The Medicinally Important Leafy Vegetables of Southwestern Nigeria

This paper focuses on twenty eight medicinally important leafy vegetables documented from the South western part of Nigeria. It also highlights their medicinal importance in the treatment of minor ailments as well as their sources. The family Compositae (Asteraceae) contained the highest number of plants followed by the Cucurbitaceae, Malvaceae and Solanaceae. Sixty-eight percent of the documented vegetables are cultivated, eleven percent is usually obtained in the wild while twenty-one percent is either cultivated or obtained from the wild. The need for concern on the conservation of genetic resources of these plants (especially those in the wild) is stressed in order to safeguard them for future generations and avoid their genetic erosion. The establishment of a gene/seed bank for vegetables is advocated

An Appraisal of the Contributions of Herbalism to Primary Health Care Delivery in South West Nigeria

Herbalism contributes significantly to the primary health care delivery system in the southwest Nigeria through sale and administration of different herbal medicinal preparations which are available in a number of ways like tinctures, herbal wine and elixirs, tisanes, decoctions, macerates, topical, poultices, whole herb consumption, syrup, extracts, inhalation, local rings, incision and rubbing, charm belt, and other charm apparels. Medicines may be hawked by the ambulatory vendors (apothecary) or patients consulting practitioners. Charges are relatively cheap, consultation is prompt and the medicines are reportedly efficacious. Non-exclusion of anybody from patronizing and being organized around people’s needs and expectations, which are two of the key elements of WHO to achieve the ultimate goal of primary health care of better health for all are affectively entrenched in the practice. We adopted and employed basic scientific method, anthropological training skills and study approaches in Humanities to elicit our findings. Government support is highly solicite

Foliar Epidermal Morphology and Anti-diabetic Property of Andrographis paniculata (Burm. f.) Wall ex. Nees

The leaf epidermal features and anti diabetic property of Androgragphis paniculata were investigated. The epidermal cells are polygonal to irregular with curved to undulate anticlinal walls on both surfaces of the leaf. The leaf is hypostomatic with stomata restricted to the abaxial surface. Stomata type is axillocytic. The epidermal cells contain deposits of crystal oxalates while cystoliths are found in a few cells. The leaf extract was evaluated for hypoglycemic effects. There was significant hypoglycemic effect in alloxan induced diabetic rats following administration of the leaf aqueous extract. The result shows that the level of fasting blood sugar was dependent on the previous level of basal blood sugar in the four groups of rats used for this study. Treatment of the rats with A. paniculata showed a dose dependent relationship with the time it took for the blood of the rats to return to the basal blood sugar levels. The study supports the use of the plant in the management and treatment of diabetes

Breast cancer receptor status assessment and clinicopathological association in Nigerian women: A retrospective analysis

Background: Breast cancer markers are becoming increasingly important in breast cancer research due to their impact on prognosis, treatment and survival. The present retrospective study was carried out to quantify the proportion of estrogen (ER), progesterone (PR), and human epithelial receptor 2 (HER2) expressions and their association with tumour grade, age, and tumour size in breast cancer patients in Nigeria. Materials and methods: The paraffin embedded tissue sections were analysed for breast cancer markers using monoclonal antibody SP1 for ER and SP2 for PR and polyclonal antibody ErbB2 for HER2. Results: A total of 286 breast cancer paraffin wax tissue sections were analysed for ER, PR and HER2 expression. Of all the tissue samples examined, 20 (7%) were ER-positive, 6 (2.1%) were PR-positive, 11 (3.8%) were HER2-positive whereas 248 (87%) were triple-negative breast carcinoma. ER- and PR-positivity was associated with early grade I and II tumours (P 50mm (P < 0.0001). Conclusion: A small proportion of Nigerian women with breast cancer are ER/PR-positive which are associated with less aggressive, better prognosis and benefit from endocrine therapy. An even smaller proportion of patients with aggressive tumors were HER2-posivite but responsive to Herceptin treatment. Unfortunately, a very high proportion of cases were triple-negative which is associated with very aggressive tumours and no targeted treatment, which may explain the high mortality rates from breast cancer in Nigeri

