PLASMA LIPID PROFILE AND SOME BIOCHEMICAL INDICES IN DOMESTICATED GREATER CANE RAT (Thryonomys swinderianus temminck)

Some serum biochemical parameters and lipid profile indices were determined in eight male adult greater cane rats Thryonomys swinderianus Temminck, raised under intensive management system. Activities of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) in plasma were assayed spectrophotometrically, following venopuncture-blood collection and subsequent separation of plasma. Glucose, total protein, albumin and bilirubin as well as lipid profile indices such as total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, VLDL-cholesterol, triglycerides and phospholipids concentration were also determined. In comparison with data from previous studies on wild and captive cane rats, our results indicate lower lipid profile indices and total protein. Activities of hepatic enzymes (AST and ALT) were also lower, while plasma glucose concentration was higher in this third generation greater cane rats. It is concluded that certain aspects of management system in domestication may have a profound influence on biochemical parameters most especially the lower LDL-cholesterol that reduces the risk of atherosclerosis (cardiac disease). This study, therefore offers baseline data for third generation intensively raised greater cane rats.Â

Perceived Benefits of Improved Practices in Pre Harvest Tomato Production among Farmers in Afijio Local Government Area, Oyo State

This study was designed to investigate the perceived benefits of improved practices in pre-harvest tomato production among farmers in Afijio Local Government Area of Oyo State. Multistage sampling techniques were used to select respondents in the study area, with the aid of structured questionnaire. Descriptive and inferential (PPMC) statistics were used to analyze the data. Majority of the respondents (88.5%) perceived that it has lots of benefits. Also, 82.7% perceived that improved practices minimize post-harvest losses on a medium scale.  Furthermore, 85.6% perceived that improved practices minimize disease infestation on a medium scale, while 84.6% perceive it protects tomato from decaying. Also, 76.9% of the respondents perceive that improve practices helps to retain nutritional content of tomato on a medium scale.  Also, the category of the respondents that had high awareness considered the improved practices to be highly beneficial to them.  The study further concluded that the benefits derived by minority of the respondents influenced most of the respondents to have favorable perception to derivable benefits embedded in improved practices of tomato in the study area.  In addition, the result also revealed significant relationship between awareness and perceived benefits of improved practices in pre-harvest tomato production (r=0.280, p=0.004).  The study therefore recommended that the extension agents should properly train the farmers on the benefits and use of these improved practices. Adequate information should be made available to the tomato farmers on the most recent developments in tomato farming and production (pre harvest and post-harvest). The government should be able to provide adequate and glitch free loan to the farmers to enable them utilize the information and training

Evaluation of Groundwater Prospect in a Clay Dominated Environment of Central Kwara State, Southwestern Nigeria

In this research, groundwater prospect of Central Kwara have been investigated using electrical resistivity method for both domestic and industrial application in the face of scarce water resources, occasioned by incessant borehole failure/low yield, has prompted researches for viable source of water. The central Kwara state falls within the basement complex region of Nigeria known as the hard rock terrain, where availability of groundwater is dependent mainly on structural features. The general curve types obtained from the study area were H, HA, KH and HKH types with the H curve type more prominent in the study area. Three geoelectric sections generated with resistivity parameters ranging between 350 to 1900 ohm-meters, 7.7 to 99.1 ohm-meter and above 3000 ohm-meter; making up the topsoil, weathered layer and bedrock respectively. The topsoil is interpreted as laterite/hard pan within thickness range of 0.4 and 2.2 m while the weathered layer zone ranged between 0.9 to 36.1 m thickness respectively; making the overburden of the area with thickness range of 1.4 to 42.7 m. The bedrock resistivity ranges from 400 ohm-meter to 8192 ohm-meter, indicative of weathered/fractured and fresh basement respectively. The results of the vertical electrical sounding were used to generate clay horizon resistivity map, clay horizon thickness map, aquifer resistivity map and overburden thickness map. This study reveals that the study area is dominated by clay which lead to borehole failure and dry up of hand pump well because most of the hand pump well were terminated within the clayey formation

Facial Image Verification and Quality Assessment System -FaceIVQA

Although several techniques have been proposed for predicting biometric system performance using quality values, many of the research works were based on no-reference assessment technique using a single quality attribute measured directly from the data. These techniques have proved to be inappropriate for facial verification scenarios and inefficient because no single quality attribute can sufficient measure the quality of a facial image. In this research work, a facial image verification and quality assessment framework (FaceIVQA) was developed. Different algorithms and methods were implemented in FaceIVQA to extract the faceness, pose, illumination, contrast and similarity quality attributes using an objective full-reference image quality assessment approach. Structured image verification experiments were conducted on the surveillance camera (SCface) database to collect individual quality scores and algorithm matching scores from FaceIVQA using three recognition algorithms namely principal component analysis (PCA), linear discriminant analysis (LDA) and a commercial recognition SDK. FaceIVQA produced accurate and consistent facial image assessment data. The Result shows that it accurately assigns quality scores to probe image samples. The resulting quality score can be assigned to images captured for enrolment or recognition and can be used as an input to quality-driven biometric fusion systems.DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.11591/ijece.v3i6.503

