The factors influencing municipal solid waste generation in bauchi town, Nigeria

This study investigated the factors influencing municipal solid waste generation (MSWG) in Bauchi town, the administrative headquarters of Bauchi state, Nigeria. The study used quantitative method, while experiments and questionnaire surveys, were used as the major instruments for data collection. Data on solid waste generation and the socioeconomic attributes of residents from 400 households were collected from residential zones within Bauchi town, the study area. Descriptive statistics, Correlations and Standard Multiple Regressions (SMR) were computed for data analysis using SPSS 2.2 software. Twelve (12) socioeconomic factors were computed in SMR to determine the significant factors of MSWG in the study. The results showed that five factors, namely: household size, income, education, house head age and occupation have exerted significant influence on MSWG in the study area. The results also showed that F (5:362) = 84.058 at p ≤ 0.01 and adjusted R² = 0.531; which indicated that the factors in the SMR model have sufficiently explained the variance in MSWG in Bauchi town. The study concluded that the five significant predictor factors have adequately explained the variance of MSWG in the study area. Therefore, the factors have implications for planning of effective waste management system in Bauchi town, Nigeria

Design and construction of a simple boat trailer for Federal College of Freshwater Fisheries Technology, New Bussa

A simple boat trailer with an overall length of 4.59m, breathes 1.68m, and weight of 87kg was designed and constructed using locally available metals and scrap materials. The boat trailer was used to tow a boat of 250kg weight through a distance of 14km without affecting the safety and speed of the car. The construction resulted to the production of an open cart that is light and easily maneuvered that one person can move it manually without difficulty. The total production cost was N32, 300 which is affordable in relation to the cost of transporting boats through the use of pick up vans. The boat trailer can be easily maneuvered when coupled to any car or van. This makes it adequate for towing and for safer movement of boats from the school boat yard to any water bodies

2D-TCAD Simulation on Retention Time of Z2FET for DRAM Application

Traditional memory devices are facing more challenges due to continuous down-scaling. 6T-SRAM suffers from variability [1-2] and reliability [3-4] issues, which introduce cell stability problems. DRAM cells with one transistor, one capacitor (1T1C) struggle to maintain refresh time [5-6]. Efforts have been made to find new memory solutions, such as one transistor (1T) solutions [7-9]. Floating body based memory structures are among the potential candidates, but impact ionization or band-to-band tunnelling (B2BT) limits their refresh time [10]. A recently proposed zero impact ionization and zero subthreshold swing device named Z2FET [9, 11-12] has been demonstrated and is a promising candidate for 1T DRAM memory cell due to technology advantages such as CMOS technology compatibility, novel capacitor-less structure and sharp switching characteristics. In the Z2FET memory operation, refresh frequency is determined by data retention time. Previous research [11-12] is lacking systematic simulation analysis and understanding on the underlying mechanisms. In this paper, we propose a new simulation methodology to accurately extract retention time in Z2FET devices and understand its dependency on applied biases, temperatures and relevant physical mechanisms. Since the stored ‘1’ state in Z2FET is an equilibrium state [9, 11-12] and there is no need to refresh, we will concentrate on state ‘0’ retention. Two types of ‘0’ retention time: HOLD ‘0’ and READ ‘0’ retention time will be discussed separately

Interaction Between Hot Carrier Aging and PBTI Degradation in nMOSFETs: Characterization, Modelling and Lifetime Prediction

Modelling of the interaction between Hot Carrier Aging (HCA) and Positive Bias Temperature Instability (PBTI) has been considered as one of the main challenges in nanoscale CMOS circuit design. Previous works were mainly based on separate HCA and PBTI instead of Interacted HCA-PBTI Degradation (IHPD). The key advance of this work is to develop a methodology that enables accurate modelling of IHPD through understanding the charging/discharging and generation kinetics of different types of defects during the interaction between HCA and PBTI. It is found that degradation during alternating HCA and PBTI stress cannot be modelled by independent HCI/PBTI. Different stress sequence, i.e. HCA-PBTI-HCA and PBTI-HCA-PBTI, lead to completely different degradation kinetics. Based on the Cyclic Anti-neutralization Model (CAM), for the first time, IHPD has been accurately modelled for both short and long channel devices. Complex degradation mechanisms and kinetics can be well explained by our model. Our results show that device lifetime can be underestimated by one decade without considering interaction

Phytochemical analysis, analgesic and antipyretic properties of ethanolic leaf extract of Vernonia amygdalina Del.

