Effect of Fiscal and Monetary Policies on Industrial Sector Performance- Evidence from Nigeria

We unearth the impact of monetary and fiscal policies (i.e. stabilization policies) on the performance of the manufacturing sector as a real sector in Nigeria, using an error correction mechanisms model, and discover that those policies has expected impact on output of the manufacturing sector in Nigeria both in  the short-run and long-run. Relationship among the stabilization policies on one hand and industrial or manufacturing sector out put on the other hand.The model makes use of time series data while ordinary least squared was the techniques of analysis, the data were filtered with use of augmented dickey fuller unit root test while Johansen co-integration test was used to justify the long-run relationship among all included variables. While the error correction model serves the basis for adjustment from short-run drift (disequilibrium) to long-run equilibrium through its speed of adjustment.The research work established that stabilization policy has a great impact on manufacturing sector performance and that if certain adjustment are made it would better the lots of the people by developing the sector, through Government fiscal policy and its monetary policy measures. Keywords: fiscal and monetary policies, industrial sector, error correction model, Nigeria

Lemon Juice Enhances Antioxidant Nutritional Quality of Tomato (Solanum lycopersicon)

The tomato plant is economically important and nutritionally beneficial to man. It is perishable in nature and preserved traditionally using lemon juice. The effects of this practice on antioxidant nutrients of this global vegetable food crop were investigated in this study. Tomatoes were preserved in four jars labelled 1 to 4. Jar 1 contained peeled, ground tomatoes (PG) and peeled non-ground tomatoes (PNG) without lemon juice. Jar 2 contained peeled, ground tomatoes and peeled non-ground with lemon juice (PG+LJ and PNG+LJ). Jar 3 contained unpeeled, ground tomatoes (UPG) and unpeeled non-ground (UPNG) samples while jar 4 contained unpeeled, ground and unpeeled non-ground samples with lemon juice (UPG+LJ and UPNG +LJ). The samples were analyzed for their antioxidant contents. Results revealed that concentration of ascorbic acid in tomato samples preserved with lemon juice varied from 14.70 – 20.30mg/100g FW. The values were significantly different (p<0.05) from the controls (PG, UPG, UPNG and PNG). The total phenolics content of lemon juice preserved tomatoes were also significantly different (p<0.05) from the control samples with UPNG+LJ having the highest phenolics content of 12.90mg/100g. The value of flavonoids ranged from 1.51 (PNG) to 2.95mg/100g (UPG+LJ) while ?-Carotene was from 1.78mg/100g (PNG+LJ) to 4.68mg/100g (PG+LJ). The unpeeled samples generally had higher antioxidant nutrients in comparison with the peeled samples. This study is relevant to the tomato canning industry and suggests that the use of lemon juice as tomato preservative agent should be encouraged. Keywords: Preservation; lemon juice; antioxidant nutrients, peeling; tomat

Optimization of Process Parameters for the Carbonization of Flamboyant Pod Bark (Delonix Regia)

This study investigates the carbonization of flamboyant pod bark (FPB) for the purpose of production of effective activated carbon from the agricultural residue. Central Composite Design (CCD) under the Response Surface Methodology was employed to combine the selected process parameters [Temperature (300 - 600 0C) and Time (30 - 65 mins)] for the carbonization. FPB were collected within the fields of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, mechanically cracked, crushed, washed with distilled water and sun-dried for seven days before eventually subjecting to carbonization, after which the resultant yields were determined and the statistical analysis was evaluated. The maximum (45.45%) and minimum (11.82%) yields were obtained at Run 1 (3000C/30 mins) and Run 11 (6000C/ 65 mins). The quadratic model equation is given as Yield = 23.27 - 3.48A - 4.38B - 2.81A2 + 0.19B2 + 0.11AB and the R2 value for the model equation is 0.9705 while the adjusted as well as predicted R2 values are 0.9459 and 0.8578, respectively. The numerical optimization by the Design Expert (6.0.8) software suggested minimum yield of 12.89%, (600 0C/ 65 mins) at desirability of 0.941. This research has indicated the suitability of using CCD for the optimization of process parameters for the carbonization of Flamboyant Pod Bark

Cost Appraisal of Municipal Solid Waste Transfer to Disposal Site Using Visual Basic Program

Collection of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) accounts for a significant proportion of most municipal budgets, and has drawn some degree of researchers‟ interest. This study was conducted in Ota, Southwest Nigeria, to explore the use of Visual basic program as an innovative tool to select the most economic haulage system among three systems found in literature (conventional-, modified- and Stationary- hauled system) for collection and transfer of MSW to disposal sites. Factors that affect the costs of collection and transportation of waste such as: vehicle cost, total time spent on waste collection, and gross travel cost, were considered in the analysis. The result of the study shows that the stationary hauled method of waste collection is the optimal and economical method of collection. This method recorded a 56% and 43% reduction in total cost of daily travel per waste collection, as compared to the conventional and the modified systems, respectively. The application of visual basic program proffers implementable solutions to reduce the cost of MSW transportation to disposal sites. This would reduce travel time and costs of vehicle fueling, and increase the prompt collection of waste which would in turn facilitate the development of an aesthetically balanced and environmentally friendly municipality that would perhaps boost economic development

Knowledge, attitude and practice of contraception by female junior secondary school students in an urban community of Oyo-state, South west, Nigeria

