An excel template for processing examination results for higher institutions in Nigeria

In this work, we designed, developed and implemented an examination result processing template for all the Postgraduate programmes in the Faculty of Science, Kaduna State University, Kaduna. The designed template when fed in with data computes and grades students appropriately. Its design was done using the “IF” and “OR” logical functions. It was deployed and tested for the performance in terms of accuracy and speed, and as attested by the end users, it is excellent.Keywords: MS Excel, “IF”, “OR”, Template, Examination, Grade, GP

Fungating scrotal mass with facial nerve palsy in an advanced testicular embryonal germ cell tumour: unusual occurrence.

Fungating scrotal mass and lower motor neuron facial nerve palsy (LMN-FNP) are unusual traits of testicular cancer. A 49-year-old farmer with recurrent right hemi-scrotal swelling that expeditiously grew to involve the whole scrotum. He had a nick on the swelling and the resultant ulcer extended rapidly over the mass and right groin. There were associated peniledeformity and right lower leg swelling. The angle of his mouth became inclined to the left side with inability to close the right eye. He had right orchidectomy five years earlier for righttesticular mass throughthe scrotal approach but no histology was done. On examination, he had a huge fungating scrotal mass that extends to the right groin with saxophone penile deformity. There were multiple left inguinal lymphadenopathies with right pedal oedema. There was grade III right LMN-FNP, tympanometry showed an absent acoustic reflex and pure tone audiometry revealed right sensorineural hearing loss. His α-fetal protein was elevated and the tissue biopsy confirmed embryonal testicular germ cell tumor. The Computerized tomography (CT) scan of the abdominopelvic and temporomastoid regions showed metastatic deposits in the retroperitoneal group of lymph nodes and fallopian canal respectively. The patient was optimized and commenced on cytotoxic chemotherapy but five days after completing the first course he developed sudden inability to swallow, lapsed into unconsciousness and ceased breathing despite resuscitation effort. Conclusion: Fungating scrotal mass and facial nerve palsy from an advanced testicular germ cell tumour are unusual. Therefore, a high index of suspicion is essential for the diagnosis testicular tumour secondaries as the cause of facial nerves palsy and the tumour invasion the cause of the fungating mass. It has a negative impact on patient's body image plus the quality of life and probably presagedpoor outcome

The influence of performance management elements on Nigerian public sector performance : performance audit as moderator

The study examines the influence of the performance management elements on the organizational performance of the government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) in Nigeria, with the moderating effect of the performance audit. A questionnaire reflecting the study variables was designed for the conduct of the survey on the MDAs at the state governments’ level in Nigeria. A total number of 551 questionnaires were distributed among the targeted respondents. Hence, 322 usable responses were successfully retrieved to test 11 direct and indirect hypotheses formulated to address the highlighted research problems. The study is underpinned by institutional theory and supported by agency theory. Linear regression and hierarchical regression analysis were employed to analyze the data. The findings of the study revealed that, all the performance management elements exhibited a significant positive relationship with the organizational performance. However, the result of the hierarchical regression reveals that, performance audit moderates the relationship between performance reporting and organizational performance. In addition, no moderation evidence was found on other performance management elements. Specifically, the study’s major implication is that, the moderating strength of the performance audit has been tested on the relationship between performance management elements and organizational performance which is not common practice in the current literature. In addition, the study recommended that, in order to ensure efficient management of public resources, then, performance management system must be strengthened across government MDAs. Thus, the 3Es (efficiency, effectiveness and economy) would be firmly secured. Finally, the major limitation of the study is that, the data for the study were collected from the state governments MDAs only, thus, caution must be exercised in generalizing the findings on other tiers of governments in Nigeria. Hence, future studies should consider organizations at other levels

Perceptions of People Towards Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Intellectual Disability in North Eastern Nigeria

