Journal of Scientific Research and Reports

Present study reports, a successful diagnosis and surgical management of a traumatic pharynigitis in a 3-year-old, nondescript cattle, caused by a submandibular foreign body (sewing-needle). Suture and wound dehiscence were observed as postoperative complication but the animal recovered completely after 15 days of surgery.

Pandemic like Covid-19 usually affects the productivity of man, let alone when there is a consequent total lock-down effect in the society. Construction and property development sector among others therefore is bound to suffer enormously since it involves the services of variety of labour force. The study therefore explores the implication and consequences of the Covid-19 outbreak on the construction and property development sector in the south eastern region of Nigeria. Data were collected electronically using field survey method of research design from the sampled respondents of building professionals in the area. Tau-b correlation method was adopted in the statistical analyses to determine the most commonly observed Covid-19 measures, most common vulnerable factors leading to spread and contraction of the pandemic in the study. Findings reveal that majority of the establishment in the area shutdown their operations according to the directive of the government; while about the three quarter of these establishments who were in active operations are observed as public owned corporations or projects. It is also discovered that hand washing, wearing of face mask and social distancing were mostly complied with. On the other hand, economic hardship, inflation, and difficulty in accessibility to fund noticeably affect the flow and progress of work projects. Despite the considerable compliance with the preventive measures, there is no significant relationship between conformity to social distancing and shut-down policy, and the volume of construction works in progress during the shut-down in the study area. In conclusion therefore, it is recommended that shut-down of economic activities should not be total but, in part and alternate form among the various sections of the economic activities within the society. Attention to the operations of the private construction and property development projects like in the and the public structure is also recommended for a more holistic arrangement, towards cushioning the effect of similar economic crisis occasioned by any pandemic like Covid-19 in general.

Climate-Change is real and has daunting effects on various economic sectors. Agriculture is one of the hardest hit. The sector is the main source of livelihood for rural areas and risk being endangered. Concrete steps are needed to adapt to the situation. Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) practices are robust coping mechanisms against climate change and the effects on agriculture. Farmers in Lawra Municipal are encouraged to employ CSA practices in farming. The CSA adaptation strategies of farmers in Lawra against climate change are unclear. Specifically, the objective of the study is to identify CSA adaptation strategies of farmers in Lawra. The importance of this study is to strengthen the adaptation capacity of farmers towards protecting their primary livelihood source (agricultural) from the impact of climate change. Employing a qualitative approach and using a semi-structured questionnaire, the study conducted in-depth interviews with farmers, and a key informant each from the Municipal Agriculture Department and one local radio station. Quota, snowballing and purposive non-probability sampling techniques were employed to select 20 farmers with knowledge and experiences on CSA practices. Findings from the study suggest that, farmers’ CSA adaptation strategies included advice on crop management, new or improved crop varieties, climate change education and awareness, and the organization of field trips to demonstration sites. To improve farmers’ adaptation strategies, the study recommends intensification of routine visits and monitoring by agriculture extension agents, encouraging farmers to frequently visit the Municipal Agriculture Department for assistance, and governments and the private sector must support farmers with logistics and credit pertaining to CSA practices.

Aim: Critically investigating the possibility of adopting blockchain technology within the Nigerian pharmaceutical supply chain to curb the supply of counterfeit drugs.

Study Design: The study is qualitative in nature and the primary data were fetched through interviews.

Place and Duration of the Study: Conducted within Nigeria for a period of 3 months.

Methodology: A qualitative method of data collection was adopted in the study, where some stakeholders were interviewed. The interviews were conducted with employees from different pharmaceutical companies and some drug regulatory agencies in Nigeria.

Result: Firstly, this study has ascertained the current prevalence of counterfeit drugs and the reasons for that. The study discovers a very high level of counterfeit drugs and some reasons behind that. Secondly, this study has also found some barriers to blockchain adoption, including the fact that the level of awareness of blockchain technology among stakeholders within the Nigerian pharmaceutical supply chain and the regulatory agencies is very low.

Conclusion: It was concluded that the efforts put in developing a viable COVID-19 vaccine could be undermined due to the current nature of the Nigerian pharmaceutical supply chain, the nature of porous borders in place, absence of an apparent drug distribution system, among others.  This study also concludes that the supply chain's current structure needs more regulatory and structural interventions by the Nigerian government than blockchain technology. In other words, with the current nature of the supply chain, blockchain technology adoption would not be effective in delivering the said benefits reported by scholars because the atmosphere is not conducive for successful blockchain adoption.

Climate pattern in the Persian Gulf is of great interest due to the strategic geographical location of the gulf as a waterway of major oil transportation and its increasing regional economic importance. However, long term and continues climate observations in this region are rare, especially for high resolution data. High resolution wind pattern and climate conditions were measured at 3 heights on a 9 m tower on the shoreline north of Qatar (26.08 N, 51.36 E) from August 2015 to September 2016. In this work, the annual wind and climate patterns (wind velocity, temperature, relative humidity, and air pressure) are first presented. Drag coefficient, turbulent kinetic energy and sensible heat flux are calculated using the high speed measured data to explain the observed climate pattern. The results show the wind in the southern part of the gulf is dominant by a northwest stream with a diurnal average speed of 4.7 m/s. During the test year, the diurnal average temperature and relative humidity were 27°C and 70%, respectively. The drag coefficient is much higher for the wind from 270^o-330^o, corresponding to the wind coming mainly from northwest. The Turbulent Kinetic Energy (TKE) is strong during the daytime, especially around noon when the diurnal value is at its peak, and weak during the night. The result of this analysis may be used for better understanding of the local climate, allowing for further assessment of wind energy and pollution diffusion in the region.

