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Smoking is the technique of seasoning, or preservation of food either by exposing it to heat from a burning or smoldering substance, usually wood or cold air at reduced temperature. Smoking is a unit operation that has gained overwhelming acceptance across the globe. The conventional method for smoking is often stressful and unhygienic while posing health risks to processors. In view of this, a low cost smoking kiln was developed and was evaluated to be effective, user friendly, hygienic, free health risk to processors and improve product quality. The machine was fabricated using locally available materials with charcoal as the heat source. Machine heat capacity, thermal resistance and heat requirement for various fish and meat products were determined. Heat capacity, thermal resistance and heat requirement of the machine were found to be 2337.57 kW, 2.16 K/W and 1123.20 kJ (fish); 1000.35 kJ (beef); 1584.24 kJ (chicken) respectively. Consumer’s perception for smoked products at 5% level of significance showed that there was no significant difference (p ˃ 0.05) in the sensory attributes considered for the products.

A modified Miniature Neutron Source Reactor (MNSR) model dealing with transient thermal hydraulic problem is presented. The model based on lumped parameter method is adopted in this work to numerically solve a system of coupled algebraic and differential equations governing heat transfer in MNSR, using MATLAB solver for variable order method in stiff differential equations and Differential-Algebraic equations, coupled with Maple soft. The simulated results obtained from the model were generally in agreement when compared with reactor operation data recorded from 0 to 270 minutes during experiments. Radiating energy of Fuel and clad and heat transferred at the gap or clearance were taken in to account. Fuel and clad temperatures as well as various temperatures at different sections of the reactor were predicted with the model, in addition to the effect of the installed chiller on the reactor coolant.&nbsp

Background:Developing countries bear the burden of childhood stunting but lack resources for cohort studies to develop preventive strategies. To enable future prospective studies, we designed and tested the Child Electronic Growth Monitoring System (CEGROMS) using a readily available electronic data capture platform, the Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap). Objectives:To demonstrate the feasibility of using CEGROMS for data collection for a pilot study for the Kaduna Infant Development (KID) Birth Cohort Study in Nigeria. Methods:CEGROMS consists of the data capture form for growth monitoring, a central cloud server, electronic tablets, and desktop computer. We implemented the pilot study in 2017-2019 at the Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital, Kaduna, Nigeria. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated for completeness of baseline data (relative to individuals with incomplete data) and completion of follow-up at different time points (relative to individuals with no follow-up visit) by the participant characteristics. Complete data were defined as date of birth, sex, and birthweight recorded at recruitment. Results:Among 3152 infant records in CEGROMS, 2789 (88.5%) had complete data. Of these, 1905 (68.3%) had at least one follow-up visit. The main determinants of data completeness were health facility delivery (OR 19.17, 95% CI 13.65, 26.92) and tertiary education (OR 3.54, 95% CI 2.69, 4.67). Follow-up was greater for women with tertiary education (OR 1.33, 95% CI 1.06, 1.51 for at least one visit). Maternal education is associated with completeness and follow-up (following adjustments for parity and employment). Conclusions: The CEGROMS electronic data collection system enables complete and consistent data collection. The data will enable design of strategies to improve follow-up in the future implementation of the birth cohort study. MK and SJL are supported by the Intramural Research Program of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, ZO1 ES-49019. Epidemiological Resources and Investigation Consultancy Limited and Perinatal Epidemiological Research Unit, Kaduna (Nigeria), provided infrastructure and human resource for data collection and management.

This paper provides the theoretical framework for the development of a pseudo-closed loop solar tracking system incorporating a microcontroller for a flat payload, where the outputs of the system (the slope and the azimuth angles of the payload) are observed and the set-points for the system are to be optimally computed by the microcontroller. It also presents, from literature, the equations and models solar angles and incident angles for the development of the optimum set point path for the tracking, and gives the outline of the signal flow plan, as well as the corresponding flowchart, for the tracking system’s components interaction. The concept would provide a cheaper and simpler alternative to dual axis solar tracking incorporating solar sensors. The models presented here are adaptable to any geographical location in Nigeria and globally.

