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Evaluation of physico-chemical properties of re-refined lubricating oils obtained from fabricated packed bed reactor
Get PDFThis study aimed at fabricating a packed bed reactor (PBR) and evaluating
its performance on improving physico-chemical properties of used lubricating oils. The sorbent used was a composite of bentonite, limestone, diatomite, quartz, and wood charcoal in the same ratio by mass. Samples of used lubricating oils from two brands (Mobil Super SAE 20W-50 and Total Quartz 5000 SAE
20W-50) were run through the fabricated PBR. The mean values of the analyzed
physico-chemical parameters (kinematic viscosity, viscosity index, flash point,
pour point, acid number, base number, iodine value, ash content, density, and
refractive index) of the exuded (treated) oils were compared with those of used
and virgin oils of the same brand. Apart from the iodine value, the mean values obtained for the treated oil samples are close to those of virgin oil samples. Thet-test results indicated that most of the parameters showed significant difference between their mean values in the used oils indicating distinct
properties and hence, good treatment effects, while a good number showed
no significant difference between their mean values in the treated Mobil and
treated Total oils, indicating similar properties and that the treatment had similar effects on the two brands of oils. Also, various results of cross plots hadR
2
values greater than 0.96, indicating high linear relationships of the impact of
the treatment on the various oil samples. The overall results established the
high effectiveness of the fabricated PBR for the treatment of used lubricating
oil
Hydro power potentials of water distribution networks in public universities: A case study
Get PDFPublic Universities in Southwestern Nigeria are densely populated student-resident campuses, so that provision of regular potable water and electricity are important, but power supply is not optimally available for all the necessary activities. This study assesses the hydropower potential of the water distribution networks in the Universities, with the view to augmenting the inadequate power supplies. The institutions with water distribution configuration capable of accommodating in-pipe turbine are identified; the hydropower parameters, such as the flow characteristics and the pipe geometry are determined to estimate the water power. Global positioning device is used in estimating the elevations of the distribution reservoirs and the nodal points. The hydropower potential of each location is computed incorporating Lucid® Lift-based spherical turbine in the pipeline. From the analysis, the lean and the peak water power are between 1.92–3.30 kW and 3.95–7.24 kW, respectively, for reservoir-fed distribution networks; while, a minimum of 0.72 kW is got for pipelines associated with borehole-fed overhead tanks. Possible applications of electricity generation from the water distribution networks of the public universities are recommended
EFFECTS OF DRYING METHODS ON THE ANTIOXIDANT PROPERTIES OF PHENOLIC-RICH EXTRACTS OF AFRICAN MISTLETOE (LORANTHUS BEGWENSIS L.) LEAVES FROM ALMOND AND KOLANUT HOST TREES.
Get PDFStaff PublicationAfrican mistletoe (Loranthus begwensis L.) has been employed in sub-Sahara African folklore for the treatment
of many degenerative diseases owing to its strong antioxidant properties. It has been reported that drying
methods play an important role in herbs production. This study sought to investigate the most appropriate drying
method by assessing the influence of these drying methods on the antioxidant properties of the leaves. Fresh
leaves obtained from almond and kolanut host trees were subjected to oven drying, sun drying and air drying
respectively after which the phenolic extraction was carried out. The influence of these drying methods on the
total phenol and total flavonoid content as well as antioxidant properties (NO*, OH*, DPPH* scavenging and
Fe2+ Chelating abilities) were assessed using standard methods. The total phenol ranged from 19.38
mg.GAE/100 g (Kolanut air-dried) to 39.47 mg.GAE/100 g (Almond oven-dried), while the flavonoid content
ranged from 8.70 mg.QUE/100 g (Almond air-dried) to 21.81 mg.QUE/100 g (Almond oven-dried). In addition,
all extracts scavenged DPPH [786.16 µg/ml (Almond oven-dried) to 1179.25 µg/ml (Kolanut air-dried)], NO
[584.11 µg/ml (Almond oven-dried) to 1054.85 µg/ml (Kolanut air-dried)] and OH [404.86 µg/ml (Almond
oven-dried) to 784.93 µg/ml (Kolanut air-dried)] radicals in dose-dependent manner as well as chelate
Fe2+[377.64 µg/ml (Almond oven-dried) to 593.82 µg/ml (Kolanut air-dried)]. This study revealed that oven
drying is the best method for mistletoe leaves obtained from almond host tree while sun drying is the best for
mistletoe leaves obtained from Kolanut host tree as exemplified by their radical scavenging abilities and total
phenolic compounds. Thus, diversity in drying methods leads to different loss of phenolic compounds and
antioxidant property, suggesting that each plant family needs a special drying meth
Review on heavy metals contamination in the environment.
