Journal of Scientific Research and Reports

Globally, many educational institutes are focusing on implementing sustainability goals by encouraging the use of compostable products over the plastics, reducing waste, conserving water and others. The study performs a financial assessment of using Compostable food service ware (CSFW) in the Middlebury Institute of International Studies (MIIS), Monterey, California. To better understand the financial implications of the use of compostable food ware, comparisons have been made with the traditional reusable food service ware (RSFW). The results were calculated and compared through different approaches including data analysis, a Cost-Benefit Analysis and Net Present Values (NPVs). NPV values of compostable resulted in positive figures at different discount factors where a 3% discount rate has a higher value. The study concludes that investing in CSFW could be a financially sound approach as this practice is not only cost-effective but has certain environmental benefits over the reusables. The findings of our study can be used in the decision-making process by the educational institutes and other organizations while targeting their sustainability goals. Further studies can be done to evaluate the in depth analysis of assessing costs of production, carbon footprints and to determine the payback period of both types of items.

This study reviews the main barriers affecting wave energy harvesting globally by practitioners and developers and identified ways to circumnavigate the limitations experienced, in particular to Small Island Developing States (SIDS). Potential avenues for developers to exploit the available technology and allow them to evade barriers preventing advancement were identified. The results of the study indicated that combining wave energy technologies with other functional systems in society such as coastal protection and eco-tourism initiatives can lead to increased value proposition of projects and reduced costs. They primarily include the ministries and agencies of a government responsible for public health, infrastructural development, energy, trade, industrial development, tourism, education and agriculture in SIDS. Wave energy harvesting devices should be engineered as part of established industries and supply chain to incrementally advance technology development. When choosing an energy stream to be utilised, project developers, policymakers and stakeholders use the Levelised Cost of Energy (LCOE) as their critical metric. To determine the applicability of the system, the LCOE is compared to the societal benefits. The societal benefits can be quantified by combining the avoided costs with the economic benefits. Additionally, standards, regulations for ownership and maintenance and installation procedures should be developed for increased chance of technology development.

Introduction: The creation of the Mutual Health Insurance within the University of Kisangani is justified by the deterioration of the country's socio-economic situation, with unfortunate consequences for the sectors of life, with a view to improving the provision of medical care. To carry out this study successfully, we have set ourselves the following objectives: Check the evolution of the number of members of the mutual during the study period, identify the diseases that have required a lot of resources from the mutual during the four years of study, determine the professional category most assisted by the mutual's coverage and highlight the differences in the contribution of members by professional category.

Methodology: This is a retrospective descriptive study of the various cases of medical coverage of Kisangani University staff by the Mutual Health Insurance during the period 2014 to 2017. For this study, we worked with a comprehensive sample, i.e. the entire study population estimated at 1,432 adherent members, taking into account all their monthly contributions during the period 2014 to 2017. It was carried out thanks to the documentary analysis and the interview.

Results: The number of members of the mutual health insurance scheme was 1,311 in 2017, compared to 1,432 when it was created, i.e. a wastage rate of 8.44%. The Mutual Health Insurance of the University of Kisangani had produced 277,248,600 Congolese francs from membership fees. In addition, the professional category most assisted by the Mutual Health Insurance of the University of Kisangani is mainly composed of Administrative, Technical and Labour Staff with 1,217 cases out of a total of 1,432 expected members, or 84.9%. Finally, malaria was the disease most commonly observed with recurrence during the period studied, with a total of 285 cases or 77.2%.

This study aims to examine the types of response strategies employed in the interactions between Jordanians and the employees of the call-centre-customer service (CCCS) of a major tele-communications company in Jordan. It focuses on their linguistic behaviours upon responding taking into account the degree to which they adhere to Leech’s [1] maxims. Naturally-occurring interactions and designed situations were used to collect data from 28 Jordanian Arabic speakers participated in this study. The results of the study show that participants adhere to a number of the maxims in that responses are made politely whether the act is achieved or not. Furthermore, it has been revealed that participants are impacted by the social and cultural norms of the Jordanian society.

