The physical basis of the method of differential thermal analysis

In the present study, it is intended to concentrate on Stefan Problems exclusively, and to attempt a partial solution making use of experimental data relating to (a) the temperature distribution in a finite medium of given shape before, during, and after a thermal reaction, and (b) the rate of propagation of such a reaction through the medium. For this type of problem a number of analytical solutions have appeared(27 - 36), but so far only the solution for semi -infinite media has been carried to a stage suitable for numerical calculation. The essential feature of the problem is the existence of a moving boundary at which heat is generated or removed, and one obstacle to complete solution is that the history of this interface as it moves is unknown. To determine the history (a space - time curve) of the interface, it is necessary to solve the heat equation, which is a linear homogenous parabolic equation, with the appropriate boundary conditions and with a suitable discontinuity in the first -order space derivatives across the unknown interface(37). Such a solution, in most cases, is either very difficult or impossible

E-GOVERNANCE, REVENUE GENERATION AND PUBLIC SERVICE DELIVERY IN NIGERIA: AN OVERVIEW OF THE E- TAXATION SYSTEM IN LAGOS STATE

In the early 90s, e-governance became a global pursuit towards improving public service delivery. Nigeria joined the bandwagon of the e-governance drive in year 2000, when the government realized the need to adopt e-governance to improve public service delivery. This paper attempts to look at the implementation of e-governance in Nigeria, in relation to e-taxation in Lagos state. It examines the capacity of the Lagos state government to utilize Information, communication and technology (ICT) devices to generate revenue and block revenue leakages. The study is empirical in nature, making use the survey method (questionnaires) to gather data. Descriptive statistics were employed to analyze responses from the respondents, and the Chi-Square statistical method of analysis was used to test the hypotheses formulated. The study revealed that despite the huge investment of state government on ICT to realize these objectives little progress has been achieved. This can be attributed to infrastructural gap, power failure, digital divide, low ICT literacy level, theft and vandalizations of ICT equipment, poor enlightenment among others. The study concludes that the emerging growth and adoption of e-taxation in Lagos state has not significantly improved its revenue generation. Hence, among the suggestions proffered by the paper is that the state government should partner with software providers to provide smart phones for tax payers at minimum cost to ease tax payments via ICT with Tax Identification Numbers (TIN). Key words: E-governance, Public service, Economic growth, E-taxation, Tax management, Tax avoidance, Tax evasion

Effect of genotypes on soyabean seed quality development under West African Rainfed conditions

Effect of genotypes on soyabean seed quality development was monitored under rainfed conditions at Abeokuta between July and November, 1997. A consistent increase in rate of normal germination and seedling emergence occurred among early harvests. Greatest germination rate was detected in seeds harvested around physiological (functional) and harvest (full) maturity stages. Seedling emergence was significantly influenced by seed harvest date in all soyabean entries. Germination and emergence increased as soyaben seed development progressed and was greatest for seeds harvested between R7 and R8 in all soyabean cultivars. Enforced desiccation to 10% moisture content promoted germination of seeds harvested around physiological maturity stages. The onset of desiccation tolerance fell between physiological and harvest maturity stages in all the six soyabean cultivars. The rapid decline in seedling emergence of artifically dried seeds at 50d after mtff as against 60d after mtff for normal laboratory gemination indicated that seedlots of initial good germination may not necessarily produce high seedling emergence under good seeding condition due to differences in genotypes. Association of seed characters such as seed size, seed weight, germinability and emergence ability is essential in soyabean breeding to facilitate selection of genotypes with good seed quality, thereby reducing elaborate storage and screening methods

C-Reactive Protein In Hospital Patients In A Southwestern Nigerian Community

This study was conducted to evaluate c-reactive proteins on some inflammatory diseases among individuals aged 1 year and above attending out-patient clinic and emergency units of three hospitals in Abeokuta in southwestern Nigeria.  Of the 266 blood samples examined overall, the CRP value was highest (16.7%) among age group 31-40 years and there was significant difference between CRP value and age groups (p=0.0060).  More males (18%) had high CRP than female (16%), however there was no significant difference between the CRP values and sex.  C-reactive protein was significantly high among the patients with anaemia (p<0.0001. r = -0.376).  Of the patients with high CRP, all had significantly elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate (p<0.0001).  There was significant difference between CRP and both urea and creatinine (P<0.0001).  There was association between CRP and cholesterol with X2 value of 59.484 and significant at less than 1%. &nbsp

A Telephone-based Physiotherapy Intervention for Patients with Osteoarthritis of the Knee

