Archives-December 

Enterprise Resource Management (ERP) software was considered a cure for all ailments by organizations for some time before its official demise news given by Gartner Inc, which had coined the term in the first place in the 1990s. This was due to several problems encountered by organizations during the implementation of ERP software, including inflexibility in meeting organizational specific needs. This paper proposes the Best of Breed (BoB) Strategy which involves integrating number of standard package and/or custom software as a better alternative to single vendor developed ERP system. The study is based on two case studies, one case representing ERP implementation and another one representing a BOB strategy. This was followed by an in depth analysis of the two approaches using Questionnaire and personal interview. The study concludes that though traditional single vendor ERP systems, provide several benefits by integrating the Information system silos throughout the organization, but the Best of Breed provides another approach in which greater flexibility and competitive advantage can be obtained coupled with faster implementation. The paper also highlights the differences in complexity of implementation, levels of functionality, business process alignment potential and associated maintenance, between the two strategies.

Krukenberg tumors are defined as ovarian metastasis of digestive tract cancer. They represent only 1% to 2% of all malignant ovarian tumors [1]. Stomach is the most common primary site. We report an observation of Krukenberg tumor arising from a gastric cancer, discovered during the exploration of chronic abdominal pain in a 48-year- old women. The call signs were mainly digestive. Ultrasonography and pelvic MRI played a key diagnostic role. The aim of our article was to give an overview of the imaging features of typical Krukenberg tumor.

Blue rubber nevus syndrome also known as Bean syndrome, is a rare vascular congenital condition responsible for multiple venous malformations that usually concern the skin and the gastrointestinal tract, rarely reported affecting the central nervous system, lung or the thyroid gland. We herein present a case of an 80-year-old male, diagnosed with Biermer’s disease since 2006, he latter on was subject to an aggravation of his anemia leading the investigations to discover multiple gastrointestinal (GI) ‘blebs’ causing recurrent haemorrhages.

In the context of this article, the construction of software for language proficiency level and difficulty measurement of language proficiency tests was sought. The main software goal can not help with identification issues, and also the recognition of the text can not be mitigated by using common scoring systems, including the types of recognition calculations. This software accepts various Italian language test subjects whether they are graded or not, and after analyzing the text, ranks these texts at the corresponding Italian language proficiency levels and calculates the degree of difficulty of the test. The selection of subjects and their inclusion is of course done by the sampling method.

The depletion of high grade reserves coupled with increasing market pressure for improved product quality has forced phosphate producers to re-examine their process flow-sheets and evaluate alternate or supplement processing routes. The world is rich in phosphate resources, but most of these resources are of middle and low grade ores, in the same time it is difficult to obtain high grade concentrate with high recovery using traditional separation methods. As a result of increasing complex mineralogy, steadily decreasing ore grades and ever increasing economic and environmental problems, the mineral processing industry over the past decade had to evolve appropriate means to beneficiate low grades phosphate ores deposits. Some of the important emerging trends and the evolutionary changes which have occurred in mineral processing technology are reviewed. New treating methods such as column flotation, nano-bubble flotation technique, application of amphoteric collectors, bio-processing, and application of surface modification using enzymes help to beneficiate low grade phosphate ores.

Aluminium-Silicon alloy based metal matrix composites have been recognized as an appropriate wear resistant material particularly for sliding wear applications. An attempt has been made in the present paper to highlight the performance of Al-Si-TiB2 composites with variation in Silicon content and presence of TiB2 synthesised by means of salt metal reaction during stir casting method. The dry sliding wear behaviour of these composites was studied using a pin-on-disc wear testing machine varying load (10, 20, 30N) with a sliding velocity of 1m.s-1 for a sliding distance of 1800m. The microstructures of the specimens were analyzed by Scanning Electron Microscope as well as with optical microscope and also tested for hardness using Vickers hardness tester. Wear resistance and hardness values found to increase with increased wt% of Si.

Pulverized fruits (500g) of Lantana camara on hydrodistillation, afforded oil in the yield of 0.4% (v/w). Analysis of the oil using GC and GC-MS showed that the bulk of the oil is characterized by the abundance of sesquiterpenoids (91.9%). The percentage composition of monoterpenoids in the oil was 7.1%, while phenylpropernoids were detected in trace amounts. The principal constituents of the oil were; germacrene D (38.1%), germacrene-D-4-ol (19.6%), ?-caryophyllene (17.7%) and germacrene B (16.5%). The abundance of germacrene D in the oil shows that the oil is of germacrene D chemotype.

