Showing papers by "Rivers State University of Science and Technology published in 1998"
TL;DR: In this article, the authors used radar imagery and aerial photographs to define some hydrological and hydrogeological features in parts of the study area, and then used these features to delineate areas of high, medium and low groundwater potential.
Abstract: The Cross River State, Nigeria, is underlain by the Precambrian-age crystalline basement complex and by rocks of Cretaceous to Tertiary age. The exploration for groundwater in this area requires a systematic technique in order to obtain optimum results, but the non-availability of funds and facilities has made it extremely difficult to carry out site investigations prior to the drilling of water wells. Therefore, the failure rate is as high as 80%. In order to delineate areas that are expected to be suitable for future groundwater development, black and white radar imagery and aerial photographs were used to define some hydrological and hydrogeological features in parts of the study area. Lineament and drainage patterns were analysed using length density and frequency. Lineament-length density ranges from 0.04–1.52; lineament frequency is 0.11–5.09; drainage-length density is 0.17–0.94, and the drainage frequency is 0.16–1.53. These range of values reflect the differences in the probability of groundwater potentials. Results were then used to delineate areas of high, medium, and low groundwater potential. Study results also indicate that correlations exist between lineament and drainage patterns, lithology, water temperature, water conductivity, well yield, transmissivity, longitudinal conductance, and the occurrence of groundwater.
220 citations
TL;DR: There was no statistically significant difference between snake guilds as far asmean prey size is concerned, but the various species within each guild differed significantly in terms of mean prey size.
Abstract: The food resource partitioning in a community of snakes from a moist rainforest of south-eastern Nigeria (Eket, Akwa-Ibom State) is studied in the present paper. The community consisted of 24 different species, belonging to different families and ecological guilds: some species were terrestrial, some were semi-aquatic, and others were arboreal. Six species were primarily mammal-eating, two were bird-eating, four were lizard-eating, three were frog-eating, one species fed on both mammals and birds, and one species fed on both fish and frogs. A UPGMA tree diagram showed that three clusters of snakes are formed on the basis of their diet composition: a cluster formed by the two large arboreal species (Dendroaspis jamesoni and Boiga blandingi), another formed by the group of the terrestrial mammal-eating Calabaria reinhardti, Bitis gabonica, and Bitis nasicornis, and the third cluster formed by the lizard-eating Psammophis phillipsi, Thelotornis kirtlandii, and Gastropyxis smaragdina. The relationships between these and the other taxa remain unclear. In terms of both frequency of occurrence of the various prey types and biomass contribution of each prey type, the semi-aquatic snakes showed the narrowest niche breadth values and the terrestrial snakes showed the widest niche breadth values. The overlap values were not significantly correlated with the rank of phylogenetic distance. The mean overlap values calculated between species belonging to a same guild were significantly higher than those calculated between species belonging to different guilds, but the mean overlap values between species belonging to a same guild did not differ significantly among guilds. Prey size and predator size (total length) were positively correlated. There was no statistically significant difference between snake guilds as far as mean prey size is concerned, but the various species within each guild differed significantly in terms of mean prey size.
83 citations
TL;DR: Gari was processed from six different cassava cultivars TMS 3575, TMS 3044, HTV, 30555, 30572, and 40944 as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Gari was processed from six different cassava cultivars TMS 3575, TMS 3044, hormone treated variety (HTV), TMS 30555, TMS 40944 and TMS 30572. Chemical analyses of the gari samples showed pH values of: 4.0, 4.0, 3.9, 3.6, 3.4, 3.6 and total titratable acidity of 0.99, 0.99, 0.98, 0.85, 0.96, 0.85 (% lactic acid) for TMS 3575, 3044, HTV, 30555, 30572, and 40944 respectively. Physical characteristics of the samples showed the swelling index of 264.5%, 223.5%, 364.0%, 321.3%, 241.3% and 232.7%, water absorption capacity of 1.0 ml/g, 0.8, 1.5, 1.9, 1.7, 1.9 ml g(-l) sample, relative bulk density of 0.29, 0.30, 0.15, 0.17, 0.15 (g/cm3) and gari yield of 34%, 21%, 33%, 24%, and 23%, for cultivars, TMS 3575 (2), 3044, HTV, 30555, 30572, 40944 respectively. Sensory evaluation showed a significant difference (p < 0.05) in quality and overall acceptability among the samples while Tukey test showed a difference (p<0.05) between HTV and between 3575 and 3044. The cassava pulp from the cultivars and their corresponding gari had HCN content (mg/100 g) ranging from 7.9 to 9.3 for pulp and 1.1 to 1.5 for gari, respectively. The 72 hours fermentation period reduced the HCN in all cultivars by 85%, which is considered to be a safe level for human consumption.
