Personal Characteristics and Banking Behaviour of Customers: Further Evidence from Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto-Nigeria

“This study examines the extent to which customers’ personal characteristics have influence on the banking bahaviour of customers. The study uses primary data which was collected from the Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto. A sample of 383 respondents was used cutting across staff, students and petty business operators within the community. The study uses Logistic regression model to analyse the data. The results of the study indicated that age, marital status, and occupation have negative influence on the banking bahviour of customers while, educational qualification and monthly income have positive influence. The study therefore recommends that those factors with positive influence should be closely watched whenever banks are looking for customers in the community and other communities with similar features.

Morphophonological processes of the C’lela noun

This article discusses some aspects of the morphophonology of C’lela nouns. It will be shown that the addition of inflectional affixes to certain noun stems in C’lela, sometime motivate certain phonological processes. The analysis demonstrates that when the plural suffix [-nV] attaches to animate nouns in C’lela, it triggers certain morphophonological processes such as vowel copying, metathesis, vowel lengthening, final-vowel deletion, and initial-consonant deletion. For example, the paper argues that in plural formation, stem final-vowel sometimes undergoes metathesis when the plural marker /-nV/ attaches to a noun stem, thus; rm ‘man’ + na becomes r -n ‘men, as against the rule of vowel epenthesis assumed in (Dettweiler 2012). In addition, the analysis discovers that the processes of metathesis and vowel lengthening are simply conditioned by phonological structure.Key Words: morphophonology, vowel copying, metathesis, vowel lengthenin

Plants and environment for sustainable development

Plants are vital to the mother Earth; they purify the air, filter water, prevent erosion and act a buffer against climate change. They offer a home to plant and animal species and also provide natural resources such as medicine, food, timber and fuel. This paper discusses plants and environment for sustainable development with emphasis on the role of plants in carbon sequestration and types of carbon sink. The increasing effects of deforestation on flora and fauna, which include increased greenhouse gas emissions, acidic oceans, loss of biodiversity, flooding and erosion as well as decreased life quality are highlighted. These effects can be mitigated through education, protection of marginal lands, tree planting, sustainable agricultural practices, use of alternative energy sources, use of renewable wood resources, forest-derived products, reduced paper consumption and forest-friendly policies. Greener routes to sustainable environment could be achieved through afforestation, phytoremediation, nanotechnology and biofuel. A naturally motivated investigational practice for the biosynthesis of nanoparticles (NPs) is now established as an emerging area of nanoscience research and development for sustainable environment

Phytochemical and Antibacterial Properties of Root and Leaf Extracts of Calotropis procera

Phytochemical and antibacterial properties of water, methanol and ethanol extracts obtained from root and leaf of Calotropis procera were investigated. Antibacterial growth inhibition was determined using Ditch method against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyrogenes. The phytochemical screening reveals the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, saponins, and cardiac glycosides, balsams and volatile oil and steroids with higher amount in water extracts. The concentration of the phytochemical constituents were in the order of water > methanol > ethanol. Water extracts showed broad spectrum activity against the tested organisms at concentrations of 30, 60, 90 and 120 mg/ml. Methanol and ethanol extracts did not show a significant effect against the tested organisms at 120 mg/ml as compared with those of tetracycline. The result of this study validates the use of water extract of this species in ethnomedicine and could provide a lead in the isolation of antibacterial agents from water extracts of Calotropis procera

Effects of sulphuric acid, mechanical scarification and wet heat treatments on germination of seeds of African locust bean tree, Parkia biglobosa

Effects of different treatment methods on the germination of seeds of Parkia biglobosa (mimosaceae) were carried out. Prior treatment of seeds with sulphuric acid, wet heat and mechanical scarification were found to induce germination of the dormant seeds. These methods could be applied to raise seedlings of the plant for field propagation. African Journal of Biotechnology Vol.3(3) 2004: 179-18

Larvaecidal effects of aqueous extracts of Azadirachta indica (neem) on the larvae of Anopheles mosquito

The effect of crude aqueous extracts of Azadirachta indica (neem) against the larvae of Anopheles mosquito was investigated. Exposure of the larvae to undiluted extracts of seed oil, leaf and bark for 12 hours led to 100, 98, and 48% mortality, respectively. Dilution of these extracts also resulted in mortality of the larvae. We suggest that the seed oil and leaf extract of neem contain properties that could be developed and used in the control of mosquitoes in the tropics. Key words: Anopheles mosquito, neem, Azadirachta indica. African Journal of Biotechnology Vol.2(9) 2003: 325-32

Relationship Between Peer Group Influence, Parental Psychological Support and Students’ Academic Performance in Junior Secondary Schools in Jega Educational Zone, Kebbi State

The study investigated the relationship between peer group influence, parental psychological support and student’s academic performance in junior secondary schools in Jega educational zone, Kebbi state. The study used expost factor design. Cluster and simple random sampling were used to select the sample size. Four junior secondary schools with a total population of 504 and a sample size of 217 students were drawn and used for the study. The study made use of instruments adapted from Azua, (2016). The instrument is known as Peer support inventory and parental support inventory. The academic performance was obtained from the scores in English language and mathematics from the students’ end of term examinations. Two hypotheses were formulated for this study and tested using Pearson Product Moment Correlation. The findings of the study show that there is a significant relationship between peer support and academic performance of junior secondary school students (r=0.731, p=0.004), also a significant relationship exist between parental psychological support and academic performance of junior secondary school students (r=0.743, p=0.002). It is recommended that parents should actively participate and offer psychological support to their children by way of interacting with their children about peer group influence and thus, repositioning them skillfully towards excellent academic performance. Keywords: Peer group influence, Parental psychological support, Educational zone and Academic performance. DOI: 10.7176/JEP/11-15-13 Publication date:May 31st 202

Financial Practices Among Muslim Informal Sector Operators at Aliero Onion Market and Their Shariah Compatibility

This paper explores the financial practices among Muslim informal sector operators at Aliero onions market and evaluates the practices from Shari’ah perspective. The data is generated using informant interview. The financial practices are evaluated with reference to the existing literature on Islamic finance. Descriptive and analytical approaches are used in the data analysis. The research finds most of the financial practices compatible to the Shari’ah and recommends the promoters of Islamic banking in Nigeria to target these kinds of organizations in mobilizing clients and customers. Keywords: Financial practices, Muslim informal sector operators, Aliero onions market, shari’ah compatibility.

Influence of malting on the composition of millet (Pennisetum typhoideum) grains and the growth of Rhodotorula rubra and Torulopsis candida

A comparative study on the influence of malting on the composition of Pennisetum typhoideum grains and the growth of Rhodotorula rubra and Torulopsis candida was investigated. Result of proximate analysis indicated high crude protein content of 11.04% in three day malted grains (3DMG) which decreased with decrease in malting period. The contents of sodium, potassium, manganese and iron were equally higher in 3DMG. The unmalted grains had high ascorbic acid content of 7.50 mg/g which decreased markedly to 5.00 mg/g in all the malted grains. The cellular masses attained after culturing the yeast for 15 days was insignificant (P> 0.05). The biomass of R. rubra and T. candida in 3DMG was 369 and 357 mg respectively. Comparatively, the biomass obtained in yeast dextrose peptone media (YDPM) was comparatively lower with 367 and 349 mg in R. rubra and T. candida. The result of this study suggest that malted P. typhoideum grains media could be used as an alternative medium for culturing R. rubra and T. candida in the laboratory against conventional expensive YDPM  and 3DMG  proved to be  promising