Survivorship Of Anopheles gambiae In Relation To Malaria Transmission In Ilorin, Nigeria

For the first time in Africa, an entomological study went beyond the conventional practice of determining parity and survival rates of field-collected adult anopheline mosquitoes but also related these variables to duration of Plasmodium sporogony and estimated the expectation of infective life. Blood-seeking female mosquitoes were collected in Ilorin, Nigeria, from January 2005 to December 2006, and dissected for ovarian tracheations following WHO recommended techniques. The results indicated an annual mean parous rate of 70.92%, and significantly higher parous rates in the rainy than dry season, which also had very low densities. Mean probability of daily survival of the mosquitoes was 0.80, with annual mean life expectancy of 12.24 days. The probability of surviving the sporogonic cycle was low (< 0.4) but the expectation of infective life was long, especially in the rainy season (mean = 8.31 days). The epidemiological implications of these results were discussed. The An. gambiae population in Ilorin is dominated by older mosquitoes with high survival rates thus, suggesting a high vector potential for the species in the area. These information on the survival rates of An. gambiae in relation to malaria transmission would enhance the development of a more focused and informed vector control interventions

Optimization of cell disruption in Raphidocelis subcapitata and Chlorella vulgaris for biomarker evaluation

Raphidocelis subcapitata and Chlorella vulgaris are bioassay microalgae with rigid cellulosic cell wall which can hinder the release of intracellular proteins often studied as toxicity biomarkers. Since cell disruption is necessary for recovering intracellular biomolecules in these organisms, this study investigated the efficiency of ultrasonication bath; ultrasonication probe; vortexer; and bead mill in disintegrating the microalgae for anti-oxidative enzyme extraction. The extent of cell disruption was evaluated and quantified using bright field microscopy. Disrupted algae appeared as ghosts. The greatest disintegration of the microalgae (83-99.6 %) was achieved using bead mill with 0.42-0.6 mm glass beads while the other methods induced little or no disruption. The degree of cell disruption using bead mill increased with exposure time, beads-solution ratio and agitation speed while larger beads caused less disruption. Findings revealed that bead milling, with specific parameters optimized, is one of the most effective methods of disintegrating the robust algal cells

Teachers’ Classroom management and Quality Assurance of Students’ Learning Outcome in Secondary Schools in Ondo State, Nigeria

Abstract. The study assessed teachers’ classroom management strategies, the level of teachers' classroom instructional tasks and determined the effect on students’ academic performance, and further examined the constraints in classroom management in secondary schools in Akure South Local Government Area of Ondo State, Nigeria. Descriptive survey and ex post facto research designs were adopted. Five research questions and two hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. The sample consisted of 854 respondents, made up of 560 students, 280 teachers and 14 principals selected from 14 secondary schools using simple random sampling technique. Data were collected using “Teachers’ Classroom Management Strategies Questionnaire” (TCMSQ), and “Students’ Academic Performance Proforma” (SAPP). Data were analyzed, using percentage, mean score and Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient at alpha level of 0.05. Findings showed significant relationship between teachers’ classroom management and students’ academic performance (r-cal = 0.307, p&lt;0.05), and significant relationship between teachers' instructional tasks and students' academic performance (r-cal=0.689, p&lt;0.05), while teachers were effective in classroom management strategies as reflected in preparation of lesson notes (71.4%), communication skill (63.6%), students’ motivation (62.5%), group interaction (71.4%) and exemplary behaviour (64.3%). The major constraints faced by teachers were excessive workload (56.4%), ill-equipped laboratory (57.9%), ill-equipped library (63.6%), shortage of instructional materials (64.3%), lack of students’ learning materials (64%) and congested class size (75%). Based on the findings, it was recommended that the Government should employ adequate number of qualified teachers to reduce instructional workload to manageable level. Also, Government in collaboration with the Parents - Teachers Association and other Development Partners should provide adequate learning facilities and materials that would improve classroom management and students’ learning outcome in secondary schools.Keywords. Classroom management, Technique, Facilities, Instructional materials, Learning outcome.JEL. H52, H75 I21

A model of political selection for good governance in Africa

This paper sought to outline mechanisms for selecting high quality leaders into public office having identified the failure of political leadership as the bane of economic development and democracy in Africa. In the first stage of the screening process, certain elements of costs are imposed on the intending politicians so as to deter the entry of dishonest politicians into politics. This is accomplished via the inverse relationship between the degree of honest and the costs of participation. The unique thing is that separating equilibrium that makes participation costs zero for honest individuals and heavy for their dishonest counterparts could in principle be obtained. Interestingly the mechanisms that generate information about the past of intending politicians also impose heavy costs on groups which supply this information. This process should yield an equilibrium that includes only honest and competent politicians in the political system, leading to more accelerate economic development

