The Effect of Advertising on Corporate Image: a Study of International Breweries Plc. Ilesa, Osun State, Nigeria

This study investigates the effect of advertising on corporate image in manufacturing sector of Nigeria with reference to the stakeholders of International Breweries Plc. Ilesa, Osun State. It is no doubt that business survival depend on the perception of the general public about the firm, thus it will be inappropriate not to supply to the general public necessary information that could provide them with  necessary information otherwise they would be misinformed and build up a wrong perception about the firm. This study therefore, was carried out to investigate the relationship between advertising and corporate image in manufacturing firm. Using the survey method, the study obtained sample of one hundred and twenty (120) respondents’ who are stakeholders of International breweries Ilesa products. The research instrument showed encouraging evidence of reliability and validity. Data were analyzed using simple percentages and chi-square analysis. The study found that effective advertising is a key factor for communicating to firm’s stakeholders about the status of the firm. Furthermore, it was established that there is a strong relationship between advertising and corporate image. The study concluded with the assertion that to have positive and favourable corporate image and reputation firms must employ effective advertisement programmes. Keywords: Advertising, Communication, Corporate Image & Stakeholder

A Review of Non-Destructive Methods for Detection of Insect Infestation in Fruits and Vegetables

Insect damage in fruits and vegetables cause major production and economic losses in the agriculture and food industry worldwide. Monitoring of internal quality and detection of insect infestation in fruits and vegetables is critical for sustainable agriculture. Early detection of an infestation in fruits can facilitate the control of insects and the quarantine operations through proper post-harvest management strategies and can improve productivity. The present review recognizes the need for developing a rapid, cost-effective, and reliable insect infestation monitoring system that would lead to advancements in agriculture and food industry. In this paper, an overview of non-destructive detection insect damages in fruits and vegetables was presented, and the research and applications were discussed. This paper elaborated all of the post-harvest fruit infestation detection methods which are based on the following technologies: optical properties, machine vision technique, sonic properties, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), thermal imaging, x-ray computed tomography and chemical chromatography. Also, the main challenges and limitations of non-destructive detection methods in the agricultural products quality assessment were also elucidated

Physio-Chemical and Functional Properties of Nine Proso Millet Cultivars

Evaluation of the postharvest properties of nine proso millet cultivars was carried out to determine their physical and engineering properties, which are very useful for designing appropriate systems for process operations such as sorting, drying, heating, cooling, and milling. Nine cultivars of proso millet comprising waxy and non-waxy types, namely Cope, Earlybird, Huntsman, Minco, Plateau, Sunrise, Rise, Dawn, and Panhandle, were obtained from the Panhandle Research and Extension Center, University of Nebraska, Scottsbluff. Results showed significant (p \u3c 0.05) differences in their physical properties, such as sphericity, volume, bulk density, porosity, and angle of repose, which ranged from 0.86 to 0.91, from 3.94 to 5.14 mm3, from 765.49 to 809.67 kg m-3, from 42.49% to 44.20%, and from 22.98° to 25.74°, respectively. The cultivars were also evaluated for their pasting and gelatinization properties, and high correlation was found between amylose content and onset temperature (r = -0.94), peak gelatinization temperature (r = -0.92), peak viscosity (r = 0.84), final viscosity (r = 0.91), and setback viscosity (r = 0.90). The understanding of these basic physical and functional properties of proso millet cultivars will form the foundation for processing them into value-added products

Application of Acoustic Emission and Machine Learning to Detect Codling Moth Infested Apples

