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UHPLC/GC-TOF-MS metabolomics, MTT assay, and molecular docking studies reveal physostigmine as a new anticancer agent from the ethyl acetate and butanol fractions of Kigelia africana (Lam.) Benth. fruit extracts
Get PDFStaff PublicationKigelia africana plant is widely used as a herbal remedy in preventing the onset and
the treatment of cancer-related infections. With the increase in the research interest
of the plant, the specific chemical compound or metabolite that confers its anticancer
properties has not been adequately investigated. The ethyl acetate and butanol
fractions of the fruit extracts were evaluated by 2-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-
3,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide assay against four different cell lines, with the
ethyl acetate fraction having inhibition concentration values of 0.53 and 0.42 μM
against Hep G2 and HeLa cells, respectively. More than 235 phytoconstituents were
profiled using UHPLC-TOF-MS, while more than 15 chemical compounds were
identified using GC–MS from the fractions. Molecular docking studies revealed that
physostigmine, fluazifop, dexamethasone, sulfisomidine, and desmethylmirtazapine
could favorably bind at higher binding energies of –8.3, –8.6, –8.2, and –8.1 kcal/mol,
respectively, better than camptothecin with a binding energy of –7.9 kcal/mol. The
results of this study showed that physostigmine interacted well with topoisomerase
IIα and had a high score of pharmacokinetic prediction using absorption, distribution,
metabolism, excretion, and toxicity profiles, thereby suggesting that drug design
using physostigmine as a base structure could serve as an alternative against the
toxic side effects of doxorubicin and camptothecin
The experiences of work-life balance, stress, and coping lifestyles of female professionals: insights from a developing country
Get PDFPurpose – Given the limiting conditions of the gender roles confronting professional working women and
drawing on spillover theory, the purpose of this paper is to explore the experiences of work-life balance with an
emphasis on the causes of the imbalances, perceived stress, and coping techniques experienced by female
medical doctors in an African context – Nigeria, a geographical location that is considered under-researched.
Design/methodology/approach – The qualitative data is based on one-to-one in-depth interviews with 52
Nigerian female medical doctors.
Findings – Based on the findings of the thematic analysis, it is clear that time squeeze, as a well-known factor
in the medical profession, exacerbates negative work-home interference. However, other themes, such as
patriarchal proclivities and task-pay disparity, that affect female doctors but are rarely considered in studies on
work-life balance also emerged as sources of stress and work-family conflicts, leaving these doctors to devise
individual coping methods as mitigating strategies.
Research limitations/implications – The study relies on a limited qualitative sample size, which makes the
generalisation of findings difficult. However, the study contributes to the limited literature on the implications
of stress and work-family incompatibilities facing women in a society that is not particularly egalitarian, with
an extremely pronounced culture of masculine hegemony that is contrary to western cultures. The article
unveils the socio-cultural difficulties of the work-life demands facing women specific to the Nigerian society
and experienced with a different level of intensity.
Originality/value – The majority of the research on work-life balance has been undertaken in western
countries and has focused on various professional groups and organisations, including the health sector.
