The significance of fish handling, preservation and processing in the development of Nigeria inland fishery with special reference to Kainji Lake

The traditional approach to fish handling, preservation and processing technology in inland fishery is critically examined using the experience in Kainji Lake as a model. The need to uplift the fishermen technology is emphasized with the ultimate expectations of improvement in fish quality

Present status and potentials of inshore and offshore pelagic fisheries in the capture and processing industries of Nigeria

Apart from activities of some foreign-based vessels, commercial exploitation of pelagic fishery resources in Nigeria has been limited to inland and inshore waters. Estimated potential for the inshore pelagic fishery is 70,000-90,000 tonnes while the small pelagic resources in the near offshore as well as tuna and tuna-like fishes further offshore have potentials of about 10,000 metric tonnes each. Despite the abundance of tuna within and adjoining the Nigerian EEZ, and its importance in the international market, only foreign-flagged vessels take advantage. In addition, the inshore pelagic fisheries in Nigeria have for long remained underexploited. The most common processing method has remained the age-old traditional smoke-drying, which is inadequate resulting in colossal waste through denaturation and incessant infestations by insects and moulds among other causes. The use of modern smoking techniques coupled with effective distribution systems can undoubtedly reduce waste. However, these are often not within the reach of most artisanal processors. It is proposed that the organised private sector should invest on simple but proven processing equipment such as smoking kilns. The inshore pelagic fish species and other small fishes can sustain cottage canning industries sited in fishing villages/settlements while larger canning factories should be based on offshore resources. Modalities for successful investments are highlighted, while a major consideration is given to joint ventures

Euskal Gramatika prozesatzen: Hastapenetako zenbait emaitza

Beñat Oihartzabali Gorazarre: Festschrift for Bernard Oyharçabal / Ricardo Etxepare, Ricardo Gómez, Joseba Andoni Lakarra (arg./eds)

Language distance and non-native syntactic processing: Evidence from event-related potentials

[EN] In this study, we explore native and non-native syntactic processing, paying special attention to the language distance factor. To this end, we compared how native speakers of Basque and highly proficient non-native speakers of Basque who are native speakers of Spanish process certain core aspects of Basque syntax. Our results suggest that differences in native versus non-native language processing strongly correlate with language distance: native/non-native processing differences obtain if a syntactic parameter of the non-native grammar diverges from the native grammar. Otherwise, non-native processing will approximate native processing as levels of proficiency increase. We focus on three syntactic parameters: (i) the head parameter, (ii) argument alignment (ergative/accusative), and (iii) verb agreement. The first two diverge in Basque and Spanish, but the third is the same in both languages. Our results reveal that native and non-native processing differs for the diverging syntactic parameters, but not for the convergent one. These findings indicate that language distance has a significant impact in non-native language processing.

Word frequency cues word order in adults: cross-linguistic evidence

[EN] One universal feature of human languages is the division between grammatical functors and content words. From a learnability point of view, functors might provide entry points or anchors into the syntactic structure of utterances due to their high frequency. Despite its potentially universal scope, this hypothesis has not yet been tested on typologically different languages and on populations of different ages. Here we report a corpus study and an artificial grammar learning experiment testing the anchoring hypothesis in Basque, Japanese, French, and Italian adults. We show that adults are sensitive to the distribution of functors in their native language and use them when learning new linguistic material. However, compared to infants’ performance on a similar task, adults exhibit a slightly different behavior, matching the frequency distributions of their native language more closely than infants do. This finding bears on the issue of the continuity of language learning mechanism.

Adaptive Scalable SVD Unit for Fast Processing of Large LSE Problems

Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) is a key linear algebraic operation in many scientific and engineering applications. In particular, many computational intelligence systems rely on machine learning methods involving high dimensionality datasets that have to be fast processed for real-time adaptability. In this paper we describe a practical FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) implementation of a SVD processor for accelerating the solution of large LSE problems. The design approach has been comprehensive, from the algorithmic refinement to the numerical analysis to the customization for an efficient hardware realization. The processing scheme rests on an adaptive vector rotation evaluator for error regularization that enhances convergence speed with no penalty on the solution accuracy. The proposed architecture, which follows a data transfer scheme, is scalable and based on the interconnection of simple rotations units, which allows for a trade-off between occupied area and processing acceleration in the final implementation. This permits the SVD processor to be implemented both on low-cost and highend FPGAs, according to the final application requirements.

The effect of traditional handling, processing and storage methods on the quality of dried fish in small scale fisheries in Nigeria

Most of the fish marketed throughout Nigeria are in either smoked or dried form. The technological requirement for other forms of preservation like chilling and freezing cannot be afforded by the small scale fisher folk. Considerable quantities of fish processed for distant consumer markets are lost at handling, processing, storage and marketing stages. Significant losses occur through infestation by mites, insects, fungal infestation and fragmentation during transportation. This paper attempts to describe the effect of these losses on fish quality and suggests methods of protecting fish from agents of deterioration

Herramienta de creación de modelos STL parametrizables mediante Processing

Este Proyecto de Fin de Carrera ha sido realizado en colaboración con la empresa Ultra-Lab y el centro Arteleku y trata sobre el diseño, desarrollo e implementación de una interfaz visual para la creación, manipulación, transformación y visualización de diferentes figuras en un entorno 3D. Estas herramientas visuales dan soporte al usuario para que este pueda realizar múltiples modificaciones de las figuras con las que está trabajando de una forma fácil, intuitiva y eficiente.

Influences Of Precursor Constitution And Processing Speed On Microstructure And Wear Behavior During Laser Clad Composite Coatings On Gamma-Tial Intermetallic Alloy

The effects of constitution of precursor mixed powders and scan speed on microstructure and wear properties were designed and investigated during laser clad gamma/Cr7C3/TiC composite coatings on gamma-TiAl intermetallic alloy substrates with NiCr-Cr3C2 precursor mixed powders. The results indicate that both the constitution of the precursor mixed powders and the beam scan rate have remarkable influence on microstructure and attendant hardness as well as wear resistance of the formed composite coatings. The wear mechanisms of the original TiAl alloy and laser clad composite coatings were investigated. The composite coating with an optimum compromise between constitution of NiCr-Cr3C2 precursor mixed powders as well as being processed under moderate scan speed exhibits the best wear resistance under dry sliding wear test conditions. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.