Incidence of codling moth (CM) (Cydia pomonella L.) infestation in apples has been a major concern in North America for decades. CM larvae bore deep into the fruit, making it unmarketable. An effective noninvasive method to detect larvae-infested apples is necessary to ensure that apples are CM-free in post-harvest processing. In this study, a novel approach using an acoustic emission (AE) system and subsequent machine learning methods was applied to classify larvae-infested apples from intact apples. \u27GoldRush‘ apples were infested with CM neonates and stored at the same conditions as intact apples. The AE system was used to collect the data emitted by 80 larvae-infested and intact apples in total. Eleven AE features that changed with signaling time were obtained with the AE system. For each feature, the area under the curve along the signaling time was calculated and used as an independent input variable for the machine learning algorithms, which included linear discriminant analysis (LDA) and ensemble method adaptive boosting. With signaling times ranging from 0.5 to 120 s, classification rates for infested versus intact apples ranged from 91% to 100% for the training set and from 83% to 100% for the test set. The quick signal collection and high classification accuracy obtained in this study show the potential of AE for detecting and classifying CM-infested apples

Optimization of Deep-Fat Frying of Plantain Chips (Ipekere) using Response Surface Methodology

Deep-fat frying of plantain chips (ipekere) was investigated with the aim of predicting optimum operating conditions for plantain chips to minimize oil content in order to produce healthy products. The effect of frying temperature and time on moisture content, oil content, breaking force and colour difference of plantain chips was evaluated. Response surface methodology was used to analyze the results of the central composite design of the frying processes for the responses as a result of variation in the levels of frying temperature (150 – 190oC) and frying time (2 – 4 min). Response surface regression analysis shows that responses were significantly (p<0.05) correlated with frying temperature and time. Regression model was developed for the investigation of the effect of frying temperature and time on the responses. The polynomial regression models were validated with statistical tool whose values of coefficients of determination (R2) were 0.995, 0.982, 0.971 and 0.996 for moisture content, oil content, breaking force and colour difference, respectively. The optimum values of moisture content, oil content, breaking force and colour difference were 3.73%, 1.18%, 17.66 N and 65.53, respectively, at frying temperature of 183oC and frying time of 3 min. Therefore, frying conditions had a significant effect on the quality attributes of chips produced from plantain. Keywords: plantain chips, deep-fat frying, regression models, texture and colou

ANALYSIS OF NUTRITIONAL LABEL USE ON PACKAGED FOODS AMONG URBAN HOMEMAKERS IN OGUN STATE, NIGERIA

This paper presents the type of food label information used by homemakers in Abeokuta while pur- chasing packaged foods and the socio-economic characteristics influencing its usage. Structured questionnaire was use to elicit information from 149 homemakers drawn by multi-stage sampling tech- niques. The study found that majority (87.20%) of the homemakers were females with mean age of 40.2 years. About two-third (65.40%) of the homemakers considered information on food labels before purchasing packaged foods. The most commonly considered food label information was found to be the NAFDAC (National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control) number (63.8%), fol- lowed by the expiry date (59.1 %), brand name (57%), country of manufacture (51.7%) and nutritional facts (51.0%). Results from logit regression models showed that sex, education, marital status, occu- pation, income and health status were the key factors that significantly (p<0.05) influenced nutritional label use

Application of Hyperspectral Imaging and Acoustic Emission Techniques for Apple Quality Prediction

There is a growing demand for developing effective non-destructive quality assessment methods with quick response, high accuracy, and low cost for fresh fruits. In this study, hyperspectral reflectance imaging (400 to 1000 nm) and acoustic emission (AE) tests were applied to ‘GoldRush‘ apples (total number, n = 180) to predict fruit firmness, total soluble solids (TSS), and surface color parameters (L*, a*, b*) during an eight-week storage period. Partial least squares (PLS) regression, least squares support vector machine (LS-SVM), and multivariate linear regression (MLR) methods were used to establish models to predict the quality attributes of the apples. The results showed that hyperspectral imaging (HSI) could accurately predict all the attributes except TSS, while the AE method was capable of predicting fruit firmness, b* color index, and TSS. Overall, HSI regression using PLS had better comprehensive ability for predicting firmness, TSS, and color parameters (L*, a*, b*) than AE, with correlation coefficients of prediction (rp) of 0.92, 0.41, 0.83, 0.87, and 0.94 and root mean square errors of prediction (RMSEP) of 4.32 (N), 1.78 (°Brix), 3.41, 2.28, and 4.29, respectively, while AE regression using LS-SVM gave rp values of 0.88, 0.74, 0.34, 0.37, and 0.81 and RMSEP values of 4.26 (N), 0.64 (°Brix), 4.69, 1.8, and 5.17 for firmness, TSS, and color parameters (L*, a*, b*), respectively. The results show the potential of these two non-destructive methods for predicting some of the quality attributes of apples

DOES HEALTH AID REDUCE HIV/AIDS PREVALENCE IN NIGERIA?