The analysis of potentially toxic metals in soils and the environmental risk assessment was presented in this study. Ten representative surface soil samples were collected from ten different locations in Kosofe Local Government Area of Lagos, Nigeria where soils have been contaminated by metal particulates from metal cutting and welding operations. The samples were digested with aqua regia and the concentration of the potentially toxic metals (Cd, Pb, Ni, Cr, Zn and Cu) was measured using the flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer (FAAS) under optimized conditions. The physicochemical properties of the soils (pH, %organic matter, cation exchange capacity, and particle size distribution) were determined using standard analytical methods. Multivariate analysis of the original results obtained was carried out using the principal component analysis (PCA) to identify how the physicochemical parameters of the soils correlate to the concentration of the potentially toxic metals, while the ecological risk assessment was done using the model proposed by Hakanson. The results of the analysis showed that there was serious contamination of the soils in the study area with Pb, Cd and Cu. The results of the principal component analysis showed that the first factor, PC1 explained 36.95% of the total variance which exhibited a high positive loading on Ni, Zn, Cd and Cr while the second factor, PC2 explained 23.67% of the total variance which exhibited a high positive loading on Ni, Cd and Cr and the sources of these heavy metals could be both natural and anthropogenic. The results of the ecological risk assessment show that there is high ecological risk resulting from the release of Cd and Cu into the environment in majority of the sample locations.

Wheat is an annual herbaceous plant whose breeding is done all over the world. Triticum monococcum with 2n chromosomes is known as the oldest wheat. T. turgidum has four set of chromosomes and used for pasta making. Emmer wheat (T. turgidum ssp. dicoccoides) is wild form of nearly all the domesticated wheats. T. aestivum has six set of chromosomes and used for bread making. bZIP transcription factors have DNA binding motifs and form the leucine zipper dimerization. Most of WRKY transcription factors control regulation of important functions for the development of plants. In this study, bZIP and WRKY genes were firstly cloned and compared between different wheat cultivars. For this, genes were amplified in PCR and transferred to pENTR™/D-TOPO® vector. Plasmids were sequenced and aligned. bZIP gene with 450 bp and WRKY gene with 672 bp in length were successfully cloned. DNA sequence of genes were translated to protein sequence. A total of 150 amino acids for bZIP and 224 amino acids for WRKY proteins were determined. With this study, sequences of bZIP and WRKY genes were firstly identified in ancestral and modern wheat cultivars. Obtained results from this study may be used for development of abiotic stress resistance plants.

A study was carried out on the colonisation of trees by lianas in tropical forests in the Yoko forest reserve (Tshopo, DR Congo). Observations focused on the main parameters (structure and diversity) of the lianas in order to determine the relationship patterns that exist between the host tree and the liana at our site. Inventories of stems with a diameter at breast height (dbh) ? 10 cm for trees and (dbh) ? 1 cm for woody lianas hosted on supports were carried out in fifteen 40 m × 40 m plots (totalling 2.4 hectares) set up in the tropical forests of the Yoko forest reserve. Creeper attachment mechanisms were observed in the field and supplemented by basic literature, and the number of creepers climbing each tree trunk was counted. The following results were obtained: - Overall, 57 liana species were inventoried, and 41 genera and 23 families were recorded. The liana species best represented in terms of IVI value are : Manniophyton fulvum (40.02%), Millettia duchesnei (21.04%), Strychnos camptoneura (17.57%), Dichapetalum mundense (14.97%), Landolphia parvifolia (13.91%) and Dalhousiea africana (12.37%). The most abundant families were Euphorbiaceae (20.6%), Dichapetalaceae (13.31%), Fabaceae (11.86%), Connaraceae (11.06%), Aponaceae (10.26%) and Rubiaceae (8.25%). A total of 1,247 individuals of lianas were inventoried in all fifteen plots, giving an average density of 519 stems/ha. They represent a basal area of 3.79 m2/ha. Most of the lianas are voluble and climb their supports (49.88%), followed by sarmentose lianas (21.84%). A total of 1,177 trees were surveyed, 381 of which (32.3%) had lianas on their trunks. - The proportion of infested trees differed according to diameter category, with medium and large trees having more lianas on their trunks and a higher total basal area of lianas than small trees. Trees with thorny, rough bark are more likely to support vines. - Trees with thorny bark are positively associated with lianas with tendrils, and trees with rough bark are positively associated with lianas with hooks. Trees 40 cm and taller were positively associated with lianas with hook and sarment modes of attachment.