Ladoke Akintola University of Technology

About: Ladoke Akintola University of Technology is a education organization based out in Ogbomoso, Nigeria. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Adsorption. The organization has 2786 authors who have published 3066 publications receiving 36850 citations. The organization is also known as: Oyo State University of Technology & LAUTECH.

Performance analysis of the strategic effect of age, size and sources of funds on micro enterprises in Nigeria

Abstract: The study focused on the analysis of the effect of age and size of enterprise and the sources of funds available to 480 micro-entrepreneurs randomly selected from the South Western States of Nigeria. The purpose of the research was to highlight the strategic importance of age and size of enterprise as well as the sources of funds available to them to their performances. Data were analysed using simple descriptive statistics that include pie and bar charts and multiple regression analysis. The equation specified performance as dependent variables and age, size and sources of funds as independent variables. It was found that the size and age of micro-enterprises have effect on their performance as the relationship were both positive and significant at (P < 0.05). This revealed that the older the enterprise, the better its performance and also as the size (number of employees) increases, the higher would be its performance. Furthermore, the sources of finance available to the microentrepreneurs impacted significantly on their performance. The micro-entrepreneurs surveyed were revealed to be performing very poorly because majority of the entrepreneurs had no access to external funds. The sources of their initial capital and business capital were their personal savings and contributions. The study therefore recommended that commercial banks should set up micro-credit desk through which they could extend credits to informal societies and groups for example; credits could be given to cooperative society for onward lending to micro-entrepreneurs. Also, for enhanced performance, the government should provide an enabling environment, as well as monitoring the MFBs that were primarily established for credit delivery to small enterprises for their development in Nigeria.

Agro-nutritional variations of quality protein maize (Zea mays L.) in Nigeria.

Abstract: Quality protein maize (QPM) combining the enhanced levels of lysine and tryptophan with high grain yield and desirable agronomic traits could reduce food insecurity and malnutrition in West and Central Africa. Twenty-two varieties of QPM and two local checks were evaluated for agronomic characteristics and nutritional qualities in the southern Guinea savanna of Nigeria for two years (2009 and 2010). Though crude protein levels are good indicators of quality, amino acid composition analyses, especially lysine and tryptophan that would provide a final proof are in progress. The genotypes comprised five open pollinated varieties (OPVs), nine inbred lines, eight hybrids and two local varieties. Differences among the varieties were significant (P<0.01) for grain yield, days to tasselling as well as plant and ear heights, while year x variety interaction was only significant (P<0.05) for days to tasselling. Most of the QPM inbred lines (CML 437, CML 490 CML 178) and hybrids (Dada-ba, ART98-SW5-OB, ART98-SW4- OB and TZPB-OB) have superior performance for grain yield, other yield attributes and nutritional qualities compared with the OPVs and local checks. These inbreds could be potential sources of favorable alleles useful for future maize breeding, while the hybrids could be evaluated in different environments of Nigeria for comparative advantages in different environments and quality of the grains to be released to farmers. Key words: crude protein, inbred lines, open pollinated varieties, hybrids

Antidiabetic properties of phytosynthesized gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) from Datura stramonium seed

Abstract: The gold nanoparticles synthesized from Datura stramonium seed was investigated for its antidiabetic properties in the present study. A total number of 42 healthy male albino rats with body weight ranges of 150±20 g were purchased and 7 days acclimatization was carried out after which they were randomly divided into 7 groups (A-G) of 6 animals each. Group A, the control was not induced while the other six groups (B-G) were induced with 150 mg/kg of alloxan by intraperitoneal administration. After 72 h, measurement of the tail vein blood glucose was done to confirm hyperglycemia. Experimental rats with fasting glucose levels (5.6-6.9 mmol/l) were considered diabetic. Group B received no treatment, Group C received 1000 μg/kg of Datura stramonium seed extract, Group D received 500 μg/ml of synthesized AuNPs, Group E received 750 μg/ml of synthesized AuNPs, Group F received 1000 μg/ml of synthesized AuNPs and Group G received 1000 μg/ml of standard drug (glibenclamide). This treatment was administered every day for 21 days. The result showed that the weight of the rats reduced after diabetes induction but after 21 days of treatment, the weight of the treated groups increased when compared to the untreated group. Furthermore, it was observed that after the treatment with 500 and 750 μg/ml AuNPs, the blood sugar was down regulated unlike the untreated groups. Due to the alloxan induction, there were increases in aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), urea and creatinine levels in the serum of experimental rats, which were significantly reduced after the treatment with Datura stramonium seed extract and the synthesized nanoparticles at 500, 750 and 1000 μg/ml. The histopathology of the pancreas of alloxan induced rats showed severe fibrotic interlobular connective tissues with severely diffused, degenerated, and necrotized Islets of langerhans which were also normalized by treatments with AuNPs. It was confirmed in this research that AuNPs could be embedded in drugs or folk medicine aimed at reducing blood sugar levels.