Effects of Fadama III Project on the Income of Dry Season Rice Farmers in Sokoto State, Nigeria

The effects of Fadama III project to the improvement in the income of participating dry season rice farmers inSokoto state was studied. Population of the study comprised of all dry season rice farmers in Sokoto state. Purposivesampling was used to select six Local Government Areas. Purposive sampling was used to ensure the selection ofLGAs with outstanding potentials in the cultivation of dry season crops. Random sampling technique was used toselect 20 project participants and 12 non-project participants from each of the selected LGAs. Descriptive statisticsand gross margin analysis were used for data analysis. Findings of the study revealed that Majority of projectbeneficiaries (71.30%) and non-project beneficiaries (63.38%) did not attain any form of formal education. Cost oflabour (family and hired) dominated the production cost for both the project beneficiaries and non-projectbeneficiaries. Result of the gross margin analysis showed that the project participants made more profit (N319,459.44 Per Hectatre) in dry season rice production compared to N270, 334.61 Per Hectare earned by non-projectparticipants. It was recommended that the Fadama III project should as much as possible expand their area ofoperation so that more farmers can benefit from their services

Effects of Fadama III Project on Dry Season Onion Farmers’ Income in Sokoto State, Nigeria

The effect of Fadama III project to the improvement in the income of participating dry season onion farmers inSokoto State was studied. Population of the study comprised of all dry season onion farmers in Sokoto State.Purposive sampling was used to select six Local Government Areas, while random sampling technique was usedto select 15 respondents each from the project participants and non-project participants in each of the six LocalGovernment Areas. Descriptive statistics and gross margin analysis were used for data analyses. Findings of thestudy revealed that Majority (63.53% and 76.40%) of project beneficiaries and non-project beneficiariesrespectively did not attain any form of formal education. Cost of fertilizer dominated the production cost for boththe project beneficiaries (46.61%) and non-project beneficiaries (55.99%) of total cost. Result of the gross marginanalysis shows that the project participants made more profit in dry season onion production (₦241, 854.89)compared to the non-project participants (₦63,328.59). It was recommended that Fadama III project should as muchas possible expand their area of operation so that more farmers can benefit from their services

Inferring gene regulatory networks from gene expression data by a dynamic Bayesian network-based model

Enabled by recent advances in bioinformatics, the inference of gene regulatory networks (GRNs) from gene expression data has garnered much interest from researchers. This is due to the need of researchers to understand the dynamic behavior and uncover the vast information lay hidden within the networks. In this regard, dynamic Bayesian network (DBN) is extensively used to infer GRNs due to its ability to handle time-series microarray data and modeling feedback loops. However, the efficiency of DBN in inferring GRNs is often hampered by missing values in expression data, and excessive computation time due to the large search space whereby DBN treats all genes as potential regulators for a target gene. In this paper, we proposed a DBN-based model with missing values imputation to improve inference efficiency, and potential regulators detection which aims to lessen computation time by limiting potential regulators based on expression changes. The performance of the proposed model is assessed by using time-series expression data of yeast cell cycle. The experimental results showed reduced computation time and improved efficiency in detecting gene-gene relationships

Inferring gene regulatory networks from gene expression data by a dynamic Bayesian network-based model

Enabled by recent advances in bioinformatics, the inference of gene regulatory networks (GRNs) from gene expression data has garnered much interest from researchers. This is due to the need of researchers to understand the dynamic behavior and uncover the vast information lay hidden within the networks. In this regard, dynamic Bayesian network (DBN) is extensively used to infer GRNs due to its ability to handle time-series microarray data and modeling feedback loops. However, the efficiency of DBN in inferring GRNs is often hampered by missing values in expression data, and excessive computation time due to the large search space whereby DBN treats all genes as potential regulators for a target gene. In this paper, we proposed a DBN-based model with missing values imputation to improve inference efficiency, and potential regulators detection which aims to lessen computation time by limiting potential regulators based on expression changes. The performance of the proposed model is assessed by using time-series expression data of yeast cell cycle. The experimental results showed reduced computation time and improved efficiency in detecting gene-gene relationships

Evaluation of knowledge of vitamin D aspects among pharmacy and engineering students in University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

Background: Vitamin D plays a major role in health. Several health disorders have been associated with its deficiency. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the knowledge of and attitude towards vitamin D of pharmacy and engineering students in the University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted during February-April, 2018. A 30 questions survey in English was designed, pre-validated and distributed to 250 students. The questionnaire was designed to evaluate and compare student’s knowledge and awareness of vitamin D.Results: 213 participants completed the survey producing a response rate of 85.2%. The majority of students were Arabs, females and of age ranging 21-23 years. Almost all pharmacy students were familiar with many aspects of vitamin D. Unlike engineering (66; 66.6%), most (113; 99.1%) pharmacy students know the meaning of osteoporosis. Knowledge of pharmacy students on vitamin D was generally better than that of engineering students particularly with questions on technical parameters of vitamin D levels and dosage. Students who took vitamin D test were advised by a physician. Most of the students from both colleges have a positive attitude to receive information on vitamin D through brochures, lectures/seminars and workshops.Conclusions: Awareness of non-health sciences and to some extent of pharmacy students seems to be inadequate and efforts are needed to increase awareness of the public in general of the importance of vitamin to health status

