Somatic chromosome counts and yield performance of some accessions of ‘egusi’ melon (Citrullus lanatus)

Investigation in 20 accessions of Citrullus lanatus (‘egusi’ melon) revealed somatic chromosome counts ranging from 18 to 24 with 2n = 22 being the most frequent. Polyploid counts of 2n = 40 and 2n =44 were made for accessions DD98/4 and L6, respectively. Diploid chromosome counts varying from 2n = 22 suggest aneuploid changes in chromosome number or can be attributed to counting difficulties caused by the overlapping of the sticky small chromosomes. The polyploid counts were exact multiples of the diploid numbers, suggesting occurrence of polyploid forms/cultivars of the species. The high yield performance observed for L6 as reflected in the fruit size and weight is a reflection of gigas effect that is characteristic of polyploid genomes. The study reveals that knowledge of chromosome counts and character expression will be useful in the selection of genotypes for hybridization purposes

Barriers to Knowledge Management Practices, Interprofessional Collaboration and Information Technology Application in Federal Tertiary Hospitals in Nigeria

Effective dissemination of knowledge among  healthcare professionals using information and telecommunication technology has been identified as an important tools to improve qaulity service delivery. This study provide succinct explanation of the constraints of using information technology in the management of knowledge among diverse healthcare professionals  in federal tertiary hospitals in Nigeria. The study specifically focus on factors militating against the effective use of information technology application to manage knowledge to promote interprofessional collaboration for improved quality service deleivery. Cross-sectional data were collected from 479 healthcare workers across the federal tertiary hospitals in Nigeria. Using the Relative Importance Index (RII), the results show that inadequate ICT infrastructure (R = 0.79), inadequate technical support (R = 0.78), ICT illiteracy (R = 0.77), inadequate management support (R= 0.76), behavioural and personal characteristics (R = 0.72), among others are the major barriers militating against interprofessional collaboration  and knowledge management in federal tertiary hospitals in Nigeria. Majority of the respondents also perceived  lack of time and interaction among healthcare workers, poor verbal communication, level of experience, organisational structure and hierarchy, difference in education and gender as parts of the sociocultural factors inhibiting effective management of knowledge and interprofessional collaboration  among healthcare workers. The study concludes that provision of basic information and communication technology facility to healthcare workers is paramount to enhance knowledge sharing and interprofessional collaboration to improve quality health service delivery. Adequate funding, provision of medical infrastructure and basic amenities, healthcare workers eduction and orientation towards the benefits of interprofessional collaboration using the IT application are suggested as ways to improve quality healthcare services in tertiary hospiatls.

Somatic chromosome counts and yield performance of some accessions of ‘EGUSI\' melon (Citrus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum & Nakai)

No Abstract.Nigerian Journal of Genetics Vol. 20 2006: pp. 54-6

An analysis of bond market liquidity and real sector output in selected African economies

There is increasing traction in the literature on the activities of the secondary securities’ market especially with bonds on financial development, with little known on its functional linkage to real sector growth. Following popular theories on bond financing, this study sought to fill this gap by examining if functional tie exists between the secondary bond markets and real sector output among fourteen African countries with functional bond markets and complete data. Among the variables adapted for use are real gross domestic product per capital, corporate bond issues, industrial output, corporate bond turnover, financial education, electricity consumption and institutional quality. The study tested through unit roots to augmented Toda-Yamamoto non-causality and co-integration approach to investigate both the short- and long-term relationships among the different variables. A priori, it was expected that market information would engender capital raising through bond issues and fund allocation. The study however, discovers that corporate bond turnover does not cause industrial output growth, neither does it cause corporate bond issue. An important short run result indicates that the impact of financial education is gradually being felt in the bond markets. For most of the long-run relationships, the study accepted the Null hypothesis. This implies that the investing public do not absorb the usefulness of the market information, which may explain the thinness and shallowness of African corporate bond market overtime. The liquidity signalling effects is however found to influence regulatory institutional quality in the long-run. An accelerated financial market liberalization and tax incentives for private sector provision of market infrastructure are recommended among others for improvement in the African bond markets investigated, among others

Mineralogical compositions of soils under three geological formations in some parts of Ogun state, Nigeria and their agricultural potentials

Abstract Investigating the mineralogical compositions of soils under different geological formations becomes imperative for maximizing agricultural productivity and ensuring the long-term viability of agricultural practices. Therefore, studies were carried out on mineral compositions and diversities of soils developed over the Basement complex rock, Coastal plain sands and Ewekoro formations in Ogun state Nigeria. A total of nine profile pits (three per location) of 2 m × 1 m × 2 m size were dug in all the three locations. Soil samples were collected from the pedogenic horizons of each profile pits in replicates into a well labeled polyethylene bag. Using X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) the mineral contents and their relative abundance, elemental compositions and morphologies of the fine sand, coarse silt and clay fractions of the soils at different topographic positions were identified, described and compared. Results obtained from XRD and SEM analyses exhibited similarities. The most abundant elements in the basement complex and Ewekoro pedon were oxygen, carbon and silicon whereas in the coastal plain sand pedon, oxygen, carbon and aluminum were the most abundant element. The presence of mixed-layer illite, mica, kaolinite, quartz, hematite, anatase, goethite, and chlorite at varying degrees was observed in the pedons developed on these geological formations, although kaolinite and quartz dominated the soil matrix. The mineralogical complexity of the pedons followed the order of basement complex > coastal plain sand > Ewekoro formation. Profiles developed on the Ewekoro formation exhibited the highest degree of weathering, as evidenced by their chemical properties and mineralogical compositions. The petrographic evaluation of the three geological formations revealed that all pedons were rich in quartz and exhibited varying degrees of mineral complexity and maturation. The overlapping and distinct characteristics among the geologies indicated different stages of weathering. By using the mineral maturity index, profiles developed over the basement complex rock and the coastal plain sand could be regarded as sub-matured and this could have contributed significantly to the native fertility of these soils and profiles from the Ewekoro formation were the most weathered. The use of Ewekoro formation for agriculture would necessitate significant investments in agro-inputs and sound principles of soil management through integrated soil fertility management

Financial exclusion of bankable adults: implication on financial inclusive growth among twenty-seven SSA countries

The G20 made a commitment to adopt financial inclusion as a major support towards the achievement of its 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development of all member countries. Specifically, the sustainable development goals of employment creation, hunger elimination and poverty reduction would be addressed when those in the informal sector are captured into mainstream finance. This study investigated how financial exclusion impairs inclusive drive of 27 sub Saharan African countries using secondary data sourced from World Bank database for 10 years (2007–2017). Granger Error Correction Method (ECM) with General Methods of Moments (GMM) of Arellanon and Bond (1991) were used to analyse the short panel data obtained from the World Bank database. The ECM test result found evidence of a long-run relationship, however, in the short-run, there is an insignificant but positive relationship between financial inclusion and exclusion with values recorded at 0.33, 0.37 and 0.32 for low, moderate and high financial stable countries, respectively. This implies that, there is no correlation between financial inclusion and financial exclusion (proxy by unemployment) in the three sets of countries sampled. However, for the moderately stable financial system, exclusion has negative long run multiplier impact on inclusion. The study therefore recommends policies that could sustain and improve employment rate in poorly and highly stable financial system