Traditions of fish utilisation for recipes in Nigeria

Some recipes for fish utilization in particular zones of Nigeria are assessed, giving details of their modes of preparation. The traditions of use of fish in the recipes shown appear to be based on the successful agricultural practices in particular zones and areas of Nigeria. This has helped to promote taste and values, since easily procured food items are cheaper for use in particular areas than others. The use of such fish items in the recipes are useful for promoting protein intake and stemming of malnutrition, especially in the rural areas, as well as helping to improve the incomes of women-in-agricultur

Analyzing the Influence of Various Fuzzification Methods in the Evaluation of Netbeans Java Components’ Interface Complexity for Reusability

The prognostic nature of fuzzy has made it a versatile tool in handling uncertainty problem. One of the major components of fuzzy system that plays an important role in its successful interpretability is fuzzification. While many researches have utilized its different forms in the accomplishment of their evaluations, especially in the domain of component based software development; it remains to be seen, the application and effects of these different membership functions in the assessment of components a singular solution. The research work examined the interface complexity of two NetBeans Java Components in determining their reusability. The result of the experimentation carried using MATLAB as tool, shows that Trapezoidal returned the highest reusability value, indicating that the components are reusable, and Polynomial fuzzification method returning the lowest reusability value and giving a false alarm that the used components were not reusable. The results underline the indispensable role of fuzzification method in the evaluation of component reusability

Attitude and Usage of Blog as a Determinant to Pre-Service Teachers’ Academic Achievement

Blogs are popular form of easy-to-use personal publishing that has attracted millions of bloggers to share their personal thoughts, opinions, and knowledge on the web. The versatility of blogs as a communication medium has attracted interests from educators. Blog service offered to learners and teachers through Internet is an important instrument to provide learners with effective activities and social interaction. Blog technology provides the users with opportunities to create web pages without any design knowledge, write their ideas on these pages, and add comments on the pages. This paper investigates the attitude and use of blog by pre-service teachers as a determinant of their academic performance. The result shows a significant relationship between pre-service teachers’ academic performance and the usage of blog. It is therefore pertinent that educator begins to introduce blogging to their classroom activities. Keywords: Blog, Academic Performance, Attitude, Pre-Service Teachers

Vitamin C and asthma in children: modification of the effect by age, exposure to dampness and the severity of asthma

Retraction: Clinical and Translational Allergy 2012, 2:6BACKGROUND: We previously found a significant benefit of vitamin C supplementation in asthmatic children. PURPOSE: To test whether the effect of vitamin C on asthma is heterogeneous over the participant population. METHODS: Egyptian asthmatic children between 7 and 10 years of age (n = 60) were included in the cross-over trial. They were administered 0.2 grams per day of vitamin C and placebo for separate 6-week periods. The variation in the vitamin C effect on two clinically relevant outcomes was analyzed: the childhood asthma control test (C-ACT), which measures the severity of asthma symptoms (the scale ranges from 0 to 27 points, < 20 points indicating unsatisfactory asthma control), and FEV1. We used linear modeling to examine the variation of the vitamin C effect in the subgroups. RESULTS: The effect of vitamin C on the C-ACT was significantly modified by age and baseline C-ACT levels. In the children aged 7.0-8.2 years with a baseline C-ACT of 18 to 19 points, vitamin C increased the C-ACT score by 4.2 points (95% CI: 3.3-5.3); whereas in the children aged 8.3-10 years who had a baseline C-ACT of 14 to 15 points, vitamin C increased the C-ACT score by only 1.3 points (95% CI: 0.1-2.5). The effect of vitamin C on the FEV1 levels was significantly modified by age and exposure to dampness. In the children aged 7.0-8.2 years with no exposure to dampness, vitamin C increased the FEV1 level by 37% (95% CI: 34-40%), whereas in the children aged 8.3-10 years with exposure to dampness or mold in their bedroom more than one year prior to the study, vitamin C increased the FEV1 level by only 21% (95% CI: 18-25%). CONCLUSIONS: We found strong evidence that the effect of vitamin C on asthmatic children is heterogeneous. Further research is needed to confirm our findings and identify the groups of children who would receive the greatest benefit from vitamin C supplementation.Peer reviewe