Papers by Zaharadeen Musa
Agriculture, 2021
Eggplant is an essential vegetable crop that is rich in health-related compounds, and the content... more Eggplant is an essential vegetable crop that is rich in health-related compounds, and the content of these compounds can be increased through grafting. It was reported that grafting with vigorous wild relatives’ rootstocks can improve eggplant’s fruit quality. The study was conducted to investigate the fruit yield, composition and physicochemical traits of Solanum melongena ME, CE, NE and TE scions grafted on wild relatives’ rootstocks of ST, SM and SI. The results show that a notable graft success (100%) was recorded in grafted (TE/ST) and self-grafted (TE/TE) plants using the cleft technique. Growth and yield traits indicated that CE and TE scions grafted onto ST, SM and SI showed better performance in all of the traits mentioned above in an open field across two years, except first flower formation which was displayed on non-grafted CE. In all the rootstocks studied—ST, SM and SI—there was no noticeable effect on carbohydrate, fibre, ash, pH and dry matter content. There was a no...
Plants, 2020
Grafting is regarded as an integral component of sustainable vegetable production. It is importan... more Grafting is regarded as an integral component of sustainable vegetable production. It is important in the management of soil-borne diseases, and reports suggest that grafting with viable rootstocks can enhance crop growth and yield. This research was conducted using splices and cleft grafting techniques to investigate graft compatibility among varieties of high yielding eggplant scion (MCV1, MCV2, CCV1, CCV2, CCV3, NCV, and TCV) grafted onto wild rootstocks (MWR, BWR, and TWR) to study their morphophysiological and yield characteristics. High yielding scions grafted onto wild relative rootstocks were compared with two controls including self-grafted and non-grafted. All the scion had a high rate of germination (≥95%) and remarkable graft success (100%) was recorded in MCV1, MCV2, and TCV using the cleft techniques. Generally, the use of rootstocks resulted in higher total and marketable fruit yield compared to the non-grafted and self-grafted scion plants, respectively. In particula...
European Journal of Business and Management, 2014
The location of Greater Zaria area in the guinea savannah provides a good physical environment fo... more The location of Greater Zaria area in the guinea savannah provides a good physical environment for both subsistent and commercial agriculture. In Greater Zaria, both rain-fed and dry season farming are practiced by a large number of people and a significant per cent of the produce are marketed and distributed to other parts of the country. This study attempts to analyse the problems of logistics in the distribution of agricultural commodities from Greater Zaria to different parts of Nigeria. Questionnaires were designed and the purposive sampling method was used to select and interview marketers, intermediaries, vehicle drivers, channel loaders and consumers. Percentages, tables and flow line map were used to analyse the data. The results revealed that instability in the price of gasoline, harassment by law enforcement agents, extortions/multiple taxations at checkpoints, numerous stopping points/places of drivers and very poor condition of roads are seriously affecting the efficiency of freight distribution. What more, existence of numerous middlemen, channel loaders and lack of storage facilities in the source markets or collection points affects the ordering process and inventory management in Greater Zaria. All these activities not only cause delays, but also lead to loss of weight in animals as well as perishing of commodities in the logistics distribution and add to the cost price of agricultural commodities to consumers. It was therefore, recommended, among others, that government should try to ensure stability in the pricing and supply of gasoline to all nooks and crannies of the country. State governments should come up with an agreed pattern of taxation on our high ways to check extortions and multiple taxation; while our law enforcement agents should be well-trained, adequately remunerated and reoriented to carry out their duties effectively. Only by so doing could we enhance efficiency in the logistics distribution of agricultural commodities not only from Greater Zaria, but also to and from all other parts of Nigeria.
Dirasat Human and Social Sciences, Sep 14, 2010
The nonlinguistic signs such as the printing forms, the black and white spaces, have altogether c... more The nonlinguistic signs such as the printing forms, the black and white spaces, have altogether created a very important artistic phenomenon in modern poetry after poets have transformed receiving criteria of poetry from the aural (listening) level to the visual (seeing) level. In addition, linguistic lexicon and the poetic intertextuality side by side form a linguistic structure and an essential source for recalling the missing text that open up to new and fresh words in the experience of poetry. So it became the responsibility of the critic to decode and figure out its connotations by asking new critical questions that agree with the modern literary methods of expression. This paper comes as a practical response aiming at exploring the world of the poetic text together with its structural elements and dramatic interaction.
