Design of Single Acceptance Sampling Plan Using Maximum Allowable Proportion Defective (MAPD) and Producer’s Allowable Risk (PAR)

This paper focuses on single acceptance sampling designs on incoming quality with Maximum Allowable percent Defective (MAPD) along with a specified probability of acceptance referred to Producer’s Allowable Risk (PAR) which is defined as the minimum probability of acceptance of the lot with a maximum allowable proportion defective. A statistical software (R) is used to obtain the table values and graphs. These tables and graphs are presented in order to compare the efficiency of this Single Sampling Plan so as to protect Acceptance Quality Level. Researchers thereafter suggest optimum criterion of sample size and acceptance number for a fixed ratio of PAR to MAPD within a reasonable sample size region. Keywords: probability of acceptance (PA), operating characteristic, inflection point, Poisson distribution, optimum sampling plan, steepness angle

Yam pests in the Ashanti and Brong Ahafo regions of Ghana: A study of farmers\' indigenous technical knowledge and control practices

In Ghana, yam is a very important indigenous subsistence and cash crop that is now the most popular nontraditional export food crop, despite years of scientific neglect. There is a general paucity of technical information on yam production and marketing constraints, but especially so for pests and their management. To understand and document farmers\' needs as a basis for developing technologies to meet their requirements, this study surveyed yam farmers\' indigenous technical knowledge about pests on their crops and their pest management practices over the years in two districts in Brong Ahafo Region and one in Ashanti Region. Pre-tested questionnaire were administered to 30 randomly selected farmers in five villages in each district. The results showed that farmers\' knowledge about pests and the pest spectra were similar for the three districts. Farmers knew about insect pests on their yams, but were neither able to draw interrelationships between pest populations and damage nor the cultural practices that they follow or the ecological state of their farms. Termites (Amitermes spp., Macrotemes spp., and Microtermes spp.) were considered more important pests than millipedes (Peridontoyge spp.), tuber beetles (Heterolygus meles and Prionorcytes rufopiceus), mealybugs (Pseudococcus brevipes, Planococcus dioscorea and Ferrisia virgata), and scale insects (Aspidiotus destructor and Aspidiella hartii) in that order. Out of 12 white yam varieties cultivated in the area, “Pona” was identified to be most susceptible to pest attack and “Dentepruka” least susceptible. Anthropological factors such as farmer's origin or residency status, level of education, age, marital status, family size, and the land tenure system were also found to play key roles in the technologies adopted in cultivating yams. The implications of the findings, particularly in identifying appropriate experimental variables for technology generation and transfer to improve yam resource productivity, are discussed

Performance evaluation of conventional exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) and p-value cumulative sum (CUSUM) control chart

This paper is aimed at comparing the performances of the conventional Exponentially Weighted Moving Average (EWMA) and p-value Cumulative Sum (CUSUM) control chart. These charts were applied in monitoring the outbreak of pulmonary tuberculosis in Delta State University Teaching Hospital (DELSUTH), Oghara for a period of eighty four (84) calendar months. Line chart and histogram were plotted to test for stationary and normality of the data. Autocorrelation plot was also used to study the randomness of the data. The results of the control charts show that conventional EWMA chart detects shifts faster in monitoring process mean than the p-value CUSUM control chart. Keywords and Phrases: Exponentially Weighted Moving Average (EWMA), p-value, Cumulative Sum (CUSUM), Autocorrelation, Randomnes

Hand-dug Well Water Quality: The Case of Two Peri-Urban Communities in Ghana

Many rural and peri-urban areas in developing countries including Ghana face challenges with access to good quality drinking water. These areas often depend on surface water or ground water sources which are often compromised with excess levels of nitrate, chloride and microbial pathogens. This study sought to assess the effect of household latrine system on household water quality of two peri-urban communities in the Upper West Region of Ghana. Geographic Information Systems were used to map the latrine location and elevation of household wells relative to latrines. Latrines and wells were visually inspected. Water samples were also collected from the selected household wells and tested for pH, chlorine, turbidity, colour, conductivity, temperature, total dissolved solids, nitrites and nitrates. Selected community borehole water were used for controls. The study showed average latrine location relative to household well was 13.7 m. The difference in elevation between the wells and latrines is at an average of 0.7m. All the household latrines were improved latrines and household wells with 47% of them having lids to cover them. The water quality observed were all within the WHO drinking water quality for the physicochemical parameters assessed. The study however showed higher levels of nitrate in household wells than bore holes. The need to educate households in locating of Kraals relative to household water systems is needed. Further studies including environmental and geological assessments are required to establish the observations made regarding why areas of high latrine concentrations had lower nitrate levels. Also microbiological studies to establish the safety of water for drinking is required

