Archives-December 

This work aims to study the collection field behavior of the most interesting banana and plantain cultivars for the populations surveyed in the province of Maniema. A 40 x 60 m collection field was installed in the experimental field of the Faculty of Agronomy of Kindu University, located on the Lwama 1 district. The spacings adopted were 3 x 3 m. The parameters collected for each cultivar were as follows: pseudostem length, neck diameter, number of leaves, leaf length and width, number of rejects, number of hands per diet, number of fingers / hand, finger circumference, finger length and diet weight. The results obtained showed that these cultivars have different vegetative and productive characteristics. The average values obtained were as follows: The length of the pseudostem varied from 120 cm to 351 cm; the neck diameter varies from 42.90 cm to 84 cm; the number of rejects varies from 2 (1.60) to (20.40); the number of hands varies from 1 cm to 8.50 cm; the number of finger / hand varies from 5.50 cm to 88.40 cm; the circumference / finger varies from 12 cm to 18.70 cm and finally the diet weight varies from 7 kg to 18.60 kg for all cultivars.

Levels of proximate and amino acid compositions were determined in Maggot meal (MM), Earthworm meal (EM) and Soybean meal (SM). Maggot meal was best in Ile, Leu, Lys, Try, Asp, Cys and Pro whereas Earth worm meal was best in Arg, His, Met, Phe, Val, Glu, Ser and Tyr while Soybean meal was only best in Gly,  when compared on pair-wise basis. The total amino acid contents were: Maggot meal (58.4g/100g crude protein), Earthworm meal (56.3g/100g crude protein) and Soybean meal (34.9g/100g crude protein) and an average of 49.9g/100g crude protein with respective essential amino acids of 34.5g/100g crude protein, 31.4g/100g crude protein and 18.3g/100gcrude protein. The Predicted Protein Efficiency Ratio (P-PER) levels were: 2.16 (Maggot meal), 1.45 (Earthworm meal) and 1.14 (Soybean meal). On average basis, the limiting amino acid based on whole hen’s egg amino acid scoring pattern and Provisional amino acids scoring pattern was threonine. However, significant differences occurred between Maggot meal/Earthworm meal (MM/EM), Maggot meal/Soybean meal (MM/SM), Quality of amino acid (QAA) of Maggot meal/ Earthworm meal (MM/EM) and Maggot meal/ Soybean meal (MM/SM) at r = 0.05 and n-2 degree of freedom. When comparing the quality of amino acids of feedstuffs on pair wise basis, the coefficients of alienation (C_A) were fairly low (24.0 - 40.7%), meaning that there is a better relationship between them while on the other hand the Index of Forecasting Efficiency (IFE) values were very high (59.4 – 76.0%) indicating that the error of prediction was very low. The three feedstuffs could then be compounded in other to employ them in feed formulation for fish, poultry and other animals.

Aluminium-3%Magnesium-10% silicon carbide composite is prepared in an induction heating furnace. The physical characteristics of both as-casted sample and corroded samples have been studied. A slice of the composite sample is kept in sea water for 6 weeks (42 days) and the weight loss was measured with the help of an electronic weighing machine in every 7 days to study the corrosion behavior.

Corrosion is a natural process which converts a refined metal in to a more chemically stable from. It is the gradual destruction of material by chemical of electrochemical reaction with their environment. It can be prevented if the metal is coated with something which does not allow moisture and oxygen to react with it. It can be controlled by either sacrificial protection or by antirust solution. The naturally occurring plant product are ecofriendly, compatible, non polluting, less toxic, easily available, biodegradable so can widely be use without side effect. Tylophora indica has been selected for the study to it’s corrosion inhibition efficiency. It is easily available in any season. It is also called annatmul. It is endemic to southern and eastern part of india. Is it used for the treatment of jaundice, inflammation ,dermatitis and rheumatism. It contains septicine, isatylocrebrinsterol,wax,tylophorinicine.Corrosion inhibition efficiency of leaves of Tylophora indica was studied for aluminium in HCl solution. Maximum inhibition efficiency was found 70.50% in 0.5 N HCl an 0.7% inhibitor for concentration. Inhibition efficiency was studied in three different acid like- HCl,H2SO4 ,HNO3 in four different concentrations like [0.5N,1N,1.5N,2N] with different concentrations of inhibitors [0.1,0.3,0.5,0.7] Weight loss method and thermometric method were used. Inhibition efficiency was found to be increase in concentration of inhibitor and decrease with increase in acid strength

For women of childbearing age, the major challenge is the risk of maternal death as a result of poor health during pregnancy and childbirth. This study explores socio-cultural factors and their implications on maternal health in rural communities in Nigeria using Owukpa community and Obollo-Eke community as study areas. The data were generated from a cross sectional survey of mothers aged 15-49years in both communities whether married or unmarried. A cluster random sampling procedure and non probability sampling were adopted to select 572 respondents for the study, out of this 560 constituted the questionnaire which was the major instrument for data collection, and 12 was based on in-depth interview guide. The result shows that most of the factors identified have serious implications for maternal health in the two communities though the degree at which the factors affect health varied. The factors include; education, poverty, nutrition, lack of basic social amenities, inadequate and inaccessible health care services, lack of family planning, low status of women, gender base violence, and paternity pattern. The study revealed that paternity pattern practised in the two communities differed, The result also shows that certain attitudes like; early marriage, delay in seeking service, sex preference and desire for many children, and sexual activities among the unmarried affect the health of women however with certain degree of variations among the two communities.

