Library Operation and Services as Determinants of Researchers’ Satisfaction in an Agricultural Research Institute in Nigeria

Operations and services provided by libraries are seen as social services with a responsibility to encourage society\u27s reading habits, especially in academic settings. The educational, economic, cultural, and recreational life of the whole population are strongly impacted by library services. A special library is known to offer services like interlibrary loan, reference and information, current awareness, selective information dissemination, user education, literature searching, bibliography compilation, indexing and abstracting, knowledge management, preservation and conservation, bindery, information literacy, and information media literacy. The research focuses on the following goals: discovering the library services offered by research libraries in Kwara State; identifying the services that are highly demanded by research libraries in Kwara State; gauging user satisfaction with Kwara State research libraries; and identifying potential obstacles that might endanger library delivery services there. The study used a descriptive survey, and 73 researchers from a Kwara State agricultural research institution make up the sample. Findings of the study show that; users are satisfied with the facilities and equipment of research libraries in Kwara State; users are satisfied with the attitude of staff at research libraries in Kwara State; and quality service has a positive and significant impact on use. User education programmes, volumes of text books and reference books, and personalised assistance provided by the library staff are services available in the special library. In order to address the difficulties discovered while conducting the study, recommendations were made

Awareness and Protection of Human and Electronic Library Resources from Lightning Disaster: A Survey of Selected Nigerian Libraries

Disaster prevention and management is a crucial aspect of library management. Creating awareness and protecting human and electronic library resources from lightning disaster require immediate attention of library managers. Lightning strike is a deadly natural disaster that poses serious danger to both human and electronic library resources, hence the need for creating awareness about its threat to human and material resources. This study was focused on creating awareness and protecting human and electronic library resources from lightning strike disaster in Nigerian university libraries. A descriptive survey method was adopted to elicit information from the respondents of this study. A questionnaire was designed with 29 structured questions including the demography of the respondents. Eighty (80) copies of questionnaires were distributed among the staff of the selected university libraries. Seventy two (72) questionnaires returned were all found usable. This study finds that majority of the respondents do not have awareness programme about protection from lightning disaster in their libraries. The study also finds that majority of the respondents are not aware that lightning strike can kill or cause serious health injury. The study also finds that human resources in the libraries require adequate protection from lightning strike and the advent of more electronic ICT equipment in the libraries necessitates the deployment of lightning protection equipment. The study finds that the libraries cannot ignore lightning strike equipment installation as this will be detrimental to the safety of human and material resources. Some recommendations were made based on the findings of the study and conclusions drawn. Keywords: Awareness and protection, Human and electronic library resources, Lightning disaster, Nigerian librarie

Mobile Phone as an Extension Tool among Female Agricultural Practitionersin Lagos State Nigeria

This study assessed the use of mobile telephone for extension among female agricultural practitioners in Lagos State. The study adopted purposive selection of Epe and Ikorodu Local Government Areas (LGA), while simple random sampling technique was used to select 60 female farmers and 5 female EAs in each of the two LGAs. Data was analyzed with descriptive statistics and chi square. Results showed that female agricultural practitioners in Lagos State cut across different age groups, changing trend of farming business as youths and the younger generation now take active part. The majority (97.69%) of the respondents owned and used mobile phone for accessing market information among others. Also, 90.8% respondents agreed that it’s an efficient and effective facility for extension communication. High cost of subscription, mobile phone and accessories were the major constraints reported. This study provided evidence on the role of mobile phones in reducing information search costs and asymmetries and increasing market efficiencies. It is recommended that an agricultural extension service incorporates/strengthens use of mobile phones for information dissemination by training EAs on opportunities inherent in the use of mobile phones

Mobile Phone as an Extension Tool among Female Agricultural Practitionersin Lagos State Nigeria

