Nnamdi Azikiwe University Journals
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BOARD DIVERSITY AND PERFORMANCE OF DEPOSIT MONEY BANKS IN NIGERIA
No full textThis study investigated the role of board diversity in the performance of deposit money banks in Nigeria, with a focus on gender diversity, board composition, and board expertise. The study was guided by six objectives, which examined the relationship between these diversity attributes and two measures of financial performance, which are return on equity (ROE) and return on assets (ROA). Anchored on agency theory, resource dependence theory, and stakeholder perspectives, the research emphasized the importance of board oversight, monitoring, and inclusiveness in reducing agency costs and improving governance quality. An ex-post facto research design was adopted, relying on secondary data from the annual reports of First Bank Plc and United Bank for Africa Plc covering 2015–2024. Panel data analysis involving descriptive statistics, correlation, and regression techniques was employed to establish the relationships among variables. The findings revealed that gender diversity moderately and positively influenced ROE while exerting a weak positive effect on ROA, implying that the presence of women on boards enriches decision-making but is not a sole driver of financial performance. Board composition was found to have a negative relationship with both ROE and ROA, suggesting that excessively large or unbalanced boards hinder efficiency and accountability. Conversely, board expertise diversity had strong positive associations with both performance measures, underscoring the importance of appointing directors with diverse professional backgrounds in finance, law, economics, and management. The study concludes that while gender diversity improves inclusiveness, board expertise diversity remains the most decisive factor in enhancing shareholder value and resource utilization, and it recommends competence-based board appointments and policies that promote balanced and inclusive governance structures.
 
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN NIGERIAN PHYSIOTHERAPY: EXPLORING IMPLEMENTATION CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
No full textBackground: Artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a transformative tool in healthcare, with growing relevance in physiotherapy for improving assessment, diagnosis, and treatment planning. However, the integration of AI into clinical practice, particularly in low-resource settings such as Anambra State, Nigeria, faces numerous challenges.
Aim: To identify the facilitators and barriers of AI applications in physiotherapy practices in Anambra state.
Materials and methods: This study was a cross-sectional which used a convenience sampling technique to recruit 60 physiotherapists residing and/or working in Anambra State’s health facilities. Data were collected using a self-structured questionnaire and analysed using descriptive statistics.
Results: Most participants (53.3%) were female, within the age group of 30–39 years. Most participants (88.0%) indicated that they had never used AI during treatment. Approximately 53.3% identified social media as the platform where they sourced information about the application of AI in physiotherapy, and 98.3% indicated that the application of AI cannot replace physiotherapists. Wearable devices were identified as the most impactful AI tool. The inability of AI to manage all patients’ health conditions or impairments, cost of AI equipment and treatment, and acceptance and adoption of AI technologies were identified as the major barriers.
Conclusions: The findings indicated limited application of AI among physiotherapists, despite the potential for improvement through various supportive measures. Factors such as funding availability, training programs, and access to AI-powered platforms can significantly enhance the integration of AI in healthcare practices
RELEVANCE OF URINE RAPID TEST IN THE DIAGNOSIS OF MALARIA AMONG FEBRILE CHILDREN AGED 1-10 YEARS IN SOUTH EASTERN NIGERIA
No full textBackground: Early diagnosis, prompt and effective treatments are the basis for the management of malaria and key to reducing the associated morbidity and mortality. Laboratory diagnostic challenges exist because clinical diagnosis is imprecise and leads to excessive use of antimalarial drugs. Thus there is need to introduce other non-invasive rapid diagnostic tools in order to achieve the goal of universal access to malaria diagnosis.
Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the reliability and usefulness of urine malaria test in the diagnosis of malaria among febrile children aged 1-10 years.
Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study in which 212 febrile children aged 1-10 years were consecutively recruited. Socio-demographic and clinical data of the subjects were obtained using interviewer-administered questionnaires. Each of the subjects were screened for malaria using blood and urine based malaria test kits respectively. Blood samples from each subjects were also sent to the laboratory for malaria microscopy.
Results: Out of 212 subjects studied, 38 subjects (17.9%) had malaria parasitaemia based on microscopy. The prevalence of malaria based on blood-based malaria rapid diagnostic test and urine malaria test were 21.7% and 9% respectively. Microscopy as the gold standard for malaria diagnosis compared to other diagnostic modalities.
Conclusion: In view of the low sensitivity of urine malaria test in this study, there is need for further improvement in the sensitivity of urine malaria test before it can be used alone as screening/diagnostic test for malaria in our locality
ASSESSMENT OF MICROBIAL AND PARASITIC CONTAMINATION ON NIGERIAN CURRENCY NOTES AT NNAMDI AZIKIWE UNIVERSITY, AWKA NIGERIA
No full textBackground: The pervasive use of currency notes in daily transactions makes them a potential vector for microbial contamination. Despite this there remains a notable lack of comprehensive studies specifically addressing the extent and types of microbial contamination present on Nigerian currency.
