Forms of Academic Cheating During Examination among Students with Hearing Impairment in Nigeria: Implication for Counselling Practice

The pervasiveness of cheating on internal and external examinations among the Nigerian students led to this study. One hundred and forty-four students with hearing impairment purposively selected from Federal College of Education (Special), Oyo,Nigeria participated in the study. Five research questions were pose and tested for the study. A researcher-designed questionnaire titled 'Forms of Academic Cheating during Exam in Institutions of Learning' was used to generate data. Frequency count, percentage, rank-order and chi-square were employed to test the research questions. The findings of the study indicated that all the participants have cheated in the past exams with 53.44% having cheated twice. Signing the correct answers t

Crop protection strategies for major diseases of cocoa, coffee and cashew in Nigeria

A great percentage of people in the developing countries are engaged in agriculture, but the yields of their produce are low due to diseases that plague their crops. In Nigeria, crop protection measures that are cheap, simple, cost-effective and sustainable are desirable to combat Phytophthora pod rot (black pod) and cocoa swollen shoot virus diseases of cocoa, coffee leaf rust and coffee berry diseases, inflorescence blight disease of cashew in order to make farming profitable and sustainable. Disease control strategies include the use of resistant cultivars, chemicals, biological, botanicals, cultural, physical controls and application of biotechnology, each of which is discussed in this paper.African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 4 (2), pp. 143-150, 200

PERCIEVED SOCIAL SUPPORT OF STREET BEGGARS IN LAGOS METROPOLIS

The situation of street begging in Nigeria is appreciated with different categories of beggars found at motor parks, religious worship centres, markets, road junctions, venue of ceremonies and worst still on the university campuses . The situation is quite embarrassing with efforts of governments in curbing the menace of street begging not yielding fruits. The present study examined the perceived social support of street beggars. It adopted the descriptive research of the ex-post facto type. A random sample of three LGAs was selected and 516 participants took part in the study.out of these participants there were 311(60%) males and 205 (40%) females. Hausas were 284(55%), Yorubas were 162(31 %), lbos were 40(8%) and others were 30(6%). The age ranged from 12-65 years with standard deviation of 38years. All the participants reported low perceieved social support. The findings revealed no significant difference in gender , tribes and age groups in perceived social support. It was recommended that families, government and non-governmental organisations should weave social support round the beggars. It was concluded that formal and informal organizations, as well as grass-roots movements, should be recognized as partners in the construction of social support for beggars

Growth performance and nutritional quality of selected vegetables in response to organic and inorganic fertilizers under low and high irradiance

Vegetables form major part of human dietary/nutritional needs. It provides the necessary vitamins and minerals as well as antioxidants to boost immunity. Different vegetables however have different benefits and require different growing conditions. This study investigated the effect of two growing conditions (Screen-house and open field) and soil amendments; Mexican sunflower compost (MSC; applied at 0, 5, 10 t/ha) and NPK 15:15:15 (applied at 0, 50 and 100 kg N/ha) on the growth performance, yield, and nutritional quality of five selected vegetables (Amaranthus cruentus, Celosia. argentea, Solanum macrocarpon, Solanum nigrum and Solanum incanum). Each treatment was replicated three times and experiment arranged in completely randomized design, Compost was applied a week before seed sowing vegetables grown in the screen-house generally performed better than the open field in terms of leaf area and chlorophyll content. The response however varied based on the vegetable and the soil amendments. Solanum species, performed better than Amaranthus under screen-house than open field. Chlorophyll in the leaf responded positively to NPK fertilizer under screen-house conditions while growth parameters such as plant height, stem girth, number of leaves under screen-house and field conditions varied depending on the vegetables. The number of leaves and leaf area increased with soil amendments. Moisture, crude protein and ash contents were reduced under open field compared to screen-house. The zinc and iron contents of the vegetable leaves showed that addition of compost was superior to NPK and screen-house better than open field. It can be concluded that vegetables grown in the screen-house performed better in their respective growth parameters than vegetables are grown under the open field

