Comparative Analysis of Strength and Physical Properties of Concrete Made from Three Different Coarse Aggregate (Granite, Gravel and Palm Kernel)

The study is aimed at examining the comparative analysis of the strength and physical properties of concrete made from three different coarse aggregates. The research present the result and findings of an experimental research of the strength and physical properties of concrete made from different aggregates such as sharp sand, granite, gravel, palm kernel shell. In this research, sieve analysis and compressive test were carried out using a 150mm×150mm×150mm mould and a mix ratio of 1:2:4 by weight of concrete and water cement ratio of 0.5 was adopted, 36 cubes were produced and all the samples were cured in fresh water. The concrete cubes were tested for compressive strength at 7, 14, 21 and 28 days. The result obtained from the compressive strength shows that the different coarse aggregate used, possess different compressive strength value. The mean strength in N/mm2 of concrete cubes cast with palm kernel at 7, 14,21and 28days gave 3.64N/mm2, 3.82N/mm2 4.00N/mm2and 4.22N/mm2respectively while concrete made of gravel gave strength of 12.53 N/mm2, 12.98 N/mm2, 13.33 N/mm2, 16.67 N/mm2, For concrete made of granite, the strength are 14.53 N/mm2, 15.56 N/mm2, 18.67 N/mm2 and 20.44 N/mm2respectively. This concludes from the above listed result that, the compressive strength of concrete made from granite gave higher compressive strength value of 20.44 N/mm2, at 28days as compared to the compressive strength of concrete made of gravel and palm kernel shell which gave a compressive strength value of 16.67 N/mm2 and 4.0N/mm2respectively.Specifications of the intended works pre-determines materials which are suitable for construction, it is therefore evident to ascertain the strength of these material before execution of intended project. Keywords: Composite Material, Aggregate, Compressive Strength, Curing

Facial Image Verification and Quality Assessment System -FaceIVQA

Although several techniques have been proposed for predicting biometric system performance using quality values, many of the research works were based on no-reference assessment technique using a single quality attribute measured directly from the data. These techniques have proved to be inappropriate for facial verification scenarios and inefficient because no single quality attribute can sufficient measure the quality of a facial image. In this research work, a facial image verification and quality assessment framework (FaceIVQA) was developed. Different algorithms and methods were implemented in FaceIVQA to extract the faceness, pose, illumination, contrast and similarity quality attributes using an objective full-reference image quality assessment approach. Structured image verification experiments were conducted on the surveillance camera (SCface) database to collect individual quality scores and algorithm matching scores from FaceIVQA using three recognition algorithms namely principal component analysis (PCA), linear discriminant analysis (LDA) and a commercial recognition SDK. FaceIVQA produced accurate and consistent facial image assessment data. The Result shows that it accurately assigns quality scores to probe image samples. The resulting quality score can be assigned to images captured for enrolment or recognition and can be used as an input to quality-driven biometric fusion systems.DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.11591/ijece.v3i6.503

AN AUTOMATED ENERGY BILL METERING SYSTEM BASED ON GSM TECHNOLOGY

The measurement of the energy consumed by residential and commercial buildings by utility provider is important in billing, control, and monitoring of the usage of energy. Traditional metering techniques used for the measurement of energy are not convenient and is prone to different forms of irregularities. These irregularities include meter failure, meter tampering, inaccuracies in billing due to human error, energy theft, and loss of revenue due to corruption, etc. This research study proposed the design and construction of a microcontroller-based electric energy metering system using the Global System for Mobile communication (GSM) network. This system provides a solution to the irregularities posed by the traditional metering technique by allowing the utility provider have access to remote monitoring capabilities, full control over consumer load, and remote power disconnection in the case of energy theft. Proteus simulation software was used to model the system hardware and the software was obtained by using embedded C programming and visual basic. It was observed that the system could remotely take accurate energy readings, provided full control over consumer loads and execute remote disconnection in case of energy theft. The system provides high performance and high accuracy in power monitoring and power management.   &nbsp

