November 2012

In this present study the ability of Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus in dinitrogen fixation associated with sugarcane suggests that the endophyte is of considerable in cane yields as well as sugar recovery. The endophtic bacterium CDZ-8 fixed about 17.26 ± 0.42 Amount of “N” fixed (mg/g of malate) in our study. All the twenty isolates of Gluconacetobacter were graded into three gategories on the basis of their dinitrogen fixing efficiency of 15 (mg/g of malate), above 10- 14 (mg/g of malate) and below 10 (mg/g of malate). A range of 15 percent of isolate in dinitrogen fixing efficiency of 15 (mg/g of malate), 55% of isolate in dinitrogen fixing efficiency of 10- 14 (mg/g of malate) and 30% of isolate below 10 (mg/g of malate).

The debate in economics whether financial development causes economic growth or whether it is a consequence of increase in economic activity seems unending. This paper examined the effect as well as the causal relationship between financial sector development and economic growth in Nigeria. This study focused on two focal variables, depth of the financial sector (M2/GDP) ratio of broad money stock to GDP and level of financial intermediation ratio of private sector credit to the GDP PC/GDP. Ensuring data stationarity using Phillips-Perron test permitted OLS and Granger causality to ascertain relationships, effects and causal relationship. Findings suggest positive long run relationship between government consumption and trade openness while the measures of financial development show negative relationships with economic growth. The outstanding results are true for the two major indicators we used M2/GDP and PC/GDP to capture the development of the financial sector, showing that they actually deepen the financial sector but failed to cause economic growth in Nigeria.

This study examined the nature of causality, the impact and relationship between foreign direct investment (FDI), export, and economic growth in Nigeria. Granger causality analysis was used to test the hypotheses causal link between foreign direct investment and economic growth; export and economic growth, while, correlation analysis and Ordinary Least Square (OLS) were used to determine the relationship and the significant effect of FDI and export on economic growth. Our data were extracted from Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for a period of 29 years (1981-2010) both years inclusive. After testing for stationarity of the time series, the study revealed no directional-causality between FDI and GDP as well as export and GDP. However, there are evidence of positive relationship between FDI, export and GDP as well as a significant effect of export on GDP. Given the lack of non-directional causality between FDI, export and GDP, Nigerian government should encourage domestic investments through prudent fiscal and monetary policies geared towards achieving economic growth that will attract FDI and encourage exports.

The effects of cycloheximide on the changes in activity of glutamate dehydrogenase-NADH dependent (NADH-GDH) and NAD+-dependent (NAD+-GDH), and glutamine synthetase (GS) were studied during the senescence of tomato seedlings in the presence or absence of cadmium. The GDH and GS1 enzymes seemed to be synthesized at the presence of cadmium. Cycloheximide-treated leaves and roots showed an increase in the expression immunostaining intensity of mRNA band gdh and gs1, suggesting an increase in neosynthesis of enzymes and genes activation. The rate of synthesis of GDH was clearly higher than that of its degradation. Cycloheximide (CHX) delayed the protein degradation processes in the cadmium stress conditions. Cycloheximide treatments produced lower gs1 and gs2 enzyme levels than their respective controls especially in leaves. However, the enzyme activity was lower in cycloheximide treated leaves and roots than in the controls. The results are discussed with reference to the requirement for protein synthesis in the cadmium stress conditions.

In the present investigation attempts have been made to develop roasted linseed powder and analyzing its physiochemical properties and proximate composition and to optimize bengal gram flour, roasted linseed powder and gingelly seed powder with other ingredients using Response Surface Methodology (RSM) for acceptable omega 3 rich savory snack (Omapodi) preparation by considering carbohydrate, protein, omega 3 fatty acids and overall acceptability as a response variables. Results revealed that, Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was applied for optimization, the multiple regression was used to get optimum levels and it was found that desirable values of carbohydrate (69.78g), protein (16.35g), omega 3 fatty acids (7.77mg) and overall acceptability (8.93) was obtained for the corresponding optimum quantity of 64g of bengal gram flour 20g roasted linseed powder and 10g gingelly seed powder.

