Characteristics and Behaviour of African Factor Markets and Market Institutions and Their Consequences for Economic Growth

This paper provides a detailed characterisation of the structure and behaviour of African factor markets and the institutions that impact on their operations. It shows that the African factor markets are imperfect and inefficient, thus constraining economic growth. The paper posits that for the current reform programmes to succeed, policy that enhances the efficiency and competitiveness of the African factor markets must be put in place.

Constraining Gluon Shadowing Using Photoproduction in Ultraperipheral pA and AA Collisions

Photoproduction of heavy quarks and exclusive production of vector mesons in ultraperipheral proton-nucleus and nucleus-nucleus collisions depend significantly on nuclear gluon distributions. In the present study we investigate quantitatively the extent of the applicability of these processes at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in constraining the shadowing component of nuclear gluon modifications.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figures. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1104.428

Nuclear effects in photoproduction of heavy quarks and vector mesons in ultraperipheral PbPb and pPb collisions at the LHC

The comparison of photoproduction cross sections for $c\bar{c}$ and b-b(bar) in PbPb and pPb collisions can give sensitivity to nuclear shadowing effects. The photoproduction of vector mesons is even more sensitive to the underlying gluon distributions. In this study we present the cross sections and rapidity dependence of the photoproduction of heavy quarks and exclusive production of vector mesons in ultraperipheral pPb and PbPb collisions at the Large Hadron Collider at sqrt(s_NN)=5 TeV and sqrt(s_NN)=2.76$TeV, respectively. The potentials of using these processes for constraining nuclear gluon shadowing are explored. It is found that photoproduction of$J/\psi$and$\Upsilon$ in PbPb collisions in particular exhibit very good sensitivity to gluon shadowing.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Influence of Peer Pressure as a Determinant of Premarital Sexual Behaviour among Senior Secondary School Students in Kaduna State, Nigeria

This study investigated peer pressure influence on premarital sexual behaviour of senior secondary school students in Kaduna State, Nigeria. The population for the study comprised students in public senior secondary schools in the twenty-three Local Government Areas of Kaduna State. Simple random sampling was used to select Kaduna North senatorial zones from the three existing zones in Kaduna State. Nine schools from thirty-two senior secondary schools were randomly selected. The population of senior secondary schools in Kaduna North zone was 5,730 in 2010/2011. 50% (2,865) of the population was used as sample size. A total number of 1,655 males and 1,210 female students were used. In each of the nine (9) schools, 319 copies of questionnaire were administered to the Students using simple random sampling technique. The data collected were statistically analyzed using descriptive statistics of mean, and standard deviation. The hypothesis was tested using one sample Z-test at 0.05 level of significance. It was found that, there is significant influence of peer pressure on premarital sexual behaviour among senior secondary school students in Kaduna State, Nigeria. It was recommended, that Kaduna State Ministry of Education to intensify awareness programme on premarital sexual behaviour through workshops or seminars for the students on how to deal with peer pressure, and other social pressures that may lead to sexual intercourse

Examining the Impact of Teachers’ Attitudes on College Students’ Attitudes in a Mathematics Classroom

This paper discusses the relationship between teachers\u27 attitudes and students\u27 attitudes toward mathematics in the classroom. Through a review of more than twenty relevant pieces of literature, the paper analyzes the impact of teachers\u27 attitudes on students\u27 achievement, performance, confidence, and motivation in mathematics. The study concludes that positive attitudes displayed by teachers can enhance students\u27 positive feelings toward mathematics and increase their engagement in the subject. On the other hand, negative attitudes displayed by teachers can hinder students\u27 motivation and engagement in mathematics. The paper suggests that teacher training programs should prioritize the development of positive attitudes toward mathematics and the incorporation of technology in the classroom to increase student engagement. The findings emphasize the importance of addressing teachers\u27 attitudes in secondary and post-secondary education and the need for ongoing professional development to improve student outcomes in mathematics

How well are Tropical Cyclones represented in reanalysis data sets?

Tropical cyclones (TCs) are identified and tracked in six recent reanalysis data sets and compared with those from the IBTrACS best track archive. Results indicate that nearly every cyclone present in IBTrACS over the period 1979-2012 can be found in all six reanalyses using a tracking and matching approach. However, TC intensities are significantly under-represented in the reanalyses compared to the observations. Applying a typical objective TC identification scheme, it is found that the largest uncertainties in TC identification occur for the weaker storms; this is exacerbated by uncertainties in the observations for weak storms and lack of consistency in operational procedures. For example, it is unclear whether certain types of storms, such as tropical depressions, subtropical cyclones and monsoon depressions, are included in the best track data for all reporting agencies. There are definite improvements in how well TCs are represented in more recent, higher resolution reanalyses; in particular MERRA2 is comparable with the NCEP-CFSR and JRA55 reanalyses, which perform significantly better than the older MERRA reanalysis

Control of wax moth, Galleria mellonella L. (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) in post harvest honey comb

An experiment was carried out in the laboratory to control the infestation of larger wax moth, Galleria mellonella, after honey extraction. Different quantities of salt in water and hermetic storage were used as methods of controlling the larvae. A treatment containing Aluminium phosphide tablet was incorporated as a chemical method of control and the treated honeycomb samples were stored for two month. Of all the treatments used, the hermetic storage and Aluminium phosphide had the best result in that the comb retained their freshness post two months storage. The number of emerged moth in opened untreated control (61.00) was higher than other treatments but significantly higher than the number of emerged moth observed in salt- treated comb in opened containers. Wax and slum gum weight were not significantly affected by the treatments. Hermetic storage is therefore recommended as a better method of controlling wax moth in honeycomb after the extraction of honey than Aluminium phosphide, due to the possibility of residue of Aluminium phosphide in the treated honeycomb. Key words: Honeycomb, Galleria mellonella, salt, hermetic storage, Aluminium phosphide, bee wax, wax moth contro

in silico verification and parallel reaction monitoring prevalidation of potential prostate cancer biomarkers

Purpose: Targeted proteomics of potential biomarkers is often challenging. Hence, we developed an intermediate workflow to streamline potential urinary biomarkers of prostate cancer (PCa). Materials & methods: Using previously discovered potential PCa biomarkers; we selected proteotypic peptides for targeted validation. Preliminary in silico immunohistochemical and single reaction monitoring (SRM) verification was performed. Successful PTPs were then prevalidated using parallel reaction monitoring (PRM) and reconfirmed in 15 publicly available databases. Results: Stringency-based targetable potential biomarkers were shortlisted following in silico screening. PRM reveals top 12 potential biomarkers including the top ranking seven in silico verification-based biomarkers. Database reconfirmation showed differential expression between PCa and benign/normal prostatic urine samples. Conclusion: The pragmatic penultimate screening step, described herein, would immensely improve targeted proteomics validation of ..