Application of Synthetic Storm Technique for Diurnal and Seasonal Variation of Slant Path Ka-Band Rain Attenuation Time Series over a Subtropical Location in South Africa

As technology advances and more demands are on satellite services, rain-induced attenuation still creates one of the most damaging effects of the atmosphere on the quality of radio communication signals, especially those operating above 10 GHz. System designers therefore require statistical information on rain-induced attenuation over the coverage area in order to determine the appropriate transmitter and receiver characteristics to be adopted. This paper presents results on the time-varying rain characterization and diurnal variation of slant path rain attenuation in the Ka-band frequency simulated with synthetic storm techniques over a subtropical location in South Africa using 10-year rain rate time-series data. The analysis is based on the CDF of one-minute rain rate; time-series seasonal variation of rain rate observed over four time intervals: 00:00–06:00, 06:00–12:00, 12:00–18:00, and 18:00–24:00; diurnal fades margin; and diurnal variation of rain attenuation. Comparison was also made between the synthesized values and measured attenuation data. The predicted statistics are in good agreement with those obtained from the propagation beacon measurement in the area. The overall results will be needed for an acceptable planning that can effectively reduce the fade margin to a very low value for an optimum data communication over this area

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

Dividend Policy and Shareholders’ Wealth in Nigerian Quoted Banks

In 2008, the global financial meltdown was partly responsible for the bearish movement of stock prices in the Nigerian Stock Exchange. This shows that more than a single factor could be responsible for the movement of prices of quoted stocks. Company performance and information about the introduction of new technologies are among the factors that have significantly affected the market value of shares in the past. Therefore, this paper examines empirically, the implications of adopted dividend policies on the value of shareholders’ wealth and the extent to which dividend policy affects the market value of shares in quoted banks in Nigeria. The paper focuses on the situation before and after the financial meltdown. Correlation results of dividend paid in 2007-2010 and their corresponding market value showed that payment of dividend by quoted banks is relevant to their market value and the amount paid as dividend affects the value of their share. The paper also provides insight into the implications and effect’s of policy decisions as it affects dividend payout and dividend retained for further growth on shareholders’ wealth

Investigative study of seasonal changes in Quality Parameters of Oluwa River Water, Agbabu area of Nigeria

Physico-chemical parameters of River Oluwa water in Agbabu, Nigeria were investigated to determine its quality characteristics and establish seasonal effects on the water. Water from the river was collected at five different points in dry season (March, 2008 and 2009) and rainy season (July, 2008 and 2009). Insitu parameters (pH, EC and Turbidity) were measured using Horiba Water Checker Model U-10 while TDS was by Lovibond CM – 21 Tintometer. Subsequently in the Laboratory, Na+ and K+ were determined using flame photometric methods while Ca2+, Mg2+, HCO3-, SO42-, Cl-, PO42- and NO3- were determined by wet analysis. River Oluwa water was alkaline with average pH of 7.41 and 7.53 in dry and rainy seasons respectively. Electrical conductivity (EC) was high during dry season (av. 630.44 µS/cm), but low in the rainy season (av. 317.58 µS/cm) due to long residence time in dry season allowing more water-rock interaction. Turbidity's average values of 0.14 NTU and 2.29 NTU in dry and rainy seasons respectively suggested moderate pollution with particulate matter. The order of average cations concentrations in the dry and rainy seasons was Ca2+ K+ Na+ Mg2+ while that of the anions was HCO3- Cl- SO42- NO3-. The ions concentrations though lower in rainy season, Ca2+-HCO3- water was dominant in both seasons. Quality evaluation for irrigation revealed that the water was suitable for all irrigation purposes. River Oluwa water was soft, low mineralized, chemically potable, suitable for irrigation but with lower ionic concentrations in rainy season

Impact of Credit Demand on the Productivity of Rice Farmers in South West Nigeria

Employing cross-sectional data from 360 rice farmers selected from three states in South West Nigeria, the study analyzes the impact of credit demand on the productivity of rice farmers. An Endogenous Switching Regression Model (ESRM) that accounts for both heterogeneity and sample selection biases were used to estimate the impact of credit demand on rice productivity in South West Nigeria. In addition, a Tobit regression model was employed to measure the level of participation of rice farmers in the credit market. The result of the first stage (probit model) of the ESRM revealed that household assets, access to service, climate variables, regional variables, and transaction cost are statistically significant in influencing farmers’ credit demand decision. The results of the second stage of the ESRM indicate factors such as household assets and access to service were statistically significant in explaining variations in rice productivity among participants and non-participants in the credit market. Furthermore, the results of the Tobit model showed that the farmers’ location income from rice farming experience, interest rate, and distance to the source of credit are statistically significant determinants of the amount of credit received. These findings suggest that facilitating farmers’ access to credit will improve rice productivity. Therefore, it is imperative for government and development partner to work together in order to improve the conditions for suitable agricultural credit access to rice farmers, especially a review of interest rates. A necessary addition should be developed to the assistance already being provided under Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) in the form of loan guarantees and other risk-sharing incentives, such as a regulatory environment that supports the modern contractual obligations that are characteristic of well-functioning agricultural financing. This would not only contribute to the intensification of rice production in Nigeria to meet its increasing rice demand, but also improve rice farmers’ productivity and their households’ incomes