The concept of s-unitarily similar matrices is introduced. Some theorem on s-unitarily similar matrices are given.

Coscinium fenestratum (Gaertn.) Colebr., (Menispermaceae) is a critically endangered, medicinal plant. Mature leaf were used as the explants for the initiation of callus and cultured into three different media, Murashige and Skoog (MS), Woody plant medium (WPM) and B5 medium with varying concentrations of Thidiazuron (TDZ). MS medium was found to have a superior proliferation rate. The frequency of callus formation reached 95% with a mean fresh weight of 2854.76 ± 0.30 mg for explants cultured on MS basal medium supplemented with 0.75 mg/l TDZ. The highest frequency 75% of organogenic callus induction was observed when the calli were subcultured in MS medium containing 0.25 mg/l BAP, which induced an average of 6.71 ± 0.12 adventitious shoot buds.

The effect of batch co-digestion of the wastes emanating from ethanol production process with some animal and plant wastes on the biogas yield was studied. The wastes from the processing of some starch feedstock and from their fermentation wort were utilized for the biogas production studies. The wastes constituted: (i) process wastes from starch extraction (ET) and (ii) fermentation wort (ETP). They were studied alone (ET-A) and (ETP-A) and in combination with some animal wastes (cow dung (CD) and swine dung (SD) and plant wastes (field grass (FG) and glycerol (GL). The biogas production capabilities of the wastes were in terms of (i) biogas yields (ii) onset of gas flammability and (iii) effective retention time. This was carried out for a retention period of 45 days under ambient mesophilic temperature range of 23oC – 38oC and slurry temperature of 38oC to 48oC using 1 liter micro-digesters under anaerobic digestion. Data analysis was carried out using one way analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results of the biogas production showed that the ET-SD had the highest cumulative biogas yield of 3,800.01 ml/kg slurry and average gas yield of 84.4447± 58.6707 ml/kg slurry while the ETP–A had the least cumulative biogas yield of 677.70 ml/kg slurry and average biogas yield of 15.0602± 6.7644 ml/kg slurry. The onset of gas flammability for the ET-SD and ET-CD were on the 6th day (lag period of 5 days), ETP–FG-GL (13 days) while the ETP–A and ETP-FG did not combust throughout the retention period. By the 45th day, all the other variants were still producing gas whereas the ETP-A and ETP–FG had minimal gas production. General results for the biogas indicate that the processing wastes from the bioethanol are better utilized in combination with animal wastes and with glycerol. These are expected to provide effective waste management system.

The Detroit branch of Boston Consulting Group predicts that, by 2014, one-third of world demand for automobiles will be in the four BRIC markets (Brazil, Russia, India and China). What started as an exploration of new markets for car sales in the early 90s has gone on to become the mainstream market of the new millennium. Supported by attractive macro-economic factors such as growing economic activity, urbanization, rising household incomes, and developing credit markets the BRIC countries currently make up for the top 7 automotive markets globally. This paper attempts to analyse the trends and growth patterns in passenger car market in BRIC countries from 2002 to 2011.

India’s economic progress forecasts an increasing demand of energy to retain its momentum. Being in the category of high energy consumer countries with substantial energy deficit, it obviously requires a dependable and durable resource backbone to support it. Among the many options that can be used and relied upon, Central Asian States, seem to have not only proximity advantage but more importantly resource potential to ensure durability in the Indian economic development. This article examines the possibility and appropriateness of central Asian energy resources and market for India. It delves into the potential of energy different sectors of the region in the background of the potential requirement of energy in India. Many recommendations are added to provide inputs for policy formulation in terms of the peripheral and central issues concerning the tapping of this energy option.

