Hypoglycaemia and improved testicular parameters in Sesamum radiatum treated normo-glycaemic adult male Sprague Dawley rats

The development of a new dietary adjunct with a novel natural antioxidant impact on diabetes mellitus with prevention of its long term deleterious effect on the male fertility in general has been increasinglyexpressed in recent time. Hence, we aim to evaluate the effects of aqueous extract of Sesame radiatum leaves on adult male Sprague Dawley rats’ testis using unbiased stereological, biochemical andhormonal studies. Thirty adult male rats were divided into three groups of 10 rats each. The treated groups; 1 and 2 received 28.0 and 14 mg/kg bwt of aqueous extract of sesame leaves via oral garvage,respectively, while the control group received equal volume of 0.9% (w/v) normal saline per day for 6 weeks. Serum follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), testosterone and blood glucose were assayed. Inaddition five microns of uniformly random transverse sections of processed testicular tissues were equally analyzed using an un-biased stereological study. The result showed that the mean percentagevolume fractions (Vf) of epithelial cells and lumen of the testis were 76% (

Family Background and Entrepreneurial Intention of Fresh Graduates in Nigeria

This study seeks to assess, empirically, the impact of family background on the entrepreneurial intention among fresh graduates in Nigeria. The family as a social institution remains resilient in its psychological functions in Nigeria. It is a source of finance and human resources, social and cultural values, and role modeling.  While studies have shown that family background is one of the numerous determinants of entrepreneurial intention, we know little about the role which family background plays in the promotion of entrepreneurial intentions in Nigeria, especially among the fresh graduates.  This study, therefore, seeks to test the hypothesis that family background has significant influence on the entrepreneurial intention among fresh graduates in Nigeria. We draw a sample of 250 corps’ members, currently serving with the Nigerian Youth Service Corp (NYSC) in Bayelsa state, using a simple random sampling technique. With the aid of the primary data collected, our findings are quite revealing. Following the preliminary conclusions drawn from this study, we offer suggestions for further studies. Keywords; Entrepreneurial intention, perception of feasibility, perception of desirability, family background, and Problem-Based Learning

Milk Yield (Offtake), Composition and Microbiological Quality in West African Dwarf Goats Fed Concentrate Diets with Varying Levels of Moringa oleifera Leafmeal and Seedmeal

The study was carried out to investigate the effect of feeding varying inclusion levels of Moringa oleifera leafmeal (MOL) and defatted Moringa oleifera seedmeal (DMOS), on milk yield (offtake), milk proximate composition and milk microbilolgical quality of sixteen lactating West African Dwarf (WAD) goats. The completely randomized design with four dietary treatments and three does per treatment was used. Average milk yield ranged from 116.00 g/day to 186.00 g/day (early lactation), 78.00 to 170 g/day (mid lactation) and 32.00 to 184.00 g/day (late lactation). Highest mean milk yield was 174.00 g/day for diet T3 (0.30% (MOL) and 0% (DMOS)). Ranges of the milk proximate composition were: 13.50 to 17.22% (total solids), 3.60 to 6.05% (fat), 3.17 to 5.45% (protein), 9.88 to 11.17% (solids-not-fat), 0.73 to 0.82% (ash) and 4.93 to 6.36% (lactose). There exist significant (P<0.01), but negative correlations between milk yield versus fat and protein (r = - 0.691, - 0.643 respectively). Total viable bacterial counts ranged from 1.9 x 106 to 8.6 x 108 cfu/ml. Total coliform counts ranged between 3.7 x 106 and 3.3 x 109 cfu/ml. Total fungal counts ranged from 3.1 x 103 to 3.4 x 105 cfu/ml. This experiment revealed that the inclusion of Moringa oleifera leafmeal and seedmeal in the concentrate diets of lactating WAD goats resulted in highest mean milk yield (offtake) at the 0.30% (MOL) and 0% (DMOS) dietary level. The raw milk was of poor microbiological quality (>5.0 x 106). Keywords: Milk yield (offtake), quality, goat

Determinants of Agricultural Labour Productivity in the West African Sub-Region, 1970-2004

