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Crack Mechanism of Different Concrete Grades under Compressive Loading: Application in Rigid Pavement
Get PDFThe growth of cracks in concretes under different loadings in various structures and their consequent diminishing effect on the lifespan of structures is an age long structural problem. This research investigates the influence of compressive loading on the crack mechanism of different concrete grades 1: 1 : 3 (M20), 1: 2: 4 (M15) and 1: 3: 6 (M10) using three brands of cements available in Nigeria namely Dangote (Type A), Elephant (Type B) and Bua (Type C). Particle Size Distribution (PSD), Aggregate Crushing Value (ACV), Aggregate Impact Value (AIV) was carried out on aggregates in accordance with relevant codes while; compressive test were performed on the hardened concrete while, the crack width was measured using microscopic technique. A coefficient of uniformity (Cu) of 4.00, AIV of 46 % and an ACV of 47.7 % were obtained for the aggregate which are suitable for rigid pavements construction. Maximum compressive strength value of 24.96 N/mm2 , 24.67 N/mm2 and 24.89 N/mm2 respectively was obtained for concrete M20 for Type A, Type B and Type C cement at the 28 day. A corresponding crack width of 0.97 mm, 0.89 mm and 0.93 mm was obtained while; a yield period of 57.66 sec, 58.33 sec and 53.33 was obtained respectively. Comparing with the International Organization for Standardization, concrete grade M20 any of the cement types is suitable for the construction of rigid pavements with heavy traffic volume while M15 is recommended for low traffic volume
The Relationship between Culture and Corruption in Nigeria-Prospecting Culture Change in Dealing with this' Big Black Hole'.
Get PDFThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the interface between the national culture
and the realities of corruption in Nigeria. Drawing from Hofstede’s culture theory,
a qualitative design was used as a framework to explore views of 40 Nigerians on
the extent to which social norms, traditions, values, and personal orientations
interplay with the magnitude of corruption in Nigeria. The findings provided
empirical support for uncertainty avoidance values, patriarchy, and collectivist
practices as influencing levels of corruption that is adversely affecting the nation’s
economy and human development. Further results revealed the need for a
pragmatic approach that places more emphasis on functional education that can
raise cultural consciousness which will promote accountability, transparency and
moral adherence to anti-corruption values. By implication, the findings offers
valuable insights that unveils corruption in Nigeria as more cultural than political.
It is therefore argued in this paper that eradicating corruption in Nigeria will
practically necessitate the need for a culture change, which can be a slow and
difficult process, but not an impossible one
Information Use and Quality Service of the Nigerian Police
Get PDFInformation use of police force occurs when information acquired by the police to satisfy an information need based on task assigned to them is actually put to use. Information is therefore useful and valuable if after receiving it, it changes things, decisions, behaviour or one’s character and solves the problem for which the information is sought. Survey research design was adopted for the study. The study population comprised 2,305 police officers in Alimosho Local Government Police Division. Stratified random sampling method was used to select 227 police officers. Questionnaire was the instrument used for data collection. Data collected was analyzed using frequency distribution, mean, standard deviation; and Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) was used for the test of hypotheses. The study established that the police officers use information for three major situations; victims and suspects, unusual circumstances and actualities and quotes (mean=3.72) for all. The result of the quality of service showed that the police ensured that clients’ voices count in all cases (mean=2.98). There was positive significant relationship between the information use and quality service of Nigeria police (r =.117, p >.05). A large proportion of use of relevant and adequate information has helped the police to solve problems needed on security and protection of individual citizens and also improve their services. This has helped in the delivery of quality service to the citizens. The study therefore recommended that the Government should create a policy that will enable free flow of information between the citizens and the police force, and make available access to internet facilities in their various stations for relevant information needed for their effective use on tasks as this will lead to achieving quality of their services to the citizen, and increase the achievement of their goals and objectives
