Efficient query processing over uncertain road networks

One of the fundamental problems on spatial road networks has been the shortest traveling time query, with applications such as location-based services (LBS) and trip planning. Algorithms have been made for the shortest time queries in deterministic road networks, in which vertices and edges are known with certainty. Emerging technologies are available and make it easier to acquire information about the traffic. In this paper, we consider uncertain road networks, in which speeds of vehicles are imprecise and probabilistic. We will focus on one important query type, continuous probabilistic shortest traveling time query (CPSTTQ), which retrieves sets of objects that have the smallest traveling time to a moving query point q from point s to point e on road networks with high confidences. We propose effective pruning methods to prune the search space of our CPSTTQ query, and design an efficient query procedure to answer CPSTTQ via an index structure

Emerging Pattern of Forest Bio-Diversity in South West Nigeria: A Spatio-Temporal Analysis of Forest Reserves

The importance of forest resources in any given human society can not be over emphasized. This is so because, for any meaningful development to be achieved and sustained, it requires the harmonization of the forest biodiversity for economic, socio- political as well as ecological balance of the society. For instance, both timber and non-timber forest products provide income, employment opportunities, etc for the generality of the people living within and around the forest reserves. Traditionally, access to certain forests is forbidden in order to conserve and to manage the forest to achieve forest resource sustainability. This is so because, it has been discovered that over the years, the rate of exploitation of these resources is unprecedented in the history of forest use in the southwestern part of Nigeria. This paper therefore set out to examine the traditional values of the forest, the changes that have occurred in the area of the forest in the state and the contemporary arrangement to curtail the spate of deforestation and its concomitant socioeconomic effects on the people. To achieve the above, various relevant literature and theoretical models are examined. Also, both spatial and attribute data are examined to drive home the argument. Finally, a conclusion will be drawn with recommendations on new forest resources management strategies. Keywords: Biodiversity, Forest Resources, Sustainable Development, Ecological Balanc

Embryogenesis of Heterobranchus longifilis (Curvier and Valenciennes, 1840)

Studies on development of H. longifilis (Curvier and Valenciennes, 1840) were conducted at a temperature of 25EC ( 1Ec) in aquaria tanks continuous development were monitored with the use of wild Heerbrugy photomacroscope and length of yolk and larva were monitored using Stereo Olympus microscope with ocular micrometer. The division into animal and vegetal poles was observed 22 minutes after activation. The first cleavage occurred 65 minutes after activation while the second division which was perpendicular to the first line of division occurred 74 minutes after activation. This was quickly followed by the third and fourth cleavage at 80th and 82nd minutes after activation respectively. Morular stage was reached at 4 hours 20 minutes with formation of optic bud at 14 hours 35 minutes. (DBO) Developing embryo hatched after 27 hours of activation at a mean length of 6.63 and mean yolk length of 2.17. Yolk size decrease at an average rate of 38.5 % till the 5th day of total absorption. Growth of larvae proceeded faster in tail-anus region than in anus-snout portion of the body. The rate of yolk absorption and larva development (survival) as monitored in this work gives important information in Research and development programme for H. longifilis larva - an important aspect of Research development and implementation of appropriate technologies in small scale fisherie

Evaluation of corporate governance practices in emerging markets (A case study of Nigerian Banking industry)

This study explores corporate governance practices within the context of the Nigerian banking industry using instances of corporate governance lapses that resulted in part to the Nigerian banking crises. We present multiple case analysis of publicly available documents and court papers (in the United Kingdom and Nigeria) to document instances of breach and areas of weakness in the existing Nigerian code of corporate governance. We supported these with data obtained from multiple sources (using semi-structured interviews, observation and further documentary analysis) to explain and yield insight to the motivation behind these corporate governance practices. The research’s theoretical framework adopts theoretical triangulation and is designed to extend the present application of institutional theories and legitimacy theories to include roles of external and internal institutions, power blocks, and the role of legitimacy seeking acts in influencing corporate governance practices. From the case analysis, we suggest multiple actors and influences exist to shape the corporate governance practices within most commercial banks. These lapses make it possible for dominant actors within the organisation to exhibit symbolic compliance while taking advantage of these lapses to shareholders detriment

