The Theatre and Sustainable Human Development: Fumes of Fuel and Boundless Love as Paradigms

The performing Arts encompass a wide range of disciplines which are invariably synonymous with creativity, thus, creativity is the hallmark of performance. For the sake of clarity, Performing Arts comprise Theatre Arts, Music, Dance and Choreography and the electronic media of Radio, Television and film commonly referred to as the audio-visual or media arts. Development is invariably measured by performance using certain indices. It is also part of the function of the performing arts to project development as well be evidence of development themselves. For instance, it is a sign of development to produce a play before an audience, particularly an audience composed of persons saddled with the responsibility of showing the direction for the development of a certain society. This paper will use the plays, Fumes of Fuel and Boundless Love to expound on the relevance of the Performing Arts in human and societal development.Keywords: Performing Arts, Creativity, Development and Humanity

First detection of intestinal microsporidia in Northern Nigeria

Microsporidia are intracellular spore-forming protozoa that are increasingly being recognized as pathogens in humans. Faecal samples were taken from 2250 HIV/AIDS and 1050 HIV-negative patients from Kano and Makurdi in Northern Nigeria, and were investigated for microsporidial infections by Giemsa staining technique (Light microscopy). In Kano, Enterocytozoon bienuesi was detected in 8 (14.17%) and Encephalitozoon intestinalis in 5 (2.60%) out of 192 HIV/AIDS patients screened. A mixed infection of both 0.52% was observed. Results from Makurdi showed that Enterocytozoon bienuesi was detected in 13 (0.65%) and Encephalitozoon intestinalis in 96 (4.78%) out of 2008 HIV/AIDS patients examined. No mixed infection was observed. Microsporidial spores were not found in 1050 HIV-negative patients screened from both areas. There was a significant difference (X2, p<0.05) in infection rates between the HIV/AIDS and HIV-negative patients. This study aimed at detecting the prevalence of intestinal microsporidia to provide baseline data on the status of this disease in Nigeria. Detection of Microsporidia in Immuno-compromised patients has not been described previously in this area

Comparative Analysis of Corrosion of Aluminum Plates in Different Concentrations of Lime Solution

ABSTRACT Aluminum samples were cut into 5x5mm pieces and treated using four lime solutions with different molarities varying 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0. Sixteen samples of aluminum plates were produced from each thickness. These were further subdivided into four thicknesses (0.3 mm, 0.6 mm, 0.9 mm and 1.2 mm). Each group was then immersed into different solutions of lime for different time intervals. The samples were first weighed before and after immersion with a Miller balance. Weight losses were calculated for all samples. The corrosion rate of 8.250 mm/yr was obtained for the 0.3 mm sample of aluminum at 72 hours while the rate of corrosion decreased to 1.295 mm/yr at 288 hours. The photo micrographs of the aluminum samples both soaked and un-soaked were taken. It was observed that corrosion rates of the aluminum samples decreased with increase in thickness while the rates of corrosion decreased with time of immersion

COMPARISON BETWEEN KAOLIN AND QUARTZITIC CLAY PERFORMANCE IN THE EFFECT OF WOOD ASH ADDITION ON THE MECHANICAL AND OTHER PROPERTIES OF PORCELAINISED STONEWARE TILES

Porcelain represents the foundation of the ceramic discipline and one of the most complex ceramic materials. Composed primarily of clay, feldspar and quartz, porcelains are heat treated to form a mixture of glass and crystalline phases. This focuses on raw materials with the addition of wood ash processing and mechanical behaviors. The use of wood ash as in manufacturing ceramic tiles can increase the utilization, as well as reduce the cost of raw materials in the tile industry and provide a competitive edge to Nigerian tile Manufactures against foreign competitions. Ring was taken ensured completion of the pozzolainic reactions instituted by the wood ash and the production of dense compounds acting as filler within the pores of the porcelain mass. It was also found that the higher the wood ash content in the porcelainª¤? the lower their strength and density, the permeability 5-10 % cow dung un clays is the best ratio that gives the desired combination of opposing qualities and density, thus the ratio that gives the optimum mechanical and other properties. It was noticed from this research work, clay with kaolinitic content is better used than clay with quartzitic content in formulating porcelainised stoneware tile specimenª¤? consisting of the mixture of both quartizitic and kaolinitic clay has better performance than ordinary quartzitic clay sample.ª¤

Experimental studies and influence of process factor on zinc-nickel based coating on mild steel

Sulphate-rich electrolytic bath containing ZnSO4.7H2O in NiP solution was used to develop coating with Ni-P-Zn matrix under optimised process parameter. The major considerations are to examine the factor variance and the effect of varying time parameter between 10, 15, 20 and 25 min on the developed coating. Wear loss evolution was examined using reciprocating sliding wear tester with a force of 10 N and 20 N. The microhardness behaviour was examined using durascan microhardness tester with diamond indenter. The change in the structural build-up and the corrosion performance trend was observed using a scanning electron microscope enhanced with energy dispersive spectroscopy and potentiodynamic polarisation route. From the result we observe that time-dependant factors impact maximally on the crystal growth which rightly influences the coating hardness performance. For wear performance, the counter with external forces couldn’t penetrate wholly into the lattice of the developed coating due to the resilient formation of stable flakes. The microstructure formation shows stable dispersed crystal build-up and homogeneous growth. An excellent corrosion resistance characteristic was noticed with Ni-P-Zn-25 min matrix

Effect of age and gender on the vertical cup-to-disc ratio in a normotensive population

Background: Evaluation of the optic disc is an important clinical practice among eyecare practitioners. Inter-observer variability makes it difficult to establish a clear conclusion regarding the estimation of the vertical cup-to-disc ratio (VCDR), especially in the context of glaucoma. Aim: To determine the effect of age and gender on VCDR in a normotensive population and to estimate the mean VCDR of individuals of African descent. Setting: The University Eye Clinic, Imo State University, Owerri, Nigeria. Methods: A cross-sectional study was used to assess the VCDR morphology of participants. The mean age was 36.7 ± 12.98 years (range: 18 years – 60 years). Descriptive statistics were used to summarise the data characteristics while linear regression was used to determine the correlation of age, gender and VCDR. Data were analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21. Results: From 102 participants selected for the study, 82 eyes were objectively examined in this study. The mean VCDR was 0.34 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.23–0.52, standard deviation [s.d.] = 0.09). Although the mean VCDR for men (0.35 ± 0.08) was slightly larger than that of women (0.33 ± 0.10), the difference was only 2%. Simple regression analysis showed a weak positive but significant correlation between age and VCDR (R = 0.24, R2 = 0.057, p = 0.031), while the multiple regression revealed no interaction between age, gender and VCDR (all p  0.05). Conclusion: Our study did not provide statistically significant evidence to support a correlation between VCDR, age and gender. However, age and VCDR are weakly correlated (R = 0.24, p = 0.031), with a small increase in VCDR with age. Contribution: This study sheds light on the correlation between demographic factors and the optic disc or nerve head, which could have implications for glaucoma diagnosis, especially concerning the African population