Biodegradation potentials of polyaromatic hydrocarbon (pyrene and phenanthrene) by Proteus mirabilis isolated from an animal charcoal polluted site
Get PDFIndiscriminate disposal of animal charcoal from skin and hides cottage industries often impact the environments with toxic hydrocarbon components and thus require eco-friendly remedial strategies. A bacterial strain isolated from a site polluted with animal charcoal was characterized, identified as Proteus mirabilis 10c, and studied for ability to degrade pyrene and phenanthrene. The bacterium resisted 30 µg chloramphenicol, 10 µg ampicillin, 30 µg amoxicillin and 10 µg perfloxacin; while it utilized a number of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and cinnamic acid. Specific growth rate on pyrene and phenanthrene were 0.281 d−1 and 0.276 d−1, respectively. Kinetics of degradation of pyrene was 87.92 mg l−1 in 30 days at the rate of 2.93 mg l−1 d−1, biodegradation constant at 0.073 d−1 and half-life of 9.50 d. The corresponding values for phenanthrene degradation kinetics by the bacterium were 90.12 mg l−1, 3.02 mg l−1 d−1, 0.079 d−1 and 8.77 d, respectively. Efficient degradation of crude oil (92.3%) in chemically defined medium was evident with near-disappearance of most aromatic spectra in 30 days. Considering its unique physiologies and broad specificities for aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbons, the bacterium has potentials for decommissioning environments contaminated with toxic components of animal charcoal
Performance of Turbo Code in CDMA under AWGN Channel
Get PDFCarrier Division Multiple Access is considered as an efficient technique in wireless communication due to its high possibility to serve an unlimited number of users. CDMA uses the same frequency concurrently with wireless communication. In this paper, the performance and evaluation of turbo code are duly presented followed by the examination of CDMA under AWGN channel was highlighted. The simulation estimated to achieve bit error rate of less than 10-2 frame size. To this end, the results of the simulation show that the Bit Error Rate is inversely proportional to the size of the frame and directly proportional the number of iteration in the decoder
Experimental maternal treatment with dexamethasone during lactation induces neonatal testicular and epididymal oxidative stress; Implications for early postnatal exposure
Get PDFMaternal treatment with dexamethasone during lactation alters reproductive functions and increases serum corticosterone in the male offspring. Excess corticosterone may induce oxidative stress. This study was designed to evaluate the effects of maternal treatment with dexamethasone during lactation on oxidative stress indices in the testis and epididymis of a male offspring.
Twenty lactating dams were divided into 4 groups (n = 5). Group 1 was administered 0.02 ml/100 g/day normal saline subcutaneously at lactation days 1–21. Groups 2, 3, and 4 were administered 100 μg/kg/day dexamethasone (Dex) subcutaneously at lactation days (LD) 1–7, 1–14, and 1–21 respectively. Testis and epididymis malondialdehyde (MDA), catalase and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities were measured as markers of oxidative stress.
The mean testis and epididymis MDA were significantly raised (p < 0.05) in the dexamethasone-treated groups when compared with control. This was accompanied with a significant reduction (p < 0.05) in SOD and catalase activities in these tissues in the DexLD 1–21, when compared with control. The mean total protein level of the epididymis was significantly reduced (p < 0.05) in all the dexamethasone treated groups when compared with control.
In conclusion, maternal treatment with dexamethasone during the first two weeks of lactation and throughout lactation may lead to increase in oxidative stress in the testis and epididymis of the male offspring of Wistar rats
Structural Evaluation of the Effect of Pulverized Palm Kernel Shell (PPKS) on Cement-Modified Lateritic Soil Sample
Get PDFThere have been global efforts to reduce environmental pollution of agricultural and industrial waste products by
utilizing such wastes as stabilizing agents to improve soils for various uses, especially road construction. In this research,
lateritic soil sample obtained from a borrow pit was tested with varying percentages of Pulverized Palm Kernel Shell (PPKS).
