PIPELINE VANDALISATION AND FARMERS’ SITUATION: EXPOSITION FROM OBAFEMI OWODE LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF OGUN STATE, NIGERIA

The study assessed the effects of pipeline vandalisation on the socio-economic life and activities of farmers in Obafemi Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State. Purposive and simple random sampling techniques were used to select 80 farmers from the affected villages in the Local Govern- ment Area. Primary data were obtained with interview guide. Chi-Square was used to analyze the data collected. The mean age of the farmers was 43.37 years and 78.7% were male. Majority (76.3%) were married while 61.2% were Christians. More than half (57.5%) had no formal education and they cultivated an average of 4.94 hectares of land. Most (92.0%) of the farmers operated on full time basis. Nearly all the farmers (97.5%) were aware of the incidents of pipeline vandalisation in their area. Efforts of the farmers at reducing the menace included warning messages through town criers, reporting cases to the law enforcement agents, threat of killing the vandals and the use of “charms†to scare the vandals. Majority (52.5%) claimed that the efforts made by the farmers and the government had no effect on the incident of pipeline vandalisation. Farmers’ perceived effect of pipeline vandalisa- tion on their activities and livelihood included non-availability of labor due to the youths’ involvement in the practice (82.5%), destruction of farmlands (76.25%) and pollution of rivers and atmosphere (65.0%). Farmers were constrained by corrupt law enforcement agents in charge of surveillance, un- cooperative attitude of fellow farmers, non-challant attitude of the government and lack of fund to or- ganize campaigns against pipeline vandalisation. Chi-square analysis showed a significant association between pipeline vandalisation and farmers’ agricultural production. It was concluded that pipeline vandalisation was a regular occurrence in the study area and that it constituted a health hazard and posed a problem to the environment as well as the agricultural activities of the farmers.Â

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

Physicochemical characterization of an artificial pond receiving leachate influx at Aba-Eku dumpsite, Ibadan, Nigeria

El tratamiento de lixiviados debe ser adecuado para disminuir el impacto ambiental. En la localidad de Aba-Eku, Ibadan al suroeste de Nigeria, se encuentra una laguna de lixiviados donde se efectúa un tratamiento correcto. Durante enero del 2003 y setiembre del 2004 se tomaron muestras comparativas mensuales a la laguna y a las aguas subterráneas de: pH, TSS, solidos totales, conductividad y DQO. Se analizaron con métodos del Departamento de Salud Pública de los Estados Unidos. El calcio y el magnesio se determinaron por medio del plasma de acoplamiento inductivo, aniones seleccionados y el amoníaco por cromatografía iónica. Los coeficientes de prueba T y la correlación se utilizaron para el análisis de datos. Los resultados fueron los siguientes: pH: 8,21, SST: 144,94mg/l, sólidos totales: 1377,67mg/l, conductividad: 2466,00 us/cm y COD: 57,63mg/l fueron significativamente elevados (

Adaptation of the Wound Healing Questionnaire universal-reporter outcome measure for use in global surgery trials (TALON-1 study): mixed-methods study and Rasch analysis

BackgroundThe Bluebelle Wound Healing Questionnaire (WHQ) is a universal-reporter outcome measure developed in the UK for remote detection of surgical-site infection after abdominal surgery. This study aimed to explore cross-cultural equivalence, acceptability, and content validity of the WHQ for use across low- and middle-income countries, and to make recommendations for its adaptation.MethodsThis was a mixed-methods study within a trial (SWAT) embedded in an international randomized trial, conducted according to best practice guidelines, and co-produced with community and patient partners (TALON-1). Structured interviews and focus groups were used to gather data regarding cross-cultural, cross-contextual equivalence of the individual items and scale, and conduct a translatability assessment. Translation was completed into five languages in accordance with Mapi recommendations. Next, data from a prospective cohort (SWAT) were interpreted using Rasch analysis to explore scaling and measurement properties of the WHQ. Finally, qualitative and quantitative data were triangulated using a modified, exploratory, instrumental design model.ResultsIn the qualitative phase, 10 structured interviews and six focus groups took place with a total of 47 investigators across six countries. Themes related to comprehension, response mapping, retrieval, and judgement were identified with rich cross-cultural insights. In the quantitative phase, an exploratory Rasch model was fitted to data from 537 patients (369 excluding extremes). Owing to the number of extreme (floor) values, the overall level of power was low. The single WHQ scale satisfied tests of unidimensionality, indicating validity of the ordinal total WHQ score. There was significant overall model misfit of five items (5, 9, 14, 15, 16) and local dependency in 11 item pairs. The person separation index was estimated as 0.48 suggesting weak discrimination between classes, whereas Cronbach's α was high at 0.86. Triangulation of qualitative data with the Rasch analysis supported recommendations for cross-cultural adaptation of the WHQ items 1 (redness), 3 (clear fluid), 7 (deep wound opening), 10 (pain), 11 (fever), 15 (antibiotics), 16 (debridement), 18 (drainage), and 19 (reoperation). Changes to three item response categories (1, not at all; 2, a little; 3, a lot) were adopted for symptom items 1 to 10, and two categories (0, no; 1, yes) for item 11 (fever).ConclusionThis study made recommendations for cross-cultural adaptation of the WHQ for use in global surgical research and practice, using co-produced mixed-methods data from three continents. Translations are now available for implementation into remote wound assessment pathways