Heavy metals were determined from waste dumpsites in Gboko metropolis, Benue state, Nigeria. The mean pH values of the soil samples were found to be 7.70 and 7.15 for Gboko North and South respectively. The analysis of heavy metals indicate that samples from Gboko North show mean concentrations (mg/kg) of heavy metals as; Pb (0.966), Ni (0.514), Cd (0.298), Al (0.223), Cr (0.092), As (0.051). Samples from Gboko South indicate mean levels of heavy metals as follows; (1.300mg/kg), (0.377 mg/kg), (0.191mg/kg), (0.009mg/kg), (0.18mg/kg), (0.042mg /kg) for Pb, Al, Cr, Ni, As, and Cd respectively. In Nutshell, Ni, and Cd were found to be relatively higher in Gboko north than Gboko south. On the other hand, the levels of Pb, Cr, Al, and As were higher in Gboko South than Gboko North. All the heavy Metals were within the WHO acceptable limits except Cd and Cr which were slightly above these limits in some dumpsites. Although Heavy metal concentration in refuse dumpsites of Gboko metropolis may not appear to pose a very serious environmental problem at the moment, continuous accumulation of these metals in Gboko metropolis may result into some health threat to human and the environment in future.

With the rapid development of economy in Tianjin Binhai New Area (TBNA), the regional cooperation has been strengthened in the Areas around the Bohai Sea. As an important part of the Circum-Bohai economic circle, Shandong Peninsular Urban Agglomeration (SPUA) has the regional cooperation advantages in every aspect with TBNA. So it is important to study the regional cooperation level between them. In this study, the clustering analysis was conducted on the regional cooperation level between 8 cities belonged to SPUA and TBNA by the non-linear mapping. The results indicated clearly that Qindao and Dongying have high competitiveness and low cooperation level with TBNA, and Jinan, Yantai and Weihai show relatively tight co-operative relationship with TBNA, whereas Rizhao, Zibo and Weifang exhibit a high complementarity and good cooperation prospects with TBNA. Finally, the detailed development strategies for regional cooperation in study areas were put forward based on the results of the clustering Analysis. Also the non-linear mapping proposed provides a new method for quantitative analysis of the regional cooperation level.

By exploring the Science Teacher program students’ misconceptions, this study is aimed to eliminate their misconceptions about geometric optics with conceptual change texts. At the first stage, the data were obtained by applying a three-tiered multiple choice test containing 19 questions, improved for Agri Education Faculty Science Teaching Department 90 sophomore students and a classic exam related to the subject in autumn season. To determine misconceptions concerning the geometric optics, randomly chosen 10 sophomore students were interviewed with 10 open-ended questions. Findings obtained from the test and interviews showed that students have misconceptions about “propagation of light”, “reflection of light” and “refraction of light”. At the second stage, the sample composed of 90 students was separated into two group as experimental group and control group. The conceptual change texts were prepared then to apply for instructional method in experimental group. By being parallel to each other conceptual change text method for experimental group and traditional lecturing method for control group were applied respectively. Later the test consisting 19 multiple choice test were applied as post-test in both experimental and control group. The data appearing coherent of 35 each of experimental and control group were taken into consideration. Reliability of the test that used as pre-test and post-tests were calculated by Cronbach-Alfa coefficient as 0,69 by using SPSS-11 for Windows. The study showed that the conceptual change texts are more effective than traditional method for instruction to eliminate students’ misconceptions about geometric optics.

Gundruk, a typical indigenous vegetable product of Nepal was prepared from leaves of mustard (Brassica juncea) and cabbage (Brassica oleracea capitata) in different fermentation containers viz. glass jar, wooden box, earthenware pots and plastic jars which were evaluated sensorially and analyzed chemically. Sensory analysis revealed higher acceptability for gundruk prepared in glass jar compared to others. The moisture content, crude fiber, ash, calcium and iron contents on dry basis were found to be 7.92%, 14.65 g/100g, 0.68 g/100g, 2253 mg/100g and 86.4 mg/100g respectively for gundruk prepared in glass container. The optimum acidity and pH for gundruk prepared in glass was found to be 1.0% (as lactic acid) and 3.9 respectively on 9th day of fermentation.

