GENDER PARTICIPATION IN CASSAVA PROCESSING ACTIVITIES IN AYETORO AREA OF OGUN STATE

The research investigated gender participation in cassava processing activities in Ayetoro area of Ogun State. Cassava is a staple food in Nigeria generally processed into “gari”, “lafun” and “fufu”. Male and female processors participate in the various processing activities with the use of different processing techniques. Purposive and random sampling techniques were adopted for the study. Four villages were chosen and 240 respondents comprising of male and female processors in “gari”, “lafun” and “fufu” processing. The data were analyzed using both percentage distribution and analysis of variance. The study reveals that 37.5% of male processors were between 41-50 years while 30.6% of female processor was between 31 – 40 years. Majority (60.4%) of female processors were Christians while (50.0%) of the male processors were Muslim. The household size of most of male processors (50.0%) ranges between 6-10 members while that of 56.9% of female processors range between 1 -5 members. The study further shows that 40.0% of female processors had no formal education compared to only 18.8% of their male counterpart. The evidence from the study concludes that at p =0.05, there are significance difference between gender participation and their ages (F=3.73, p=0.05), religion (F=4.167, p=0.044), household size (F=4.454, p=0.037) and sources of cassava (F=12.17, p=0.001). Also, significant difference exist between the attitude of male and female participating in cassava processing activities about the need for men’s strength (F=9.79, p=0.002), the availability of time on men’s part (F=5.01, p=0.03). However, no significant difference exists between male and female participation based on constraints faced with different processing techniques they are using. Finally, it is recommended that there is the need to motivate male participation in cassava processing activities, and that processing of agricultural products should not be seen as female job alone.Crop Production/Industries,

Generalized Methodology for Array Processor Design of Real-time Systems

Many techniques and design tools have been developed for mapping algorithms to array processors. Linear mapping is usually used for regular algorithms. Large and complex problems are not regular by nature and regularization may cause a computational overhead which prevents the ability to meet real-time deadlines. In this paper, a systematic design methodology for mapping partially-regular as well as regular Dependence Graphs is presented. In this approach the set of all optimal solutions is generated under the given constraints. Due to nature of the problem and the tight timing constraints of real-time systems the set of alternative solutions is limited. An image processing example is discusse

Continuous time volatility modelling: COGARCH versus Ornstein-Uhlenbeck models

We compare the probabilistic properties of the non-Gaussian Ornstein-Uhlenbeck based stochastic volatility model of Barndorff-Nielsen and Shephard (2001) with those of the COGARCH process. The latter is a continuous time GARCH process introduced by the authors (2004). Many features are shown to be shared by both processes, but differences are pointed out as well. Furthermore, it is shown that the COGARCH process has Pareto like tails under weak regularity conditions

Are white-beaked dolphins Lagenorhynchus albirostris food specialst? Their diet in the southern North Sea

The white-beaked dolphin Lagenorhynchus albirostris is the most numerous cetacean after the harbour porpoise Phocoena phocoena in the North Sea, including Dutch coastal waters. In this study, the diet of 45 white-beaked dolphins stranded on the Dutch coast between 1968 and 2005 was determined by analysis of stomach contents. Although 25 fish species were identified, the diet was dominated by Gadidae (98.0% by weight, 40.0% in numbers), found in all stomachs. All other prey species combined contributed little to the diet by weight (2.0%W). The two most important prey species were whiting Merlangius merlangus (91.1% frequency of occurrence (FO), 30.5%N, 37.6%W) and cod Gadus morhua (73.3%FO, 7.4%N, 55.9%W). In numbers, gobies were most common (54.6%N), but contributed little to the diet by weight (0.6%W). Three stomachs contained different prey compared to the others: one animal had taken 2250 gobies, accounting for 96.4% of all gobies found; one animal had fed on 29 small sepiolids; and one animal had solely taken haddock Melanogrammus aeglefinus. Squid and haddock were not found in any other stomach. The overall diet showed a lasting predominance of whiting and cod, without clear changes over time (35 years) or differences between sexes or size-classes of dolphins. This study adds to earlier published and unpublished data for Dutch coastal waters and agrees well with studies of white-beaked dolphins from other parts of the species’ range, in the North Sea and in Canadian waters, with Gadidae dominating the diet on both sides of the Atlantic