Comparison of Response of Building Structures to Blast Loading and Seismic Excitations

Blast loading and earthquake excitations can be regarded as the most destructive events a building structure can experience during its life. Response of the structures to these two types of dynamic loading can be of comparable magnitude. Therefore, in this study, response of a benchmark 10-story building to moderate blast loading is compared to that produced by several different synthetic ground motions whose spectra are compatible with the uniform hazard spectra for selected sites in the eastern and western regions of Canada. The results show that the lateral story drifts produced by blast loading are significantly larger than the corresponding seismic drifts. The study concludes that consideration of the global response of a building to blast loads is important, and response parameters, such as the lateral drifts and floor responses, should be paid attention in the design and response assessment procedures for blast loading

Elzaki decomposition method for approximate solution of a one-dimensional heat model with axial symmetry

This paper considers the application of the Elzaki Decomposition Method (EDM) for approximate solution of a one-dimensional heat model with axial symmetry. By the proposed EADM, the series solutions of the sampled cases are obtained with ease and high level of accuracy as regards less computational time. These results, therefore, show the effectiveness of the proposed method

DOI: 10.5897/JSSEM12.068 ISSN 2141-2391 ©2013 Academic Journals Full Length Research Paper Nematode pests of plantain: A case study of Ashanti and Brong Ahafo regions of Ghana

A survey of plantain farms was conducted in April 2012 at four locations in two districts of Ghana. The purpose was to identify plant parasitic nematodes (PPN) associated with plantain production in Ghana. The locations were Adomakokrom and Kenyasi in the Brong Ahafo, Adanwomase and Mpobi in the Ashanti region. Demographic and sociological data of farmers, plantain root lesion scores, PPN populations per 200 cm 3 soil and 5 g plantain roots were analyzed. Nematode damage to root at Adomakokrom, Adanwomase, Mpobi and Kenyasi were 50, 75, 75 and 50%, respectively. Five nematode species were recovered from the rhizosphere of plantain. The nematodes were in the order of importance; Pratylenchus coffeae, Meloidogyne spp., Rotylenchulus reniformis, Radopholus similis and Helicotylenchus multicintus. High populations of P. coffeae (803/200 cm 3), H. multicintus (292/200 cm 3) and R. reniformis (343/200 cm 3) were extracted from soil samples at Adomakokrom, Adanwomase and Adanwomase respectively. Four parasitic nematodes; Meloidogyne spp., P. coffeae, R. reniformis and R. similis were extracted from plantain roots. Root populations were higher compared with soil samples. For sustainable plantain production in Ghana, an efficient management option must be devised. Key words: Ghana, integrated pest management, Musa spp., plant parasitic nematodes

Advantages and Limitations of Commercially Available Electrocuting Grids for Studying Mosquito Behaviour.

Mosquito feeding behaviour plays a major role in determining malaria transmission intensity and the impact of specific prevention measures. Human Landing Catch (HLC) is currently the only method that can directly and consistently measure the biting rates of anthropophagic mosquitoes, both indoors and outdoors. However, this method exposes the participant to mosquito-borne pathogens, therefore new exposure-free methods are needed to replace it. Commercially available electrocuting grids (EGs) were evaluated as an alternative to HLC using a Latin Square experimental design in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Both HLC and EGs were used to estimate the proportion of human exposure to mosquitoes occurring indoors (πi), as well as its two underlying parameters: the proportion of mosquitoes caught indoors (Pi) and the proportion of mosquitoes caught between the first and last hour when most people are indoors (Pfl). HLC and EGs methods accounted for 69% and 31% of the total number of female mosquitoes caught respectively and both methods caught more mosquitoes outdoors than indoors. Results from the gold standard HLC suggest that An. gambiae s.s. in Dar es Salaam is neither exophagic nor endophagic (Pi ≈ 0.5), whereas An. arabiensis is exophagic (Pi < < 0.5). Both species prefer to feed after 10 pm when most people are indoors (Pfl > >0.5). EGs yielded estimates of Pi for An. gambiae s.s., An. arabiensis and An. coustani, that were approximately equivalent to those with HLC but significantly underestimated Pfl for An. gambiae s.s. and An. coustani. The relative sampling sensitivity of EGs declined over the course of the night (p ≤ 0.001) for all mosquito taxa except An. arabiensis. Commercial EGs sample human-seeking mosquitoes with high sensitivity both indoors and outdoors and accurately measure the propensity of Anopheles malaria vectors to bite indoors rather than outdoors. However, further modifications are needed to stabilize sampling sensitivity over a full nocturnal cycle so that they can be used to survey patterns of human exposure to mosquitoes

