Current Research in Science and Technology Vol. 4

Determinants of Money Demand in Algeria: An Empirical Study during the Period (1980-2017)

Mohammed Djebbouri, Abdelkarim Mansouri, Abderrahmane Tahi — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 00:00:00 +0000

This investigation aims primarily to estimate the determinants of the demand function of money in its broad sense, in Algeria during the period 1980-2017. To accomplish this study, Cointegration and Error Correction Model (ECM) have been used. Thus, these tests proved the no stationary of time series which led us to apply the cointegration tests, so in the end we estimate the model with error correction and investigate the impact of shocks on demand for money over the same period. The results of this estimation show that the importance of determinants of money demand in the short and long term are ordered as follows: Real income, the velocity of circulation of money (VM2) in the short and long term, the long-term exchange rate; in the short term its importance diminishes in favor of inflation, which has a decisive effect on the demand for money in the short term. The findings reveal that the money demand function is insensitive to the interest rate, which explains why speculation is generally regarded as a less important reason in Algeria.

Behaviour-based Safety Intervention in Pipeline Operation Sites in Nigeria

W. B. Abere, Ify L. Nwaogazie, O. Akaranta — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 00:00:00 +0000

The study investigated the effectiveness of Behavioral Based Safety (BBS) intervention amongst workers in pipeline construction and pipeline maintenance sites for the reduction in high injuries and accident frequency rate experienced at their locations. Multiple Correspondence Analysis was applied to check for similarity trend amongst pipeline workers with respect to safety management, actively caring and safety perception. Non-Linear regression functions were used to model from the BBS checklist, the percentage safe behaviour as related to the observed behavioral activity. Descriptive statistics was also used to analyze the BBS checklist within the baseline observation and intervention period. Within all groups of workers, it was shown (SP-Q7) that “Stress from factors outside work affects their ability to work safely”. BBS process at site during baseline observation showed a baseline percentage of "risk behaviour" and "safe behaviour" to be significantly high in PPE (33%), Transportation (36%) and Body position (24%). It was also recorded at the third BBS intervention period, a reduction in the percentage of "risk behaviour”, showing PPE (7%), Transportation (8%) and Body position (6%); after training, observation, coaching and feedback on critical behaviors were carried out. There was a remarkable improvement in the observation of Body position, Tool & Equipment and Transportation during the intervention period. It was also shown from the developed model the goodness of fit, R² of 61.3% was obtained with respect to risk at work activity.

Rainfall Probability Density Function (PDF) and nonPDF - IDF Modelling for Uyo City, Nigeria

Ify L. Nwaogazie, Martin C. Ekwueme — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Suitable rainfall-Intensity-Duration-Frequency (IDF) models for Uyo City were developed using the statistical method of least-squares for non PDF and optimization solver for PDF models. A total of 20 rainfall models were developed based on 10 years rainfall data. These models are categorically grouped into three sets. The first set contains 10 rainfall models which represent inverse relationship between rainfall intensities and duration for specified frequencies called Intensity-Duration - Models. The second set contains 8 rainfall models which represent rainfall intensities and frequencies for specified duration called Intensity-Frequency Model. The third set has two general models of Log Pearson Type –3 [LPT-3] and Gumbel Extreme Value Type – 3 (GEVT-3) based on modified Sherman’s empirical equation of intensity as a function of duration and frequency. The three sets of models developed in this study recorded high and positive values of coefficient of correlation, an indication of good curve fitting with values of Intensity-Duration Models ranging from 0.948 to 0.977; intensity frequency model ranging from 0.641 to 0.938 and the general models from 0.8619 – 0.905. The graphical comparisons of developed models at frequencies of 5.5 and 11 years confirmed LPT-3 to predict highest intensity values at short durations of 50 minutes or less, followed by the Quotient model (i.e intensity-duration model) and lastly by GEVT-3. For longer durations greater than 50 minutes, the Quotient models gave best performance prediction-wise. These set of models developed will serve as valuable tools for predicting rainfall events in Uyo City as well as for use in the design of hydraulic structures, urban drainage and flood control.

The Application of Agglomerative Hierarchical Clustering for Obesity Classification