Glutamate toxicity is a major contributor to neurodegeneration in the nervous system. In the past... more Glutamate toxicity is a major contributor to neurodegeneration in the nervous system. In the past few years, palm tocotrienol-rich fraction (TRF) has been shown to provide neuroprotection to neurons against glutamate excitotoxicity. Palm TRF is an extract of palm oil and consists of 25% α-tocopherol and 75% tocotrienols. TRF has been shown to possess potent antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, neuroprotection and cholesterol-lowering activities. The main objective of the present study is to observe the effects of vitamin E when given to astrocytes before (pre-treatment) and after (posttreatment) glutamate excitotoxicity. A few parameters were selected; cell viability, mRNA expression of neuron specific enolase (NSE), concentration of glutathione (GSH) in the astrocytes and morphology of the cell. Cell viability was measured by using the MTT assay. NSE which is a type of neurobiological marker was observed by using the Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR). Finally, cell morphology was monitored under fluorescence microscope by using the acridine
The experiment was performed to determine the influence of vitamin C supplementation on external ... more The experiment was performed to determine the influence of vitamin C supplementation on external and internal characteristics of eggs of Harco black layers during the hot season in the northern Guinea Savanna zone of Nigeria. The birds were divided into two groups (n-200). Group I serve as control while group II were administered vitamin C (250mg/litre) in drinking water. the birds were managed in deep litter and drinking water was provided ad libitum. Parameters evaluated include egg weight, egg length, egg width, shell thickness, shell weight, albumen weight, albumen height, yolk weight, yolk height and yolk width. Mean values for egg weight, egg length, egg width, Albumen weight, Albumen height, and yolk height were found to be significantly higher in vitamin C treated group. There was however, no superiority in shell thickness, shell weight, yolk weight and yolk width. Relationship between Albumen weight and other egg traits was positive and significant (P<0.01). Other egg parameters are either positively or inversely correlated with each other. Egg weight was better predicted using a combination of Albumen weight, yolk weight and shell weight. Findings of this research suggest that vitamin c supplementation can alleviate the problems associated with heat stress. It is Concluded that vitamin C supplementation can ameliorate the effect of heat stress on egg quality.
Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, 2014
Performance guarantee and management complexity are critical issues in delivering next generation... more Performance guarantee and management complexity are critical issues in delivering next generation infrastructure as a service (IAAS) cloud computing model. This is normally attributed to the current size of datacenters that are built to enable the cloud services. A promising approach to handle these issues is to offer IAAS from a subset of the datacenter as a, biologically inspired, virtual service cell. However, this approach requires effective strategies to ensure efficient use of datacenter resources while maintaining high performance and functionality for the service cells. We present a multi-objective and multi-constraint optimization (MOMCO) strategy based on genetic algorithm to the problem of resource placement and utilization suitable for virtual service cell model. We apply a combination of NSGA-II with various crossover strategies and population sizes to test our optimization strategy. Results obtained from our simulation experiment shows significant improvement on acceptance rate over non optimized solutions.
International Journal of Biomedical and Advance Research, 2012
Many neurodegenerative disorders and syndromes are associated with an excessive generation of rea... more Many neurodegenerative disorders and syndromes are associated with an excessive generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and oxidative stress. In the past few years, the pathophysiological role of ROS has been intensively studied in in-vitro and in vivo models of chronic neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) and stroke. In AD, oxidative neuronal cell dysfunction and cell death caused by protofibrils and aggregates of the AD-associated amyloid β protein (Aβ) may causally contribute to pathogenesis and progression. ROS and reactive nitrogen species also take part in the complex cascade of events and the detrimental effects occuring during ischemia and reperfusion in stroke. Lately tocotrienols have gained increasing attention as its therapeutic potential against neurodegenerative disorders was investigated. Compared to tocopherols, recent evidences have shown that tocotrienols are more potent antioxidant. In this review, the potential of tocotrienols to provide protection against selected neurodegenerative disorders is discussed.
International Journal of Computer Science and Information Technology, 2013
Hybrid intra-data centre networks, with optical and electrical capabilities, are attracting resea... more Hybrid intra-data centre networks, with optical and electrical capabilities, are attracting research interest in recent years. This is attributed to the emergence of new bandwidth greedy applications and novel computing paradigms. A key decision to make in networks of this type is the selection and placement of suitable flows for switching in circuit network. Here, we propose an efficient strategy for flow selection and placement suitable for hybrid Intra-cloud data centre networks. We further present techniques for investigating bottlenecks in a packet networks and for the selection of flows to switch in circuit network. The bottleneck technique is verified on a Software Defined Network (SDN) testbed. We also implemented the techniques presented here in a scalable simulation experiment to investigate the impact of flow selection on network performance. Results obtained from scalable simulation experiment indicate a considerable improvement on average throughput, lower configuration delay, and stability of offloaded flows..
Veterinary World, 2011
The gizzard or ventriculus in birds is susceptible to mechanical damage or traumatic injuries ref... more The gizzard or ventriculus in birds is susceptible to mechanical damage or traumatic injuries referred to as traumatic ventriculitis when subjected to the causative agents. The condition affects both intensively and extensively managed birds. Palm kennel cake is commonly used as a chief source of protein and fat in poultry rations, most poultry that are kept intensively on deep litter system in the study area use wood shavings collected from carpentry workshops as litter material while poultry on extensive system of management have access to refuse dumps where sharp objects are commonly found. Traumatic ventriculitis can hardly be detected and managed clinically. From our clinical records, nails of various sizes, bolts and nuts, sharp objects like pieces of wood, palm kennel shells and wires of various sizes are the major causes of traumatic ventriculitis. Major causes of traumatic ventriculitis or hardware disease in poultry in the study areas are hereby discussed and three cases presented in chickens as case studies. Locally and manually compounded poultry feeds, access to refuse dumps, litter materials to be used in poultry houses and litters in poultry houses were renovation works had occurred should be screened for metallic and hard sharp objects to prevent or reduce risk of ingesting and the occurrence of hardware disease.
