A geophysical survey involving the electrical resistivity method utilizing the Vertical Electrical Sounding (VES) and Electrical Imaging Techniques was conducted around the premises of an area within south-western Nigeria with the aim of studying structural defects which may be responsible for future problems and characterizing the soil conditions of the site. A total of 15 VES stations were occupied using Schlumberger Configuration with AB/2 varying from 1 to 65 m. In the electrical imaging, dipole-dipole array was adopted and the two traverses were occupied in the S-N and E-W directions close to where wall cracks and subsurface problems were manifested. Five main geoelectric sequences were delineated within the study area; these include the topsoil (clay and sandy clay), lateritic clay, weathered bedrock (clay, sandy clay and clayey sand), fractured bedrock and fresh basement. A major discontinuity (fracture zone) was discovered along the S-N direction, while a weak zone was also discovered along E-W direction. The result of this research has shown that the causes of the cracks and distress on the walls within the site may have been influenced by the differential settlement resulting from the incompetent subsoil materials and the fractured bedrock on which the foundation of the building was laid.

The global rise in food demand requires urgent attention in the aspect of crop production. The microclimate of a greenhouse is a critical issue in agricultural practice, due to the variations of the external climatic conditions and their negative effect on crop production. In this work, a dynamic model of the internal air temperature of a Chinese solar greenhouse was designed in Matlab/Simulink environment. The dynamic model was designed with the use of energy balance equations. The weather data consisting of solar radiation, relative humidity, ambient temperature, and Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR) were acquired from meteorological stations. The results of the simulations show that the temperature of the internal air varies with weather conditions, location, number of covers, and the structure of the solar greenhouse.

A low-grade gold ore from Ilesha-Itagunmodi, south western Nigeria was panned, dried and ball-milled before sieving into fractions. The morphological, mineralogical and chemical composition was studied by optical microscopy (Reflected and Transmission), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Energy Dispersive X-ray fluorescence (XRF), respectively. The sieved fractions were subjected to chemical analysis (AAS). The +106 μm sieve had the highest concentration of the mineral and was then selected for the upgrade through froth flotation using standard reagents. In this paper a report on a 2 k factorial experiment that provides an understanding of the impact of operational variables on the quantity of gold mineral obtained from the ore during froth flotation is presented. Analysis results showed that Ilesha-Itagunmodi gold ore is non-refractory with fine grain particles, amenable to froth flotation and contained about 20 other associated minerals, gold had a concentration of about 0.0024%. A combination of P-Xanthate and amine glycol collectors at a pH of 9.2 only produced a considerable increase in gold yield. This translated to about 87.13% increase in recovery of gold from the ore. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was carried out and the model equation obtained was subsequently optimised to obtain a model equation that could be used in predicting the recoverable quantity of gold, indicating that F 11,1-values for Collector concentration, Frother concentration, pH and Conditioning time were 156.86, 6.96, 43.81, and 56.77 respectively. A model with an F value of 88.41 was obtained which indicated that the model was significant. The model equation obtained was subsequently optimised to be able to predict the recoverable quantity of gold. A "Pred R-Squared" value of 0.9365 (93.65%) was also obtained and is in reasonable agreement with the "Adj R-Squared" value of 0.9534 (95.34%). It was established that Ilesha placer gold ore is amenable to froth flotation using standard reagents.

The implementation of Ventilation rate and Heating rate can save energy and reduce cost of production. In previous studies, ventilation rates and heating rates were calculated based on mass and energy balance but they are mainly influenced by several factors. In order to check for the effectiveness and applicability of greenhouse ventilation rate and heating rate, we study a multi-module fuzzy control method and use fuzzy logic controllers to control the coordination of a greenhouse heating and ventilation systems. The complexity is reduced by using fuzzy tool in matlab-simulink environment which enables a quick design. The experimental data showed that the new multi-module fuzzy control reduced temperature and humidity fluctuations and maintained temperature and humidity closer to the desired temperature and humidity; this method can be easily used to control other equipment in the greenhouse.

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