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Effect of Online Travel Bookings and Social Media on Tourism Destination Marketing in Nigeria
Get PDFThe impact of information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) is also felt in the field of tourism as it plays an essential role in the development and marketing of tourism. The study focused on the growth of Online Travel Booking in the tourism industry in terms of the internet, mobile and social media in a country like Nigeria where there are tons of tourist destinations across the country. Both primary and secondary data were used for this study. A questionnaire was designed to collect primary data. The survey was distributed to a sample of 222 students of Redeemer's University through the random selection of both genders. The Chi-square method was employed in analysing the data. Out of 222 questionnaires administered, only 200 were retrieved. Flights and Hotel reservations can be made online through e-mail, telephone calls and other internet services thereby helping to reduce if not remove the time-wasting processes of the old system entirely. It is, therefore, evident that its adoption is necessary for proper inclusion in these benefits and sustainable development of tourism
Human-centered Approach for Proper Functioning of LEED Criteria; A Case Study in Tehran
Get PDFBuildings are rated in five main categories according to the LEED standard to receive an environment-friendly design certificate. Sustainability, water efficiency, material properties, energy consumption, and the quality of indoor spaces are main criteria which confirm the proper function of a building in terms of optimal energy consumption. However, the role of residents and behavioral aspects in the consumption of energy and the decent application of energy standards are neglected. It is beyond doubt that the residents’ behavior is one of the most important factors in performance-based building design. Moreover, the individual mistakes, which most of the times cause energy dissipation, cannot be ignored. This research proposes "Integrated Interactive System" as a human-centered approach with the aim of minimizing energy consumption. A survey is conducted, and this system is evaluated as a case study in Tehran
Analysis of Solar PV Energy Systems for Rural Villages of Nekemte Area, Oromiya Region, Ethiopia
Get PDFCurrently, the main energy source used in rural areas of Ethiopia for cooking and heating is unprocessed biomass and fossil fuel such as kerosene, paraffin and petrol/diesel. These energy sources generate large volume of indoor air pollution that increases the risk of chronic diseases. Solar energy is the most practical and economical way of bringing power to poor and remote communities in the long-term and Ethiopia is strategically located in a maximum sun shines hours zone. This study assessed the potential of a solar PV power system to provide the required electricity for a rural community near Nekemte city in Oromiya regions of Ethiopia. The sunshine hour’s data was obtained from the National Meteorological Service Agency (NMA). Results showed an abundant (average) solar energy potential of 5.52 KWh/m2/day. Electric load for a single household, school and clinic was estimated at 313, 2064 and 2040 Wh/day respectively. The cost of energy from solar PV system was estimated at about 0.92/kWh and $0.87/KWh for household, school and clinic respectively. The findings encourage the use of the PV systems to electrify the remote sites of Ethiopia considering it long-term benefits and less cost of installation compared to national grid extension to the remote sites
Processing of Yam Paste (Amala): A Product of Fermented Yam (Dioscorea rotundata) Flour
Get PDFThis study was designed to evaluate the processing of yam paste (amala): A product of fermented yam (Discorea rotundata) flour. The sliced yam samples were fermented for 72 hours. The microorganisms were isolated and identified. The pH, TTA, temperature, proximate, anti-nutrient, mineral composition and sensory analyses of the sample were determined. The microbial loads increased with fermentation time. The isolates identified were Pseudomonas aureginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactococcus lactis, Aspergillus niger, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Fusarium oxysporium, and Candida tropicalis. pH decreased from 6.4 to 4.9 while TTA and temperature increased from 0.16 to 4.24% and 28oC to 34oC. The crude protein (2.46%) and moisture contents (12.32%) increased in the fermented sample with a decrease in ash (0.70%), fat (0.19%) and carbohydrate contents (80.76%). The saponin and phytate decreased from 31.29 to 11.45mg/g and 11.12 to 5.77mg/g. The fermented sample showed an overall acceptability. Improvement in the nutritional and reduction in antinutritional contents of the fermented sample suggests its usefulness as a food source for humans. The microorganisms associated with fermented yam tubers, processing of yam tubers into flour to produce amala and determining the nutritional and antinutrient content of both unfermented and fermented yam. The fermentation process improving the quality and nutrient content of the yam tubers suggested the method as more promising in producing food for humans
Progression of Treating Alzheimer's Disease with Stem Cell-based Therapies
Get PDFAlzheimer’s disease is one form of dementia affecting a significant proportion of the population. The etiology of this prevalent disease is currently unknown. It is postulated that AD can be treated by using stem cell-based therapies by replacing the lost neurons in the atrophic regions of the brain. For these novel therapies to be successful several sources of stem cells have been proposed, such as pluripotent stem cells as well as multipotent stem cells. Proof of concept in animal studies have shown that stem cells can grafted into the affected regions or delivered intravenously into affected parts of the brain. These experiments had improved cognition and memory performance in rodents. The promising results seen in animal models have increased interest in conducting clinical trials using the same technique. In the last 5 years, several treatments have reached phase II clinical trials.
