Applied Sciences Research Periodicals

Feasibility Assessment MRR and Surface Roughness on Inconel 825 by Abrasive Water Jet Machining Process

M.Shunmuga Priyan — 2026-01-03

The creation of rectangular pockets is a developing area where abrasive water jet machining (AWJM) is utilized. The current trend highlights an increasing focus on milling applications in the AWJM process. This research included performing experiments on Inconel 825 to evaluate the practicality of using the AWJM technique for producing 3D features, such as pockets sized 10mm x 10mm. A design of experiments based on the Taguchi method was utilized, concentrating on the input variables: step over (SO), traverse speed (TS), pressure (P), and abrasive flow rate (AFR) as the variables of the process. The parameters were changed at three levels, maintaining a standoff distance (SOD) of 2 mm, an orifice diameter of 0.35 mm, and using garnet 85# for the abrasive material size. The output parameters obtained, specifically Depth Of Cut (DOC), Material Removal Rate (MRR), and Surface Roughness (Ra), were evaluated through two methods: Hatch strategy and Spiral strategy. A variance analysis was conducted to investigate the interactions between the process parameters and to calculate the F value. The results showed that the traverse speed and step over greatly affected the output parameters DOC, MRR, and Ra.

Evaluating Seasonal Patterns in Pediatric Diarrhea and Pneumonia using SARIMA: A Comparative Analysis of Simulated and Real Time Series in Rivers State, Nigeria

Deebom Zorle Dum — 2026-01-03

This study evaluates the effectiveness of Seasonal Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (SARIMA) models in forecasting trends of Pediatric Diarrhea and Pneumonia in Rivers State, Nigeria, with particular emphasis on handling auto-correlated errors. The objectives include analyzing seasonal patterns, assessing autocorrelation structures, comparing alternative SARIMA specifications, and identifying the most suitable model using both real and simulated datasets. The empirical data comprise monthly records of reported cases among children under five years, obtained from the Rivers State Primary Healthcare Database. Additionally, a synthetic time series was generated to replicate similar autocorrelation characteristics for robustness testing. Autocorrelation diagnostics, including the Ljung-Box test and ACF/PACF plots, revealed significant serial dependencies across all series, underscoring the limitations of models that ignore autocorrelation. Competing SARIMA models were estimated and evaluated based on Akaike Information Criterion (AIC), Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC), Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), and residual diagnostic checks. Among the models assessed, SARIMA(0,1,2)(0,0,2)[12][12][12] emerged as the best-fitting model, particularly for pediatric diarrhea, demonstrating strong predictive performance and adherence to diagnostic assumptions. Although Auto ARIMA achieved comparable results for pneumonia, SARIMA models exhibited superior residual behaviour and diagnostic reliability. By integrating actual and simulated data, this research addresses gaps in previous studies that overlooked seasonality and autocorrelation in padiatric health time series modeling. The findings affirm the usefulness of SARIMA for time series epidemiology and highlight its potential for enhancing disease investigation and informing public health interventions in resource-constrained settings such as Rivers State.

Knowledge, Awareness, and Practice of Universal Precautions at a Tertiary Health Facility in Bauchi, Northeast Nigeria

Mustapha Sabo Umar — 2026-01-11

Background: Universal precautions require healthcare workers to treat all blood and body fluids as infectious and apply protective measures to prevent exposure to pathogens such as HIV and hepatitis B and C. Despite their long-standing role in infection prevention, compliance remains uneven, especially in resource-limited hospitals. Improving healthcare workers’ knowledge, awareness, and consistent practice of universal precautions is essential for reducing occupational risks and strengthening infection prevention across all clinical settings. Methods: A 31-item questionnaire was self-administered to clinical staff working at the health facility. The questionnaire assessed demographic characteristics as well as knowledge, awareness, and practice of universal precaution measures. Results were expressed using descriptive statistics, including simple frequencies and percentages. Results: The study enrolled 173 participants comprising medical doctors (n = 28, 16.2%), nurses (n = 39, 22.6%), laboratory scientists (n = 21, 12.1%), ward assistants (n = 46, 28.8%), pharmacists (n = 13, 7.5%), and technologists, social workers, and other clinical staff (n = 26, 15.1%). Six participants (4 males and 2 females) did not respond, giving a response rate of 96.5%. Of the 167 respondents, 91 (54.5%) were males and 76 (45.5%) were females. Overall, 32 (18.5%) participants fully identified the universal precaution guidelines, while 63 (36.4%) practiced hand hygiene during clinical procedures. Conclusion: This study demonstrated poor knowledge, awareness, and practice of universal precaution measures among healthcare workers at a tertiary health facility in Northeast Nigeria. There is an urgent need for periodic training and retraining on universal precaution measures among workers in the study population.