Growth and survival of different sex combinations of Oreochromis niloticus (L) in glass tanks

Growth performance and survival rates of three different sexes of Oreochromis niloticus fingerlings (27.5~c 0.02g); mixed-sex, all male and all female fed 35% CP at 5% body weight was carried out for 56 days in indoor rearing operations. Aquaria tanks (60x30x 30cm3) were used as rearing tanks and each treatment was replicated. All female tilapia had the best specific growth rate (2.54%/day), food conversion ratio (1.98) as well as survival rate (98%), least value was obtained in treatment containing the mixed sex tilapia. Specific growth rate (2.06%/day), Food conversion ratio (2.27) and survival rate (95% )

In vivo comparative study of ocular vasodilation, a relative indicator of hyperemia, in guinea pigs following treatment with bimatoprost ophthalmic solutions 0.01% and 0.03%

Abayomi B Ogundele, David Earnest, Marsha A McLaughlinAlcon Research, Limited, Fort Worth, TX, USAObjective: The objective of this in vivo study was to compare the incidence of vasodilation in guinea pigs following topical administration of bimatoprost ophthalmic solutions 0.01% and 0.03%.Methods: The study comprised 20 guinea pigs assigned to 2 treatment groups (10 per treatment group) to receive either bimatoprost 0.01% or bimatoprost 0.03%. Animals were hand-held under 2.75 × magnification to score ocular vasodilation (a measure of hyperemia), using a scoring system developed at Alcon Research, Ltd. Following baseline ocular scoring, each animal received a 30 μL dose to the left eye of either bimatoprost 0.01% (3 μg) or bimatoprost 0.03% (9 μg). Vasodilation was again scored at 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 hours after dosing. Incidence of vasodilation was calculated as the percent of total eyes in each 2-hour time interval with scores ≥2.Results: The incidence of vasodilation was higher in the bimatoprost 0.01% treatment group (range, 45.0% to 60.0%) than the bimatoprost 0.03% treatment group (range, 30.0% to 52.2%) at all post-dosing time points.Conclusion: The 2 bimatoprost formulations elicited ocular vasodilation of long duration (>6 hours) in the guinea pig model, with the bimatoprost 0.01% treatment group showing a higher incidence of ocular vasodilation than the bimatoprost 0.03% treatment group. Further clinical studies would be needed to determine whether the higher incidence of vasodilation may also be attributed to the increased BAK concentration in the bimatoprost 0.01% formulation.Keywords: bitamoprost, ocular vasodilation, hyperemi

Grid Computing: A Desirable Tool for Electronic Governance

This paper explained how Government at different levels can apply Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to achieve efficiency, effectiveness, transparency and accountability in Government to Government (G2G), Government to Employee (G2E), Government to Citizen (G2C) and Government to Business (G2B).   This application is referred to as Electronic Governance (e-Governance).  The system enables citizens to make best use of automated administration processes that are accessible on-line.  Grid computing is an ideal solution to this type of administrative processes.  This paper therefore presents how Grid computing can be used to effectively and efficiently meet the yearnings of citizenry.   Generally, we demonstrated the creation of a virtual environment by using Grid technologies to a specific e-governance application on distributed resources. We presented a framework for the adoption of grid computing for                   e-governance management using Electronic Bill server (EB server), Comprehensive Welfare and Social Services server (CWSS server) and Corporation sever (C server).  Experiments were run with the Grid environment and without Grid environment by considering the number of jobs completed and the period to complete various jobs submitted for processing using MATLAB. The numbers of jobs completed by EB server by using Grid are: 20, 40, 60, 80,100 and 120 while 15, 25, 33, 60, 72 and 90 were completed without Grid under the same condition.  The numbers of jobs completed by CWSS server with Grid are: 30,50,70,90,120 and 130 while 22.5, 37.5, 52.5, 67.5 90 and 97.5 were completed without Grid.   The numbers of jobs completed by Corporation server under Grid are: 30,50,70,90,120 and 130 while 24, 40,56,72,96 and 104 were completed without Grid.   The period to complete various jobs submitted for processing by the EB server under Grid are: 18, 30, 42, 54,72 and 88minutes while 30,50,70,90,120 and 130minutes were required without Grid.  For CWSS server, the period to complete various jobs submitted for processing under Grid are: 6.5, 19.5, 32.5, 45.5, 58.5,78 and 84.5minutes while 10, 30,50,70,90,120 and 130minutes were required without Grid.  For Corporation server, the period to complete various jobs submitted for processing under Grid are:  6.4,19.2,32,44.8,57.6, 76.8 and 82.2minutes while 10,30,50,70,90 120, and 130minutes were required without Grid. The result of simulation revealed that implementing an e-Governance solution was cost effective, efficient, consistent and reduced job processing time with high quality of result and providing better services to citizens. Keywords: E-Governance, Grid Applications, Grid Computing, Grid environment, Grid Infrastructure and Grid Resource Broker

