MODELLING READING CULTURE IN NIGERIA USING FRACTIONAL BETA REGRESSION DATA FROM SOUTH WESTERN NIGERIA

Without mincing words, it is obvious that culture of reading is fading away from our societies in Nigeria. Reading hours have reduced drastically among most students in our various institutions of higher learning. This research is therefore aimed at finding out major covariates and factors responsible for this problem, thereby constructing a model for predicting the reading hour proportion among the teaming youths of our dear country. The beta regression models is useful for cases where the response variable is continuous and restricted to the standard unit interval (0, 1). Through the diagnostic tests carried out on the models, the best fitting model is a beta regression model with log-log link function having the maximum log likelihood value and minimum values from the AIC, BIC. Also, using error metrics MAE, MSE, RMSE, and MAPE tests proved that log-log model has the best predicting power. Results revealed that females in the institutions considered read more than their male counterparts with 2.9 and 2.8 hours per day respectively. The Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro (FPI) record the highest average number of reading hours. The outcome of beta regression analysis using log-log model at 5% level show that CGPA, institutions, and zone contribute significantly to proportion of reading hours among students in the south western states of Nigeria. Keyword: Reading, Fractional beta regression, Reading culture, Modelling, log-log model

Non-linear Effect of Socio-spatial features on academic performances of HND Statistics students of the Federal Polytechnic Ado-Ekiti

Students’ performances worldwide is a phenomenon that attracts researches since education is considered to be a tool to social and economic advancement of a nation as well as its citizenry. Nigeria situation in the recent time has been considered critical. Many earlier works have shown a general agreed decline in education while that decline has equally been attributed to ranging factors; primary and secondary schools were said to be shambles, while these underperforming schools are mainly considered as public or government school in Nigeria due to many social and economic downturns that are not the subject of this research. An attempt is made in this research work to delve into the general performances of students in higher institution using the the higher national diploma (HND) results of Statistics students of the Federal Polytechnic Ado-Ekiti to examine the context of spatial study, the contribution of factors such as sex (peer effect), state, primary and secondary school type attended as well as the ages of students. Tests show significant effect of the variables and further investigation reveal higher influence between performance and type of primary school attended, however positive relationship declined for secondary school attended. The graphical illustration shows that age is found to have a non-linear influence on the academic performances. Keywords: Students, school attended, age, significant effect, performance

Evaluation of Improved Bioremediation Strategy for the Treatment of Abattoir Wastewater using Bacillus licheniformis ZUL012

The abattoir generates a large volume and variety of biowastes, posing a high risk of environmental contamination, disease outbreaks, and contaminated food. The purpose of this research was to characterize and remediate abattoir wastewater (Aww). The physicochemical characterization of the Aww revealed high level of pollution which served as a baseline for monitoring treatment efficacy. The B. licheniformis ZUL012 isolated from textile wastewater was primed with H2O2 and used to remediate Aww waste water in the current study. This study revealed Aww high pollution level which necessitated a need for the Treatment with this bacterium resulted in a significant decrease in some of the waste water parameters tested. The induced cell reduced the parameters to 155 41 mg/L, 75 mg/L, 454 mg/L, 1750 mg/L, and 1000 mg/L, whereas the naive cell reduced them to 375 mg/L, 776 mg/L, and 3122 mg/L, respectively. This equates to an average reduction of 95 percent (COD), 95 percent (BOD5), 77 percent (TOC), and 71% (TDS) compared to raw wastewater. These novel strategies show that H2O2-induced B. licheniformis ZUL012 could be a viable hybrid-bioremediation option for reducing or transforming the pollutants present in Aww, thereby contributing to compliance with wastewater discharge regulations into bodies of water

Histology and ultrastructure of transitional changes in skin morphology in the juvenile and adult four-striped mouse (Rhabdomys pumilio)