Soil Erosion Impact Assessment using USLE/GIS Approaches to Identify High Erosion Risk Areas in the Lowland Agricultural Watershed of Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia
Get PDFErosion map of a watershed offers a wealth of knowledge and can be crucial for implementing site-specific management interventions. Thus, watershed-based soil erosion assessment was conducted to recognize erosion hotspot areas, while aiming to roughly calculate the average annual soil loss in Genda-wuha watershed, with a total area of 154,548.5 ha located in the northwest lowland of Blue Nile basin Ethiopia using USLE/GIS approach. Sixteen years of rainfall data, 53 soil sample data, a 30m by 30m digital elevation model (DEM), a land-use/land-cover map, and support practice factor were used to determine high erosion risk areas. The USLE parameters were integrated and analyzed using a raster calculator in the ArcGIS platform to predict and map the mean annual soil loss of Genda-wuha watershed. The result showed that the annual soil loss of the watershed extends from none in the lower and middle part of the watershed to 75.36 Megagram (Mg) ha-1yr-1 in the steeper parts of the watershed with a mean annual soil loss of 7.9 Mg ha-1yr-1. Most of the soil erosion affected areas are spatially situated in the upper steep slope parts of Genda-wuha watershed, which could be as a result of an increased slope gradient and length in the specified location. However, the majority of the watershed (82.62%) was estimated to be low erosion rates varying from 0 to 5 Mg ha–1 yr–1 and these areas correspond primarily to nearly flat landscapes of the watershed
Solar Dynamical Processes II
Get PDFThe present article is the successor of Solar Dynamical Processes I. The previous article was focused on the Sun, its magnetic field with an emphasis on various dynamical processes occurring on the Sun, e.g. sunspots, prominence and bright points which in turn plays a fundamental role in regulating the space weather. This article is emphasized on the solar dynamical processes and develop an extensive understanding of the various phenomena involved in their origin. The article also covers various models and hypothesis put forward by pioneer scientists on the basis of their observation by space-borne and ground-based instruments. This article shade light over a wide range of dynamical processes e.g., solar flares, coronal mass ejections, solar jets and coronal holes. Solar jets, the small-scale transient activities are found to have association with the other transient activities (e.g., mini-flares and mini-filaments). Flares as well as the coronal mass ejections are responsible for releasing a large amount of high energy charged particles and magnetic flux into the interplanetary space and are being considered as the main drivers of space weather
Physiochemical Analysis of Sandalwood (Santalum Album) Leaf Litters Degraded by Eisenia foetida and Eudrilus eugenia
Get PDFThe decay of leaf litter by microflora and fauna furnish nutrient supply to the soil and also uphold ecological sustainability. Applying of proper technique and exploring of result provides information for the betterment of agricultural system. Vermicomposting of Sandalwood (Santalum album) leaf litters were studied with an emphasis of physio-chemical deviation during the process and also compared with 100 % cattle dung. Obtained result explore that temperate of 50 % leaf litter (LL) and 100 % cattle dung (CD) was slightly elevated (37ºC ±1 ºC and 35ºC ±1 ºC respectively) at beginning phase and later came down to ambient level (20ºC±1 ºC). The total organic carbon (TOC) exhausted 44 % in 50 % LL Vermicomposting mixture while 70 % in 100 % CD during the process. At the final stage, TOC found more in 50% LL as compared to 100% CD. Nitrogen content was found 1.02±0.1 in 50 % LL and 0.88±0.1 in 100 % CD at the initial phase but after completion of Vermicomposting, their level was increased up to 40 to 44 %. pH was also measured during vermicomposting and found 7.2±0.1 in 50% LL while 8.4±0.1 in 100% CD at the initial phase. The at the end of process pH raised and set up to 8.2 ±0.1 in 50% LL while in 100% CD it was found 8.0 ±0.1