Aim: This study evaluated the bacterial and parasitic contamination of Nigerian currency notes at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka.
Method: A cross-sectional study design was employed for this research. Currency notes were gathered from various locations on campus. A total of 70 samples of Nigerian currency notes were randomly collected. Samples were prepared for bacterial culture by swabbing with sterile saline moistened cotton swabs. Bacteria were cultured on Salmonella Shigella media, incubated, and analysed for colony characteristics. Remaining samples underwent microscopic examination for protozoan parasites after centrifugation and resuspension.
Result: The identified protozoan parasites included Entamoeba histolytica, Entamoeba coli, and Enterobius vermicularis, with contamination rates of 35.7%, 57.1%, and 7.1%, respectively. Statistical analysis indicated no significant association between parasite species and overall prevalence (P = 0.06). Bacterial isolates included Klebsiella spp., Proteus spp., and Escherichia coli, with prevalence rates of 50%, 25%, and 25%, respectively, and no significant association between bacterial species and prevalence (P = 0.4). Notably, polymer notes (10 to 50 naira) exhibited a 0.00% contamination rate, while paper notes showed varying prevalence: 35.7% for 100 naira, 28.6% for 200 naira, 14.3% for 500 naira, and 21.4% for 1000 naira. A significant association was found between currency denomination and prevalence (P = 0.01). Furthermore, the physical condition of the notes influenced contamination levels, with mutilated notes demonstrating the highest contamination rate (22.97± 4.51%). However, no significant association (P = 0.2).
Conclusion: The findings underscore the potential health risks posed by contaminated currency and highlight the need for public awareness and hygiene measures
Investigating thermal effect of castor seed shell use as cement raw mix admixture
No full textThis study investigated the thermal effect of castor seed shell inclusion as a cement raw mix admixture. Four samples of cement raw mix were designed using different formulations. Samples 1, 3, 4 have castor seed shell additive while sample 2 is the control of the research and was designed without castor seed shell additive. Temperature measurement recorded during the calcination of the raw mix showed that for samples 1, 3 and 4, the inclusion of castor seed introduced fluxes into the mix and acted as an additional fuel which rapidly increased the calcination temperature and resulting in a more rapid dissociation of raw mix thereby lessening the time needed for the formation of the clinker by 30 minutes and above. Thermogravimetric analysis of the samples showed that the inclusion of castor seed shell in the cement raw mix impacted positively on the thermal stability of the cement sample. Sample 1 had the highest thermal stability and two stages of decomposition. However, the inclusion of castor seed in sample 1, 3 and 4 resulted in an increased loss in mass above the thermal stability temperature. Sample 2 had a four-stage decomposition process when heated at a constant rate to a temperature of 10000C but exhibited a higher level of thermal stability temperature higher than sample 3 and 4
Performance Evaluation of Clarithromycin as Aluminum Corrosion Inhibitor in H2SO4 Media
No full textThe potency of expired clarithromycin (CM) as an inhibitor for controlling aluminum (Al) corrosion in 1 M H2SO4 was studied using weight loss, impedance spectroscopy, and polarization measurements as experimental methods, and density functional theory (DFT) as theoretical method. The relevant groups in the inhibitor were identified with infrared spectroscopy. The heteroatoms detected by the infrared spectroscopy analysis showed the inhibitor’s potency in checkmating aluminum corrosion in H2SO4 media. Further analysis of the inhibitor via gas chromatography-mass spectrometry specifies that bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, cis-13-octadecenoic acid, cis-vaccenic acid, and others were contained in the inhibitor. The inhibitive power of clarithromycin rose with an increase in the inhibitor concentration (IC) and a reduction in temperature. The heat of adsorption (Qads) results at various inhibitor concentrations were all negative with a value of -60153.3 J/mol at clarithromycin concentration of 0.7 g/L. Maximum efficiency of 91.36% was attained from the gravimetric method. The impedance diagrams obtained showed depressed semicircles with various inhibitor concentrations. PDP analysis results showed the inhibitor as mixed-type. The DFT results showed further parameters that established clarithromycin as a suitable inhibitor. Adsorption studies indicated that the Langmuir model provided the best fitting to the results obtained from the experiment since it gave the highest average R2 value. Gibb’s free energy of adsorption values of -10.16 kJ/mol and -10.14 kJ/mol were recorded at 313 K and 323 K, respectively, indicating a physisorption process. An inhibition efficiency (IE) of 96.9 % was recorded with the EIS technique. Hence, clarithromycin was confirmed to be a suitable inhibitor for checkmating Al corrosion
Examining the Kinetics and Thermodynamics of Chlorpyrifos Adsorption unto Activated Mucuna pruriens Seed Shell