The four-striped mouse has a grey to brown coloured coat with four characteristic dark stripes interspersed with three lighter stripes running along its back. The histological differences in the skin of the juvenile and adult mouse were investigated by Haematoxylin and Eosin and Masson Trichrome staining, while melanocytes in the skin were studied through melanin-specific Ferro-ferricyanide staining. The ultrastructure of the juvenile skin, hair follicles, and melanocytes was also explored. In both the juvenile and adult four-striped mouse, pigment-containing cells were observed in the dermis and were homogeneously dispersed throughout this layer. Apart from these cells, the histology of the skin of the adult four-striped mouse was similar to normal mammalian skin. In the juvenile four-striped mouse, abundant hair follicles of varying sizes were observed in the dermis and hypodermis, while hair follicles of similar size were only present in the dermis of adult four-striped mouse. Ultrastructural analysis of juvenile hair follicles revealed that the arrangement and differentiation of cellular layers were typical of a mammal. This study therefore provides unique transition pattern in the four-striped mouse skin morphology different from the textbook description of the normal mammalian skin

Agricultural Productivity Growth and Incidence of Poverty: An Experience from Africa

This study investigates the effects of agricultural productivity growth on poverty.  Using Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) data covering two decades (1971-2009) we determined the relationship between agricultural productivity and poverty. Malmquist Index Total Factor Productivity (TFP) was used as indicator of agricultural productivity while Human Development Index (HDI) was adopted as proxy for poverty. Further analysis was carried out to determine whether the performance of factor productivity is due to change in technology or technical efficiency. The result of Malmquist TFP index analysis showed that the average TFP growth over the period was found to be 0.2 percent per annum with large variation in growth rate across the sampled countries.  Twenty-two countries representing about 52% of the total sample experienced productivity growth and this is largely due to technological change.  Congo and Somalia experienced decline in growth and this may be attributed to the incidence of war and civil unrest which have adverse effect on growth.  Overall, the continent experienced improvement in technology with 2.1 percent upward shift in the production frontier and 1.8 percent decline in efficiency.  Regional comparison of agricultural productivity growth reveals that East, South and North Africa experienced growth of 3.3, 2.6 and 3.6 percent respectively.  There were declines in agricultural productivity in West and Southern Africa regions as a result of reduction in efficiency. The analysis of agricultural productivity growth on poverty shows a positive and significant relationship between indicators of the two variables.  Specifically, the result indicates that a unit increase in productivity growth will lead to 0.69 percent change in human development index and conversely poverty.  Further analysis revealed that the unit improvement in technological change will cause about 1.3 percent improvement in human development index. The study concludes that agricultural productivity growth is pro-poor and effective strategy to reduce poverty in Africa.  It is recommended that relevant policies to address the constraints to technology progress and efficiency should be promoted to improve productivity growth and reduce poverty. Key Words: Malmquist index, Total Factor Productivity, Technology, Efficiency, Agricultural Productivity, Poverty, Africa

Polynomial Regression Model of Making Cost Prediction In Mixed Cost Analysis

Regression analysis is used across business fields for tasks as diverse as systematic risk estimation, production and operations management, and statistical inference. This paper presents the cubic polynomial least square regression as a robust alternative method of making cost prediction in business rather than the usual linear regression.The study reveals that polynomial regression is a better alternative with a very high coefficient of determination. Keywords: Polynomial regression, linear regression, high-low method, cost prediction, mixed cost

The use of rice husk ash as admixture in producing selfcompacting concrete

Admixtures are incorporated into concrete in today’s world in order to achieve variety of goals. This research study the use of rice husk ash as an admixture in producing selfcompacting concrete. The rice husk ash is varied in different percentages (5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30%) as partial replacement for ordinary Portland cement (OPC) to know if it improves the properties of fresh and hardened properties of the self-compacting concrete. The superplasticizer used was conplast SP 430 and the water cement ratio 0.35 was kept constant throughout all mix. Rice husk ash is a good super-pozzolan which is used to make special concrete mixes, in which the slump Flow, T50cm slump, V-funnel and the L-box test was used to test for the workability of the fresh concrete mix and the compressive strength of each mix was tested to know the specific strength of each self-compacting mix with varying percentage of rice husk ash at 7, 14 and 28 days of curing

Seasonal Variations of Selected Ornamental Plants as Biomonitors of Air Pollutants in Ondo State, Nigeria