78 citations
TL;DR: Urine had large positive effects on millet grain, threshed panicle, leaf, stem and weed yields, and sheep dung was more effective than cattle dung in increasing yield and the positive effects of dung and urine on yield lasted two to three cropping seasons after application.
Abstract: Most farming systems in semi-arid West Africa rely on organic matter recycling for maintaining soil fertility. The cycling of biomass through ruminant livestock into dung (faeces) and urine that fertilize the soil has long been an important factor in t
he nutrient cycling processes of these integrated, mixed crop/livestock systems. While dung greatly improves soil properties and crop yields, little is known about the effects of urine on soil chemical properties and the impact of dung and urine on crop p
roduction. An average voiding of sheep urine applied to a sandy, siliceous soil in the Republic of Niger increased soil pH, available phosphorus and ammonium levels dramatically in the upper 10–15 cm of soil, especially during the first week following application. Losses of applied urine nitrogen via volatilization were in the order of 30–50%. A four-year field trial was conducted on the same soil type to evaluate the effects on pearl millet and weed yields of corralling cattle o
r sheep overnight on cropland (dung plus urine application) for one, two or three nights, every one, two or three years versus the effects of applying only dung at the same application rates and intervals achieved with corralling. The main results of this field trial were that (1) urine had large positive effects on millet grain, threshed panicle, leaf, stem and weed yields, (2) sheep dung was more effective than cattle dung in increasing yield, (3) two nights of dung application was adequate for maximum yield and (4) the positive effects of dung and urine on yield lasted two to three cropping seasons after application.
65 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the problem of magnetohydrodynamic free-convection flow, with radiative heat transfer in porour media subject to time-dependent suction of an incompressible and optically transparent medium has been solved making a fairly realistic assumption.
Abstract: The problem of magnetohydrodynamic free-convection flow, with radiative heat transfer in porour media subject to time-dependent suction of an incompressible and optically transparent medium has been solved making fairly realistic assumption. For a small-time-dependent perturbation of the fluid velocity and temperatures, the nonlinear problem is tackled by asymptotic approximation, giving solutions for steady-flow on which a first-order transient component is superimposed. The effect of heat radiation and free convection on the flow of the fluid is demonstrated analytically and quantitatively. The flow field is seen to be affected mainly by radiation and convection parameters, in addition to the porosity and magnetic factors.
44 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the periphyton diversity and biomass were studied for wet and dry seasons (between 1994 and 1995), selected stations at the upper New Calabar river.
32 citations
TL;DR: The status and the ecological correlates of occurrence of the leopard from rainforests of southeastern Nigeria are presented and it is found that leopards are extremely rare over the whole study region.
Abstract: The status and the ecological correlates of occurrence of the leopard (Panthera pardus Linnaeus, 1758) from rainforests of southeastern Nigeria are presented in this paper. A total of 47 randomly selected forest patches with at least some patches of primary vegetation were examined, and eight different environmental variables were recorded from each study site. Canonical Analysis and Principal Component Analysis were used to assess which variables were positively correlated with the presence of the leopards, which proved extremely rare over the whole study region. In fact, the presence of the leopard was ascertained only in two sites (4.25% of the total number of surveyed areas), whereas it was a possibility in four other sites (8.5% of the total number of surveyed areas). Scats and tracks were found in only one of the former localities, whereas the skull of a recently killed adult specimen was seen in the other of the two sites. The various environmental parameters include total wooded surface (...
