CHARACTERISATION OF THE ELASTIC PROPERTIES OF SOILS IN SOME PARTS OF LAGOS WETLANDS FOR ENGINEERING PURPOSES

The results obtained from the evaluation of elastic properties of some part of Lagos Wetlands were presented for the determination of the competent soil for engineering structures. The study area falls within the reclaimed part of the Lagos wetlands signifying the presence of unstable geological materials. The study area is characterized with alluvium sediments which comprises of materials of low shear strength. Five (5) seismic profile lines were established via the ground rolling technique of Multi-Channel Analysis of Surface Waves (MASW). The data acquisition was carried out with twenty-four (24) channels 4.5Hz vertical geophones connected to the ABEM Mark 6 Terraloc Seismograph. The acquired MASW data were processed using SeisImager to obtain the two-dimensional (2-D) shear wave velocity (Vs) profiles which gives the contrast in the distribution of the velocity along each profile. In addition, dynamic parameters such as rigidity modulus, poisson ratio were estimated for further classification of the geo-earth materials in the study area. In the study area, the shear wave velocity (Vs) values obtained ranged between 94 – 1320 m/s representing different sediments such as saturated loose sand (163 – 204 m/s), loose silty sand (165- 225 m/s), medium – dense sand (220 – 350 m/s), medium dense sand (400 – 700 m/s) and dense-coarse sand (900 - 1380 m/s). However, based on these classification, it is found that saturated loose sand and loose silty sand are not competent for founding layer of engineering structures. Therefore, deep foundation inform of piling system is recommended for engineering structure that will devoid unexpected collapse and partial and differential settlement. The study has revealed that the area is generally comprise of problematic soil(s) that are inimical to construction of engineering structures

DETERMINANTS OF POVERTY AMONG DRY SEASON WOMEN VEGETABLE FARMERS IN KWARA STATE, NORTH CENTRAL NIGERIA

This study examines the determinants of poverty among 120 representative dry season women vegetable farmers in Kwara state, North Central Nigeria using logistic regression model. The poverty status of the dry season women vegetable farmers were also profiled using the Foster, Greer and Thorbecke, (1984) weighted poverty indices. The results of the descriptive statistics show that 30% of the women vegetable farmers have no formal education. The FGT indices indicate that 36% of the women are poor. The results of the logistic regression model reveal membership of cooperative society, type of irrigation system, presence of other sources of income, size of farm land and farming experience as the major determinants of poverty among the women vegetable farmers in the study area. It was suggested that women vegetable farmers in the study area should endeavour to be members of cooperative societies in the state as there are benefits derivable from such association. Cooperative societies could also be harnessed by government to make meaningful improvement in vegetable production and by extension welfare of the women vegetable farmers in the state.Â

DETERMINANTS OF POVERTY STATUS OF RURAL FARMING HOUSEHOLDS IN OSUN STATE, NIGERIA

This study examined the determinants of poverty status of rural farming households in Osun State, South western, Nigeria. A total of one hundred and twenty representative farming households comprising of the beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries of the Farmers Empowerment Programme (FEP) in the state were used for the study. Descriptive statistics, the Foster, Greer and Thorbecke class of weighted poverty indices as well as the Tobit regression model were used to analyse the data generated from the survey. The results of the poverty indices show that 35 per cent of the beneficiaries of the Farmers Empowerment Programme were poor as against 55 per cent for the non-beneficiaries of the programme. The regression results show household size, amount of credit utilised and annual farm income as the factors influencing the poverty status of the rural farming households in the state. The lower incidence of poverty and access to credit for the beneficiaries of FEP in the state are indications of better welfare for this category of farming households. It is therefore suggested that the programme be sustained for poverty reduction among farming households in the state

The Cashless Policy in Nigeria: Prospects and Challenges

Abstract In Nigeria as it is in many developin

Effects of hospital facilities on patient outcomes after cancer surgery: an international, prospective, observational study