Nevertheless, work-life balance is a novel concept within the Nigerian work environment, where female medical
doctors, as a professional group, are rarely studied. The article also provides valuable insights into the macrocontextual features influencing the work-life balance of Nigerian professional women
Marine Actinobacteria Bioflocculant: A Storehouse of Unique Biotechnological Resources for Wastewater Treatment and Other Applications
Get PDFStaff PublicationThe bioactive compounds produced by actinobacteria have played a major role in
antimicrobials, bioremediation, biofuels, enzymes, and anti-cancer activities. Biodegradable microbial
flocculants have been produced by bacteria, algae, and fungi. Microbial bioflocculants have also
attracted biotechnology importance over chemical flocculants as a result of degradability and
environmentally friendly attributes they possess. Though, freshwater actinobacteria flocculants
have been explored in bioflocculation. Yet, there is a paucity of information on the application
of actinobacteria flocculants isolated from the marine environment. Similarly, marine habitats
that supported the biodiversity of actinobacteria strains in the field of biotechnology have been
underexplored in bioflocculation. Hence, this review reiterates the need to optimize culture conditions
and other parameters that a ect bioflocculant production by using a response surface model or
artificial neural network
AGRITOURISM DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNAL SOCIOECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY IN NIGERIA
Get PDFAgritourism is a new form of tourism practice that is gradually gaining global recognition. The combination of agricultural activities with tourism services, is known as “Agritourism”. It is a medium for promoting participation in agricultural activities and physical development. This form of tourism can be considered as a key approach to rural development, if properly managed.This paper examines how agriculture could be promoted through tourism by the fusion of both sectors to develop more socio-economic opportunities for the host community. This study is focused on accessing the agritourism potentials of Afe Babalola University (ABUAD) farm in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria. Quantitative and qualitative methods of research were adopted through interviews and questionnaires: These were administered through the use of random and purposive sampling method to gather important data. Data gathered were presented in the form of descriptive and inferential statistics with the aid of simple percentage analysi
Lattice constant prediction of A2XY6 cubic crystals (A = K, Cs, Rb, TI; X = tetravalent cation; Y = F, Cl, Br, I) using computational intelligence approach
No full textLattice constant mismatch between materials affects the quality of thin film fabrication. For this reason, lattice constants information is vital in the design of materials for technological applications. The determination of lattice constants via experimental analysis is relatively expensive and laborious. As a result, several linear empirical models have been proposed to predict the lattice constant of crystal structures. However, the accuracies of these models are limited partly due to their failure to account for nonlinearity in the atomic parameters-lattice constant relationship. Machine learning techniques have shown excellent ability to deal with nonlinear problems in many areas of materials science; hence, they are considered suitable computation tools to study the crystal structure of materials. In this contribution, we developed a support vector regression (SVR) model to predict the lattice constant of cubic crystals of the form A2XY6 (A = K, Cs, Rb, TI; X = tetravalent cation; and Y = F, Cl, Br, I). The SVR algorithm uses the ionic radii and electronegativities data of the constituent elements of A2XY6 cubic crystals as model inputs. The robustness of the proposed model was demonstrated by comparing our result with an existing linear model based on 26 cubic crystal samples. The result revealed a total relative deviation of 1.757 and 2.704 for the SVR model and the existing linear equation, respectively. This result proves that the SVR model has a huge potential in the search for new materials for different applications
EVOLVING STRATEGIES TO OVERCOME NEW CHALLENGES IN UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATION
Get PDF4th annual Registry Lectur
Host communities' perception of oil companies' corporate social responsibility for managing conflict in Nigeria's Niger Delta
No full textThis paper examined what host communities of oil companies operating in the Niger Delta think about the corporate social responsibility programmes of the oil companies as conflict management measures. The study sought to provide answers to the following research questions: what is the knowledge of the host communities about CSR programmes which the oil companies are executing in the Niger Delta for managing conflicts in their host communities?; to what extent are the host communities satisfied with the CSR programmes of the oil companies in resolving conflicts in the Niger Delta?; and what do the host communities consider as impediments to effective implementation of CSR programmes by the oil companies as conflict management tools. The study was guided by the social conflict theory. Data were generated through direct in-depth interviews with four respondents representing four communities, two in Delta State and two in Rivers State. The qualitative mode was adopted for analysis and discussion. Findings show that host communities have a high level of knowledge of CSR programmes of the oil companies, but the host communities are dissatisfied with the oil companies because of continued environmental degradation and increasing rate of poverty in the host communities
Attainment of Decent Work and Inclusive Economic Growth Targets: A Preliminary Analysis of Nigeria's Performance
Get PDFIT is now four years since the United Nations adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for transforming the world by 2030. Since then, Nigeria, like other member-states of the world body, has been implementing various strategic policy interventions to achieve the goals.
In this edition of the SDGs Monitor, we track Nigeria's progress in the implementation of two of the global goals – Decent Work and Economic Growth (SDG 8) and Reduced Inequalities (SDG 10). Our first research report is a preliminary assessment of Nigeria's efforts to attain eight out of the twelve targets of SDG8, with eight indicators as the variables. Results from the research reveal that the country is not on track with respect to achieving SGD 8. Both the performance scores of the individual indicators and the aggregate score at goal level show low performance. Four of the indicators show declining performance while the remaining four recorded only a moderate increase. The implication is that the various policy interventions of government to achieve the Goal are either inefficient or insufficient.
