Archives-August 2015

The quest for ready-to-eat fruits has resulted in cut-fruits such as pawpaw, watermelon, mangoes and pineapples in the local market. Many people eat fruits because of the vitamins they contain. Mango (Mangifera indica L.) fruits are consumed among other reasons, for their pleasant flavour. They are rich sources of vitamins A, B6 and C. Mango fruits are being increasingly process into ready-to-eat products such as fresh-cut slices. This study determined the effects of irradiation and refrigeration storage on the vitamin C content of fresh-cut mango products. Well matured half-ripe with peel of green and a little yellow intact fruits were sampled for laboratory analysis using 2x2x5 factorial experiment. The fruits were sanitized, peeled and sliced into cubes, packaged in 30 PET jars, and were subjected to various radiation dose levels (1.0, 1.5, 2.0 and 2.5) kGy and a control. The treated cut-mangoes were stored at 6°C and 10°C for 15 days and samples were taken at 3 days interval for analysis of vitamin C. The data was analyzed using ANOVA. Irradiation did not have significant (p>0.05) effect on the vitamin C content measured. However, there were significant varietal differences (p<0.05) between irradiated Kent and Keitt mangoes. Storage time has significant effect (p<0.05) on the vitamin C. There was significant (P<0.05) increase in vitamin C content during storage at 6 °C.

This study assessed knowledge commonly shared by postgraduate students in Obafemi Awolowo University. The study also investigated factors that influence postgraduate students’ knowledge sharing. The study was a descriptive survey design which involved the design of questionnaire which was validated by means of Cronbach’s coefficient alpha of (0.70). The questionnaires were administered on (503) postgraduate students. The findings revealed that knowledge in the areas of individual studies was the most commonly shared knowledge among the majority (92.8%). The study further revealed that of the three identified factors (individual, institution and technology factors) influencing knowledge sharing among the postgraduate students, only individual factor (? = .085, p < 0.05) was shown to significantly influence students’ knowledge sharing bahaviours. The study suggests further research in such areas as: the construction of shared knowledge in collaborative problem solving and computer-supported collaborative learning among postgraduate student in Nigeria.

This study assessed information needs and dissemination of the National Centre for Technology Management (NACETEM), Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. The study focused on the adequacy of existing holdings in the research institute determines the recency of materials in the library and evaluate the environmental condition of the library. The study was a descriptive survey which involved the design of questionnaire that was administered to staff and library clientele. The findings revealed that the highest percentage of the library clientele were researchers 45.8%, followed by the administrative and accounts staff 45.9% and planning officers accounted for 8.3% being the least among the library users. Also, majority 61% agreed that the materials were adequate. The study further showed that majority 64% of the materials were relatively recent. The study further revealed that 33.3% of the respondents described the environment as conducive for reading and learning. This study concluded that the agency is living up to its mandate as an institution for science, technology and innovation management (STI). However, the information needs of the agency needs to be explored to assist the management to provide current materials for the use of the staff and other users.

In recent times, the traditional methods of providing information services are changing, and also, the performance of library tasks is undergoing a major change process. Libraries are thus being transformed from book centered to information centered institutions, and emphasis is shifting from book collection and storage to access and provision of electronic information services. Therefore this paper examined the role of Library as a way to develop and maintain collections of materials in all formats and to make the materials available to all users. The integration of both print and non-print resources into the library system in the 21st century will go a long way in providing necessary information to users. Availability of various forms of print and non- print resources and their effects were discussed in this paper. This paper discussed the challenges associated with managing print and non-print information resources in colleges of education libraries in Nigeria. The study concluded that for academic library to function effectively, they should collaborate with relevant institutions and adopt the best strategies that will enhance the management of print and non-print information resources for sustainable national educational development in the country.

Post Enron, WorldCom & Tyco the world woke up to the need of good practices in corporate governance of public companies. Out of many recommendations made by the regulators, the cheapest and most effective is the provision for whistle blowing. This paper brings out the whistleblower policies prevalent in US Companies and Indian Companies and focuses on Indian Companies’ commitment towards the whistleblowers’ policy in their companies, in absence of mandatory regulations. The paper also attempts to bring out the philosophy best suited in designing whistleblower policy.

