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Onion and garlic extracts as potential antidotes for cadmium‐induced biochemical alterations in prostate glands of rats
Get PDFCadmium (Cd) has been implicated in increased prostate gland malignancy risk in both wildlife and humans. This study examines the chemoprotective roles of onion and garlic extracts on Cd‐induced biochemical alterations in the prostate glands of rats. Adult male Wistar rats were randomly divided into nine groups: control group received double distilled water; Cd group received Cd alone (1.5 mg/100 g bwt per day); extract‐treated groups were pre‐treated with varied doses of onion and/or garlic extract (0.5 ml and 1.0 ml/100 g bwt per day) for 1 week and then co‐treated with Cd (1.5 mg/100 g bwt per day) for additional 3 weeks. Oxidant/antioxidant status and acid phosphatase (ACPtotaland ACPprostatic) activity were examined in prostate glands. Cd intoxication caused a marked (P < 0.001) increase in lipid peroxidation (LPO) and glutathione S‐transferase (GST) levels, whereas glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase and catalase levels were markedly (P < 0.001) decreased. We also observed significant (P < 0.001) decrease in ACPtotal and ACPprostatic activities in prostate glands and a concomitant significant (P < 0.001) increase in the plasma. However, treatment of Cd‐intoxicated rats with onion and/or garlic extract significantly minimised these alterations. The onion extract offered a dose‐dependent protection. Our findings suggest a chemoprotective capability for onion and garlic extracts against Cd‐induced biochemical alteration in the prostate glands
Perception about being an aged person in South-Western Nigeria
Get PDFThis paper investigates the perception about being an aged person in SouthWestern Nigeria. 594 aged persons were interviewed through questionnaire
administration in Lagos and Oyo states of South-western Nigeria. The
univariate, bivariate and One-way Analysis of variance (F-ratios) were employed
in the analyses of this research. The major findings of this study are: firstly, the
univariate and bivariate results indicate that there is low-perception about being
an aged person. Secondly, One-way Analysis of variance (F-ratios) show that the
study location, age category, means of livelihood; and usual place of residence
(Oyo and Lagos state rural settings) have significant influences on perception
about being an aged person in South-Western Nigeria. Thus, the paper
recommends the following: firstly, that aged persons from Lagos state who are
50-79 years should begin to admit from now that they are ‘elderly people’
despite the fact that some of them are retired and still physically active.
Secondly, the salary earners who are still working as well as Lagos-rural
dwellers should urgently assume their roles as elders both in the families and in
larger Nigerian society
Intelligent temperature control of a tropical post-harvest storage system
Get PDFControl of the complex nonlinear post-harvest storage process is essential to guarantee food
security. Intelligent means of control come very handy in handling nonlinear processes. In
this research an optimal fuzzy logic controller (FLC) is developed and simulated in MATLAB,
with a post harvest storage system model for temperature control of cylindrically shaped
foods. Using performance indices such as root mean square error (RMSE) and product mean
temperature difference (PMTD), the FLC is optimized through a search process considering
two factors, namely, type and number of membership functions (MFs). Several common
membership functions (Gaussian, Gbell, Trapezoidal, Triangular and a combined Triangular/
Trapezoidal MFs) were tested with varying sizes of 3, 5 and 7 numbers of MFs. The combined
type (Triangular MF with trapezoidal shoulders) with RMSE value of 2.4344 and PMTD value
of 5.4649 was found to have the best performance
Comparative analysis of exhaust gases obtained in S.I and C.I of an internal combustion engine
Get PDFThis paper is aimed at analyzing, determining and comparing the composition of exhaust gases of automobile ICE through experimental determination of the exhaust gas values at different loads and speeds of both engines; and determination of the effect of engine speeds and loads on exhaust emissions of both engines.ICE which could be spark ignition (S.I) or compression ignition (C.I) engine is one of the building blocks of modern civilization. In light of this, an effective engine should be able to contribute immensely to a safe environment. Numerous factors like fuel economy, power and torque, reliability, pollution, safety and cost are necessary in determining and comparing the effectiveness of the engines. This paper identifies, examines and compares the rate of incombustible particles present in the engines (S.I and C.I) at varying loading and speed conditions via exhaust gas detector. Post-hoc analysis was carried out using SPSS. It was discovered that CO and HC are the most dangerous incombustible particles present in engines and also the incombustible rate is more pronounced in C.I than S.I engine, which confirmed that S.I. engine is far better in terms of pollution reduction. Probable recommendations were later made.Self-sponsore
Library Consortia in Nigeria and the Place of ICT
Get PDFLibrary Consortia implies the coming together of two or more libraries in a formal agreement to share their resources. The essence is that no library can boast of acquiring all the published literature in the world to render effective and efficient services for their users. Islam (2013) cited Manan (1998) and explained that libraries have been cooperating and collaborating on collection building for many years, he further stressed that the aim of library consortia is to maximize the availability of and access to information and service at a minimum cost, consortia enables the participating libraries to leverage shrinking budget, learn from each others, build better tools together and serve their users better by taking advantage of one another’s collection (Borek, 2006)
1976 Universal Primary Education and Schooling Attainment in Nigeria
Get PDFThis study examines causal impact of 1976 Universal Primary Education (UPE) on individual schooling attainment in the Nigeria. This study exploits the quasi-natural experiment offered by the large-scale government investment in Universal Primary Education between 1976 and 1981 to confront the identification problems associated with this kind of study. Results from the Differences-in-Differences technique established that the UPE programme had positive and statistically significant impact on schooling attainment of beneficiaries. After controlling for all a large number of variables in the DID framework, exposure to UPE programme increases schooling attainment by 0.15 year. A formal test does not suggest that omitted variables might be influencing schooling outcomes
Community-focused selective dissemination of information services for empowering women through information provision and utilization: Center for learning resources as a catalyst for social change.