Assessing the Connectedness between Corporate Governance Mechanisms and Financial Performance of Listed Oil and Gas Companies in Nigeria

This research examines the nature of relationships that exist between corporate governance mechanisms (board composition, audit committee, board size and corporate governance disclosure) and financial performance (return on equity, profit margin and return on asset) in the Nigerian oil and gas industry. Secondary data from the audited financial statements of the fifteen listed oil and gas companies in Nigeria were employed. The test of hypotheses and other analysis of data were done using Pearson Correlation and regression analysis generated from SPSS, version 17. Findings from the study revealed that insignificant but positive relationship does exist between board composition and the performance of oil and gas companies in Nigeria. Evidence also exist that corporate governance disclosure level has a positive and significant impact on the ROE. This study therefore suggests that board of directors and stakeholders of oil and gas companies in Nigeria should pay more attention towards enhancing the independence of their audit committees and the extent of their corporate governance disclosure in order to enhance their level of profitability

Implementation of Biometric RFID Identification System: A Case Study of Covenant University

The incessant occurrence of examination malpractices among Nigerian students as assumed alarming dimensions. Students have invented different devious schemes in order to beat existing manual procedures that are currently used to certify students for examination and prevent examination malpractices. This paper presents the design and implementation of a biometric RFID system for student authentication during examinations. The class attendance RFID and biometric solution provides access authentication in other to check illegitimate persons from gaining access into designated places. The former procedure is that students had to print their Course Evaluation Sheets, and tender it to invigilators before they are allowed to sit for an exam. This solution came as a response to increased cases of examination mal-practices, which stemmed from students writing answers on the Course Evaluation Sheets. The developed system engages an RFID enabled card or biometric data that is read from a database or a green list to ascertain eligibility, in which case, students are no longer expected to bring any paper to the exam venue. The system has ability to store blacklisted individuals in order to alert or prevent such from individuals gaining access to examination halls. The deployment and active use of the systems in Covenant University reveals the system is efficient and reliable. 36

Data on CaO and eggshell catalysts used for biodiesel production

This researchinvestigatedtheproductionofbiodieselfromsoy- bean oil(transesterification process)usingpurecalciumoxideand calcium oxideobtainedfromeggshellasheterogeneouscatalysts. Uncalcinedeggshellandcalcinedeggshellcatalystsproducedwere analysedusingXRFandXRDspectrometers.Theprocessingpara- meters consideredduringthetransesterification ofthesoybean weremethanol/oilmoleratio,catalystconcentrationandreaction time andtheireffectsonbiodieselyieldwereevaluated.Reaction temperatureof60 °C andstirringrateof450rpm(revolutionper minute) werekeptconstant.Asaresultofcalcination,XRFanalysis revealedanincreaseinCaOpercentagecompositionofeggshell catalystfrom96%to97%.Also,thebiodieselyieldsobtained revealedsimilarperformancepatternsforboththecalcinedegg- shell catalystandthepureCaOcatalys

Electrochemical and thermodynamic investigation of benzenamine as corrosion inhibitor of austenitic stainless steel (type 304) in hydrochloric acid solution

The inhibiting action of benzenamine (BEZ) on the corrosion of type 304 stainless steel in 3M hydrochloric acid was investigated through electrochemical tests. Results show BEZ to be an excellent inhibitor. The compound was observed to be of mixed type in action. Inhibition efficiency increased with increase in BEZ concentration giving an optimal value of 96.14% at 6.25% BEZ concentration from weight loss and 88.7% at 5% BEZ concentration from polarization tests. X-Ray diffractometry revealed the absence of corrosion products. Statistical analysis using ANOVA showed the statistical significance of BEZ concentration on its inhibition efficiency performance. The compound obeyed Langmuir adsorption isotherm