Aim: The shell of invertebrate such as oyster has a very high potential in removing color pigments and other impurities in water and vegetable oils. However, application of such materials is receiving low attention both in industry and academia. This work studied the effectiveness of oyster shell as adsorbent in vegetable oil refining, in order to utilize its adsorption potential and to control the disposal effects of oyster shell on the environment. Methodology: Activated and un-activated oyster shells were produced and used as adsorbent in the bleaching process of Palm Kernel Oil (PKO). The micro-structural images of the adsorbents produced were studied using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The physicochemical properties of PKO before and after the bleaching process were monitored and compared. The performance evaluation of the adsorbents was further evaluated using Freundlich and Langmuir adsorptions isotherms.

The use of clay and its minerals in vegetable oil purification has been tremendous. It has been discovered that surface modification or activation of this distinct adsorbent greatly increases its adsorptive capacity. Similarly, seed hulls also known as carbonaceous materials are being used as the only adsorbent or combined with activated clays for vegetable oil bleaching. Prominent among the modification methods is acid activation. Acid activated clay minerals and carbonaceous materials have been used extensively as adsorbent industrially for vegetable oil bleaching. However, some challenges have been identified with the use of acid activated adsorbent for vegetable oil cleansing. This paper made a review of activation of clay minerals and carbonaceous Review Article Akinwande et al.; BJAST, 5(2): 130-141, 2015; Article no.BJAST.2015.013 131 materials and its effect on micro structure, surface area and bleaching efficiency in vegetable oil refining.

Dry and wet season studies of the leaf anatomy of ten plant species in the family Euphorbiaceae from three sites with different pollution levels in Southwestern Nigeria were carried out. This is with a view to establish the response of plant anatomical structures to air pollution. The species investigated were Alchornea laxiflora (Benth.) Pax & K. Hoffm., A. cordifolia (Schum. & Thonn.) Mull. Arg., Euphorbia heterophylla L., E. hyssopifolia L., E. hirta L., Croton lobatus L., Flueggea virosa (Willd) Voigt., Manihot esculenta Crantz., Phyllanthus amarus (Schum. & Thonn.) and Acalypha ornata Hochst. ex A. Rich. Standard anatomical procedures for examining leaf epidermal surfaces and cross sections of the leaves were employed. Epidermal characters such as stomatal number and stomatal size were investigated while other leaf tissues including thicknesses of the cuticles, thickness of the epidermis as well as palisade and spongy mesophyll tissues thickness. Our data revealed a significant (P < 0.05) reduction in all the examined anatomical characters in plants growing in polluted sites when compared with their counterparts from unpolluted environments, except for stomatal number which showed a corresponding significant (P < 0.05) increase. Changes in the anatomical characters reported in this study tend to corroborate responses observed in the morphological attributes of the same plant species to environmental pollution in an earlier report. This study further establishes the usefulness of anatomical studies in explaining the mechanism underlying the morphological responses of the plants to air pollution.

Introduction. Today the environmental pollution with heavy metal salts (HMS) is an important issue, because of their toxic effects and prevalence in different layers of the biosphere. Once getting in the body, they circulate with blood and partly accumulated in the organs causing harmful effects on tissues and cells. Urinary bladder(UB) refers to bodies that are subject to double impact of heavy metals. Thus, urine together with its components (including HMS)accumulate and definite time contact with mucous membranes of UB and also the pollutants get into the organhematogenously.

