99 research outputs found
A systematic review on COVID-19 pandemic with special emphasis on curative potentials of Nigeria based medicinal plants
No full textDespite the frightening mortality rate associated with COVID-19, there is no known approved drug to effectively combat the pandemic. COVID-19 clinical manifestations include fever, fatigue, cough, shortness of breath, and other complications. At present, there is no known effective treatment or vaccine that can mitigate/inhibit SARS-CoV-2. Available clinical intervention for COVID-19 is only palliative and limited to support. Thus, there is an exigent need for effective and non-invasive treatment. This article evaluates the possible mechanism of actions of SARS-CoV-2 and present Nigeria based medicinal plants which have pharmacological and biological activities that can mitigate the hallmarks of the pathogenesis of COVID-19. SARS-CoV-2 mode of actions includes hyper-inflammation characterized by a severe and fatal hyper-cytokinaemia with multi-organ failure; immunosuppression; reduction of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) to enhance pulmonary vascular permeability causing damage to the alveoli; and further activated by open reading frame (ORF)3a, ORF3b, and ORF7a via c-Jun N- terminal kinase (JNK) pathway which induces lung damage. These mechanisms of action of SARS-CoV-2 can be mitigated by a combination therapy of medicinal herbs based on their pharmacological activities. Since the clinical manifestations of COVID-19 are multifactorial with co-morbidities, we strongly recommend the use of combined therapy such that two or more herbs with specific therapeutic actions are administered to combat the mediators of the disease.Fil: Oladele, Johnson O.. Kings University; NigeriaFil: Ajayi, Ebenezer Idowu O. Osun State University; Nigeria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigación Médica Mercedes y Martín Ferreyra. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Instituto de Investigación Médica Mercedes y Martín Ferreyra; ArgentinaFil: Oyeleke, Oyedotun M.. Kings University; NigeriaFil: Oladele, Oluwaseun T.. Osun State University; NigeriaFil: Olowookere, Boyede D.. Kings University; NigeriaFil: Adeniyi, Boluwaji M.. Benue State University; NigeriaFil: Oyewole, Olu I.. Osun State University; NigeriaFil: Oladiji, Adenike T.. University Of Ilorin; Nigeri
The conventional versus a constructionist Scratch programming and first-year students' achievements in higher education classes: experimental data.
No full textGlobally, learning or teaching the first programming (popularly called CS1) remains a significant educational challenge. Indicators such as CS1 students' engagement, failure and attrition rates, and lack of diversity, continue to show the need for innovating the learning or teaching of novice computer science students. To ease initiating novices to programming, Scratch, a visual programming language, has become a staple of K-12 CS1 classes.
As outcomes of a research project aiming to explore a constructionist Scratch pedagogy with novice CS students in higher education, we present these datasets. In the research lasting two successive academic sessions, we conducted two quasi-experimental studies involving four intact CS1 classes in selected public polytechnic in the north central Nigeria. In each study, we randomly assigned the classes to the experimental and control groups, constituting the constructionist Scratch and the conventional CS1 classes, respectively.
Instruments for collecting data include a student profile questionnaire, a pretest, and posttest. Sequel to ethical clearance and permission from the selected schools, we conducted each study during the first semester of each academic session, in the first seven to eight weeks. During the first to second week, we administered students who consented to take part with the questionnaire and the pretest. Learning or teaching in the two classes lasted six weeks. Then both classes took the posttest. An independent CS educator who is not part of this research marked all the achievement tests, following a rubric prepared by the first author. To strengthen the research design and the possibility of arriving at valid causal evidence, we employed a Coarsened Exact Matching (CEM) algorithm to generate matched samples of experimental and control data, which we used in the analysis.
Data presented here includes the raw, unmatched and matched experimental datasets from both studies. A researcher can make use of the data:
To explore if some background variables not addressed in the original research may moderate CS1 students' achievements. For instance, their prior achievements in mathematics, physics, or English.
To uncover some interesting patterns using machine learning algorithms.
To validate the outcome of the original experiment by using the unmatched, matched or newly generated matched samples.
The authors welcome further research collaborations in using the data or the accompanying research instruments.