Protective Efficacy of Menthol Propylene Glycol Carbonate Compared to N, N-diethyl-Methylbenzamide Against Mosquito Bites in Northern Tanzania.

The reduction of malaria parasite transmission by preventing human-vector contact is critical in lowering disease transmission and its outcomes. This underscores the need for effective and long lasting arthropod/insect repellents. Despite the reduction in malaria transmission and outcomes in Tanzania, personal protection against mosquito bites is still not well investigated. This study sought to determine the efficacy of menthol propylene glycol carbonate (MR08), Ocimum suave as compared to the gold standard repellent N, N-diethyl-methylbenzamide (DEET), either as a single dose or in combination (blend), both in the laboratory and in the field against Anopheles gambiae s.l and Culex quinquefasciatus. In the laboratory evaluations, repellents were applied on one arm while the other arm of the same individual was treated with a base cream. Each arm was separately exposed in cages with unfed female mosquitoes. Repellents were evaluated either as a single dose or as a blend. Efficacy of each repellent was determined by the number of mosquitoes that landed and fed on treated arms as compared to the control or among them. In the field, evaluations were performed by human landing catches at hourly intervals from 18:00  hr to 01:00  hr. A total of 2,442 mosquitoes were collected during field evaluations, of which 2,376 (97.30%) were An. gambiae s.l while 66 (2.70%) were Cx. quinquefaciatus. MR08 and DEET had comparatively similar protective efficacy ranging from 92% to 100 for both single compound and blends. These findings indicate that MR08 has a similar protective efficacy as DEET for personal protection outside bed nets when used singly and in blends. Because of the personal protection provided by MR08, DEET and blends as topical applicants in laboratory and field situations, these findings suggest that, these repellents could be used efficiently in the community to complement existing tools. Overall, Cx. quinquefasciatus were significantly prevented from blood feeding compared to An. gambiae s.l. The incorporation of these topical repellents for protection against insect bites can be of additional value in the absence or presence of IRS and ITNs coverage. However, a combination of both the physical (bed nets) and the repellent should be used in an integrated manner for maximum protection, especially before going to bed. Additional research is needed to develop repellents with longer duration of protection

Field validation of senesced banana leaf extracts for trapping banana weevils on smallholder banana/plantain farms

Palm wine alcohol extract of senesced banana leaf material, Musa spp., was tested for its efficacy in open field trapping of the banana weevil, Cosmopolites sordidus in Ghana from June to August 2015. Modified pitfall and bottle traps were baited with either individual treatments, that is palm alcohol extract, C. sordidus aggregation pheromone or pseudostem or with combinations of extract plus aggregation pheromone or extract plus pseudostem. The combination of extract plus aggregation pheromone was able to lure more weevils into traps compared with the respective individual lures. There was a 2.1‐fold increase in mean catch per week when the palm alcohol extract was used in combination with pheromone compared with using pheromone alone, and a corresponding 2.6‐fold increase when the extract was used with pseudostem in traps. There was no statistically significant interaction between the palm alcohol extract (presence or absence) and treatment (pheromone or pseudostem), but the best combination for maximal catches of adult banana weevils was a combination of palm alcohol extract with aggregation pheromone. Management of banana weevils with attractive banana leaf extract has important practical applications in parts of the world where other management options are too expensive or commercial treatments are in short supply, but where leaf material is cheap and readily available for local use by smallholder farmers