Background: Unintended pregnancies resulting in several maternal morbidities and mortalities are still a major public health challenge in most parts of the world. Female secondary school students are particularly vulnerable due to their engagement in unsafe sex and low uptake of family planning services. The study assessed respondents’ level of knowledge on, attitude to and practice of family planning.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 240 consenting female junior secondary school students in two public schools in Ogbomoso, South West Nigeria. Multi-stage sampling method was employed in recruiting the study participants and facilitated self-administered semi-structured questionnaire used for data collection. Descriptive statistics was done and Chi-square test used to compare categorical variables. The level of statistical significance was set at p <0.05.Results: The mean age of the respondents was 13.6±2.3 and 69.5% of them were early adolescents (10-13years of age). Almost all (92.3%) of the respondents were aware of family planning but only 58.1% and 55.3% of them had good knowledge on and positive attitudes towards family planning respectively. In all, 64.0% of the sexually active respondents had ever used family planning. Condom was the commonest family planning method ever used; reported by 65.0% of those who had ever used family planning. Fear of side effects was the main reason among non-users.Conclusions: Family planning uptake among sexually active female students is low in Southwest Nigeria. There is urgent need for aggressive awareness campaigns to improve the knowledge score and attitude of students to family planning in Nigeria

SELECTED MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF BAMBARA GROUNDNUT SEEDS UNDER COMPRESSIVE LOADING

Knowledge of mechanical properties of agricultural materials is useful in the development of equipment for processing and handling them.Selected mechanical propertiesnamely rupture force, maximum deformation at rupture point, hardness and toughness of cream and light brown varieties of Bambara groundnut (BGN) seeds were determined at four moisture levels (5, 15, 25 and 35% dry basis) under compressive loading alongaxial and longitudinal orientations.Rupture force, deformation, hardness and toughness of BGN seedswere within the ranges 45.58-438.55 N, 0.31-5.71 mm,14.61-448.55 Nmm-1 and0.01-1.02J, respectively. Rupture force, deformation and toughnessof the seeds had interplay of increasing and deceasing trends while hardness decreased consistently as moisture content increased from 5% to 35%.The cream variety withstood higher rupture force and deformed more without failure than the light brown variety within moisture content range of 5-25% along both loading orientations.Bothvarieties demonstrated greater hardness when loaded along the longitudinal orientations than the axially loaded samples. All the investigatedproperties were dependent on moisture content andorientationof loading. Predictive mathematical models forestimating the investigated properties at different moisture contents with reasonable accuracy were also established in this study

Biodegradation of Dichlorovos (Organophosphate Pesticide) in Soil by Bacterial Isolates

Excessive and continuous dispersion of pesticides which are toxic heterogeneous compound in the environment results in environmental pollution with ecological effects that require remediation. This study investigated the potential of microbial isolates to biodegrade or cleans up agricultural soil artificially contaminated with Dichlorvos (2, 2-dichlorovinyldimethylphosphate) pesticide.  A bacterial consortium which degraded Dichlorvos pesticide was isolated from agricultural soil using pour plate method.  This consortium was composed of four pure strains which were characterized based on their morphological and biochemical characteristics.  The strains were presumptively identifies as Proteus vulgaris, Vibrio sp., Serratia sp. and Acinetobacter sp. The consortium and the four bacteria were evaluated in order to discover their ability to biodegrade Dichlorvos pesticide in medium supplied with different nutrients (NH4NO3, KH2PO4 and NPK (20:10:10) fertilizer). The results showed that the bacterial consortium and the four bacteria isolates were able to grow in nutrient medium containing Dichlorvos as the only carbon source.  Moreover, the bacterial consortium was able to remove greater amount of DDP in soil amended with inorganic fertilizer (NPK) than those amended with NH4NO3 and KH2PO4, respectively.  These results indicate that the isolated strains can be used for waste biodegradation or bioremediation of organophosphate pesticide- contaminated soil or water. Keywords: bacteria; biodegradation; dichlorvos; nutrient; organophosphate pesticide

Women Farmers’ Contributions to Maize Production in Afijio Local Government of Oyo State

The study investigated the contributions of women farmers to maize production in Afijio Local Government area, Oyo state. Multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 128 women farmers as sample size for the study. Data collected through interview schedule were analysed using frequency counts, percentages and mean while Pearson Product Moment Correlation and Chi-square were used to test the relationships that exist between selected socioeconomic characteristics and contributions of women farmers to maize production. Results revealed the mean age of respondents was 45years, 83.5% of respondents were married and 41.4% of the respondents had no formal education. High percentage of the respondents (82.5%) engaged in farming for both commercial and subsistence purposes, and activities such as, planting, fertilizer application, harvesting, processing, storage and marketing were performed by women farmers whereas ridging, land clearing and weeding were considered laborious and were usually contracted to hired labour. The results of Pearson Product Moment Correlation analysis showed that age (r = 0.950, P&lt;0.05), farm size (r = 0.174, P&lt;0.05), household size (r = 0.354, P&lt;0.05) while the results of Chi-square analysis revealed that educational status (ᵡ2 =36.864 P&lt;0.05), marital status (ᵡ2 =19.615, P&lt;0.05) have significant association with contributions of women farmers to maize production in the study area. Hence, the study recommended that female education (through adult literacy) be intensified, young women be encouraged to be more involved in maize production, women should form themselves into group to learn techniques of trapping farm pests and in time of surplus, women maize farmers should form supply cooperatives to transport their produce to areas where it commands higher prices