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Book Review: African Philosophy: Reflections on Yoruba Metaphysics and Jurisprudence
No full textBook Title: African Philosophy: Reflections on Yoruba Metaphysics and JurisprudenceBook Author: Oladele Abiodun BalogunPublisher: Xcel Publishers. Pages: 387. Year of Publication: 201
Levi Coffin's Abolition Crusade: A Narrative of Moral Disagreement and Ethical practice
No full textThis project uses a historical narrative to examine the moral disagreement raised\ud
against the Religious Society of Friends during a slaveholding republic. Levi Coffin, a Quaker abolitionist, pioneered an antislavery sentiment not supported by many Quaker meetings of [sic] worship including his very own Indiana Yearly Meeting. Therefore, the\ud
sentiment of the Society of Friends and the Indiana Yearly Meeting demonstrated how religious groups—in this case Quakerism—would elect to take a passive approach in the face of violent state-sanctioned force to produce a culture that was morally blind to the cruelty of slavery and its extinction. In my discussion of Levi Coffin's historical narrative, I will turn to Moody-Adams and other contemporary thinkers to understand moral disagreement through culture. This thesis will understand Levi Coffin's life story in order to characterize the features of a moral disagreement. I argue that a moral disagreement has three recurring elements\ud
within them. First, such disagreements involve cultures that are not impenetrable walls.\ud
Second, one's narrative does not limit one's ability to transcend a sentiment produced by a\ud
culture. Finally, all cultures and questions have within it people who are not determined by\ud
their institutions.\ud
Finally, this thesis, in putting Coffin's historical narrative in conversation with the\ud
contemporary world, will concentrate on the moral disagreement of Levi Coffin within his\ud
narrative and how he went about dealing with his disagreement. Historically, scholars\ud
have examined Coffin's life in the framework of slavery but the role of his moral disagreement with slavery is rarely discussed. The analysis of Levi Coffin's moral character will show us that we all have the ability to raise moral disagreements and transcend the thinking of a culture we are affiliated with
The Politics of Mass Mobilisation in Nigeria: An Appraisal of the Administration of President Muhammad Buhari
No full textAbstractGovernance is such a daunting task that requires reciprocal efforts of both the governors and the governed. This explains why governments in all political systems develop legitimation strategies aimed at enlisting the support of the people for their ‘developmental projects’. This study examines legitimation efforts of successive administrations in post-colonial Nigeria through Mass Mobilization initiatives. The study, which adopts historical cum comparative methods of investigation and analysis, finds that while successive regimes in Nigeria have resorted to mobilization strategies including creation of agencies to earn legitimacy, certain regimes politicized their mobilization programmes turning them into instruments of political vendetta thereby negating the stated objectives of the mobilization efforts. The study concludes by proposing some measures capable of enhancing the integrity and effectiveness of mobilization strategies in Nigeria.  KeywordsNigeria, politics, mass mobilisation, governing elites, anti-graft agencie
Hepatoprotective Effect of Aqueous Extract of <i>Telfairia occidentalis</i> on Cadmium Chloride-Induced Oxidative Stress and Hepatotoxicity in Rats
No full textCurrent Research in African Linguistics Papers in Honor of Ọladele Awobuluyi
No full textCurrent Research in African Linguistics recognizes and honors Ọladele Awobuluyi's contributions to African linguistics. The contributors, an international group of scholars, represent four generations of African linguists who have been influenced by Awobuluyi's work as a scholar and teacher. The papers are organized into three thematic sections, namely applied linguistics and sociolinguistics; phonology and morphology; and syntax and semantics and their interfaces. The wide range of topics investigated in this volume will enhance the reader's understanding of current issues in the field of African linguistics today. Indeed, the book marks an important contribution to the expanding work on language documentation and comparative linguistics by presenting data and linguistic analysis from a number of different African languages.Intro -- Contents -- Profile of Oladele Awobuluyi -- Foreword -- Curriculum Vitae of Oladele Awobuluyi -- Introduction -- Part I: Applied and Socio-linguistics -- Chapter One -- Chapter Two -- Chapter Three -- Chapter Four -- Chapter Five -- Chapter Six -- Part II: Phonology and Morphology -- Chapter Seven -- Chapter Eight -- Chapter Nine -- Chapter Ten -- Part III: Syntax and Semantics -- Chapter Eleven -- Chapter Twelve -- Chapter Thirteen -- Chapter Fourteen -- Chapter Fifteen -- Chapter Sixteen -- Chapter Seventeen -- Chapter Eighteen -- Chapter Nineteen -- Chapter Twenty -- Chapter Twenty One -- ContributorsCurrent Research in African Linguistics recognizes and honors Ọladele Awobuluyi's contributions to African linguistics. The contributors, an international group of scholars, represent four generations of African linguists who have been influenced by Awobuluyi's work as a scholar and teacher. The papers are organized into three thematic sections, namely applied linguistics and sociolinguistics; phonology and morphology; and syntax and semantics and their interfaces. The wide range of topics investigated in this volume will enhance the reader's understanding of current issues in the field of African linguistics today. Indeed, the book marks an important contribution to the expanding work on language documentation and comparative linguistics by presenting data and linguistic analysis from a number of different African languages.Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, YYYY. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries
Assessment of Protective Potentials of Ficus Exasperata Leaf on Arsenate-Mediated Dyslipidemia and Oxidative Damage in Rat’s Brain
