Price Transmission, Volatility and Discovery of Gram in Some Selected Markets in Rajathan State, India

Market integration in many agricultural commodities had been extensively studied for the insight it provides into the functioning of such markets, thus giving valuable information about the dynamics of market adjustment, and whether there exist market imperfection, which may justify government intervention. This study empirically investigated price transmission, volatility and discovery of gram across four wholesale gram markets, viz. Jaipur, Kishangarh, Chomu and Malpura in Rajasthan state of India using Johansen's multivariate cointegration approach, VECM, Granger causality tests, GARCH, EGARCH and ARIMA. Monthly wholesale gram price data spanning from January 2011 to December 2015 sourced from AGMARKNET were used. Multivariate cointegration showed that all the selected gram markets were cointegarted in the long-run, meaning long-run price association among these markets. The degree of market integration observed is consistent with the view that Rajasthan state gram markets are quite competitive; thus, provide little justification for extensive and costly government intervention designed to enhance market efficiency through improve competitiveness. Therefore, in order to sustain the present system of market integration, there is need to evolve mechanism that will generate market information and market intelligence which would serve as a platform for guiding farmers in marketing their produce

Proximate composition, functional, and sensory properties of kadal (fermented grain flour) produced from whole and decorticated maize and pearl millet grains

Kadals are normally prepared from fermented cereal grains and the kadal flours are usually transformed into stiff dough called tuwo and consumed as staple food in many West African countries. Pearl millet (Mi) and maize (Mz) grains were decorticated and each of them was divided into four portions. The first portion was unfermented and the other portions were soaked in water separately for 48h (K2), for 72h (K3) and 96h (K4). Four portions each of whole maize and millet were subjected to the same soaking time, respectively. At the expiration of soaking time, each portion was washed, thoroughly rinsed, sun dried, milled and sieved to produce kadal flours. The unfermented whole and decorticated millet and maize flours served as the experimental controls. The functional properties and proximate compositions of twenty samples were evaluated using standard procedures and the organoleptic properties of the tuwo (kadal dough) prepared from them were evaluated without soup, and with okro soup. Results revealed significant variations (p<0.05) existed in the functional properties and proximate composition of kadal flours as well as the sensory attributes of the tuwo. Wettability of the kadal flours improved with soaking time, water absorption capacities decreased with fermentation time, as well as bulk densities though marginally. Dispersibility of the kadal flours were generally high (70.50-77%) and no significant difference was observed. Ash, protein and fat contents of the whole grain kadal flours were higher than that of decorticated, and there was slight decrease in these nutrients with soaking time. Again, moisture and carbohydrate were lower in whole grain kadal flours than in decorticated counterparts. On sensory attributes of the various tuwo produced, colour improved with soaking time more in the decorticated millet kadals. Decorticated millet had greater desirable flavor, which was not significantly different from that of whole millet kadals. Texture of 4th day kadal tuwo was better, with whole millet kadal tuwo rated better than that of the decorticated, unlike the texture of maize kadal tuwo. Control tuwo in general had poorer flavour, colour, texture and taste. The overall acceptability of the kadal tuwo was generally higher than the control. Millet kadal tuwo progressively improved with soaking time. The bottom line was that nutritional values were sacrificed to the improvement of sensory properties of the prepared kadal flours

Performance of some sorghum varieties as affected by heat stress under irrigation in Northern Nigeria

Exposure of sorghum (sorghum bicolor) during flowering time for a period of 10-15 days to high temperature stress (>36-38oC) reduced pollen germination, failure of fertilization and flower abortion. A number of improved varieties of sorghum have recently been released for the Sudan and Sahel zones of Nigeria, with their dissemination limited by seed availability. In order to improve the supply of Breeder and Foundation seeds for production of certified, these varieties; SAMSORG 45 and SAMSORG 46 with two old but popular varieties SAMSORG 41 and SAMSORG 17 were grown under irrigation at Dadinkowa (10.18N, 11.27S) to assess their productivity during the dry season at two planting dates (October and January) for 2 seasons (2015 & 2016). Result showed that October planting which flowering and seed set coincided with the average maximum temperature of 27oC recorded in January produced good seed while December/ January planting which flowering and seed set coincided with average maximum temperature of 42oC recorded in April had poor or no seed set on panicles especially in 2016. Rise in the average maximum temperature (2016) in the month of March (350C) and April 2016 (410C) resulted to 90-100% no seed set on SAMSORG 17, SAMSORG 45 and SAMSORG 46 as it coincided with the flowering time thus producing sterile panicle. This suggest that planting date and temperature significantly affect seed production of sorghum in the dry season

