Volume 13, Issue 4, April 2022 Edition - IJSER Journal Publication


Publication for Volume 13, Issue 4, April 2022 Edition - IJSER Journal Publication

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A Study on Bacterial Oxidation and Fe (Iron) Based Arsenic Removal Technology with Rapid Sand Filter []


In Bangladesh, the groundwater from which people get their drinking water has a high proportion of As. Drinking water with more than the WHO's standard (10μg/l As) affects over half of the population (80 million people). The goal of the study is to develop a combination filter that would be easily installed in Bangladesh's rural areas and reduce As concentrations to the 10μg/l level. In the study, two independent experiments are carried out at two distinct sites (location A and location B) with As concentrations of 57 and 48μg/l, respectively. One experiment used bacterial oxidation and Fe-based removal in a sand filter, which is followed by a Zero Valent Iron (ZVI) column, and another focused on bacterial oxidation of As in a plastic filter with subsequent Fe-based removal in a sand bed. It is seen that plastic can oxidize As (up to 80%) after the start of the experiment and that it was not very sensitive to the discontinuous flow of the passing water, while the oxidation rate was dropped when the anaerobic condition was occurring. The subsequent sand column is then able to remove all the adsorbed As from the water. Sand reached lower oxidation rates (up to 50%) and was more sensitive to discontinuous flows and anaerobic conditions. On the other hand, ZVI columns show a removal rate of approximately 90%. Under the correct circumstances, the systems performed as planned. The system deviates from such expectations when those conditions are not satisfied.

After-effects of COVID-19 disinfectants and antiseptics on the public health and ecology in Metropolitan Lagos: sustainability and biophysical-environment based approaches []


The disinfectants used to control COVID-19 spread are chemicals, which may have human health and ecological implications. This study aimed to analyze the after-effects of the environmental cycling of three COVID-19 disinfectants and antiseptics, namely, Dettol®, Savlon® and Jik® on the public health and ecology in Lagos using laboratory-analysis, and simulated disinfectant applications methodologies. The results showed that the volatile matter of dilute Dettol, dilute Savlon and dilute Jik Bleach were 93.3%, 98.7% and 92.4% respectively, whereas the corresponding non-volatile matter were 6.70%, 1.25% and 7.60% respectively. The results of emission determinations showed that the office background total volatile organic compounds (TVOC) concentration under air conditioner (AC) ventilation was 174.5±23.1 ppb. When Dettol and Savlon were applied, TVOC increased to 738.6±393.5 and 258.7±99.7 ppb respectively, whereas it was stable at approximately 174.1±13.4 ppb when Jik was applied. The office background TVOC concentration under wind ventilation was 190.1±27.5 ppb, while the office TVOC level increased to 272.2±101.7 and 229.0±69.1 ppb when Dettol and Savlon were applied respectively and decreased to 151.0±6.3 ppb when Jik was applied. Additionally, the office background NO2 concentration under wind ventilation was 32.6±8.0 µg/m3, while the office NO2 level increased to 46.1±17.7, 105.0±199.8 and 58.5±18.7 µg/m3 when Dettol, Savlon and Jik were applied respectively. The office background HCl concentration was 272.1±142.7 µg/m3 under AC ventilation. The office HCl concentration increased to 355.8±209.9, 296.4±182.9 and 542.9±191.9 µg/m3 when Dettol, Savlon and Jik were applied respectively under AC ventilation. The office background HCl level under wind ventilation was 208.4±50.3 µg/m3, while the office HCl level increased to 318.6±112.6, 539.1±157.8 and 439.3±236.2 µg/m3 when Dettol, Savlon and Jik were applied respectively. The results of the volatile matter due to the disinfectant organic ingredients and the non-volatile matter suggested that the consumption of disinfectants and antiseptics in Lagos could translate to emission of volatile matter to the atmosphere, and salts to the soil and surface waters, expanding the environmental burden of the disinfectant pollutants. The simulated disinfectant applications results showed that significantly high total volatile organic compounds levels were emitted following Dettol application and this was a potential health risk to individuals susceptible to disinfectant vapours and sustainable environment practices. Also, the emitted HCl gas was significantly high from Savlon and Jik applications and would be important for people susceptible to Toxicant‐Induced Loss of Tolerance.

