Economic Analysis of Horticultural Enterprises in Yenagoa Metropolis of Bayelsa State, Nigeria

The study was on Economic analysis of horticultural enterprises in Yenagoa metropolis of Bayelsa State, Nigeria. A total of 8 horticultural enterprises were chosen through a pilot survey to form the sample size. Results show that horticultural farming is an activity for both males and females. A greater number of the horticultural farmers, who were married with an average household size of 5, fall within the age range of 31 – 40 years, which inferred that horticultural farming is not an activity of the teenage and also not for the aged. Majority of the horticultural farmers acquired formal education in order to meet the technical demands of the business. Results also show that majority of the horticultural farmers engage in full time farming with 1-5 years experience. They do not have access to extension services and formal borrowing of capital in spite of the existing commercial banks in the study area. Most of them do not belong to farmers co-operative or association. They acquired land by lease and employ both hired and family labour. They engage in nursing and pinning propagation methods and involve mainly floriculture and ornamental plant practices. The result shows that horticultural enterprises incurred fixed cost of ₦34,012.50, variable cost of ₦74,297.56, with a total cost of ₦108,310.06, and realised a total revenue of ₦366,813.00 and an estimated Net Farm Income of ₦258,502.94, which implies that horticultural farming in Yenagoa metropolis of Bayelsa State is a profitable venture

Length-weight relationships of nine fish species from Ologe Lagoon, Lagos, Nigeria

This study describes the length-weight relationships of (LWR) of nine fish species from Ologe Lagoon, Lagos, Nigeria. A total of 1635 specimens were collected by local fishing gears from January, 2007 to December, 2007. The slope (b) values obtained for the nine fish species ranged from 2.5 to 3.2, and deferred significantly (p < 0.005) from 3, which indicates that the fish species have allometric growth. The condition factors (K) of the fish species ranged from 0.91 to 8.46.Keywords: Length-weight, Ologe Lagoon, allometric growth, condition facto

The effects of smoking on the nutritional qualities and shelf-life of Clarias gariepinus (BURCHELL 1822)

The effects of smoking on the chemical, microbiological and sensory qualities of a commercially important freshwater fish species, Clarias gariepinus stored at 4°C for 28 days were investigated. Thefish samples were collected from a research pond of Lagos State University, Lagos, Nigeria and Badagry Market, Lagos, Nigeria. The chemical profiles of the fresh and smoked fish were analyzed whilethe microbiological and sensory assessments were carried out weekly for a period of 28 days. Highest protein content (62.14 ± 6.67%) was recorded in smoked fish obtained from the fish pond while the least (14.23 ± 4.13%) was observed in fresh fish samples also from the fish pond. Similar results were obtained for the fat and ash contents. The differences in the proximate composition of the smoked and fresh samples were significant (p < 0.05). The total coliform count (Log10 Cfu/g) of smoked fish ranged between 3.777 - 6.871 which increases with duration of storage. Sensory evaluation of smoked fish samples showed that the quality of the smoked fish decreases with duration of storage. Therefore, C. gariepinus should be stored for a short period after smoking to retain its unique taste and flavour

Network conduciveness with application to the graph-coloring and independent-set optimization transitions

We introduce the notion of a network's conduciveness, a probabilistically interpretable measure of how the network's structure allows it to be conducive to roaming agents, in certain conditions, from one portion of the network to another. We exemplify its use through an application to the two problems in combinatorial optimization that, given an undirected graph, ask that its so-called chromatic and independence numbers be found. Though NP-hard, when solved on sequences of expanding random graphs there appear marked transitions at which optimal solutions can be obtained substantially more easily than right before them. We demonstrate that these phenomena can be understood by resorting to the network that represents the solution space of the problems for each graph and examining its conduciveness between the non-optimal solutions and the optimal ones. At the said transitions, this network becomes strikingly more conducive in the direction of the optimal solutions than it was just before them, while at the same time becoming less conducive in the opposite direction. We believe that, besides becoming useful also in other areas in which network theory has a role to play, network conduciveness may become instrumental in helping clarify further issues related to NP-hardness that remain poorly understood

Proton radiography and tomography with application to proton therapy

Proton radiography and tomography have long promised benefit for proton therapy. Their first suggestion was in the early 1960s and the first published proton radiographs and CT images appeared in the late 1960s and 1970s, respectively. More than just providing anatomical images, proton transmission imaging provides the potential for the more accurate estimation of stopping-power ratio (SPR) inside a patient and hence improved treatment planning and verification. With the recent explosion in growth of clinical proton therapy facilities, the time is perhaps ripe for the imaging modality to come to the fore. Yet many technical challenges remain to be solved before proton CT scanners become commonplace in the clinic. Research and development in this field is currently more active that at any time with several prototype designs emerging. This review introduces the principles of proton radiography and tomography, its historical developments, the raft of modern prototype systems and the primary design issues

LEED IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY FOR NEW SONGDO CITY INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS DISTRCIT DEVELOPMENT, REPUBLIC OF KOREA

Abstract This paper will share the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) implementation strategy for New Songdo City International Business District Development, Republic of Korea, which includes the first LEED-registered projects in Korea. This 1500 acre private development of 350 buildings is a master-planned new city of commercial, institutional, retail, and residential facilities. It is a LEED-ND (Neighborhood Development) Pilot Project. The introduction of LEED in Korea for this city, schematically designed in the US and constructed by Korean contractors, provides an opportunity to enhance the global market for environmentally sensitive design, construction materials and methods, and building operation

Estimation of the solubility parameters of model plant surfaces and agrochemicals: a valuable tool for understanding plant surface interactions

Background Most aerial plant parts are covered with a hydrophobic lipid-rich cuticle, which is the interface between the plant organs and the surrounding environment. Plant surfaces may have a high degree of hydrophobicity because of the combined effects of surface chemistry and roughness. The physical and chemical complexity of the plant cuticle limits the development of models that explain its internal structure and interactions with surface-applied agrochemicals. In this article we introduce a thermodynamic method for estimating the solubilities of model plant surface constituents and relating them to the effects of agrochemicals. Results Following the van Krevelen and Hoftyzer method, we calculated the solubility parameters of three model plant species and eight compounds that differ in hydrophobicity and polarity. In addition, intact tissues were examined by scanning electron microscopy and the surface free energy, polarity, solubility parameter and work of adhesion of each were calculated from contact angle measurements of three liquids with different polarities. By comparing the affinities between plant surface constituents and agrochemicals derived from (a) theoretical calculations and (b) contact angle measurements we were able to distinguish the physical effect of surface roughness from the effect of the chemical nature of the epicuticular waxes. A solubility parameter model for plant surfaces is proposed on the basis of an increasing gradient from the cuticular surface towards the underlying cell wall. Conclusions The procedure enabled us to predict the interactions among agrochemicals, plant surfaces, and cuticular and cell wall components, and promises to be a useful tool for improving our understanding of biological surface interactions