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NIGERIAN AND MALAYSIAN GROWTH EMPIRICS: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS USING AUTOREGRESSIVE DISTRIBUTED LAG APPROACH
Get PDFQuit a number of similarities could be drawn from Nigeria and Malaysia. For instance, the duo
is in the tropical region, which favours agricultural cultivation. Also, both countries gained their
independence from the same colonial master (British) in almost the same year, and practice
federal system of government. Today, Malaysia as part of the emerging economies has set a
better economic pace in the country`s development, and hoping to attain her vision 2020 of
joining the developed economies of the world. However, Nigeria is in economic recession at
present as a result of a shortage in the export earnings. This paper uses autoregressive
distributive lags (ARDL) model, annual data from 1980 to 2015 to compare the macroeconomic
variable performances of both countries. The paper finds that Malaysian import shows a
negative and significant result, and the gross capital formation and export are positive and
significant to determine economic growth in both the short-run and long-run. The results further
show that, in Nigeria, export and gross capital formation is positive and significant in the shortrun only, but in the long-run gross capital formation is significant and export is insignificant.
Therefore, the Nigerian government policy-makers should direct the export earnings in the
short-run to a better productive sector that is capable of generating more exportation in the
long-run
Effects of Precipitation Hardening on Mechanical Properties of Multistage Stirred Cast AA6063 Composites
Get PDFThis research work is to study the effects of precipitation hardening on multistage stirred cast alumina reinforced AA6063 composites which were achieved through production of alumina (Al2O3) reinforced AA6063 alloy, using four stage stir casting method; determination of the effect of precipitation hardening heat treatment on the samples produced; and characterization of the microstructures and some mechanical properties of the cast and precipitation hardened aluminium matrix composite.This work studied the effects of precipitation hardening on multistage stirred cast alumina reinforced AA 6063 composite through production of alumina reinforced AA6063 alloy by four stage stir casting method, determination of effect of precipitation hardening heat treatment and characterization of microstructures and some mechanical properties of as-cast and heat treated samples of aluminium matrix composites. The amounts of AA 6063 and alumina particles required for the production of aluminium composites with 0, 3, 6, 9, 12 and 15 volume percent of alumina were determined by charge calculations. The particles of alumina were initially pre- heated at 300 oC to enhance wetability with aluminium alloy. The AA 6063 alloy was charged into a gas fired crucible furnace and the liquid was allowed to cool to a viscous mass at temperature of about 600 oC so as to introduce alumina particles. Stirring operations were performed manually and mechanically at 750 oC and 300 rpm, to ensure uniform distribution of reinforcement within the matrix, before pouring into permanent metal mould. The samples produced were solutionized at 550 oC for one hour, quenched in water and later aged at 180 oC for 2, 3 and 4 hours. Some samples were reserved for control experimentation. Mechanical responses of the composite were investigated by tensile, hardness and impact test carried out on the samples. The structures of the samples were examined by optical and scanning electron microscopes. The results trend showed that as the volume fraction of alumina and aging time increase, the strength and hardness values also increase with corresponding decrease in impact value. Composite with 15% alumina aged at 4 hours showed highest strength and hardness values of 262.77 MPa and 64.12 BHN, respectively with impact value of 9.86 J. The study showed that multistage stir casting method and precipitation hardening heat treatment are capable of improving the mechanical properties of AA 6063-Al2O3 composites.Self-sponsore
Efficacy of intervention strategies for bioremediation of crude oil in polluted soil microcosm
Get PDFCrude oil, though not manmade but largely manipulated by man to provide different oil-based products has become a major source of environmental pollution. This menace on land do contribute to the retardation of vegetation growth and human health hazards, while in water it may be toxic to aquatic animals. The search for the solution to ameliorate the seemingly unending pollution and its side effects necessitated the evaluation on the effect of bioaugmentation, biostimulation and natural attenuation of crude oil pollution in soil microcosms. The bacterial species selected for this study (Bacillus thuringensis strain LG32 and Burkolderia pseudomallei strain A81) were preliminarily identified using the conventional biochemical tests and further identification was carried out using the API kit. The results of the study carried out over a period of five weeks indicated that there was a marked reduction in the available phosphorous and potassium in the bioaugmented and biostimulated soils compared with that of the control. The mean values for total viable counts (TVC) of population of hydrocarbon utilizing bacteria (HUB) was higher in the bioaugmented soil ranged (LG32=6.0-7.5log10cfu g-1 ; A81=5.5- 7.5log10cfug-1 ; LG32+A81=6.0-7.5log10cfug-1 ) compared with that of the control (6.0-6.2log10cfug-1 ). When bioaugmentation was combined with biostimulation, the soil had higher counts of HUB (6.0-9.0log10cfug-1 ) and HUF (3.5-6.5log10cfug-1) compared to bioaugmentation without stimulation (HUB: 6.0-7.5; HUF: 3.5-5.5). The GC result indicated that by day 35, 96.92% of the aliphatic and aromatic components have been degraded in the augmented soil, higher than the natural attenuation control