Incidence of aflatoxins, fumonisins, trichothecenes and ochratoxins in Nigerian foods and possible intervention strategies

Mycotoxins are toxic secondary metabolites produced by some species of fungi. Aflatoxins, fumonisins, trichothecenes and ochratoxins are the common mycotoxins in Nigeria. Aflatoxin is the most frequently reported in literatures, with trichothecenes being the least, they cause yield loss to farmers as well as constituting major health risk to humans. The occurrence of mycotoxins in food is a serious problem that Nigeria is facing presently, as it continues to pose threat to feed and food safety of animals and humans. There is the need to seek for approaches that would lead to reduction in their toxicity. The practice of good sanitary measures right from the farm to storage, creation of awareness campaign to indicate the toxic effects associated with mycotoxin poisonings in humans and livestock, and proper evaluation of food crops for its presence can go a long way in achieving the target reduction in incidence of mycotoxins in Nigeria

A comparative assessment of public and private dots laboratories in the Lagos state TB control programme

Background: The purpose of the laboratory services within the framework of the NTP is to provide bacteriologic evidence for the diagnosis, follow-up of TB patients and to document cure at the end of treatment. However to be fully functional, laboratory commodities should be available as needed. This study compared the laboratory hygiene practices and availability of laboratory equipment and other consumables for making diagnosis of TB in public and private DOTS laboratories in Lagos State.Methods: A descriptive comparative cross sectional study comparing availability of commodities in public and private laboratories involved in TB services in Lagos State.Results: Seventeen DOTS laboratories and 34 laboratory scientist/technician were recruited for this study. About three quarter and two thirds of the public and private DOTS laboratories respectively had reagents for smear microscopy. A significantly higher proportion of the public DOTS laboratories had separate area for TB work and separate table for smear preparation (p <0.05). A higher proportion (71.4%) of the laboratory scientist/ technicians at the public compared with 38.5% of those at the private DOTS laboratories had good knowledge of the laboratory diagnosis of TB.Conclusion: Laboratories involved in TB service are not functioning optimally and need to be strengthened.Key Words: Laboratory, DOTS, Consumables, Hygiene.French AbstractContexte : L’objet des services des laboratoires dans le cadre du NTP est de fournir les preuves bactériologiques pour le diagnostic, de suivre les patients tuberculeux et de documenter la guérison a la fin du traitement. Toutefois, pour être pleinement fonctionnel, les produits de laboratoire devraient être disponibles au besoin. Cette recherche comparait les pratiques hygiènes de laboratoire et la disponibilité des équipements de laboratoire et autres consommables pour faire le diagnostic de la tuberculose aux laboratoires de DOTS publics et prives dans l’État de Lagos.Méthodes : Une étude transversale comparative et transversale descriptive comparant la disponibilité des produits aux laboratoires publics et prives  concernes a fournir aux services tuberculeux dans l’état de Lagos.Résultats : Dix – sept laboratoires de DOTS et 34 scientifiques/techniciens ont été recrutés pour cette recherche. Environ trois quarts et deux tiers des laboratoires de DOT publics et prives ont eu réactif respectivement pour la microscopie des frottis. Une proportion significativement plus élevée des laboratoires de DOTS publics a eu un espace séparé pour les travaux de la tuberculose et une table séparée pour la préparation des frottis (p<0,05). Une proportion élevée(71,4%) des scientifiques/techniciens des laboratoires publics comparativement a 38,5% de ceux des laboratoires de DOTS prives avaient une bonne connaissance de diagnostic laboratoire de la tuberculose.Conclusion : Les laboratoires qui ont concerné a fournir les services tuberculeux ne fonctionnent pas de la façon optimale et doivent être renforcés.Mots– clés : Laboratoire, DOTS, consommables, Hygiène

Синтеза, карактеризација и испитивање каталитичких својстава комплекса Zn(II)