No full textThis study investigated the protective potentials of methanolic leaf extract of Ficus exasperata on sodium arsenate-mediated dyslipidemia and oxidative damage in the brain of rats. Twenty-eight rats were sorted into four groups containing seven rats each. Group A (control) received distilled water while 10 mg/kg bw of arsenic in form of sodium arsenate (As) was administered intraperitoneally to groups B, C and D. Group C and D were treated with oral administration of 100 mg/kg bw and 200 mg/kg bw of F. exasperata leaf respectively for 14 days. Arsenate administration resulted in dyslipidemia as shown by significant elevation (P<0.05) in total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL-cholesterol and coronary heart disease risk ratio while it also reduced HDL-cholesterol in the rats. It also causes lipid peroxidation and oxidative damage in the brains of the rat with significant elevation of malondialdehyde level and decrease in levels of reduced glutathione, glutathione s-transferase, catalase and superoxide dismutase. Histology of the cortex region of brain of the rats treated with arsenate showed abnormal neuronal morphology with neuronal degeneration and necrosis. However, treatment with F. exasperata significantly reversed and attenuated the arsenatemediated biochemical alterations. We demonstrated in this study that F. exasperata leaf effectively protects against arsenate-induced dyslipidemia and oxidative damage in rat’s brain
The Nigerian novel and indigenous culture : problems of communication
No full textIt is argued in this thesis that the Nigerian Novel is an attempt to transliterate traditional customs, beliefs and attitudes, the characters of myth and legends, a whole universe of ancestors, into an entirely new context of the twentieth century, employing a language to which the modern reader can respond. The work gives detailed consideration to the salient features of this attempt and assesses, with particular reference to the novels of Tutuola, Achebe, Aluko, Nzekwu, Amadi, Balewa, Egbuna, Adaora Ulasi, Nwankwo and Okara, what in each case is the atti tudeof the novelist to the indigenous culture of his country and how successfully the link between tradition and modern experience has been established. The approach adopted in the thesis is one of close analysis of texts in an attempt to find out how critically an author has presented those aspects of tradition he has selected for treatment and how skilfully he has dramatized the realities and dilemmas of the present. On each author answers are sought to a numer of searching questions. What are the particular values the writer is upholding or opposing, and what is his attitude to them? What particular emotional or intellectual effect does he hope to achieve, and does he succeed? If he does, by what methods of communication? If he fails, from what problems of communication has failure resulted, and what effect does this have on the reader? What sympathies are evoked, and how do we see a particular work in the body of works of a particular author? A writer's language is a mirror held up to his personality and his particular circumstances. It is through his use of language that he reflects his individual awareness of a given situation. The detailed study of language leads, almost inevitably, to a consideration of the more fundamental problems of communication. Even though all save one of the novelists to whom this thesis is devoted use English as their creative medium, they do so in the consciousness of the fact that they are presenting a Nigerian experience, and the best of them reveal in their works a specific mode of the imagination which derives from their Nigerian background. It has therefore been necessary in all cases to examine closely the use of language by each novelist and try to assess how effectively the artist has communicated. Because of the historical and cultural environment of the Nigerian novelist considerable interest is taken in the influence which the mother tongue (LI) has had on the writer's English (L2). The thesis concludes by identifying the essential requirements for the establishment of a successful link between tradition and modern life: an important theme, a consistent imaginative scheme, a language which recognizes the characteristics of LI and skill in the use of language. Only works in which many of these conditions are fulfilled as, for example, in the novels of Achebe, Amadi, Okara and Aluko achieve satisfactory results. The link between tradition and modern life is valuable only if it widens satisfyingly our experience of what it is to be human and thus contributes to the solution of the political and social problems of the present
Causes of EndSars Protest as Perceived by Polytechnic Students in Ondo State, Nigeria
No full textThe study examined the Causes of Endsars Protest as Perceived by Polytechnic Students in Ondo state. The sample population was selected from Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo, Ondo State. Result from this study revealed that, there was significant difference between the perception of students who were part of the protest and those who were not part of the protest (t=-2.12, df=1006, p<.05), there was also a significant difference in the perception of students based on political affiliation (t=5.15, df=969.71, p<.05). However, the result furthered reveals that 430(42.7%) of students were not part of the protest due to various reasons, while 109(25.2%) were afraid of being killed by the police/military, 170(39.4%) sees the protest as a waste of their time as they did not see the protest as the solution to the Nigeria problems. T-test and ANOVA were the statistical analysis used to test hypothesis in this study. The researcher(s) developed instrument titled “Causes of Endsars Protest Scale” (CEPS) which was used to collect the data for the study. The scale has a reliability of 0.60, using eighty-eight students to test for reliability. Three hypotheses were stated for the study and were all tested at 0.05 levels of significant. The study therefore recommended that government should identify with the suffering and pains of its people, which should be reflected in how governance is being done and proper mental and emotional screening should be carried out on recruited police officers
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