Value-added Service to Academic Library Users in 21st Century: Using Competitive Intelligence Approach
No full textHigher education in the twenty-first century globally has been characterized and driven on
business ethos. The institutions are faced with stiff competition in an attempt to increase their
student enrolment, attract international students and faculty, pioneer centres of excellence, showcase outstanding research output, produce astute graduates and get listed in top ranking league
tables. The paper therefore examined the effects of leveraging on value-added services to
academic library users through competitive intelligence as a predictor of competitive advantage
among tertiary institutions. It identified value-added personnel, collection, processing of
materials and dissemination of information as constituting specific target selling points to be
enriched with the concept. It however noted and x-rayed the concept of competitive intelligence
as a critical precondition for achieving effective value-added service delivery in academic
libraries. The paper concluded that robust collection coupled with technology-driven retrieval
system as well as digital reference services would lead to greater user satisfaction and enhanced
patronage of library services. It recommended among other factors the need to benchmark
competitor institutions to gain competitive advantage over the market
PUBLIC TRANSPORT POLICY IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: NIGERIA AS A CASE STUDY
Get PDFThis paper reviewed understudies public transport approach utilizing factors such
urbanization, populace development, vehicle proprietorship, and utilization. With changes in
the social, political and economic climate of Nigeria, this study looks at how these changes
have affected transportation request and supply, transport arrangement and directions, and
parts of economic aspects and fund identified with public transport. Conservation and
enhancing of existing modes, effective utilization of people in general transport
administration framework, executing appropriate transportation measures, and empowering a
move towards reasonable modes were suggested. Review of government policies towards
public transportation was undertaken and it shows that if developing nations like Nigeria are
to achieve their economic transformation blueprint such as the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs), they require a functional, reliable and effective transport system to, among
other things, connect people, places, services, opportunities and all these can only be derived
by properly formulated and implemented policies with the aid of all relevant private,
academic and government bodies working together
Near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopic evaluation of articular cartilage: A review of current and future trends
Get PDFThis review describes recent developments and applications of near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy for characterization of articular cartilage integrity. It summarizes the research findings in this area and presents some spectral ranges and peaks associated with the different properties and components of articular cartilage. We further describe recent adaptations of NIR spectroscopy for clinical evaluation of articular cartilage injury and degeneration. Critical to accurate decision-making during repair surgery is having clear knowledge of lesion severity and spread, and how to grade the quality of surrounding cartilage. Thus, in this review, we detail efforts aimed at quantification and classification of cartilage pathology using NIR spectroscopy. Finally, we present open questions and challenges with a view to guiding future directions in NIR spectroscopy research on articular cartilage
Properties, environmental fate and biodegradation of carbazole
Get PDFThe last two decades had witnessed extensive investigation on bacterial degradation of carbazole, an N-heterocyclic aromatic hydrocarbon. Specifically, previous studies have reported the primary importance of angular dioxygenation, a novel type of oxygenation reaction, which facilitates mineralization of carbazole to intermediates of the TCA cycle. Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria are the predominant bacterial phyla implicated in this novel mode of dioxygenation, while anthranilic acid and catechol are the signature metabolites. Several studies have elucidated the degradative genes involved, the diversity of the car gene clusters and the unique organization of the car gene clusters in marine carbazole degraders. However, there is paucity of information regarding the environmental fate as well as industrial and medical importance of carbazole and its derivatives. In this review, attempt is made to harness this information to present a comprehensive outlook that not only focuses on carbazole biodegradation pathways, but also on its environmental fate as well as medical and industrial importance of carbazole and its derivatives