This study assessed the use of mobile telephone for extension among female agricultural practitioners in Lagos State. The study adopted purposive selection of Epe and Ikorodu Local Government Areas (LGA), while simple random sampling technique was used to select 60 female farmers and 5 female EAs in each of the two LGAs. Data was analyzed with descriptive statistics and chi square. Results showed that female agricultural practitioners in Lagos State cut across different age groups, changing trend of farming business as youths and the younger generation now take active part. The majority (97.69%) of the respondents owned and used mobile phone for accessing market information among others. Also, 90.8% respondents agreed that it’s an efficient and effective facility for extension communication. High cost of subscription, mobile phone and accessories were the major constraints reported. This study provided evidence on the role of mobile phones in reducing information search costs and asymmetries and increasing market efficiencies. It is recommended that an agricultural extension service incorporates/strengthens use of mobile phones for information dissemination by training EAs on opportunities inherent in the use of mobile phones

The Potential of Some Non-Conventional Vegetable Oils in Biodiesel Applications

This work studied the potentials of some non-conventional oils biodiesel as an alternative to biodiesel made from a conventional seed oil (palm kernel oil), and petroleum-based diesel. The fruits of three non-conventional oilseeds, namely:PerseaAmericana (Avocado pear), Irvingiagabonenses (Dica nut) and Darcryodesedulis (Native pear)were obtained from local markets in Ile-Ife, Osun State Nigeria while petroleum-based diesel (PBD) used for comparative study was obtained commercially.The outer fleshylayers of the fruitswere separated from the seeds while both were air-dried for some days and later milled. The oils extracted from the milled samples were esterified to produce biodiesel usingmethanol in the presence of NaOH as catalyst. The biodiesels were analyzed for their fuel properties using standard methods.Results showed that the biodiesel yield ofIrvingiagabonensisoil diesel (IGOD),Darcryodesedulisoil diesel (DEOD) and Persia americanaoil diesel (PAOD) were94%, 82% and 96% respectively. These values compared favourably with that of palm kernel oil diesel (PKOD) (91%) produced under same conditions, and with the literature standard yield of 96.5% set for biodiesel. The pour pointsof PKOD, PAOD and DEOD were3, -6 and 1oC,respectively, with PAOD pour point very close to that of PBD (≥-10oC) obtained under similar experimental conditions. Except for IGOD, all the oils have pour points within the standard range of -15 to 16oC set for biodiesel suggesting the suitability of the oils for biodiesel applications.The iodine values of the biodiesel ranged between 9.64 and 16.52 meq/kg and agreed closely with 12-18 meq/kg reported in literature for PKOD. The biodiesel blend with PBD in the ratio 10:90, 20:80, 30:70 and 40:60 demonstratedimprovedphysico-chemical properties (including smoke point, flash point, cloud point, pour point, density, viscosity and acid value) that could meet the fluidity requirements for biodiesel applications

Predatory efficiency of Hippodamia variegata (Col.: Coccinellidae) on common pistachio psylla, Agonoscena pistaciae (Hem.: Aphalaridae), under laboratory conditions

Common pistachio psylla, Agonoscena pistaciae Burckhardt & Lauterer, is the most economically important species among the psyllid pests of pistachio in Iran. Hence, the possibility of using nonchemical control methods against A. pistaciae and the existence of its natural enemies need to be investigated. The spotted amber ladybird, Hippodamia variegata (Goeze), is one of the most effective predators in pistachio orchards. It is a highly polyphagous coccinellid that preys mainly on aphid and psyllid pests of pistachio trees. This study is intended to improve the knowledge about the predation capacity of A. pistaciae. The experiment was conducted under laboratory conditions of 25oC and 30oC, 55 ± 5 RH and 16: 8 L: D. Logistic regression was used to determine the type of functional response and nonlinear regression calculated the parameters of the rate of searching efficiency (a) and handling time (Th). The functional response on different density of prey at both temperatures was type II. The attack rate and handling time were 0.088 ± 0.012 h-1 and 0.0647 ± 0.011 h at 25ºC and 0.195 ± 0.031 h-1 and 0.0698 ± 0.056 h at 30ºC, respectively. The density and temperature affected the predation rate significantly. The data suggests that the H. variegata is a viable biological agent against A. pistaciae

Preferential Paths of Air-water Two-phase Flow in Porous Structures with Special Consideration of Channel Thickness Effects.

