PREDICTING ABSENTEEISM OF FEMALE STUDENTS IN ALABAMA

Abstract Students are chronically absent when they miss at least 15 days of the school year. Past researchers have identified income and environment as factors that affect school absenteeism. Alabama is a poor state with a high crime rate. The hypothesis for this research is that the absenteeism of female students in Alabama is high. Do we reject or fail to reject this hypothesis. If we fail to reject this hypothesis, then what other factors can affect absenteeism in schools? How can we best predict the absenteeism of female students in Alabama? What is the effect of bad data on predictive models? This research aims to answer the above questions. Machine learning has proven to be one of the best methods in making good predictions for better decision-making. Different machine learning models are used for making predictions, but the outstanding question is how to identify the best model to predict dependent features. Are features very essential when considering the type of model to be used for prediction? This research aims to analyze and compare the percentage of prediction and accuracy of prediction using supervised machine learning models while considering features. Based on findings, the recommendation for the best model to predict female students\u27 absenteeism in Alabama school districts was made. Also, the hypothesis that the absenteeism of female students in Alabama is high was rejected. This research is limited to only supervised machine learning models. Information on male students in Alabama is not included in this research Keywords: Absenteeism, Machine Learning, Predictive Model, Naïve, Random Forest, Borut

Distribution and damage characteristics of an emerging insect pest of cashew, Plocaederus ferrugineus L. (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) In Nigeria: A preliminary report

Among the numerous insect pests infesting cashew in Nigeria, the cashew trunk and root borer, Plocaederus ferrugineus L. (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) is fast becoming the most dreaded because itsinfestation results in the sudden death of the tree within weeks. Observations at Ochaja in 1999/2000 and at Ibadan in 2005 of “sudden death” of mature cashew trees within few weeks of infestation were indications of emergence of new pest of cashew in Nigeria, which needs urgent investigation. Frass and gum exudates were collected from the trunk base of dead plants before they were cut down andexhumed carefully from the soil. Soil samples were collected from beneath the excavated roots. The bored holes on the trunk and roots were excised to expose their frass and gum contents. Both the frassand gum exudates collected from the base of the cashew trunk and those from excised trunk and roots together with the soil samples from beneath the excavated roots were thinly spread out in thelaboratory to search for the various life stages of the beetles. Brief description of the beetle’s life stages and parts of the infested/dead stands were made. The rate of infestation of cashew trees at Ibadan was18.13%, resulting in a death rate of 1.88% of trees, while the infestation rate at Ochaja was 13.3% with a death rate of 6.38%. The eggs were conspicuously absent at the time of this assessment as they had all emerged and developed into larvae, pupae and adults. The control of the pest at advanced stage of the larval development was very difficult; hence control measures were recommended to be initiated at early stage of infestation. Strict cultural practices gave desired results

Air quality index pattern around petroleum production facilities

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to better understand the impact of petroleum production facilities on ambient air quality of host airshed. Design/methodology/approach: Field measurements were taken daily for four consecutive months around petroleum production facilities in the Niger Delta area, of Nigeria, one of the world’s important petroleum producing areas. Statistical analysis tool and air quality analytical tool known as the air quality index (AQI) were applied on the field data obtained. Findings: The mean measured daily concentrations of both carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) between distances 50 and 500 m of petroleum flow stations were of the range 140 – 3400 mg/m3 and 23 – 1250 µg/m3 respectively. The AQI from measured CO concentrations in the study area ranged between 1 and 44, an indication of good AQI category with no known health effects but a need for cautionary statement. Similarly, over 97 percent of the measured concentrations of NO2 were below 0.60 ppm which implies that the AQI of the host environment of the flow stations were below 200 with respect to NO2 thus indicating a good category of air with no health alarm. However, at the 60 m distance around a flow station, the AQI was 210 thus the quality of available air at this point could be described as very unhealthy. Generally the concentrations of CO were higher than NO2 in all the distances from the flow stations and were corroborated with their significant T-test values. The T-test results of the relationship between the concentrations of the air pollutants per time of the day, showed that their T-test values were not significant, indicating that concentrations of these air pollutants were independent of the sampling time. A strong and positive correlation existed between the two air pollutants signifying common sources.Originality/value: The paper highlights that at 60 m distance around petroleum production facilities, people with respiratory or heart disease, the elderly and children should be prevented from gaining access in the morning without taking necessary precautionary measures against the inhalation of air pollutants

