Journal of Scientific Research and Reports

Instructors’ publication (IP) is one of the major activity in higher education institutes. Currently, IP faced problem both high prevalence and severity in Ethiopia public universities. Even if the problem is common to both developed and developing countries, about 352 (73.9 %) of the instructors employed by public universities in Ethiopia have been affected by a lack of scholarly publications. Since the outcomes from IP factors are mostly discrete variable; they are often modelled using advanced count regression models. The purpose of this study was to model the appropriate count regression model that efficiently fit the IP data and further to identify the key risk factors contributing significantly to IP in public Universities in Ethiopia. The data were collected between November 2015 through November 2016 from selected thirteen (13) public universities in Ethiopia through both questionnaires and interview. The cross-sectional study design was employed using IP data. A simple random sampling technique was applied to the population of Ethiopia public universities to obtain a sample of 13 universities or 476 individual instructors were selected. The average age of the 476 participants was found to be 30 years with 31(6.5%) being females and 445(93.5%) being males. The count outcomes obtained were modelled using count regression models which included Zero-Inflated Negative Binomial (ZINB), Zero-Inflated Poisson (ZIP) and Poisson Hurdle regression models. To compare the performance and the efficiency of the listed count regression models concerning the IP data, the various model selection methods such as the Vuong Statistic (V) and Akaike’s Information Criterion (AIC) were used. The ZINB count regression model concerning the values of the Vuong Statistic and AIC was selected as the most appropriate and efficient count regression model for modelling IP data. Based on the ZINB model the variables age, experience, average work-load, association member and motivation to work were statistically significant risk factors contributing to IP in Ethiopia public universities.

Since the last quarter of the 20th-century technological advances and energy production and consumption processes in Parallel with the increasing urbanization of the world's energy demand, however, it raises ecological problems. Since the nineties, reducing the pressure on the ecological balance of the city planning approach for more efficient and livable cities has been launched. The most important determinant of the country's socio-economic structure and physical development, energy supply and consumption. In this case, the relationship is associated with creased urbanization, urban planning and energy consumption is the main source reveals the well should be constructed. This study covers and sample applications that may pose the importance of Solar Energy in Urban Planning. In this context, local government, the community embraced the energy efficiency in buildings and urban transport are the most important position on the adoption of effective measures. Locations in energy efficiency measures and costs can be reduced, local employment can be increased, reduced local and global pollution, energy dependence can be reduced and improved social living conditions. Mainly by analyzing the environmental impact of this potential assessed under the vehicle and building technology, it is important to be transferred to the urban planning process.

The soil and edible vegetable samples were collected from Obanliku Urban Area of Cross River State and were digested and analyzed for the cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), iron (Fe) and mercury (Hg) (heavy metals) concentration using Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometer (AAS) in Chemistry Laboratory, University of Calabar. The eight vegetables were considered such as Amaranthus spp., Corchorus olitorius, Murraya koenigii, Ocimum grattissimum, Solanum melongena, Talinum triangulare, Telfaira occidentalis and Vernonia amygdalina. The results revealed that the mean concentration of the metals in the soil in mgkg^-1 ranged from (0.003-0.017) and (0.003-0.015) for Cd, (0.005-0.040) and (0.004-0.038) for Cr, and (0.052-1.541) and (0.050-1.511) for Fe in rainy and dry seasons respectively. Also, the mean concentration of the metals accumulated by the vegetables in mgkg^-1 ranged from (0.002-0.010) for Cd, (0.003-0.018) and (0.003-0.016) for Cr, and (0.013-0.175) and (0.013-0.150) for Fe in rainy and dry season respectively. The concentration of Hg was not detected in the soil or vegetables. The mean concentration accumulated by the vegetables and that present in the soil was in the order: Fe > Cr > Cd > Hg. These results showed that there is no significant difference between the amount of metals in the soil or that accumulated by the vegetables in rainy and dry seasons of the year. Also the amount of metals accumulated by most of the vegetables was directly proportional to the amount present in the soil where they are planted. The bioaccumulation ratios and Target Hazard Quotients (THQ) were all less than 1. The results indicate that the concentration of Cd, Cr, Fe & Hg in the soil and vegetables were still low and within the permissible limits of WHO/FAO. Thus, the consumption of the vegetables in the area at the time when this study was carried out may not pose any health risk.

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effects of the application of treated sewage sludge on the initial development of soybean plants (Glycine max L.). Seven treatments were used: (T1) only the soil (absolute control); (T2) soil + residue at the dose of 5.0 g/dm³; (T3) soil + residue at a dose of 10.0 g/dm³; (T4) soil + residue at the dose of 15.0 g/dm³; (T5) soil + residue at the dose of 20.0 g/dm³; (T6) soil + residue at the dose of 25.0 g/dm³; and (T7) culture with PK. The variables of emergence, first count and emergence speed of seedlings, green mass, shoot length, root length, dry shoot mass and dry root mass of the plants were analyzed. The experimental design was in randomized blocks, with four replicates of 25 plants for each treatment. The use of the organic residue positively influenced the characteristics observed in relation to the control and the PK, and in the appropriate dose, it can be recommended as an input and soil conditioner. Sewage sludge presents high potential as a fertilizer for soybean cultivation.

The need for clean energy and removal of toxic emission from internal combustion engines have led researchers and engineers into exploring and developing new drive systems. The development of hybrid cars has greatly reduced the emission level of vehicles. However, this is not enough. The purely electrical vehicles are 100% clean in service and as such their deployment is of great importance. Therefore, these vehicles replace the internal combustion engine in conventional cars and automobiles with electric motors. Hence, the need for the motor drive in an electric vehicle that is highly efficient with low weight, high power density and cheaply available in the market. In this paper, a review of different electric motors with respect to their design simplicity, cost, ruggedness and efficiency is presented. Finally, the brushless DC motor is proven to be an efficient and most suitable candidate for propulsion drive in electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles. However, its control is insufficient. A conceptual method to improve its control is also presented.