The effect of boiling, steaming and microwaving on proximate and mineral compositions of fluted pumpkin (Telfairia occidentalis) leaves were investigated. Standard methods of analyses were applied for the determinations of selected parameters. Results obtained indicated that at P<0.05 confidence level no significant losses in the values of proximate composition occurred, except for protein and carbohydrate. Decrease in protein contents were 18.36, 13.54 and 20.36% for steaming, boiling and microwaving respectively. Carbohydrate content decrease as follows: steaming (15.44%), boiling (18.35%), and microwaving (2.53%). The percentage reduction in
High order fuzzy time series forecasting methods are more suitable than first order fuzzy time series forecasting methods in dealing with linguistic values. However, existing high order methods lack persuasiveness in dealing objectively with multiple -factor fuzzy time series, recurrent number of fuzzy relationships, and assigning weights to elements of fuzzy forecasting rules. In this paper, a novel two -factor high -order fuzzy time series forecasting method based on fuzzy C-means clustering and particle swarm optimization is proposed to resolve these drawbacks. Fuzzy C-means clustering is utilized in the fuzzification phase to objectively partition the universe of discourse and enable processing of multiple factors. Then, particle swarm optimization is utilized to assign optimal weights to elements of fuzzy forecasting rules. Daily average temperatures of Taipei and Taiwan Futures Exchange (TAIFEX) are used as benchmark data. Average forecasting error performance of 0.85% was obtained for Taipei Temperature forecast. Mean squared error performance of 199.57 was obtained for Taiwan Futures Exchange forecast. The forecasting results showed that the proposed method has higher forecasting performance than other existing methods.
The heavy metal composition of some commercial fertilizers and soil supplements used in Zaria were analysed. The fertilizers analysed include Liquid Organic fertilizer, Palette Organic fertilizer, Urea, Super phosphate, NPK, some of the soil supplements analysed are cow dung and chicken droppings. Using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS) the following range of heavy metal concentrations were obtained: Cu 3.92-38.14mg/l, Mn 0.057-199.17mg/l, Cr 0.19-2.207mg/l, Zn 1.35-83.12mg/l, Fe 5.00-514.18mg/l, Ni 0.063-149mg/l, Pb 9.86-15.52mg/l, Co 0.26-2.87mg/l.. Super phosphate had the highest abundance of Iron (514.18mg/l). These values were compared to standards for heavy metals in fertilizers and supplements for other countries and were found to be below the limits. Like other countries, it will be important for Nigeria to have set standards for heavy metals levels for fertilizers used in the country.
Determination of fatty acids and sterols in oil is very important as they serve as the vital indicators of the activity and purity, respectively of the oils. A qualitative Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry study of oils from soy beans of two varieties (TGX 1802-1F, and TGX 1019-2EB) was done to determine their fatty acid, sterol and other compositions. The oils were extracted with n-hexane and concentrated in vacuo using rotary evaporator at 45 o C. The oils were slightly soluble in ethanol, insoluble in water and acetonitrile, and readily soluble in n-hexane, acetone, chloroform and benzene. The oils were preliminarily characterized using iodine value, acid value, specific gravity, volatile matter, saponification value and peroxide value. The acid values were 0.60 and 0.59 respectively, while the specific gravity at 30 o C was 0.919 for both samples. The volatile matters were 0.19 % and 0.17 %, and the peroxide values were 9.2 and 9.8 mEq/Kg respectively. Using an Agilient series 6890 Gas Chromatography system with a 5973 mass selective detector, the lipid composition of these oils was studied. Both cultivars were found to contain linoleic acid and pentadecadienoyl octadecadienoate. Palmitic acid and stearic acid were found in TGX 1802-1F, while TGX 1019-2EB was found to contain cholesterol and methyl octadecadienoate. This implies that TGX 1802-1F will be safe in applications where cholesterol free oils are desired. Also, the presence of linoleic acid in the oils indicate that they may be suitable as supplements for lowering the LDL cholesterol levels of the body as well as serve, via Gamma Linolenic Acid, in the biosynthesis of the very important anti-inflammatory 1-series prostaglandins.
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