Internet Use among Undergraduates in Nigeria: The Role of Policy

This study investigates appropriate and inappropriate use of Internet among undergraduates in Nigeria. There is a growing concern that the amount of time spent on Internet by undergraduates does not translate to effective use. The instrumentality of policy could be used to ensure that undergraduates make the best use of internet. Two universities, Lagos State University and Babcock University were chosen as case study. A total of one hundred and twenty (120) questionnaires were administered to final year students in four faculties common to both universities. Ninety-seven (97) questionnaires were completed and returned. Simple percentages were used to analyse data and answers were provided to five research questions. T-test was used to test the only research hypothesis raised.   The Study showed that there are many advantages brought by the advent of Internet into learning and research by undergraduate students in Nigeria. There is need for a comprehensive national information policy to address the abuse of Internet by undergraduates.   Keywords- Internet, Addiction, Undergraduates, User studies, Libraries, Information policy

Pre-hospital care in Nigeria: A country without emergency medical services

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Exchange rate fluctuations and manufacturing output: Stylized evidence in Nigeria

One of the key engines of growth in many countries is the manufacturing sector, whose performance is impacted by the movement of the local currency. The manufacturing sector also offers opportunities like increased commerce, innovation, competitiveness, increasing exports, and productivity, which will only be possible when exchange rate is in the form of currency appreciation. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to investigate the effect of exchange rate fluctuations on Nigerian manufacturing output. The Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity technique was used in the study in order to examine the exchange rate oscillations. The result of the model estimation revealed that there is no persistence of shocks in the volatility of the exchange rate in the Nigerian economy. The business cycle stylized facts were also used to examine exchange rate volatility and the result established that exchange rate is highly volatile and has a negative effect on manufacturing output in Nigeria. The Auto Regressive Distributed Lag Bounds test was used to establish the long-run relationship and the result showed that there is a long-run relationship between exchange rate and manufacturing output. The variance decomposition and Impulse Response function were employed and the resul

The Effect of Evaporative Cooling System on the Storage of Citrus (Sweet Orange)

Postharvest losses have been a very perpetual challenge facing the agricultural industries as most produce gets spoilt after harvest owing to poor postharvest handlings. Several attempts have been made to eliminate this challenge ranging from transportation, packaging, and storage. The panacea to this problem is still much work in progress. However, a developed cooler with a cooling efficiency of 86.01% which was immensely able to salvage the rapid deterioration challenge of fruits as ascertained through seven days of concurrent storage of sweet oranges in a cooler and ambient. The result shows that the cooler successfully improved the shelf life of the stored produce with about 4% weight loss of the stored citrus compared to the 9% weight loss of the ambient storage

Robust, tunable, and high purity triggered single photon source at room temperature using a nitrogen-vacancy defect in diamond in an open microcavity

We report progress in the development of tunable room temperature triggered single photon sources based on single nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centres in nanodiamond coupled to open access optical micro-cavities. The feeding of fluorescence from an NV centre into the cavity mode increases the spectral density of the emission and results in an output stream of triggered single photons with spectral line width of order 1 nm, tunable in the range 640 - 700 nm. We record single photon purities exceeding 96% and estimated device efficiencies up to 3%. We compare performance using plano-concave microcavities with radii of curvature from 25 mu m to 4 mu m and show that up to 17% of the total emission is fed into the TEM00 mode. Pulsed Hanbury-Brown Twiss (HBT) interferometry shows that an improvement in single photon purity is facilitated due to the increased spectral density. Published by The Optical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License

Anthrax outbreak: exploring its biological agents and public health implications

The (re)emergence of several infectious zoonoses underlines the need for the re-evaluation of the transmission patterns and key players responsible for effective inter-species transfer of diseases. Anthrax is caused by Bacillus anthracis, a zoonotic rod-shaped, Gram-positive, spore-forming bacterium that is highly fatal to both human and animal populations. B. anthracis is widespread across several regions of the world, including Africa, Asia, southern Europe, North and South America, and Australia, and it has a remarkably high attendant impact on the sustainability and profitability of livestock. The current trend in the global distribution of anthrax necessitates an urgent contextual understanding of the key drivers of the spread of B. anthracis in different parts of the world toward the end goal of an anthrax-free world. The understanding of the drivers is integral for the development of control and preventive measures, and also the development of agents such as therapeutics and vaccines against B. anthracis. This review presents a holistic description of the transmission pattern and epidemiology of B. anthracis, and updates on the diagnostic techniques and approaches available for the detection of B. anthracis. In addition, this review highlights plausible prevention and control strategies for the bacterium. This review further underscores the need for participatory epidemiology, hygiene, and safety protocols, the establishment of comprehensive surveillance systems, and global collaborative efforts toward vaccine development as critical steps in controlling anthrax