EFFECT OF COVID-19 ON INCOME OF MICRO, SMALL AND MEDIUM SCALE ENTERPRISES (SMEs) IN CALABAR []


The paper examines the impact of covid-19 on micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Calabar, Nigeria. The objective was to examine income of business owners before and during covid-19 lockdown. Several literatures were reviewed to properly position the study. Data were gathered using questionnaire and focus group discussion. The study analyzes the data using Pair sample t-test statistical technique to test hypothesis. The results revealed that there is a significant difference between income generated before and during lockdown; t(df=119) = 22.873, P <.001. The mean values indicate that significantly less income was generated during lockdown (M=1.69) than before (M=2.78). The study concluded that income of (MSMEs) in Calabar has reduced during lockdown which imposed economic hardship to business owners. This is because movement restriction has the potential of increasing difficulty to access goods. Keywords: Covid-19 effect, small, medium, enterprises Business

Efficacy of certain plant extracts in controlling of sunflower leaf spot disease caused by Alternaria helianthi []


Efficacy of twenty two plant extracts like Azadirachta indica, Allium cepa, Allium sativum, Zingiber officinale, Lawsonia inermis, Lantana camara, Parthenium hysterophorus, Citrus limon, Eucalyptus globulus, Psidium guajava, Mangifera indica, Annona squamosa, Aegle marmelos, Nerium oleander, Ricinus communis, Calotropis procera, Vitex negundo, Catharanthus roseus, Phyllanthus emblica, Moringa oleifera, Cymbopogon citratus, Tagetus erecta was tested against the growth of a sunflower leaf blight causing pathogen, Alternaria helianthi by poisoned food technique under invitro conditions. Among all these plant extracts at 20% concentration Phyllanthus emblica, Lawsonia inermis, Allium sativum, Psidium guajava, Eucalyptus globulus, Zingiber officinale and Parthenium hysterophorus were efficient in controlling the growth of the Pathogen to 64.10%, 56.41%, 55%, 48.72%, 43.59%, 43.59%, 42.31% respectively. At 50% concentrations of the plant extracts Allium sativum, Eucalyptus globulus, Lawsonia inermis, Phyllanthus emblica, Citrus limon, Zingiber officinale and Allium cepa showed efficacy in inhibiting the Mycelial growth of the pathogen to 100%, 75.64%, 65.89%, 65.89%, 62.82%, 58.97% and 51.28% respectively. Followed by Psidium guajava and Parthenium hysterophorus. Garlic bulb extract was very effective against Alternaria helianthi and can be used to manage this fungus under field conditions.

Chatbots- A Case Study []


Chatbots are tiny programs that help simulate interactions with users automatically based on a set of pre-defined conditions, triggers, and/or events/ The employment of chatbots is unmeasurable, From being first-tier support for customers to helping visitors navigate your website to diagnosing a disease chatbots are now been expanded to all sectors. They are widely used in various fields viz, Entertainment, Sales & Marketing, Education, Corporate, Medical and so on. Chatbots can be designed and built using various technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Natural Language Toolkit (NLTK), Keras, long-short term memory (LTSM) which is an artificial recurrent neural network and many other technologies. This paper describes the functioning and designing of some famous industry-driven voice-enabled chatbots such as Alexa, Siri, Google Home, and Cortana along with a detailed comparative study. Through this study, one can get to know the features, construction, pros and cons of each of the mentioned chatbots.

Sustainable water management in India []


Water resources in India is depleting day by day due to indiscriminate use of surface water and uncontrolled abstraction of ground water which will also lead to deterioration of quality also. Water scarcity and deteriorated quality has becoming a challenging matter to the water management in India by the passage of time. Hence, judicious use of water and reclamation of wastewater will be a solution for sustainable water management. Use of modern technology in water treatment plants and distribution system and proving of smart water metre may minimize the water loss. Emerging trends of water treatment technology like Desalination of sea water, recycling of wastewater, Rainwater harvesting, use of SCDA based technology in all the treatment plants may lead to sustainability of water management both in quality and quantity. India has only 4% of world’s water resources but 16% of total world’s population. More than 60% of agricultural lands are irrigated land and 20% ground water have been overexploited. So, water efficient paddy and crops have to be sown that will require minimum water.

TEACHERS’ PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCIES IN PRACTICAL SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER EXERCISES FOR EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTIONAL DELIVERY IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN NIGERIA []