Excessive use of pesticides resulted in serious ecological and environmental problems as well as health hazards. Histopathological changes are mostly confined to organs directly involved in their metabolism and detoxification. In Molluscs, hepatopancreas is the main site of action, degradation and detoxification of pesticide, hence hepatopancreas is chosen as test organs. Ascorbic acid is main dietary antioxidant. For different physiological acts vitamins are essential, although required in trace amount. Therefore, the present study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of L-ascorbic acid in Methomyl -induced toxicity in an experimental model, the fresh water bivalve, Lamellidens marginallis. The animals were exposed to acute dose (35 PPM LC 50/2 value of 96 h) of Methomyl, Methomyl in same dose along with 50 mg/L of L- ascorbic acid and Methomyl in same dose along with100mg/L of L-ascorbic acid for 96 hours. Control animals were maintained in normal water. Due to Methomyl intoxication damage to the hepatopancreas was extensive resulting epithelial hyperplasia, necrotic changes in basement membrane and intertubular connective tissue at 24 hours of exposure. The severity of damage progressed with longer exposure, after 96 hours of exposure to Methomyl, swelling, rupture and flattening of epithelial cells along with displacement of nuclei and widening of tubular lumen were noted. Exposure to Methomyl in combination with 50 mg/l of L-ascorbic acid showed considerable reduction in nature of damage, while with 100 mg/l of L-ascorbic acid showed almost normal histological structure of hepatopancreas.

Researchers have long studied how learners produce a new language system (SLA). Theories of SLA, which make the language learning process easier to understand, have roots in such fields as linguistics, sociolinguistics, psychology, neuroscience, and education. To explain how someone acquires a second language, these theories investigate questions of cognition, questions of social influences, and so on. Researchers have commonly acknowledged no one overarching theory of SLA yet, because to express an all-embracing theory of SLA is an extremely intricate undertaking that is beyond research done individually; just as several men found it impossible to fully grasp the elephant in the dark and interpreted the huge animal differently because their palms were not large enough, understanding SLA procedure is enormously complicated and it commands the involvement of various disciplines, from linguistic theory to anthropology to brain science, and the procedure is not yet actually grasped. By collecting previous challenges to explain SLA, this paper attempted to help researchers and teachers shed about the shortcomings of the complementary theories in order to integrate linguistic, psychological, and social perspectives on SLA; this paper may hopefully express the idea of incompleteness, not the fallacy, of these models and may provide a deeper and broader view of the acquisition process, and the findings may suggest some guidelines for L2 learning and teaching.

Solid rocket motors are produced in the form of segments which are used as boosters in the launch vehicles. To produce any rocket segment, hardwares are subjected to a series of operations. The rocket hardwares are thin cylindrical shells which are very sensitive to the externally applied loads. During production, a number of handling operations are essential. A suitable interface is to be generated to cater to the production operations. These requirements are met by connecting a circular ring called End Ring to the hardware using the available hardware interfaces. This paper deals with Design and Analysis of HES Dome Side End Ring for Head End Segment.

In this paper, we consider a wide range of widely-studied models strategic form behavioral game theory. It is standard multi agent settings to assume that agents will adopt Nash equilibrium strategies. This paper gives a brief overview of game theory. Therefore in the first section we want to outline what game theory generally is and where it is applied. In the next section, we introduce some of the most important terms of Non-cooperative game theory such as strategic form (or) normal form games, extensive form and Nash equilibrium.

From the beginning of creation, human being has always been hostile towards the ecosystem by changing the environment. Dams are one of the important structures in the systems of water transport and resources. The goal of these studies is to evaluate the environmental effects of the dams, obtaining a comprehensive recognition of the present situation of the environment in the location of dam and the span influencing it. These studies also aim at recognizing the design activities which are done in the considered environment. After gaining a dual recognition, the effects of design activities on all components of the environment (consisting of about 100 factors such as air, water, soil, plant, animal, biodiversity, population, culture, monuments, and etcetera) are determined. In this article, the advantages and disadvantages of dams will be investigated from an environmental perspective. From this perspective, there are lots of advantages as well as disadvantages for dams. They provide reliable water resources, protect the surrounding areas from floods, and also provide a clean energy. Hydroelectric energy (generating electricity by the energy of water) has more advantages than the other two major sources of generating electricity i.e. fossil fuel and nuclear energy. However, dams and water resources also cause some problems. In arid and semi-arid areas, water is easily evaporated from the tanks and canals which transport water. This causes a waste of water and an increase in the density of the salt in water. Dams are a barrier to floods. The floods are important since they enrich the soil with the nutrients which are essential and significant for the ecosystems. Dams change the water flow, the temperature, the transparency of a river; change the water from a current state into a stagnant state. The changes in temperature may have an effect on the living creatures of the river because the life cycle of many invertebrates depend on the temperature. These effects may also have an effect on the situation and behavior of weather, biology, culture, monuments, and etcetera and make them change and more complicated. As a result, with regard to the significance of the positive effects of building dams, it is necessary to minimize the negative environmental effects for the sake of sustainable development. In this article, the negative effects and ways for decreasing these effects in the environment are more investigated.