Physiological quality of hybrid maize seeds during containerized-dry storage with silica gel

Seed storage operations in the tropics would benefit from low input techniques that can maintain seed physiological quality for considerably long periods without investments in cooling. A study wasconducted to evaluate seed vigour and estimate seed longevity in maize during dry storage with commercial desiccant (silica gel) at various levels of gel/seed ratios in air-tight containers under ambient tropical temperature. Seed moisture content (MC) was lowest indicating effective drying at 1:1 gel/seed (100 g of seed stored over 100 g of gel) and 1:2.5 gel/seed ratio (100 g of seed stored over 80 gof gel) during 2 trials set up in 2005 and 2006. After 4 months of storage, laboratory seed germination capacity and vigour variables were consistently higher (

Pre-heading growth performance of plantain suckers as influenced by irrigation and mulching

Growth performance of plantain (Musa AAB) sword sucker, in response to mulching, irrigation and irrigation-cum-mulching, was studied over a period of 12 post-planting months. Leaf formation was enhanced most by irrigation-cum-mulching treatment, a maximum leaf extrusion rate of about 3.5 leaves per month being assumed at 8th post-planting week, compared with a range of 1.5-2.8 leaves per month in the control plants. Mulching supported shoot growth more than irrigation during the rainy season, the peak rates of leaf extrusion being four and three leaves month­¹, respectively. In the dry season, however, while the parameter was reduced to three in the irrigated plants, it dropped to about two in the mulched plants. Soil penetration by the roots was not significantly influenced by the treatments applied during the initial six postplanting, raining months. The trait was reduced by irrigation and irrigation-cum-mulching at the 9th to 12th post-planting months, a period squarely within the dry season. From a general initial level of 35cm depth, the plant root extended to 85cm in the control plants, but was curtailed to 77.4cm by mulching, 64.2cm by irrigation and 53.1cm by irrigation-cum-mulching eventually. Although mulching was as effective as mulching-cum-irrigation in supporting sucker growth during the rainy season, supplementary irrigation during the dry season would be essential. Key Words: Plantain Musa species; mulching; irrigation Moor J. Agric. Res. Vol.4(1) 2003: 66-7

Laboratory Culture Technique for Cephonodes hylas Linnaeus (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae)

Cephonodes hylas (L) is a major Lepidopterous defoliator insect pest that is responsible for 50-70% yield loss of robusta coffee in Nigeria. The biology of the pest was not fully understood due to paucity of information on its rearing in captivity. In addition, on eclosion, the young adults have undeveloped gonads and they require feed before maturation of their gonads. A new laboratory culture technique for this pest is therefore, discussed in this study. Eight cages were initially screened in the laboratory for rearing the insects. Subsequently, four concentrations (5, 10, 20 and 25%) of three sources of sugar; table cane sugar, analytical sucrose and honey were tested for their suitability for raising adults C. hylas under laboratory conditions in the chosen muslin cage with a feeding platform. The moths fed actively on the diets and lived longer than when starved. It was also confirmed that the adults require food for maturation of the gonads. A mean longevity of 14days/adult was attained with the 25% sucrose as against 4 days when starved (given water only) while a mean fecundity of 957 viable eggs/ female was obtained compared to an average of 132 eggs/female in the wild population of the insect. No egg was recorded for the starved moth. The 10% commercial cane sugar solution was adjudged best diet for laboratory rearing of adult C. hylas. Keywords: Laboratory; Culture/Rearing; Diet; Cephonodes hyla

