Antagonistic properties of Trichoderma viride on post harvest cassava root rot pathogens

The effective in vitro screening tests of Trichoderma viride for antagonism against post harvest pathogens of cassava roots (Manihot esculenta Crantz) rot together with its competitive andmycoparasitic abilities informs its selection as the most promising candidate for the biocontrol of post harvest cassava root rot pathogens. While the percentage germination of the spores were observed toincrease with increasing dilution of the culture filtrate (100, 50, 25, and 10% ) at a concentration of 20,000 spores/ml, the percentage rot recorded amongst the untreated cassava roots ranged from 4%(Rhizopus oryzae) to 44% (Aspergillus flavus). Treatment with the antagonist and the subsequent storage resulted in a remarkable reduction in the frequency of occurrence of the normal root surfacemycoflora and the pathogens over a 3 weeks storage period. Botryodiplodia theobromae and R. oryzae were isolated only in the first week of storage and at a frequency of 3 and 2% rot, respectively, aftertreatment whereas A. flavus and Fusarium solani persisted throughout the whole storage period with 2 and 3% rot on the third week, respectively. The observed results suggest that T. viride is root surfacecompetent and highly antagonistic

Potentials of sweetpotato (Ipomoea Batatas) for confectionaries: Implications for food security

Sweetpotato roots were used as base for the preparation of confectioneries namely crisps, doughnuts, strips, chin-chin, bread, cakes biscuits, pancake, crunch and muffins. Sweetpotato starch was used to produce salad cream and the leaves were used to prepare stew and soup. Traditional foods including abacha, ncha, wrap, morn, balls and fufu were produced from the roots. All the products were subjected to sensory evaluation and were acceptable to consumers. The study has revealed the high potential of sweetpotato as base food for preparing confectioneries, salad cream and assorted traditional foods. An aggressive exploitation of the crop is recommended to ensure good nutrition for all and national food security

Impact Of Lamda Cyhalothrin Pyrethroid Insecticide On The Uptake Of Cations And Anions By The Gills Of Freshwater Catfish Hybrid Juvenile

The impact o acute exposure of karate (Lambda cyhalothrin pyrethroid) insecticide was evaluatedin a 4 – day exposure period at 20, 40, 60 and 80 ppm to Heterobranchus bidosals(+) X Clarias gariepinus(&#9794;) fngerlingsshowed the 96-hlc 50 as 25.11 ppm. The threshold value was 25. 11 ppm. The gills of the exposed fish analyzed showed a significant decrease in all major cations and anions(C1-, Ca2+, Na+, K+, Mg2+) at P < 0.05). There was no inhibion of upake of the catons and anions (C1-, Ca2+ Na+, K+, Mg2+). Their uptakeincreased rapidly during the 24 hr period and dropped at 48hr and 72 hr and gradualy increased at the end of 96 hr showing that it was time dependent. During the exposure period the fish stood in upright position with their snouts above the water surface gasping for air. Other behavioral characteristics of the exposed fish were peeling of the skin, initial increase in opercula movement, curvature of the body, loss of balance, erratic swimming and quietness Based the outcome of this research and under similar experimental condition it is the recommendation of this research that this pyrethroid will affect the uptake of the major cations and anions. It further advises environmental officers, crop farmers and insecticides habitual users to be cautious on the use of thisinsecticide because of the resultant consequences of the misuse. Keywords: Karate, Uptake, Cations, Anions, Gills, Catfish, Toxicity Animal Research International Vol. 4 (1) 2007 pp. 591-59