Charles C. Onoh, Ify L. Nwaogazie — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Obesity is the excessive accumulation of fat in the body which adversely affects the health and well-being of the individual. It is a chronic and non-communicable disorder that poses socio-cultural, psychological, clinical and public health challenges. The aim of this study is to apply Agglomerative Hierarchical Clustering (AHC) to classify obesity and to develop a model employing Logistic regression analysis for the prediction of obesity taking advantage of the relationship between Body Mass Index (BMI), Age, Waist Circumference (WC), High-Density Lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol and Low-Density Lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol. This Study was a work–site based cross sectional study carried out on one hundred and twenty (120) workers at Judiciary Service Commission, Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria. The Questionnaire was designed to address the background information of the respondents with respect to gender, age, job title, department and address. The respondents were anthropometrically examined and their lipid profile was estimated using the enzymatic colorimetric method. Data were analysed using the Shapiro-wilks test of normality, Agglomerative Hierarchy Cluster (AHC) analysis and Logistic regression analysis. These analyses were facilitated using XLSTAT 2016 statistical tool. On the application of the Agglomerative Hierarchical Cluster Analysis obesity was classified into Clusters 1, 2 and 3 with the majority of the obesed respondents being in Cluster 1. The respondents in Cluster 1 belonged to the obesity class of overweight, while respondents in Cluster 2 are of normal weight and finally respondents in Cluster 3 belonged to obese class 1. A predictive model was developed based on Logistic regression analysis which showed a strong positive correlation between obesity and HDL-cholesterol. The high profile of cardiovascular risks identified in the study could be addressed through the provision of occupational health services of which the ultimate goal should be the maintenance of urgent comprehensive health surveillance.

Mathematical Modelling of Evapotranspiration in Humid Semi-hot Equatorial Coastal Climate

Itolima Ologhadien, Ify L. Nwaogazie — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 00:00:00 +0000

The performances of five empirical models, namely: Hargreaves-Samani, Makkink [1], Makkink [2], Priestley-Taylor and FAO 56-PM in estimating reference evapotranspiration (REF-ET) were separately compared with Epan data and FAO 56-PM, respectively. The predictive perBased on statistical analysis, Hargreaves-Samani method compared best with daily and monthly Epan data, while Makkik2 (1984) ranked first with FAO 56-PM. In terms of regression analysis, Priestley-Taylor performed best with daily FAO 56-PM method while Hargreaves-Samani ranked first with daily Epan data. Hargreaves-Samani also correlated best with mean monthly Epan data. The quantitative evaluation of cumulative daily and monthly reference-evapotranspiration (RET-ET) values showed that Makkink [2] produced the least overestimation and percent relative error against FAO 56-PM while Hargreaves-Samani performed best with Epan data with the least overestimation and percent relative error. In terms of cumulative monthly ET_o totals for the farming season (Dec-April) over the study period, Hargreaves-Samani ranked best with Epan data with the least overestimation and percent relative error while Priestley–Taylor ranked best with FAO 56-PM producing the least overestimation. Overall, Hargreaves-Samani with its original coefficient was adjudged best, capable of approximating FAO 56-PM and Epan data in the Lower Niger River Basin, followed by Makkink [2] and Priestley-Taylor. Penman-Monteith estimates were used to develop monthly correction factors for adjusting Empirical models for their potential use in Lower Niger Basin. A comparative study such as this has not been undertaken in the Lower Niger River Basin. The models recommended in this study are economical, lesser-data demanding and can be applied to predicting REF-ET in remote agricultural areas. In other to create more computational skill in the subject matter a number of illustrative example problems are presented in Appendixes B and C, manually solved for easy comprehension.

Hazardous Activities and Effects on Market Fire in Nigeria

Nnamdi Ilodiuba, Ify L. Nwaogazie, John Ugbebor — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 00:00:00 +0000

This research investigated the human awareness of hazardous activities and its effects on market fire in Nigeria. Three (3) main markets with high commercial activities selected for this study include Tejuosho market in Lagos, Mile 1 market in Port Harcourt and Ochanja market in Onitsha. Ten hazardous activities were identified within these selected markets. Methods for information gathering include interview, literature review, questionnaire, Occupational Health and Safety Standards (OHSAS) risk estimating procedures and statistical analysis tools. Results showed that human awareness of safety rules has significant effects on the annual level of market fire incident in Nigeria. Analysis of these hazardous activities indicated maximum risk score of 3000 and minimum of 9 for different risk consequences. The relationship of risks to fire incidents were directly proportional indicating that risk at 100, 200, 500, 1000, 2000, and 3000 results in 55, 109, 293, 545, 1090 and 1637 incidents respectively. Test of significance (t-statistics) from risk scores caused by hazardous activities at s=100 (major accidents) and s=40 (few accidents) indicated great significant. The study concluded that market fire incidents will significantly be reduced annually if the frequency of hazardous activities were reduced or totally avoided. The researchers recommended the need for fire Professionals to enlighten traders on proper management of hazardous activities before setting up active and passive tools for fire prevention and control.

