AN ANALYSIS OF FARM-RETAIL PRICE SPREAD FOR JAMAICAN FRESH FRUITS

This paper uses the relative price spread model to analyze the farm-retail spread for pineapple, pawpaw and watermelon in Jamaica. Our findings suggest that price increase in the retail market is not being passed down to pineapple and pawpaw farmers and only marginally to watermelon farmers.Demand and Price Analysis,

AN EXAMINATION OF THE EMPIRICAL PROPERTIES OF DUALITY BETWEEN THE RESTRICTED PROFIT, UNRESTRICTED PROFIT, AND PRODUCTION FUNCTIONS

This research examines the empirical properties of duality theory. A comparison of the Hessian matrices calculated from the normalized unrestricted and restricted profit, and production functions indicate that duality is highly sensitive to measurement error and relative price variability. Keywords: duality, restricted and unrestricted profit functionsduality, restricted and unrestricted profit functions, Demand and Price Analysis, Production Economics,

Survey of Trace Elements and Some Heavy Metals in Goats in Zaria and its Environs, Kaduna State

The aim of this study was to determine the trace minerals in the serum of goats in Zaria and its environs, and to find out the levels of lead and cadmium in the serum of these goats, so as to see if they can serve as biomonitors of pollution. A total of 120 goats were sampled from eight different locations randomly and their serum assayed for trace elements, lead and cadmium using the atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS). The values obtained were: lead 0.259 ± 0.470mg/L, cadmium 0.006 ± 0.004 mg/L, chromium 0.072 ± 0.064 mg/L, copper 0.089 ± 0.060 mg/L, iron 0.229 ± 0.180 mg/L, zinc 0.256 ± 0.266 mg/L, nickel 0.127 ± 0.086 mg/L, cobalt 0.135 ± 0.095 mg/L, manganese 0.042 ± 0.031 mg/L. Lead was above acceptable levels, cadmium was at acceptable levels, zinc, copper, iron and nickel were deficient, chromium was marginally deficient, while cobalt and manganese were normal. The effects of breed, sex, age and locations were generally not significant. The values obtained from lead is of public health significance, since these goats are sources of food to people in the immediate environment, and also this implies that people in the immediate environment are also exposed to the same sources of lead. There should be regular seromonitoring of blood lead levels in man and animals, and farmers should be enlightened on the need to augment the feeding of their animal with mineral supplements.Key words: Heavy metal; trace element; goat; lead; seromonitoring

Determination of the constituents and suitability of Azara barytes for industrial applications

Azara baryte was analyzed and had an average specific gravity of 4.3g/cm3 and loss on ignition of 1.71wt%. Atomic Absorption spectrometery was used to determine the Fe2O3,Al2O3 and BaO contents. SiO2 and SO3 were determined by gravimetry while CaO, MgO, Na2O and K2O were determined by flame photometry. The percentage average values for the chemical oxides in the baryte samples were BaO (57.29wt%), SO3(25.99wt%), CaO(1.40wt%), MgO(0.40wt%), Fe2O3(3.46wt%), Al2O3(0.97wt%), Na2O(2.82wt%), K2O(0.30wt%) and SiO2(6.23wt%). These results indicate that Azara baryte lies within the range for use in glass production and as a filler or extender in paint and rubber production, but will require further beneficiation in order to be a suitable component of oil drill mud.Keywords: Azara Baryte, Specific gravity, Gravimetery, Atomic Absorption Spectrometery. Flame photometry

Patient‑doctor relationship: The practice orientation of doctors in Kano

Background and Objectives: Attitude and orientation of doctors to the doctor‑patient relationship has a direct influence on delivery of high quality health‑ care. No study to the knowledge of these researchers has so far examined the practice orientation of doctors in Nigeria to this phenomenon. The aims of this study were to determine the orientation of Kano doctors to the practice of doctor‑patient relationship and physicians’ related‑factors.Materials and Methods: Participants were doctors working in four major hospitals (i.e., two federal‑owned and two state‑owned) servicing Kano State and its environs. The Patient‑Practitioner Orientation Scale (PPOS) and a socio‑demographic questionnaire were completed by the 214 participants. The PPOS has 18 items and measures three parameters of a total score and two dimension of “sharing” and “caring”.Results: The mean age of participants was 31.72 years (standard deviation = 0.87), with 22% being females, 40.7% have been practicing for ≥6 years and about two‑third working in federal‑owned health institution. The Cronbach’s alpha of total PPOS scores was 0.733 and that of two sub‑scale scores of “sharing” and “caring” were 0.659 and 0.546 respectively. Most of the doctors’ orientation (92.5%) was towards doctor‑centered (i.e., paternalistic) care, majority (75.2%) upheld the view of not sharing much information and control with patients, and showing little interest in psychosocial concerns of patients (i.e., ‘caring’=93.0%). Respondents’ characteristics that were significantly associated with high doctor ‘caring’ relationship orientation were being ≥30‑year‑old and practicing for ≥6 years. Working in State‑owned hospitals was also significantly associated with high doctor “sharing” orientation.Conclusion: This paper demonstrated why patient‑centered medical interviewing should be given top priority in medical training in Nigeria, and particularly for federal health institutions saddled with production of new doctors and further training for practicing doctors.Key words: Doctor‑patient relationship, Kano doctors, practice orientation, patient‑centered car