Survey on Security for WSN based VANET using ECC
Get PDFWith the increase in population, there is an increase in the number of car users drastically. Around the world, either millions of people die due to car accidents or they are severely injured by the accident. Most of the accidents occur due to lack of common information the drivers, as the lane change, applying sudden break, traffic congestion, etc, are the causes of accidents. Safety information such as speed limits, road conditions, traffic status, accidents, etc..., are used in some countries, but still more work is to be achieved. Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks (VANET) should be implemented and they should collect and distribute necessary safety information to other vehicles. VANET is a combination of Road Side Units (RSU’s) and On-Board Units (OBU’s). These RSU’s and OBU’s consist of various sensors, which are used to collect various data. The data collected by the sensors on the OBU’s on the vehicles can either be sent to another vehicle or can be displayed to the driver. Similarly, the sensor collects data at the RSU and sends the data to other RSU or depending on its nature and importance, the RSU may even be broadcasted to other vehicles. The main objective is to provide safety to the drivers, the passengers and to the information that is being transmitted between the nodes. However, in some scenarios, VANET’s may not guarantee timely detection of issues or any type of dangerous. We propose a solution by the integration of VANET and WSN to create a hybrid infrastructure with the in inexpensive wireless sensor nodes integrated on RSU’s along the roadside and on the OBU’s in the vehicle. As the new hybrid structure is proposed, there may be challenges that may occur. This article discussed these challenges and solutions to create an efficient and well-organized VANET-WSN Hybrid network
Functional Characterisation of a Calmodulin-Binding Receptor-Like Cytoplasmic Kinase (GmCBRLCK1) in Glycine max (L.) Merr. using Bioinformatic Tools
Get PDFAn understanding of the function of signaling genes/proteins in soybean is vital for comprehending plant growth and development. The objective of this study was to functionally characterize a calmodulin-binding receptor-like cytoplasmic kinase gene (Glyma.13G161700) from Glycine max. Bioinformatic analyses were performed for the characterization. Expression profile of GmCBRLCK1 gene in soybean tissue was assessed using Genevisible. Functional genomic analysis for gene expression regulation and co-expression analysis was evaluated using micro array data from Affymetrix Soybean Genome Array platform in GENEVESTIGATOR v3. Gene ontology functional predictions were determined through FFPred 2.0. The results showed that the calmodulin-binding receptor-like cytoplasmic kinase gene is predominantly expressed in the pericycle and syncytium in root seedlings and in the palisade cells of the legume. The gene was shown to be highly upregulated in response to root exposure to Phytophthora sojae, Heterodera glycines and aluminium stress. Co-expressed genes during the legume development showed Pearson’s correlation co-efficient of 1 to Glyma.13G161700. Gene ontology predictions confirmed the signaling and metabolic functions of the kinase gene and its primary locations are the membrane and endomembrane system of G. max. The study therefore suggests that Glycine max calmodulin-binding receptor-like cytoplasmic kinase (GmCBRLCK1) is involved in receptor signaling pathways to enhance seedling tolerance to root infection by P. sojae, H. glycines, and to aluminium stress. The kinase gene is also involved in regulation of metabolic processes that aid in growth and development of soybean seedling