Ranking method for Z-numbers based on centroid-point

Zadeh introduced the concept of Z-number to provide a basis for computation with numbers that are not completely reliable, and it has the ability to portray fuzziness and reliability of information concurrently. Ranking of Z-numbers is an important aspect, especially in decision making Objective: Ranking method for Z-numbers. Method: By converting Z-number into fuzzy number, and then the centroid-point method and decision rules are used to rank the obtained fuzzy numbers. Results: A ranking method for Z-numbers is proposed, and a numerical example is provided to illustrate the feasibility and validity of the proposed method. Conclusions: However, converting Z-number into fuzzy number can lead to loss of original Z-information

Abattoirs – A Hidden Centre for Livestock Genetic Resources Loss in Nigeria

Nigeria is naturally blessed with wide diversity of native animal genetic resources. Indigenous ruminant livestock such as cattle, camel, donkey, sheep and goat contributes largely in both protein supply, revenue generation and national economy. In Nigeria, these animal resources are mismanaged and undermined through the indiscriminate slaughter of pregnant animals and foetal losses in abattoirs. This unethical practice resulted in the loss of genetic diversity, preferred traits and superior females ruminant animals. The current research focus on reported incidences across abattoirs, which is a centre where such practice is highly occurs within the country.  Lack of modern facilities, law enforcement, poor management and animal welfare in abattoirs to protect pregnant animals are among few factors responsible for an increase in incidences. It is unprofitable to continue the tradition of pregnant animal slaughter that causes foetal losses. This is a condition that significantly threatens the animal genetic resources and general livestock industry in Nigeria. This practice must be discard with a proper conservation and documentation of these valuable animal genetic resources. Both long and short terms conservation programs must aim for substantial benefits of these resources. Laws must be enforced with strict penalties to those involved in pregnant animal slaughter. Genetic resources of these species and meat industry future could be safe with proper implementation of these laws and conservation measures

Morphometric Characterization of Donkeys (Equus asinus) in D/Kudu Kano State For Selective Breeding and Genetic Conservation

Donkeys (Equus asinus) is a domestic livestock popular in helping farming activities and providing food for some societies. Population of donkeys were drastically decreasing due to the overexploitation for its hides and industrialization. Little is known regarding the morphometric measurements of this species which provide a useful information for selective breeding and genetic conservation. One hundred and forty-four male donkeys from D/Kudu Kano state where enrolled in this study for morphometric characterisation. Seven morphological parameters were analysed in association with age and coat colour of donkeys observed. Descriptive statistical analysis, analysis of variance (ANOVA) as well as correlation coefficient among parameters were evaluated. Result revealed that donkeys in the studied area were categorised into 7 different coat colour with light grey (30.6%) being the dominant colour. High Frequency distribution of donkeys between the ages of 5-7 years (41%) were recorded. Also, both age and coat colour showed a significant (P <0.01) difference on face length, ear length, chest circumference and body length. Significant and positive correlation (r = 0.43–0.91) is observed in all morphological traits except relationship for tail length which is negatively correlated. In conclusion, the morphological features analysed in this study can be regarded as a preliminary for further studies on the Kano donkey breed

Fiscal Policy and Financial Depth in Nigeria: An Application of Threshold Regression Modeling

The study examines Nigeria's non-linear relationship between fiscal policy and financial depth. In essence, the study is concerned with the impacts of fiscal deficit, domestic debt, and government expenditure on financial depth. The study uses four indicators of financial deepening: liquid liabilities, credit to the private sector, deposit money banks’ assets and financial system deposits (all indicators are expressed as percent of GDP). In particular, the government is the threshold variable expected to have a threshold effect on Nigeria's financial depth. The study covers 60 years between 1961 and 2020 and employs a threshold regression model to achieve the research objectives. A linear regression model is employed for the robustness test by including the government expenditure square to test the significance of non-linearity. The study's findings establish fiscal policy's significance in driving financial depth. Beyond the threshold of 8.11 percent, government expenditure significantly increases financial deepening. This is consistent across the indicators of financial depth and the overall financial depth. It further shows the important role of fiscal deficit and domestic debt in deepening the financial market as the threshold value exceeds 8.11 percent. However, fiscal may have a negative, though insignificant, effect on financial depth when the threshold of government expenditure is no more than 8.11%. Real per capita is also a key factor in promoting financial depth. Therefore, higher income is important for a financially deeper financial system. Therefore, attaining minimum government expenditure is crucial for accelerating financial development in Nigeria

