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We are very happy to announce that from 5th May 2017, Dr. Nikkoo N. Khalsa has joined the team of Elixir Editorial Advisory Board. He/She will carry a special responsibility for dealing with manuscripts based on Electronics and Communication Engineering. Dr. Nikkoo N. Khalsa working as Assistant Professor in Department of Electronics & Telecommunication Engineering at Prof. Ram Meghe Institute of Technology & Research, Badnera. The appointment of Dr. Nikkoo N. Khalsa as member Editorial Advisory Board strengthens the links and will make it easier for prospective authors to establish contact with the journal.

This study examined the effect of crude oil price on agricultural productivity in Nigeria between 1981 and 2010. Agricultural productivity (proxy as agricultural GDP) was specified as a function of factors such as exchange rate, crude oil price, capital stock, labour, land and fertilizer. Quantitative estimates, based on Augmented-Dickey Fuller (ADF) unit root test, Co-integration and Error Correction modelling, indicate that the exchange rate, capital, labour and trend are the major determinants of agricultural productivity in the long-run, while price of crude oil price is the most important determinant of agricultural productivity in the short–run. The results further shows that the error correction mechanism (ECM) indicated a feedback of about 112.5% of the previous year’s disequilibrium from long-run domestic agricultural production.

Business practices in Somalia have gone through many innovations. One of the most dynamic of these innovations has been mobile money. Different telecom companies provide different brands of mobile money. However, amongst EVC plus offered by Hormuud telecom is the most popular mobile money that people depend on their daily transactions in south and central Somalia. However, without effective functioning of central bank, limited education of business owners, unfavorable domestic environment, lack of business information; wide spread of mobile money adaptation by SMEs is likely to affect their financial performance. However the study sought to investigate the effects of mobile transfer on the financial performance of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Mogadishu, Somalia. More specifically, the study sought to achieve the following objectives; to assess the extent to which mobile money transaction cost, number of mobile money transactions, financial literacy and mobile money transfer regulations affect the financial performance of SMEs in Mogadishu, Somalia. The study adopted a descriptive survey method which was conducted through administration of questionnaires. Data was collected from a sample of 146 SMEs in Bakara market using purposive sampling technique. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were then used to analyze data with the help of statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 21.0.The results of this study revealed that there was a relationship between mobile money transfer and financial performance of small and medium enterprises. On the basis of the findings of this study, it was concluded that mobile money transfer had positive effect on financial performance of small and medium enterprises. The study found that mobile money transaction costs, financial literacy and mobile transfer regulation, affected financial performance of small and medium enterprises. It was recommended that due to the effect of financial literacy and mobile transfer regulation, managers should ensure they build capacity in terms of financial knowledge and also liaise with the regulator on the various regulations to be adopted. It is suggested that the Central Bank of Somalia needs to come up with a complex regulatory framework on how mobile platforms can transact effectively in the financial system. The Central Bank of Somalia needs to build capacity amongst its employees so as to be prepared for mobile innovations especially where money transfers are involved.

This study was conducted with a view to identify the socio-economic characteristics of processors of Vitellaria paradoxa and Parkia biglobosa; to examine the role of the rural dwellers in the sourcing and processing of V. paradoxa and P. biglobosa; to examine the different benefits that accrue to commercial processing of V. paradoxa and P. biglobosa and to investigate strategies put in place for sustainable use of V. paradoxa and P. biglobosa in the study area. Three (3) Local Government Areas were purposively selected for the study and purposive random sampling method was adopted for the selection of respondents. Primary data were obtained through the use of questionnaires while secondary data was gathered from relevant literature. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistical tools and gross margin analysis. The result showed that 90% of Vitellaria paradoxa and 94.3% of Parkia biglobosa processors were female. Majority of the processors of V. paradoxa (77.1%) and P. biglobosa (58%) fell within the age range of 21-40 years. Fruits of V. paradoxa (84.3%) and seeds of P. biglobosa (77.1%) were obtained from processors farmlands as a result of the relative availability of the trees on their farmlands. The remaining processors of V. paradoxa (15.7%) and P. biglobosa (22.9%) had no trees on their farmlands so they gathered the fruits and seeds from and around forest lands. 84.37% of V. paradoxa and 88.5% of P. biglobosa processors indicated that income was the main economic benefit derived from this business while social benefits highlighted by the respondents ranged from produce been used as food, medicine, condiment and cosmetic. The result also showed that processors of V. paradoxa incurred more costs, produced more output and had a higher average gross return in processing than P. biglobosa processors. The RORI for the processing business in the study area was 51% and 96%. To promote sustainability the people have adopted local means of sustaining production by preventing indiscriminate livestock grazing and bush burning.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of application of chlorhexidine mouthwash on Candida colonization in patients with complete dentures. Sixty-eight patients with complete denture were included in this study and divided in two groups. One group of patients were instructed to rinse their mouth with chlorhexidine mouthwash once per day for one week. The second group of patients were instructed to use placebo mouthwash containing normal saline solution. Palatal swabs and smears were taken from each patient before and after chlorhexidine and saline application and specimens were examined mycologically. For each group, Candida colony forming units (CFU) were assessed using Sabouraud agar culture. The difference between Candida colonization before and after treatment and the differences between pre-treatment and post-treatment clinical findings were assessed using paired t test. Application of chlorhexidine mouthwash significantly reduced the CFU and improved the palatal inflammation (p<0.05). This reduction was found in all patients even in smokers and diabetic patients, as well as in the subjects without suitable denture health. We demonstrated the effectiveness of application of a commercial chlorhexidine gluconate mouthwash in the management of candida colonization in patients with complete dentures specially in high-risk candidates.

