Improved Livelihoods and Poverty Reduction through Functional Education Programmes in Nigeria Rural Areas: A Prescription

There is general global call for provision of basic education for all and sundry to overcome poverty, as poverty tranced beyond its traditional meaning of “have not.” The poor populace is deprived of basic education rights, especially in southern Asia and African. Absolute and relative types of poverty do exist in Nigeria in particular. The study was anchored on theory of andragogy. The paper therefore aimed at exposing such blatant types of poverty in Nigeria and proffered solutions for eradicating the poverty via functional education programmes in the country

Effect of Corporate Attributes on Sustainability Reporting of Listed Non-financial Firms in Nigeria

The conventional accounting practice is predicated on the protection of overriding interests of wealthy capital providers. This is clearly demonstrated in the contents of general-purpose financial statements, which serves as a bastion of accountability and stewardship. This study examined the effect of corporate attributes on sustainability reporting of listed non-financial firms in Nigeria. The study measured corporate attributes with firms’ attributes (firm size, profitability, leverage, liquidity), board attributes (board size, board independence, board gender diversity, board financial expertise) and ownership attributes (foreign, managerial, institutional, ownership concentration) and sustainability reporting measured by sustainability disclosures in line with Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards. The study adopted ex-post facto research design relying on secondary data obtained from annual reports of the population, which comprised of 116 non-financial firms listed on the Nigeria Exchange Group (NGX) as at 31st December 2020 with sample size of 51 firms, covering the period of 2011 – 2020. The study employed the use of multiple regression panel model to analyze the data using E-view 10 statistical tool. According to the results of random effect regression, profitability, liquidity, leverage, institutional ownership, firm size, foreign ownership, board size and board financial expertise have positive and significant effect on sustainability reporting. Based on the findings, the study concluded that corporate attributes can effectively enhance the sustainability reporting of firms. Thus, the study recommended among others that regulators in financial reporting should monitor corporate attributes in firms closely as a measure of enhancing sustainability reporting of listed non-financial firms in Nigeria

Load modeling techniques in distribution networks: a review

Power system operation and control required models of generators, lines and loads to be accurately estimated, this is to enable operators make a reliable decision on the system.  Generators and lines models are so far considered accurate, while load models are considered perplexing due to invention of new types of loads, distribution system are transforming from passive to active. Future distribution systems are desired to be smart and for a network to be smart the system as to be fully and accurately represented. Penetration of renewable energy and application of power electronic devices as well as participation of active customers in distribution systems make traditional methods of load modeling absolute. Accurate load modeling is required to address the new challenges evolving in the task of power system operation, control and stability studies. It is also an interest of power system researchers globally to realize Smart Networks (SNs), in which accurate load models are required. This work described a review of techniques and approaches for load modeling from traditional methods to the state of art in the area. In addition, gaps in the literature as well as research directions are also pointed out

Corporate Governance Mechanisms and Sustainability Reporting Practices of Listed Non-Financial Firms in Nigeria

The Board plays a pivotal role in the administration of corporate affairs.   An effective Board oversight function basically consists of proper mechanisms for providing entrepreneurial and strategic leadership as well as promoting ethical values that allow stakeholders to exercise their rights to protect their investments’ sustainability. This study examined the effect of corporate governance mechanisms on sustainability reporting of listed non-financial firms in Nigeria. The study measured corporate governance attributes with board size, board independence, board gender diversity, board financial expertise and sustainability reporting was measured by sustainability disclosures metrics in line with Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards. The study adopted correlation research design relying on secondary data obtained from annual reports of the population, which comprised of 116 non-financial firms listed on Nigeria Exchange Group (NGX) as at 31st December 2020 with a sample size of 51 firms, covering the period of 2011 – 2020. The study employed multiple regression panel model to analyze the data with the aid of E-view 10 statistical tool. According to the results of random effect regression, board size and board members’ financial expertise have positive and significant effect on sustainability reporting. Based on the findings, the study concluded that corporate governance attributes have the capacity to effectively enhance the sustainability reporting of firms. Thus, the study recommended among others that regulators in financial reporting should mandate firms to have a sizeable board with members having financial expertise as a measure of enhancing sustainability reporting in Nigeria

An Investigative Study on Impact of Frequency Dynamics in Load Modeling

Load modeling plays a significant impact in assessing power system stability margin, control, and protection. Frequency in the power system is desired to be kept constant, but in a real sense, it is not constant as loads continually change with time. In much literature, frequency dynamics are ignored in the formulation of load models for the basic assumption that it does not affect the models.  In this paper, the composite load model was formulated with Voltage-Frequency Dependency (V-FD) on real and reactive powers and applied to estimate the load model. 2- Area network 4- machines Kundur test network was used for testing the developed model.  The model was trained with measurements from a low voltage distribution network supplying the Electrical Engineering department at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. Both training and testing data were captured under normal system operation (dynamics). To evaluate the V-FD model performance, Voltage-Dependent (VD) model was examined on the same measured data. The work makes use of the Feed Forward Neural Network (FFNN) as a nonlinear estimator. Results obtained indicate that including frequency dynamics in modeling active power reduces the accuracy of the model. While in modeling reactive power the model performance improves. Hence, it can be said that including frequency dynamics in load modeling depends on the intended application of the model

Anti- and pro-lipase activity of selected medicinal, herbal and aquatic plants, and structure elucidation of an anti-lipase compound

Plants that help in slowing down the digestion of triacylglycerols (TAGs) in the pancreas and small intestine of humans play an important role in the reduction of obesity. On the other hand, there may be plants or plant parts that stimulate intestinal lipolytic activity, thus contributing to greater TAG assimilation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the aqueous methanolic extracts of ninety eight (98) medicinal, herbal and aquatic plant materials from Malaysia for their effect on porcine pancreatic lipase (PPL) activity and to identify the structure of an anti-lipase compound from one of the sources. The degree of inhibition was also quantified as relative to orlistat activity against PPL (orlistat equivalents). Results revealed that while 19.4% of the extracts were found to have anti-lipase activity ≥80%, 12% were actually found to promote PPL activity. Twenty two percent (22.4%) exhibited moderate inhibition (41%–80%) and 2% were neutral toward PPL activity. The ripe fruit of Averrhoa carambola and the leaves of Archidendron jiringa (Jack) I.C Nielsen L. (jering), Cynometra cauliflora (nam-nam) and Aleurites moluccana (L.) Willd (candle nut/buah keras) had the highest (100%) anti-lipase activity and are equivalent to 0.11 µg orlistat/mL. Plants that stimulated lipase activity included Pimpinella anisum L. (aniseed/jintan manis), activating the enzyme by 186.5%. Kaempferol 3-O-rhamnoside was isolated from the ethyl acetate fraction of C. cauliflora leaves and found to be an active lipase inhibitor. The structure was elucidated using 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR and 2D-NMR analyses

Extraction and Characterisation of Chitin and Chitosan from Mussel Shell

In view of the increasing littering of the river banks by shells of crustaceans, a study was carried out to investigate the extraction and characterization of chitin and chitosan from mussel shell. Chitin and chitosan was extracted and characterized from mussel shell found in banks of the Gubi Dam in Bauchi, Nigeria using the conventional methods of pretreatment, demineralization, deprotienization and deacetylation. The results obtained revealed that  carbon nitrogen ratio of the chitosan extracted was 5.9 with a degree of deacetylation of 60.69% and 60.66% calculated from the elemental analysis and the FTIR spectra of chitosan respectively. The FTIR spectra for chitosan gave a characteristic –NH2 band of 3447 cm-1 and a carbonyl group band of   1477 cm-1. The mussel shell was discovered to contain a mineral content of 51.62% and a chitin composition was found to be 21.32%. KEYWORDS: Characterisation, Chitin, Chitosan, Extraction, Mussel

Impact of dose and route of administration on antibody responses of chickens inoculated with inactivated Avian Influenza H5 vaccine.

Background: The present study evaluated the influence of dose and route of administration of a commercial inactivated avian influenza virus (AIV) H5 vaccine on the humoral immune response of ISA brown chickens. Methods: Ninety “one-day-old” chickens were purchased from three commercial hatcheries (n = 30 chicks per hatchery), respectively, and chicks were vaccinated with either 0.2, 0.5 or 0.7 ml of the vaccine via either the intramuscular or subcutaneous route at days 14 and 28, respectively. Vaccinal antibody titres in chicks’ sera were quantified using an indirect ELISA kit at 14 (before vaccination), 21, 28, 35 and 42 days of age. Results: Results showed significant differences (p < /em> < 0.001) in the mean antibody titre levels at day 21 of age between chicks from hatcheries C (2,205.0 ± 409.1) and A (57.7 ± 49.9) at 21 days of age when either 0.2 ml or 0.5 ml of the vaccine was administered IM or SC. In addition, there were intra- and inter dose significant differences ( p < /em>< 0.001) between the chicks at 21, 28, 35 and 42 days of age. Furthermore, intra- and inter route significant differences (p < /em>< 0.001) were detected between the chicks at 21 and 35 days of age. Conclusion:  Overall, the AIV H5 vaccine studied had variable outcomes and was poorly immunogenic. Recommendation: Further studies should be conducted to characterize the T- and B-lymphocytes in chickens post AIV H5 vaccines administration, and evaluate the sequence homologies between imported AIV H5 vaccines and circulating AIV strains in Nigeria

ENHANCING ENTREPRENEURIAL SKILLS OF UNDERGRADUATE SCIENCE, VOCATIONAL AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION STUDENTS THROUGH ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION

This paper examines the contribution of entrepreneurship education course towards cultivating entrepreneurial skills of undergraduate Science, Technical and Vocational students. The subjects consist of 309 students from the School of Technology Education. Entrepreneurial skills development assessment questionnaire (ESDAQ) was used for data collection. The ESDAQ was validated by experts and internal consistency of 0.80 was obtained using the Cronbach’s Alpha method. The t-test and ANOVA were used for testing hypotheses at the 0.05 significance level. The study reveals that students' participation in the entrepreneurship education during their undergraduate education stimulates the acquisition of entrepreneurial skills. Entrepreneurial skills of technical education students is higher compared to vocational and science students. Diversification of instructional approach in teaching entrepreneurship education was recommended, especially the use of experiential learning methods interchangeably with the conventional style. &nbsp