This study investigated teachers’ professional competencies in practical skills and knowledge transfer exercises for effective instructional delivery in secondary schools in Nigeria. Three research questions and three hypotheses guided the study. This study adopted a descriptive survey design with a population of this study comprised all the 5,050 teachers in the 202 public senior secondary schools in Abia State, Nigeria. A sample of 760 teaching staff was drawn using proportionate stratified random sampling technique. The instrument used in this study was Questionnaire tagged “Teachers’ Professional Competencies in Practical Skills and Knowledge Transfer Exercises Questionnaire (TPCPSKTEQ)”, which was validated and the reliability yielded an index of 0.88. In analyzing the data, mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions, while z-test was used in testing the hypotheses of no significant difference. The findings revealed among others that, teachers’ practical skill competencies needed for effective instruction delivery in secondary schools in Nigeria include: practical skill in the conduct of empirical research for quality instruction, video conferencing for effective instructional delivery, social networking practices for instructional updates, virtual presentations during conferences for knowledge effectiveness, use of power point in teaching for instructional effectiveness, and use of magnetic boards for instructional enhancements. The test of hypothesis one showed that, no significant difference was found between the mean scores of male and female teachers on the teachers’ practical skill competencies needed for effective instructional delivery in secondary schools in Nigeria. The study concluded that, competent teachers professionally transfer knowledge and skills to the learners for improved productivity and global competitiveness. It was recommended among others that, teachers of secondary schools should acquire various practical skills that would enable them to be professionally competent in the delivery of services for improved productivity.

Detecting Traffic Offenders In Two Wheeler Vehicles Using Computer Vision []


In this paper, we propose an approach for automatic detection of two wheeler traffic offenders who are not wearing helmets and tripplers(riders carrying more than one passenger) using surveillance video in real time. The proposed approach detects bike riders from surveillance video and then it determines whether the bike-rider is using a helmet or not and whether the bike rider is tripling or not, that is he /she is carrying more than one passenger. All the violators of both helmet and tripling are all classified as offenders. The implementation of this approach has been done using tensorflow object detection api with pre-trained model and fine tuned to suit our problem and datasets. Since all traffic violations are classified as offenders while innocents are classified as non offenders this greatly helps improve the reliability of the system contrary to current existing systems with single modules for only helmet detection operations, moreover law enforcement agencies do not have enough manpower to identify all traffic offenses.By deploying the system on strategic junctions traffic police can have a better grasp of two wheeler traffic offenders.

CORRELATION FOR DETERMINING ELASTIC MODULUS OF ASPHALT CONCRETE MIXTURES BLENDED WITH VOID FILLERS USING TIMOSHENKO AND HONDRO'S MODELS. []


Having a safe and durable pavement, that will satisfy demands of irregular traffic loading and various frequencies, plus temperatures variances and oxidation problems resulting from moisture intrusions has been a long time natural malady. Thus, the need for pavement modification, proper characterization of pavement materials such that design properties shall not be compromised within service life is critical. The problem however is that one of the major input parameters in design of flexible pavements-elastic modulus as proposed by various researchers and agencies always have variations in their results, and seemed not to converge. On this basis, the present study sought to develop models that will satisfy the correlation for determining elastic modulus of asphalt concrete mixtures blended with void fillers using Timoshenko and Hondro’s Models. The methodology involved determining mechanical and elastic properties of modified Asphalt concretes using waste granite dust and white cement from indirect tensile splitting test. The results obtained showed that the addition of waste granite dust up to 20% by weight of the mix produced better performance with respect to elastic properties of the concrete. Similarly, the addition of white cement up to 10% by weight of the mix produced better performance with respect to elastic properties of the concrete. Finally, the correlation between elastic modulus determined from Timoshenko and Hondro’s models for the modified asphalt concretes produced R values of 0.976 and 0.836 for waste granite dust and white cement modifications respectively.

EVALUATION OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF SKILLS TRAINING AND PROPER MINING METHODS ON SMALL SCALE MINING TO IMPROVE GOLD PRODUCTION. A CASE STUDY OF INSIZA AND UMZINGWANE DISTRICTS IN MATABELELAND SOUTH PROVINCE, ZIMBABWE, (2010-2021. []


ABSTRACT The study sought to evaluate the effectiveness of skills training and proper mining methods to improve gold productivity in the two districts of Insiza and Umzingwane, Matabeleland South province in Zimbabwe. The objective was to evaluate the impact of managerial and technical skills in safe and efficient mining, to examine the possible ways of pooling the resource to ensure sustainability of the mining sector, and assessing the effect of funding of mining operations and to determine whether the legal framework supports small scale mining sector. In order to achieve that, the study used the triangulation research design of employing both the quantitative and qualitative methods to collect data using questionnaires and interviews. The targeted respondents were selected by convenience and purposive sampling. There were major findings that included the importance of skills training, proper mining methods and funding for operations as factors influencing the increase in gold production. The research reveals the change in mindset of the female who now venture into the once male dominated mining areas. It was concluded that with the backing of the legal framework, funding of the small scale mining sector and provision of proper skills training, the sector will go a long way in contributing revenue to the national economy. It was recommended that the government and donor community should work together and have a participatory approach in carrying out the mining project of small scale mining to avoid duplication of duties and conflicting of interests. Keywords: skills training, mining scale, sustainability, gold productivity, framework