In this study, a series of novel zinc complexes have been synthesised and thoroughly characterized. Two of the complexes were prepared from the ligands obtained from derivatives of 2-acetylthiazole, and another two from the derivative of Girard's reagents T and P. These complexes featured tridentate coordinating ligands of hydrazone with NNS or NNO donating atoms and were characterized by elemental analysis, spectroscopic techniques and single crystal XRD methods. In addition to these new complexes, the study also included a catalytic study of five analogues previously synthesized, each containing ligands with the same donor atom sets. The primary aim of this research was to evaluate the catalytic potential of these complexes in the coupling reaction of KA2, leading to the synthesis of tetrasubstituted propargylamines, which are commonly used as intermediates in organic synthesis, providing easy access to a wide range of structurally complex organic compounds. A number of model reactants were used to optimise the KA2 reaction conditions. To further investigate the catalytic activity of the Zn(II) complex, additional tests were then carried out on the most reactive compounds using a variety of substrate combinations. In order to better understand the electronic structure of the complexes and how it correlates with catalytic reactivity, the study employed density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Based on the Conceptual DFT framework the study derived several global molecular reactivity descriptors, including chemical potential (µ), hardness (η), softness (S), electronegativity (χ), and electrophilic index (ω). These descriptors provided valuable insights into how reactive and stable complexes are.U ovoj tezi, sintetisana je i detaljno okarakterisana serija novih kompleksa Zn(II). Dva kompleksa su dobijena polazeći od liganda derivata 2-acetiltiazola, a druga dva od derivata Žirarovih T i P reagenasa. Ovi kompleksi sadrže ligande na bazi tridentatnih hidrazona, sa NNO ili NNS donorskim setom atoma, i okarakterisani su elementalnom analizom, infracrvenom (IC) i nuklearno magnetno rezonantnom (NMR) spektroskopijom i metodom difrakcije rendgenskih zraka na monokristalima. Pored novih kompleksa Zn(II), studija je takođe uključila i pet prethodno sintetisanih analoga, koji sadrže ligande sa istim donorskim setom atoma. Glavni cilj ovog istraživanja bio je evaluacija katalitičkog potencijala kompleksa Zn(II), u reakciji keto-amin-alkin (KA2) kuplovanja, koja kao proizvod daje tetrasupstituisane propargilamine. Propargilamini se najčešće koriste kao intermedijeri u organskim sintezama, omogućavajući lak pristup širokom spektru kompleksnih organskih jedinjenja. Prilikom optimizacije KA2 reakcije korišćeni su različiti model sistemi. Kako bi se dodatna ispitala katalitička aktivnost kompleksa Zn(II), za nejreaktivnija jedinjenja, se potom pratio uticaj promenom polaznih supstrata na reaktivnost. DFT proračuni su izvedeni da bi se razjasnila elektronska struktura ispitivanih kompleksa Zn(II), odlično povezujući strukturu kompleksa sa njihovom katalitičkom aktivnošću. Na osnovu Konceptualne teorije funkcionala gustine, izračunati su globalni molekulski deskriptori reaktivnosti, kao što su hemijski potencijal (µ), tvrdoća (η), mekoća (S), elektronegativnost (χ) i indeks elektrofilnosti (ω). Ovi deskriptori su pružili uvid u to koliko su proučavani kompleksi reaktivni i stabilni

Health Workers' Knowledge of Preventing Mother-To-Child Transmission of HIV in Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria

Introduction: Health workers have important roles to play in reducing mother-to-childtransmission of HIV. This study assessed health workers' knowledge of the nationalguidelines on preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV in Benin City, Edo State,NigeriaMethodology: The study design was a descriptive cross-sectional survey. The studypopulation comprised health workers providing services for preventing mother-to-childtransmission of HIV in Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria. Data was collected through selfadministeredquestionnaires.Results: Two hundred and seventy health workers participated in the study comprisingdoctors, nurses, pharmacists, laboratory scientists and counsellors. All the respondentshad heard of preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV. Ninety-two (34.1%) hadreceived training on the national guidelines on preventing mother-to-child transmissionof HIV. The proportion of health workers with poor, fair, and good knowledge of thenational guidelines on PMTCT was 8.5%, 30.4% and 61.1% respectively. Knowledge ofthe national guidelines was significantly associated with the health workers' occupation,previous training on PMTCT and having a copy of the national guidelines.Conclusion: This study highlighted important gaps in health workers knowledge ofPMTCT. Training and retraining of health workers remains crucial to achieving the goalof reducing mother-to-child transmission of HIV. The study findings may guide thecontent of future training of health workers on PMTCT to ensure relevance andadequacy

ADOPTION OF COMPUTER ASSISTED LANGUAGE LEARNING SOFTWARE AMONG NIGERIAN SECONDARY SCHOOLS’ STUDENTS

Covenant University (NIGERIA) Learning a language can be a daunting task especially if a learner has acquired his/her first language. In second or foreign language learning (L2 or FL), an effective learning strategy can contribute very much to one’s success. Hence, computer assisted language learning (CALL) materials could be used in teaching to facilitate the language learning process. CALL encompasses broad range of information and communication technology applications and approaches. CALL materials are useful for two reasons; they are focused on learning rather than instruction or teaching and student-centered which enables a learner to learn at his/her pace. The four skills covered by CALL are listening, speaking, reading and writing. There are evidences in the literature that CALL has performed well in promoting three skills; listening, speaking and reading while substantial gains have not been made in writing skill. CALL, like other educational software that is computer software has the potential to facilitate, accelerate, motivate and deepen skills in language learning. This study therefore examined the level of adoption of CALL among secondary students in Nigeria. The study covered two geopolitical zones (North-central and South-west) in Nigeria. Four states were randomly selected; two from each zone. The states are Kogi and kwara from North-central, Lagos and Ogun from South west. Eight secondary schools from each of the states participated in this study. A total of thirty two secondary schools were selected. Twenty students were selected from each of the thirty-two schools (371 girls (58%), 269 boys (42%)). The ages of the participants range from 12-18years with mean age of 14.63years and standard deviation of 2.08. All the participants had English language as one of their subjects while 23% had French language in addition. CALL Adoption Questionnaire (CAQ) was designed and used to measure adoption. Four research questions were raised and answered. The findings revealed that only 147 students representing 23% adopt CALL applications in their language learning activities. The factors that promote the adoption of CALL include; educational qualification of fathers, type of school, peer influence and class of students. The study concluded that the adoption of CALL is low among secondary school students and recommended that parents, government and proprietors of private schools should procure and enforce the use of CALL in our secondary schools to reduce abysmal failure rate in English and French languages

ASSESSMENT OF JEBBA HYDROPOWER DAM OPERATION FOR IMPROVED ENERGY PRODUCTION AND FLOOD MANAGEMENT

One of the reservoir management options for flood moderation and energy production is the operation of Hydropower Dams to protect people and their socio-economic activities in flood plain areas. This study focuses on assessing Jebba Hydropower Dam Operation for improved energy production and flood management. Available Data for 27-year period (1984 - 2011) such as inflow, elevation, turbine release, generating head, energy generation, tailrace water level and plant coefficient was obtained from Jebba Dam Station. The present reservoir-operating rule was investigated using statistical analysis to model the operation of the multi-purpose reservoir. Statistical tests carried out in accordance with standard procedure include chi-square (χ2), probability plot coefficient of correlation (r), and coefficient of determination (R2). The results show that the optimal solution at operating performance of 50% reservoir inflow reliability has the total annual energy generation of 42105.63MWH with adequate water supply for downstream users and for irrigation throughout the year with annual optimal evaporation losses averaged at 58.16Mm3. Average optimal energy generation obtained is 19% of the observed energy generation but with adequate water supply for downstream users and for irrigation throughout the year. It is, therefore, essential to develop a decision-making framework capable of handling the conflicting demand