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The roles quality library information plays in education, technology and economic development in Nigeria
Get PDFThe paper discusses the roles of quality library information in technology, education and economic development of Nigeria. The paper gives definitions of library, and types of libraries ranging from school libraries, academic libraries, public libraries and special libraries and the functions that all these libraries perform in the society. The paper mentioned how libraries have contributed to the development of education in Nigeria, through the provision of different types of information materials like books, periodicals and non-prints information resources like information communication technology (ICT).
Key words: Education, technology, information, library and economi
Stages of organisational commitment among librarians in university libraries in south-south, Nigeria
Get PDFDelineation of Subsurface Structures in TOJA Field in the Niger Delta Using Well-Logs and Seismic Data
Get PDFThe subsurface structures delineation of TOJA Field southwest Niger Delta using well-log and seismic data is here presented. The reflectivity seismic amplitude and acoustic impedance, spectra decomposition volume derivatives were used for reservoir delineation. Seismic data and well logs have been integrated through seismic inversion as part of the techniques deployed in the delineation of subsurface structures in the Niger Delta basin. Well logs were tied to seismic data using four wells from four fields in the Niger Delta. Reflectivity seismic data was inverted to generate a 3D distribution of P-impedance in the fields of interest. Fluid and lithology sensitivity analysis including cross-plotting, forward seismic modelling and Gassmann fluid substitution was performed to delineate various subsurface structures. The TOJA prospect is a footwall-closure located behind the main bounding fault, north of the TOJA Field. The Field’s structure is a fault-dependent footwall closure with a dip component in the shallow levels. The structure is bounded by three faults; a large east-west fault forms the boundary between the TOJA Field to the South and the TOJA North Field. This fault is relayed by a minor fault that delimits the south-western end of the accumulation. A northeast-southwest bounding fault separates the TOJA structure from the SATRA accumulations to the east and has a throw of between 200 and 400 ft. The results of this study can lead to a more cost-effective method for defining the Field Development Plan (FDP), through the use of seismically constrained reservoir information that would provide better well placement to achieve improved production
Cyanide adsorption from cassava wastewater onto calcined periwinkle shell
Get PDFLocal cassava processing industries produce large quantities of wastewater containing cyanide which is toxic in nature with negative impacts on the environment when disposed of without treatment. In this study calcined periwinkle shell (CPS) was prepared, characterized and used to adsorb cyanide present in cassava wastewater. Equilibrium studies were conducted in batch set ups to investigate the influence of process variables such as adsorbent dosage, pH, temperature, contact time and initial cyanide concentration on the adsorption process. The highest removal rate of cyanide from cassava wastewater was found to be 78.34% with equilibrium reached at a fixed adsorbent dosage of 3.0 g at contact time of 80 minutes. Cyanide adsorption was also observed to be dependent on pH with the maximum adsorption of cyanide occurring at a pH 10. The percentage of cyanide removed decreased with increase in cyanide concentration. Results from the study confirm calcined periwinkle shell as low-cost and effective adsorbent which can be used for the removal of cyanide from cassava wastewater
Food safety behaviour of household food preparers in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria
Get PDFFood borne illnesses still remain a public health challenge in developing countries. This study examines the Food safety behaviour, here conceptualised simply as a wholistic measure of food safety knowledge and practices, of household food preparers in AkwaIbom State, Nigeria. Cross-sectional data was collected, using a structured questionnaire, based on a multistage sampling procedure resulting in a total of 457 respondents. Specifically, the study estimated the prevalence, margin and intensity of food safety behaviour of household food preparers. As a precursor to measuring prevalence, margin and intensity, twenty nine (29) food safety knowledge items and twenty two (22) food safety practices, a total of 41 items were used as the basis for obtaining a food safety behaviour index, fsbi. This food safety behaviour index is, summarily, a measure of a household food preparers’ food safety knowledge and practices expressed as a proportion of all the food safety knowledge and practice items. The mean fsbi, 0.64, was used to dichotomize household food preparers into well behaved and poorly behaved. The margin and intensity measures are based on the proportion of the household food preparers that are poorly behaved. Additionally, a fractional probitregression was estimated to determine the factors affecting the food safety behaviour of household food preparers in the study area. The results, of the percentage prevalence, show that, given the mean fsbi as critical index, 52% of household food preparers are poorly behaved. A disaggregated mean, another measure of prevalence, reveals that the mean fsbifor poorly behaved and well behaved household food preparers is 0.32 and 0.65 respectively. The mean margins, 0.07 and 0.04, are the figures by which the fsbi of household food preparers that are poorly behaved and all households respectively could be increased to ensure household food preparers are all well behaved. The intensity values, 0.02 and 0.01 indicate that the gap between the poorly behaved and well behaved is wider when the mean proportionate margin is expressed as a function of the total number of households that poorly behaved than the total number of households. Output from the fractional regression reveal that a household food preparer who is educated and confident in safety labels is 0.8% and 6% times more likely to be well behaved than one who is not. It can be concluded based on results that even though the margin between well behaved and poorly behaved is not so intense, much is still left to be desired as regards the overall prevalence of food safety knowledge and practices of households in the study.
