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This study’s objective assessed the usage of traditional and improved maize storage technologies by farmers in Saki/Oke-Ogun area of Oyo State. The study was conducted from April-July, 2019; using a validated structured questionnaire for data collection. A multi-stage sampling technique was adopted to draw a sample of 191 maize farmers. Grain storage technologies usage frequency was measured on a four-point Likert-type numerical scale 4-1 as regularly, occasionally, seldom, and never respectively. Descriptive analysis of collected data revealed regular usage of both raffia woven basket (98.9%) and traditional crib (96.1%) by respondents. Sampled maize farmers overwhelmingly indicated non-usage of rhombus (98.0%) to store their produce; with a substantial number (88.2%) rarely using containers. Further analysis shows maize farmers used improved crib regularly (76.5%). Inert atmosphere silo (80.4%), conventional silo (76.5%), purdue improved crop storage (90.2%) and zerofly™ (65.4%) bags were never used to store maize by farmers. Chi-square ) analysis revealed significant (p≤0.05) associations between technology usage and socioeconomic characteristics of maize farmers. The cost and bulk storage nature of improved storage technology could be traced to its never used; while awareness is also very low on the use of those cost effective bagged technologies.This study’s objective assessed the usage of traditional and improved maize storage technologies by farmers in Saki/Oke-Ogun area of Oyo State. The study was conducted from April-July, 2019; using a validated structured questionnaire for data collection. A multi-stage sampling technique was adopted to draw a sample of 191 maize farmers. Grain storage technologies usage frequency was measured on a four-point Likert-type numerical scale 4-1 as regularly, occasionally, seldom, and never respectively. Descriptive analysis of collected data revealed regular usage of both raffia woven basket (98.9%) and traditional crib (96.1%) by respondents. Sampled maize farmers overwhelmingly indicated non-usage of rhombus (98.0%) to store their produce; with a substantial number (88.2%) rarely using containers. Further analysis shows maize farmers used improved crib regularly (76.5%). Inert atmosphere silo (80.4%), conventional silo (76.5%), purdue improved crop storage (90.2%) and zerofly™ (65.4%) bags were never used to store maize by farmers. Chi-square ) analysis revealed significant (p≤0.05) associations between technology usage and socioeconomic characteristics of maize farmers. The cost and bulk storage nature of improved storage technology could be traced to its never used; while awareness is also very low on the use of those cost effective bagged technologies.

In this paper, the explicit solutions of the optimal investment plans of an investor with exponential utility function exhibiting constant absolute risk aversion (CARA) under constant elasticity of variance (CEV) and stochastic interest rate is studied. A portfolio comprising of a risk-free asset modelled by the Cox-Ingersoll-Ross (CIR) process and two risky assets modelled by the CEV process is considered, where the instantaneous volatilities of the two risky assets form a 2 x 2 matrix n = {np,q}2x2 such that nnT is positive definite. Using the power transformation and change of variable approach with asymptotic expansion technique, explicit solutions of the optimal investment plans are found. Moreover, numerical simulations are used to study the effects of the interest rate, elasticity parameter, correlation coefficient and the risk averse coefficient on the optimal investment plans.

This paper investigated the co-movement between the bitcoin (BTC) and the exchange rates of some African currencies to the USD (United States Dollars) using the continuous wavelet transform (CWT) and wavelet coherence (WTC). This was done for the noisy as well as the denoised series. The CWT for the noisy series suggests high volatility for those who hold the currencies for the short term and low volatility for those who hold the currencies for a long-term period. The CWT of the denoised series suggests that volatility at low frequency is driven by noise, while volatility at a higher frequency is driven by market forces. The wavelet coherence suggests that in the presence of noise, bitcoin will be a hedge for the currencies. However, in the absence of noise, bitcoin is a haven for the Egyptian EGP, followed by the Algerian DZD, then the Nigerian NGN, and may not be a haven for the South African ZAR.

In this paper, the relationship between some selected stocks in the Nigerian Capital Market was investigated using wavelet analysis. The selected stocks are Dangote Cement (Dans) representing the housing sector, Julius Berger (Jbger) representing the Construction industry, Nestle Nigerian Plc (Nese) representing the food and beverages sector and United Bank of Africa (Ubas) representing the banking sector. The goal is to find out how the different sector relate to each other, t also serve as a guide for investors in the Nigerian stock Market. The result shows that on low frequencies, the coherence between stocks are low but volatile. The cross wavelet showed that there is little or no covariability in the magnitude of the movement among the selected stocks but there are co-variability in the direction of the movement. The continuous wavelet transform (wavelet spectrum) shows that for all the stocks, there is high volatility at the low frequency scales and low volatility at high frequency scales. The discrete wavelet transform (DWT) suggests that in the absence of noise, Nese (representing the food and beverage industry is the most volatile stock.