The non-oil sector in Nigeria is so disarticulated while it’s sectoral linkage to the economy are so weak. Oil and gas dominate national output while the other manufacturing and production sectors that drives export in the economy is decidedly so small in terms of share of gross output, contribution to economic growth, foreign exchange earnings, government revenues and most importantly, employment generation. Descriptive statistics were applied to time series data spanning a period from 1961 to 2010 after testing for stationary to describe the performances of this sector in terms of revenue and contribution to GDP growth. Correlation and regression analysis were applied to highlight the relationship between GDP and certain identified non-oil sector variables and to ascertain the significant effect of these variables on economic growth. Findings reveal the non-oil sector in Nigeria is so insignificant that it contributes insignificantly to Nigeria’s total federally collected revenue and economic growth.

The opportunistic and ubiquitous Aeromonas spp., is receiving growing importance since its implication in a wide spectrum of human diseases few decades ago. The enteric pathogen A.hydorphila, is the most commonly associated pathogen with acute diarrhoea, with a similar prevalence world-wide. While the host susceptibility to the disease depends on various risk factors that includes food and water source contaminations, the myriad of virulence factors- Haemolyin, exotoxins etc., craft the complex pathogenicity of A.hydrophila and thus, extensive studies on this bacteria is imperative, especially in developing nations were hygiene measure controls are often neglected. In the present case-control study, PCR was employed to screen two extensively investigated A.hydrophila virulence determinants-aerA and hlyA genes- in clinical bacterial isolates to ascertain the bacterial strain’s pathogenicity in acute diarrhoea from the chosen geographical region. 107 (20.89%) out of 512 acute diarrhoeal patients screened harboured the enteric pathogen, A. hydrophila, while the asymptomatic control subjects (n=200) showed no faecal carriage of this micro-organism. Consistent with previous reports the clinical A.hydrophila isolates screened carried the aerA+, hlyA+, aerA+ hlyA+-virulent genotypes (albeit at varying frequencies) ascertaining the role of the two toxins –Haemolysin (HlyA) and Aerolysin (AerA)-in influencing the pathogenesis of acute diarrhoea in Southern Chennai (India).

The decomposition efficiency of Eisenia fetida for vermicomposting was evaluated by using a variety of wastes such as Domestic waste, Agricultural waste, Sago waste, cow dung and poultry dropping in different compositions. This paper reports the recycling of nutrients by vermicomposting of employing earthworm (Eisenia fetida). A total of six vermicomposting units were established and dynamics of chemical and biological parameters has been studied for 42 days. The waste mixture containing domestic waste + cow dung in 1:1 ratio and mixed crop residues +Domestic waste + cow dung in 1:1:2 ratio had better fertilizer value among studied waste combinations. At the end of experiment, vermicomposts showed decrease in pH and organic C, but increase in total Kjeldhal N, total available P and total K contents. The C:N ratio of final vermicomposts also got reduced to 10.7–12.7 from 22.8 -56 in different waste combinations.

This is a study on application of Retail Analytics regarding to the retail outlet in Tiruchirappallai, Tamil Nadu , South India using data mining technique. The scope of this paper is using mining technique to identify the products or products of particular category which has association that is products which are likely to buy with other products as a bundle of item sets. This is defined by association rules with the help of support and confidence metrics, thereby finding the frequent market basket bundle item sets. This is done using the point of sales data that is collected in a retail shop and is more of daily transaction data. Using the association rules and market basket analysis, profitable associated product item sets are found. This is also identifies customer’s pattern of buying behavior and it is then used to devise cross selling strategies to improve the sales of the products. Cluster analysis is used to define the relationship between products and identify the factors that influence the buying behavior of the customers. And the results derived is used to draw a visual merchandising technique that will satisfy the customers in terms of service and induce the impulse purchase of products, increasing the profit of the retail outlet and retaining its customers.