Introduction: Vernonia amygdalina Del. has been traditionally used in relieving pain and inflammatory conditions as well as in treatment of feverish conditions by local people of the North-east Nigeria. Consequently this study aims at evaluating the phytochemical content, antipyretic and analgesic properties of V. amygdalina (biter leaf).Methods: The leaf of V. amygdalina was soxhlet extracted with ethanol and sequentially partitioned using solvent of different polarities. Phytochemical test was conducted to ascertain the secondary metabolites present in the extract using standard procedures. Acute toxicity (LD50) of the extract on laboratory rats was estimated by following protocols of Lorke. The antinociceptive activity of the ethanolic extract was also evaluated using acetic acid induced pain and hot plate method.Results: The results revealed the presence of tannins, phlobatannins, saponins, carbohydrates, cardioactive glycoside, flavonoids, alkaloids, steroids and terpenes. Anthraquinones were absent in the extract. The intraperitoneal LD50 was found to be 3721 mg/kg. On administration of 5000 mg/kg dose of the extract via oral route, there was no dead. The extract demonstrated significant antinociceptive activities as 36.0 ± 0.81, 43.8 ± 0.11 and 52.8±0.37 (Mean number of writhings) respectively for the doses 600, 400 and 200 mg/kg i.p.) as compared to the control (60.0 ± 0.11). High dose of 400 mg/kg significantly reduced rectal temperature (P < 0.05)Conclusion: These results demonstrated the medicinal potentiality of V. amygdalina and might be used as analgesic, and antipyretic agent. Phytochemicals found in such as flavonoids, tannins, alkaloids and steroids seem to be implicated in having such pharmacological activities

In vivo Efficacy of Vernonia amygdalina (Compositae) Against Natural Helminth Infection in Bunaji (Bos indicus) Calves

Fifteen Bunaji calves (Bos indicus) averaging 105±12.5 Kg liveweight and approximately nine months of age with natural helminth infection were distributed into three treatment groups of five animals each. Animals were either treated orally with aqueous extract of Vernonia amygdalina at a dose concentration of 1.1g/Kg body weight, a conventional anthelmintic or left untreated. V. amygdalina treatment produced 59.5% reduction in eggs per gram (EPG) of faeces which was significantly different (P<0.001) from the untreated control (-17.24%), whereas levamisol hydrochloride treatment produced 100% reduction in EPG. A total of six genera of helminths were recovered from the gastrointestinal tracts and liver of experimental animals. These were Haemonchus contortus, Trichostrongylus spp, Bunostomum spp, Oesophagostomum spp, Fasciola spp and Dicrocoelium spp. There was significant difference (P<0.001) in worm load between the different treatment groups. Except for Haemonchus spp, animals in the untreated group had significantly (P<0.001) higher worm load for all the genera of helminth recovered than those of the V. amygdalina treated group, indicating that V. amygdalina had no effect on Haemonchus contortus

Decomposing the gap in missed opportunities for vaccination between poor and non-poor in sub-Saharan Africa : a multicountry analyses