This paper sets up a dynamic model to study the distributive effects of privatizing an open access resource. We show that with or without discounting, privatization is not always Pareto improving. We further derive conditions under which the poor are made worse off when private use rights are equally distributed compared to a situation with open access resource. These conditions imply that privatization is Pareto improving if the natural resource is sufficiently productive, inequality in alternative private project opportunities is low, and if there is no discounting. In addition, we show that once reduction in income from resource harvesting during the transition to a new steady state is accounted for, privatization is desirable for the poor only for very productive natural resources and low discount rates.

In this paper, the optimal investment strategy for a defined contribution (DC) pension scheme was modeled with the assumption that the fund is invested partly in riskless assets and partly in risky assets. The market has a constant interest rate, a stochastic volatility that follows the Heston model, the salary is assumed constant over the entire career of the Pension Plan Participant (PPP) and the contribution is a constant proportion of the salary. The CRRA utility function was utilized to obtain a Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman (HJB) equation. The resulting HJB equation was solved using the Prandtl Asymptotic Matching Method following the works in the literature.

Brain activation in response to spoken motor commands can be detected by electroencephalography (EEG) in clinically unresponsive patients. The prevalence and prognostic importance of a dissociation between commanded motor behavior and brain activation in the first few days after brain injury are not well understood.We studied a prospective, consecutive series of patients in a single intensive care unit who had acute brain injury from a variety of causes and who were unresponsive to spoken commands, including some patients with the ability to localize painful stimuli or to fixate on or track visual stimuli. Machine learning was applied to EEG recordings to detect brain activation in response to commands that patients move their hands. The functional outcome at 12 months was determined with the Glasgow Outcome Scale-Extended (GOS-E; levels range from 1 to 8, with higher levels indicating better outcomes).A total of 16 of 104 unresponsive patients (15%) had brain activation detected by EEG at a median of 4 days after injury. The condition in 8 of these 16 patients (50%) and in 23 of 88 patients (26%) without brain activation improved such that they were able to follow commands before discharge. At 12 months, 7 of 16 patients (44%) with brain activation and 12 of 84 patients (14%) without brain activation had a GOS-E level of 4 or higher, denoting the ability to function independently for 8 hours (odds ratio, 4.6; 95% confidence interval, 1.2 to 17.1).A dissociation between the absence of behavioral responses to motor commands and the evidence of brain activation in response to these commands in EEG recordings was found in 15% of patients in a consecutive series of patients with acute brain injury. (Supported by the Dana Foundation and the James S. McDonnell Foundation.).

This paper evaluates the welfare impacts of carbon taxation on South African households. Using household survey data for the period 2009–2015, I estimate the Quadratic Almost Ideal Demand System (QUAIDS) model to obtain elasticities and use them to simulate consumer responses to price changes resulting from carbon taxation. Results show that an increase in electricity and public transport prices following a carbon tax policy is regressive while a price increase in motor fuel is progressive. In addition, when there is a simultaneous increase in the prices of energy goods, the poorest and middle income households disproportionately suffer a higher welfare loss compared to the richest households. I also show that income is important in determining whether rural households experience a higher or lower welfare loss than urban households. Furthermore, revenue recycling in terms of lump-sum transfers of the tax revenue to households below the national poverty lines and the bottom 40% would offset the welfare loss from a carbon tax policy in South Africa.

This case report describes bloodless management of a 32-year-old Jehovah's Witness who had severe obstetric hemorrhage at 23 weeks of gestation, spontaneously delivering twin fetuses. After resuscitation with crystalloids and colloids, the patient was still bleeding and hemoglobin fell to 3.3 g/dL. She had emergency hysterectomy. On postoperative day 1, her hemoglobin was 1.3 g/dL and Glasgow Coma Scale 6 of 15. Electrolyte derangement and fluid overload were detected and treated promptly. She regained consciousness and received intravenous iron and erythropoietin. She recovered fully without complications and without blood transfusion. Hemoglobin at discharge (postoperative day 18) was 6.9 and 12.5 g/dL 4 months later.