Comparative study of the level of bacterial/helminths contamination of vegetables produced from polluted and unpolluted irrigation site of Kano

A comparative study was contaminations of five major crops (Lactuca veriso, Darcus carota, Solanum lycopersicum, Phylanthus amarus, Alium cepa) produced from polluted (industrial/residential effluents) Sharada and unpolluted (tube well water)Yarimawa using the method described by FAO, (1979). The result shows that the five crops, produced with polluted water viz, Lactuca veriso, Darcus carota, Solanum lycopersicum Phylanthus amarus, Alium cepa, had mean aerobic plate count of 2.0 x 102 cfu/g, 8.40 x 102 cfu/g , 1.13 x 103 cfu/g , 5.8 x 104 cfu/g cfu/g, 5.7 x 101 cfu/g, respectively, and all the five crops had mean coliform count of 180 MPN/g, while that of unpolluted water had mean aerobic plate count of of 1.22 x 102 cfu/g 5.1 x 102 cfu/g , 1.4 x 102 cfu/g, 1.43 x 102 cfu/g, 1.32 x 101 cfu/g respectively, and had mean coliform count of 30, 21,21, 21 and 21MPN/g respectively. The organisms isolated in all the crops produced with polluted water were E. coli, Salmonella sp, Shigella sp, S. aureus, Ascaris egg, Strongloides and Ancylostoma while E. coli, Shigella sp, S. aureus, wer the organisms isolated in the crops produced with unpolluted water, only Lactuca verosa and Solanum lycopersicum, shows the presence of helmiths in the crops produced with the unpolluted water.Key words: Kano, Bacteria, Helminth, effluent, Yarimawa, Sharad

Curie Point Depth Analysis of Lesugolo Area, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia Based on Ground Magnetic Data

The Curie point depth, or magnetic basal depth, of the Lesugolo geothermal area in Ende, Flores Island, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia was estimated by performing spectral analysis on spatial magnetic data and transforming it into the frequency domain, resulting in a link between the 2D spectrum of magnetic anomalies and the depths of the top and centroid of the magnetic sources. Shallow Curie point depths of 16 to 18 km were found in the north-northeast to southeast areas of Lesugolo, while deeper depths of 24 to 26 km were found in the southwest. The tectonic setting beneath the central part of Flores Island governs the distribution of the Curie point depths in the area. Shallow Curie point depth zones are associated with high thermal gradients (30 to 34 °C/km) and heat flow (80 to 100 mW/m2). Deep depths, on the other hand, correspond to zones of low thermal gradient (21 to 26 °C/km) and low heat flow (65 to 80 mW/m2). Both the derived thermal gradient and the heat flow maps contribute to a better understanding of the Lesugolo geothermal system’s configuration. This study suggests that the Lesugolo geothermal area’s prospect zone is located in the center of the investigated area, where the Lesugolo normal fault forms its southeastern boundary

Curie Point Depth Analysis of Lesugolo Area, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia Based on Ground Magnetic Data