Background Early death after cancer surgery is higher in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) compared with in high-income countries, yet the impact of facility characteristics on early postoperative outcomes is unknown. The aim of this study was to examine the association between hospital infrastructure, resource availability, and processes on early outcomes after cancer surgery worldwide.Methods A multimethods analysis was performed as part of the GlobalSurg 3 study-a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study of patients who had surgery for breast, colorectal, or gastric cancer. The primary outcomes were 30-day mortality and 30-day major complication rates. Potentially beneficial hospital facilities were identified by variable selection to select those associated with 30-day mortality. Adjusted outcomes were determined using generalised estimating equations to account for patient characteristics and country-income group, with population stratification by hospital.Findings Between April 1, 2018, and April 23, 2019, facility-level data were collected for 9685 patients across 238 hospitals in 66 countries (91 hospitals in 20 high-income countries; 57 hospitals in 19 upper-middle-income countries; and 90 hospitals in 27 low-income to lower-middle-income countries). The availability of five hospital facilities was inversely associated with mortality: ultrasound, CT scanner, critical care unit, opioid analgesia, and oncologist. After adjustment for case-mix and country income group, hospitals with three or fewer of these facilities (62 hospitals, 1294 patients) had higher mortality compared with those with four or five (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 3.85 [95% CI 2.58-5.75]; p<0.0001), with excess mortality predominantly explained by a limited capacity to rescue following the development of major complications (63.0% vs 82.7%; OR 0.35 [0.23-0.53]; p<0.0001). Across LMICs, improvements in hospital facilities would prevent one to three deaths for every 100 patients undergoing surgery for cancer.Interpretation Hospitals with higher levels of infrastructure and resources have better outcomes after cancer surgery, independent of country income. Without urgent strengthening of hospital infrastructure and resources, the reductions in cancer-associated mortality associated with improved access will not be realised

Improved functionalization of oleic acid-coated iron oxide nanoparticles for biomedical applications

Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles can providemultiple benefits for biomedical applications in aqueous environments such asmagnetic separation or magnetic resonance imaging. To increase the colloidal stability and allow subsequent reactions, the introduction of hydrophilic functional groups onto the particles’ surface is essential. During this process, the original coating is exchanged by preferably covalently bonded ligands such as trialkoxysilanes. The duration of the silane exchange reaction, which commonly takes more than 24 h, is an important drawback for this approach. In this paper, we present a novel method, which introduces ultrasonication as an energy source to dramatically accelerate this process, resulting in high-quality waterdispersible nanoparticles around 10 nmin size. To prove the generic character, different functional groups were introduced on the surface including polyethylene glycol chains, carboxylic acid, amine, and thiol groups. Their colloidal stability in various aqueous buffer solutions as well as human plasma and serum was investigated to allow implementation in biomedical and sensing applications.status: publishe

Hyperoxia impairs alveolar formation and induces senescence through decreased histone deacetylase activity and up-regulation of p21 in neonatal mouse lung

Alveolar development comprises the transition of lung architecture from saccules to gas-exchange units during late gestation and early postnatal development. Exposure to hyperoxia disrupts developmental signaling pathways and causes alveolar hypoplasia as seen in bronchopulmonary dysplasia affecting preterm human newborns. Expanding literature suggests that epigenetic changes due to environmental triggers during development may lead to genetically heritable changes in gene expression. Given recent data on altered histone deacetylase (HDAC) activity in lungs of humans and animal models with airspace enlargement/emphysema, we hypothesized that alveolar hypoplasia from hyperoxia exposure in neonatal mice is a consequence of cell cycle arrest and reduced HDAC activity and up-regulation of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor, p21. We exposed newborn mice to hyperoxia and compared lung morphologic and epigenetic changes to room air controls. Further, we pretreated a subgroup of animals with the macrolide antibiotic azithromycin (AZM), known to possess anti-inflammatory properties. Our results showed that hyperoxia exposure resulted in alveolar hypoplasia and was associated with decreased HDAC1 and HDAC2 and increased p53 and p21 expression. Further, AZM did not confer protection against hyperoxia-induced alveolar changes. These findings suggest that alveolar hypoplasia due to hyperoxia is mediated by epigenetic changes affecting cell cycle regulation/senescence during lung development