Aim: This research work investigated the bioaccumulation of metals in selected edible vegetables from the soils on which they were grown.

Place of Study: Two (2) different study locations were chosen from Etsako-West Local Government Areas of Edo State of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Etsako-West Local Government Area has an area of 660 km² on Latitude 7.0878ºN and Longitude 6.5010ºE with the headquarters in Auchi.

Methodology: Leaves of fluted pumpkin (Telfairia occidentalis), African spinach (Amaranthus hybridus) and water leaf (Talinum triangulare) and soil samples were randomly collected from Water Board and Iyerekhu farms in Etsako-West Local Government Area, Edo State, Nigeria and were analysed for their elemental compositions, using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) technique.

Results: In both soil and plant samples, silicon (Si) were most abundant, ranging between 18.85 and 38.91%. The decreasing order of abundance of elements in the plant samples was Si>K>Ca>Al>Cl>S>P>Mg>Fe>Ti>Mn>Zn>Sr>Cr. Toxic heavy metals such as As, Pb, Co, Cd and Cu were not detected in both soil and vegetable samples. The concentrations of the elements in the samples were higher than the permissible limits of WHO/FAO and EU for soils and plants, except Zn in the soil samples and Talinum triangulare from Iyerekhu farm. The peak transfer factor, 238.43 was obtained for K in Talinum triangulare from Iyerekhu farm while the least is 0.00 for Zn in all the plant samples. The overall mean ability of plant to absorb elements from the soil was most with Talinum triangulare, followed by Amaranthus hybridus.

Conclusion: The vegetables studied had high tendency to bioaccumulate the bioavailable metals in soils. However, all the vegetables studied, especially T. triangulare could be used in phytoremediation of polluted soils.

Brushless DC Motor (BLDC) is gaining more and more popularity as one of the best electrical drives nowadays due to advantages like high efficiency, low maintenance, good reliability & wide dynamic response. The traditional brushed motor speed regulation is essentially effective in low speed and unable to lower the commutation torque ripple in high speed range. Speed regulation of Brushless DC (BLDC) motor is done by utilizing PI controller. The PI controller output act as  the input to the variable voltage block. The mathematical modeling of BLDC motor is additionally shown here. The BLDC motor is supplied from the inverter while the rotor position and speed are the input here. The detailed mathematical model of the anticipated drive system is developed and simulated using MATLAB/Simulink environment.  Principle of operation of using component is examined and therefore the simulation results are reported here to verify the theoretical analysis.

Aims: This study sought to identify the personal characteristics, climate adaptation/coping strategies and enterprise characteristics of cocoa farmers in Ogun State, Nigeria. The study also aimed at determining constraints faced by the cocoa farmers in the course of carrying out the coping strategies.

Study Design: Multistage sampling technique.

Place and Duration of Study: Ijebu-Igbo and Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, Nigeria.

Methodology: This research work examined cocoa farmers’ coping strategies for climate change adaptation in Ogun State, Nigeria. A sample size of 60 respondents was used. Data were collected from selected cocoa farmers with the aid of structured interview schedule and data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics.

Results: The results revealed that the mean age of respondents was 46.5 years, indicating that most of them were still in their active age. The findings also revealed that majority (78.3%) of the respondents were married, while 90.0% of them were educated at various levels. Planting of cocoa under a weeded forest was ranked first in the coping strategies used by the farmers. Poor access to credit facilities was ranked first among the constraint faced by the respondents in the use of adaptation strategies in the study area. However, educational qualification (χ2=22.949, p=0.000) indicated that they were significantly related to the rate of adoption of farmers’ coping strategies to climate change in the study area.

Conclusion: The study established that poor funding, among other challenges was a major constraint to farmers’ adoption of climate change coping strategies. Researchers therefore, need to commence developmental interventions aimed at addressing the identified constraints and work towards the development of drought tolerant cocoa varieties in order to boost cocoa production and improve farmers’ livelihood.

