Awareness and adoption levels of improved smoking oven among fish processors in Lagos Lagoon, Nigeria

This paper investigated awareness and adoption levels of improved smoking oven among fish processors in four fishing communities along Lagos Lagoon, Nigeria. Multi-stage sampling procedure was used to select 153 respondents who were engaged in fish smoking. Data collected using structured interview guides were subjected to descriptive and inferential analyses. Results revealed that majority of the respondents were young, married women with average fish smoking experience of 22.6 years. Majority (90.8%) of them were solely engaged in fish smoking while 9.2% combined fish smoking with other income-generating activities. All the processors used traditional smoking oven (drum, box and mud ovens). More than 66.0% of the fish processors were not aware of improved fish smoking equipment. Lack of awareness, inadequate access to the technologies, low relative advantage and lack of maintenance services and high cost of procurement were responsible for low adoption levels of improved smoking oven. Irregular visits of extension agents to the study area had negative impact on the adoption of improved traditional smoking ovens. Proper dissemination of innovations developed on improved fish processing equipment to the active fish processors in Lagos State using available communication channels is hereby advocated. &nbsp

Supply chain [Chapter 4]

The Supply Chain is critical to the establishment of a hydrogen fuel cell economy and indeed offers immense benefit to the economy. A range of Lifecycle Analysis studies conducted in EU FC Framework and EU FCH Joint Undertaking projects detailing HFC system inventories readily explains the widespread extent of potential interest showing that the physical bulk of any fuel cell system or application does not involve a great deal of new technology. Although the core fuel cell (or electrolysis) stack is fundamental to the technology – the physical bulk of any system or application is made up of regular engineering and fabricated components. And the greatest proportion of cost and value in such systems is entrained in their overall design and integration content (IP). For example in scoping out the prospects for a hydrogen ferry being built and operated in Scotland, around 200 local supply chain companies were identified which could have an interest in such a development

Cost-benefit analysis of replacing maize with rice husk supplemented with grindazyme, nutrsea xyla or roxazyme g enzyme supplementation in the diet of Arbor Acres broilers

The experiment was carried out to investigate the cost-­‐benefit of replacing maize with rice husk supplemented with enzymes in the diet of arbor acres broilers. The experimental design was a 2×4 factorial combination of two dietary level of rice husk (0 or 25%) with four levels of different enzymes 0E (without enzyme 0ppm), 100E (100ppm of Nutrase xyla), 150E (150 ppm of Roxazyme G), or 350E (350ppm of Grindazyme). Rice husk was added at the expense of maize in the control diet and each experimental diet was tested during a 56-­‐day feeding trial in triplicate. One hundred and ninety-­‐two (192) one-­‐day old unsexed Arbor acres chicks were used in the trial. Each of these was undertaken in the presence of no enzyme 0E (0ppm) or with different types of commercial enzymes at recommended level, which are 100E (100ppm of Nutrase xyla), 150E (150ppm of Roxazyme G), and 350E (350ppm of Grindazyme). Cost of each ingredient was used to calculate the total cost; there were reductions in the cost of raising 1Kg of Arbor acre broiler on supplementation of the rice husk diets with commercial enzymes. The 25% replacement of maize with rice husk supplemented with commercial enzymes has no detrimental effect on the performance of the birds; rather the saving cost was associated with improved weight gain. The inclusion of rice husk supplemented with any of the enzymes in the diets reduced the cost of producing broilers and hence increased profit

Asphaltene detection using Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS)

Peer reviewedPostprin

PERCEIVED EFFECT OF COACHING AND MENTORING ON EMPLOYEE JOB PERFORMANCE AMONG ACADEMIC STAFF IN UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN, OYO STATE, NIGERIA

