Overcoming Language Barriers in Business-To-Consumer Electronic Service

Communication has been described as one of the determinants of service quality. However, communication is only effective when the parties involved speak the same language. This is almost impossible to achieve in Business-To-Consumer (B2C) Electronic Commerce (e-Commerce) given the diversity of languages used on the Internet. This paper seeks to explore the possibility of using current advances in technology to bridge the communication gap among entities on the Internet

PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF A PALM KERNE NUT CRACKING MACHINE

Palm kernel, which is one of the by- products of palm tree is of great importance to the human race and highly sought for, because it contains oil which could be consumed directly or used as raw materials for other products. The plant is mostly found in the rain forest of Nigeria where the production ofª¤? palm kernel is not the major challenge, but the production ofª¤? clean and unbrokenª¤? kernel (high grade) to be sold to the palm kernel merchants who buy and supply to companies. The development of mobile palm kernel nut cracking machine was made to reduce drudgery, to enhance processing capacity and to determine processing loss. Palm kernel nut cracking occurs when nuts are loaded to rupture without crushing the embedded kernel. The aim of this research work was to assess the performance of the developed mobile palm kernel nut cracking machine. Total sample of four thousand (4,000) palm kernel nuts were divided into five groups of eight hundred palm kernel nuts and each group was further divided into four sub-groups of two hundred (200) palm kernel nuts.ª¤? Each group of five was fed into the hopper and cracked at different shaft speeds in revolutions per minute (rpm). The shaft speeds were determined with a tachometer and it was varied on the engine by adjusting the throttle lever. In a group of five, it was replicated for four different times at the same speed. The cracking efficiency and throughput capacity were calculated. The research work showed that the cracking efficiencies at speeds of 1200, 1800, 2200 and 2400 rpm were 98ª¤¡Þ0.3, 98.5ª¤¡Þ0.08, 98.5ª¤¡Þ0.01 and 99ª¤¡Þ0.04% respectively. The throughput of the machine increased from 10.91 to 38.00 g/s as the speed of the machine increased from 800 to 2400 rpm. Also the performance efficiencies of the developed machine were 93, 94, 95, 94.5 and 94% while the overall efficiencies were 90.86, 92.12, 93.58, 93.08 and 93.06% for the set speeds. It was concluded that the overall performance of this developed palm nut kernel cracking machine were effective because it fell within the range of betweenª¤? 90 to 98% overall efficiency.ª¤

Comparative efficacy of three plant extracts for the control of leaf spot disease in fluted pumpkin (Telfairia occidentalis Hook F.)

The production and leaf quality of Fluted pumpkin (Telfairia occidentalis hook f) in Nigeria are threatened by leaf spot and blight. The comparative efficacy of Siam weed (Chromolaena odorata (L.), Utazi leaf (Gongronema latifolium and Bitter leaf (Vernonia amygdalina) and a synthetic fungicide (Forcelet) against the mycelia growth of the leaf spot pathogen (Phoma sorghina), leaf spot disease, growth and yield of fluted pumpkin (Telfairia occidentalis hook f) was studied in vitro and in vivo. In 2013 and 2014. The experiments design for the in vitro experiment was Completely Randomize Design (CRD) with six replicates and Randomize Complete Block Design (RCBD) with four replications in the in vitro study. All plant extracts consistently inhibited the growth of P. sorghina in vitro, and suppressed leaf spot development by between 26.2 and 53.54% in 2013 and by between 26.3 and 51.79% in 2014 under field conditions. Leaf and pod yield were also enhanced, C. odorata leaf extract was significantly (p≤0.05) superior to all other treatments followed by V. amygdalina whose effect did not differ significantly (P≥ 0.05) from Forcelet in all the parameters measured. These results show that leaf extracts of C.odorata and V. amygdalina could be used for the control of leaf spot disease and enhanced yield in fluted pumpkin. Keyword: Efficacy, Plant extract, Control, Leaf spot disease, Yield