Unraveling the impact of variable external input use on the cost efficiency of dairy farms in Europe

There has been a global shift towards intensification in the dairy sector in recent years which may have considerable impact on the cost efficiency and economic returns of farms. Considering this, the goal of this study is to offer an empirical analysis of the effect of variable external input use on dairy farms. Employing a novel Activity Analysis Model (AAM), the study analysis was conducted in two distinct but complementary steps. In the first step, we discriminated two technologies (low and high inputs) which allow us to classify a sample of dairy farms according to their level of intensification, while in the second step, we evaluated two cost efficient frontiers instead of assessing individual farm inefficiency scores. With this approach, we explore different technologies within a sample of EU dairy farms. Our results, on average, shows that agricultural practices using low inputs dominates the high input ones for farms operating on a large scale while a slight dominance of high input over low inputs exist for small scale farmers. While we reckon that low input can be cost competitive with their high input counterparts, we also note that regional differences do exist. Thus, showing that the significant gap between the two discriminating frontiers depends not only on farm size but also on farm region. We found that increased cost efficiency can reduce the negative environmental impact of EU-dairy farms while simultaneously reducing farmers' production costs. The results of the study can therefore provide a direction to policymakers and dairy farmers alike as regards the efficient use of external inputs which may consequently reduce environmental burdens associated with dairy farms

Consumer preference for cowpea in Kwara State, Nigeria

Consumers are faced with a lot of options as to which variety of cowpea to purchase given availability of a wide range of varieties from which to make choice. This study therefore examined the consumer preferences for cowpea, described the pattern of cowpea price overtime; and determined the factors responsible for variation in price of cowpea. analytical techniques used in this study include descriptive statistics, and least significant difference (LSD). The primary data were collected through a structured from 120 respondents and secondary data was used to determine the factors for variation in prices of cowpea. The study revealed that consumers prefer that is of medium size, red in colour, very sweet in taste and a shelf-life of at least month. It also showed that the most preferred cowpea variety by the consumers is the variety (honey beans) due to its sweetness. It was also disclosed that prices of both red and the white cowpea prices falls in October-November and rises around May-June. secondary data used showed that variety, location and seasons are factors responsible variation in price of cowpea. It was therefore recommended that there should be awareness to marketers on what the consumers want and that agronomists should up with new hybrids that have some desirable characteristics such as reduced cooking, high palatability and medium size grains.Keywords: Cowpea; Least Significant Difference; Likert Scale; Honey beans; Consumer

The complexity of biodiversity: A biological perspective on economic valuation

To value something, you first have to know what it is. Bartkowski et al. (2015) reveal a critical weakness: that biodiversity has rarely, if ever, been defined in economic valuations of putative biodiversity. Here we argue that a precise definition is available and could help focus valuation studies, but that in using this scientific definition (a three-dimensional measure of total difference), valuation by stated-preference methods becomes, at best, very difficult. We reclassify the valuation studies reviewed by Bartkowski et al. (2015) to better reflect the biological definition of biodiversity and its potential indirect use value as the support for provisioning and regulating services. Our analysis shows that almost all of the studies reviewed by Bartkowski et al. (2015) were not about biodiversity, but rather were about the ‘vague notion’ of naturalness, or sometimes a specific biological component of diversity. Alternative economic methods should be found to value biodiversity as it is defined in natural science. We suggest options based on a production function analogy or cost-based methods. Particularly the first of these provides a strong link between economic theory and ecological research and is empirically practical. Since applied science emphasizes a scientific definition of biodiversity in the design and justification of conservation plans, the need for economic valuation of this quantitative meaning of biodiversity is considerable and as yet unfulfilled