British Standard and Euro Code: Model of Singly Reinforced Rectangular Concrete Under Actions

Upgrading are desired Changes on any standard in operation. Meanwhile context understanding are required to achieve positive impact on the subject system. In same vein, codes of practice are always revised and that users should be made to use the latest edition of any relevant standard. Thus a model is developed to describe the sectional analysis difference with predicting implications of various combinations of sectional dimensions in structural reinforced concrete elements with reference to the two codes.  The method adopted is purely mathematical technique of modeling, concept and application. Based on the previous behavioural knowledge of such using BS code, Okeniyi et al (2012), a concrete rectangular section of singly reinforced status was also used as a case study. The section was analyzed from stress-strain relationship to formulate the governing equations and the same was specified by breadth b, total depth h and moment of resistance MR. This was simulated to describe the relationship between the variable parameters and predict the behavior of a rectangular section under loads with reference to British Standard and Euro Code. The model, thus defines clearly sectional analysis difference increasing understanding for better structural design skill. Keywords: Reinforced Concrete, Stress-Strain Relationship, Rectangular Section and Moment of Resistance DOI: 10.7176/CER/12-6-05 Publication date:June 30th 202

Palynomorphs Content and Paleodepositional Environments of Mamu Formation in Okpekpe-1, Imiegba-1 and Imiegba-2, Benin Flank of Anambra Basin, Nigeria

Twenty surface samples were taken from road cuttings along Okpekpe and Imiegba areas located in Benin Flank of Anambra Basin, Nigeria with an aim to establish the biozones, age and paleodepositional environments of the Mamu Formation. Using palynological laboratory standard procedures, the shale surface samples collected from the Mamu Formation in the study area were prepared and analyzed. The recovered marker pollens, spores and dinoflagellate cysts from the study area are Milforadia jardinei, Milforadia sp., Longapertites  marginatus, Longapertites sp., Retidiporites sp., Monocolpites marginatus,Cyathidites minor, Cyathidites spp., Cingulatisporites ornatus, Distaverrusporites simplex, Laevigatosporites spp., Foveotriletes margaritae, Subtilisphaera sp., Andalusiella sp., Paleocystodinium australinium and microforaminiferal wall linings. Four biozones were erected for the shale intervals in the study area, namely: Longapertites sp., Monocolpites marginatus, Cyathidites minor, and Paleocystodinium australinium biozone, respectively, dated to Upper Maastrichtian to Early Paleocene age, which are lateral equivalents to Spinizonocolpites baculatus biozone of the Upper Benue Trough. The presence of the dinoflagellates cysts such as Paleocystodinium australinium, Subtilisphaera sp. and Andalusiella sp., microforaminiferal wall linings, pollens and spores established that the shales were deposited in nearshore to shallow marine environments. The presence of Cingulatisporites ornatus and Distaverrusporites simplex are indicative of marine regression that was followed by fluvial continental influence in anoxic bottom conditions that in turn favored the formation of coal seams in shales in the study area. The paucity of palynomorphs in the study area is inferred to have occurred because of the dry climatic condition that prevailed during the Upper Maastrichtian to Early Paleocene

Effect of formaldehyde on the upper respiratory tract _ormal flora of humans and rabbits