Appraisal of Policy Impact of Treasury Single Account in Nigeria

Treasury Single Account (TSA) is one of the several measures adopted by the Federal Government of Nigeria to address the issue of lack of accountability and corruption in fiscal operations in the Public Sector. It is a financial policy, which requires all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to move their deposits with commercial banks into a single account with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The consolidation is to ensure accountability, enhance transparency and curb corrupt practices associated with management of public funds. The objective of this paper is to appraise the policy impact with a view to proffering solution to the identified gaps. Questionnaires were administered to gather views of individuals and institutions. Secondly, data were equally gathered and analyzed using survey and exploratory research design. The study revealed various sheds of opinion: while bankers decry the distortion of their liquidity management plan, the federal government on the other hand claims a huge success because it can now comment on its aggregate cash holding without the drudgery hitherto associated with getting to all commercial banks or MDAs with multiple accounts. The civil society agrees with government that the policy has brought about transparency in fiscal management. The paper concludes by drawing attention to the shock being experienced by the deposit money banks, which has led to downsizing of its personnel, and adopting other cost minimization measures. The adverse effects on lending capacity with resultant effect on operations of the banks and companies which would ultimately result in lower profits and companies’ income tax to the federal government gave the basis for recommending adequate education to elicit buy-in of all stakeholders and building into the policy a transitional window. The federal government is also advised to engage in sensitivity analysis to avoid unanticipated drop in GDP resulting from folding up of companies, which are not able to withstand the sudden financial jolt. Keywords: Treasury Single account, fiscal operations, lending capacity liquidity, deposit money banks, spending units (SUs)

Research roadmap for information integration in construction

This Roadmap is developed for a challenging Global environment where fundamental paradigms such as data generation and analysis, are shifting at a seismic rate, while change in Construction Industries across the Globe is, in the main, confined to large-scale projects and slow. Against this background, the authors set out to also give a ‘voice’ to small-to-medium-scale projects through which the construction output Worldwide is delivered. Hence, project scale was one of the key considerations throughout this Roadmap. Moreover, the authors conceptualized data integration by taking the realities of ‘doing business’ in construction into consideration. The emergent framework facilitates the discussion of knowledge and data integration at organisational, team, operational and technical levels across key project phases. This approach recognizes that business is done through projects but change can only come about if appropriate organizational structures and processes are put in place. Last, but not least, the authors strived to ensure that data integration was not considered solely from a technical perspective. Organisational, team and individual aspects of data integration were integrated in the research framework. Through our work the individual’s willingness to collaborate emerged as a critical driver for high levels of integration, while our survey did identify “Reluctance to work across professional boundaries” as a major barrier to integration. Hence, we conclude that research on integration should pay due attention to the individual

Socio-Economic Implications of Essential Commodities’ Price Differentials in Riverine and Hinterland Areas of Nigeria

The study was a critical evaluation of the handicaps in transporting and distributing manufactured food products in riverine areas of Nigeria. It is occasioned by the incessant media reports of high costs of manufactured items and services or even outright shortages of same in riverine communities in Nigeria, which often fuel the Niger-Delta social crisis. The objectives included to: determine the state of transportation in the riverine areas of Nigeria; ascertain the effect of the transportation modes used for effectively distributing manufactured goods in the riverine areas and determine the factors inhibiting the transportation system from effective distribution in the area. Data were analyzed with Likert’s 5-points scale and measure of central tendency (Mean). Results obtained show that water transportation in the riverine areas of Nigeria is still largely undeveloped, not effective, not easily accessible and affordable, not attractive to private investors, making costs of food items high. It was then recommended that incentives be provided by government to develop and boost water transportation in riverine areas of the country. Keywords: Water Transportation, Distribution, Manufactured Products, Riverine Areas, Nigeria

Nigeria’s Debt Burden and Development Tangle: The Socio-Economic and Political Implications

The main purpose of this research is to empirically ascertain the nexus of Nigeria’s debt burden and development tangle. In order to embark on this exercise, relevant data were sourced from Central Bank of Nigeria statistical bulletin and National Bureau of Statistics fact book spanning the years (1980-2014). The Johansen test for the co-integrating association corroborates that a long run dynamic equilibrium link exists between economic development and debt stocks, and the Granger Causality result shows that the various debt stocks granger caused the performance of the  Nigeria’s economy. On the basis of our findings and conclusion thereof, and in the light of the need to encourage and promote economic development, a strategy that exercises tense embargo on fresh loans and advances should be put in place and the government should try by all means to reduce the quantum of public debt as well as its total eradication via debt buy back, total cancelling of the debt or complete repudiating of the debt stock. Policies that will promote increase in the volume of commodities export should be put in place by the government, which will boast earnings from foreign exchange and hence help to eliminate the huge deficit in the revenue account of the federation. The authorities saddled with the responsibilities of managing public debt should be steadfast in their drive for a sustainable debt management strategy than the SAP-induced strategies which delved on only differing the payment days but continued to perpetrate absolute poverty and inequality in third world nations. The moral tenet of fiscal produce in managing public debt should be enshrined. The country need to consolidate on the gains of the recent debt relief granted her and the diminution in total outstanding debt profile. The major ways to do this should be consistency in the application of prudent debt management framework, prudent borrowing for self-liquidating projects, and regular debt servicing commitment as well as outright liquidation of all outstanding debt liabilities. Keywords: Debt exposure, debt burden, development tangle, Error Correction Model, Nigeria