Exploring Genetic Diversity in Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)

Anand Kumar, Sadia Perween, Ravi Ranjan Kumar, Sanjay Kumar, P. K. Singh — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is one of the most important legumes for consumption in India as well as worldwide. In grain legumes, it ranks second in acreage and third in production with productivity of 913 kg/ha. India is the largest producer of chickpea, accounts 70.9% of the world cultivated area and produces 67.1% of the total world production. D² statistical analysis is a tool which measures the degree of divergence among the population. Multivariate analysis with “Mahalanobis D² statistics” a strong tool to know the pattern of clustering to verify the relationship between genetic and geographic divergence and to discover the importance of different quantitative traits towards the maximum divergence. The present investigation was undertaken to study the nature and magnitude of genetic diversity among chickpea genotypes. The experimental material comprised of forty genotypes of chickpea in Rabi 2016-17 at Pulse Research Farm, Bihar Agricultural University, Sabour (Bhagalpur). The experiment was laid in a randomized complete block design with three replications during Rabi with the inclusion of the recommended packages and practices needed for a healthy crop. Analysis of variance revealed highly significant differences among the forty genotypes for all the characters studied indicating that significant amount of genetic variability present in the material. The cluster I had maximum eleven genotypes followed by cluster VI, 08 genotypes, cluster III, 07 genotypes and IV having five genotypes, while cluster II and V had four genotypes, respectively. The cluster VII was mono-genotypic having one genotype. The intra-cluster D² value ranged from 0.00 to 25.16 while, inter-cluster D² value ranged from 30.73 to 204.05. The maximum intra cluster distance was exhibited by cluster V followed by cluster I and cluster IV. The maximum inter-cluster distance was observed between cluster II and VII (204.05), followed by cluster II and V (170.79) and cluster III and V (157.56) suggesting that the genetic architecture of the genotypes in one cluster differ entirely from those included in other clusters. The genotypes BAUG 108, H12-63, RKG13-380, AKG1303 and KWR108 were identified as genetically diverse parents, which can be utilized for future crop improvement programme in Chickpea. The above results indicate that these genotypes have maximum genetic diversity and useful for developing a large number of segregants through crossing programme by using maximum diverse genotypes.

Green Synthesis of Cu/CuO and Ag2O Nanomaterials for Multifunctional Applications

H. C. Ananda Murthy, C. H. Prakash, Buzuayehu Abebe, Kumar Shantaveerayya — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Green routes of synthesis are simple, safe, nontoxic and eco-friendly methods to synthesize nanoparticles of various metals and their oxides by the application of bioactive compounds of plants, algae, fungi, yeast, etc. Green engineered copper and copper oxide nanoparticles (Cu and CuO NPs) synthesis has been reported to be more economical and best alternative method among available methods. Cu and CuO NPs have been applied as dietary additives, lubricant supplements, chemical sensors, coating materials in addition to large number of biotechnological and pharmaceuticals applications. The present review aims to bring awareness about various aspects of biogenic synthesis of Cu and its oxide NPs for multifunctional applications and discusses their characterization techniques and applications in antimicrobial activity evaluation, photocatalysis, organic dye degradation, biomedical, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, energy and catalysis. The photo catalytic performance of the synthesized nano-crystalline Ag₂O by photocatalytic degradation of organic dyes under visible light irradiation has also been discussed thoroughly in this review.

Research on Design with Concurrent Approach: Development and Flow Analysis of Injection Mould Tool for Computer Monitor Lamp Holder

C. H. Prakash — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 00:00:00 +0000

The plastic product manufacturing industry has been growing rapidly in recent years. One of the most popular processes for making plastic parts is injection moluding. The design of injection mould is critically important to product quality and efficient product processing. Mould-making companies, who wish to maintain the competitive edge, desire to shorten both design and manufacturing leading times by applying a systematic mould design process. The mould industry is an important support industry during the product development process, serving as an important link between the product designer and manufacturer. Product development has changed from the traditional serial process of design, followed by manufacture, to a more organized concurrent process where design and manufacture are considered at a very early stage of design. The research presents the basic structure of two plate injection mould design, injection moulding machine selection, process analysis of the injection mould design using mould flow analysis to optimize the mould cost in the design stage. This injection mould design system covers both the mould design process and mould knowledge management. In this work, CAE tools have been used in the design stage to reduce the losses to obtain the shortened lead time, high quality and achieving low cost of the mould. The design of an injection process involves the simultaneous consideration of plastic part design, mould design and injection moulding machine selection, production scheduling and cost as early as possible in the design stage. The result indicated that conventional method will consume more time and also increases the cost of machining and delay in dispatching the product. If change in design happens before pre-production and after production by trial and error method then there will be a drastic increase in design change cost which effects on cycle time, waste of raw material, increase in process time and wastage of labour cost. These entire draw backs are eliminated by using computer aided design and computer aided engineering technology for mould design and manufactured in very short period of time with minimum cost. The future scope of work is to include cooling, warpage and fatigue analysis to optimize tool design and tool life.