Empirical properties of duality theory

This research examines selected empirical properties of duality relationships. Monte Carlo experiments indicate that Hessian matrices estimated from the normalised unrestricted profit, restricted profit and production functions yield conflicting results in the presence of measurement error and low relative price variability. In particular, small amounts of measurement error in quantity variables can translate into large errors in uncompensated estimates calculated via restricted and unrestricted profit and production functions. These results emphasise the need for high quality data when estimating empirical models in order to accurately determine dual relationships implied by economic theory.Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

Income Diversification, Inequality and Poverty among Rural Households in Oyo State, Nigeria

 The study examined income diversification, inequality and poverty among rural households in Oyo state, Nigeria. Cross-section data were generated from the survey conducted on a sample of 200 households with the aid of structured questionnaire using multi-stage sampling procedure. Descriptive statistics, diversification index, Gini coefficient, FGT poverty index, and the Probit regression model were used to analyze data. Mean income diversification index of 1.22 shows that majority of the respondents had multiple streams of income but crop farming had the largest share (90%) in total income. Mean income of respondents was ₦77,613.2±83575.01, and Gini coefficient of 0.48, 0.46, and 0.39 were obtained for total income, nonagricultural income, and agricultural income respectively. The poverty line was ₦6,490.50 and mean per capita expenditure was ₦9,735.74. The head count ratio showed that 53.5% of the households were poor while 46.5% were regarded as non-poor, and poverty gap was 0.214. From probit results, age, secondary occupation, and farm size had significant inverse relationship with poverty status. Having primary and secondary income sources is poverty reducing, therefore, rural households should be encouraged to remain in farming, especially crop farming, and motivated through skill acquisition to diversify into other income generating activities.  &nbsp

Comparative Analysis Of Interplanetary Magnetic Field And Moving Charged Particles

The discussion reviews the wave-particle duality of clouds of ions, protons and electron blown out from Sun and enter Earthrsquos magnetic field. They behave as particles when they are at rest or moving with uniform motion-velocity from the source or co-rotate with Sun and behave as waves when they are moving with non-constant motion-velocity (non-uniform motion) in other word accelerating. We then compared Velocity Field with Radial component of Interplanetary Magnetic Field (IMF) and Acceleration Field with Azimuthal component of Interplanetary Magnetic Field (IMF) using Koskinen, Linard-Wiechert Equation and Lorentz force equation. It was then discovered that the velocity field is equivalent to Radial Component of Interplanetary Magnetic Field (IMF) and the Acceleration Field is Equivalent to Azimuthal component of Interplanetary Magnetic Field. The interplanetary magnetic field component can be expressed as: (i). Velocity-Radial component of IMF (ii). Acceleration-Azimuthal component of IMF

Assessment of Radiological Hazards Indices in Vegetables Grown Around Ririwai Tin Mines, Kano State, North Western Nigeria

Mining industry in Nigeria provides economic benefits of wealth creation and employment opportunities. Presently there are numbers of artisanal and large scale mining activities going on across Nigeria and most of these artisanal miners currently under take only surface mining. The process produced large volumes of tailings and waste that may contain naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORMs). Some of the NORMs are soluble in water and have the tendency to leach into water bodies and farm lands.    This work assessed the radiological hazard indices in vegetable grown around Ririwai Tin Mine Kano State North Western Nigeria using Direct Gamma Spectroscopy (NaI (Tl)), The results shows that the mean activity concentration in vegetable samples were 259.25±4.77, 28.05±4.97 and 54.56±2.58Bq/kg respectively for 40K, 226Ra and 232Th, the mean absorbed dose rate was 45.043±1.98nGyh-1 the mean committed effective dose for 40K is 0.091±0.002mSv/year, 226Ra has a mean committed effective dose of 0.471±0.083mSv/year while 232Th has a mean committed effective dose of 0.753±0.036mSv/year. The total committed effective dose in vegetable has a mean value of 1.320±0.125mSv/year. The risk estimated for fatality cancer, lifetime  fatality cancer risk, severe hereditary effect and life time hereditary effect in vegetable were 7.26 x 10-5, 5.29 x 10-3, 2.60 x 10-6 and 1.84 x 10-4 respectively. The values obtained in this study are relatively high such that consumption of vegetable grown in the area could pose  radiological health hazards. Keywords: Activity Concentrations, Absorbed dose, Committed effective dose, Risk

Towards Exchanging Wearable-PGHD with EHRs: Developing a Standardized Information Model for Wearable-Based Patient Generated Health Data

Wearables have become commonplace for tracking and making sense of patient lifestyle, wellbeing and health data. Most of this tracking is done by individuals outside of clinical settings, however some data from wearables may be useful in a clinical context. As such, wearables may be considered a prominent source of Patient Generated Health Data (PGHD). Studies have attempted to maximize the use of the data from wearables including integrating with Electronic Health Records (EHRs). However, usually a limited number of wearables are considered for integration and, in many cases, only one brand is investigated. In addition, we find limited studies on integration of metadata including data quality and provenance, despite such data being very relevant for clinical decision making. This paper describes a proposed design and development of a generic information model for wearable based PGHD integration with EHRs. We propose a vendor-neutral model that can work with a wider range of wearables and discuss our proposed method to employ an ontology-based approach and provide insights to future work