The study assessed the effect of coaching and monitoring on employees’ job performance among academic staff in University of Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. Multistage sampling technique was used in obtaining data from ninety academic employees of Faculty of Agriculture University of Ibadan for the study. The data was analysed using Chi square and Pearson Product Moment Correlation. The mean age of the respondents was 51years while 66.3% were between ages 51-70 years, 52.3% were female and 50.2% were married. The average year of experience of the respondents was 18.1 years while majority (79.1%) of the respondents has obtained their PhD degree. On challenges facing coaching and mentoring, respondents identified mentee unwillingness to be mentored (x̅=2.84), and non conducive environment for coaching and mentoring (x̅=2.67) as the major constraints, while the least constraint was time and workload pressure (x̅=2.03). Many (62.1%) of the respondents have high job performance level. There was significant relationship between respondents’ marital status and job performance (P≤0.05). The study concluded that coaching and mentoring influence employees’ job performance positively among academic staff in academic institutions and recommended that provision of good work-environment for coaching and mentoring of academic staff should be provided by university management.   &nbsp

Small Scale Enterprisesand the Economic Siamese of Nigeria: Growth-Barrier Chain Analysis

This study investigated the SME growth-barrier chain in Nigeria. A target population of 39,600 was sampled using Taro Yamane method to achieve the surveyed 396 respondents. A well structured questionnaire was administered to collect the data. Percentage, descriptive, Likert analysis and regression analysis were used to explain the nature of the SME growth-barrier chain in Nigeria. Results of the study reveal that barrier factors have been influencing SMEs growth in Nigeria, and that the most significant among the barrier factors are entrepreneurial skill, irregular power supply and lack of business strategy. This study is limited by sample size and selection of SMEs at their clustered areas, and therefore may not be generalized to other sectors and countries. The study concludes that these factors cause epileptic growth or sudden death of SMEs in Nigeria. The study recommends that the government should engage in intervention programmes, and also ensure regular power supply in Nigeria. In addition, SME owner-managers should adopt and implement business strategies in their business environment. Keywords: SMEs growth. Barrier factors, employment, Business Strategy, Entrepreneurial Skil

Mapping of aquifer units in a complex geologic terrain using natural electric field and electrical resistivity techniques

Aquifer mapping in a typical complex geologic terrain like Kobape, Southwestern Nigeria is essential to meet the needs of freshwater for domestic and industrial purposes. Natural Electric Field (NEF) measurements over eight traverses and Vertical Electrical Sounding (VES) at ten points were carried out for aquifer mapping in the area. PQWT-TC150 model of a typical water detector, which works by integrating the principle of nuclear magnetic resonance, magnetotelluric and induced polarization methods is used for the NEF measurement. It images the subsurface to a depth of 150 m while the VES was carried out to show the geoelectric layers. The results of NEF revealed the presence of confined aquifer units while the VES showed the subsurface structure to be of 3 to 4 layers viz: topsoil, sandstone, fractured layer, and fresh basement. The corresponding resistivity ranges of the geoelectric layers are 341–3596 Ωm, 1378–4333 Ωm, 635–1000 Ωm, and 3721–56382 Ωm while their thicknesses ranged from 0.5–1.6 m, 0.8–25.4 m, 2.2–19.8 m, and undeterminable fresh basement. The overall aquifer mapping in the complex geologic terrain that straddles the boundary of crystalline basement rocks and a sedimentary basin using integrated technique of NEF and VES revealed various confined aquifers. The NEF significantly showed station twenty on traverse three has a good aquifer within a fractured zone at a depth of 15 m and the same region is verified by the result obtained at VES 3, which has a fractured layer of 19.8 m thickness

Promoting Jatropha Agriculture for Sustainable Soil Capital Improvement: A Win-Win Technology for Rehabilitating Degraded Lands in Africa

