Volume XII Issue IX

This study aimed to develop and optimize the foam-mat drying process for the production of shelf-stable tomato-pepper-onion powder (TPOP) with optimal quality characteristics using D-optimal design. The research commenced with the formulation of the TPOP mixture and investigated various ratios of the three major ingredients (tomato, pepper and onion) to achieve an optimal blend that offers a harmonious flavor profile and high nutritional value. Subsequently, the foam-mat drying process was explored, involving the use of foaming agents to stabilize air bubbles within the vegetable puree matrix. This process yielded a lightweight, porous and free-flowing powder with improved rehydration properties. A single process parameter namely drying temperature was optimized while keeping the whipping time of 7mins constant. The levels for various input variables were tomato (5 – 76%), pepper (5 – 78%), onion (5 – 80%), egg white (2 - 15%), carboxymethyl cellulose (0.15 - 0.75%) & drying temperature: 50-800C. Some selected physico-chemical, nutritional properties and sensory evaluation were conducted. The optimum condition with the best formulation of the mixture ingredients were found to be 67.26% tomato, 5.0% pepper, 20.0% onion, 7.59% egg white and 0.15% CMC at an optimum drying temperature of 61.940C. Results showed that foam-mat drying produced a powder with desirable physicochemical and nutritional properties. Sensory evaluation showed that the reconstituted powder had good acceptability.

The drive of this paper is to explore the obstacles faced in new innovative product development design by Zimbabwean university learners in a bid to attain the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12 “Responsible production and consumption” and the education 5.0 pillar “Innovation”. However, there is little progress toward the attainment of these related goals by students in the Zimbabwean university landscape and is fuelled by a lack of guidance and assistance from various stakeholders in the accomplishment of this objective. The study mainly concentrated on the encounters faced by university learners’ prior development of products that solve better the existing and emerging societal problems and at the same time fulfilling the UN sustainable development goal (SDG 12) “Responsible consumption and production” and Education 5.0 pillar “Innovation”. Open-ended questionnaire was used in this study to solicit in-depth data on the challenges university students encounter in new product development. Findings from the study indicated that Zimbabwean university learners are constrained by multiple challenges emanating from lack of monetary support from the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology (MHTEIST) and at the micro level either institutional level or agential conditions surrounding learning in the various universities of the country. These challenges include a shortage of resources, poor infrastructure, high student-lecturer ratios, lack of in-service training and staff development programs for lectures, and ineffective curriculum implementation among others

Cloud infrastructure has emerged as a game-changer for the enterprise IT environment in Nigeria. As the country's businesses continue to grow and adapt to the digital era, cloud computing offers a scalable, flexible, and cost-effective solution for managing data, applications, and services. The adoption of cloud technology has the potential to revolutionize the way Nigerian enterprises operate, streamlining processes, enhancing collaboration, and improving overall efficiency. The study, however, investigated the effect of cloud infrastructure on the enterprise IT environment in Nigeria. The study used cloud infrastructure as an independent variable, proxied using software as a service (SAAS), platform as a service (PAAS), and infrastructure as a service (IAAS). The dependent variable is enterprise IT environment. The study adopted a survey research design using a simple random sampling technique to distribute about 121 copies of questionnaires among various IT departments in Nigeria. A validity and reliability test were carried out on 10% copies of the questionnaire and the result was reliable at 0.7 and valid. The study's main objective was analyzed using descriptive and inferential methods of statistics. The result found that cloud infrastructure has a significant impact on enterprise IT environment. The study, therefore, suggested that adopting cloud infrastructure offers numerous advantages, enabling companies to optimize their IT resources, access cutting edge, and swiftly adapt to changing market demands

The advancement in data storage systems and novel data types has made organizations to stop relying on the use of simple client/server I.T infrastructure and leverage more on multiple categories of database systems to keep heterogeneous data. The study exploits the benefits around deploying hybrid relational database management systems and NoSQL systems while developing better electronic health records (EHR) systems within health facilities alongside facility decision support system (FDSS). More particularly, GIS, MySQL and Mongo DB databases were integrated to enhance EHR systems alongside offering improve clinical decision support. The study adopted experimental design to develop the Electronic Health Records System using GIS, MySQL and Mongo DB software to create the database. Findings revealed that the atomicity, consistency, isolation and durability feature typical of relational database management systems guaranteed data security, integrity, ease of access and efficient transaction processing. Mongo database offered the system a more precise internal data structure and solid scalability along with simplified mapping of application objects to the underlying database design. The GIS database enabled a clear visualization of patients’ geographical locations, medical facilities, and the physical location of the physicians. Integrating these database systems within the health care arena was instrumental in compelling application systems to adhere to the HIPAA EHR standards without compromising performance and scalability.