ESTIMATION OF PRIMARY AIR POLLUTANTS’ EMISSIONS FROM NIGER-DELTA FLOWSTATIONS BY LONG TERM CONTINUOUS MONITORING

This study was carried out to evaluate the air quality of upstream petroleum operations in Nigerian oilfields. Sox, NOx, VOC and Cox concentrations were measured at six flow-stations within Niger-Delta region of Nigeria at 60, 200, and 500m respectively away from the point sources for eighteen months using Testo 350 Gas Analyzer. Statistical analyses of the obtained data were carried out using ANOVA and Scheffe Post Hoc tests to determine the significance level of each pollutant at each field and to determine any reduction level from the previous study. Sox concentration was discovered to alarmingly high at all distances in all the fields while Cox posed no threat no threat, except for oilfield 3 where it was a little bit above the standard at 200m away from the flare. NOx emission at oilfield 4, 5 and 6 were a threat to the environment while its values at fields 1, 2 and 3 fluctuated. High concentration of VOC was also recorded for sites 1, 2 and 4 but significant at sites 3, 5 and 6. Development of Air Quality Index (AQI) and other control and abatement techniques were recommended

Evaluation of the toxicity of Actara 25 WG for the control of the cocoa mirid Sahlbergella singularis Hagl. (Hemiptera: Miridae) in Nigeria

In Nigeria, the brown cocoa mirid Sahlbergella singularis is responsible for over 30% yield loss in cocoa. Insecticides still remain a very important component among the strategies for effective controlof major insect pests of cocoa in Nigeria. The Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN) has the “National Mandate” to evaluate and recommend new insecticides for use on cocoa in Nigeria. Themortality rates of mirids on exposure to the various concentrations (0.01, 0.013, 0.015 and 0.02%) of Actara 25 WG increased with period of exposure of the mirids in the laboratory. Both Actara and theStandard Miricide were similar at 0.020% concentration as both gave a 100% kill of mirids at the 90th min. No mortalities were recorded in control cages throughout the exposure period. The insecticide didnot produce any adverse side effects on cocoa seedlings and mature plants sprayed with the various concentrations over the years. The relative toxicity of the insecticide at the four different concentrationsto adult mirids, 24 h after the first field treatment application, was 93.3, 82.4, 81.8 and 100% adult mortality, respectively. In the case of the nymphal mirids, percentage mortality was 89.6, 81.5, 86.8 and94.3% for the various concentrations, respectively. The population of both the adult and nymphal mirids crashed to almost zero (0) in most cases suggesting about 100% mortality 24 h after the secondspraying on the residual mirid populations. Mirid numbers remained so low until the third spray application after which it was unnecessary to spray the sub-plots, thereafter. Spraying of mature andfruiting cocoa farms at application rate of 0.015% was found adequate and recommended taking into consideration the impact of the product on the environment and for economic reasons

The termicidal effects of Chlorpyrifos 48 EC, Endosulfan 35 EC, Dichlorvos 1000 EC and Diazinon 600 EC against termites in South-West Nigeria

Studies were carried out at the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria, Ibadan to determine the efficacy of four insecticides (Chlorpyrifos 48 EC, Endosulfan 35 EC, Dichlorvos 1000 EC and Diazinon 600 EC) ontermites (workers and soldier castes). The results showed that for both topical and residual action tests, worker caste mortality rates ranging from 70 to 100% were recorded for Chlorpyrifos, Endosulfan,Dichlorvos and Diazinon at 0.063, 0.125, 0.25 and 0.5% treatment levels within 120 min after exposure (MAE). For the soldier caste, the mortality rate was between 10 and 70% at the same treatment levelswithin the same time interval. However, the insecticide concentrations had very low fumigant action against the termites (workers and soldiers) when exposed to different concentrations of their fumes. There was no mortality recorded in any of the control petridishes. A higher mortality of the soldier caste was recorded for the topical application (10 to 70%) than the residual application, which gave a better kill of the workers caste (90 to 100%) 120 MAE. The high death rate of the workers might be due to the fact that they were generally more active during foraging and thus more susceptible to the effects of theinsecticide either by contact or systemic actions. The fact that the workers have a lower surface area and body weight than the soldiers might have also contributed to their higher vulnerability to theinsecticides. The application of these insecticides at 0.25% active ingredient is adjudged the best due to the high mortality rate achieved. Also the application at 0.25% will help to maintain cost effectiveness ofthese insecticides and minimize environmental pollution, toxicity and phytotoxicity problems associated with pesticides