There has been influx of official development assistance (foreign aid) into the health sector in Nigeria but little or nothing is known about the impact of such funds on specific health outcomes in Nigeria. Given the economic implication of HIV/AIDS, this study therefore assessed the effect of health aid on the prevalence of the HIV/AIDS in Nigeria. Relevant data spanning 1990 to 2017were sourced from World Development Indicator (WDI) and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) database and analyzed within the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) framework. Model estimation results revealed that health aid had no significant effect on HIV prevalence in the country. Effective utilization of health aid was advocated in order to reduce the HIV prevalence rate thereby reducing the accompanying burden on the people and the economy.   &nbsp

Carbondioxide Electricity Generation Prospect in Nigeria

The need to meet up with the present energy demand in Nigeria calls for urgent mediation. Using the carbon dioxide data obtained from IEA through the ministry of Environment in Nigeria and the knowledge of bottoming power generation; the ability of Carbon dioxides exhaust gas from the power plant is exploited. Qualitative amount of power is estimated from the nation industrial Carbon dioxide potential generation. The result shows that an optimum amount of 564.7MW of electricity per year could be estimated from this power source; this is equivalent to 10.8% of projected power required for year 2030. Therefore, using Carbon dioxide hybrid turbine a total amount of 1265MW of electricity could be spawned by year 2030. With these results it is concluded that Carbon dioxides powered turbine has better prospects in Nigeria energy needs. 1.0 Introduction The electricity demand in Nigeria is far outstrips its supply, this has been attributed to a number of causes Sambo, (2008). The little power available is epileptic in nature for few locations that is distributed. Its enormous needs in technological and socio-economic developments called for urgent attention; no substantial development could occur without it copiousness. Despites our huge resources and potential for power generation, this defect has made the development in the country to be so retrogressive. The fact that the first electricity installed in Nigeria is over a century, coupled with our potentials of having a stable power supply is enough to possess a developed steady economics. More so, literature had it that the electricity came to Nigeria just after fifteen years it was introduced in England. According to Sambo, (2008) various bodies were established in the process of regimenting this sector such blocs are; The Electricity Corporation of Nigeria (ECN) in 1950, Native Authorities and Nigeria Electricity Supply Company (NESCO), Niger Dams Authority (NDA), National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) and now Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN), with all the policies of these established bodies the power generation in the country is yet to be upright. In fact, Osueke and Ezeh, (2011) emphasized that instead for positive income elasticity demand Nigeria is having negative which show an in balance energy Furthermore, a capacity of about 5,600MW power generating station was installed in Nigeria but less than 2000MW is generated as at 2001 and even now less than 2,600MW is available as compared to a load demands of 6,000MW and 120000MW in 2005 and 2030 respectively IAEA/ECN, Osueke and Ezeh, (2011), IAEA/ECN, (2007). The mandate given by act 19 in 1989 gave strategic planning and co-ordination of national policies in the field of energy in all its ramifications. In all these power sources 31.3% and 68.3% Sambo, (2008) were for hydro and natural gas stations respectively and other occupied the remaining percentages. In spite of all these efforts the available power in the country now is less than 3000MW of electricity and the most of this power stations and other heavy duties industries give out huge emission of CO2, a green house gas, GHG, which has great effects on the environmental conduciveness. Sims et al (2007) studied the various sources of green houses gases and found out that over 70% of energy generation emit CO2 virtually in all parts of the world. Though most developed nations adopt different methods to control these like capturing methods but scientist still envisaged that greater measure is required to combat the release of this harmful gases. This means that all cost-effective means of reducing carbo