A second biotype of the Russian wheat aphid, Diuraphis noxia Kurdjumov code-named RWASA-2, a more virulent and fast breeder than the earlier RWASA-1, was reported from wheat farms in South Africa in 2007. There is an urgent need to characterize the effects of this new biotype on infested plants in order to assist the breeding programme in developing effective resistant cultivars that curb this emerging biotype and its destructive effects on our cultivated cereals. This study investigates and compares the feeding related damages caused by RWASA-1 and RWASA-2 through resulting chlorosis, evidence of leaf rolling as well as changes in aphid population levels on both resistant and non-resistant barley (Hordeum vulgare) cultivars. The results from this experiments revealed that RWASA-2 feeding caused a higher chlorosis levels in the non-resistant PUMA than was the case when exposed to feeding by RWASA-1. Interestingly, chlorosis ratings were significantly higher during RWASA-1 feeding than RWASA-2 feeding only in resistant barley lines. Leaf rolling was more severe on PUMA but lower in resistant cultivars. Population growth analysis revealed that RWASA-2 reproduced faster than RWASA-1, a reduction in growth was observed in resistant lines in comparison to the non-resistant PUMA, with a greater reduction recorded on a resistant - STARS-9301B line. Therefore, we suggest that the US developed resistant barley lines should be explored further as they may represent as yet unidentified resistant germplasm, which could be introduced into locally developed barley lines in South Africa and other regions of the world where this RWA is a problem.Keywords: Barley, Chlorosis, Leaf roll, Resistance, Russian Wheat Aphid (RWA), Aphid Biotypes, Tolerance

This paper seeks to analyse inventory management systems in the grocery stores in Aberdeen, UK and see how it impacts on the business performance such as customer satisfaction and cost. In an attempt to gain an an understanding of inventory management the grocery retail sector in the UK was analysed. A purposive non probability sampling technique was adopted for the research using the qualitative research approach. A case study approach was adopted to further analyse inventory management systems and it effect on supply chain performance within the grocery retailing stores. The sampling size for the research was restricted to those practitioners who are involved in inventory management in grocery stores and those involved in customer services.

We consider certain properties of 1- (zg'(z)/f'|(z)) as a sufficient condition for a function f (z) to be a close-to-convex function.Keywords: Univalent function, Convex function, Starlike function, Close-to-convex function. 2000 Mathematics Subject Classification. Primary 30C45.

The unified extension system introduced in 1990 necessitated the delivery of extension services through a single line of command and the use of one agent in disseminating varied innovations to farmers. This study, which involved 106 village extension agents, was aimed at determining the adequacy of agents' training in vocational agriculture and their level of competency in the subject matter areas of agriculture. One major finding of this study was that most of the agents were trained mainly in General Agriculture (46.67%) with little or no emphasis on many other areas of specialisation. Areas agents felt they had highest competence were principles of crop production (X=2.75) and Animal Nutrition (X=2.57). Subject matter areas of relevance and competence have been identified. There are several areas in agriculture in which the agents need functional training.Keywords: Re-Training Extension Agents, Benue state.

Click on the link to view the abstract.Journal of the Nigerian Association of Mathematical Physics, Volume 20 (March, 2012), pp 505 – 510

Background and Objective. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and haemolytic significance of alpha- and beta-haemolysins in our voluntary group “O” donor population.Methods. This was a prospective study carried out at North-East Zonal Centre, the National Blood Transfusion Service, Maiduguri, Nigeria from April 2007 to April 2009. One thousand nine hundred and twenty nine voluntary group “O” blood donors (1609 males and 320 females, median age 26 years±7.6 SD) were screened for alpha- (anti-A) and beta- (anti-B) haemolysins using the standard tube technique at 37 degrees C for 1 hour. All samples showing haemolysis were titrated for anti-A and anti-B haemolysins.Results. The overall prevalence of haemolysins in group O donors was 55.4%. Prevalence of alpha- and beta-haemolysins only was 10.3% and 12.6%, respectively, while that of donors having both alpha- and beta-haemolysins in their sera was 32.5%. Visual titre of 8 was seen in 0.4% of lytic alpha-haemolysin and 0.2% of lytic beta-haemolysin whereas donors with both alpha- and beta-haemolysins had a titre of 1.8%. Lytic titre of 16 and 32 was very low in our donor population.Conclusion. This study has shown that although the prevalence of haemolysins is high in our voluntary group “O” donor population, the strength of the lytic antibodies is low. Therefore, despite the labour intensiveness of our haemolysis titration technique and the frequent transfusion of group O blood to certain recipients of blood group A, B, and AB in our environments, there is the need to routinely screen our donors for haemolysins in order to identify those posing the greatest risk to recipients. Further studies to determine episodes of clinically significant haemolysis in recipients of blood group O may be necessary.