Understanding the gaps in MOV between poor and non-poor in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) would enable an understanding of factors associated with interventions for improving immunization coverage to achieving universal childhood immunization. We aimed to conduct a multicountry analyses to decompose the gap in MOV between poor and non-poor in SSA. We used cross-sectional data from 35 Demographic and Health Surveys in SSA conducted between 2007 and 2016. Descriptive statistics were used to understand the gap in MOV between the urban poor and non-poor, and across the selected covariates. Out of the 35 countries included in this analysis, 19 countries showed pro-poor inequality, five showed pro-non-poor inequality and remaining 11 countries showed no statistically significant inequality. Among the countries with statistically significant pro-illiterate inequality, the risk difference ranged from 4.2% in Congo DR to 20.1% in Kenya. The important factors responsible for the inequality varied across the countries. In Madagascar, the largest contributions to the inequality in MOV was media access followed by number of under-five children and maternal education. However, Liberia media access narrowed the inequality in MOV between poor and non-poor households.The findings indicate that in most SSA countries, children belonging to poor households are most likely to have MOV and that socio-economic inequality in missed opportunities for vaccination is determined not only by health system functions, but also by factors beyond the scope of health authorities and care delivery system. Suggesting the the importance of addressing the social determinants of health, particularly education

Lettres to Editor: Transabdominal ultrasonographic assessment of prostate size and volume in Nigerians with clinical diagnosis of benign prostatic hyperplasia

No Abstrac

Intestinal protozoan infections among HIV positive persons with and without Antiretroviral Treatment (ART) in selected ART centers in Adama, Afar and Dire-Dawa, Ethiopia

Background: In developing countries, gastroenteritis caused by intestinal parasites may be complicated and is a major cause of morbidity, in general, and kills millions of AIDS patients annually. Thus, the consequences of parasitic diseases are among the major health problems in tropical developing countries. Methods: A total of 200 HIV positive patients on and without-ART aged from 18 to 65 years, of both sexes participated in the study. Each study participant was provided with a faecal collection vial containing 10% formalin for microscopic examination of ova, larvae, and cysts. For detection of Cryptosporidium spp, lsospora belli andCyclospora spp, the modified Zeihl-Neelsen staining method was used. Results: Most (60%) of the study participants were on antiretroviral therapy (ART). Out of those, only two (1.5%) were diagnosed with an opportunistic parasite, and 96 (48%) of the non-ART study participants were infected with at least one other intestinal parasite species. The prevalence was 16% for Giardia lamblia, 13% for Entamoeba histolytica/ E. dispar, 8% for Cryptosporidium spp, 5% for Isospora belli, 1.5% for Blastocystis hominis, 2.5% for Ascaris lumbricoides and 2% for Hymnolepis nana. Diarrhoea was significantly associated with cryptosporidiosis, giardiasis, and isosporiasis. Significant association was observed between lower CD4+ T cell count

Yield and Yield Attributes of Extra-early Maize (Zea Mays L.) as Affected by Rates of Npk Fertilizer Succeeding Chilli Pepper (Capsicum Frutescens) Supplied with Different Rates Sheep Manure

Field experiment was conducted in 2005 and 2006 to study response of extra-early maize variety (95TZEE-Y1) to rates of NPK (0, 40:20:20, 80:40:40 and 120:60:60 kg N:P2O5:K2O ha-1) and residual FYM (0, 5, 10 and 15 t ha-1 applied to chilli pepper the previous season) in the semi-arid zone of Nigeria. Randomized complete block design with three replicates was used. Higher values for soil physical and chemical properties were obtained in plots supplied with manure the previous season with soil from 2006 experiment more fertile than for the first year, hence produced 21% more grain yield. All the applied NPK rates in 2005 and except 40:20:20 ha1 in 2006 had resulted in early maize crop as compared to control. Husked and de-husked cob and 100-grain weights and grain yield/ha were higher at 120:60:60 kg NPK ha-1. Maize grown in plot supplied with 15 t FYM ha1 the previous year matured earlier. Cobs and 100-grain weights and grain yield were highest in plot supplied with 10 t FYM ha1. The 10t FYM ha-1 had 69% and 68% more grain yield than the control in 2005 and 2006, respectively. Highest maize yield was obtained at 120:60:60 kg NPK ha-1 or 10t FYM ha-1. All the parameters measured significantly and positively related to each other when the two years data were combined