Background: Currently, dolutegravir (DTG) based fixed dose combinations (FDC) of tenofovir/ lamivudine/dolutegravir (TLD) and Abacavir/lamivudine/dolutegravir (ABC/3TC/DTG) is now recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as the preferred first-and second line antiretroviral drug necessitating transition of eligible children to TLD.

Objective: The objective of this study is to compare the HIV viral suppression rate at baseline and after 6 months of transition to TLD and to determine adverse drug reaction associated with the use of TLD if any.

Methods: This was a prospective cross-sectional study carried out among stable children who were on treatment and follow up for HIV disease at the Paediatric HIV clinic of the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH). All Children who were eligible for transition to TLD, whose care givers/parents gave a verbal consent and who gave consent or accent were recruited for the study. Information obtained included the sociodemographic characteristics, weight and height, ART regimen at initiation of treatment and when it was commenced, the baseline viral load and viral load 6 months after transition and any adverse drug reaction. Obtained data were analysed. Comparison of categorical variables was done using chi square and Fischer’s exact test while A p-value of < 0.05 was set as statistically significant.

Results: A total 106 children aged 9 to 18 years with a mean age of 13.4±2.3 years were recruited for the study. Sixty (56.6%) were males, while 59 (55.5%) were from the lower socioeconomic class. The mean weight was 44.4±11.1 kg while the mean height was 151.3 ± 15.2 cm. At baseline, 48 (45.3%) were virally suppressed (viral load < 1000 copies/ml), however after 6 months, 97 (91.5%) became virally suppressed, the difference in viral suppression rate was statistically significant (X² =53.77, p= 0.0001).  Twenty-five (23.6%) had undetectable viral load (<20 copies/ml) at baseline while 61(57.5%) had undetectable viral load after transition. All those who were virally suppressed at baseline remained so 6 months after transition. Also, 80.6% (29/36) of those with treatment failure became virally suppressed. Only one child developed severe erythematous skin rashes. There was no statistically significant relationship between viral suppression and age, sex and social class (P >0.05).

Conclusion: This study has shown that DTG-based FDC is efficacious in the treatment of eligible children and adolescents with HIV/AIDS with significant viral load suppression in all age groups, gender and social class. Adverse drug reaction with the use of DTG-based ART is low. Transition to TLD is therefore advocated in eligible patients.

The prevalence rate of stillbirth is ten times higher in developing countries relative to developed countries with a 2016 rate of 18 percent in Ghana. This study employed the Quadratic Discriminant Function for discriminating and classifying of pregnancy outcomes based on some predictors. The study further examined the sensitivity of the Quadratic Discriminant Function in predicting pregnancy outcomes with variations in the training and test samples of deliveries recorded in a hospital in Accra, Ghana. The study considered the scenarios; 50:50, 60:40, 70:30 and 75:25 ratios of training sets to testing sets. Predictor variables on both maternal factors (maternal age, parity and gravida) and fetus variables (weight at birth and gestational period) were all statistically significant (P < .01) in discriminating between live birth and stillbirth. Results showed that maternal age had a negative effect on the live birth outcomes, while parity, gravida, gestational period and fetus weight recorded positive effects on live birth outcomes. The 75:25 ratio outperformed the other ratios in discriminating between live and stillbirth based on the Actual Error Rate of 7.28% compared to 7.81%, 12.14% and 13.79% for the 50:50, 70:30 and 60:40 ratios respectively whereas, the receiver operating characteristic curve shows the 70:30 (AUC= 0.9233) ratio outperformed the others. The study recommend the use of either the 70:30 or 75:25 training to test ratios for classification and discrimination related problems. Moreover, further research to establish the power of the respective training to test sample ratios with other statistical classification tools and more socio-economic variables can be considered.