This study assessed the effects of a 6-week telephone based intervention on the pain intensity and physical function of patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA), and compared the results to physiotherapy conducted in the clinic. Fifty randomly selected patients with knee OA were assigned to one of two treatment groups: a clinic group (CG) and a tele-physiotherapy group (TG). The CG received thrice-weekly physiotherapist administered osteoarthritis-specific exercises in the clinic for six weeks. The TG received structured telephone calls thrice-weekly at home, to monitor self-administered osteoarthritis-specific exercises. Participants’ pain intensity and physical function were assessed at baseline, two, four, and six weeks, in the clinic environment. Within group comparison showed significant improvements across baseline, and at weeks two, four, and six for both TG and CG’s pain intensity and physical function. Between-group comparison of CG and TG’s pain intensity and physical function at baseline and weeks two, four, and six showed no significant differences. This study demonstrated that a six-week course of structured telephone calls thrice-weekly to patients at their home, to monitor self-administered osteoarthritis-specific exercises for patients with knee OA (i.e., tele-physiotherapy) achieved comparable results to physiotherapy conducted in the clinic. 

An overview of sustainable practices in food processing supply chain environments

Climate change has been a great challenge that the world is facing, it is a menace to the society and it is causing more damage than expected. The researchers are working tirelessly to reduce its impact on the planet in order to save the future. Mitigation of greenhouse gas emission and other sustainable practices is encouraged every day to make the world a better place to live Sustainable practice has been identified as one of the major tools to control this greenhouse gas emission especially in the emergent nations where industrialization is now growing rapidly. This paper discusses and analyzes the food security and food processing industry in the emergent nations. It also reviews literature on food processing, supply chain environments, sustainability and sustainable practices in relation to how these could help in promoting the sustainable development and environmental protection goals in the emergent nations

Beyond locutionary denotations: exploring trust between practitioners and policy

This study reports the findings of a research on the trust relationship between practitioners in the Skills for Life (SfL) area and the policy that informs their practice. The exploration of this relationship was premised on an extended notion of trust relationship which draws from the Speech Act theory of Austin (1962; Searle 1969; Kissine 2008), leading to the claim that the existence of different layers of imports in textual analysis makes it possible for a trust relationship to exist between the human/physical and the non human/non physical. The study found that the majority of practitioners in the SfL field trust policy to deliver its inherent policy only to a limited extent. Amongst others, the study identified the impact of the perlocutionary import of policy text on practitioners as a viable reason for this limited level of trust. Such perlocutionary imports, it also found, have adverse impact on practitioners who are considered to have drawn from previous experience to mediate the import of contemporary policies

Sodium content and labelling of packaged foods and beverages in Nigeria: A cross-sectional study

Increased consumption of unhealthy processed foods, particularly those high in sodium, is a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. The nutrition information on packaged foods can help guide consumers toward products with less sodium and support government actions to improve the healthiness of the food supply. The aims of this study were to estimate the proportion of packaged foods displaying nutrition information for sodium and other nutrients specified by Nigerian nutrition labelling regulations and to determine the amount of sodium in packaged foods sold in Nigeria using data from the nutritional information panel. Data were collected from November 2020 to March 2021 from in-store surveys conducted in supermarkets in three states. A total of 7039 products were collected. Overall, 91.5%

Genetic variability, heritability and genetic advance studies in topcross and three-way cross maize (Zea mays L) hybrids

Understanding the genetic variability, heritability and genetic advance of traits in any plant population is an important pre-requisite for selection program. This study was designed to assess the magnitude of genetic variability, heritability and genetic advance of traits in top-cross and three-way cross maize (Zea mays L) hybrids evaluated at three locations in South-Western Nigeria. The trial consisted of ten genotypes each of top-cross and three-way cross hybrids arranged in randomized complete block design with three replications. Data on grain yield and other desirable traits across the three locations were used to estimate the genetic variability parameters, heritability and genetic advance (GA). Highly significant (P ≤ 0.01) differences were detected within each hybrid class for all the traits. Traits evaluated in this study exhibited different levels of variability, heritability and genetic advance between the two hybrid classes. Low to moderate phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV) and genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV) were recorded. Also, low to very high heritability and low to high GA values were recorded for all the traits measured in the top-cross hybrids, whereas the three-way cross hybrids exhibited low to moderately high heritability estimates and low to moderate GA values. Grain yield and field weight showed moderate GCV, moderately high heritability and high GA values in top-cross hybrids. These characters exhibited moderate GCV but low heritability and GA values in three-way hybrids. More characters in top-cross hybrids revealed sufficient amount of variability than in three-way cross hybrids, thus offer scope for genetic improvement through selection