This objective of this paper was to evaluate the seasonal variations of fourteen (14) ornamental plants as biomonitors of air pollution in three urban areas of Ondo State, Nigeria. The study was carried out in three areas that were purposively selected in Ondo State which are Oduduwa Road, Oloko (traffic congested area), FUTA area (Less traffic congested area) and uncongested area in Elizade University as control. The ornamental plants namely Roystonea regai, Convallaria majalis, Polyalthia longifolia, Ficus benjamina, Dieffebachia amoena, Colocasia esculent, Caesalpinia pulcherrima, Codyline fructicosa, Viburnumt tinus variegatum, Variegatum punctatum, Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, Tradescantia pallida, Codiaeum variegatum, Acalypha wilkesiana were selected purposively and their ascorbic acid contents, pH, relative water contents, total chlorophyll contents and air pollution tolerance index were evaluated using standard methods.  The biochemical parameters and APTI values of the ornamentals showed that they have less (APTI<17) tolerance indices during the dry and the wet seasons. Thus, they are more susceptible to air pollutants as biomonitors. At congested areas ornamentals had lesser APTI values at the sampling site than the control site with Tradescantia pallida having the highest (8.86) mean value while Variegatum punctatum had the lowest value of 6.81 during the wet season while Codiaeum variegatum with value 7.08 and the lowest for Variegatum punctatum with value 4.71. Conclusively, this study recommends that in addition with the aesthetic values of the ornamental plants, they can be useful as model bioindicators of air pollution in urban settings

A Floristic Assessment of Woody Plant Diversity in Secondary Forest, Ile-Ife Nigeria: A Proactive Step to Monitoring the Diversity Loss and Degradation

Loss of biodiversity has been recognized as one of the main threats to the forest ecosystem. This study examined the diversity and conservation status of woody species in the secondary forest of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria using six permanent plots. All woody species were completely enumerated, and identified; their girths at breast height were measured at 1.3 m above buttress. Biodiversity status was assessed using Shannon-Wiener diversity, evenness of distribution, Sorrenson index of similarity and species importance value index. There were 77 tree species distributed into 62 genera and 30 families. The most abundant species were Celtis zenkeri and Lecaniodiscus cupanioides, while the most abundant families were Moraceae, Euphorbiaceae, and&nbsp;&nbsp; Fabaceae. The tree species density ranged from 508 – 1132 plants per hectare. The Shannon-Weiner diversity index (1.83 to 3.50), evenness (0.483 – 0.741) and the basal area (6.06 – 25.73 m2 ha-1) were high in the forest. However, Celtis mildbraedii is critically endangered, while Garcina kola, Mallotus oppositifolus and Ricinodendron heudelotii are vulnerable. This study provides baseline diversity data for the conservation of woody species in the forest and concludes that this secondary forest is a potential biodiversity hub if properly managed. It will also play a key role in fashioning out realistic, appropriate, and effective conservation strategies that will enhance the restoration and management of the floristic composition of the secondary forest

Determination of Heavy Metal levels in Soil and Vegetable Samples around Automobile Workshops in Iworoko-Ekiti, Nigeria

This study identified and determined levels of eighteen heavy metals in six soil and twelve vegetable samples (Talinum triangulare and Amaranthus hybridus) from selected automobile workshops at Iworoko Ekiti using Energy Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometry (EDXRF). Identical samples were also collected outside this neighborhood as control and analyzed using the same analytical technique. The results indicated that the observed heavy metals in the samples from the sites and control were within the range (1.044-3180.224) mg/kg and (1.002-1845.744) mg/kg. The soil samples were slightly enriched in vanadium, manganese, nickel, copper ,zinc, arsenic, selenium&nbsp; and rubidium (Enrichment Factor (EF) = 1.033 – 2.179). Significant differences also exist between the levels of calcium, titanium, vanadium, chromium, manganese, iron, nickel, copper, arsenic, and yttrium (at p &lt; 0.05, t = 0.00002 – 0.03950). The accumulation factors of the vegetable samples in Amaranthus hybridus were in the range 0.0006 – 824.1057 and those of Talinum triangulare were in the range 0.00019 – 338.76885. The relatively higher levels of chromium, manganese, iron, nickel, copper, zinc and arsenic in the vegetable samples from the sites compared with WHO/FEPA permissible limits was an indication of contamination: The consumption of vegetables in such an environment could be detrimental to health