Estimation of Garch Models for Nigerian Exchange Rates Under Non-Gaussian Innovations

Financial series often displays evidence of leptokurticity and in that case, the empirical distribution often fails normality.  GARCH models were initially based on normality assumption but estimated model based on this assumption cannot capture all the degree of leptokurticity in the return series. In this paper, we applied variants of GARCH models under non-normal innovations-t-distribution and Generalized Error Distribution (GED) on selected Nigeria exchange rates. The Berndt, Hall, Hall, Hausman (BHHH) numerical derivatives applied in the estimation of models converged faster and the time varied significantly across models. Asymmetric GARCH model with t-distribution (GARCH-t) was selected in most of the cases whereas for Nigeria-US Dollar exchange rate, GARCH-GED was specified. Both distributions showed evidence of leptokurticity in Naira exchange rate return series. The result is of practical importance to practitioners. Key Words: GARCH, Exchange rate, Model specification, Non-Gaussian distribution.

PLASMID PROFILE OF ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANT BACTERIA IN SACHET WATER SAMPLES SOLD IN ABEOKUTA, SOUTHWEST, NIGERIA

Antibiotic sensitivity pattern of bacterial isolates obtained from sachet water from Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria was investigated.ª¤? A total of 300 sachet water samples were collected during the dry and rainy season of 2011 to 2012. Selected physicochemical analysis of the sachet water showed a pH range of 5.5-6.5, turbidity of 1.0 «¤??1.5 NTU and temperature of 28-300C. The mean aerobic mesophilic bacterial count of the sachet water samples ranged from 13.4 x 103 «¤?? 18.7 x 103 CFU/mL, while the mean total coliform count ranged from 0.153 - 0.163 x 103 CFU/mL. The physicochemical parameters of the sachet water samples were within the WHO standard for potable water. Bacteria isolated from sachet water samples include Escherichia coli, Klebsiella sp, Enterobacter sp and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Most of the isolates were highly sensitive to Levoxin and Ceftazidime. Plasmid analyses revealed that there were detectable plasmids in 7.1% of the 14 multi-drug resistant isolates. Cured plasmid encoded resistant isolates were susceptible to Ceftazidime, Ceftriaxone, Gentamycin, Augmentin and Streptomycin

Gender Analysis of Rural Dwellers Accessibility to Free Natural Resources in Ussa Local Government Area of Taraba State, Nigeria

The study analyzed gender accessibility of rural dwellers to free natural resources in Ussa Local Government Area of Taraba State, Nigeria. Primary data were collected using structured questionnaire and oral interview schedule were administered to the illiterate respondents. Simple random technique was used to select three wards which included Kpambo, Kwesati and Rufu . A total of 60 respondents were selected purposively from the three wards to ensure that only forest resource gatherers were included in the study. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data collected. The findings of the study revealed that equal number of male and female respondents (41.4% each) were farmers. Also 32.4% and 31% of male and female respondents were landless. About 62% of male and 75.7% of female respondents were educated while 37.9% and 24.1% of male and female respondents had no formal education. About 51.7% and 72.4% of male and female respondents fell within the age range of 21-40 years. Another 86.7% and 89.7% of male and female had household sizes of over 5 persons. The most available free natural resources were mushroom, vegetables, fuel wood and fish while the less available ones were honey, fruits and medicinal plants. The least available resources were roofing materials, mat making materials, rope materials and ritual materials. Men accessed bush meat, fruits, fish, honey, roofing material, ritual, rope and mat making material while women had access to fruits, fish, medicinal plants, mushroom, vegetables and fuel wood. The result showed that the women took more of what they gathered home to meet household needs while a little was sold for income, while men sold most of what they collected with only few was left for home consumption. Based on the results of the study, it was recommended that increased gender based capacity building and responsibility for management of free natural resources should be encouraged among rural dwellers in order to ensure sustainability of the resources in contributing to food security and poverty alleviation among free natural resource users in the study area. Key words: Gender, free natural resources, rural dwellers, accessibility, consumption, incom