The study, written by two of our consultants, Justine Tochukwu Nwanakwere of the Nigeria Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER), Ibadan, and Prof. Fidelis Obioma Ogwumike of the Department of Economics, University of Ibadan, recommends – among other things – that government should make concerted and pragmatic efforts to diversify the economy. This will not only lead to the growth of the non-oil sectors of the economy, but will also accelerate the productivity and decent employment contribution of these non-oil sectors. The study also recommends that there should be a broader review of labour productivity and the reward system to cater for both those engaged in the public and in the organised private sectors, and to shore-up the proportion of decent jobs in the economy.
The second research report by two different consultants, Dr. Joseph O. Ogebe of the University of Ibadan and Dr. Adedeji P. Adeniran of the Centre for the Study of the Economies of Africa (CSEA) is a dynamic assessment of inequality in Nigeria. The study employed the Gini coefficient, the Theil Index and Palma's ratio to measure inequality in the country, using the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS)/World Bank General Household Surveys of 2010, 2013 and 2015 datasets for Nigeria. Their review finds that the household consumption expenditure of the bottom 40 per cent grew slower than the national average in 2013 and 2015. The study reveals a widening gap between the rich and the poor in Nigeria, showing that the country hasa long way to go to achieve SDG 10. To put Nigeria on the path to attaining SDG 10 and reducing inequality in the country, the study recommends a rethink of government policies on social protection, taxation and employment.
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Global Genetic Cartography of Urban Metagenomes and Anti-Microbial Resistance
Get PDFAlthough studies have shown that urban environments and mass-transit systems have geospa-tially distinct metagenomes, no study has ever systematically studied these dense, human/microbial ecosystems around the world. To address this gap in knowledge, we created a global metagenomic and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) atlas of urban mass transit systems from 58 cities, spanning 3,741 samples and 4,424 taxonomically-defined microorganisms collected for three years. The map provides annotated, geospatial data about microbial strains, functional genetics, antimicrobial resistance, and novel genetic elements, including 10,928 novel predicted viral species. Urban microbiomes often resemble human commensal microbiomes from the skin and airways but contain a consistent “core” of 61 species which are predominantly not human commensal species. These data also show that AMR density across cities varies by several orders of magnitude with many AMRs present on plasmids with cosmopolitan distributions. Conversely, samples may be accurately (91.4%) classified to their city-of-origin using a linear support vector machine over taxa. Together, these results constitute a high-resolution global metagenomic atlas, which enables the discovery of new genetic components of the built human environment, forensic application, and an essential first draft of the global AMR burden of the world’s cities
Job-related Stress and Job Performance among Librarians in University Libraries in Nigeria
Get PDFThis study investigated the incidence of job-related stress and how it affects job performance
of librarians and library officers. Three universities in Lagos State, Nigeria were selected for
the study. The study adopted a survey method and questionnaire was used to gather data from
86 librarians and library officers from the university libraries. The study revealed that jobrelated stress is prevalent among the librarians and library officers. It identified lack of
opportunity for career development, low salary/compensation, work interference with family
time, the absence of training, lack of motivation, lack of co-operation and lack of conducive
working environment as factors responsible for job stress. The study further identified low
productivity, increased absenteeism, hypertension, job dissatisfaction, frustration, depression
and negative job attitude as effects of stress on the job performance of librarians and library
officers as consequences of stress. The study concluded that librarians and library officers in
Lagos state experienced the stress of exhaustion and burnout resulting from too many
routines leading to tiredness and lack of enthusiasm, lack of motivation and frustration. They
also experience time-related stresses which include a shortage of time to attend to students
with different information needs almost at the same time and time to meet up with
publications, The study recommends efficient and effective service delivery in the nation's
university libraries, parent institutions should help in reducing sources of stress among library
staff in university libraries, among others