Keywords: Food Safety, Prevalence, Margin, Intensity, Fractional Probit Regression
Dietary diversity of households in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria
Get PDFThis study analysed the dietary diversity of households in Akwa Ibom State. Cross-sectional data was collected using a multistage sampling procedure resulting in 457 respondents. Specifically, the study determined the prevalence, margin and intensity of dietary diversity of households based on three critical indices. Additionally, a fractional probit regression was estimated to determine the factors affecting the dietary diversity of households. Based on three critical indices (0.67, 0.87 and 0.59), 90%, 62% and 95% of the population respectively have sufficiently diverse diets. The disaggregated mean prevalence (given the three critical indices) indicates that the difference, in number of food groups consumed, between households with less than diverse and sufficiently diverse diets are five (5), four (4) and eight (8) respectively. The mean margin indicates that, at the minimum, policy may seek to increase the number of food groups consumed by households with less than diverse diets by two food groups. The intensity of the margin at critical index 0.59 is 0.17, showing that the margin of dietary diversity is most critical in this context. Results from the fractional probit regression unveil that education, household income, access to home garden, access to other farmland and ownership of livestock are significant in explaining the probability of households being dietary diverse.
Keywords: Dietary Diversity; Prevalence; Margin; Intensity; Fractional Probit Regressio
Strengthening Health Science Libraries and Information Centres in Nigeria through Library Collaboration: The Role of Librarians
Get PDFObjectives: There is an urgent need for the collaboration between health science libraries and medical research institute in various regions of Nigeria, so as not dissipating their meager resources by trying to specialize in every aspect of medicine at the same time. This need is the after effect of years of economic challenges, insufficient manpower development, dilapidated infrastructure, poor information record keeping, inadequate financial support for research , among many others have resulted in the inability of health sciences libraries and medical research institute to meet up, in a timely manner with the information needs of healthcare providers in Nigeria. Methods: Thirty–four librarians of academic and officer cadre of three first generation university medical colleges and on medical research institute were surveyed.
Results: Findings from the investigation revealed that Increase in depth of collection development, Increase in service to clients, Cost saving and Sharing of resources were the major reasons for library collaborations. Resources in the form of financial, human and leadership were the greatest facilitators to successful collaboration among medical libraries. The collaborators Need and knowledge of the accruable benefits and ability to was the highest factors that facilitated collaboration among medical libraries in Nigeria. Several resources of the libraries are already used for collaboration among medical libraries. These include coping and duplicating, Professional Issues, Inter library lending/loan services, and computerized searches of online data bases are the highest in ranking. The major barriers to library cooperation were Funding and Financial Issues. Poor power supply, lack of vision, fear of loss of control and Lack of telecommunication facilities also constituted barriers.
Conclusion: Collaboration among medical libraries in Nigeria is already in existence and could get better if Library leaders understand their library’s areas of strength, identified their Library resources and services that will promote effective collaboration between their health institutes and other medical libraries in support of free access to health information. It is recommended that Library leaders must take advantage of their library’s area of strength, New Information and communication Technology, the internet and the world wide web in the inter library collaboration in this digital ag
Kinetic Models for Drying Techniques—Food Materials
Get PDFDrying operations can help in reducing the moisture content of food materials for avoidance of microbial growth and deterioration, for shelf life elongation, to minimize packaging and improving storage for easy transportation. Thin-layer drying of materials is necessary to understand the fundamental transport mechanism and a prerequisite to successfully simulate or scale up the whole process for optimization or control of the operating conditions. Re- searchers have shown that to rely solely on experimental drying practices without mathematical considerations for the drying kinetics, can significantly affect the efficiency of dryers, increase the cost of production, and reduce the quality of the dried product. An effective model is necessary for the process design, optimization, energy integration and control; hence, the use of mathematical models in finding the drying kinetics of agricultural products is very important. The statistical criteria in use for the evaluation of the best model(s) has it that coefficient of determination (R2) has to be close to unity while the rest statistical measures will have values tending to zero. In this work, the essence of drying using thin-layer, general approaches to modeling for food drying mechanisms thin layer drying models and optimization of the drying processes have been discussed
Comparative Hematological effects of Cimetidine, ascorbic acid, citrus aurantifolia and tetracarpidium conophorium in adult male albino wistar rats
Get PDFThe day-to-day use of Cimetidine, Vitamin C, consumption of Lime and Walnuts increases globally with its rapid social and medicinal acceptance by both genders. In view of their wide usage especially in Africa, it becomes necessary to ascertain its comparative effects on haematological parameters of male albino wistar rats. Thus to study the effects of cimetidine, ascorbic acid (Vit. C), Citrus aurantifolia (lime) and Tetracarpidium conophorium (walnut) on haematological parameters, ninety six male albino wistar rats weighing 154 g - 281 g were obtained and divided into six groups. Groups A-D had 18 animals per group while Groups E and F had 12 animals each. Groups A-D were further divided into three sub-groups each of six animals per group with sub-group1 as control group, sub-group2 and 3 as experimental groups treated with medium and high doses of cimetidine, Vitamin C, Lime and walnut respectively. Group E and F were divided into two sub-groups of six animals each with sub-group1 as control and sub-group2 as experimental group treated with combined medium doses of cimetidine + Vitamin C and lime + walnut respectively. Administration was done twice daily for 21 days. At the end of the treatment period, blood samples were obtained and analysed for haematological investigation. The results revealed that Cimetidine significantly reduced (p<0.05) WBC, RBC and PCV in medium dose groups compared to control. Lime significant decreased (p<0.05) WBC in medium dose group and Hb in medium and high dose groups compared to control. Combination treatment of Cimetidine and Vitamin C significantly decreased (p<0.05) WBC compared to control. Conclusively, cimetidine and lime interferes with haematopoiesis, Vitamin C has no effect on blood meanwhile Walnut plays a role in blood pressure regulation.
Keywords: Cimetidine Hematological indices, Citrus aurantifolia, haematopoiesis, Tetracarpidium conophorium