Achieving economic development and environmental sustainability simultaneously is one of the most important development challenges for Africa today. The relationship between economic growth and environmental sustainability is founded on the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC). This paper examines the validity of the hypothesis and the driving factors of carbon dioxide (CO2) emission in five African countries using the STIRPAT empirical model, panel cointegration and fully modified ordinary least squares. Unlike previous studies, economic development is disaggregated into agriculture and industrial economic development. The results show that there is no evidence of the validity of the hypothesis in Africa, regardless of whether economic development is driven by agriculture or industrialisation. Energy structure and energy intensity are the two major driving forces of CO2 emissions in Africa. Population growth and urbanisation have negative relationship with CO2 emissions. From our results, the EKC is not a sound basis for environmental policy in Africa; rather, environmental policy in Africa, specifically for CO2 emissions mitigation, should focus on encouraging energy efficiency, enhancing the use of clean energy, incorporating the impact of population growth and harnessing the positive impacts of urbanisation.

Renewable energy is an important factor in achieving a low-carbon economic development path in China. This paper investigates the factors influencing renewable electricity consumption in China. Specifically, the factors that influence the share of renewable electricity in total electricity consumption in China is investigated using data from 1980 to 2011 and employing the Johansen cointegration technique and vector error correction model. The result of the analysis shows that there is a long run relationship between renewable electricity consumption and GDP per capita, trade openness, foreign direct investment, financial development and share of fossil fuel in energy consumption. Economic development and financial development promotes renewable electricity consumption while foreign direct investment, trade openness and the lobby of conventional energy sources undermine the share of renewables in total electricity consumption in China. While the effects of shocks to the other variables appear to die out over time, the “lobby effect” is persistent and explosive. The results also show that there is a uni-directional short run causality from financial development to renewable electricity consumption and from renewable electricity consumption to trade openness. The Chinese government should pursue policies that not only increase the amount of renewable electricity, but also increase the share of renewables in total electricity consumption.

Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) infection is a public health problem that is endemic in Nigeria. Cross River State, a tourist state, located in the coastal area of Nigeria has a relatively high prevalence rate. Insufficient knowledge and negative attitudes are barriers to effective control of infectious diseases.To determine the Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) of HBV amongst residents of Cross River State, Nigeria.This was a cross sectional descriptive study. A total of 1,620 healthy adults from the three senatorial districts in Cross River State participated in the study from March to September, 2015. KAP towards HBV was assessed using a structured pre-tested questionnaire. Categorical variables were described as frequencies and continuous variables as median and interquartile range. In the inferential analysis, Kruskal-Wallis test was used to determine the relationship between socio-demographic variables and median KAP scores. A p value0.05 was considered significant. All analyses were performed using Stata 12 statistical package.A total of 1,465 respondents completed the questionnaire correctly giving a response rate of 91%. The M: F ratio was 1:1.8. The median age was 38 years. Majority (61%) was married and 32% had formal education up to the tertiary level. Only 45% knew that HBV causes hepatitis. Knowledge of routes of transmission was50% for blood transfusion, sexual contact and sharps but48% for vertical transmission. Median and interquartile range of knowledge scores for the south, central and northern senatorial districts were 8 (2-14), 13 (5-17) and 14 (6-18) which varied significantly with age (p =0.027). The overall attitude and practice towards persons living with HBV was poor. There was good correlation between KAP scores (p0.05).Knowledge of hepatitis B is low among adults in Cross River State. This correlates with poor attitude and practice towards HBV. There is need to utilize health education strategies to improve awareness among the populace, if Nigeria is to meet the global target of elimination of viral hepatitis by 2030.

Developing countries, including Nigeria, aim to achieve industrialisation and sustainable development. However, there are few empirical studies that examined the impact of industrialisation-led economic transformation on carbon emissions in developing countries. This is the focus of this study. The paper investigates the impact of industrial value-added on CO2 emissions in Nigeria using the Kaya Identity framework and Augmented Dickey Fuller (ADF), Johansen׳s cointegration technique and vector error correction model (VECM). The data spans from 1980 to 2011. The result of the ADF test indicates that continual long term policies that exert permanent shocks on the variables are required to achieve economic development, industrialisation and CO2 reduction. The result of the analysis shows that industrial value-added has an inverse and significant relationship with CO2 emissions, which suggests that there is no evidence that industrialisation increases carbon emissions in Nigeria. GDP per capita and population has positive and significant impacts on CO2 emission. Energy intensity and carbon intensity has positive but very weak significant impact (at 10% level) on CO2 emission. The paper recommends that policy makers in Nigeria should pursue pragmatic industrialisation policies coupled with modest decarbonisation and energy-efficiency measures in order to ensure long term industrial, economic and sustainable development.