Veterinary Medicine International, 2013
Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is a major global zoonosis. It has a complex ecological ... more Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is a major global zoonosis. It has a complex ecological distribution with almost unpredictable epidemiological features thus placing it topmost in the World Organization for Animal Health list A poultry diseases. Structured questionnaire survey of poultry farmer's knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) in two Nigerian states revealed the presence of risk farming practices that may enable avian influenza high chance of introduction/reintroduction. There existed significant statistical association between farmer's educational levels and AI awareness and zoonotic awareness (< 0.005). Poultry rearing of multiage and species (81%), multiple sources of stock (62%), inadequate dead-bird disposal (71%), and access to live bird markets (LBMs) (62%) constituted major biosecurity threats in these poultry farming communities. Haemagglutination inhibition (HI) test detected antibodies against H5 avian influenza (AI) in 8 of the 400 sera samples; rapid antigen detection test kit (RADTK) was negative for all the 400 cloaca and trachea swabs. These results and other poultry diseases similar to AI observed in this study could invariably affect avian influenza early detection, reporting, and control. We recommend strong policy initiatives towards poultry farmers' attitudinal change and increasing efforts on awareness of the implications of future HPAI outbreaks in Nigeria.
2012 4th Computer Science and Electronic Engineering Conference (CEEC), 2012
ABSTRACT Cloud datacentres host wide variety of applications each with specific requirement. To a... more ABSTRACT Cloud datacentres host wide variety of applications each with specific requirement. To accommodate all types of applications, hybrid networks - with optical circuit and electrical packet switching capabilities - are attracting research interest. We propose a deterministic model for analysing critical performance indicators in hybrid network for cloud computing. Analytical models for delay bounds, backlog, and flow acceptance region are presented. We implement simulation experiments and compare with our proposed performance models. Our choice of deterministic model proved suitable in creating an upper bound for selected performance indicators.
2014 9th International Symposium on Communication Systems, Networks & Digital Sign (CSNDSP), 2014
Video traffic today accounts for 50 percent of all traffic on the network and is set to reach the... more Video traffic today accounts for 50 percent of all traffic on the network and is set to reach the 70 percent mark in a few years. Bringing in large volumes of video traffic threatens to exceed the network's capacity. As a result, traffic congestion is becoming more frequent, degrading the Quality of Experience (QoE) for video consumers. In this paper, we present a QoE-enabled Transport Optimization Scheme (QETOS) for real-time scalable video stream. The proposed scheme is a crucial design choice that will optimise the video traffic by mapping video quality degradations (that are caused by network) to the QoE without penetrating the video packets. It takes the advantage of the Scalable Video Coding (SVC) partitions that can organize video into layers of different importance, facilitating rate adaptation of video streams. Our approach will help to minimize the side effects on user perceived quality.
Thin Solid Films, 1999
Metal/conjugated polymer film/silicon structures have been fabricated. Current-voltage measuremen... more Metal/conjugated polymer film/silicon structures have been fabricated. Current-voltage measurements have been performed with both AI and Au metal electrodes on n-and p-type Si substrates. The conjugated polymer was regioregular poly @octylthiopheneI (P30T). Rectificalion ratios as high as-10" have been observed, with turn on voltages of-i.5 V. Evidence of Schottky barrier formation at the Al/polymer interface, and Fowler-Nordheim tunneiling at the PjOT/p-Si interface is shown. Capacitance-voltage characteristics were obtained in the frequency range 10 H2 to I MHz, Strong frequency dispersion is observed which is indicative of the presence of traps. A model is proposed to explain this dispersion which shows good agreement with the experimental results. Preliminaq optical results indicate that these diodes maq' have applications as optical sensors.
Journal of Cloud Computing: Advances, Systems and Applications, 2014
Cloud based scientific data management-storage, transfer, analysis, and inference extraction-is a... more Cloud based scientific data management-storage, transfer, analysis, and inference extraction-is attracting interest. In this paper, we propose a next generation cloud deployment model suitable for data intensive applications. Our model is a flexible and self-service container-based infrastructure that delivers-network, computing, and storage resources together with the logic to dynamically manage the components in a holistic manner. We demonstrate the strength of our model with a bioinformatics application. Dynamic algorithms for resource provisioning and job allocation suitable for the chosen dataset are packaged and delivered in a privileged virtual machine as part of the container. We tested the model on our private internal experimental cloud that is built on low-cost commodity hardware. We demonstrate the capability of our model to create the required network and computing resources and allocate submitted jobs. The results obtained shows the benefits of increased automation in terms of both a significant improvement in the time to complete a data analysis and a reduction in the cost of analysis. The algorithms proposed reduced the cost of performing analysis by 50% at 15 GB of data analysis. The total time between submitting a job and writing the results after analysis also reduced by more than 1 hr at 15 GB of data analysis.
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Papers by Zaharadeen Musa