The Socio-Economic Benefits of Trans Amusement Park to the Host Community, Bodija, Ibadan, Oyo State.

The socio economic benefits of Trans Amusement Park to the host community were investigated. Tourism activities as with any other type of economic development, brings about changes for economic, social, cultural and spatial structure of the settlement where it takes place. It is mostly regarded for generating income and employment, encouraging the entrepreneurial activity and eventually leading to improvements in the economic structure of the region. In the case of Trans Amusement Park, the positive and negative impacts on the environmental and social economic well being of the host community were investigated. Primary data were collected through the administration of questionnaires and key informant interview for the local people of Bodija community. Analysis of the data collected reveals that 75% of the respondents confirmed that the park is a contributor to the socio economic advancement of the host community. The analysis also reveals that the park has a minimal negative impact (p<0.05) on the environment, social and economic well being of the host community. The park has provided opportunities for trading in gift item between the local people and the park visitors, market structures, confectionaries and other ongoing project for the host community. Although, the positive impact far outweighs the negative impacts of the park to the host community but, the people seems to be disturbed with crowding and congestion and some  other social vice with 25.5% and 44.9% of the respondent respectively stating them as some of the negative impact of  locating the park in their community. 61.2% of the respondents also opined that the level of participation of the people of the host community in the development of the park is on the average. For the host community to benefit more from the park, it is recommended that the park should put into consideration the concept of carrying capacity in other to reduce crowding and congestion, beef up their security system in order to reduce social vices and the community should also improve in their level of participation in the development of the park.  Keywords: Social economic benefit, Amusement park, Host community

EVALUATION OF THE LEVEL OF COMPLIANCE WITH CONSTRUCTION DESIGN MANAGEMENT (CDM 2007) REGULATIONS BY CLIENTS IN NIGERIA

The study evaluated the level of compliance with Construction Design Management (CDM) regulation by Nigerian clients based on the main duties of the client as stipulated in CDM regulation specification. To achieve this goal, sixty (60) questionnaires were distributed among construction firms and clients involved in the execution of projects in Lagos State in Nigeria. The survey showed that the client`s level of compliance based on the CDM regulation on client duty’s requirement has not been encouraging. The regulation requires that enough information should be given by the client; the study found that clients did not give enough information especially on building and number of the floor to be constructed also on the units of accommodation, land survey and report on soil investigation. Most of the respondents believed that the problem associated with the level of client compliance to CDM, includes poor level of communication and inadequate time allowed by the client at every stage in the construction process. In addition, some of the amenities that exist on the construction site are toilets and changing rooms while the sickbay which is important is the least to be found in the construction sites. Also the necessary amenities and are not place in the construction sites. The level of awareness of CDM regulation among the construction workers is low but client is meant to make the information available adequately as contained in the CDM regulation. It should be noted that however, that the problems on the health and safety might have effect on performance of the construction industry in terms of cost, time and quality of the construction. It is therefore concluded that Construction Design Management (CDM) regulation is not fully known among the construction industry’s client, contractors and site workers. The study recommended that for improved services, efforts should be made by project managers to create the awareness 42 Covenant Journal of Research in the Built Environment (CJRBE) Vol. 1, No. 1 (Maiden Edition), June, 2014.while clients attend short course and seminars on CDM regulation.The consulting firms of the project manager are enjoyed to improve on the necessary amenities available on the construction site and at the same time, the construction design management regulation should be conspicuously placed so that construction workers can have access to and be fully aware of the regulations. Finally, the client should appoint a CDM co -coordinator for each project site and that there should be agencies to monitor the implementation of the CDM regulation

Indices of Kidney Damage and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors in a Semiurban Community of Iloye, South-West Nigeria

Health screening exercises are important, as they enable early detection of diseases in individual subjects and also enable data collection, useful in estimating disease burden in the community. This paper describes the findings of a health screening exercise conducted in a semiurban population of Iloye, by the Rotary Club of Ota, Ogun State, Western Nigeria, as a part of its community-oriented services and projects. Three hundred and twenty six community members were screened during the exercise. There were 189 (57.97%) females and 137 (42.03%) males, with a mean age of 43.5 ± 14.88 yrs. Urinary abnormality and/or creatinine clearance less than 90 mls/min was detected in 147 (45.09%) participants. 99 (30.37%) participants had proteinuria, 16 (4.91%) had haematuria, and 5 (1.53%) participants had both haematuria and proteinuria. Eight (2.45%) participants had GFR less than 60 mls/min. Elevated blood pressure was found in 152 (46.63%), while 3 (0.9%) participants had diabetes, 71 (21.8%) were obese, 16 (4.9%) had hypercholesterolaemia, and 3 (0.9%) had hypertriglyceridaemia. Prevalence of both smoking and alcohol consumption was 6 (1.84%). It was concluded that the prevalence of indices of kidney damage and cardiovascular risk factors is high in Iloye community

