipid components from the raw seeds. There was a clear indication that the raw and processed samples of B. eurycoma seed oils contained a high level of polyunsaturated fatty acids, making them a healthy low fat food. Keywords: Brachystegia eurycoma, processing, seed oils, fatty acids, phospholipids