Noise Level Investigation and Control of Household Electric Power Generator

Electric power generator is an essential household facility particularly in developing countries. It exists in various capacities and makes in shops, offices, workshops and factories. The attendant environmental risks of this source of power supply are major challenges to users both at household and industrial level. Efforts through research and development are still on-going to mitigate the prevailing health hazards. This study investigates noise level of typical portable generator (2 kW/220 V) and the sound absorbance capacity of an acoustic enclosure developed from a multilayer panel made of locally sourced galvanized metal sheet (0.90 mm), Polyurethane acoustic foam (7.50 mm), Particle board (35.0 mm) and plywood (10.0 mm). The noise produced by the generator when on load and no load were considered for cases of it being placed inside and outside the enclosure and compared with acceptable OSHA safe thresholds noise level for the school environment where the study was carried out. The result shows a significant reduction of noise produced indicating a shift from very laud threshold (average of 86.23 dB (A)) for no load and no enclosure to moderately low region (average of 69.34 dB (A)) for the case of no load using enclosure. Likewise considering loaded scenario similar trend was recoded with average acoustic capacity of the enclosure of 23.20 dB (A). The effect of the enclosure is positive and the potential benefits of improved noise absorption panels to enhance better performance of the developed enclosure for office and household generators was established. Keywords: Electric Generator, Enclosure Panel, Noise control, Load, Household

The Role of Research in Attaining Sustainable Development Goals

A study on the significant roles of research in the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals was carried out to analyze the facts and figures gotten through secondary information’s to determine the resultant effect of research in the pursuance of the SDGs. This research explores various opinions of several authors and researchers towards the concept of research in totality. This study gave clear indications that research as a full concept is not a cliché and it is revolving year-in year-out in our contemporary world of interest as the need for human survival on the planet earth gets more prioritized on the agenda of the various sustainability organizations like UNESCO, United Nations, UNEP, IISD. This is the present century’s goal and it is all NGOs and other private parastatals are enjoined to be part of this move as it is a collective effort to seeing its realization

Antibacterial resistance and their genetic location in MRSA isolated in Kuwait hospitals, 1994-2004

BACKGROUND: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) continues to be a major cause of serious infections in hospitals and in the community worldwide. In this study, MRSA isolated from patients in Kuwait hospitals were analyzed for resistance trends and the genetic location of their resistance determinants. METHODS: Between April 1994 and December 2004, 5644 MRSA isolates obtained from different clinical samples were studied for resistance to antibacterial agents according to guidelines from the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards and the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. The genetic location of their resistance determinants was determined by curing and transfer experiments. RESULTS: They were resistant to aminoglycosides, erythromycin, tetracycline, trimethoprim, fusidic acid, ciprofloxacin, chloramphenicol, rifampicin, mupirocin, cadmium acetate, mercuric chloride, propamidine isethionate and ethidium bromide but susceptible to vancomycin, teicoplanin and linezolid. The proportion of the isolates resistant to erythromycin, ciprofloxacin and fusidic acid increased during the study period. In contrast, the proportion of isolates resistant to gentamicin, tetracycline, chloramphenicol and trimethoprim declined. High-level mupirocin resistance increased rapidly from 1996 to 1999 and then declined. They contained plasmids of 1.9, 2.8, 3.0, 4.4, 27 and 38 kilobases. Genetic studies revealed that they carried plasmid-borne resistance to high-level mupirocin resistance (38 kb), chloramphenicol (2.8 – 4.4 kb), erythromycin (2.8–3.0 kb) and cadmium acetate, mercuric chloride, propamidine isethionate and ethidium bromide (27 kb) and chromosomal location for methicillin, the aminoglycosides, tetracycline, fusidic acid, ciprofloxacin and trimethoprim resistance. Thus, the 27 kb plasmids had resistance phenotypes similar to plasmids reported in MRSA isolates in South East Asia. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of resistance to erythromycin, ciprofloxacin, high-level mupirocin and fusidic acid increased whereas the proportion of isolates resistant to gentamicin, tetracycline, chloramphenicol and trimethoprim declined during the study period. They contained 27-kb plasmids encoding resistance to cadmium acetate, mercuric chloride, propamidine isethionate and ethidium bromide similar to plasmids isolated in MRSA from South East Asia. Molecular typing of these isolates will clarify their relationship to MRSA from South East Asia