13 citations
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12 citations
TL;DR: A study in Nigeria revealed that health workers should be intensively used along with other promotional elements to promote the NPI/ORT programme in Nigeria, with health workers as major sources of motivation.
Abstract: The Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) (changed to National Programme on Immunization (NPI) in 1996) and Oral Rehydration Therapy (ORT) were launched in Nigeria in 1979. The goal of EPI was Universal Childhood Immunization (UCI) 1990, that is, to vaccinate 80% of all children age 0-2 years by 1990, and 80% of all pregnant women were also expected to be vaccinated with Tetanus Toxoid Vaccine. The Oral Rehydration Therapy was designed to teach parents with children age 0-5 years how to prepare and use a salt-sugar solution to rehydrate children dehydrated by diarrhoea. Nigeria set up Partners-in-Health to mobilize and motivate mothers to accept the programme. In 1990 a National coverage survey was conducted to assess the level of attainment. The results show that some states were able to reach the target and some were not. It therefore became necessary to evaluate the contribution of those promotional elements adopted by Partners-in-Health to motivate mothers to accept the programme. The respondents were therefore asked to state the degree to which these elements motivated them to accept the programme. The data were collected and processed through a Likert rating scale and t-test procedure for test of significance between two sample means. The study revealed that some elements motivated mothers very strongly, others strongly, and most moderately or low, with health workers as major sources of motivation. The study also revealed that health workers alone can not sufficiently motivate mothers without the help of religious leaders, traditional leaders and mass media, etc. It was therefore recommended that health workers should be intensively used along with other promotional elements to promote the NPI/ORT programme in Nigeria.
5 citations
TL;DR: Assessment of the N availability of roots of woody species and maize found that incubation period of roots before planting maize increased maize dry matter yield and N uptake, and application of maize roots which have low N content and high C/N ratio reduced maize drymatter yield andN uptake.
Abstract: An experiment was conducted to assess the N availability of roots of woody species and maize. The trial was conducted using a split-plot design with four replications. Four incubation periods (0, 2, 4 and 6 months) made up the main plots. There were six subplots, consisting of addition of fine roots (< 2 mm diameter) of four woody species(Dactylcidenici barteri, Senna siamea, Gliricidia sepium and Leucaena leucocephala) and maize(Zea mays), and a control with no roots added. Roots from four-month-old plants were used in this study. Maize as test plant was grown in pots containing sandy loam soil (Psammentic ustorthent). Incubation period of roots before planting maize increased maize dry matter yield and N uptake. Addition of Gliricidia and Leucaena roots which have high? content and low C/N ratio (13.1 and 14.0 respectively) improved maize dry matter yield and N uptake following 2 months incubation. Application of maize roots which have low N content and high C/N ratio (40.3) reduced maize dry m...
TL;DR: In this article, a time domain numerical procedure is presented for a simulation of acoustic-wave phenomena, which is an adaptation of the finite-difference time domain (FDTD) approach usually applied to model electromagnetic waves.
Abstract: A time domain numerical procedure is presented for a simulation of acoustic-wave phenomena. The technique is an adaptation of the finite-difference time domain (FDTD) approach usually applied to model electromagnetic waves. Simple illustrations of propagation in a nondissipative, infinite, homogeneous medium are provided. In scattering by a soft target the interior fields show that for an acoustically denser target the wave penetrates the target with a magnitude greater than the incident-wave amplitude. Also, the interior acoustic pressure field consists of a pair of high-pressure bands sandwiching a low-pressure band.
Journal Article•
TL;DR: Reactions suggest that the antigens identified as factors 1, 6 and 7 are specific to N. asteroides and that factor 1 is specific for serotype 2, while factors 6 and 8 are species-specific.