Due to increased pollution activities in the world today, it is important to embrace the sustainable development principle. The principle of sustainable development is that the integration of economic, social and environmental concerns. Sustainable development recognizes that the economy and the environment are closely interrelated. Much economic activity uses up materials and resources, including forests and minerals, and creates waste products. Yet many economic activities, including agriculture, fishing and tourism, are also dependent on a healthy environment. The general objective of this study was to assess the con¬tribution of the community as it formed social groups to combat the pollution problem in Thika Municipality, Kenya. To achieve the objectives of this study, both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies were used. The qualitative phase consisted of face-to-face interviews/administered questionnaires. In addition, the qualitative phases consisted of several focus group discussions and in-depth interviews to selected members of the community. In essence, the qualitative phase was used to provide more insights and findings obtained from the quantitative phase. In order to arrive at the targeted sample of 60 house-holds, the researcher visited the community. Among the major findings, air, water and solid waste pollution were adversely mentioned as the problem the community failed to quantify on pollution awareness. On the other hand, noise pollution was not considered to be harmful in any way to the community. This was due to the limited knowledge of the community. The major effects of pollution enumerated, included the destruction of buildings and other structures.

The main objective of this thesis work is to optimize the machining performance in precision turning operations. In finishing operations, surface roughness is a major concern. Hence, to quantify the machining performance in precision turning operations, the quality of a machined surface is becoming more and more important to satisfy the increasing demands of sophisticated component performance, longevity, and reliability. The objective of this paper is to analyze the performance of precision turning using conventional lathe on Ti6Al4V under dry working conditions. Various parameters that affect the machining processes were identified and a consensus was reached regarding its values. The proposed work is to perform machining under the selected levels of conditions and parameters and to estimate the, cutting temperature and surface roughness generated as the result of the machining process. By finding optimal depth of cut and feed in each segment through the profile, the machining performance in precision turning can be improved. In precision turning, the machining surface can be divided into small segments according. The optimal cutting condition would be different in each segment due to the various effective parameters.

Waste management is one of the most common and challenging problems in the world. The steel making industry has generated substantial solid waste. Mild steel slag is a residue obtained in steel making operation. This paper deals with the implementation of mild steel slag an effective replacement for stone or aggregate. Mild steel slag which is considered as the solid waste pollutant can be used for road construction, clinker raw materials, filling materials, etc. In this work, mild steel slag is used as replacement for aggregate or stone, which has highest content in concrete mixture. This method can be implemented for producing hollow blocks, solid blocks, paver blocks, concrete structures, etc. Accordingly, advantages can be achieved by using mild steel slag instead of natural aggregates. This will also encourage other researchers to find another field of using mild steel slag.

The interactions of electromagnetic waves emitted by radiator with the biological tissues are studied. The photon of electromagnetic waves (EMW) are scattered by the different tissues inside the body and created the phonon. In this process, energy is transferred from one tissue to another and in every step; energy is absorbed by the tissues. In this manuscript, the penetrated electric field of selective tissues of human body and absorption of energy has been calculated and the calculated electric field and specific absorption rate (SAR) are compared with the International permissible limit given by some International Commission of Non-ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) and World Health Organization (WHO) etc. It is found that penetrated electric field inside the tissues represents that frequency 30-50 kHz are harmful for some tissues while specific absorption rate (SAR) represents that (30-70) kHz are harmful for cerebella spinal fluid, gall bladder bile, and body fluid etc. of the human beings. After analysis, it is concluded that people should keep away from the radiator.