Oxidative stress responses and cellular energy allocation changes in microalgae following exposure to widely used human antibiotics

The individual effect of four human antibiotics on the microalgae Raphidocelis subcapitata was investigated following a 120-h exposure. The effects were assessed by analyzing growth, and biochemical parameters related with: 1) antioxidant capacity and oxidative damage by measuring superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and lipid peroxidation (LPO) levels; and 2) cellular energy allocation (CEA) by quantifying the content in energy reserves, which represents the energy available (Ea), and the electron transport system activity that represents a measure of oxygen and cellular energy consumption (Ec). Growth yield inhibitory concentrations of sulfamethoxazole (18-30%), clarithromycin (28.7%), ciprofloxacin (28%) and erythromycin (17-39%) were found to elicit a considerable increase in Ec, thereby causing a significant decrease in the CEA. The elevated Ec can be a result of the need to respond to oxidative stress occurring under those conditions given the significant increase in SOD activity at these levels. For sulfamethoxazole, erythromycin and ciprofloxacin, the antioxidant responses do not seem to be enough to cope with the reactive oxygen species and prevent oxidative damage, given the elevated LPO levels observed. A stimulatory effect on growth yield was observed (up to 16%) at ciprofloxacin lowest concentration, which highly correlated with the increase in CEA. Based on the no observed effect concentration (NOECs) and/or effective concentration (EC10) results, Ec, SOD and CEA were more sensitive than the classical endpoint of growth rate for all the tested antibiotics. By revealing the antibiotic stress effects in R. subcapitata at the cellular level, this study suggests CEA as a more reliable indicator of the organisms' physiological status.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Marginal Benefit Incidence Analysis of Public Spending in Nigeria

This study estimates the progressivity of benefit, the average benefit incidence and the marginal benefit incidence of public spending on selected public services in Nigeria, using data from the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS) 2004 Living Standard Household Survey. The analyses were carried out using Distributive Analysis Stata Package (DASP) 2.1. The results of the analyses show that spending on public services in Nigeria is not pro-poor. The marginal benefit incidence of spending on public services in Nigeria indicates that the poorest group only benefits more than the richest group from extra spending on public services which they already have relatively high access to. Finally, we use the findings of this study to formulate policy recommendations to make public spending in Nigeria pro-poor in order to accelerate the speed at which the poor enjoy additional benefits from increased access to public services in the country.Marginal Benefit, Public Spending, Nigeria

NIGERIA’S 2015 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION: BETWEEN DEMOCRATIC CONSOLIDATION AND CHANGE

The conduct of the 2015 Presidential election in Nigeria recorded mixed outcomes. Although fears that Election Day would be marred by serious violence were allayed to a large extent, some instances of technical hitches, vote buying and other forms of electoral manipulations were recorded in some parts. However, these electoral hitches were not sufficient to alter the expected outcome of the election. For the first time in Nigeria’s political history, an incumbent president lost power in a general election. Has Nigeria’s democracy consolidated satisfactorily? The burden of this paper is to examine the trajectories of the 2015 presidential election relying on both qualitative and quantitative methods of research. The paper concludes that much has to be done if Nigeria’s democracy is to scale the second turn-over test Huntington establishes as the bench mark which if a new democracy survives two turnovers of power, then it has consolidated satisfactoril

Alkali activation of fayalite slag

In this thesis, alkali activation of fayalite slag was investigated. The slag utilized is a waste by product from nickel production, the activation of which resulted in the formation of a geopolymer binder of acceptable properties. The need for a reduction in overall waste output as well as the cementitious properties exhibited by this slag motivated this study. The literature section of this research provides an insight on the previous work in the area of geopolymerization, the source materials used, the activators employed as well as the properties exhibited by various geopolymer products. The experimental section reports the particle size distribution and particle size optimization as well as geopolymer synthesis. The size reduction was carried out by milling for a required time while the particle size optimization and mix design was done with “Elkem Material Mixture Analyser (EMMA). The milling reduced the particle size of fayalite slag to 10.08 µm after 3 hours which is sufficient fineness for most geopolymer precursors. Different mix compositions were activated with potassium silicate and sodium hydroxide at varying mass ratio with the one activated with 50:50 mass ratio of NaOH /K₂SiO₃ had the highest mechanical strength. The workability and setting time were good for the mixtures with liquid to solid ratio from 0.1–0.2. Compressive strength test were carried out on various mix compositions and the result shows the maximum compressive strength of 16.5 MPa was achieved at room temperature after 28 days. The water absorption was very low (5%). It was also noticed that the strength after water absorption was higher than the unconfined compressive strength due to subjection of slag geopolymer to elevated temperature before water absorption. The alkali activation of fayalite slag has shown promising properties which could further be improved for better mechanical performance