Get PDFArticleReview was made on heavy metals, the various organs that they affect in human body, their
sources, effects and control. Heavy metals that are of environmental importance include
cadmium, lead, arsenic and mercury. The various sources of these metals in the environment
include mining, industry, exhaust fumes of vehicle, soil, food, water and so on. These metals
affect various organs in human body such as kidney, central nervous system, gastrointestinal
tract, lungs, liver and so on. So in other to experience safety of living in the environment, the
way these metals are released in to the environment should constantly be monitored and
controlled. And there should be remediation for heavy metals in contaminated soils
Library Services Platform Path to Cloud Computing Adoption in Nigerian Academic Libraries: A Review
Get PDFThe library and Information science (LIS) profession have evolved over time taking advantage of
prevailing technology. The arrival of computers and other communication technologies led to
major changes in the ways library services are rendered and the profession practiced. Library
Management Systems (LMS) is one of such earlier areas where ICT have been applied to the
operations of the library during the library computerization era. The arrival of the renascent
Cloud Computing is generating new areas of research in relation to librarians’ uptake of this new
technology. Cloud computing is being leveraged by developers of library systems to facilitate the
envisaged move away from ILS/LMS to a more robust system that can handle some of the
shortcomings of the ILS/LMS. These new systems are called Library services platforms (LSP).
While both established and new library systems vendors are turning out different products,
libraries have begun to shift away to these new platforms. This paper reviews cloud computing in
libraries and projects LSPs as the reliable path to its adoption in Nigerian academic libraries.
Recommendations were made based on the outcomes of this study
Networked control with time delay compensation scheme based on a smith predictor for the activated Sludge Process
Get PDFIn thispaper, a Smith predictor compensation scheme is developed to mitigate randomdelays in a networked wastewater control. The focus here is the process ofDissolved Oxygen (DO) concentration as part of the Activated Sludge Process (ASP). The networked wastewater control is a new method of wastewater controlin which the controller and the wastewater treatment plant are separated by a widegeographical distance and so a communication medium is required between them. The effects of network induced time delays on the DO process are investigated. Thesimulation results reveal that communication drawbacks adversely affect thestability of the closed loop DO process resulting in water odour, flocformation, poor sludge formation and eventual low effluent quality. This isbecause low DO concentration due to communication drawbacks leads to depletionof oxygen available to microorganisms that are meant to clean up thewastewater. A Smith predictor is therefore proposed to compensate for thesecommunication drawbacks. The nonlinear DO model is linearised using theinput/output feedback linearization method. PI controller is designed for thelinearised DO process while a Smith predictor scheme is proposed to eliminate timedelays in the control system. Analyticaland simulation results confirm the effectiveness of the scheme over the PIcontroller to provide robustness for the control of the input-output feedbacklinearized DO process under the influence of random communication delays
Motor imagery task classification using transformation based features
No full textThis paper proposes a feature extraction method named as LP QR, based on the decomposition of the
LPC filter impulse response matrix of the signal of interest. This feature extraction method is inspired by
LP SVD and is tested in the context of motor imagery electroencephalogram. The extracted features are
classified and benchmarked against extracted features of LP SVD method. The two applied methods are
also compared regarding the required execution time, which further highlights their respective merits
and demerits. This paper closely examines the contribution of EEG channels of these two information
extraction algorithms too. Consequently, a detailed analysis of the role of EEG channels concerning the