Biogas use as fuel in spark ignition engines

Abstract: This paper reviews the utilization of biogas in spark ignition engines with a view to making a case for it as an efficient substitute fuel for petrol. However, its gaseous nature which accounts for its low volumetric density implies that apart from the basic modification needed to accommodate the fuel, the engine might need further alterations to get the best from this relatively low cost and readily available fuel. Various modes of enhancing performance particularly methane enrichment, prechamber combustion, alteration of ignition parameters, increasing compression ratio and addition of hydrogen to improve performance and emissions were drawn from previous works to validate its efficiency as a viable substitute fuel in SI engines

Antifertility Effects of P-Alaxin in Male Adult Wistar Rats

P-alaxin, an artemisinin based combined therapy is very effective in treating malaria infection in areas of high resistance to conventional antimalarial drugs. It is a potentially promising anti-malaria drug that is composed of dihydroartemisinin and piperaquine phosphate. The present study investigates the fertility effects of therapeutic dose of P-alaxin. Fifteen male adult wistar rats of weighing between 150 and 210gm were grouped into three consisting of 5 males per group. The control group was orally administered with normal saline, the test and recovery groups were given body weight 15.4mg/kg of P-alaxin orally for three days after which the recovery group was allowed to recover from the drug’s effect for another three days. The animals were sacrificed twenty four (24) hours after the experiment.  The blood samples were collected through cardiac puncture.The result showed significant difference (p ≤0.05) in sperm count, sperm motility, sperm viability as well as in serum testosterone level of the male rats administered with P- alaxin and the recovery group when compared with the control group.The results suggest that oral administration of P – alaxin has significant negative effects (P <0.05) on sperm parameters and serum testosterone and could reduce male wistar rats fertility. Keywords: P-alaxin, artemisinin, antimalarial, sperm parameters, serum testosteron

Induction of rat hepatic mitochondrial membrane permeability transition pore opening by leaf extract of Olax subscorpioidea

has been implicated in the cascade of events involved in apoptosis (programmed cell death). Olax subscorpioidea is traditionally used for the treatment of several diseases and infection. However, its role on MMPT is not yet established. This study was aimed at evaluating the effects of varying concentrations of the methanol leaf extract of O. subscorpioidea (MEOS) on MMPT pore opening, mitochondrial adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase), and mitochondrial lipid peroxidation. Materials and Methods: Opening of the pore was spectrophotometrically assayed under succinate‑energized conditions. Results: In the absence of triggering agent (calcium), MEOS induced MMPT pore opening by 350, 612, 827, 845% at 36, 60, 86 and 112 µg/ml, respectively. MEOS further induced MMPT pore opening in the presence of a triggering agent by 866, 905, 831, 840, 949% at 12, 36, 60, 86 and 112 µg/ml, respectively. The extract significantly induced mitochondrial membrane lipid peroxidation in all the concentration used. MEOS also significantly increased mitochondrial ATP hydrolysis by mitochondrial ATPase in all concentration of the extract used. Conclusion: It may be deduced from this results, that MEOS contains certain bioactive components that may find use in pathological conditions that require an enhanced rate of apoptosi

Psychosis with paranoid delusions after a therapeutic dose of mefloquine: a case report