The oil refining process is energy-intensive since every aspect of the process consumes energy. The need to minimize energy consumption when raising steam in boilers using Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) burner was the focus of this study, to proffer techniques for improving optimum thermal efficiency via proper burner design and positioning. Burner design models were utilized to evaluate parameters for optimum combustion, to deliver the expected thermal output, including thermal efficiency. The results of this study suggest that, to design a 22KW LPG burner for an oil refinery boiler, the optimum values estimated for the burner parameters for efficient combustion at a gas flow rate of 1.89x10^-4m³/sec, including Wobbe Index (83285.7KJ/m³), size of burner nozzle (1.9 mm), gas supply pressure (0.80 psi), length of burner slot for air entrainment (137.61 mm), size of burner pipe (46.48 mm), total orifice diameter (400.53 mm), and number of 3 mm. Studies elsewhere also suggest that if a proper angle between the burner axis and the boiler surface is achieved, significant changes in the amount of gas used can results positively in the direction of fuel utilization efficiency, thereby saving the cost of steam production in an LPG fired refinery boiler.

Aims: To evaluate the effects of organic amendment in the rehabilitation of two moribund cacao plantations at Ibadan (Oyo State) and Owena (Ondo State) using organic materials that included Cocoa Pod Husk (CPH) and Neem Leaf powder (NL).

Study Design: The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design in four replicates with four treatments which were CPH, CPH+NL (90:10), CPH+NL (80:20) and untreated.

Place and Duration of Study: Cocoa plantations at Ibadan and Owena, Nigeria between May, 2014 and Dec 2017.

Methodology: Initial soil sampling was done. Organic materials were applied to eight cacao trees in a ring at the base of trees in treated plots at the beginning of the rains in April/May and August/September. The treatments are: CPH Only @ 0.5 kg/tree, CPH Fortified with Neem Leaf (90:10) @ 0.45 kg + 0.05 kg/tree, respectively, CPH fortified with Neem Leaf (80:20) @ 0.40 kg + 0.10 kg/tree respectively. No application (control treatment).

Results: Eleven fungi species assigned to seven genera were recovered across the treatments. Organic amendments significantly (p<0.05) increased soil mineralization, microbial populations and pod production. After the second year of applications, CPH had the highest percentage of pod production over the control (64%) in Ibadan, while in Owena, CPH, CPH+NL (80:20) and CPH+NL (90:10) had percentage pod increase of 68, 64 and 63%, respectively, over the control. Organic materials had significant (p≤0.05) effect in raising the soil pH in the two locations from 6.41 to 6.82 in Owena and from 6.50 to 6.89 in Ibadan, compared to untreated soil.

Conclusion: The use of organic amendments in the rehabilitation of old and moribund cocoa (near death), improved soil nutrients as well as increased pod production and the microbial populations from the two plantations.

Nutritive, less bulk and low cost complementary flour blends were produced from maize, carrot and pigeon pea. Five different blends of flour were formulated from maize, carrot and pigeon pea in the ratio of 100:0:0 (A), 90:5:5 (B), 85:5:10 (C), 80:5:15 (D) and 75:5:20 (E) while commercial formula (sample F) served as control. The formulated complementary flour blends were analyzed for their functional properties, proximate, selected mineral and vitamin compositions while the reconstituted samples (gruel) were evaluated for sensory attributes. The functional properties of the complementary flour blends showed less bulk density (0.72-0.76 g/ml) below the commercial formula (1.26 g/ml), low water and oil absorption capacity as well as swelling index. The proximate composition showed significant (p<0.05) increase and ranged from 4.08-4.91% moisture, 6.15-9.48% crude protein, 1.33-1.48% ash, 1.98-2.71% crude fibre, 3.07-4.15% lipid, and 82.93-86.72% carbohydrate. Vitamins A and C were also increased significantly as the levels of substitution increased from 1.80-2.14 µ/100g and 3.21-4.42 µ/100g, respectively. The sensory scores showed that sample A was most preferred followed by sample B in terms of general acceptability.