Objective: The objective of our study is to develop an expert system for Management of Head Injury Patients (MHIP) to automate treatment planning support for severe head injury patients. Methods: A study was conducted among the Head injury Patients of Government General Hospital (GGH), Chennai, India. The necessary information were recorded and the risk factors were identified by various multivariate statistical models using SPSS package, with all these information together with the opinion of the Neurosurgeon on important clinical factors an Expert system MHIP has been developed. Results: Our study reveals that out of 801 head injury cases, 261 were severe head injury cases (GCS ≤8). It was alarming to observe that around 60% of the severe head injury cases were dead. Risk of Persistent Vegetative State /Death is 2 (95% CI = 1.18 - 4.33) times more in older people than the younger ones. The cases with abnormal respiratory rate had 5 (95% CI = 2.54 - 8.40) times more chances for death than cases with normal respiratory rate of 10-24/min. Thus the older age (P=0.001), abnormal respiratory rate (P=0.003) and lower GCS (P=0.008) were found to be consistent risk factors and significantly associated with the mortality of severe head injury patients. Conclusion: From the perspective of patients’ well being, Persons trained in trauma care in the rich industrialized countries depend a great deal on expensive, sophisticated diagnostic and curative equipment and materials. It will not be possible for most hospital in Low income Countries to obtain and stock such equipment and materials. Therefore an Expert system MHIP, developed in our study would help the neurosurgeon to a greater extent in identifying the patients, whose life can be saved, and which are cost-effective and feasible in such Institutions.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of agro-waste substrates like banana peel powder and coir powder at varying environmental parameters of pH (4-9) and temperature (20-50ºC) on the cellulase production by Trichoderma reesei. The enzyme production was measured by the amount of glucose liberated in IU/ml by using dinitrosalicylic acid method. The substrates were pretreated with alkaline pretreatment and autoclaved. The maximum activity of the enzyme was assayed at varying pH with temperatures being constant and varying temperatures with pH being constant. The maximum activity of the enzyme was assayed at varying pH was documented at pH 6 for banana peel powder (0.57±0.03 IU ml-1) and coir powder (0.42±0.02) and the highest activity of the enzyme at varying temperature was recorded at 40ºC for both banana peel powder (0.65±0.02) and coir powder (0.47±0.002) after 144h of incubation. Thus the maximum amount of the enzyme was reported at pH 6 and temperature 40 ºC for both banana peel powder and coir powder. Moreover among the two substrates used for the production of cellulases by Trichoderma reesei banana peel powder exhibited maximum enzyme activity at 1.5% concentration (0.69±0.02 IU/ml) than coir powder as substrate.

Background: HIV/AIDS is a worldwide problem while most of its affects are felt by the poor and the less educated adults. Young adults are at greatest risk given their risky sexual behavior. Discussion: In this paper adult health education and its role in the fight against HIV/AIDS is discussed. Successful programs in other African countries are explored and different approaches to HIV/AIDS adult education are presented. Take Home message Adult health education has a crucial role to play in the fight against HIV/AIDS especially in preventing HIV spread. Adult health education in this aspect has to be culturally and religiously acceptable by the community where the education is taking place.

During the last few years it is noticed that everybody is getting concern about natural dyes. Mainly the sources of natural dyes have three categories viz. plants, minerals and animals, but plants take great role for obtaining the natural dyes. Due to its less pollution and less side effect, natural dyes are used more often in food products as well as other important regular uses. Methanolic extract of different seven dye yielding plant parts like Acacia catechu (L.f) Willd., Basella alba Linn. var. rubra Linn., Beta vulgaris Linn, Bixa orellana Linn., Carthamus tinctorius L., Terminalia arjuna (Roxb.) Wight. & Arn., Terminalia chebula Retz. Were used to investigate the antimicrobial properties and antimutagenic activity. The methanolic extract of the plant parts are tested by agar well diffusion method (AWDM). The investigate showing the positive response against one gram +ve bacteria and three gram –ve bacteria. The result showing the positive response against the all microorganism. The tested plant parts showing the varying level of antimutagenic activity. The concentration dose 25, 50 and 100 µg/plate of dyeing parts of methanolic extract are widely used for this investigation. It was found that the dyeing parts of methanolic extract of the plant a dose 100 µg/plate exhibit inhibition of His+ revertants against acting mutagens, sodium azide (NaN3) induced mutagenicity in Salmonella typhemuium tester strains TA98 and TA100. The over all result showed that the tested methanolic plant extract both have antimicrobial properties and antimutagenic activity. Enumeration includes details about the plant with prospecting proper medicinal value.