Get PDFWith the rapidity of transformation of the modern society to a knowledge economy, as well as the ever increasing deployment of ICT for retrieval and management of knowledge by libraries, global solutions are now available for hitherto localized and seemingly intractable problems. As laudable as this scenario of a flat world which provides information for virtually any issue of human concern, in unimaginable dimension, may seem, there still exists the need to bridge the yawning gap in women’s information access and utilization in Nigeria. It is against this background that the study surveyed and show-cased practical outreach undertaken by the Centre for Learning Resources (Covenant University Library) in addressing particular information needs of women within its environs. The paper highlighted community impact initiatives, workshops, and research targeted at ameliorating specific deficiencies associated with women through the instrumentality of information access and library services. The study extrapolated from the unique experiences of the Centre for Learning Resources, Covenant University to construct a model for modern libraries in developing countries for evolving as agent of reconstruction of their immediate geo-polity. It identified constraints of libraries in community services. The paper concluded that libraries should traverse traditional roles to embrace challenges presented by their peculiar setting in order to maintain continuous relevance
Incidence of human adenoviruses and Hepatitis A virus in the final effluent of selected wastewater treatment plants in Eastern Cape Province, South Africa
Get PDFMunicipal effluent constitutes a large reservoir of human enteric viruses and bacteria. Contemporary monitoring practices rely on indicator bacteria, and do not test for viruses. Different viruses, including Norwalk-like viruses, Hepatitis A virus (HAV), adenoviruses, and rotaviruses, are important agents of illnesses in humans. The burden of disease caused by adenoviruses manifests as pneumonia, bronchiolitis, otitis media, conjunctivitis, and tonsillitis, whereas HAV infection can manifest as acute inflammatory diseases of the liver, fever, anorexia, malaise, nausea, and abdominal discomfort, followed by jaundice and dark urine. The public health implications of these viruses depend upon the physiological status of the wastewater microbial community
The Nature and Outcomes of Emotion Work in Customer Service Management
Get PDFThe purpose of this paper is to explore views of call centre employees working in Nigeria on the nature
and consequences of emotional labour management during customer service interactions. Literature
reveals lack of knowledge of this research area in an African context while a significant number of
similar studies exist in Anglo-Saxon countries. Thus, this study was conducted in one of the Nigerian call
centres. Using a social constructivist paradigm for the research analysis, semi-structured interviews were
carried out among 50 Nigerian call centre agents. Findings revealed differences in terms of how affective
delivery experiences was conceptualised and also perceived as a predictor of work stress when emotions
are excessively regulated. In addition, organisationally-based solutions that can extenuate the negative
after-effects of affective delivery that impairs well-being were suggested. In essence, the implication of
the study is to unveil how call centre organisations existing in non-Western regions can better target and
improve emotion work intrinsic of these frontline job
Development of Brain-Controlled Assistive Feeding System
Get PDFFeeding difficulties and malnutrition are common phenomena in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients, locked in patients and people with upper limb disability. Feeding is often time consuming, unpleasant, and may result in choking or asphyxiation. Nowadays, robotic aids are applied to assist these people for eating. However, assistive robots that require movements from the user are not suitable for people with critical disabilities, including sensory losses, and/or difficulty in basic physical mobility. In this regard, a robotic system that can be controlled merely by brain signals is quite a remarkable aid. Therefore, based on the requirements for real-time assistive robot a prototype of an EEG-based feeding robot is proposed. The proposed feeding system enables the target group to eat independently. Experimental results show that the developed system is able to perform the required tasks, in real-time, with tolerable errors of around 17% in average. This amount of error can be further supervised to be reduced or in some cases even eliminated