Abstract: Concentrated cell-free filtrates (nocardins) were prepared from Nocardia asteroides cultures grown on Sauton's synthetic broth. Nocardins from 10 strains of six N. asteroides serotypes were produced and the proteins separated by isoelectric focusing. N. asteroides antigens among these proteins were tested for specificity using rabbit antisera and monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against N. asteroides and Mycobacterium tuberculosis by the enzyme-linked immunoelectrotransfer blot test. At least 15 protein antigens were identified from each of the 10 nocardins. The immunodominant antigens were one serotype-specific N. asteroides protein with an isoelectric point (pI) of 4.0 (factor 1) and two group antigens with pIs of 4.43 (factor 6) and 4.68 (factor 8). The nitrocellulose strips prepared with these antigens did not react with antibodies to M. tuberculosis, nor with normal sera from humans, rabbits, or mice, but reacted specifically with anti-N. asteroides MAbs and polyclonal antibodies. Four purified protein derivatives of tuberculin were tested and did not cross-react with the three anti-N. asteroides MAbs. These reactions suggest that the antigens identified as factors 1, 6 and 7 are specific to N. asteroides and that factor 1 is specific for serotype 2, while factors 6 and 8 are species-specific.
TL;DR: It is concluded that gari, which is much cheaper and far more readily available in Nigeria than MEA or PDA, is an effective alternative to the two standard mycological media.
Abstract: No significant differences (P<0.05 occurred in the frequency of isolation from soil of four common moulds – Rhizopus stolonifer, Monilia sitophila, Aspergillus niger and Penicillium sp., on malt extract agar (MEA) and gelled gari (carbohydrate gel). Growth of the moulds on slide microcultures of potato dextrose agar (PDA) and gari showed typical diagnostic features of the organisms, which were often clearer on gari. It is concluded that gari, which is much cheaper and far more readily available in Nigeria than MEA or PDA, is an effective alternative to the two standard mycological media.
TL;DR: Results demonstrated that inclusion of palm oil in the diet linearly increased serum cholesterol and triacylglycerides (TG), thus showing palm oil to be atherogenic, and palm oil should not exceed 4% in the diets of rabbits.
Abstract: Oruwari, B.M., Ekine, O.A., Monsi, A. and Hart, D.A. 1998. Atherogenic effects of dietary palm oil in rabbit. J. Appl. Anim. Res., 14: 193–198. Adult rabbits (chinchilla) of both sexes were used to determine the atherogenic effects of dietary palm oil by feeding them diets supplemented with palm oil (4, 8 and 12%) which replaced corn in the control (basal) diet on w/w basis in a randomized block design. Following the eight weeks experimental period, 16 rabbits of each sex were sampled. Results demonstrated that inclusion of palm oil in the diet linearly (P<0.01) increased serum cholesterol and triacylglycerides (TG), thus showing palm oil to be atherogenic. The females had a significantly higher serum cholesterol and TG level than the males. Liver, abdominal fat and heart weights adjusted on body weight basis were significantly (P<0.01) higher at 8 and 12% levels of palm oil than 4%. Therefore, palm oil should not exceed 4% in the diet of rabbits.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors tried to establish the degree of relationship between test scores and on-the-job performance scores (job evaluation) of bank workers by using Pearson's productmoment correlation coefficient (γ) and Pearson's contingency coefficient (C).
Abstract: The empirical study reported here attempts to establish the degree of relationship between test scores and on‐the‐job performance scores (job evaluation) of bank workers. We developed two related research hypotheses ‐ Pearson’s product‐moment correlation coefficient (γ) and Pearson’s contingency coefficient (C) to establish the degree of relationship between test scores and on‐the‐job performance scores. The results of the two hypotheses clearly indicates that there exist perfect linear relationship between test scores and on‐the‐job performance scores of bank workers. The result of this study is likely to assist scholars in bridging any existing conceptual gaps in test scores and on‐the‐job performance and practitioners in formulating appropriate policies on employee test scores and job performance scores.