Fractional electro-magneto transport of blood modeled with magnetic particles in cylindrical tube without singular kernel

The electro-kinetic transport of blood flow mixed with magnetic particles in the circular channel was investigated. The flow was subjected to an external electric and uniform magnetic field. The fluid was driven by pressure gradient and perpendicular magnetic field to the flow direction. Due to the usefulness and suitability of Caputo–Fabrizio fractional order derivative without singular kernel in fluid flow modeling and mass transfer phenomena, the governing equations were modeled as Caputo–Fabrizio time fractional partial differential equations and solved for a 2 ð0; 1�. The analytical solutions for the velocities of blood flow and magnetic particles were obtained by using Laplace, finite Hankel transforms and Robotnov and Hartley’s functions, respectively. Mathematica software was used to simulate the influences of fractional parameter a, Hartmann number and Reynolds number on the velocities of blood and magnetic particles. The findings are important for controlling bio-liquids in the devices used for analysis and diagnosis in biological and medical applications

The Relationship Between Green Management Commitment and Effectiveness of Occupational Safety and Health Committee

Purpose: The aim of this research is to determine the factors that drive effectiveness of occupational safety and health committee and to identify factors that influence the effectiveness of occupational safety and health committee.   Theoretical Framework: The theoretical framework is adapted from two framework model. The first framework model were adapted from Ummu Kalsome Farouk (2016) study, where the aim is to determine the factors that influence the effectiveness of occupational safety and health committee (OSHC) in certain area such as manufacturing. The second framework model were adapted from Irwan Ibrahim et.al (2018) study, where the aim is to determine the factors that influence reverse logistic performance in logistics area.   Design/methodology/approach: The analysed factors are passive management commitment, active management commitment, and environment awareness and attitudes. In this study, quantitative research was used which involved the distribution of questionnaires to 129 Malaysia pharmaceutical companies. The data were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) Version 23. Furthermore, the results were analysed using reliability analysis, descriptive analysis, Pearson Correlation Analysis and Multiple Regression Analysis.   Findings: The findings revealed that all variables used in this study were positively correlated to employee retention. In addition, the result found out that passive management commitment had the most influence on effectiveness of occupational safety and health committee (OSHC) in Malaysia pharmaceutical companies.   Research, Practical & Social Implications : From researcher observation, the green management commitment is a success if these factors are being implemented by Malaysia pharmaceutical companies, because all the three independent variables which is passive management commitment, active management commitment, and environment awareness and attitudes, have a positive relationship with the dependent variables which is effectiveness of occupational safety and health (OSHC).   Originality/Value: This study may give valuable information to the researcher, other organizations and the business management personnel which is useful for basic knowledge on green management Mokhlis et al., (2021)  commitment and occupational safety and health

Optimal fuzzy proportional-integral-derivative control for a class of fourth-order nonlinear systems using imperialist competitive algorithms

The proportional integral derivative (PID) controller has gained wide acceptance and use as the most useful control approach in the industry. However, the PID controller lacks robustness to uncertainties and stability under disturbances. To address this problem, this paper proposes an optimal fuzzy-PID technique for a two-degree-of-freedom cart-pole system. Fuzzy rules can be combined with controllers such as PID to tune their coefficients and allow the controller to deliver substantially improved performance. To achieve this, the fuzzy logic method is applied in conjunction with the PID approach to provide essential control inputs and improve the control algorithm efficiency. The achieved control gains are then optimized via the imperialist competitive algorithm. Consequently, the objective function for the cart-pole system is regarded as the summation of the displacement error of the cart, the angular error of the pole, and the control force. This control concept has been tested via simulation and experimental validations. Obtained results are presented to confirm the accuracy and efficiency of the suggested method. © 2022 S. Hadipour Lakmesari et al

Highly Saline Water Desalination Using Direct Contact Membrane Distillation (DCMD): Experimental and Simulation Study

The path for water molecules transported across a membrane in real porous membranes has been considered to be a constant factor in the membrane distillation (MD) process (i.e., constant tortuosity); as such, its effect on membrane performance at various operating conditions has been ignored by researchers. Therefore, a simultaneous heat and mass transfer model throughout the direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) module was developed in this study by taking into account the hypothetical path across the membrane as a variable factor within the operating conditions because it exhibits the changes to the mass transfer resistance across the membrane under the DCMD run. The DCMD process was described by the developed model using a system of nonlinear equations and solved numerically by MATLAB software. The performance of the poly-tetra-fluoroethylene (PTFE) membrane was examined to treat 200 g/L NaCl saline at various operating conditions. The simulation results in the present work showed that the hypothetical proposed path across the membrane has a variable value and was affected by changing the feed temperature and feed concentration. The results estimated by the developed model showed an excellent conformity with the experimental results. The salt rejection remained high (greater than 99.9%) in all cases. The temperature polarization coefficient for the DCMD ranged between 0.88 and 0.967, and the gain output ratio (GOR) was 0.893. The maximum thermal efficiency of the system was 84.5%