The Role of Private Extension Agencies in Agricultural Development of Kaduna State, Nigeria: A Case Study of Leventis Foundation Agricultural Training School

The study was conducted to study the contributions of Leventis Foundation Agricultural Training School (LFATS) Dogon Dawa to the advancement of agricultural development in Kaduna State of Nigeria.  Participants and non-participants of the school were selected using multistage sampling technique. Descriptive and inferential statistical tools were used to analyze data. Farming in the study area was found to be gender specific. However, the participants were more educated, with less farming experience than the non participants. Livestock production and bee keeping; crop production and agro-forestry; and farm product processing and utilization were ranked as areas in which the participants have been adequately trained.   T-test results revealed that there was a significant difference between the yields of the participants and that of the non-participants. These results helped to establish that being trained by LFATS could help farmers in ensuring that higher yields are obtained from their agricultural enterprises. Thus, this study concludes that LFATS is playing an important role in agricultural advancement and youth empowerment in Kaduna state through the skills acquired in its training programmes and recommends that other governmental and non governmental agencies could embark on such. Keywords: Private Extension, Agricultural Development, Leventis Foundatio

ASSESSMENT OF HIV/AIDS PERCEPTION AND PREVENTIVE PRACTICES AMONG RURAL YOUTHS IN NASARAWA STATE, NIGERIA

The research was conducted in Nasarawa State of Nigeria. All rural youths in the state were the target population. A multi stage sampling procedure was adopted in selecting the sampled respondents. A total of 295 respondents were used for the study. Data were collected through the use of interview schedule and questionnaire and analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used based on the stated objectives. The findings of the study showed that most (38.31%) of the respondents were within the age group of 21 -25 years. Majority (70.17%) of the respondents were males and single (60%) with secondary school education as the highest qualification. With regards to occupation, most (40.68%) of the respondents were farmers and students respectively. Results on the knowledge of HIV/AIDS by the respondents indicate that majority (50.85%) believed that the disease was a deadly, showing that they were knowledgeable about the deadly nature of the disease. Majority (90.45%) of the respondents ranked abstinence (not having sex before marriage) as the first among the preventive practices they have adopted. The effect of female-male differential in adoption of preventive practices among the sexes was examined by comparing the mean adoption index of the respondents. While the males had a mean adoption index of 0.5844, the females had 0.6203 showing that there was no significant difference in the adoption indices between males and females implying that no particular sex adopted more than the other in the study area. The results of the regression analysis show that sex, marital status, occupation and religion did not have significant effect on the adoption of preventive practices among the respondents. However, education and age were found to be significant. The study therefore, recommends that there is the need for more enlightenment campaigns at different levels including government and nongovernmental bodies’ especially religious groups to further sensitize the youth on HIV/AIDS preventive practices. Key words: HIV/AIDS, Perception, Preventive practices, Rural youths, Nasarawa state

Properties and characterization of ALD grown dielectric oxides for MIS structures

We report on an extensive structural and electrical characterization of under-gate dielectric oxide insulators Al2O3 and HfO2 grown by Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD). We elaborate the ALD growth window for these oxides, finding that the 40-100 nm thick layers of both oxides exhibit fine surface flatness and required amorphous structure. These layers constitute a base for further metallic gate evaporation to complete the Metal-Insulator-Semiconductor structure. Our best devices survive energizing up to ~3 MV/cm at 77 K with the leakage current staying below the state-of-the-art level of 1 nA. At these conditions the displaced charge corresponds to a change of the sheet carrier density of 3 \times 1013 cm-2, what promises an effective modulation of the micromagnetic properties in diluted ferromagnetic semiconductors.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, 14 reference

Physical Parameters Of The Relativistic Shock Waves In GRBs: The Case Of 30 GRBs

Using the modified internal shock wave model we fit the gamma ray burst (GRB) light and spectral curves of 30 GRBs observed with BATSE. From the best fitting we obtain basic parameters of the relativistic shells which are in good agreement with predictions given earlier. We compare measured GRB parameters with those obtained from the model and discuss connections between them in the frame of the physical processes laying behind GRB events.Comment: 18 pages, 30 figures, 2 tables, Accepted for publication in IJMP

Chemical activation of aspenwood components in the production of thermomechanical pulp

The article represents the results of researches that allow to establish the appropriateness of usage of aspenwood modified by sodium monosulphite as a raw material for thermomechanical pulp (TMP) in newsprint production. Replacement of 30% of sprucewood by aspen using 1% consumption of sodium sulphite permits to achieve strength of samples of unbleached TMP 4510 m, which ensures the highest demands to newsprint. In this case the process of wood grinding accelerates and the reactivity of hemicelluloses and lignin increases

Sérodiagnostic de l’anémie infectieuse des équidés par précipitation en gélose. II. Premiers résultats d’une enquête épidémiologique en France

Toma Bernard, Luka Iskander G. E., Goret Pierre. Sérodiagnostic de l’anémie infectieuse des équidés par précipitation en gélose. II. Premiers résultats d'une enquête épidémiologique en France. In: Bulletin de l'Académie Vétérinaire de France tome 124 n°9, 1971. pp. 415-426

Sérodiagnostic de l’anémie infectieuse des équidés par précipitation en gélose. I. Mise au point de la technique

Toma Bernard, Luka Iskander G. E., Goret Pierre. Sérodiagnostic de l’anémie infectieuse des équidés par précipitation en gélose. I. Mise au point de la technique. In: Bulletin de l'Académie Vétérinaire de France tome 124 n°9, 1971. pp. 403-413

NEWS AND NOTES 1994, VOL.4, NO.16

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