Petroleum engineers are desperately needed to maintain sustained clean oil production for a long time without running into flow restrictions caused by external boundaries. These boundaries could take the shape of sealing faults, which are the most frequent in real-world situations, constant-pressure boundaries, or other reservoir heterogeneities, such as fractures, layers, and lateral discontinuities, to name a few. This study aims to examine the impact of reservoir angle on the efficiency of vertical oil wells. In this study, empirical mathematical models were used to describe vertical oil wells constrained by two sealing faults in a reservoir supported by a strong aquifer. The mathematical models developed by (1) are applied by computer software. It was determined after evaluation that lower reservoir angles provide greater values of pressure derivatives, which is indicative of good productivity and performance. To evaluate the impact of the reservoir angle on dimensionless pressure and pressure derivatives, a sensitivity analysis was also conducted utilizing a fixed value of dimensionless time to study various reservoir angle values. However, it was shown that the dimensionless pressure, PD, is unaffected by the reservoir angle. The dimensionless pressure derivative (P'D) was shown to have an inverse relationship with the reservoir angles. To verify the accuracy of the results, a comparison analysis between the findings from the constructed computer model, OBLIQ, and those found in the literature was carried out. The analysis' findings demonstrated that the study's finding is consistent with those in the literature.

The primary challenge facing the globe today is finding environmentally friendly, ecologically balanced ways to use bio-waste as a source of energy. Typically, the term “biogas” or “renewable energy” refers to a gas created when organic matter breaks down without oxygen. Thus, this study designed and developed a 200L miniature facility capable of transforming bio-waste into renewable energy using locally available materials and tested under the existing weather condition in Awka, Anambra State. The facility developed in this study was utilized to decompose cow manure anaerobically, producing 21.9L of cooking gas overall over the course of a 35-day retention period. Additionally, the water boiling test demonstrated that the purified cooking gas’ high methane gas content development of the digesting chamber using high-density polyethylene plastic (HDPE) allows a reduction in the overall cost of setting up a small-scale plant.

This research investigated hydrocarbon zones and chimneys using seismic attributes analysis in Woda Oil Field, Western offshore Niger Delta. Seismic attributes are powerful tools in monitoring and predicting hydrocarbon zones. Detailed application of seismic attributes on the Woda seismic data aided in the extraction of important information about the geologic features on seismic profiles. Materials used in this research include well logs, seismic data and 3D Post Stack Depth Migration (PSDM) seismic volume. Methods used were seismic attribute analysis and well log interpretation. The reservoirs of interest were identified and analyzed using well log data based on gamma ray, resistivity, and Vp sonic log response. Seismic attributes such as chaos, root mean square velocity, similarity and reflection intensity were quality controlled, enhanced, and generated which assisted in identifying chimneys and hydrocarbon zones. The majority of the chimneys in this research may have nucleated in the lower part of the faulting system below the partially permeable portion of the fault planes and across a regional partially permeable barrier as revealed by thin fault likelihood attribute. Gas expulsion along the lower portion of the complex faulting system perhaps, may have preconfigured the spatial organization of the chimneys. Pockmarks formation above the chimneys as revealed by the sweetness attribute may have inherited the same linear planiform geometry, and both structures recorded the timing of hydrocarbon zones and gas expulsion within the Woda Oil Field.

Tourism contributes significantly to economic growth in many countries and is an important source of foreign exchange. Infrastructure development is important for developing tourism activities and the economy of the country seeks to optimize the use of tourism. This study examines the role of infrastructure in advancing tourism as a driver of economic growth. It argues that infrastructure is essential to improve tourism and drive economic growth, emphasizing the importance of infrastructure in attracting tourists and creating an enabling environment for businesses to thrive. This study explores the relationship between infrastructure development, tourism, and economic growth, using an in-depth literature review of existing research on infrastructure development and its impact on tourism and economic growth. The relationship is assessed using multivariate analysis. This study examines various studies that have been conducted on the subject and synthesizes the findings to provide a comprehensive overview of the relationship between infrastructure development, tourism, and economic growth. The conclusion of this study is that infrastructure development is essential for advancing tourism and driving economic growth. This paper highlights the importance of investing in infrastructure to attract tourists and create an enabling environment for businesses to thrive. The study also recommends that policymakers prioritize infrastructure development as a means of advancing tourism and driving economic growth.

The study focused into SMEs-Enabled Circular Business Models: A Pathway to Sustainable Development in some selected Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria. The survey was carried out on 260 SMEs owners in Abeokuta selected based on purposive sampling technique. SMEs owners in Abeokuta engage in different categories of businesses (agriculture, manufacturing, quarrying, hair and beauty salons, wholesale/ trade and so on). However, the 260 SMEs' owners were taken from four important economic sectors: manufacturing, food services, agriculture, and wholesale/retail commerce. A quota of 65 SMEs owners was chosen from the four economic sectors purposively to arrive at the sample size of 260 for the study. Survey research methodology was employed for the investigation. The study employed an online questionnaire with 25 items based on 4 point likert-scale to elicit necessary data from the respondents. Component factor analysis and Cronbach Alpha statistics were used to examine the psychometric qualities (validity and reliability) of the instrument. Using SPSS version 26, multiple linear regression was conducted to assess the descriptive and inferential statistics of the study's data. The study found a strong positive significant relationship between circular economy and sustainable development; the t-statistic demonstrates this {f (2/258), t=722.064, P<0.05}. The model summary reveals that r2=.92 which implies that 92% of the total variation in sustainable development is jointly accounted for by RC and RR. Based on the findings, the study concluded that there is a strong positive significant association between circular economy and sustainable development.

