Cross River University of Technology

About: Cross River University of Technology is a education organization based out in Calabar, Nigeria. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Exergy. The organization has 465 authors who have published 507 publications receiving 2705 citations.

Art as Contextual Epistemology: A New Theoretical Perspective on Contemporary Avant-gardism in Africa

Abstract: Art constitutes a framework for the generation of new knowledge that enables a sophisticated understanding of society. It is deconstructivist/interrogative thus leads to the creation of alternative narratives and realities derived from complex visual interpretation of the universe, societies and circumstances. In a cognitivist sense, beyond aesthetic emotions/visual appeal art constitutes an intellectual source of knowledge through in-depth analysis of form, content and context of any given artwork. The paper adopts discourse and iconographic analysis as methodologies to introduce a new uncovered phenomenon of Contemporary Avant-gardism in postcolonial African art based on knowledge generation tailored to enforce change. This is achieved by interrogating the ideologies, methodologies and visual configurations of the works of contemporary African artists such as El Anatsui, Olu Amoda, Brett Murray, Kudzanai Chiurai, Clem Akpang and others. Their works instigate new lines of inquiries/knowledge through a renewed but subtle bohemian approach to artifactuality and interpretation of contemporary Africa. The paper submits that by its evocative/expressive nature, art creates structures of knowledge through subjective and visual dialogues that foster knowing in different ways beyond language. And that in contemporary African art-space this new artistic ethos is deployed as a form of avant-gardism that underpins the rationale of African art created in the continent today.

Heavy Metals Concentration in Greens Sold in Umuahia-market Nigeria: Assessment of Risk to Human Health

Abstract: Background: The consumption of foods with a high concentration of heavy metals has increased the chances of incurring cancer and health disorders. In this study, the risks associated with ingestion and consumption of heavy metals in vegetables was evaluated. Methods: Ten different vegetables were purchased from the Ubani market, in Umuahia – Nigeria. The vegetables - Gnetum africanum, Vernonia amygdalina, Talinum triangulare, Solanum macrocarpon, Ocimum gratissimum, Gongronema latifolium, Pterocarpus mildbraedi, Telfairia occidentalis, Amaranthus hybridus, and Piper guineense, respectively were randomly selected and used to screen for heavy metals. The vegetable samples were air dried, ground and digested with acid, separately using standard methods. The heavy metal contents of the acid digests were analyzed using Atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Results: The risk assessment of human health was interpolated with standard models. Results of the heavy metal showed that the vegetables have a high level of heavy metals. Some of the heavy metals detected in the vegetables exceeded their respective safety levels. The concentrations of zinc, nickel, and cobalt were not detected in most vegetables. Copper, chromium, and cadmium were above the permissible limits. Iron concentration was (12.092±0.100ppm) in a. hybridus which was the highest. The daily intake of heavy metals in vegetables was below tolerable prescription. The hazard index of the vegetable - G. latifolium was greater than 1, which implied adverse health effect. The hazard index - A. africanum and T. triangulare were equal to 1 suggesting that adverse health effect may occur. P. schum had a high concentration of chromium which makes it unsafe for consumption due to the risk of cancer. Lead showed no cancer risk, while nickel, chromium, and cadmium in vegetables were within the acceptable risk (<10-6). The total cancer risks of all vegetables were less than (<10-6) suggesting no/low chance of developing cancer. Conclusion: Therefore prolong consumption of these vegetables may put the consumers at risk. This study reason that some vegetables used for this investigation are unsafe for human consumption. And strongly suggest that consumers should be informed about the possible health effects of prolonged consumption/ingestion of heavy metals in order to prevent the possibility of metal toxicity.

Estimation of stature using arm span length amongst Bekwara ethnic group of Cross River State, Nigeria

Abstract: Introduction: The research was carried out to obtain the linear regression equation for the estimation of stature using arm span length amongst the Bekwara ethnic group of Cross River State. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted on 600 subjects (300 males and 300 females), aged 6 to 30 years, the subjects were further grouped into five sub age groups of 6-10, 11- 15, 16-20, 21-25, 26-30 years old. Result: The mean values of arm span length and stature for males of Bekwara ethnic group, irrespective of age group are 169.9±23cm and 158.4±19cm while females recorded 162.3±17cm and 154.0±13cm respectively. The arm span length to stature difference in males of Bekwara ethnic group is 11.5±7.2cm and 8.3±5.6cm in females, but the mean ASD value irrespective of sex was observed to be 9.9±6.6cm. Pearson correlation coefficients of stature and arm span length were recorded for both male and female as 0.977 and 0.959 respectively. Linear regression equation determined for males in Bekwara ethnic group is 25.71+ (0.781 x arm span) with a recorded estimated stature of 158.2cm, while that of females is 31.83+ (0.753x arm span) with stature estimate of 154.0cm. Conclusion: The arm span length of Bekwara ethnic group indigenes has proven to be an efficient anthropometric body segment parameter that can be employed in the estimation of stature among wheelchair athletes, bed ridden patients or in persons with disabilities involving amputation of the lower limb, or other deformities like scoliosis which does affect the standing ability.

Ganado-hepato-somatic Index of Oreochromis niloticus Sub Adults Exposed to Some Herbicides

Abstract: Due to importance of Oreochromis niloticus in Aquaculture in Nigeria and the importance of the liver and the gonads in fish, the gonadosomatic and hepatosomatic indexes were measured after exposing the fish to different concentrations of Gramoxone, Glyphosate, Butachlor and Atrazine for fourteen days. These herbicides were observed to produce atrophy in the two organs, liver and gonads. The herbicides are therefore likely going to hinder fish production in the area due to their influence in these important fish organs.

Biometric Authentication Schemes and Methods on Mobile Devices: A Systematic Review

Abstract: Due to the sensitivity and amount of information stored on mobile devices, the need to protect these devices from unauthorized access has become imperative. Among the various mechanisms to manage access on mobile devices, this chapter focused on identifying research trends on biometric authentication schemes. The systematic literature review approach was adopted to guide future researches in the subject area. Consequently, seventeen selected articles from journals in three databases (IEEE, ACM digital library, and SpringerLink) were reviewed. Findings from the reviewed articles indicated that touch gestures are the predominant authentication technique used in mobile devices, particularly in android devices. Furthermore, mimic attacks were identified as the commonest attacks on biometric authentic schemes. While, robust authentication techniques such as dental occlusion, ECG (electrocardiogram), palmprints and knuckles were identified as newly implemented authentication techniques in mobile devices.