Analysis of Adoption of Improved Maize Production Technology among Farmers in Southern Borno, Nigeria

This study assesses the adoption of Improved Maize Production Technology among farmers in Southern Borno, Nigeria. The specific objectives were to analyze the relationship between socio-economic characteristics of the respondents and their adoption of improved maize technology and to determine innovation utilization and its effect on farmer’s production. Data for the study were obtained from 360 respondents selected through multi-stage sampling procedure. Both descriptive and inferential statistical techniques were used to analyze the data. Gross margin was used to measure the profit of farm enterprises (effect of farmer’s production) before and after utilizing the agricultural innovation, while Regression analysis (OLS) was used to establish relationship between socio-economic characteristics of the respondents and adoption of agricultural innovation. The result of the profitability analysis revealed that the gross margin per hectare of respondents before adoption of agricultural innovation was ?59, 009.44, while the gross margin per hectare of respondents after adoption of agricultural innovation stood at ?76, 003.43, translating to 29% increase in gross margin of the respondents. Level of education (P< 0.01), and gender (P< 0.01) were the most important factors that influenced adoption of agricultural innovation among farmers in the study area. Farm size (P< 0.01), age of respondents (P < 0.01), extension contact (P < 0.01), radio ownership (P< 0.01) and cosmopoliteness (P < 0.05) were also important in influencing adoption of agricultural innovation by farmers in the study area. Based on the findings of this study, it was recommended that farmers should be given more easy access to credit. In light of this, there is need to link farmers to sources of credit given its importance in the utilization of improved agricultural technology. Key words: Adoption, Farmers, Technology, Southern Borno, Improved Maize

Analysis of Factors Influencing Improved Sorghum Production Technologies among Women Farmers in Southern Yobe, Nigeria

This study was on the challenges for improved sorghum production among women farmers in southern Yobe, Nigeria. The specific objectives were to examine the socio demographic characteristics of the respondents, determine factors influencing the adoption of improved sorghum production by respondents and make recommendations on ways to encourage improved sorghum production. Data for the study were obtained from 120 respondents selected through multistage random sampling procedure. Descriptive statistical techniques such as frequency distribution and percentages were used for the analysis. Similarly, inferential statistical technique namely logit regression analysis was used to establish relationship between socio-economic characteristics of the respondents and challenges for improved sorghum production. The study revealed that majority (91.5%) of the respondents fell within the age bracket of 50 years and below. It is also evident from the study that 65.8% of the respondents were married and 67.4% had one form of education or the other, while 71.6% had less than 1 hectare as farm land. The result further showed that farm size, age of respondents, educational level, cost of technology, extension contact, access to credit and expected benefit from use of improved production technologies are the factors that significantly influenced improved sorghum production among women farmers in the study area. It is recommended that policies should be formulated to take advantage of the factors that positively influence women’s improved production of sorghum and to mitigate the negative ones. Key words: Challenges, Sorghum production, Women farmers, Yobe, Technolog

Analysis of the Role of Women in Seed Security in Lamurde Local Government Area, Adamawa State, Nigeria.

The study analyzed the role of women in seed security (seed availability and seed access) in Lamurde Local Government of Adamawa State, Nigeria. Multistage random sampling procedure was employed in the selection of the respondents. A total of 5 wards were randomly selected at the first stage out of the ten existing wards. In the second stage, two villages were selected from each ward. This therefore, brings the total villages used for this study to ten. The third stage was the selection of ten respondents from each of these ten villages, which gave a total of 100 respondents. Structured interview schedule was employed as means for data collection. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics.  The descriptive statistical tools used were frequencies and percentages, while the inferential statistical tool employed was Pearson Correlation. Major findings were that women play a very prominent role in preserving and propagating seed security; majority of the women had serious difficulty in accessing seed and that certified seed is not readily available to them; lack of capital was a major constraint to seed security; lack of adequate farm lands for crop cultivation was also a serious limiting factor. It was also found that there was a high and positive correlation between involvement of respondents and their accessibility to certified seed with ‘r’ value of 0.842. It was recommended, among others that concerned governments, agricultural policy makers and agricultural development agencies should come to the aid of the women in these areas of identified problems. This could be done through the removal of strong bank loan conditions and replacing them with favourable ones. Construction of good roads and establishment of government-approved certified seed distribution centres should be embarked upon. Key words: Women, Seed Security, Lamurde, Adamawa, Nigeria

Influence of Sources of Agricultural Information on Maize Farmers in Southern Borno, Nigeria.