Forest Communities (about 28% of Kenya’s population) represent a critical section of Kenya’s overall population. Many of these people interact on a daily basis with forest resources around them. The knowledge about their perceptions and attitudes pertaining to forest resources may make it possible to contextualize their influences on sustainable management of forest resources. The missing link in this paradigm could be the inadequate or little levels of incorporation of community based forest management strategies in planning for sustainable utilization of forest resources. The incorporation of local community’s perception in forest management could therefore be fundamental in reversing the downward trends of forest loss. It is assumed that people are a product of their environment, therefore it can be insinuated that the perception of forest utilization by the forest communities is based on their interactions, traditions, values and attitudes. This paper therefore examines the perceptions of the Kalenjin community living around Nandi Hills Forests (NHFs) and how their perceptions have influenced the utilization practices of NHFs. The study investigates cultural constructs that have had a bearing on the perception and use of these forests and the role of traditional and religious practices.

The study investigated the strategic management practices of small business enterprises in Cross River State of Nigeria. The objectives of the study are; to determine the relationship between strategic management practices and performance of SBEs; to determine the relationship between strategic management practices and market share of SBEs; To determine factors affecting strategic management practices of SBEs. Cross sectional survey design was adopted. The population of the study was hundred and two (102) owners/managers of the selected organizations. Systematic sampling technique was employed in selecting the organizations from the list of registered companies in the state. Questionnaire was the main instrument for data collection and was designed in a 5- point Likert scale format supported with personal interview. The data collected were analysed with descriptive statistics, while the corresponding hypotheses were tested with Pearson Product Movement Correlation and Chi –square. . The findings indicate that there is significant positive relationship between strategic management practices and performance of SBES; there is significant relationship between strategic management practices and market share of SBEs. Infrastructural factors, macro environmental factors, and socio-cultural factors were found to be the major issues influencing the strategic management practices of SBEs. However, it was recommended that to accomplish the mission and objectives of SBEs in the light of growth and profitability, management need to have a positive rethink towards the use of strategic management.

The study investigated the impact of transformational and transactional leadership styles on performance of manufacturing organizations in Cross River State of Nigeria. The objectives of the study are; to determine the relationship between transformational leadership style and organizational performance; to determine the relationship between transactional leadership style and organizational performance. Cross sectional survey design was adopted. The population of the study was made up of senior and junior workers of the three selected organizations in Cross River State. Systematic sampling technique was employed in selecting the organizations from the list of registered companies in the state. A sample size of 286 was drawn from the population of 1005 through application of Taro Yamane formular. Questionnaire was the main instrument for data collection and was designed in a 5- point Likert scale format supported with personal interview. The data collected were analysed with descriptive statistics, while the corresponding hypotheses were tested with Pearson Product Movement Correlation Coefficien at 0.05 alpha level. The findings indicate that there is significant positive relationship between transformational leadership style and organizational performance; there is a significant relationship between transactional leadership style and organizational performance. Thus, it was recommended that managers should adopt a leadership style that will enable him or her to successfully integrate and maximize available resource within the internal and external environment for attainment of organizational and societal goals.

Cloud computing is one of today’s most attractive technology areas due to its many advantages like Highly scalable, on-demand, web-accessed IT resources with major cost / cash and flexibility. Various companies around the world adapting cloud computing as a means to increasing efficiency and reducing cost of their IT services. In this research paper efforts have been made to analyze the use of hybrid cloud computing model with security and scalability in business information system. There are many challenges in using cloud computing. The main challenges are security and because all essential services are generally outsourced to a third party. The outsourcing makes it harder to maintain data integrity and privacy, support data and service availability etc. Using public cloud model only in the business is very risky because of its security reasons and using private cloud only will not solve our purpose because in that case we will not be able to use advantages of public cloud model. To solve these security problems in business information system we can use hybrid cloud computing model where we can use advantages of public cloud and security of private cloud, in which we can elect to store highly sensitive data of the company in the private storage cloud and less sensitive data in public storage cloud. This research paper focused upon the security problems in business information system. Research suggests a hybrid cloud computing model where converging advantages of public cloud and security of private cloud can be used.