A pot experiment was designed for two consecutive years of (2018 and 2019) to investigate the effect of optimal use of potassium fertilizer by applying at different rates 0, 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 mg K kg^-1 10 kg pot^-1 soil. Rice cv. HUR-36 (Malaviya Dhan-36)] crop was transplanted by maintaining four seedlings in each pot and potassium fertilization effect on plant growth and yield attributes of rice was recorded. The experiment was carried out in completely randomized design (CRD) with seven treatments viz., T₁: absolute control (0:0:0), T₂: 60:30:0 mg kg^-1, T₃: 60:30:10 mg kg^-1, T₄: 60:30:20 mg kg^-1, T₅: 60:30:30 mg kg^-1, T₆: 60:30:40 mg kg^-1 and T₆: 60:30:50 mg kg^-1 corresponding to 120, 60, 60 (N:P₂O₅: K₂O) kg ha^-1. The experiment was conducted in triplicate. The data pertaining to experiment revealed that plant height, effective no. of tillers, chlorophyll content and grain and straw yield were significantly increased as the scheduled rates of potassium fertilizer application increases. In treatment T₅ receiving 60:30:30 mg kg^-1, potassium was general recommendation but due to intensive cropping of rice, mining of K was noticed. Therefore, increased dose of potassium should be recommended to maintain the replenishment of K in soil system and other side benefit cost ratio should not affect negatively. The treatment received extra doses of T₆ to T₇ (60:30:50 mg kg^-1) showed highest growth in plant and yield of rice but in steady state which is not beneficial economically. Hence, in T₇ benefit cost ratio will be poor. In the present experiment, T₆ maintains all fulfillment of K whether in plant or soil system.

Due to its microstructure, photonic crystal fibers present wavelength regions with polarization-dependent loss, an aspect not observed in conventional fibers. We include this fact in their polarization characterization. In this research, the use of polarimetric methods to two different types of large-mode-area microstructured fibers has shown that both samples exhibited elliptical birefringence with residual torsion. We present the modifications required to perform the evaluation and justify its theoretical bases.

The diatoms flora of Adzopé Reservoir in Côte d’Ivoire was investigated from January to December 2005. The species composition of the assemblage was compiled, accompanied by illustrations. Firty-one taxa were identified in the temporal survey. Five taxa (16.3%) were new for Côte d’Ivoire. Eleven common species, 9 occasional taxa and 11 rare taxa were also recorded. No spatial variations in the taxonomic composition of the populations of diatoms were found. Variations were encountered in the seasonal analysis. Variation in the dimensions of some identified taxa have been observed. The species richness of Diatoms in the Adzopé Reservoir was in relation with water current velocity.

Termites are becoming economic pests because of their appetite for wood and wood products in human dwellings and building materials. The objective of this study is to assess the impact of these insects on the activities of public services in the city of Korhogo, located in the north of Côte d'Ivoire. Termite attacks was investigated in 3 public services of the city. A survey was conducted to identify the control methods used against these pests. The results showed that termite pests represent a real problem. A total of 7 species of termites responsible for attacks were collected. These species belong to the wood-feeders, fungus-growers and grass-feeders group. The fungus-growers are the most involved in the observed attacks. Pseudacanthotermes militaris, which was involved in 54% of the attacks, was the most dangerous species. Termite attacks and damages were observed on doors, wooden shelves, ceilings, birth and marriage records. Surveys reveal that only chemical control is used in these services to control termites. A total of four pesticides were used to control termites in the three services visited. These were Cypercal 50 EC, K-Othrine® SC25, Actellic® 50 EC and Furadan 3G. Unfortunately, these products appear to be ineffective in some services. It is therefore important to take more effective and environmentally friendly measures to limit the impact of these insects on the activities of the public administrations of the town of Korhogo.

The Construction industry contributes greatly to the socio economic development of any nation. Despite its importance, the Construction industry has been ranked as one of the most hazardous industries across the globe. This research evaluated the safety performance of Construction companies in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria and the effect of management commitment to safety management implementation on safety performance. Qualitative and Quantitative research survey method was deployed. The study population comprises nine construction companies in the Niger Delta, selected through stratified sampling method. 190 respondents were purposively selected from the nine construction companies for questionnaire administration. The collected data was analyzed descriptively to determine the safety performance of the industry. Pearson Moment correlation statistics was used to establish the relationship between management commitment to safety management implementation and safety performance in the industry. Obtained results revealed a moderate level of safety performance at leading indicators with average mean of 3.23 ±1.22 in Construction industry in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria and poor level of safety performance at lagging indicators with average mean of 3.42±1.26. Interestingly, a strong, positive correlation was identified between Management Commitment and Safety performance for leading indicators, which was statistically significant (r = .506, n = 190, p = .005). A strong negative correlation however was seen between Management Commitment and Safety Performance for lagging indicators, which was statistically significant (r = -.408, n = 190, p = .003). This implies that where top management is committed to implementation of occupational health and safety management in such organization, there would be better safety practices and reduced rate of accidents.