No full textThe excessive use of pesticides (chlorpyrifos) in modern agriculture has increased chlorpyrifos in water. Hence, there is a need for imperative attention on alleviation of the negative impacts. This study evaluated the possible use of Mucuna pruriens seed shell (MPSS) as a bio-sorbent. MPSS was treated and activated by adding 1M of H3PO4, characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscope-Energy dispersive X-ray (SEM-EDX) and Brunaer-emmett-teller (BET). The maximum efficiency of CLPF adsorption onto MPSS was 94.43% at optimum conditions of 30 mg/l adsorbate concentration, pH 6, and MPSS dosage of 0.5g/100ml. From the Isotherm results, all the models except Halsey describe the system well, but Temkin at 30 oC produced the best fit, with the highest correlation, R2 of 0.9995 with the amounts adsorbed at 30, 35 and 40 oC to be 11.75 mg g-1, 30.90 mg g-1 and 51.29 mgg-1 respectively. Pseudo second-order best described the kinetics study with the R2 value of 0.9987. Thermodynamic parameters of ΔH0, ΔS0 and ΔG0 values at optimum temperature (40oC) were -0.008 KJ/mol, -0.441 KJ/Kmol and +0.134 KJ/mol respectively. The adsorption process was practicable and accepted with cation exchange between the adsorbate and adsorbent as the rate-limiting phase. Experimental results illustrate that adsorption capacity increased with pH, sorbent dosage and concentration. Conclusively, MPSS is an efficient adsorbent for removing chlorpyrifos
A Study on the Mechanical Behaviour of Epoxy Reinforced with Corn Cob Ash Composites for Sustainable Applications
No full textThe integration of agricultural waste into polymer matrices offers sustainable pathways for developing eco-friendly composites. This study focuses on the mechanical behaviour of epoxy composites reinforced with corn cob ash (CCA) for sustainable applications. Using the hand lay-up method, the composites were fabricated with varying weight percentages of CCA (0%, 3%, 5%, and 10%). Microstructural, mechanical and physical properties were analysed, including tensile strength, hardness, impact strength, flexural strength, water absorption, and density. Results show that adding CCA influences the tensile and flexural properties with increase in the hardness and impact strength of epoxy. Presence of CCA in epoxy also reduced it water absorption property while increase in density was reported. The study shows the potential of CCA-reinforced epoxy composites for lightweight, sustainable applications thereby contributing to efficient waste utilization in engineering materials
Potential of Cashew Leaf Extract for Mild Steel Corrosion Mitigation in Hydrochloric Acid Environment
No full textThis study investigated cashew leaf\u27s potential to reduce mild steel (MS) corrosion in an HCl environment. With the use of a gas chromatography-mas spectrophotometer, the molecular components of the extract were determined. The adsorption mechanism and characteristics of the corrosion inhibition process were determined using the gravimetric approach. Furthermore, artificial neural networks (ANN) and response surface methodology (RSM) were used to forecast the cashew leaf extract\u27s inhibitory efficacy. According to the results, the main biomolecular components of the cashew leaf extract were 9-tetradecenal, oleic acid, 2-hydroxy cyclopenta decanone, 4H-pyran-4-one, 3,5-dihydroxy-6-methyl-2,3-dihydro-4H-pyran-4-one, 2-methyl-3-ketotetrahydrofuran, oxirane, 8-methyl-9-tetradecenoic acid, 2,3-butylene oxide, 2,3-dimethyloxirane and 3(2H)-furanone. The biomolecules spontaneously adhered to the MS surface, a physical adsorption event. The results of the optimization/prediction analyses demonstrated that when it came to forecasting the extract\u27s efficacy, ANN outperformed RSM. The study’s findings can serve as the basis for using cashew leaf as an additive to prevent mild steel from corroding in a corrosive environment
Development and evaluation of an autonomous solar lawnmower
No full textThe ongoing rise in fuel prices and environmental impact of petrol emissions necessitate the use of alternative energy sources. This study focuses on developing an autonomous solar-powered lawn mower, integrating solar panels and advanced control systems to minimize manual labour and emissions. The objectives include designing, fabricating, and evaluating a prototype that can efficiently cut grass across various lawn sizes, terrains, and vegetation types. The mower features two brushless motors, each rated at 2700 kV, powered by an 11.1-volt, 2-amp supply. The mower is designed with cutters positioned side by side, allowing it to cut grass beside obstacles while maintaining efficiency. This design improves obstacle navigation and addresses the limitations of traditional lawnmowers. Performance evaluations revealed that mower effectively cut various grasses and tender weeds. The integration of solar energy and automation introduces a sustainable, labour-saving solution that enhances lawn maintenance. The developed mower reduces manual effort, improves mowing efficiency, and maintains performance across diverse conditions. This innovation offers a practical and energy-efficient alternative to traditional models, opening the door to a new era of environmentally friendly lawn care