Technical Efficiency of Cassava Production in the Savannah Zone of Northern Ghana: Stochastic Frontier Analysis

The study adopts a Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA) approach to estimate the technical efficiency of cassava production in the Savannah Zone of Northern Ghana. A cross-sectional data from 150 producers generated from a simple random sampling method was used in the analysis. A transcendental logarithmic production functional form fitted into a half-normal distribution model was estimated. The mean technical efficiency of the producers was found to be 51% indicating that about 49% of output level is lost to technical inefficiency. This means that farmers could increase their output level by 49% without additional employment of resources and technology. Technical inefficiency was modelled as a function of farmer specific socioeconomic factors. The hypothesis tested showed that the translog production function best represents the production process. The elasticities of land and planting materials are 0.92 and 0.83 respectively. They are positive but less than one implying they have inelastic effect on the output quantities of cassava obtained. The implication is that 1% increase in the quantities of the inputs will result in less than the corresponding increase in the output level. Other elasticities reported negative values, this means marginal addition of those inputs lead to marginal decrease in outputs. The Scale elasticity is 1.74 implying that the farmers are producing at increasing returns-to-scale. Keywords: Technical Efficiency, Stochastic Frontier Model, Savannah Zone, Cassav

Adsorption Profile of N5 Acyclic Ligand Derived from 1, 2-Diamino Benzene and 2, 6-Diacetylpyridineon Column Packed Calcined Iraqi Montmorillonite

The adsorption ability of IRAQI initiated burned granulated bentonite of ligand (L), from aqueous solutions has been investigated through columnar method. The ligand (L) adsorption was found to be dependent on adsorbent dosage, initial concentration and contact time. All columnar experiments were carried out at three different pH values (5.5, 7and 8) using buffer solutions at flow rate of (3 drops / min.) at room temperature (25±2) °C. The experimental isotherm data were analyzed using Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin equations. The monolayer adsorption capacity is 0.7055 mg ligand (L) per 1g burned bentonite. The experiments showed that highest removal rate was 88.25% for ligand (L) at pH 7. The kinetic data for the adsorption process obeyed pseudo-second-order rate equations. Keywords: N5 acyclic ligand, Adsorption Profile, Iraqi Montmorillonite, Column Packed

Electron Momentum Density in Nickel (Ni)

In this paper, Compton profile of (Ni) was Calculated by employing both the renormalized-free atom(RFA) model and free electron(FE) model setting several configurations in subset (3d-4s). The results were compared with recent data ,It shows that the RFA calculation in(3d8.8-4s1.2) gives a better agreement with experiment.The calculated data used for the first time also to compute the cohesive energy of Nickle and compared it with available data. The Band structure and Density of state of Nickel crystals(DFT-LDA) also calculated by using code Quantum wise.Keywords: Compton profile,Electron momentum density, Cohesive energy, Band structure, Density of state

Synthesis of Novel Acetylinc Derivative of Metformin as a DPP-4 Inhibitors and Study its Effects on Sera of Rabbits with induced Diabetes

The study aimed to prepare novel derivative of metformin similar to the work of the enzyme inhibitors DPP-4 and so the need for new inhibitors may be a side effect with less addition to linking types of drugs have a stronger effect on patients with diabetes and to study the impact of this derivative inside the living cell has been prepared derived through interaction metformin with propargyl chloride. It was to make sure the chemical structure by using analytical and spectral methods (FT-IR, 1H-NMR, and 13C-NMR), and the results confirming the obtained structures,  then purified by column chromatography by using silica gel as stationary phase and methanol as a mobile phase. The study is derived on the impact of rabbits where they were taking the 40 rabbits with similar weights and were divided into four groups (10 rabbits per group) weredivided as follows, the first group G1 obtained as a control group, which did not gave any things. The second group G2 has injected by aloxane a concentration of 120 mg / kg using syringes medical capacity of 3 ml to inject rabbits in the vein ear and after two hours of injection they were given glucose solution of 10%, the confirmed they injured rabbits diabetes by measuring blood sugar to 10 rabbits have been selected randomly and then it was taken two sets of this group, the third group G3 were given a drug sitagliptin with concentration of 10 mg / kg, and the fourth group G4, were given the prepared derivative with concentration of 8 mg / kg for 3 days and pulled blood samples after the last dose on the third day. Serum used in determination of lipid profile,DPP-4 activity,alanine transaminase(ALT),Aspartate transaminase(AST) and insulin. Results of statistical analysis showed a significant decrease in the level of FBG and  DPP-4 activity  of  the prepared derivative, and also showed a decrease in the level of cholesterol, triglyceride, LDL and VLDL, while  results showed increase in HDL level in G4 comparing to G1. Keywords : Diabetes Mellitus , Dipeptidylpeptidase -4  , metformin .