Fiscal Policy and Financial Depth in Nigeria: An Application of Threshold Regression Modeling

The study examines Nigeria's non-linear relationship between fiscal policy and financial depth. In essence, the study is concerned with the impacts of fiscal deficit, domestic debt, and government expenditure on financial depth. The study uses four indicators of financial deepening: liquid liabilities, credit to the private sector, deposit money banks’ assets and financial system deposits (all indicators are expressed as percent of GDP). In particular, the government is the threshold variable expected to have a threshold effect on Nigeria's financial depth. The study covers 60 years between 1961 and 2020 and employs a threshold regression model to achieve the research objectives. A linear regression model is employed for the robustness test by including the government expenditure square to test the significance of non-linearity. The study's findings establish fiscal policy's significance in driving financial depth. Beyond the threshold of 8.11 percent, government expenditure significantly increases financial deepening. This is consistent across the indicators of financial depth and the overall financial depth. It further shows the important role of fiscal deficit and domestic debt in deepening the financial market as the threshold value exceeds 8.11 percent. However, fiscal may have a negative, though insignificant, effect on financial depth when the threshold of government expenditure is no more than 8.11%. Real per capita is also a key factor in promoting financial depth. Therefore, higher income is important for a financially deeper financial system. Therefore, attaining minimum government expenditure is crucial for accelerating financial development in Nigeria

Comparative study of service-based sentiment analysis of social networking sites fanatical contents

The proliferation of mobile web services (MWS) for sentiment analysis makes it hard to identify the best MWS for sentiment analysis of social networking sites’ fanatical contents. This paper carries out a comparative study of service-based sentiment analysis of social networking sites’ fanatical contents. This is achieved by cleaning, transformation, and reduction of fanatical contents from the publicly available social media dataset, and multiple MWS are selected for comparison using the application programming interface (API) key of the MWS. To evaluate the service-based sentiment analysis, standard measures such as accuracy, precision, recall, and f-measures of sentiment result for each MWS are used. The result shows that Dandelion SA performs better in terms of accuracy (72.5%) and recall (76.9%), while Wingify SA performs better in terms of precision (88.6%) and f-measure (75.5%), though AlchemyAPI offers the most crucial elements in analyzing sentiments such as emotion, relevance score, and sentiment type. The outcomes of this paper will benefit the sentiment analysis service developers, sentiment analysis service requesters as well as other researchers in the social media fanatical content domain

ROLE OF TRUST ON THE DETERMINANTS OF CONSUMER ONLINE BUYING BEHAVIOUR AMONG DISTANCE LEARNING CENTRE (DLC) POSTGRADUATE (PG) STUDENTS IN NIGERIA

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between perceived risk and social influence on consumer online buying behavior among postgraduate students in Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria. The study also explored the moderating effect of trust on this relationship. The sample size was determined using simple random sampling, and data was collected through a cross-sectional research design. 397 useful responses were used for the main analysis, and SmartPLS 3 was used to analyze the data and test the study's hypotheses. In the direct relationship, the study found that perceived risk and social influence had insignificant relationships with online buying behavior. Additionally, the study found that trust had a significant moderating effect on the relationship between perceived risk and social influence on online buying behavior. online retailers should make efforts to build trust with their customers to increase online buying behaviour. One way to build trust is to ensure customer privacy and security. Online retailers should take measures to protect their customers' personal information and ensure secure transactions to increase trust in their website

Nutrient digestibility and nitrogen balance by Yankasa rams fed treated sugarcane bagasse supplemented with varying levels of yeast