The study was conducted to assess the influence of sources of information on maize farmers’ in southern Borno, Nigeria. The specific objectives were to examine the socio-economic characteristics of farmers in the study area and to find out the sources through which agricultural information were made available to them in the study area. Data for the study were obtained from 360 respondents selected through multi-stage sampling procedure. Both descriptive and inferential statistical techniques were used to analyze the data. The result revealed that 100.5% of the respondents sourced their agricultural information through extension agents, 58.08% sourced theirs through friends and neighbours, while 46.09% got their information through contact farmers. Based on the findings of this study it was recommended that for sustainable food security in the study area farmers should be targeted with relevant and timely agricultural information in order to boost their maize production capacity. Also, provision of information resource centers in the rural areas is of paramount importance in order to facilitate easy access to agricultural information among farmers in the study area. Key Words: Information, Utilization, Farmers, Borno State.

Assessment of the spatial pattern, nature, and growth drivers in selected peri-urban areas

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: One of the fascinating and complex realities of global development in the 21st century is urbanization. The present study focused on appraising the spatial pattern, nature, and growth drivers in selected peri-urban areas of Jos Metropolis. Accuracy assessment and classification of Landsat Satellite Images, evaluation of the spatial pattern of growth, the nature of growth, and the driving forces of growth were conducted.METHODS: Data were collected through field observation and questionnaire administration, use of Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System, Global Positioning System, and camera. Satellite imageries used to identify the classes of LULC from 1999 to 2022 were Thematic Mapper (L5_TM) 1999, Landsat 7 ETM+ 2014, and Landsat 8 ETM+ 2022. GPS was used for Ground Truthing, and IDRISI Taiga software was used for image classification and area calculation. ArcGIS 10.1 used to visualize the satellite images and produce maps. FINDINGS: Results revealed a definite growth rate pattern and land modification trends in the peri-urban areas over the study period. Between 1999 and 2014, fast growth was observed in Farin Gada and Rantya at 42.5% and 35.8% change, respectively; there was slow growth in Sabon-Gari at 7.0% proportion. From 2014 to 2022, growth in Farin-Gada (41.9%), Rantya (35.9%), and Rahowl Kanang (21.9%) proceeded rapidly with Sabon-Gari maintaining the least growth (0.3%). The study observed a linear growth pattern along arterial roads and a dispersed pattern proceeded by land fragmentation as built-ups spread farther from the road corridors. The nature of growth in the peri-urban areas was significantly unplanned, irregular, and disorderly and observed to be massively taking over agricultural land and swallowing up adjoining settlements. The study identified eight drivers that contributed to shaping and propelling growth in the areas.CONCLUSION: The study recommended that the government should integrate the peri-urban areas into its physical development planning schemes and should enforce an effective Development Control mechanism to manage the spatial growth of these areas. The findings will help planners and policy-makers make informed and unified decisions beyond administrative boundaries. The study also adds to the body of knowledge globally and provides the bases for further research

The synthesis of recombinant membrane proteins in yeast for structural studies

Historically, recombinant membrane protein production has been a major challenge meaning that many fewer membrane protein structures have been published than those of soluble proteins. However, there has been a recent, almost exponential increase in the number of membrane protein structures being deposited in the Protein Data Bank. This suggests that empirical methods are now available that can ensure the required protein supply for these difficult targets. This review focuses on methods that are available for protein production in yeast, which is an important source of recombinant eukaryotic membrane proteins. We provide an overview of approaches to optimize the expression plasmid, host cell and culture conditions, as well as the extraction and purification of functional protein for crystallization trials in preparation for structural studies

Padrão geográfico de diversidade genética em populações naturais de Pau-rosa (Aniba rosaeodora), na Amazônia Central