The soil was classified as A-6 (AASHTO classification) using standard soil laboratory tests. Laboratory tests such as Atterberg
Limits, Compaction, Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS) and California Bearing Ratio (CBR) were conducted on the soil
+ PPKS mix only and also on soil + PPKS + 3% Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) mix. The liquid limit (LL) and plasticity
index (PI) values decreased steadily with increase in PPKS while the plastic limit (PL) value increased with up to 4% PPKS
addition after which the values started decreasing. The shrinkage limit (SL) value increased with a peak value at 8% PPKS
addition after which the values began to decrease. The Optimum Moisture Content (OMC) results on PPKS addition increased
from 16% to 19.5% while the Maximum Dry Density (MDD) decreased by 45.18% from 1.669g/m3
to 0.915g/m3
. Addition of
PPKS decreased the Unsoaked CBR by 10.79% from 68.60 to 61.20% while the Soaked CBR increased by 74.12% from
18.05% to 69.75%. UCS values for the lateritic soil and PPKS for the uncured sample, at 7 days and 14 days had peak values
of 85.03, 96.46 and 100.44 respectively. From the study, it can be concluded that the properties of the Lateritic soil improved
when stabilized with Cement and pulverized palm kernel shell compared to when it was stabilized with pulverized palm kernel
shell alon
Bioinformatics and physicochemical properties of CzcE protein in Bacteria
Get PDFArticleThis study investigated the bioinformatics of heavy metal resistance protein. Mega 6 was
used to construct the divergence time and phylogenetic analysis of CzeC and Protparam
was used to determine the amino acids, pI and Gravy of CzcE from different bacteria. The
results showed the actual bacteria that contain the CzcE protein which can be useful for
researchers that wants to work on this protein
Biodegradation of crude oil and phenanthrene by heavy metal resistant Bacillus subtilis isolated from a multi-polluted industrial wastewater creek
No full textA critical bottleneck associated with bioremediation technology in multi-polluted environments is microbiostasis due to metal toxicity. Autochthonous Bacillus species that would harness a repertory of traits to catabolize hydrocarbons and simultaneously sequester heavy metals (HMs) is invaluable in the environment contaminated with divergent pollutants. Fourteen HM-resistant bacilli from polluted creek were characterized using phenotypic and molecular criteria, and studied for hydrocarbon degradation in chemically defined media amended with Co2+ and Ni2+ (5.0 mmol l−1 each). Phylogenetic analyses revealed distribution of the bacilli into three clades. Two dissimilar strains of Bacillus subtilis (M16K, and M19F) with 19.1% sequence divergence, exhibited excellent degradation of crude oil (>94.0%) with evidence of early degradation of isoprenoid hydrocarbons and concurrent metal removal 18 d post-inoculation. Similarly, phenanthrene degradation (>85.0%), and corresponding metal detoxification occurred in 28 d axenic culture of the strains. Strain M16K and M19F were metabolically active in matrices containing HMs, degraded hydrocarbons and simultaneously removed HMs from the medium. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of metal-resistant Bacillus subtilis strains showing simultaneous degradation of hydrocarbons and detoxification of metals, particularly in the Sub-Saharan Africa. The bacilli could be useful as potential biological agents in effective bioremediation campaign for multi-polluted environments
LIPS TRACKING IDENTIFICATION OF A CORRECT QURANIC LETTERS PRONUNCIATION FOR TAJWEED TEACHING AND LEARNING
No full textMastering the recitation of the holy Quran is an obligation among Muslims. It is an important task to fulfill other Ibadat like prayer, pilgrimage and zikr. However, the traditional way of teaching Quran recitation is a hard task due to the extensive training time and effort required from both teacher and learner. In fact, learning the correct pronunciation of the Quranic letters is the first step in mastering Tajweed (Rules and Guidance) in Quranic recitation. The pronunciation of Arabic letters is based on its points of articulation and the characteristics of a particular letter. In this paper we implement the lip identification technique from video signal acquired from expert to extract the movement data of the lips while pronouncing the correct Quranic letters. The extracted lip movement data from expert helps in categorizing the letters into 5 groups and in deciding the final shape of the lips. Later the technique was then tested among a public reciter and then compared for similarity verification between the public and the professional reciter. The system is able to extract the lips movement of the random user and draw the displacement graph and compared with the pronunciation of the expert. The error will be shown if the user has mistakenly pronounced the letter and suggested for improvement. More subjects with different background will be tested in very near future with feedback instructions. Machine learning techniques will be implemented at later stage for the real time application for learning process