A significant decline in soil quality has occurred across Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) through adverse changes in soil properties causing serious challenge to regional food security. This paper presents the new Jatropha technology for soil quality improvement and its importance for meeting rural energy demand in SSA. The paper starts from the premise of Jatropha agriculture and its impact on soil quality improvement with reference to examples from the drylands of Nigeria and Mali. Having reviewed the sweeping claims on Jatropha’s role and ability as alternative energy source, its ‘alleged’ cheap domestication and rush for mega plantations of Jatropha, the paper weighs the controversies surrounding the sustainable production, land grabbing and consequent economics of Jatropha productivity in mega plantation settings. It suggests the need to focus Jatropha agriculture and research in SSA toward rehabilitation of degraded lands, wastelands and badlands while, promoting Jatropha hedge-row fencing for small-holder farming. In addition to technical availability in terms of soil improvement and seed yield, it is suggested that indiscriminate tree-felling for fuel wood in SSA can be checked through a shift from current petrochemical technologies to biodiesel alternatives. The main conclusion is that first, SSA must consider as germane, a natural resource improvement approach based on a new green and bioenergy revolution, and secondly that a regional, pro-active and strategic direction is required to promote Jatropha research for innovation to deliver solutions to addressing the hydra-head environmental challenge of declining soil quality and fuel wood scavenging in the region

Growth and Reproductive Performance of Yankasa Ewes Fed Varying Levels of Dietary Premix

The purpose of this research was to assess the influence of nutritional premix on the growth and reproductive performance of confined Yankasa ewes. The experiment was designed using a Complete Randomized Design (CRD), in which twenty-five (25) Yankasa lambs were randomly assigned to five (5) treatment groups, each with five animals. The animals were randomly assigned to groups based on their weights and given baseline diets and four amounts of premix produced industrially and locally. Throughout the duration, 1 kilogram of basal feed (5 percent of the ewe's body weight) was supplied daily. Dietary premix was fed to the animals at four inclusion levels (0.25, 0.50, 0.75, and 1) in the morning in a restricted area; the amount of feed supplied and left over was recorded daily. The sheep were weighed at the start of the trial and then regularly afterwards. The study's results indicated that dietary interventions had an influence on final weight, total weight increase, and feed conversion ratio (P0.05). However, the dietary treatments had no significant effect on average daily weight increase, total feed intake, or average daily feed intake (P>0.05). Additionally, the findings indicated that when the amount of premix added to the diet rises, the final and total weight gain increases. The findings of T5 vary considerably from those of T1 and T2, but are statistically equivalent to those of T3 and T4. However, animals fed T5 (14.86) exhibited a higher feed conversion ratio (P0.05) than those fed T2 or T1

CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF SOLID MINERALS FROM LOKOJA AND JOS IN NORTH CENTRAL NIGERIA

The structural, qualitative and quantitative analysis of grained rock samples were carried out with the view to establishing the mineral components present in the samples. Two samples were collectedfrom a mining site in Jos, Plateau State as well as from another mining site in Lokoja, Kogi State.The two samples were prepared for XRD analysis using a backloading preparation method and done with X-ray diffractometer. The analysis confirmed the presence of minerals such as Cassiterite (SnO2), Ilmenite (FeTiO3), Zircon (SiO4),Columbite (Fe), Manganoan in the ample from Jos as a result of the matching of the peaks with the database 2θ values. The percentage area integration of the various phases which correlated to the quantity of the various minerals in the sample revealed that Cassiterite(Tin Oxide) of 65.9% value was from Jos and is a Tin Ore. The grain sizes for Cassiterite (SnO2), Ilmenite (FeTiO3), Zircon (SiO4), Columbite (Fe), Manganoan are 17.674, 35.348, 37.208, 70.695, 20.199 in nm respectively. The samples from Lokoja showed the presence of Magnetite (Fe¬3O4), Quartz (SiO2), Hematite (Fe2O3) and Geothite(FeO(OH)) and confirmed the grain sizes of 28.278, 35.348, 28.278. 17.673 and 23.565 in nm respectively.The constituents of Lokoja samples, all of which contained Iron Oxide also indicate that the sample is an Iron Ore. These findings confirm the fact that the mineral resources that are present in these regions of the country areeconomically viable and have the potential to boost economy and industrial development&nbsp