The Curie point depth, or magnetic basal depth, of the Lesugolo geothermal area in Ende, Flores Island, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia was estimated by performing spectral analysis on spatial magnetic data and transforming it into the frequency domain, resulting in a link between the 2D spectrum of magnetic anomalies and the depths of the top and centroid of the magnetic sources. Shallow Curie point depths of 16 to 18 km were found in the north-northeast to southeast areas of Lesugolo, while deeper depths of 24 to 26 km were found in the southwest. The tectonic setting beneath the central part of Flores Island governs the distribution of the Curie point depths in the area. Shallow Curie point depth zones are associated with high thermal gradients (30 to 34 °C/km) and heat flow (80 to 100 mW/m2). Deep depths, on the other hand, correspond to zones of low thermal gradient (21 to 26 °C/km) and low heat flow (65 to 80 mW/m2). Both the derived thermal gradient and the heat flow maps contribute to a better understanding of the Lesugolo geothermal system’s configuration. This study suggests that the Lesugolo geothermal area’s prospect zone is located in the center of the investigated area, where the Lesugolo normal fault forms its southeastern boundary

Lieb-Robinson Bounds for the Toda Lattice

We establish locality estimates, known as Lieb-Robinson bounds, for the Toda lattice. In contrast to harmonic models, the Lieb-Robinson velocity for these systems do depend on the initial condition. Our results also apply to the entire Toda as well as the Kac-van Moerbeke hierarchy. Under suitable assumptions, our methods also yield a finite velocity for certain perturbations of these systems

Do emotional difficulties and peer problems hew together from childhood to adolescence? The case of children with a history of developmental language disorder (DLD)

Children and adolescents with developmental language disorder (DLD) are, overall, vulnerable to difficulties in emotional adjustment and in peer relations. However, previous research has shown that different subgroups follow different trajectories in respect of quality of peer relations. Less is known of the trajectories of emotional development. We consider here the possibility that development in these two domains is interrelated: that is, the trajectories of emotional and peer problems will proceed in parallel. We conducted longitudinal joint trajectories analyses of emotional and peer relations in a sample of young people identified as having DLD at age 7 years and seen at intervals up to 16 years. Potential influences on joint trajectory group membership were examined. Findings revealed five distinct joint trajectories. Emotional and peer difficulties do hew together from childhood to adolescence for just over half of the sample, but not all. The variables most clearly associated with group membership were pragmatic language ability, prosociality and parental mental health. This is the first study to examine joint longitudinal trajectories of emotional and peer difficulties in individuals with DLD. We demonstrate that development in individuals with DLD is heterogeneous and identify three key variables associated with personal and social adjustment from childhood to adolescence. Theoretical and clinical implications of these findings are discussed

Generalized Holographic Dark Energy Model

In this paper, the model of holographic Chaplygin gas has been extended to two general cases: first is the case of modified variable Chaplygin gas and secondly of the viscous generalized Chaplygin gas. The dynamics of the model are expressed by the use of scalar fields and the scalar potentials.Comment: 12 pages, to appear in Eur. Phys. J.

Recent experimental results in sub- and near-barrier heavy ion fusion reactions

Recent advances obtained in the field of near and sub-barrier heavy-ion fusion reactions are reviewed. Emphasis is given to the results obtained in the last decade, and focus will be mainly on the experimental work performed concerning the influence of transfer channels on fusion cross sections and the hindrance phenomenon far below the barrier. Indeed, early data of sub-barrier fusion taught us that cross sections may strongly depend on the low-energy collective modes of the colliding nuclei, and, possibly, on couplings to transfer channels. The coupled-channels (CC) model has been quite successful in the interpretation of the experimental evidences. Fusion barrier distributions often yield the fingerprint of the relevant coupled channels. Recent results obtained by using radioactive beams are reported. At deep sub-barrier energies, the slope of the excitation function in a semi-logarithmic plot keeps increasing in many cases and standard CC calculations over-predict the cross sections. This was named a hindrance phenomenon, and its physical origin is still a matter of debate. Recent theoretical developments suggest that this effect, at least partially, may be a consequence of the Pauli exclusion principle. The hindrance may have far-reaching consequences in astrophysics where fusion of light systems determines stellar evolution during the carbon and oxygen burning stages, and yields important information for exotic reactions that take place in the inner crust of accreting neutron stars.Comment: 40 pages, 63 figures, review paper accepted for EPJ