This paper examined the patterns and determinants of agricultural labour productivity among countries in West African sub-region over the period 1970 – 2004. The study was based on panel data extracted from FAOSTAT, the online statistical database of the Food and Agriculture Organisation as well as the database of United Nations Statistics Division and the Microsoft Encarta Encyclopaedia CD-ROM. The data were analyzed by a combination of descriptive and regression methods. The study revealed that eight (8) of the sixteen (16) West African countries (Cote d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Niger, Senegal and Togo) had average labour productivities that were lower during the 2000-2004 period than the average they stated with during the 1970s. The West-African average labour productivity ranged between 484.72 and 536.52 from 1970 to 2004. Regression analyses revealed that agricultural labour productivity among countries in the sub-region would rise with increase in literacy rates, increase in capital formation (savings), increase in rates of fertilizer and tractor use as well as increase in proportion of agricultural land put under irrigation (p<0.01). However, periods of military rule and civilian dictatorship (one party state) were identified as being associated with significantly lower agricultural labour productivity in the sub-region. It is recommended that Governments in West Africa should intensify their efforts in providing basic education to their people as well as providing support for increased private sector participation in the procurement and distribution of critical inputs like fertilizer, tractors services, etc. &nbsp

Comparison of Power Output from Solar PV Panels with Reflectors and Solar Tracker

In this paper, performance enhancement of solar Photo Voltaic (PV) panels has been experimented utilizing diffused reflectors and solar-tracker in other to determine the one with higher power output. An intelligent solar tracker and diffused reflector augmented systems were designed, developed and installed to compare the power output that can be generated from each of them when standing alone; and which system will achieve higher power output so as to reduce the number of PV panels required at any given time especially when cost is a major factor. For this comparative study, experimental readings were simultaneously taken from the panel, with sun tracker and the panel with diffuse reflectors aligned at 23.50 with the horizontal. Experimental results indicate appreciable increase in the overall power output of the solar panels. It is discovered that the power output of the panel with reflectors was higher from about 11 am till 2 pm, while the panel with tracking was higher at other times. The average power output of the system for a day is about the same. Looking at the cost of fabrication and the complexity of the tracking system, the reflector system is the better option. Keywords: Diffuse Reflectors, Performance enhancement, Power output, Solar PV panels, Tracking system

RISK SURVEILLANCE OF MULTIDRUG RESISTANT PSEUDOMONAS AERUGINOSA IN WATER AND PLASMID RELATEDNESS WITH CLINICAL STRAINS IN ABEOKUTA, SOUTHWEST NIGERIA

Pseudomonas aeruginosa as an opportunistic pathogen has been a subject of investigation due its intrinsic drug resistance.ª¤?ª¤? Its frequent presence in drinking, domestic and recreational water highlights its significance to public health.ª¤?ª¤? This study was aimed at risk surveillance of multidrug resistant environmental P. aeruginosa in water and their plasmid relatedness with clinical strains in Abeokuta, southwestern Nigeria.ª¤?ª¤? A total of forty-one (41) strains with prevalence: well water (29.3%); swimming pool (22.0%) hospital storage tank (19.5%); tap water (14.6%); sachet water (12.2%); and bottled water (2.4%) respectively were isolated from two hundred and eighty eight (288) water samples and were compared with 43 clinical strains from wound (37.3%), blood (11.6%), ear swab (20.9%)ª¤? and urine (20.9%)ª¤? and eye swab (9.3%).ª¤?ª¤?ª¤?ª¤? Both environmental and clinical strains were all multidrug resistant, though with different plasmid profile.ª¤? Plasmid with molecular weight size of 2010bp was detected in only 1 (2.5%) out of the 41 environmental strains as against 9 (20.93%) of the 43 clinical strains having between 22520-23130bp molecular weight.ª¤? All strains harboring plasmid were resistant to varied types of more than seven drugs out of the eleven tested (gentamycin 10ª¤?g, erythromycin 15ª¤?g, ampicillin 10ª¤?g, augmentin 10ª¤?g, cotrimoxazole 25ª¤?g, tetracycline 30ª¤?g, streptomycin 10ª¤?g, ciprofloxacin 5ª¤?g, cloxacillin 5ª¤?g, amoxicillin 25ª¤?g, and cefuroxime 30ª¤?g). ª¤?Strains without plasmid were also multidrug resistant.ª¤? This finding would be important in the control of multidrug resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection in Nigeria