This paper examined people’s perception towards youth with Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual disability. In-depth interviews were conducted separately with a with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), Intellectual disabilities (ID) While their mothers were thoroughly investigated in order to ascertain the level of victimization in the form of bullying on these categories of youth constructs from the interview were utilized to compare groups on the frequency type and impact of victimization. The outcomes of the interview conducted reveals that youth with ASD are being victimized more frequently than their ID peers and that the form of bullying being subdued differs from each group to another. In view of submission our findings show that higher internalizing problem and conflicts in relationship are found to be a significant predictor of victimization. The paper, therefore, recommends among others that observation of extrinsic and intrinsic behaviors for proper adjustment in a classroom setting should be taken care off

Single-sided magnetic nanoparticles imaging scanner for early detection of breast cancer

Electromagnetic coils form the basis of magnetic particle imaging (MPI) scanners. Previous scanner designs employ Helmholtz coil arrangement which has low sensitivity and high cost of fabrication. Furthermore, the scanners have long signal acquisition time and high memory requirement. This research focuses on developing a simple, low-cost and low memory demanding one-dimensional MPI scanner capable of imaging the position and concentration of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs), using electromagnetic coils in the form of solenoids. The scanner produces an oscillatory magnetic field to excite the MNPs and a static magnetic field to confine the region of interest. The MNPs reacted with a nonlinear magnetisation response, inducing a voltage signal that was measured with an appropriate gradiometer pickup coil. In Fourier space, the received voltage signal consists of the fundamental excitation frequency and harmonics. This research utilises the second harmonic response of the MNPs to determine their position and concentration. Analogue Bandpass and Bandstop filters were designed for signal excitation and reception. Resovist and Perimag MNPs in liquid and immobilised form were used as tracer materials, which were moved to different spatial positions through the field of view (FOV), to record the induced voltages. The magnitude response of the Bandpass filter with 22.8 kHz fundamental frequency shows a flat amplitude in the passband with a smooth roll-off rate of ±80 dB/pole, while the Bandstop filter efficiently attenuates the fundamental frequency and passed the 45.6 kHz second harmonic frequency. Results of the excitation coil design revealed that a magnetic field within the range of 0.8 mT to 4.4 mT was obtained, while a voltage in microvolts range was induced in the gradiometer pickup coil. The contour maps derived from imaging one and two samples of the MNPs in the XY-plane revealed their position and shape. Additionally, the average threshold of the peak signal amplitude was obtained as 10.63 μV that would indicate the presence of MNPs concentration sufficient for cancer detection. The developed single-sided MPI scanner has a spatial resolution of less than 1 mm, a pixel resolution of 51.5 megapixels and 42.1 ms image acquisition time. Thus, the outcome of this research showed that the developed single-side MPI scanner has a potential in the detection of MNPs, which could help in sentinel lymph node biopsy for breast cancer diagnosis

Performance Audit and the New Public Management (NPM) Reforms: Addressing the Public Sector Inefficiency in Nigeria

With the advent of NPM in the public sector, the auditing profession has been elaborately transformed to include many other classes of audit. NPM has been a guiding public sector reform template for over 25 years. Performance audit is one of the audit exercises promoted by the NPM regime. Over the years, the emphasis on 3Es (efficiency, effectiveness and economy) has necessitated the government agencies in many countries around the globe to bring government activities under meticulous scrutiny. Thus, performance audit is a formal tool for evaluating 3Es in the public sector by ensuring that, conformity and compliance with the principles and procedures of the public governance are adequately guaranteed. Specifically, the performance audit practice is at the infant stage in Nigeria. Hence, public agencies that adopted the performance audit are poised to face unanticipated challenges. Therefore, driving from that emphasis, this study presents a multi-level experience of OECD countries on the performance audit. Explicitly, this study is a conceptual review of views and experiences of the OECD countries on the impact of the performance audit with regards to NPM reforms. Equally, the study also reflects on the consensus that, 3Es determines the public sector organizational performance

Adoption of the performance measurement system in the Nigerian public sector: Challenges and prospects