OPEC has long been a major stakeholder and strong player in the global energy market, especially in the petroleum sub-sector. In recent time, however, there have been questions over the influence of OPEC in the sub-sector due to changing petroleum production landscape specifically as a result of the discovery of unconventional energy resources in North America and emergence of non-OPEC petroleum producing and exporting countries. This development could have significant effect on the global energy market and the macro-economy of OPEC member countries. The stationarity or otherwise of OPEC oil production/supply has important implications for determining whether fluctuations in OPEC market supply has temporary or permanent effect. Using the Zivot–Andrews structural break stationarity test and production data of OPEC member countries from 1980 to 2011, this paper investigates whether fluctuations in OPEC market supply has temporary or permanent effect. The empirical analysis shows that for only 5 OPEC members–Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Ecuador, Kuwait and UAE—is the hypothesis of unit root rejected. This implies that for the five (5) OPEC members, the effects of shocks to oil production are not permanent and future pattern of oil production can be predicted following past trend. The practical implication of this finding is that OPEC production quota strategy may not have long-term impact on the global oil market. Thus, the cartel needs to improve oil production policy coordination among members and ensure strict adherence to production quota while also stressing the need for diversification in member countries.

Plant material from the families Annonaceae, Piperaceae, and Rutaceae are used for the protection of stored products against insect pests in Nigeria. Following an outline of the different methods used for assessing insecticidal activity, 16 plants and plant products are alphabetically listed within families, summarizing the laboratory data currently available and, where possible, information on constituents and comparative studies with conventional synthetic insecticides. Of these families, only a few, all species in the genera Citrus, Dennettia, and Piper have been sufficiently tested in the laboratory to give an indication of their potential usefulness as stored-product protectants. More rigorous testing of these plant materials is required if the potential for botanical protectants is to be realized and the plant materials can be compared with recommended synthetic insecticide pyrethroids for repellency/antifeedant activity, contact adult mortality, and reduction in F1 production along with se...

Awka, the capital of Anambra State of Nigeria is presently experiencing various forms of waste management problems and is more or less already in a state of visual devastation. Methods of solid waste management are grossly inadequate and this could be attributed to approaches, which are not all embracing. Solid waste management in Awka has experienced change from one management agency to another without yielding the desired results. The existing approaches have often treated solid waste disposal as independent from solid waste generation or density of the population generating the waste or the characteristics of the waste being generated. This paper is emphasizing that, for an effective waste management system; there should be a well-articulated plan of the various attributes of the system. The degree of effectiveness is measured by the volume of actually generated waste and the rate at which it is evacuated.

Seed powders and the essential oils of Dennettia tripetela Baker F., Piper guineense Schum and Thonn, Mondora myristica (Gaerth) Dunal and Xylopia aethiopica Dunal A. Rich were evaluated for their effectiveness in protecting cowpea and maize grains during storage. D. tripetela powder mixed with maize grains, at 1.5 g per 25 g was significantly more effective (P < 0.05) than P. guineense, M. myristica and X. aethiopica in achieving 100% mortality of adults of Sitophilus zeamais in 24 h, and was also as effective as pirimiphosmethyl (10 ppm) in achieving 100% mortality of adult weevil in 24 h, 3 months after treatment at a dose of 3g per 25 g. There was no F1 emergence except in grains treated with M. myristica, X. aethiopica and the untreated controls. Essential oils of D. tripetela and P. guineense achieved 100% mortality of adults of Callosobruchus maculatus and Sitophilus zeamais in 24 h. Except in cowpea treated with X. aethiopica cowpea and maize grains treated with seed oils suppressed the e...

The red blood cell related traits are highly heritable but their genetics are poorly defined. Only 5-10% of the total observed variance is explained by the genetic loci found to date, suggesting that additional loci should be searched using approaches alternative to large meta analysis. GWAS (Genome Wide Association Study) for red blood cell traits in a founder population cohort from Northern Italy identified a new locus for mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) in the TAF3 gene. The association was replicated in two cohorts (rs1887582, P = 4.25E-09). TAF3 encodes a transcription cofactor that participates in core promoter recognition complex, and is involved in zebrafish and mouse erythropoiesis. We show here that TAF3 is required for transcription of the SPTA1 gene, encoding alpha spectrin, one of the proteins that link the plasma membrane to the actin cytoskeleton. Mutations in SPTA1 are responsible for hereditary spherocytosis, a monogenic disorder of MCHC, as well as for the normal MCHC level. Based on our results, we propose that TAF3 is required for normal erythropoiesis in human and that it might have a role in controlling the ratio between hemoglobin (Hb) and cell volume and in the dynamics of RBC maturation in healthy individuals. Finally, TAF3 represents a potential candidate or a modifier gene for disorders of red cell membrane.