Strain improvement and statistical optimization as a combined strategy for improving fructosyltransferase production by Aureobasidium pullulans NAC8
Get PDFStaff PublicationStrain improvement of a low fructosyltransferase-producing Aureobasidium pullulans
NAC8 (Accession No. KX023301) was carried out using chemical mutagens such as ethidium bromide
and ethyl methane sulfonate. The wild-type and mutant strain were distinguished using Random
amplified polymorphic DNA PCR and DNA fingerprinting analysis. Plackett-Burman and
Box Behnken design were statistical tools used to determine important media parameters and optimization,
respectively. Phenotypically and genetically, the new improved strain was different from
the wild-type. The most important media parameters from PDB influencing fructosyltransferase
production were ammonium chloride, sucrose and yeast extract at p<0.05. Some significant
parameters obtained with the BBD exhibited quadratic effects on FTase. The F values (35.37
and 32.11), correlation coefficient (0.98 and 0.97) and the percent coefficient of variation (2.53%
and 2.40%) were obtained for extracellular and intracellular FTase respectively. The validation
of the model in the improved strain resulted in an overall 6.0 and 2.0-fold increase in extracellular
and intracellular FTase respectively compared to the wild-type.
A relatively low FTase-producing strain of Aureobasidium pullulans NAC8 was enhanced for
optimum production using a two-pronged approach involving mutagenesis and statistical optimization.
The improved mutant strain also had remarkable biotechnological properties that make it a
suitable alternative than the wild-typ
Simplified Transient Two-Phase Model for Pipe Flow
Get PDFTwo-phase flow analyses are critical to successful design and operations of two-phase and multiphase pipe flow applications found in major industrial fields, such as petroleum, nuclear, chemical, geothermal and space industries. Due to difficulties in obtaining analytical transient solutions, approximate solutions have been applied to two-phase pipe flow. However, these approximate solutions neglect convective terms in two-phase Navier-Stokes equations. The aim of this current study was to develop transient tools to predict transient two-phase pipe flow. The objectives of this study were to develop a simplified transient model and to validate the proposed model with published experimental data. A simplified transient two-phase pipe flow model was obtained in this study by simplifying the two-phase Navier-Stokes equations. The simplified equations include: (i) a transient continuity equation of combined two-phase flow that includes two new dimensionless terms; (ii) transient two-phase momentum equations that account for convective terms only; and, (iii) a steady state pressure gradient
E-Banking in Nigeria: Issues and Challenges
Get PDFThe aim of this study was to assess issues and challenges of e-banking in Nigeria. The specific objectives were
to ascertain the effect of e-banking on workers, job security in Nigeria banking industry, examine the
relationship between e- banking and quality of service delivery of commercial banks in Nigeria, evaluate the
relationship between e-banking and security of financial transactions and to find out if e-banking influences
customers satisfaction in the Nigerian banking industry. The survey and descriptive research design were
adopted in the methodology of the study. The population consists of all the customers and staff of three selected banks branches in the Benin metropolis. A sample of three hundred respondents was selected using the convenience random sampling techniques. The study employs primary data using questionnaires as the research instrument. The data analysis was carried out using summary statistics and ordinary least square regression analysis. The study findings indicate that employees’ job security has a positive relationship with E-banking and significantly influence E-banking in Nigeria; customers’ satisfaction was ascertained to have a positive relationship with e-banking and also influence e-banking penetration in Nigeria; security of financial transactions was found to have a positive relationship with e-banking, it however had inverse significant impact on e-banking; services delivery has a positive relationship with e-banking. It is therefore recommended that for effective ebanking penetration, investors education and marketing of e-banking products should be the key strategy banks should use to attract more customers towards embracing e-banking and increasing security for e-banking products, reduction of charges on e-banking products and increasing more ATM outlets in Nigeria as part of measures towards enhancing quality services delivery and promotion of e-banking as this will further enhance the recent need for financial inclusion as part of the monetary policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria