The Stigma of Epilepsy Among Nigerian Subjects: A Cross-Sectional Study

Epilepsy is one of the least understood and most feared neurological disorders. It is associated with considerable stigma and discrimination, contributing to the immense psychosocial and emotional burden experienced by people living with epilepsy (PWE) particularly in developing countries. In order to fully understand the extent of this relationship, this study sought to assess the actual experience of discrimination, the degree of internalized stigma, and the perception (knowledge & attitude) of the general public towards epilepsy. Data on sociodemographic variables, internalized stigma and discrimination was collected from two groups of 103 eligible participants presenting at the Neurology and General outpatient clinics of the University College Hospital, Ibadan, using two structured interviewer-administered questionnaires. A high proportion of PWE (n=24, 57.1%) reported severe internalized stigma despite majority (76.9%) reporting not being discriminated against. Thirty-two respondents (56.1%) reported that they would not employ or work with someone known to have epilepsy. A considerable number of people (n=41, 82%) reported that they would help PWE away from danger during a seizure and 46 respondents claimed they were going to call for help, while 15 (of 42 respondents) reported that they would run away. While this study revealed quite a number of positives, it is apparent that there still exists a lot of ignorance and misconceptions about epilepsy and significant improvement is still needed with regards to addressing the stigma of epilepsy and the public attitude towards epilepsy and PWE

COMPUTING OSCILLATING VIBRATIONS EMPLOYING EXPONENTIALLY FITTED BLOCK MILNE’S DEVICE

Background and Objectives: The idea of estimating oscillating vibration problems via multinomial basis function haven been seen by some authors as a convenient approach but not appropriate. This is as result of the behavior of the problem and as such depends largely on the step size and frequency. This research article is geared towards computing oscillating vibrations employing exponentially fitted block Milne’s device (COVEFBMD). Materials and Methods: This is specifically designed using interpolation and collocation via exponentially fitted method as the approximate solution to generate COVEFBMD, thereby finding the tolerance level of the method. Results: Some numerical examples were selected and implemented on Mathematica kernel 9 to show speed, technicality and accuracy. Conclusion: The completed solutions show that COVEFBMD performs better than the existing methods because of its ability to design a worthy step size; decide the tolerance level resulting to maximized errors

Mineralogy, Physicochemical Characteristics and Industrial Potential of Some Residual Clay Deposits within Ekiti State, Southwestern Nigeria

Residual clay deposits overlying Precambrian Basement Complex situated at Orin, Igbara Odo, Ikere and Ado Ekiti were investigated using several analytical techniques. Field evidence supported by mineralogical and physicochemical analyses suggests that the kaolinitic clay deposits is a product of hydrothermal and in-situ weathering of aplite, and granite. Kaolinite is the predominant clay mineral of the studied clay deposits with subordinate quartz, potassium iron oxide and aluminium phosphatic minerals. There is localised occurrence of halloysite. The absence of vanadium in the EDS data of rolled into tubes kaolinite sheets of Ado Ekiti clay match up with XRF data. This result trend combined with field observation suggests that clay bodies formed from weathering of feldspar is deficient in vanadium. The study suggests that morphology of kaolinitic minerals is influenced by the kind of parent material (i.e. feldspars or micas) and degree of chemical weathering. The pH values of pore water from clay samples range from 7.14 - 9.08. The electrical conductivities (EC) of the clay/water slurries (S/L ratio) range from 0.004mS/cm – 3.02mS/cm.  The oxidation reduction potential (ORP) values range between -62.4 and – 6.8 for the solids or slurries prepared with water. The dissolved oxygen (DO) values range from 6.73ppm – 7.26ppm for solids or slurries prepared with water. The loss on ignition ranges from 2.24-13.39. The SiO2/Al2O3 molar ratio of 1.40 and 1.50 for Orin and Ikere clay bodies indicated that a 1:1 clay mineral was the dominant component. The high chemical index of alteration (CIA = 77.97~98.64) and chemical index of weathering (CIW = 97.21~99.93) values probably indicated the complete weathering of feldspars to kaolinite. The weathering index of Parker (WIP) values grouped the analysed clay samples into moderate to intense degree of weathering. This observation is confirmed by the absence of detrital feldspar in the XRD spectra peak. Factor analysis showed enrichment and depletion of major and trace elements which could be attributed to moderate to intense leaching conditions of the presumed parent material. The data shows explicit relationship between the clayeyness value (Al2O3/SiO2 ratio), the relative base loss (RBL) and the cation exchange capacity (CEC). Cluster analysis of major and trace elements showed two groups of chemical differences amongst the elements in the clays; moderate and intense degree of weathered clays. Nevertheless, the variations in the degree of weathering or leaching process have greater contribution to clay deposits differentiation. Assessment of the industrial potential of the studied clay bodies based on their physical and chemical characteristics revealed that they are suitable for the production of refractory bricks and ceramics. Suitable processing would be compulsory if they are to meet the requirements for other industrial applications, such as rubber, paper, paint, cosmetics, and fertilizer industries. Keywords: Clay; Mineralogy; Physicochemical characteristics; Weathering indices; Pore water; Multivariable analysis; Igbara Odo Ekiti; Ikere Ekiti; Ado Ekiti

The Analysis of Productivity Growth of Tuber Crops in Nigeria (1995-2006)

This study analyzed the productivity of Tuber crops in Nigeria from twenty states between the periods of 1995 -2006 using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to estimate the total factor productivity (TFP) which was further decomposed to reveal the source of productivity growth over the reference period. Negative TFP growth was observed for all the tuber crops considered in the study on the average but an evidence of convergence in productivity level was observed when considering the starting TFP, majority of the states had low TFP (<0.6) but grew over the years by about 0.2 with Kaduna and Adamawa having the highest TFP for cocoyam and cassava respectively

Farmers’ strategies for adapting to climate change in Ogbomoso agricultural zone of Oyo state

The climate is changing and global mean temperatures have increased this is expected to have profound effects on food security. Long-term changes in climate will disproportionately affect tropical regions, meaning poor farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa will likely bear the brunt of adverse impacts. Adaptation plays an important role in reducing vulnerability to climate change and is therefore critical and of concern in developing countries, particularly in Africa where vulnerability is high because ability to adapt is low. This study examined farmers’ strategies for adapting to climate change in Ogbomoso agricultural zone of Oyo State of Nigeria. One hundred and fifty farmers were interviewed to obtain information from using a multistage sampling procedure. The results of the study showed that the types of climate change identified in the study area were delayed on-set of rainfall (38.0 percent), higher temperature (20.0 percent) and less rain (17.3 percent). The outcome of climate change were food shortage (41.3percent), decline in livestock yield (30.7 percent), decline in crop yield (28.7 percent) and death of livestock (16.0 percent). The identified actions taken to address climate change are growing a new crop (57.4 percent), adoption of drought tolerant/ resistance crop varieties (50.0 percent), diversification from crops to livestock production (40.7 percent) and using of new land management practices. The long-term improvement investments commonly adapted in the study area were tree planting/agroforestry, mulching/surface cover, improved fallowing and fallowing. The study concluded that household size, extension visits and non-farm income significantly impact on the various strategies used in adaptation to climate change

Do soil and water conservation practices influence crop productivity and household welfare? Evidence from rural Nigeria

One of the most serious challenges threatening agricultural sustainability in Nigeria is land degradation. Although this issue has received little attention, soil and water conservation practices have been identified as a possible pathway out of the potential problems posed by land degradation. Therefore, the central research question that this paper tries to address is the following: Do adoption of soil and water conservation (SWC) practices affect crop productivity and household welfare? This paper uses data collected by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) from maize farmers in rural Nigeria. We usedemploy the propensity score matching (PSM), inverse probability weighting adjusted regression model (IPWRA) approach, and the linear regression with endogenous treatment effect (LRETE) model to incorporate the typologies of SWC practices, and tested how the model affects crop productivity and household welfare. Additionally, multinomial logit was used to estimate the factors influencing the decision to adopt single and multiple SWC practices. The estimates show that education, age of the household head, access to credit, experience of drought, soil fertility, and occupational stress contribute to the decision to adopt SWC practices. The casual effect estimates reveal that both single and multiple adoptions of SWC practices had a positive and significant relationship with the crop productivity and welfare of the adopters. The results show that the adoption of combined SWC practices has a higher impact on crop productivity and welfare than single SWC practices. For instance, the adoption of a combination of three SWC practices was found to increase crop productivity and household welfare by 27.55% and 38.23%, respectively versus 13.91% and 15.11% in the case of single SWC practices. The study suggests that profile-raising agenda and efforts that focus on promoting the adoption of combination of SWC practices should be designed and implemented to enhance crop productivity and hence the welfare of the maize farming households in rural Nigeria