IMPROVEMENT OF TOMATO SEED LONGEVITY USING SOME DRY SEED PRE-STORAGE TREATMENTS

Pre-storage treatment to retard seed deterioration could either involve application of synthetic chemicals or plant/organic products. This study was conducted to determine the efficacy of some organic dry seed treatments and inorganic chemical treatments on the viability of stored seeds of four tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) varieties. The study was a factorial experiment fixed in completely randomized design. It comprised of four tomato varieties (Roma, UC-82, 2-lobes and 3-lobes) and five dry seed treatment materials (neem leaves, scent leaves, red chili, bleaching and Apron plus powders) in three replicates. Seeds stored without any treatment were used as the control. The tomato seeds were stored for 240 days under ambient condition (average temperature 30ºC and 75% relative humidity). Half-life of the stored seeds ranged from 286 to 2105 days. Generally, organic treatment doubled the longevity when compared to the control treatment. Performance of seed treatments depended on tomato seed variety. Use of neem leaf and scent leaf powders had greater potentials to replace the commercial inorganic seed treatment materials for tomato seed preservation under the same environmental conditions.   &nbsp

RANDOM AMPLIFIED POLYMORHIC DNA TYPING OF MULTIDRUG-RESISTANT CLINICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL Pseudomonas aeruginosa STRAINS FROM ABEOKUTA, NIGERIA.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a multidrug-resistant organism is responsible for most opportunistic infections. Genetic relatedness between clinical and environmental strains has always been limited to hospital settings.ª¤? This study utilized RAPD-PCR typing method to evaluate genetic relatedness between multidrug-resistantª¤? P. aeruginosa strains from diverse water samples (bottled water, tap water, sachet water, well water, hospital storage tank, and swimming pool water) and clinical strains (wound, blood, urine, eye and ear swab) collected from different locations in Abeokuta, Nigeria.ª¤?ª¤?ª¤? Polymorphic DNA bands with sizes ranging between 250 and 3000bp were generated from both clinical and environmental strains.ª¤? Within each population, both clinical and environmental strains were divided phylogenetically into two groups of Pc1 and Pc2 at 55% and Ps1 and Ps2 at 70% respectively.ª¤?ª¤?ª¤? Genetic similarities between clinical and environmental strains yielded a total of 7 unique fingerprints.ª¤?ª¤? Cluster 2 (51.2%) had the largest number of strains in which strains from wound, blood and ear, clustered with strains from hospital storage tank, tap water, swimming pool water, sachet water and well water.ª¤? ª¤?ª¤?These fingerprints proof genetic relatedness between clinical and environmental strains in Abeokuta, southwest Nigeria which is of public health significance, particularly, for immunocompromisedª¤?individuals.ª¤?ª¤