EFFECTS OF SELECTED MACROECONOMIC VARIABLES ON STOCK MARKET PERFORMANCE IN NIGERIA

In spite of the vital role played by the stock exchange market in the overall national development, it is still performing below expectations in Nigeria owing to several macroeconomic factors. The main objective of this study is to investigate the effects of selected macroeconomic variables on stock market performance in Nigeria. The study employed time-series data obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria’s statistical bulletin and World Development Indicators. Stock market performance was measured using the all-shares index while the identified macroeconomic variables included GDP growth, broad money supply, exchange rate, savings interest rate, and inflation rate. An Autoregressive Distributive Lag (ARDL) estimation technique was used to establish the long run relationship among the variables, and it was revealed that a long run relationship existed among the variables in the estimated model. The result shows that macroeconomic variables such as gross domestic product, broad money supply, exchange rate, and savings interest rate have a positive effect on stock market performance in Nigeria. On the other hand, the results showed that the inflation rate has a negative effect on stock market performance in Nigeria. Predicated on the result, the study recommended that policies to increase gross domestic product, exchange rate, interest rate, and money supply should be implemented because they can lead to an improvement in the performance of the stock market, while the inflation rate should be maintained at a single digit to prevent its negative effect on the performance of the stock market in Nigeria

Pressure-dependent EPANET extension

In water distribution systems (WDSs), the available flow at a demand node is dependent on the pressure at that node. When a network is lacking in pressure, not all consumer demands will be met in full. In this context, the assumption that all demands are fully satisfied regardless of the pressure in the system becomes unreasonable and represents the main limitation of the conventional demand driven analysis (DDA) approach to WDS modelling. A realistic depiction of the network performance can only be attained by considering demands to be pressure dependent. This paper presents an extension of the renowned DDA based hydraulic simulator EPANET 2 to incorporate pressure-dependent demands. This extension is termed “EPANET-PDX” (pressure-dependent extension) herein. The utilization of a continuous nodal pressure-flow function coupled with a line search and backtracking procedure greatly enhance the algorithm’s convergence rate and robustness. Simulations of real life networks consisting of multiple sources, pipes, valves and pumps were successfully executed and results are presented herein. Excellent modelling performance was achieved for analysing both normal and pressure deficient conditions of the WDSs. Detailed computational efficiency results of EPANET-PDX with reference to EPANET 2 are included as well

Phenotypic and molecular characterization of Staphylococcus aureus isolates expressing low- and high-level mupirocin resistance in Nigeria and South Africa

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Mupirocin is a topical antimicrobial agent which is used for the treatment of skin and postoperative wound infections, and the prevention of nasal carriage of methicillin-resistant <it>Staphylococcus aureus </it>(MRSA). However, the prevalence of mupirocin resistance in <it>S. aureus</it>, particularly in MRSA, has increased with the extensive and widespread use of this agent in hospital settings. This study characterized low- and high-level mupirocin-resistant <it>S. aureus </it>isolates obtained from Nigeria and South Africa.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A total of 17 mupirocin-resistant <it>S. aureus </it>isolates obtained from two previous studies in Nigeria and South Africa, were characterized by antibiogram, PCR-RFLP of the coagulase gene and PFGE. High-level mupirocin resistant isolates were confirmed by PCR detection of the <it>mupA </it>gene. The genetic location of the resistance determinants was established by curing and transfer experiments.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>All the low-level mupirocin resistant isolates were MRSA and resistant to gentamicin, tetracycline and trimethoprim. PFGE identified a major clone in two health care institutions located in Durban and a health care facility in Pietermaritzburg, Greytown and Empangeni. Curing and transfer experiments indicated that high-level mupirocin resistance was located on a 41.1 kb plasmid in the South African strain (A15). Furthermore, the transfer of high-level mupirocin resistance was demonstrated by the conjugative transfer of the 41.1 kb plasmid alone or with the co-transfer of a plasmid encoding resistance to cadmium. The size of the mupirocin-resistance encoding plasmid in the Nigerian strain (35 IBA) was approximately 35 kb.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The emergence of mupirocin-resistant <it>S. aureus </it>isolates in Nigeria and South Africa should be of great concern to medical personnel in these countries. It is recommended that methicillin-susceptible <it>S. aureus </it>(MSSA) and MRSA should be routinely tested for mupirocin resistance even in facilities where the agent is not administered. Urgent measures, including judicious use of mupirocin, need to be taken to prevent clonal dissemination of the mupirocin/methicillin resistant <it>S. aureus </it>in KZN, South Africa and the transfer of the conjugative plasmid encoding high-level mupirocin resistance identified in this study.</p