Rosewood (Aniba rosaeodora Ducke, Lauraceae) is an Amazonian evergreen tree and a source of the purest linalool, the main component of its essential oil, which is very valuable in the international perfumery market. After decades of over-exploitation it is currently considered as threatened. We evaluated the genetic diversity and its distribution in four populations in Central Amazonia. Thirty-five reliable RAPD markers were generated, of which 32 were polymorphic (91.4%). Variation was higher within the populations (76.5%; p < 0.0001) and geographic distribution contributed to population differentiation (23.4%; p < 0.0001). The Amazon River had a small influence on gene flow (3.3%; p < 0.0001), but we identified evidence of gene flow across the river. There were significant differences in marker frequencies (p < 0.05), in agreement with the low gene flow (Nm = 2.02). The correlation between genetic distance and gene flow was - 0.95 (p = 0.06) and between geographic distance and gene flow was -0.78 (p = 0.12). There was a geographic cline of variability across an East-West axis, influenced as well by the Amazon River, suggesting the river could be a barrier to gene flow. Although threatened, these Rosewood populations retain high diversity, with the highest levels in the Manaus population, which has been protected for over 42 years in a Reserve.O Pau-rosa (Aniba rosaeodora Ducke, Lauraceae) é uma árvore amazônica fonte do mais puro linalol, o qual é o principal componente do seu óleo essencial e muito valioso no mercado internacional de perfumaria. Após várias décadas de intensa exploração, a espécie foi levada à categoria de ameaçada de extinção. Quatro populações naturais distribuídas na bacia Amazônia Central foram avaliadas quanto ao nível e a distribuição da diversidade genética. Trinta e cinco marcadores RAPD reprodutíveis foram gerados, dos quais 32 foram polimórficos (91,4%). A diversidade foi maior dentro das populações (76,5%; p < 0,0001) e a distribuição geográfica contribuiu para a diferenciação entre as populações (23,4%; p < 0,0001). A AMOVA indicou que pode haver uma influência parcial do Rio Amazonas no fluxo gênico (3,3%; p < 0,0001), mas foram identificadas evidências de fluxo gênico atravessando o rio. Houve diferenças significativas nas freqüências dos marcadores (p < 0,05) e o fluxo gênico estimado foi relativamente baixo (Nm = 2,02). A correlação entre a distância genética e o fluxo gênico foi de - 0,95 (p = 0,06) e para a distância geográfica e o fluxo gênico foi de - 0,78 (p = 0,12). Houve um padrão geográfico de variabilidade ao longo do eixo Leste - Oeste, influenciado também pelo Rio Amazonas, o que sugere que o rio poderia funcionar como uma barreira para o fluxo gênico. Apesar de ameaçadas, estas populações de Pau-rosa possuem alta diversidade, com o maior valor na população de Manaus, que vem sendo protegida por 42 anos em uma reserva

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Search for long-lived neutral particles in pp collisions at s√=13 TeV that decay into displaced hadronic jets in the ATLAS calorimeter

This paper describes a search for pairs of neutral, long-lived particles decaying in the ATLAS calorimeter. Long-lived particles occur in many extensions to the Standard Model and may elude searches for new promptly decaying particles. The analysis considers neutral, long-lived scalars with masses between 5 and 400 GeV, produced from decays of heavy bosons with masses between 125 and 1000 GeV, where the long-lived scalars decay into Standard Model fermions. The analysis uses either 10.8 fb−1 or 33.0 fb−1 of data (depending on the trigger) recorded in 2016 at the LHC with the ATLAS detector in proton–proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. No significant excess is observed, and limits are reported on the production cross section times branching ratio as a function of the proper decay length of the long-lived particles

Influence of Sources of Agricultural Information on Maize Farmers in Southern Borno, Nigeria.

The study was conducted to assess the influence of sources of information on maize farmers’ in southern Borno, Nigeria. The specific objectives were to examine the socio-economic characteristics of farmers in the study area and to find out the sources through which agricultural information were made available to them in the study area. Data for the study were obtained from 360 respondents selected through multi-stage sampling procedure. Both descriptive and inferential statistical techniques were used to analyze the data. The result revealed that 100.5% of the respondents sourced their agricultural information through extension agents, 58.08% sourced theirs through friends and neighbours, while 46.09% got their information through contact farmers. Based on the findings of this study it was recommended that for sustainable food security in the study area farmers should be targeted with relevant and timely agricultural information in order to boost their maize production capacity. Also, provision of information resource centers in the rural areas is of paramount importance in order to facilitate easy access to agricultural information among farmers in the study area.Key Words: Information, Utilization, Farmers, Borno State.