An assessment of the impact of toll (gate) fees collection on road maintenance in Zimbabwe: The toll (gates) of Harare Metropolitan Province (2015-2021). []


ABSTRACT The aim of this study An assessment of the impact of toll (gate) Fees collection on road maintenance in Zimbabwe: The of Harare Metropolitan Province. The main objective of the study is to assessment of the impact of toll (gate) fees collection on road maintenance in Zimbabwe. The main research question is the major impact of toll fees collection on the maintenance in Zimbabwe. A descriptive research design was adopted for this study. The sampling technique that was adopted was purposive as it was deemed ideal by the researcher to effectively collect all the necessary data for the study. Data was collected through interviews that were carried with key informants, questionnaires as well as focus group discussion with other stakeholders. The study established that the system being implemented has many loopholes which allow toll officers to misappropriate resources thereby prejudicing the state of much needed resources. The study concluded that there are high levels of corruption within ZINARA starting with the board, management and general employees. The study recommends that need to implement corporate governance practices in the operations of ZINARA to account for every dollar that is paid by the motorists and to ensure that ZINARA accounts for collection and usage of all the moneys that it collects. It was also recommended that ZINARA should work with all the banks so that their systems are integrated in order to ensure that motoring public are not delayed or disadvantaged by system as they travel. Key Words: Transit, tollgate, toll fees, ZINARA, payment systems

The implementation of Special Economic Zones for economic development: The Case of Zimbabwe []


ABSTRACT This research paper pursued the study of the implementation of Special Economic Zones for economic development in the context of Harare, Zimbabwe. This study was both quantitative and qualitative; of which it was premised on the pragmatic philosophy. Data for the study was collected using questionnaires and in-depth interviews. Population was sampled using purposive and quota sampling. The research results indicated that economic fundamentals such modern transport infrastructure, reliable power infrastructure, well-organised financing mechanisms were lacking not only to fully support the present SEZ businesses but also to lure new SEZ investors. With the current hyper-inflationary, liquidity crisis and high cost of production in Zimbabwe, most of the SEZ firms were failing to competitively export their products to global markets as compared to their global rivals. The researchers recommended to the government the need to develop robust infrastructure before opening up for investment in the pre-planned SEZs. Transport networks need to be seriously overhauled while utilities such as power, telecommunications, employees’ accommodation, water and sewer reticulation must be part of the requisite infrastructure. The researchers propose a future study on Special Economic Zones studying the level of their development across the entire country of Zimbabwe and also developing a SEZs model that is tailor made to this country in a bid to maximise contributions brought about by SEZs in the context of Zimbabwe as a whole. Key words: special economic zone, financing mechanisms, development, infrastructure.

Gender Classification Based on Image Processing using Deep Learning []


Gender records using facial patterns serve a crucial use in various person interplay applications. This venture proposes a technique primarily based on Convolutional Neural Networks to identify gender from faces and be counted the overall quantity of men and women from the given image or video. By using the image validation approach to test whether it's a celebrity or not. The network is trained using backpropagation and Adam optimization. The usage of convolution operations and the overall performance of proposed CNN communities were evaluated on a publicly available gender detection dataset in Kaggle. The models we will use have been trained on this dataset. In this method, we use Convolutional Neural Network to recognize multiple images to predict males and females which is better than the SVM method to classify. The CNN algorithm used in this project is CNN VGG-16. The CNN VGG-16 provides more accuracy compared to other CNN algorithms. The CNN is outperformed the SVM and the accuracy attained by the Convolutional Neural Network is 98.5% whereas the accuracy attained by SVM is 94.81%.

Android Based Heart Rate Monitoring and Automatic Notification System []


The design of an integrated portable device that can monitor heart rate (HR)continuously and send notifications through short message service (SMS) over the cellular network using Android application is presented. This paper proposes a methodology to measure a heart rate using photoplethysmogram (PPG) — a technique that uses infrared light to detect changes in the blood flow volume in tissues. The red channel of RGB signals in each picture frame recorded by smartphone returned the plethysmographic information. This contextual information will be converted into time domain signal by using Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) for further used in heart rate estimation process. The final results is the heart rate of each person recorded within 40 seconds. The designed system shows the real time HR on the mobile screen through Android application continuously and if any abnormal HR of the patient is detected, the system will immediately send a message to the concerned doctors and relatives whose numbers were previously saved in the Android application.

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