Manipulative Use of Short Messaging Service (SMS) Text Messages by Nigerian Telecommunications Companies

This paper is an application of Relevance Theory for the interpretation of short messaging service (SMS) text messages emanating from Nigerian telecommunications companies to their subscribers. The aim of the research was to identify and describe the manipulative strategies employed by Nigerian telecommunications companies to induce subscribers to part with their money through sales promotion lotteries. 100 SMS texts were purposively extracted from the cell phones of randomly selected residents of Lagos Nigeria who had received promotional SMS text messages from three major Nigerian telecommunications companies. Using Sperber and Wilson's Relevance Theory (1995) as its theoretical framework, the paper described the manipulative use of SMS by Nigerian telecommunications companies. The analysis revealed that SMS text messages were encoded to achieve maximization of relevance through explicature and implicature; contextual implication and strengthening; and the reduction of processing effort through violating the maxim of truthfulness and the creative use of graphology. The paper concludes that SMS text-messages were used manipulatively by Nigerian telecommunications companies to earn indirect income from sales promotion lottery

The 'War' of Appropriate Pricing of Petroleum Products: The Discourse of Nigeria's Reform Agenda

This study focuses on the newspaper coverage of the debate on the pricing of petroleum products (petroleum, diesel, kerosene, etc.) in Nigeria. It seeks to examine, specifically, the discursive constructions of economic development with particular concern for the reform agenda in the country's petroleum sector. In doing this, the paper tries to analyze and characterize the debate on the increase in the prices of petroleum products in the country between 1999 and 2004; following on the heels of World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF)-driven reforms. It further situates the analysis of the debate within the history and politics of oil and development in the country with particular concern for the 'angles of telling' of the participants. Using the framework of critical discourse analysis (CDA), the paper attempts to show the ideological elements in the discourse of socio-political development in Nigeria as constructed by the different sociopolitical groups and concludes that the different angles of telling result from different underlying issues of identity and power

Enhanced Biodegradation of Hydrocarbon Sludge Using Consortium of Microorganisms

In this work, the effects of consortium of Microorganisms, Pseudomonas purida, Pseudomonas aeuniguma, Pseudomonas florescence, and Bacillus megaterium, in degrading hydrocarbon sludge from refinery wastes, in Niger Delta area of Nigeria, have been studied. Focus is particularly on reduction of BOD, COD, TOC and ROC of the hydrocarbon sludge to comply with standard requirement for disposal. The organisms were maintained in nutrient agar plants and subculture on weekly basis throughout the period of investigation. Lab-assay method was used to carry out the experiment, i.e, Ex-Situ treatment. The sludge was inoculated with the consortium of Microorganisms and samples were taken for analysis at two week interval for a period of eight weeks. Result shows that, for the duration of investigation, there was 71.3% reduction of the initial BOD, 60.0% reduction of the initial COD, 78.4% reduction of the initial TOC and 78.1 % reduction of the initial ROC. It was noted that given enough time the consortium of Microorganisms has the potential to biodegrade the hydrocarbon sludge to an acceptable level of the Environmental Regulatory Body's standard. The sludge however requires more than eight weeks for the toxic level to be reduced to Regulatory Body's standard. It was also observed that the rate of biodegradation of the sludge by the Microorganisms declined with time

Heavy metal concentrations in some organs of African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) from Eko-Ende Dam, Ikirun, Nigeria

The contents of the heavy metals Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn, Pb, Cd and As were examined in the liver, heart, gills, kidney and muscles of the fish Clarias gariepinus from Eko-Ende dam in Ikirun, the capital of Ifelodun Local Government of Osun State, Nigeria. C. gariepinus is the fish of choice and the most demanded in the southwest of Nigeria. The highest metal concentrations were in the liver and the gills while the lowest was in the muscles. The general deceasing order of metal accumulation in the organs was Fe > Zn > Cu > Mn > Cd. Lead and arsenic were not detected in any organ. The values were of lower concentrations than found in many other dams and rivers in Nigeria and some other countries. The values were also lower than the FAO/WHO recommended maximum limits in fish samples, making the fish to be safe and not of any hazards for the consumers

A Comparative study on Glucose Production from Sorghum Bicolor and Manihot Esculenta Species in Nigeria

The two-step enzymatic hydrolysis of Manihot esculenta and Sorghum bicolor using ƒ¿-amylase and amyloglucosidase were studied. The starch substrate were gelatinized at 80oC and then liquefied with the amylase enzyme at a temperature of 90oC. The samples are then cooled to 60oC and saccharified with amyloglucosidase. The effects of temperature and pH on saccharification process were considered. Results indicated that the optimum temperature for the conversion of starch to fermentable sugar (glucose) was at 60oC and the amount of glucose produced after 4 hours in sorghum was greater than that obtained when cassava was used. It was therefore concluded that optimum conditions for the production of glucose from both Manihot esculenta and Sorghum bicolor for bioethanol production are obtained at pH of 4 and saccharification temperature of 60oC, with Sorghum bicolor giving higher yield

Optimum Hydrolysis Conditions of Cassava Starch for Glucose Production

Acid and enzymatic hydrolysis of cassava starch to glucose (fermentable sugar) were investigated and compared. And the effects of acid concentration, pH, temperature and time on the yield of glucose were studied. Experiments were carried out at a temperature range of (60 – 100)0C between 30 minutes and 4 hours. (0.2 – 1.0)M strength of H2SO4 acid was used and pH values range of 4 – 7 was considered during enzymatic hydrolysis. The study revealed that maximum concentration of glucose was obtained at 1000C using 1.0M H2SO4 acid for 4 hours during acid hydrolysis. At pH of 4, temperature of 600C and 4 hours of operation, highest concentration of glucose was obtained during enzymatic hydrolysis. Enzymatic hydrolysis produced higher yield of glucose when compared to that obtained from acid hydrolysis

Optimization of enzymatic digestibility of sodium hydroxide- hydrogen peroxide oxidative pretreated siam weed for reducing sugar production

This study evaluated the enzymatic conversion of alkaline peroxide oxidative pretreatment of an invasive lignocellulosic biomass (siam weed) to reducing sugar, amenable to further microbial effects at the downstream processing. Using a statistical design of experiments approach (response surface methodology), optimum pretreatment conditions of 43.7 oC, 9.3 h, and 0.4% H2O2 , and enzymatic hydrolysis conditions of 25 FPU cellulase/g treated biomass, 50 oC hydrolysis temperature, 2% biomass loading, and 72 h hydrolysis period, 391.3 mg/g reducing sugar yield was achieved and validated. At the optimized pretreatment and enzymatic conditions, the conversion of treated biomass to untreated biomass was about a 6-fold increase