Comparisons of Sensor Position for Electrical Capacitance Volume Tomography (ECVT): An Advanced Study

Irfana Kabir Ahmad, Muhammad Mukhlisin — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Tomography is a technique used to produce true reconstructed images from signal data. This data projection is measured capacitance by numerous sensors located on the surface of the object at different position. Sensitivity matrix with three-dimensional variation, especially in axial (z-axiz) direction are required for imaging a three-dimensional object to differentiate the depth along the sensor length so that the electrical field intensity can be distributed equally all over the three dimension space. In ECVT, when a dielectric material is introduced into the vessel, the variation in the electrical capacitance between all possible combinations of electrodes are measured. These changes are caused by diference in the permittivity of that material. From these capacitance measurements, an image based on the variation of the permittivity of the cross section contents can be obtained. In this study a numerical model using combine COMSOL MULTIPHYSICS v3.5 and MATLAB 2008a for imaging of an object was developed. Three different position of rectangular sensor: 1-sided sensor, 3-sided and U-shape sensor was designed and analyzed. 1-sided sensor displayed comparatively more uniform in both radial and axial direction in the comparisons of sensitivity distribution.

Systemic Modeling of Soil Structure Dynamics for Civil Engineering Works in Calabar South

J. G. Egbe, D. E. Ewa, S. E. Ubi, G. B. Ikwa — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 00:00:00 +0000

The remarkable complexity of soil and its importance to a wide range of civil engineering works presents major challenges to the modeling of soil processes. Several attempts have been made in systematic modeling of soil processes that emerged with advances in analog and digital computers in the 20^th century, there has been great progress across a broad range of space and time scales (pores to catchments and seconds to decades). Yet, our current understanding of the complexity of soil processes and the ability to observe these processes at ever-increasing resolution point to significant gaps in representing this critical compartment of the soil suitability for engineering purposes. The growing importance of soil in a host of topics and its central role in a range of civil engineering works, climate, food security, and other global terrestrial processes make quantification and modeling of soil processes an urgent challenge for the soil mechanics, geotechnical engineers, and soil scientist. We focused on identifying various key challenges in modeling soil application of the Multi-Linear Regression Analysis (MLRA) model for predicting soil properties in Calabar South which offers a technical guide and solution in foundation design problems in the area. Forty-five soil samples were collected from fifteen different boreholes at a different depth and 270 tests were carried out for CBR, MC, SG, LL, PL test and GS with mechanical sieve analysis of sizes, 2.36 mm, 1.18 mm, 600 μ, 425 μ, 300μ, 212μ, 150μ, and 75μ. This study uses Multi Linear Regression Analysis to formulate a model that relates CBR to other soil parameters. The Multi Linear Regression Analysis was developed which gave a good coefficient of correlation R², 0.9454 benchmarking that the model is stable to predict CBR at 50.9% and with ±3.4% error. This conclusion is drawn since the value of R² increases with an increase in the numbers of variables [1].

Thripidae (Thysanoptera) Species Collected from Common Plants and Crops in Peninsular Malaysia: New Perspectives

A. A. Azidah — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 00:00:00 +0000

A list of 66 species of thrips recorded from crops or plants in Peninsular Malaysia is presented. Most of the specimens came from a substantial survey of cultivated plants and one-third were from the genus Thrips. The specimens were collected by beating vegetation (that is, either the flowers or leaves) over a plastic tray, subjected to a standard dehydration and clearing process before being slide mounted. Slide mounted specimens were then identified using taxonomic keys. This study also recorded another twenty-one species of thrips besides the two former species from Malaysia: Frankliniella schultzei, a polyphagous tospovirus vector and Stenchaetothrips biformis, the rice thrips. The study reveals 66 species recorded as associated with cultivated plants in Malaysia; of these, 43 were found on more than one species of plant.

Hybrid Authentication Techniques for Workers Identification and Tracking

Anusiuba Overcomer Ifeanyi Alex, Karim Usman, Akawuku I. Godspower — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 00:00:00 +0000

It is obvious that most establishments are faced with security challenges. Consequently securing and protecting our identity and valuable data have become areas of great concern which cannot be ignored. Continual quest for a more authentic solution to track, verify and checkmate amongst others, staff movement within an organization, their dedication to duty and a logical system of wading off intruders. Multimodal Authentication Techniques is an option for an improvement. It creates a greater level of assurance of an accurate match in authentication, verification, tracking and identification systems. It helps to overcome limitations of single biometric solutions to reduce the ability for the system to be tricked fraudulently. It is best, most efficient, effective and most reliable when Biometric Technique and Magnetic Coded Swiping Card or Barcode Reader Technology is combined. A Hybrid of Structured System Analysis and Design Methodology (SSADM) and Object Oriented Analysis and Design Methodology (OOADM) was used. The software was developed using Microsoft Visual Basic Programming Language, and Microsoft Access as the database. A parallel changeover was also recommended after deployment to avoid the disruption of the existing processes.