Teacher Quality Factors as Determinant of Students’ Achievement in Mathematics

This paper tries to find out the effect of teacher quality factors on students achievement in Mathematics. The teacher qualities that were considered in the study include teachers’ experience, qualification motivation interest satisfaction and teaching techniques. The data for the study were collected through the questionnaires designed for the teachers and students result collected. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and regression analysis were used to analyze the data. It was found out that all the teacher qualities considered in the study determine the achievement of student in Mathematics to a large extent. Keywords: Teacher Quality, Achievement, Motivation, Teachers’ Qualification, Experienc

An Assessment of the Performance of a Group of Entrepreneurs In the South Western Part of Nigeria

This paper reports the study of seventy-four (74) private entrepreneurs (PEs) in the South-Western part of Nigeria. Five ( 5) hypotheses were tested. The five independent variables were survival, measures of control over the environment, growth, size of the organization and innovation. Performance was the dependent variable. It was discovered that entrepreneurial performance was significantly influenced by several factors such as political factor, relevant experiences, formal education, innovation, social relations, capital availability and level of delegation of authority. However, four of the hypotheses were tested in the predicted direction. The prediction that large-sized organizations would have more high performers than others was not supported. The study concluded that any programme designed for the benefit of indigenous entrepreneurs must have multiple rather than single approach to achieve the desired outcomes

Computational Numerical Solution for Traveling Salesman Problem

This paper examined and analyzed the desire of Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP) to find the cheapest way of visiting all given set of cities and returning to the starting point.     We presented a unique decomposition approach model for TSP in which the requirements and features of practical application in communication network, road transportation and supply chains are put into consideration.  We used a Mathematical Modeling solution with the application of Ant Colony Search Algorithm (ACSA) approach for result computation.  In our approach, different Agents were created for difference purposes.   Information agent gathered information about best tour and detected the solution agent that arrived at a given point with information message containing details of where the solution agent has come from as well as best tour cost.  The place ant performs local pheromone decay on the relevant links.   This help to avoid random visit to irrelevant edges and allows the place ant to calculate the cost of tour of all place ants including the latest pheromone level on the links to each of the place ants. The solution agent uses available information to decide  which node to visit next and informs the place ant of  its decision to move to a given destination and update better tour  previously sampled while information about where to go next also obtained.  The place ant updates its pheromone value for that link using the equivalent of the algorithm for local pheromone update.  The cycle continues until solution agent arrives at its destination. The main advantage of our approach is that it permits the use of mixed integer programming and combinatorial optimization techniques to compute real optimal routing path, solving the problem in practice by returning actual shortest route with its numerical value and not the best effort result as provided by some previous models and analytical methods. The implementation was carried out using C# programming language.  Data used were generated and the performance evaluation of the model was carried out through simulation using Matlab 7.0.  The result shows that by considering all possible paths between a node as the source and another as the destination, all possible routes for a particular journey with shortest route in each case were generated. Keywords: Ant Colony, Combinatorial Optimization, Mixed Integer Programming, Pheromone, Search Algorithm and Traveling Salesman