VALUE CHAIN ANALYSIS OF CASSAVA PRODUCTS IN OGUN STATE, NIGERIA

This study investigated the value chain analysis of cassava products in Ogun State Nigeria. Multistage was used to select 180 cassava processors and marketers. Socio-economic data were obtained from respondents with the use of pre-tested questionnaire. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, budgetary technique and Analysis of variance (ANOVA). The study revealed that majority (84.3% and 52.8%) of Cassava peel processors and marketers were female. In addition, 60.2% of the processors have secondary education while 51.4% of the marketers also have secondary education. The value chain activities carried out by the processors were, Gari; harvesting, transportation, peeling, fetching, grating mill, sieving, toasting/drying and packaging. Fufu; harvesting, transportation, peeling, fetching, soaking, sieving and packaging. Lafun; harvesting, transportation, peeling, washing, fetching, soaking, slicing, grating mill, sieving, drying and packaging. The marketing activities includes; transportation, bagging and storage (Elegbede, et al., 2018) while marketers transported, packaged and put products in storage for future sales. The mean gross margin for gari, fufu and lafun processors and marketers along the chain were N35876.13, N120463.61 and N48098.72 respectively per annum while net farm income was estimated as N35477.85, N115259.44 and N48098.72. Also, the marketing margin for gari, fufu and lafun was estimated as N25273.07, N2982.65 and N21453.49 respectively per annum while the net marketing margin per annum was estimated as N18766.84, N22489.30 and N16203.81 respectively. Conversely, the marketing efficiency for the cassava products and by-products was estimated as 74.26%, 75.44% and 75.53% respectively for gari, fufu and lafu with lafu having the highest marketing efficiency when compared with the other cassava products (gari and fufu). From the results of the net farm income and marketing margin, it was discovered that fufu is more profitable along the cassava product value chain when compared to the other products (gari and lafu). This study therefore recommends that processing and marketing of lafun and fufu is efficient and their trade is profitable. Also, cassava processors and marketers should form cooperative groups to increase access to credit for higher output and trade of products.   &nbsp

Mining intrusion detection alert logs to minimise false positives & gain attack insight

Utilising Intrusion Detection System (IDS) logs in security event analysis is crucial in the process of assessing, measuring and understanding the security state of a computer network, often defined by its current exposure and resilience to network attacks. Thus, the study of understanding network attacks through event analysis is a fast growing emerging area. In comparison to its first appearance a decade ago, the complexities involved in achieving effective security event analysis have significantly increased. With such increased complexities, advances in security event analytical techniques are required in order to maintain timely mitigation and prediction of network attacks. This thesis focusses on improving the quality of analysing network event logs, particularly intrusion detection logs by exploring alternative analytical methods which overcome some of the complexities involved in security event analysis. This thesis provides four key contributions. Firstly, we explore how the quality of intrusion alert logs can be improved by eliminating the large volume of false positive alerts contained in intrusion detection logs. We investigate probabilistic alert correlation, an alternative to traditional rule based correlation approaches. We hypothesise that probabilistic alert correlation aids in discovering and learning the evolving dependencies between alerts, further revealing attack structures and information which can be vital in eliminating false positives. Our findings showed that the results support our defined hypothesis, aligning consistently with existing literature. In addition, evaluating the model using recent attack datasets (in comparison to outdated datasets used in many research studies) allowed the discovery of a new set of issues relevant to modern security event log analysis which have only been introduced and addressed in few research studies. Secondly, we propose a set of novel prioritisation metrics for the filtering of false positive intrusion alerts using knowledge gained during alert correlation. A combination of heuristic, temporal and anomaly detection measures are used to define metrics which capture characteristics identifiable in common attacks including denial-of-service attacks and worm propagations. The most relevant of the novel metrics, Outmet is based on the well known Local Outlier Factor algorithm. Our findings showed that with a slight trade-off of sensitivity (i.e. true positives performance), outmet reduces false positives significantly. In comparison to prior state-of-the-art, our findings show that it performs more efficiently given a variation of attack scenarios. Thirdly, we extend a well known real-time clustering algorithm, CluStream in order to support the categorisation of attack patterns represented as graph like structures. Our motive behind attack pattern categorisation is to provide automated methods for capturing consistent behavioural patterns across a given class of attacks. To our knowledge, this is a novel approach to intrusion alert analysis. The extension of CluStream resulted is a novel light weight real-time clustering algorithm for graph structures. Our findings are new and complement existing literature. We discovered that in certain case studies, repetitive attack behaviour could be mined. Such a discovery could facilitate the prediction of future attacks. Finally, we acknowledge that due to the intelligence and stealth involved in modern network attacks, automated analytical approaches alone may not suffice in making sense of intrusion detection logs. Thus, we explore visualisation and interactive methods for effective visual analysis which if combined with the automated approaches proposed, would improve the overall results of the analysis. The result of this is a visual analytic framework, integrated and tested in a commercial Cyber Security Event Analysis Software System distributed by British Telecom