Assessment of Quality of Asphalt Concrete used in Road Construction in South West Nigeria

Assessment of asphalt concrete used for pavement construction in southwest Nigeria was carried out to determine the causes of untimely failure of newly constructed/rehabilitated asphalt roads. Samples of asphalt concrete and bitumen were collected from three asphalt plants selected for the study. Samples from each plant were subjected to bitumen extraction and sieve analysis, hot mix Marshall Stability and flow tests, penetration and viscosity tests. Results obtained were compared to the 2007 Federal Ministry of Works and Housing Standard Specifications for Roads and Bridges. The results revealed that none of the samples met all the criteria stated in the specifications, suggesting that the nature of asphalt concrete is a possible cause of premature failure of road pavements in southwest Nigeria. It is recommended that further research be conducted on other constituents of asphalt concrete as well as other structures of the flexible pavement.Keywords: Asphalt concrete, aggregate, bitumen, pavement, road, sieve analysis

Nexus between Economic Growth and Insurance Business in Nigeria

The role of insurance sector in mitigating sudden and devastating occurrences thereby stimulating economic growth cannot be over emphasized, however, no consensus has emerged on the impact of insurance development on economic growth. Hence the need to inquire not only the growth of the insurance sector in Nigeria but also how the sector has impacted economic growth.  Data were collected from secondary sources and it was regressed using ordinary least square at 95% significant level. It was discovered that there is relationship between insurance business and economic growth within the period of study. Keywords: Insurance sector, Economic growth, investment

Analysis of the Relationship between Inflation, Economic growth and Agricultural growth in Swaziland from 1980-2013

While there is an on-going debate on the nexus between economic growth and inflation, with some authors arguing a positive relationship and others arguing a negative relationship, policymakers are faced with the need to balance economic growth with low inflation. Although monetary policies have been undertaken to curb inflation in Swaziland, its economic growth remains slow. This study investigated the relationship between inflation, agricultural growth and economic growth in Swaziland for the period 1980 to 2013. The existence of long-run relationship and causality were tested. The study also determined the inflation threshold in Swaziland. Using the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ADRL) model, a long-run relationship between these variables was found to exist. Granger causality results show that, in 1980-2013, there was uni-directional causality in Swaziland that flows from economic growth to inflation, no causality was detected between economic growth and agricultural growth, and between inflation and agricultural growth. Using the non-linear model, Swaziland’s inflation threshold was estimated at 12.56% with respect to economic growth and 10.36% with respect to agricultural growth. The elasticities from the long-run and short-run regressions showed that inflation has a negative impact of about 2% in the long-run on the economy and  impacts positively by about 0.05% in the short-run. In the short-run, the agricultural growth has a positive relationship with the economic growth in Swaziland, with an influence of 15% on economic growth.Based on these findings it is recommended that the Government promote the agricultural sector and that the monetary authorities in Swaziland Government pay more attention to the inflation trend and pursue policies that will ensure single digit inflation. Keywords: Agricultural growth, ARDL, GDP, economic growth, inflation, threshol

Viral gene therapy for paediatric neurological diseases: progress to clinical reality

In the era of genomic medicine, diagnoses of rare paediatric neurological diseases are increasing. Many are untreatable and life-limiting, leading to an exceptional increase in gene therapy development. It is estimated that 20 gene therapy products will have received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration by 2025. With viral gene therapy considered a potential single-dose cure for patients with spinal muscular atrophy type 1 as one example, and contemporaneously tragically resulting in the deaths of three male children with X-linked myotubular myopathy receiving high-dose gene therapy in 2020, what is the current state of gene therapy? What is behind the decades of hype around viral gene therapy and is it high impact, but high risk? In this review, we outline principles of viral gene therapy development and summarize the most recent clinical evidence for the therapeutic effect of gene therapy in paediatric neurological diseases. We discuss adeno-associated virus and lentiviral vectors, antisense oligonucleotides, emerging genetic editing approaches, and current limitations that the field still faces

Analysis of Conduct and Performance of Dried Fish Market in Maiduguri Metropolis of Borno State, Nigeria