Hospital services for ill patients in the middle-belt geopolitical zone, Nigeria: Patient’s waiting time and level of satisfaction

An important parameter in the assessment of quality healthcare lies on patient satisfaction. Despite concerted efforts to improve health care services, patient satisfaction couple with the quality of hospital care at disposal remains a significant challenge in Nigeria. The purpose of the study was to determine the perception on factors associated with prolonged waiting time and patient satisfaction at the outpatient department of Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida Specialist Hospital in Nigeria. A mixed method research was utilised. Questionnaire was administered on 95 outpatients along with a focus group discussion (FGD) was held with 8 participants. Statistical analysis was utilized to determine the association between dependent and independent variables. Data from focus group discussion was analysed with NVivo 10. The overall hospital satisfaction was found to be 75.8% among the study population. There was a significant inverse relationship between the level of satisfaction with the doctor and (employment status, and educational level) and direct relationship with (appointment status and type of visits). In FDG, the result shows that patients were satisfied with the neatness of the hospital, doctor’s professionalism and patient-doctor relationship. Dissatisfaction was with extended patient waiting time and the small size infrastructure of the hospital, inefficient handling of patient files by nurse aids and thoroughness of the physicians. The results showed that majority of the patients were dissatisfied with the waiting time for consultation in the hospital. In other words, consultation time positively correlated with the level of patient satisfaction. To improve the overall patient satisfaction the waiting time for consultation should be reduced significantly

AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING PROFESSION AND FOOD SECURITY IN NIGERIA: A REVIEW

Food security is currently a fundamental issue in Nigeria as the country faces serious challenge in meeting food needs of its growing population. Though large expanse of arable land, favorable climatic conditions the nation has not been able to translate these to increased food production. Over 90% of agricultural production in Nigeria is rain-fed. Smallholders, mostly subsistence producers account for 80% of all farm holdings such that crop and livestock productions remain below potentials. Majority of Nigeria’s agriculture is still at subsistence level; this is grossly inadequate in food production. This paper highlights the relevance of appropriate technology to production, processingand preservation of food, advances in biotechnology, renewable energy and waste management for environmental sustainability. Neglect or low level of appreciation for agricultural engineering is partlyresponsible for food insecurity in Nigeria. The role of agricultural engineers in the development and application of relevant agricultural implements to boostfood production and the need for government at all levels to recognize and encourage the profession is emphasized. This will ultimately lead to greater productivity and guarantee food security for the nation

Evaluation of the adsorptive capacity of Activated Egusi Peels (AEP) for the removal of heavy metals from aqueous solutions

The removal of Pb (II) and Cu (II) by adsorption onto activated melon peels (AEP) adsorbent was investigated in this present paper. The adsorption data was well described by both the Langmuir and the Freundlich isotherm models. Adsorption was found to increase with increase in temperature, contact time and adsorbent dose but decreased with increase in pH. Pseudo-first order kinetic model was found suitable for describing the kinetics of the adsorption process. The Freundlich isotherm model kf was 3.43 for Pb (II) and 4.05 for Cu (II) signifying a preferential sorption for Cu (II) onto AEP in any industrial wastewater containing the two heavy metals. The Freundlich parameter n being less than unity indicates that the adsorption of Pb (II) and Cu (II) onto AEP was by physical sorption. Results from this study show that AEP could be used economically, for removing heavy metals from wastewater

Performance Evaluation of an Indigenous Rotary Power Weeder

A rotary power weeder was developed and evaluated. The weeder is to reduce drudgery and ensure a comfortable posture of the farmer or operator during weeding and increase production. The weeder’s component parts are: frame, rotary hoe (disk), tines, power and transmission unit. The results of field performance evaluation showed that the field capacity and weeding efficiency of the rotary power weeder were 0.0712 ha/hr and 73%. The cost of operation with this weeder was estimated to be N 2,700.00 as against N 12,000.00 by manua