EVALUATION OF THE NATIONAL FADAMA DEVELOPMENT PROJECT APPROACH TO RURAL DEVELOPMENT: LESSONS FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT COUNCILS IN NIGERIA

The development of rural areas impacts positively on per capita income and food production. The tier of government entrusted with the responsibility in Nigeria of developing the rural areas has not lived up to expectation in spite of the huge capital investment. This paper identified the root causes behind the failings of the local governments, reviews the performance of the fadama programme and draw on the reasons behind the successes of the latter as a basis for suggestions on how the local government system can be improved. Capacity building at the local level, increased demand for accountability, involvement of private and research bodies in local government activities should be encouraged to enhance rural development.Community/Rural/Urban Development,

Potentials of castor seed meal (Ricinus communis L.) as feed ingredient for Oreochromis niloticus

The potentials of castor seed (Ricinus communis) meal as feed ingredient for Oreochromis niloticus was determined by using boiled seeds to prepare five diets which were fed to the fish species. The effects of the experimental diets on the weight gain, specific growth rate, feed conversion ratio, protein efficiency ratio, apparent net protein utilization, digestibility and carcass composition were investigated. The best of these growth factors were obtained with feed formulated from R. communis seeds boiled for 50 and 65 minutes. The highest carcass protein content was observed with fish fed with 65 minute-boiled seed

ECG baseline wander reduction using linear phase filters

The continuous real time reduction of baseline wander is a considerable problem in electrocardiography during exercises. Our solution consists of spectral filtering. The legitimacy of high-pass filtering of the ECG by means of digital linear phase filters with a low cut-off frequency as high as the heart rate is shown. The specifications of these filters are derived from experimental results. Special hardware is presented that simultaneously performs the desired real-time filter operation in four ECG leads

Effects of Allium cepa L. peels extract on gonadotropins, testosterone and sperm variables in Oba Marshal broiler cocks

Allium cepa (onion), a natural seasoning agent that contains significant amounts of potent antioxidants in its scaly leaves is used in folkloric medicine to manage several diseases globally. Antioxidants have an essential effect on sperm health parameters; however, there is limited information on the effects of Allium cepa scaly leaf extract on reproductive functions in Oba Marshal breeder cocks. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of the aqueous extract of Allium cepa scaly leaf on reproductive functions in sexually matured Oba Marshal breeder cocks. Allium cepa bulbs were obtained from a market in Abeokuta, Ogun State. Dry scaly leaves were peeled, pulverised, macerated in distilled water, filtered and concentrated. Twenty, 42 weeks old Oba Marshal breeder cocks (3.48 – 3.62 kg) were divided into 4 groups (n = 5) and treated daily for 2 weeks thus: CT (control, distilled water, 0.5 mL/kg), T2 (extract 200 mg/kg/bird), T4 (extract 400 mg/kg/bird), T8 (extract 800 mg/kg/bird). Sperm characteristics were assessed microscopically. Testosterone, follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) were analysed using ELISA. Data were analysed using ANOVA at α0.05. Treated birds had significantly (p < 0.05) higher sperm motility, morphology but non-significant changes in sperm viability and concentration compared with the controls. Also, serum FSH and LH significantly increased, while testosterone had no significant change in test groups compared to the control. Aqueous extract of Allium cepa scaly leaf improved testicular functions and morphology in the test cocks. The reproductive function enhancement of the extract may be due to its antioxidant effect. Keywords: Allium cepa, Breeding, Broiler cocks, Spermatogenesis, Testosteron