Diversity as “difference, unlikeness, variety and multiformity. Exploration of assumptions, beliefs and attitudes concerning diversity would provide us insights on the preferences of the members of an organization for similarities or differences, homogeneity or heterogeneity, otherness or inclusion. Of course, it is not always necessary that individuals and groups look at them in a dichotomous way and instead feel comfortable with both. The purpose is to explore the existing notions of members of an organizations and examine whether they consider diversity as adversity or advantage. It is possible to hold three views about people: all are alike, some are alike, or not two are alike. The purpose is to explore what is our view and what is the basis governing our own assumptions beliefs and attitudes so that, if need be, we modify them to overcome biases, prejudices and stereotyping.

Green gram (Vigna radiate L.) is also known as mung bean or golden bean belongs to the Family Leguminosae. Green gram is a short duration crop and mainly cultivated as a rainfed crop under Rice fallow condition and irrigated crop. The low productivity under rainfed condition is due to soil moisture deficit, uneven rainfall, low soil fertility and poor crop management. To overcome this problem, seed researchers like Henckel as early as 1964 recommended the seed hardening techniques to alleviate the moisture stress condition. The present study will emphasize on the effect of seed hardening using various leaf extract like prosopis, pungam, nochi, neem,umathai, aduthoda, nerium, papaya, bittergourd etc. on seed and seedling characteristics like germination per cent, speed of germination, accumulated speed of germination, mean daily germination, root length, shoot length, seedling length, DMP, SV-I and SV-II of green gram ADT3. From the present study, it could be concluded that green gram seeds should be hardened with 1% prosopis leaf extract for 3 hours @ 1/3 rd volume of solution to enhance the seed and seedling quality characteristics under adverse environment conditions. In addition, green gram seeds may also be hardened with 1% pungam leaf extract to get the similar results.

Background: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a vital health problem in blood transfusion throughout the world. A good number of studies in northern Nigeria were amongst people infected with HIV/AIDS; hence information is very scarce on the prevalence of HBV infection among blood donors in Nigeria. Objectives: The necessity for information about this silent killer among these apparent healthy blood donors was the center for this study. Methodology: Hepatitis–B-surface antigen (HBsAg) latex kit was used to determine the prevalence of HBsAg among 370 voluntary blood donors (age 20-60years) in Jos university teaching Hospital, Nigeria. Result: Three hundred and seventy (370) blood donors were screened for HBsAg and 100 (27.0%) were positive. Males recorded 97 (27.3%) while females had 3 (21.4%). Prevalence of HBsAg according to age showed that, age 20-30 years recorded 33.8%, age 31-40 years recorded 27.9%, while ages 41-50 and 51-60 years recorded 14.5% and 9.1% respectively. Routine screening for HBsAg in blood donors is very important because asymptomatic donors may be chronic carriers. Conclusion: The prevalence of 27.0% HBsAg within the study population shows that it is of public health significance.

IT careers are often characterized by hard work, long hours and tight deadlines. Coupled with these high stressed careers, personality traits like high ambition, a strong sense of time urgency, hostility, distrust and anger could play havoc on the physical and psychological well-being of the professionals. Managing stress by mobilizing and enhancing internal coping strategies and learning and employing appropriate methods of responding to stressful situations are assumed solutions to the ever increasing demands of IT field. Present study was conducted to assess personality types and stress levels of the selected IT professionals and to examine the relation between their personality types and stress levels. Data were collected from 60 IT professionals employed in four computer software organizations at Bangalore. The results showed that half of the selected IT professionals had stress prone Type A personality and on the whole they had moderate stress. It was found that personality type and stress showed a positive and a significant correlation which indicated Type A personality as more prone to stress. Recommendations and suggestions to improve the coping strategies were discussed to enable the IT professionals manage their stress.