Background: Formaldehyde is a chemical that is used to fix a tissue after death or removal from the body to prevent autolysis and putrefaction. Exposure to formaldehyde can occur as a result of occupation. Objective: To determine the effect of the formaldehyde on the throat and nasal flora of upper respiratory tract of rabbits and humans were examined in this study. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted in the College of Health Sciences (Mercylandcampus) and Teaching Hospital of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Osogbo. Ten rabbits and 25 human subjects were used. Throat and nasal swabs were taken from these rabbits exposed todifferent concentrations of formaldehyde and human subjects exposed to formaldehyde as a result of occupational exposure and non exposed individuals. Bacterial count was done using Miles and Mistral method. Microbial culture was done using the traditional cultural techniques.Results: Culture yielded growth of different species of microorganisms, majority of which were bacterial species. Bacterial counts showed reductions both in normal flora of upper respiratory tract of rabbits and humans. The reduction in the normal flora of humans was found to be statistically significant. While reduction in the normal flora of rabbits was significant when compared between controls and those exposed to 10% formaldehyde, but were not significant between controls andthose exposed to 100% formaldehyde. Conclusion: This study concluded that there was significant reduction in the normal flora ofhumans and rabbits exposed to formaldehyde compared to non-exposed humans and rabbits.Key words: Formalin, formaldehyde, normal flora, Upper respiratory trac

Assessment of the effectiveness of maintenance management systems in delivering quality maintenance services in higher institutions

The study assessed the effectiveness of maintenance and management systems in delivering quality maintenance services in higher institutions of learning with specific focus on the University of Lagos. There is the need for effectiveness in the management of educational buildings, facilities and supporting services. Self-structured questionnaires were administered to one hundred and ninety-one questionnaires (191) resident students of the University of Lagos, and three (3) to the maintenance executives of the Works and Physical Planning Department of the University of Lagos, with response rates of 71.73% and 100% respectively. Data collected where analysed using a combination of the Mean ranking and T-Test. Findings revealed a general dissatisfaction with the service quality delivered as the maintenance management system was not adjudged to be as effective as expected as various obstacles and factors influence the acceptable standard and quality of maintenance. The study recommended that the maintenance management team should improve on the effectiveness of their service delivery, by improving the rate of responsiveness of the maintenance staff through thorough training of skill and technical know-ho

Predictive Analytics and Software Defect Severity: A Systematic Review and Future Directions

Software testing identifies defects in software products with varying multiplying effects based on their severity levels and sequel to instant rectifications, hence the rate of a research study in the software engineering domain. In this paper, a systematic literature review (SLR) on machine learning-based software defect severity prediction was conducted in the last decade. The SLR was aimed at detecting germane areas central to efficient predictive analytics, which are seldom captured in existing software defect severity prediction reviews. The germane areas include the analysis of techniques or approaches which have a significant influence on the threats to the validity of proposed models, and the bias-variance tradeoff considerations techniques in data science-based approaches. A population, intervention, and outcome model is adopted for better search terms during the literature selection process, and subsequent quality assurance scrutiny yielded fifty-two primary studies. A subsequent thoroughbred systematic review was conducted on the final selected studies to answer eleven main research questions, which uncovers approaches that speak to the aforementioned germane areas of interest. The results indicate that while the machine learning approach is ubiquitous for predicting software defect severity, germane techniques central to better predictive analytics are infrequent in literature. This study is concluded by summarizing prominent study trends in a mind map to stimulate future research in the software engineering industry.publishedVersio

AN AUTOMATED ENERGY METER READING SYSTEM USING GSM TECHNOLOGY

The measurement of the energy consumed by residential and commercial buildings by utility provider is important in billing, control and monitoring of the usage of energy. Traditional metering techniques used for the measurement of energy are not convenient and is prone to different forms of irregularities. These irregularities include inaccuracies in billing due to human error, energy theft, loss of revenue due to corruption and so on. This research study proposed the design and construction of a microcontroller based electric energy metering system using the Global System for Mobile communication (GSM) network. This system provides solution to the irregularities posed by the traditional metering technique by allowing the utility provider have access to remote monitoring capabilities, full control over consumer load, and remote power disconnection in the case of energy theft. Proteus simulation software was used to model the system hardware and the software was obtained by using embedded C programming and visual basic. It was observed that the system could remotely take accurate energy readings, provided full control over consumer loads and execute remote disconnection in case of energy theft. The system provides high performance and high accuracy in power monitoring and power management. Keywords: GSM, Automati