Anti –phytopathogenic Activities of Cladophora glomerata extract against plant fungi

The antiphytopathogenic effects of the crude methanol extract of Cladophora glomerata (Lin.) Kützing (Cladophoraceae) which isolated from Al Rashidiya region at north of Baghdad was investigated against two type of plant fungi (Pythium altimum and Rhizoctonia solani) which causes damping off disease where isolated from covered cucumber field in Al-Alyosifia region. Hot methanol extract showed antifungal activity against the two species of fungi in different concentrations(10,25,50 mg/ml) of extract to Cladophora glomerata as percentage inhibition (51.63 ,72.8 ,83.71) and (56.18 ,77.41 ,100)comparing with Pythium altimum and Rhizoctonia solani respectively .primary detection of active compounds showed that macroalgae (Cladophora glomerata) containing flavonoids,alkaloids, phenols and tannins. Our findings suggest the possibility of using the Cladophora glomerata as a novel source of natural antimicrobial agents for pharmaceutical industries

Biochemical Evaluation of Some Liver Enzymes in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Iraqi Patients

Liver is the main organ of glucose storage as glycogen and metabolism. This key function of liver exposes it to many types of diseases with metabolic disorders, particularly diabetes. Many studies had showed that; diabetes is associated with high risk of chronic liver disease, primary liver cancers and liver cirrhosis. However, most of these studies were performed in Western countries, and there is a lack of information from Iraq. The aim of the study is to evaluate some hepatic enzymes in Iraqi patients with chronic type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) compared with healthy volunteers. Sixty Iraqi subjects with type 2 DM, and sixty healthy volunteers as control group were included in this study. The levels of (Glucose, ALT, AST, GGT, and ALP) were measured. The mean values of concentration levels of ALT, AST and GGT were significantly higher in T2DM than the control group (P≤ 0.001 for ALT, GGT and P≤ 0.05 for AST). In contrast, there is no significant difference in ALP levels in the two study groups. The results of this study are in accordance with previously reported high prevalence rates of abnormal liver enzymes in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus in other populations

Attributes, Ethical Attitudes and Behaviors of Tax Evaders in a Permissive Collection Society

Tax evasion remains a fascinating research topic, as it is more often committed by individuals considered by society to be “ethical.” The purpose of this study is to explore the various attitudes of tax evaders and examine them in relation to their personal moral philosophies. The results of the current study found that tax evaders possessed several attributes, and their personal moral philosophy attitudes (idealism or relativism) influenced their ethical behavior. Idealism was found to be negatively associated with self-interest tax evasion behavior while relativism had the opposite effect. Idealism was also found to be positively related to tax evasion attitudes stemming from perceived “injustice” of the tax system. The results were explained with respect to the study’s setting of a permissive tax collection society and lower moral intensity of respondents. Managerial implications of this study explained, among others, why individuals who obeyed the idealistic moral philosophy often sought tax evasion

Preparation and Characterization of Barium Titanate Nano Particles Using Solution Combustion

Ferroelectric materials are gaining increased importance as a result of their high dielectric constants making them useful for electrical capacitors, high piezoelectric constants to make sensors, actuators, RF Filters, ferroelectric hysteresis suit making non-volatile memories, high pyroelectric properties for infra-red detectors, thermistors, and strong electro-optic effects to be used in optical switches, data storage, etc. Barium titanate undergoes change in shape from perovskite into cubic structure Curie temperature which causes polarization, or spontaneous, polarization. Many techniques were described for the synthesis of Barium titanate including solid-state reaction, sol-gel method, hydrothermal and solution combustion. Solution combustion. The last method offers good control of the properties to meet specific requirements of the products and allows the preparation of nanomaterials  to suit energy saving and protection of environment made it attractive for many purposes. In the present work barium titanate is synthesized as submicro to nano sized particles using the solution combustion technique utilizing urea and glycerin as fuel / oxidant mixture. The experimental parameters were varied to suit the optimization of the process

Mathematical Modelling of the Relationship between Two Different Temperament Classifications: During the Covid-19 Pandemic

In medicine, it is well known that healthy individuals have different physical and mental characteristics. Ancient Indian medicine, Ayurveda and the Persian-Arabic traditional Unani medicine has two distinct approaches for the classification of human subjects according to their temperaments. The individual temperament is an important foundation for personalized medicine, which can help in the prevention and treatment of many diseases including COVID-19. This paper attempts to explore the relationship of the utmost important concepts of these systems called individual temperament named as Prakruti in Ayurveda and Mizaj in Unani practice using mathematical modelling. The results of mathematical modelling can be adopted expediently for the development of algorithms that can be applied in medical informatics. For this, a significant literature review has been carried out. Based on the previous researchers' reviews the essential parameters have been identified for making the relationship and hypothesis were framed. The mathematical modelling was adopted to propose the existence of the relationship between the parameters of such an ancient and rich medicine systems. The hypotheses are validated through the mathematic driven model. Doi: 10.28991/esj-2021-01258 Full Text: PD

Milled Iraqi Phoenix Dactylifera Date Palm Pruning Woods Lignin Qualitative and Quantitative Determination

This study aimed to find analytical data base for Iraqi phoenix date palm pruning woods. Lignin has been extracted for five  types of Iraqi date palm using Klason lignin method. Weight of extracted lignin ranged from ( 0.350 g – 0.698 g), and lignin % ranged from (17.5 – 34.9). (waxes, oils, resin, and proteins of wood gums) % ranged from (22.5 – 44.5). FT– IR Characterization showed that the (-OH) phenolic dis appear in all studied lignin samples, and the (4-O-5 inter monomeric lignin linkage) showed strong intensity peaks for Khadrawi, and Jamal AL-Deen samples, and moderate  intensities for Maktom, Barhi at, and Fahal. Also (DODO inter monomeric lignin linkage) showed strong intensity peaks for all studied samples. UV – Vis. Characterization showed that the lowest absorption maximum (254 nm) corresponds to Fahal lignin sample, While the highest absorption maximum (275 nm) corresponds to Jamal AL-Deen lignin sample. Keywords: Milled Iraqi Phoenix, pruning woods, lignin, Quantitative Determination