nature of the extracted information is presented. This study is conducted on the BCI IIIa competition
database of four motor imagery movements. The obtained results indicate that the proposed method is
the better choice if simplicity is demanded. The investigation into the role of EEG channels reveals that
level of contribution each channel can be quite dissimilar for different feature extraction algorithms
Human enteric bacteria and viruses in five wastewater treatment plants in the Eastern Cape, South Africa
Get PDFMonitoring effluents from wastewater treatment plants is important to preventing both environmental contamination and the spread of disease. We evaluated the occurrence of human enteric bacteria (faecal coliforms and Escherichia coli) and viruses (rotavirus and enterovirus) in the final effluents of five wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. Human viruses were recovered from the effluent samples with the adsorption–elution method and detected with singleplex real-time RT–PCR assays. Rotavirus was detected in several effluents samples, but no enterovirus was detected. At WWTP-C, rotavirus titre up to 105 genome copies/L was observed and present in 41.7% of the samples. At WWTP-B, the virus was detected in 41.7% of samples, with viral titres up to 103 genome copies/L. The virus was detected once at WWTP-E, in 9% of the samples analysed. The viral titres at WWTP-A were below the detection limit in all 25% of the 1.25 L samples in which the virus was detected. Rotavirus was not observed at WWTP-D. Faecal coliform bacteria and E. coli were detected in all the WWTPs, but no correlation was established between the enteric bacteria and viruses studied. The occurrence of rotavirus in effluent samples discharged into surface waters highlights the importance of assessing viral contamination in the water sources used for domestic water use
Microbial Qualities of Vegetables, Water and Soils from Vegetable Gardens in Lagos State, Nigeria
Get PDFThe presence of coliforms in vegetables, water and soil samples from gardens in Lagos State was assayed for. The vegetables sampled were cabbage, waterleaf, carrot, lettuce and cucumber collected from five sites representing five geograpical zones. The isolates obtained were cultured on MacConkey (MAC) agar, Sorbitol MacConkey agar, Eosine Methylene Blue (EMB) agar and Salmonella-Shigella (SSA) agar. They were identified using morphological, biochemical and Analytical Profile Index 20E and 20SA kit. Hemolytic activity of the isolates was assayed for using Blood agar. The aerobic plate counts of soil, water and vegetable samples ranges from 8.80 x 107 to 8.00 x 109 cfu/g, 3.90 x 109 to 6.15 x 109 cfu/ml, and 3.30 x 109 to 1.08 x 1010 cfu/g, respectively. Coliforms were the predominant bacteria isolated from the sites. The coliform counts of cabbage, waterleaf, carrot, lettuce and cucumber were5. 01 x 109cfu/g, 6.76 x 107cfu/g, 5.49 x 107cfu/g, 1.58 x 108cfu/g and 4.67 x 104cfu/g respectively. The fecal colifom population range was between 2.51 x 103 and 1.31 x 108 cfu/g, while Salmonella and Shigella species ranged from 1.38 x 102-3.09 x 104 cfu/g. Escherichia coli 0157: H7 was not isolated from any of the sites. The study showed that washed vegetableswere contaminated with high microbial load especially coliforms
Challenges of soil- transmitted Helminthiasis in some communities in Ondo state, Nigeria
Get PDFSoil- transmitted helminthiasis is a common public health challenge of developing countries. It has largely contributed in undermining the health status of people and hence jeopardized the economic development of countries concerned. This study aimed at investigating the burden of soil-transmitted helminthiasis in some selected rural communities in Ondo State Nigeria. This study was carried out to determine the prevalence of human soil-transmitted helminthiasis. Stool samples were collected and processed using stool concentration - formalin-ether sedimentation method. Out of the 928 samples collected from volunteers, 149 (16.05%) were infected. The following parasites were isolated: Ascaris lumbricoides, 103(53.7%) 64(33.3%), Trichuris trichiura 17(8.9%) and Strongyloides stercoralis 8(4.17%). Among the risk factors, toilet and water resource facilities
were the major sources of transmission. The result obtained justifies the current state of the poor hygiene level in relation to the high occurrence rate of Soil-transmitted helminths among people living in rural settings