Assessing the performance of organizations using the performance measurement system has gradually become a common practice in the public sector entities.This has been established to be a direct fall out of the ripple effect of the new public management (NPM).Adoption of the performance measurement system in the public sector world over (not particularly in Nigeria) has been experiencing a myriad of challenges.This is imperative to point out owing to the fact that, the processes of adoption have been difficult, monotonous and time-consuming.In some public sector organizations where the adoption has been successful, such feat was achieved after intense difficulties, trial and error.In Nigeria, for instance, the analytical challenges in the adoption of the performance measurement system are too apparent to be ignored. Conversely, it is quite interesting to highlight that, in some countries, the development of measures to manage and evaluate public sector performance has reached a strategic height, therefore tracking of output, outcomes and input have been reasonably straightforward and significant progress is somewhat recorded.Finally, it is a general consensus among the public sector managers and academia that, adoption of the system of performance measurement in the public sector is a powerful tool that guarantees improved performance, quality of decision making and service delivery

An Empirical Study on the Use Intention of Electronic Cash Collection System in Nigerian Federal Hospitals

It is a well-known fact that the use of electronic systems around the globe has facilitated and enhanced the efficiency in organizations. In light of this, federal hospitals in Nigeria have started using electronic collection system for cash collection purposes. Electronic cash collection system (e-collection) is a computerized system designed to handle cash collections with a view to block revenue leakages that are widespread within the Nigerian public sector organizations. However, the continuous use of the system is being faced with great resistance by those employees that were purposely meant to use it. In view of that, the aim of this paper is to investigate factors that could influence employee’s intention to use e-collection system in the performance of their duties. Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was adapted with an extension of computer self-efficacy variable with a view to providing additional explanation to the model. Partial Least Square (PLS) was used to analyse 116 responses from e-collection users in investigating the relationship between three independent variables (perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, computer self-efficacy) and the dependent variable (intention). The results of the analysis revealed that positive and significant relationships exist between the independent variables and the dependent variable except between perceived usefulness and intention. Recommendations were made to the hospital authorities to educate and enlighten the concern employees on the usefulness and benefits of the new system

Influence of climate variability and change on natural hazard in selected states in northern Nigeria

The study examined the climate variability and change using temperature record (1951-2014) over Kano, Maiduguri, and Sokoto to depict the spatiotemporal influence on natural hazards across the states. Shiroro hydrologic records for thirty seven years (1975-2012) were collected and analyzed in addition, 300 structured questionnaires were administered to the residents of Gurmana downstream settlement for the purpose of generating their responses arising from flooding and its related problems. The result affirmed temperature changes between 1950 - 1981 and 1982 – 2014; it reveals positive changes in April mean, maximum and minimum temperature values of between 0.4 to1.5°C across the study area. Similarly, the observed oscillation and positive trend of inflow and outflow from shiroro reservoir constitute a major and unprecedented shift in stream flow across the downstream communities. Intensified warmer temperature, inflow and discharge trends have continued to aggravate seasonal rainfall related hazards which are threats to sustainability of human livelihood across most rural communities. Consequently, there is need for systematic development and application of policies, strategies and adoption of best practices as pathway towards disaster risk reduction

Determination of Placement Distance of Fertilizer for Sugarcane as an Agronomic Requirement Relevant in the Design of a Fertilizer Applicator

Fertilizer placement distance at which sugarcane utilizes fertilizer optimally was determined in terms of its growth parameters (root distribution, stem height, stalk thickness, and leaf count). Three placement distances (4, 8 and 12 cm) were used as treatment and replicated four times. After subjecting the data obtained to Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) for Complete Randomized Design (CRD), the average means for a placement distance of 4 cm (for root distribution, stem height, stalk thickness and leaf count) are 3,910.75 cm 2 , 30.83 cm, 0.763 cm, and 9.5, while for 8 cm placement distance are 2,011.63 cm 2 , 27.70 cm, 0.699 cm, and 8.5. The values for 12 cm placement distance are 5,840.06 cm 2 , 34.55 cm, 0.788 cm and 11.25, respectively. These show that the effects of fertilizer placement distance on root distribution, stalk thickness and stem height are significant at 0.05 level of significance during three months of growth. It was highest at 12 cm placement and lowest was at 8 cm placement distance. Hence, fertilizer placement distance at 12 cm was recommended for the design and construction of a fertilizer applicator for sugarcan