The study analyzed conduct and performance of dried fish markets in Maiduguri Metropolis of Borno State, Nigeria. Data were obtained using structured questionnaire. Three (3) major dried fish markets were purposely selected out of the seven (7) markets in the study area to reflect areas where dried fish is predominantly sold. A total of 100 respondents from the three (3) markets were randomly selected for the study. Descriptive statistics and budgetary techniques were used as analytical tools. The finding of the study reveals that (44.82%) and (33.33%) were obtained as market margin from sales of Grade C and Grade A dried fish respectively. The result of marketing cost and returns also reveals that capital invested constitutes (96.08%) of the total fixed cost, while transportation accounts for (30.55%) of the total variable cost. The result of market return (net returns) reveals that N25, 013,440.04 was obtained as net returns per week. The finding on marketing efficiency reveals (67.33%) was obtained per cartoons of dried fish sold. The result further indicates the efficiency ratio of 95.54 which is positive. The result of the market conduct reveals that about (40%) of the marketers get information on market situation through personal contact, (72%) price haggling, while (56%) said prices were set by both the sellers and the agents. It was recommended that local fish marketers should be organized into cooperative groups and government should adequately provide infrastructural facilities such as good roads and market facilities to dried fish marketers in the study area. Key words: Market Conduct, Market Performance, Dried Fish Market, Borno State,  Nigeri

Analysis of Marketing Channel and Market Structure of Dried Fish in Maiduguri Metropolis of Borno State, Nigeria

The study examined channel and market structure of dried fish in Maiduguri Metropolis of Borno State, Nigeria. Data were obtained using structured questionnaire. Three (3) major dried fish markets were purposely selected out of the seven (7) markets in the study area to reflect areas where dried fish sellers are predominantly found. A total of 100 respondents from the three (3) markets were randomly selected for the study. Descriptive statistics, Ginni coefficient, least square simple regression and budgetary techniques were used as analytical tools. The result reveals that marketing channel is divided into wholesalers and retailers of fresh and processed fish (dried fish). The finding also indicates that the values of Ginni coefficient were (0.5478) and (0.5252) for wholesalers and retailers, respectively. And the dried fish market had non competitive behaviour with monopolistic nature. The finding also reveals that (82%) of the marketers engaged in marketing Grade C dried fish products. The result of economies of scale reveals that the coefficient of wholesalers was (-0.005) while that of retailers was (-0.741) and are all negative but, statistically significant at 1% and 5%, respectively. It was recommended that local dried fish marketers should be organized into cooperative groups and government should provide adequate infrastructural facilities such as good road net work and market facilities. Keywords: Marketing channel, Market Structure, Dried fish, Borno State, Nigeria

Effects of chemical purification on the fatty acid composition of Cairca papaya and Citrus sinensis seeds oils

The oils of Citrus sinensis (CS) and Carica papaya (CP) seeds were extracted with soxhlet extractor apparatus using n-hexane as the solvent. The oils were concentrated by distillation and degummed with water and phosphoric acid, which was thereafter neutralized. Gas chromatography flame ionization detector (GC-FID) was used to determine fatty acid fraction (FAF). The prominent acids in the crude and refined oils of Carica papaya seed were oleic acid (74.5 %), (75.0 %), palmitic acid (12.1 %), (12.3 %), stearic acid (5.9 %), (5.6 %) and Linoleic acid (4.3 %), (4.1 %) respectively. The major fatty acids obtainable in Citrus sinensis sample were oleic acid (62.8 %), (63.4 %), palmitic acid (25.3 %), (24.3 %), stearic acid (7.2 %), (7.5 %) and Linoleic acid (3.4 %), (3.6 %) for crude and refined oils respectively. The statistical test results revealed that there was no significant difference in the values for the crude and refined oils. Thus, the purification processes (degumming and neutralization) did not affect the percentage fatty acid fractions of the oil but only reduced the phospholipid contents.Keywords: Soxhlet extractor, degumming, GC-FID, phospholipid and Fatty acid fractio

A Review of Optimization Approach to Power Flow Tracing in a Deregulated Power System

Power Flow Tracing (PFT) is known to be the best method in the allocation of charges to users of transmission systems, generators and loads, in a deregulated environment. The optimization approach to PFT produced better results than other methods because it considers the physical power flow results and electrical constraints of the system. A brief review of the optimal power flow concept, PFT techniques, and the deterministic and non-deterministic optimization methods applied to PFT are presented. The paper also highlighted the future trends of hybrid optimization approach to PFT. It is recommended that more research work should be directed on the hybrid optimization methods to solve PFT problems