Multiwavelength analysis of the Lyman alpha emitting galaxy Haro 2: relation between the diffuse Lyman alpha and soft X-ray emissions

In order to use Lyman alpha (Lya) emission as star formation tracer in cosmological studies, we must understand how the resonant scattering affects the escape fraction of the Lya photons. Thus, high spatial resolution multiwavelength studies of nearby Lya emitters, like Haro 2, are highly needed. For that purpose, we have used Chandra X-ray and HST (UV, optical and NIR) images of Haro 2, and STIS and ground-based spectral images along its major and minor axes, to characterize the Lya emission and the properties of the stellar population. The UV, Ha (Halpha) and FIR luminosities of the Haro 2 nuclear starburst are reproduced using evolutionary synthesis models assuming a young stellar population with ages ~3.5-5.0 Myr, affected by differential interstellar extinctions. The observed X-ray emission is attributed to gas heated by the mechanical energy released by the starburst (soft component) and a Ultra-Luminous X-ray source candidate (hard). Both compact and diffuse Lya components are observed. Whereas Lya is spatially decoupled from Balmer lines emission, Balmer decrement and UV continuum, the diffuse Lya component is spatially correlated with the diffuse soft X-ray emission. Moreover, unlike the compact one, diffuse Lya shows luminosities larger than predicted from Ha, assuming case B recombination and dust extinction as derived from Ha/Hbeta. We propose that, whereas the compact Lya emission is associated to the massive stellar clusters and is affected by outflows and dust extinction, the diffuse Lya originates in gas ionized by the hot plasma responsible for the soft X-ray radiation, as suggested by their spatial correlation and by the measured L(Ha)/LsoftX ratios. Calibration of Lya as star formation rate tracer should therefore include both effects (destruction vs. enhancement) to avoid biases in the study of galaxies at cosmological distances.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A, 18 pages, 8 figures, 9 tables. If problems with quality of images, see http://www.cab.inta-csic.es/users/otih/haro2-v63.clean.pd

Physical properties and evolutionary state of the Lyman alpha emitting starburst galaxy IRAS 08339+6517

Though Lyman alpha emission (Lya) is one of the most used tracers of massive star formation at high redshift, a correct understanding of radiation transfer effects by neutral gas is required to properly quantify the star formation rate along the history of the Universe. We are embarked in a program to study the properties of the Lya emission (spectral profile, spatial distribution, relation to Balmer lines intensity,...) in several local starburst galaxies. We present here the results obtained for IRAS 08339+6517. Using evolutionary population synthesis models, we have characterized the properties of the starburst (UV continuum, Halpha, total infrared and X-ray emissions, etc.), which transformed 1.4e+8 Mo of gas into stars around 5-6 Myr ago. In addition to the central compact emission blob, we have identified a diffuse Lya emission component smoothly distributed over the whole central area of IRAS 08339+6517. This diffuse emission is spatially decoupled from the UV continuum, the Halpha emission or the Halpha/Hbeta ratio. Both locally and globally, the Lya/Halpha ratio is lower than the Case B predictions, even after reddening correction, with an overall Lya escape fraction of only 4%. We conclude that in IRAS 08339+6517 the resonant scattering of Lya photons by an outflowing shell of neutral gas causes their highly-efficient destruction by dust, which explains the low Lya escape fraction measured. These results stress again the importance of a proper correction of scattering and transfer effects when using Lya to derive the star formation rate in high-redshift galaxies.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A, 17 pages, 13 figures, 8 tables. If problems with quality of images, see https://cloud.cab.inta-csic.es/public.php?service=files&file=%2Fotih%2Ffiles%2Foti_mas%2Firas%2Firas-v53.ack_referee.pd