Accurate understanding and predicting the flow paths of immiscible two-phase flow in rocky porous structures are of critical importance for the evaluation of oil or gas recovery and prediction of rock slides caused by gas-liquid flow. A 2D phase field model was established for compressible air-water two-phase flow in heterogenous porous structures. The dynamic characteristics of air-water two-phase interface and preferential paths in porous structures were simulated. The factors affecting the path selection of two-phase flow in porous structures were analyzed. Transparent physical models of complex porous structures were prepared using 3D printing technology. Tracer dye was used to visually observe the flow characteristics and path selection in air-water two-phase displacement experiments. The experimental observations agree with the numerical results used to validate the accuracy of phase field model. The effects of channel thickness on the air-water two-phase flow behavior and paths in porous structures were also analyzed. The results indicate that thick channels can induce secondary air flow paths due to the increase in flow resistance; consequently, the flow distribution is different from that in narrow channels. This study provides a new reference for quantitatively analyzing multi-phase flow and predicting the preferential paths of immiscible fluids in porous structures

Gene bank preparation from the endemic shrimps and crustaceans of Persian Gulf and Oman Sea

Genetic knowledge and Gene bank preparation can help to protect biodiversity and detect , species identify , fishing offenses , genetic classification and also identification the faliure cross hybridizations of marine animals. In this study, sampling was performed from Jask, guatr and Hormuz areas, which is the most important habitats for the species studied using bottom trawl. Total DNA extraction was performed using phenol- chloroform method. After relevant studies on this gene primers were designed and in use. After editing the sequences, nucleotide BLAST (Basic Local Alignment Search Tool) was performed using NCBI blast main page. The sequences obtained from each sample were aligned and corrected from any ambiguities and assembled using Bio edit program. Trees were generated using maximum parsimony (MP), a character-based algorithm and neighbor joining (NJ) a distance-based algorithm for phenetic analysis. The distance matrix option of MEGA4 was used to calculate genetic distance according to the Kimura 2-parameter model of sequence evolution. Based on the results obtained, the optical density of 260 to 280 nm in the samples was recorded between 1/8 - 2, indicating good quality DNA samples. Optimized PCR reaction to 16SrRNA and COI gene amplification using the gradient between 48 - 60° C showed that the most suitable criteria for binding primers, 48 and 54 Celsius degrees respectively. The project objectives including the identification of the genetic structure of the species, and draw the phylogenetic trees using two genes 16SrRNA and COI, making identification and registration of specified computer storage and regulate the structure and management of mentioned species by focus on genetic resources 5 species of shrimp (P. semisulcatus، P. indicus، P. merguiensis ، P. monodon، M. affinis) in the Persia Gulf and Oman Sea through the creation of an integrated network of aquatic genetic resources in the region to try to identify genetic resources and aquatic gene bank. Molecular investigation of mitochondria DNA (mtDNA) using partial sequences of 16S rRNA gene showed relatively low genetic differences between the P. semisulcatus morphotypes. These sequences were able to distinguish between the two morphotypes, and separated them into two distinct clades. Also genetic divergence detected by COI gene analysis was consistently higher. High genetic divergence for COI was observed between the two morphotypes of P.semeisulcatus which emphesise that the gene bank preparation should be perform for this morphotype of this species. This type of analysis could be considered as an important tool to be used in broodstock selection in breeding programs. In this case, different management in broodstocking programs should be performed for two morphotypes of P. semisulcatus which were detected in Persian Gulf. The results of this study show that two Morphotype of P.semisulcatus can be considered as two separate species from genetic aspects. In this regard, it can be assumed that the genetic composition of the studied species is very close together and we've no seen a huge difference in the species except in the green tiger species