A study was conducted to evaluate nutrient digestibility and nitrogen balance of Yankasa rams fed varying inclusion levels of yeast in bagasse based diet. Twenty (20) growing Yankasa rams were used for the study; the rams were allotted to four (4) dietary treatments in a completely randomised design. The metabolism trial lasted 21 days. The yeast was included at the rate of 0, 5, 6 and 7 g/kg respectively and the diets were offered at 3 % body weight. Data generated were analysed using general linear model procedure and significant differences were compared using Tukey test and contrast analysis. The crude protein (CP) content of experimental diet varied between 13.0 and 13.75 % while neutral detergent fibre (NDF), acid detergent fibre (ADF) and acid detergent lignin (ADL) ranged from 68.30 to 69.04 %, 32.60 to 33.53 % and 11.28 to 33.52 % respectively. The results of apparent nutrient digestibility showed that rams fed diet with 7 g/kg inclusion level had significantly higher (p<0.05) dry matter digestibility (DMD), crude protein (CPD), acid detergent fibre (ADFD), neutral detergent fibre (NDFD) and acid detergent lignin (ADLD) which were at par with rams fed diet with 0 g/kg inclusion level. Moreover, rams fed 6 g/kg inclusion of yeast had significantly higher (p<0.05) nitrogen retention and nitrogen retention as percentage intake which were at par with rams fed 0 and 5 g/kg inclusion of yeast. Conclusively, the study showed that increasing the inclusion of yeast increased the nutrient digestibility and nitrogen retention of Yankasa rams

Carcass characteristics and meat quality of Red Sokoto Bucks fed treated and untreated bagasse with or without enzyme supplementation

study was conducted to evaluate the effect of feeding treated or untreated bagasse with or without enzyme supplementation on the carcass characteristics and meat quality of Red Sokoto bucks. Sixteen Red Sokoto bucks averaging one year and weighing 10 ± 2 kg were used for the study. Four bucks were assigned per treatment and allotted to two dietary treatments with two level of supplementation in a completely randomized design. The enzyme was included based on the manufactures recommendation. The bucks were slaughtered and dressed according to normal dressing procedure and meat samples were analysed for moisture, protein and ash content. The result of the trial showed that there was no significant difference (p>0.05) in hot carcass weight and protein content between bucks fed bagasse with enzyme and bucks fed bagasse without enzyme. Bucks fed untreated bagasse without enzyme had significantly (p<0.05) higher dressing percentage (44.11 %) when compared to bucks fed treated bagasse with enzyme (42.58 %). The study concluded that treated and untreated bagasse with or without enzyme has no adverse effect on carcass and meat quality of Red Sokoto bucks

A review of dust-induced electromagnetic waves scattering theories and models for 5G and beyond wireless communication systems

Dust particles and sand storms can cause attenuation and cross-polarization of electromagnetic wave propagation, especially at high frequencies above 10 GHz. Dust attenuation has been the focus of many research works, mainly with the deployment of a 5G wireless network in the FR-2 band (mmWave band, 23–53 GHz with TDD). This has led to the development of novel models to accurately predict and estimate attenuation. However, the existing review works have not adequately provided extensive taxonomies for these models to show the state-of-art and future research directions. This paper aims to bridge this gap by providing a comprehensive review of all electromagnetic scattering models in terms of their strengths, weaknesses, and applications. Lessons learned from the detailed survey have been stated and discussed extensively. Key findings from this review indicate that all the models developed were limited to the region where they were developed, with frequency and visibility levels as the two main parameters. The survey across regions showed no model was developed for Region 2, including the Americas, Greenland, and some of the eastern Pacific Islands. Among the dry regions of the globe, where dust and sand storms can occur either occasionally or frequently, it can be seen that only a few parts of these desert regions of Africa (Region 1) and Asia (Region 3) have been considered by authors for the development of prediction models for attenuation due to dust storms. Thus, this also shows the limitations of the overall deterministic models and presents the crucial need to develop new models or modify existing models to accurately predict dust attenuation in other regions, particularly in Africa