The decline in the chance of finding commercial quantity of hydrocarbon necessitated the integration of more geophysical tools in order to properly assess the reservoir quality. This study integrated rock physics and seismic attribute to assess the reservoir quality in ‘Solid’ field, offshore Niger Delta. The objectives of this study are to use rock physics analysis to quality check the seismic attribute results and to locate the best productive zones in the field. 3D seismic data and well log data for six wells were used for Formation evaluation, Petrophysical analysis, Structural analysis, Seismic attribute extraction. These results were then checked qualitatively using rock physics analysis. Six sand units (Sand 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6) were correlated across six wells. Petrophysical analysis indicated that the reservoirs have high porosity (20.9% to 25.4%), high permeability (1897 to 2557 mD), high net-to-gross sand (84.7% to 99.0%), and low volume of shale (0.13 to 0.48). This shows that the reservoirs are of good quality. The depth structure map indicates that the reservoirs are mainly fault assisted closures. The seismic attribute extraction for the sand reservoirs shows high amplitude for Sand 1 in areas where wells have been drilled and also in some closures in Sand 2, 3 and 4 which is indicative of hydrocarbon presence. The crossplot of acoustic impedance against shear impedance of Well S5 helped to differentiate sand and shale in the reservoirs. Crossplot of acoustic impedance against Vp/Vs ratio was then used to predict the fluid type in Well S5. The crossplot of acoustic impedance against Vp/Vs ratio of Sand 2 in Well S5 and Sand 1 in Well S4 follows a regular trend with depth. The overall results portrayed that Sand 1, 2, 3 and 4 are of good quality and are oil bearing.

The study sought to analyze the effectiveness of virtual meeting communication tools employed by the Zimbabwean banking industry. Banks in Zimbabwe such as CBZ, ZB, and Steward have been using virtual communication tools that include Zoom and Microsoft Teams. However, the labor turnover trend has been on the increase from 12% in 2017 to 32% in 2021 with the years 2020 and 2021 being characterized by working from home. Between 2020 and 2021, over 60% of bank staff worked remotely. The study sought to establish whether virtual meeting communications have an effect on labor turnover in the Zimbabwean banking industry. The study reviewed the following theories; Employee Engagement Theory, Functional Theory/ Efficiency Theory, Placating Theory and the Work Design Theory. Positivism research philosophy, deductive research approach, explanatory research design and survey research approach were used. The target population of this study was 234 comprising employees of the three largest banks ZB bank, CBZ bank, and Steward. A sample size of 148 was used. Primary data sources were original to the researcher and were gathered through a research instrument, a questionnaire. The study found that working via virtual meeting communications has a lesser bearing on labour turnover in the Zimbabwean banking industry. The study recommends the establishment of teleworking, social media, email and virtual meeting communications policy and support. Further research on the influence of remote working on turnover intention in other industries is recommended by the study. Because the study was limited to the commercial banking sector, extrapolating conclusions may be disastrous.

In construction industry, sand is a major raw material besides water, cement, gravel and steel. The quality of sand is vital in development of firm structures in construction. Thus, for construction industry to remain competitive, it is critical to develop efficient sand screening technologies that produce high quality sand while reducing labour cost. Therefore, the main objective of this research paper was to assess sand sieving technologies used in construction industry in Kenya and to design and evaluate performance operation of the sand screening machine that would help improve the efficiency and quality of sand while lowering the overall construction cost. The specific objectives were to design sand screening machine and to investigate the effect of moisture and sieve sizes on screening time. Experiments were conducted on semi-automatic machine driven by motor to determine fine sand produced at different moisture levels and time consumed. The machine designed consist a motor, sieve, shaft, steel hollow tubes, flat steel bars, sheet metal plates, hinges, eccentric sheaves, and angle bars. The study found that screening raw sand of 10 kg using a designed semi-automatic machine with a sieve of 3mm x 3mm and densities 1442 kg/m3, 1602 kg/m3, 1682 kg/m3, 1922 kg/m3 and 2082 kg/m3 were found to produce 8.1kg, 6.8kg, 6.1kg, 4.1kg and 2.8kg respectively with sieving time of 24s, 26s, 27s, 30s and 32s respectively. Designed semi-automatic sand sieving machine displayed a labour reduction cost of 66% leading to savings of Ksh. 39,600 per month. In addition, the output of the machine screening dry sand (1442 kg/m3) 8 hours per day was found to be 9,720 kg. In conclusion, low density sand and optimal sieve size results to high efficiency and significant labour cost savings. The study recommends the use of sand with low density (dry) and adoption of semi-automatic screening machine technologies in construction industry in order to attain Kenya’s affordable housing programme

The problem of waste has assumed a gigantic proportion especially for growing metropolitan cities across the world. With no proper arrangement for waste management, landfills have become mountains which pose serious threats to human health. This paper examines the work that has been done till date for effective waste management and tries to suggest the use artificial intelligence techniques for waste management.