In this work, a novel power conversion structure for grid-connected photovoltaic applications is presented. This structure is based on a Diode clamped multilevel inverter. The configuration of the PV system is based on the multi-string technology and the maximum power point is obtained using PSO Algorithm. The output of the MPPT tracker controls the duty cycle of the boost converter. To control this power converter, SVPWM based modulation technique is implemented. The proposed system operation was simulated using the MATLAB/Simulink power system toolbox and are furnished to verify the efficiency of this method.

Abstract The levels of Organochlorine Pesticides (OCPs) in plastic resin pellets were determined with the objective of assessing the status of OCP pollution in the marine ecosystem of selected beaches in Ghana (namely Art Centre, Sakumono, Osu Castle, Labadi, Korle-Gonno, Independence Square and Tema Mighty beaches). The plastic pellets were subjected to Soxhlet extraction and the extracts analyzed using Gas Chromatograph coupled with electron capture detector. High concentrations of Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane compounds (DDTs) were recorded followed by Hexachlorocyclohexane (HCHs), Chlordane compounds (CHLs), Hexachlorobenzene (HCB), Aldrin, Dieldrin, Endrin (DRINs), alpha-endosulphan, beta-endosulphan, endosulphan sulphate (Endosulphans) and Methoxychlor. Analysis of the virgin pellets recorded no organochlorine pesticides present. However, plastic pellets collected from all seven beaches were found to contain OCPs with the highest recorded on the Art Centre beach with a total OCP concentration of 106 ng/g. Plastic pellets collected on the Labadi beach recorded the lowest OCPs with a concentration of 20.2 ng/g. The accumulation of OCP residue on the plastic resin pellets suggests that it can be used as a tool for monitoring marine pollution. Key words: Plastic resin pellets, organochlorine pesticides, beaches, concentration, Ghana.

The aim of present research is to determine and prioritize criteria and scales of evaluating cohesive training systems. Present paper attempts to provide a paradigm for better devising of universities' cohesive training systems by identifying such scales. In terms of its aim, this research is an applied one and in terms of data collection method, it is descriptive and survey one. Its population includes elite training experts in the colleges and institutes affiliated to University of Tehran. It attempts to study domestic and foreign papers and to identify criteria and scales for evaluating cohesive training systems. Library method is used to gather information on theoretical basics, literature and to identify aspects and scales. Identified aspects include: content, flexibility, organizational structure, usage convenience, usage services and apparent form. To prioritize identified aspects and scales, the opinions of elite training experts in University of Tehran are used. Data gathering tool was questionnaire. Data were analyzed by AHP method and Expert Choice software. According to research findings, the relative supremacy of content was 0.362; flexibility, 0.225; organizational structure, 0.155; usage convenience, 0.115, usage service, 0.087; and apparent form, 0.056. So, one can say that the importance of identified aspects to evaluate cohesive training systems in terms of priority is content, flexibility, organizational structure, usage convenience, usage services and apparent form.

In the fashion business, privately owned brick-and-mortar fashion boutiques in the United States face the challenge of competing with online retailers who usually have low overheads and inventories. The knowledge and awareness of the changing marketing landscapes responsible for the decline in the survival rate of traditional or brick-and-mortar fashion boutiques may be essential to traditional and online entrepreneurs, to increase adaptability and business sustainability. Grounded in the general systems theory, the research conducted through the invocation of a qualitative multiple case study, entailed the exploration of strategies used by successful brick-and-mortar fashion boutique owners in contending with the online retailers. Interviews constituted the means for data collection and involved 5 brick-and-mortar fashion boutique owner participants, who operated retail fashion businesses in the southeast region of the United States. The successful existence of the business for more than 5 years, while participation criteria in the study, also indicated merit in studying success in traditional fashion retailing. The primary data from interviews were analyzed and triangulated with credible secondary sources such as information and reports from the U. S. Small Business Administration, U. S. Census Bureau, and fashion industry sources. From a thematic analysis of the interview data, the three themes that emerged from the data analysis were the importance of business success of marketing strategies, cognizance of fashion trends, and the role of customer preference in economic success. The potential knowledge from the utilization of the study results may serve to increase the success rates of traditional and online fashion startups and possibly endow these businesses with the adaptabilities and strategies capabilities in the inevitable greater transformation to an online business world.

Work on global warming is expected to have significant impacts on conditions affecting agriculture, including temperature, carbon dioxide, glacial run off, precipitation and the interaction of these elements has been reviewed in this article. To a large extent, the overall effect of climate change will depend on the balance among these factors. Assessment of the effects of global climate changes on agriculture will help to properly anticipate and adapt farming systems to maximize agricultural production. There is exponential rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide. Atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide was 270 ppm during pre-industrial period and human activities have added more than 100 ppm and it has reached 380 ppm with the rate of rise as high as 1.8 ppm per year. With this exponential rise in carbon dioxide, its concentration will double by the middle of 21st century. The effects of an increase in carbon dioxide would be higher on C3 plants (such as wheat) than on C4 plants (such as maize), as the former is more susceptible to carbon dioxide deficit. Increased CO2 leads to fewer stomata development in case of plants which results in less water usage. It is estimated that under optimum conditions of temperature and humidity, the yield increase could reach 36 % if the levels of CO2 are doubled. A large number of stress responsive genes have been cloned and sequenced from a number of crop plants. A common feature of many stress induced proteins is that their transcripts are induced not only by stress but also by (ABA) abscisic acid. It implies that there is a general role for ABA in the signal transduction pathway i. e. from sensing of the environmental stress and thereby leading to gene expression.