The main objectives of this study were to analyze the energy efficiency of broiler production of Mazandaran province in north of Iran based on traditional and modern farms. For these purposes the data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach was applied to the data on energy use in broiler production in individual farms. The results indicated that the percentage of efficient units were founded about 17% and 34% in technical (CCR model) and pure technical (BCC model) for both systems. Also, about 17% of total units of traditional and modern farms had the efficient score fore scale efficiency index. Based on CCR and BCC models of DEA, the average of technical, pure technical and scale efficiency scores of traditional farms was calculated as 0.837, 0.927 and 0.906, respectively; while the modern farms results indicated that technical, pure technical and scale efficiency scores was founded as 0.873, 0.978 and 0.892, respectively. The total saving energy of traditional and modern farms was about 19907 and 6740 MJ 1000 birds-1, respectively. Accordingly, it can be said, comparing to present farms, the total energy requirement of DEA method decreased as 11.16% and 3.57% for traditional and modern farms, respectively. The last part of this research illustrated that diesel fuel, feed and electrical energy had the highest share for total saving energy by the DEA method in both systems of broiler production.

The main purpose of the current research is evaluating the effect of successful implementation of information systems on firms’ performance; case study is Bojnourd Cement Company during 2001 to 2004. Productivity, managers’ decision-making process, information quality, and human resources are considered as variables of the study. Research method is of questionnaire type, using general and professional questions in Likert scale. Research type, in terms of aim, is considered as applied research type. For data analysis, descriptive and inferential statistics is used. In inferential statistics-part of the study, to answer and to make decisions regarding study hypothesis as well as generalization of them to the statistical population under investigation, various tests such as one-tailed Student's t-test, one-tailed variance analysis test and Duncan Compare Means Test is used after converting study variables from ordinal scale to interval scale. The results of the study indicate that implementation of a successful accounting information system is effective on all performance components except productivity.

This experiment was conducted to evaluation of forage potential of intercropping barley with alfalfa under agrohumic fertilizer .The experimental treatments were intercropped barley/alfalfa with 25/75; 50/50, 75/25 ratios along with their sole crops as control plots. Treatments were arranged in a split plot design based on a RCBD with 3 replications. Main factor included agrohumic at four levels (0, 5, 7 and 10 lit/1000lit water per ha). According to result, we suggest using of 7 liter/1000 liter water per ha for intercropping of barley and alfalfa, also using of 50/50 ratio for barley and alfalfa is better ratio for intercropping.

This study tries to investigate why some Persian learners have difficulty in learning certain structures of English language. To answer this question, a general proficiency test was administered to a total of 98 female high school students who were at intermediate level at English language institutes, with the same level and age, out of which 46 participants whose scores ranged from 65-85 out of 100 were chosen as the Intermediate Level. The instruments used in the study consist of a Translation test and participants' PET scores. In order to do this, the translation test administered to the participants included one aspect of grammatical errors which were predicted to be problematic parts of learning. That is, the participants were required to translate 50 Persian sentences into English and then the erroneous parts were determined. A hierarchy of difficulty was developed, to determine the level of difficulty of using English 11 grammatical items namely, using the wrong preposition, infinitive, tense, un-English expressions, incorrect omissions and etc, for Iranian Intermediate participants. After that, the number of errors on each grammatical item in the test was counted. Then by use of descriptive and inferential statistics (Independent Samples T-test, Pearson correlation and Friedmantest) were applied to analyze. The results indicated that L1 grammar negative transfer does affect L2 writing skill (translation in English) among Iranian EFL learners. In conclusion, the study demonstrates that we would probably be able to enhance the L2 writing skill of Iranian EFL learners by drawing the EFL learner's attention to those problematic areas of L2 and so L1 negative transfer would be, to some extent, reduced. In addition, the findings show that L2 teachers, can probably be successful in their teaching and can have successful learners as well.

Health is a familiar component for policy makers around the globe. Health services are provided in different qualities and quantities.The effect of complementary insurance and health care services to vulnerable individuals such as chemical victims and accurate identification of their needs and physician induced demand is a critical issue. This study was conducted to address the effect of complementary insurance on induced demand among 25% or more chemical veterans in Nesar-e- Deereh village, in Kermanshah province, in the first half of 2009. A cross-sectional study was performed in the first half of 2009. Data were collected through a two-part questionnaire, interview with veterans (n=300), general practitioners (n=8) and specialists (n=12). The validity of the questionnaire was verified by obtaining expert opinions of non-contracting specialist and general practitioners, insurance officers, and university professors. Data were analyzed by descriptive tests using the SPSS software. All primary care services were provided free of charge by three general hospitals, two laboratories and three specialist pharmacies and all individuals were covered by complementary insurance. Sixty percent of veterans stated that they visited a specialist only to make sure that they are not sick and that they required check-up tests like CT scanning and etc. According to pharmacists, 85% of prescribed medications lack a therapeutic rationale. According to 44% of patients, general practitioners were more likely to prescribe expensive medications and 38% of patients stated that general practitioners sensitize them to check their health by various treatments and repeated visits. The fact that care is provided free of charge has created this attitude among some that they should make the most of the service as long as physician visits, medication and facilities are available freely. Induced demand can be largely reduced by changing patient attitude, wise use of insurance and more strict supervision of contracting physicians.