BACKGROUND: Convenient once-a-week dosing has made mefloquine a popular choice as malaria prophylaxis for travel to countries with chloroquine-resistant malaria. However, the increased use of mefloquine over the past decade has resulted in reports of rare, but severe, neuropsychiatric adverse reactions, such as anxiety, depression, hallucinations and psychosis. A direct causality between mefloquine and severe reactions among travelers has been partly confounded by factors associated with foreign travel and, in the case of therapeutic doses of mefloquine, the central nervous system manifestations of Plasmodium infection itself. The present case provides a unique natural history of mefloquine-induced neuropsychiatric toxicity and revisits its dose-dependent nature. CASE PRESENTATION: This report describes an acute exacerbation of neuropsychiatric symptoms after an unwarranted therapeutic dose (1250 mg) of mefloquine in a 37-year-old male previously on a once-a-week prophylactic regimen. Neuropsychiatric symptoms began as dizziness and insomnia of several days duration, which was followed by one week of escalating anxiety and subtle alterations in behaviour. The patient's anxiety culminated into a panic episode with profound sympathetic activation. One week later, he was hospitalized after developing frank psychosis with psychomotor agitation and paranoid delusions. His psychosis remitted with low-dose quetiapine. CONCLUSION: This report suggests that an overt mefloquine-induced psychosis can be preceded by a prodromal phase of moderate symptoms such as dizziness, insomnia, and generalized anxiety. It is important that physicians advise patients taking mefloquine prophylaxis and their relatives to recognize such symptoms, especially when they are accompanied by abrupt, but subtle, changes in behaviour. Patients with a history of psychiatric illness, however minor, may be at increased risk for a mefloquine-induced neuropsychiatric toxicity. Physicians must explicitly caution patients not to self-medicate with a therapeutic course of mefloquine when a malaria diagnosis has not been confirmed

Harnessing the Ojude-Oba Festival for Tourism and Community Development in Ogun State

This study examined the Ojúde-Ǫba festival in Ijȩbu-Ode, Ogun State, Nigeria, with a view to underscoring its roles in tourism development in Ogun State. The study employed the ethnographic research design. The participant observation method was used to elicit data for the study during the 2015, 2016 and 2017 editions of the festival. The purposive sampling technique was utilized to select four local policy makers and two festival planning committee members and key informant interviews were conducted with each of them. Data gathered from the study was content analysed. The Ojúde-Ǫba festival is said to have originated over 100 years ago and has metamorphosed into a tourist event. This has attracted corporate branding of the festival and has resulted in the generation of funds for the community. Proceeds from the festival were reported to be used for the provision of boreholes, electricity transformers, and hospitals for public use, and for the repair of public schools. In preparation for the annual event, community roads and street lights are repaired, drainages are cleared and community cleaning efforts are intensified. The participation of the traditional Ijȩbu age-grade groups (Rȩgbȩ-Rȩgbȩ) of the community in the festival activities has increased attendance at the Ojúde-Ǫba festival. The study concludes that the Ojúde-Ǫba festival contributes to the promotion of tourism and the development of its host community and recommends that the festival be further promoted to enable the community derive more benefits

SOME EFFECTS OF ZINC ON MATERNAL AND FETAL INTERGRITY IN PREGNANCY.

This study was undertaken to determine the effects of zinc sulphate on the weights of pregnant rats, on the food and water consumption during gestation, litters weight at birth, the number of litters at birth and the accumulation of zinc in selected organs of the litters. Zinc sulphate in the dose of 1 mg/liter and 20mg/liter drinking water was administered to both pregnant and non-pregnant for the period of gestation. The results indicated a significant (p<0.005) increase in body weights of pregnant rats when compared with the corresponding controls (non-pregnant and zinc free rats). The values of food consumption in the pregnant rats during 1st, 2nd and 3rd week were significantly (p<0.05) higher than the value obtained for the non-pregnant and the control of non-pregnant rats. Pregnant rats administered with 20 mg/l of zinc drinking water showed a sharp decline in the food consumption from the 3rd week and this was continuous till the end of gestation. The quantity of water consumed by pregnant rats was significantly (p<0.005) higher than the control group (zinc free non-pregnant rats). Non-pregnant rats that received 1 mg/l of zinc drinking water significantly (p<0.005) consumed more water than those that received 20 mg/l zinc drinking water. There was no significant difference between maternal weights of the experimental and control rats at parturition. Rats administered with 1 mg/l zinc delivered the biggest litters-size, which was significantly (p<0.05) different from either those administered with 20mg/l of zinc drinking water or zinc free water respectively. The weights of the liver, thyroid, and pancreas from the litters were significantly (p<0.05) higher than those from the control rats. The liver was found to accumulate significant (p<0.05) higher concentration of zinc when compared with the control group