African breadfruit Treculia africana Decne ‘ukwa’ in Igbo is an important food crop in Southern Nigeria. The seed has less fat (4 to 7%) than some other nuts and contains 19% protein similar to most pulses. The dehulled seeds are in the form in which the seeds are consumed as main dish or roasted as snack. The spongy pulp (deseeded flesh) is used as fodder while the seed hulls are used as feedstuff. Most of the women processors of African breadfruit seeds seem to be ignorant of the importance of good processing practices in value addition to their products. Poor quality products which attract low prices or outright rejection by consumers is a problem for the processors. Processing of the seeds need the application of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) system for production of high quality and safe products along the value chain for the processors and consumers either manually or mechanically. This study determined the processing stages of African breadfruit seeds from June to November, 2009 and identified the hazards and critical control points in these stages. The results will be useful in recommendations to the processors concerning the need for high quality and safe products. Key words: Hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP), processing, African breadfruit, Nigeria.

BACKGROUND Early virologic response to pegylated interferon in the treatment of chronic hepatitis B infection is not frequently reported. METHOD The case notes of the patients was retrieved and relevant data extracted, literature review was done using Medline. RESULT A report of a case of early virologic response in a 62 year old man with chronic hepatitis B infection, receiving pegylated interferon is presented with a review of the relevant literature. He had HBV DNA level assessed by PCR and histology of liver biopsy specimen. CONCLUSION Clinicians should be on the lookout for early virologic response to pegylated interferon and the eventual outcome of such early response.

Summary Broiler chickens inoculated with cyctophosphamide showed atrophie bursae and severe immuno‐suppression. Infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) inoculation of the birds at 5 weeks of age caused neither clinical signs nor gross lesions. IBDV was re‐isolated from some bursae samples. Cyclophosphamide non‐treated (CYNT) chickens inoculated with IBDV showed bursal enlargement followed by atrophy. Examination of sections of the organ showed severe lymphocytic necrosis and depletion. IBDV was re‐isolated from the bursa and spleen. The geometric mean titres of the IBDV serum neutralizing antibodies for infected cyclophosphamide treated (CYT) and CYNT chickens were 4.3 and 955.4, respectively. The above observations show that CYT chickens did not develop clinical IBD in the presence of infection and severe immunosuppres‐sion. They confirm the hypothesis that a healthy bursa is essential for the development of clinical IBD in chickens within the susceptible age range.

One to five grams of dry ground castor leaves, Ricinus communis mixed with 300 g cowpea seeds, achieved mortality up to 100% in 7 days. After 48 h only 20% mortality was recorded with 5 g. The grains were protected from damage for more than 3 months. However, little energy was involved in collecting, drying and grinding sufficient quantities of leaves required for the experiment.

Background and Objective : In P. falciparum malaria (PFM) infestation there are marked changes in cytokine production as the body mounts an immune response to it. Hence we set out to study these changes. Methods : A total of 158 cases of PFM among children attending the paediatric unit of our hospital and 56 healthy controls were studied. Children with febrile illness were screened for malaria using 10% Giemsa stained blood smear. Patients with positive smears were recruited; co-infected patients – those infected by another organism in addition to plasmodium specie.- were excluded. Whole blood was collected, some into plain tubes for serum cytokine testing and some into EDTA bottles for complete blood count and parasite density (PD) determination. Controls with asymptomatic parasitaemia were excluded. Results : Using the World Health Organization criteria for defining severe malaria; we identified 15 cases of severe and 143 cases of uncomplicated PFM. Significantly elevated levels of interleukin-1 (IL-1), interleukin 6 (IL-6) and tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) were seen in the uncomplicated and severe forms of PFM. It was observed that the elevated cytokine values correlated with PD (in uncomplicated PFM but not in the severe forms). The difference between PD/absolute monocyte count (AMC) ratio was not significant (p=0.13); while PD/platelet count (PC) and PC/ AMC ratios were significant (p=0.01, and 0.03 respectively) when compared between uncomplicated and severe disease. Conclusion : Our data seems to suggest that subjects with an adequate immune response to the parasite density, in terms of pro-inflammatory cytokine levels, presented with uncomplicated disease; while those who have an inadequate response presented with severe disease. The ratios of (PD/PC) and (PC/AMC), in the positive and negative directions respectively, may be predictors of increased disease severity. These observations may have implications for predicting disease outcome and PFM therapy. Key Words : plasmodium falciparum malaria, pro-inflammatory cytokines, Parasite density/Platelet count ratio, Platelet count/Absolute monocyte