Configuration Technologies of Biomass for Cooking and other Bio-energy applications in LIFE-ND, Nigeria, West African Region

Eme Luke — 2026-01-12

The problems are that the agricultural production in the last five decades has been said to increase more than three times. Other factors responsible for increased agricultural production include technological advancement toward green revolution and expansion of soil for agricultural production. The study is aimed at modeling of biogas energy technologies for cooking and other application in (LIFE-ND) using Bayesian and (H-BAY) algorithms. The objectives of the study were to: quantify the volume of crop residues and processing waste generated from the LIFE-ND intervention program, optimize the crop residue and livestock wastes management practices adopted by beneficiaries of LIFE-ND intervention programme. The method involves: Bayesian and (H-BAY) algorithms and comparing yields. Two sets of structured questionnaires formed the instrument of the study. A total of eighteen (18) questions were carefully developed from the problem statements of this study. The results from the Bayesian model, it shows in table 4 that the maximum yield of 10428 tons is from cassava and the net benefit of farming in the LIFE-ND mandate states for four years (from 2019 to 2023 is N21,704,875,606: 58K or $54.3M , and if the total investment fund of $40M is deducted from the said net benefit, it equals a return on the total investment of $14.3M).The work concluded that maximum yields were from Poultry with energy of 142 KWH and cassava peels mixed of sludge with energy of 229KWH as integrated waste management system with the twin benefits of generating biogas and ensuring no evacuation of sludge. The work recommended the, poultry and cassava technologies for Biogas production to foster social benefits such as: improved waste management practices, creation of local employment opportunities, and promotion of community-led biogas initiatives empower residents to take control of their energy needs, strengthen social cohesion, and enhance overall quality of life.

Full Capacity Utilization in Design of Hydrokinetic Turbines and other Renewable energies for Power Generation in Nigeria

Eme Luke — 2026-01-12

The problems which led to inadequate supply of electricity from Kanji dam, also associated with this are silting of river bed and under utilization, including uncompleted hydropower dams in Nigeria. This research is aimed at carrying out a study on the designs of non-conventional for power generation in Nigerian. The objectives of the study were to: replace the regular fossil based fuels with the most efficient option among solar, hydropower, biomass, biomass gasifiers, wind turbine, tidal and flywheel water energy storage for industrial revolution, small & medium enterprises, towns & rural communities. The method involves administration of questionnaires to EEDC staff (x) and communities (y) living along the rivers of Niger and Benue in Nigeria. The data obtained from the six geopolitical regions within the Nigerian river basins form the fundamentals of the design. The results show that 25 number of the Flywheel water turbine converged optimally as the most efficient option which yielded the highest yearly return/revenue of $75Trillion. In conclusion, the design considered factors that could significantly influence the performance of the said option such as: flow rate, depth, velocity, and seasonal river variations. The design also considered the worst conditions with the average depth of 2m-40m turbine of Kaplan system with an efficiency of 90%, diameter of 2.8m, speed of 3000rpm, angular velocity of 78.54rad/s², torque 92.363Nm and a weight of 1200kg with an average head of 10m, 9m and 9m at Lokoja, Onitsha and Makurdi produced a power output of 20975MW, 12850MW and 6900MW respectively equals to 40725MW of power greater than the national grid capacity of 11165.4MW and NERC had expected of 40000MW. The work recommended Flywheel water turbines of Kaplan models which shall require international collaborations with abundant supply of electricity and technological advancement that shall also lead to reduction in prices of costly food items for sustainable better living standard.