EFFECTS OF ADMINISTERING A COMBINATION OF VITAMINS A AND E ON FERTILITY AND HATCHABILITY OF ANAK 2000 BREEDERS

The ameliorative effect of a combined regime of vitamins A and E on fertility and hatchability was investigated in Anak 2000 breeders. Vitamin A and E individually administered at a dose rate of 0.125 ml/kg body weight intramuscularly produced an improvement in hatchability, fertility, and sperm quality. The percentage fertility (46%) and hatchability (40.5%) before vitamin A&E  administration was compared to those of fertility (76.9%) and hatchability (76.8%) after vitamin administration and found to be statistically significant at p<0.05. From the findings of this study, we can therefore postulate that intramuscular administration of vitamin A and E during acute episode of nutritional hypovitaminosis provokes a quick and prompt response in birds &nbsp

Comparative Analysis of Rankine Cycle Linear Fresnel Reflector and Solar Tower Plant Technologies: Techno-Economic Analysis for Ethiopia

The need to meet the world’s growing demand for energy in an environmentally sustainable manner has led to the exploration of various renewable energy (RE) resources for power gen-eration. The objective of this study is to examine the techno-economic potential of concentrated solar power plants (i.e., linear Fresnel reflector (LFR) and central receiver system (CRS) for electricity generation in Eastern African countries with a case study on Ethiopia. The study was conducted using the System Advisor Model (SAM). In order to estimate the economics of the two power plants, the Levelized cost of energy (LCOE) and the net present value (NPV) metrics were used. According to results obtained from the simulations, the LFR produced annual energy of 528 TWh at a capacity factor (CF) of 60.3%. The CRS also produced a total of 540 TWh at a CF of 61.9%. The LCOE (real) for the CRS is found to be 9.44 cent/kWh against 10.35 cent/kWh for the LFR. The NPV for both technologies is found to be positive for inflation rates of 2% and below. An inflation rate above 2% renders the two power plants financially impracticable. A real discount rate above 9% also renders both projects economically unviable. Based on the obtained results, the CRS system is identified as the best technology for electricity generation under the Jijiga climatic condition in Ethiopia. © 2022 by the authors. Li-censee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.Taif University Researchers Supporting Project Number (TURSP-2020/61), Taif University, Taif, Saudi Arabia

Drivers of Environmental Degradation in Turkey: Designing an SDG Framework Through Advanced Quantile Approaches

Turkey is a laggard in terms of the achievement of its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and one of the primary issues it faces is environmental deterioration. Therefore, a policy-level reorientation may be needed to address this relevant issue. From this standpoint, this research assesses the impact of renewable energy (RE) use and financial development on the emissions of CO2 as well as the role of urbanization and agriculture, utilizing a dataset stretching between 1985 and 2019. By applying the innovative quantile-on-quantile regression (QQR) and non-parametric Granger causality in quantiles techniques, the study assesses the ways in which the quantiles of the independent variables affect the quantiles of CO2 emissions. The outcomes from the QQR show that in all quantiles, financial development, economic growth, urbanization, and agriculture impact CO2 emissions positively, while in the middle quantiles, the influence of renewable energy use on CO2 is negative. Furthermore, the outcomes from the non-parametric Granger causality test disclosed that in mean and variance, all the variables could predict CO2 emissions at different quantiles. A complete SDG-oriented policy framework has been proposed based on the research's findings so that Turkey may move toward reaching its SDG 13 and SDG 7 targets. © 2022 The Author(s).The author (Hossam M. Zawbaa) thanks the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and Enterprise Ireland for their support under the Marie Sk-odowska-Curie grant agreement No. 847402. The authors thank the support of the National Research and Development Agency of Chile (ANID), ANID/Fondap/15110019

Analyses of Willingness to Practice Agriculture as Enterprise among Students of Tertiary Institutions in Ibadan, Oyo State

This study investigated willingness to practice agriculture as enterprise among students of tertiary institutions in Oyo State. A Multi-stage sampling technique was used to elicit data from 112 selected respondents in the study area. Data were collected using a well structured questionnaire and analyzed with the use of descriptive (frequency counts, percentages, and mean) and inferential statistic (Chi-square and Pearson Product Moment Correlation). The results showed that majority of the respondents were within the age range of 21-25 years, with majority males, whom were single in the study area. Furthermore, results revealed that majority of the respondents had low interest in agricultural enterprise preference and high constraint associated with respondents willingness to engage in agricultural enterprise in the study area. Majority of the respondents had positive willingness to practice agricultural enterprise in the study area. There was significant relationship between selected socio-economic characteristics of the respondents except Gender and Marital status. It is therefore recommended that government should motivate agricultural students by providing Youth Empowerment programmes and services directed to improve their willingness to engage in agricultural enterprises