ANALYSIS OF THE COST OF GOVERNANCE AND OPTIONS FOR ITS REDUCTION IN NIGERIA

Government at any given level and over a defined territory can be treated as a typical example of a natural monopoly in the sense that only one can exist at any particular time. Thus, the traditional theories of costs and monopoly can be very useful in the analysis of the cost structure of government. Like any other unchecked private monopoly, government and by extension governance, can produce sub-optimal units of public good in which it has comparative advantage. Depending on the resources at its disposal and the tax-elasticity of public goods, massive deadweight costs, among others, often result from a high cost governance structure. This paper explores the effects of destructive political competition. It suggests constitutional provisions that will guarantee true separation of powers, restructure the mechanism of governance to, among other measures, limit the size of the cabinet to reduce the high cost of governance in Nigeria

Isolation of Neurospora Crassa from Cocoa Farm Soil, Antibacterial and Identification of Bioactive Compounds in the Extract Using Gas Chromatography - Mass Spectrometer

Soil has been a free gift of nature that the creator has giving mankind for exploration, there is a world-wide effort by the pharmaceutical chemists to continue to search for new antibiotics, anti-viral, antiparasitic and host of other novel drugs as a result of the grave consequences posed by the current diseases that have developed resistance to many of the known drugs. Neurospora crassa from Fifty years old cocoa farm soil in Ikota, Nigeria was isolated, cultured to yield maximum bioactive compounds using locally designed and fabricated fermenter and bioactive compounds were extracted in ethyl acetate and purified through column chromatography. The fraction X5 was screened for antibacterial activities using agar well diffusion; it has strong zones of inhibition (mm) against Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus substillis, and Escherichia coli. The results were better than streptomycin standard. The strong antibacterial activities displayed may be connected to the presence of bioactive compounds revealed by the Gc-Ms and these are: 1H-indene,2,3-dihydro-4-methyl having retention time 5.485, height area 310344 and % total 8.267; 1H-Indene,2,3-dihydro-1,2-dimethyl with retention time 6.375, height area 99678 and % total 3.214 and 1H-indene,1-ethylidene having retention time 8.743, height area 134010 and % total 3.567, Naphthalene having retention time 6.191, % of total 18.907 and peak height 700240. From the research work, the cocoa farm soil is an eye opener for the pharmaceutical chemists where they can beam their search point into for the discovery of new and novel compounds that may have various biological activities

Quantifying in situ horizontal stress in the Niger Delta Basin, Nigeria

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Systematic assessment of fault stability in the Northern Niger Delta Basin, Nigeria : Implication for hydrocarbon prospects and increased seismicities

Some of the data used in this study have been published by Adewole and Healy (2013), among others. The authors especially acknowledge Professor David Macdonald for his invaluable contributions and co-supervising the research project. Our thanks are due to the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and anonymous oil companies in Nigeria for giving permission to access some of the data for this study. E. O. A. also thanks Judith Christie, Clare Bond and other members of the Department of Geology and Petroleum Geology, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen. We greatly appreciate the editor, and two anonymous reviewers for their critical assessments and vital comments, which tremendously improved the overall quality of the manuscript. Continuous supports on TrapTester software provided by Badleys, UK on the estimation of SI are much appreciated. The authors gratefully acknowledge the management of PCS Earth Techs Ltd. (Port Harcourt), Halliburton (Seisworks, ZMap and Stratworks), Kingdom, Rocdoc (Ikon science), EZ-ROSE, and CGG Veritas (Elog, Strata and AVO) for provisions of software and assistances.Peer reviewedPostprin

Preliminary Evaluation of Guava (Psidium guajava L.) Tree Branches for Truss Fabrication in Nigeria

Rosana G. Moreira, Editor-in-Chief; Texas A&M UniversityThis is a paper from International Commission of Agricultural Engineering (CIGR, Commission Internationale du Genie Rural) E-Journal Volume 8 (2006): Preliminary Evaluation of Guava (Psidium guajava L.) Tree Branches for Truss Fabrication in Nigeria. Manuscript BC 05 010. Vol. VIII. May, 2006

Systematic assessment of fault stability in the Northern Niger Delta Basin, Nigeria : Implication for hydrocarbon prospects and increased seismicities

Some of the data used in this study have been published by Adewole and Healy (2013), among others. The authors especially acknowledge Professor David Macdonald for his invaluable contributions and co-supervising the research project. Our thanks are due to the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and anonymous oil companies in Nigeria for giving permission to access some of the data for this study. E. O. A. also thanks Judith Christie, Clare Bond and other members of the Department of Geology and Petroleum Geology, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen. We greatly appreciate the editor, and two anonymous reviewers for their critical assessments and vital comments, which tremendously improved the overall quality of the manuscript. Continuous supports on TrapTester software provided by Badleys, UK on the estimation of SI are much appreciated. The authors gratefully acknowledge the management of PCS Earth Techs Ltd. (Port Harcourt), Halliburton (Seisworks, ZMap and Stratworks), Kingdom, Rocdoc (Ikon science), EZ-ROSE, and CGG Veritas (Elog, Strata and AVO) for provisions of software and assistances.Peer reviewedPostprin

Environmental aspect of oil and water-based drilling muds and cuttings from Dibi and Ewan off-shore wells in the Niger Delta, Nigeria Gbadebo M. Adewole, Taiwo M. Adewale and Eughele U

Drilling muds and cuttings derived from Ewan and Dibi off-shore wells in the Niger-Delta petroleum province of Nigeria was studied in order to evaluate their toxicity and possible environmental impacts that may result from their indiscriminate disposal. Oil based drilling wastes (muds and cuttings) were collected at prescribed depths and analyzed for aliphatic hydrocarbon (AH) and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) using Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrophotometry (GCMS) method. However, both oil based and water-based drilling wastes collected from the same depth were analyzed for metals (iron, copper, zinc, lead, nickel, chromium, manganese, calcium, potassium and magnesium) using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (AAS) method. Results showed that the values of total petroleum hydrocarbon in the two off-shore wells were in the range of 1,004.95 – 2,052.69 mg/kg for the cuttings and 5,759.11 – 6,546.01 mg/kg for the drill mud. It was observed that the concentration ratio of the polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbon to the aliphatic hydrocarbon in the total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) is in the ratio of 1:1000 for both the cuttings and drilling muds in both wells. Most of the total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH), polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) has been found to be relatively lower than the World Health Organization standards. The drill wastes of the Dibi and Ewan off-shore wells also contain high concentration of iron (349.50 mg/kg) calcium (193.72 mg/kg), magnesium (87.50 mg/kg) and potassium (49.31 mg/kg) in that order. It is likely that the drill muds and cuttings wastes will increase the pollution problems in aquatic environment, thereby causing stress for the fish and other aquatic organisms. Therefore, disposal of cuttings and drilling wastes into the offshore environment should be totally discouraged and avoided

Analysis of the cost of governance and options for its reduction in Nigeria

Government at any given level and over a defined territory can be treated as a typical example of a natural monopoly in the sense that only one can exist at any particular time. Thus, the traditional theories of costs and monopoly can be very useful in the analysis of the cost structure of government. Like any other unchecked private monopoly, government and by extension governance, can produce sub-optimal units of public good in which it has comparative advantage. Depending on the resources at its disposal and the tax-elasticity of public goods, massive deadweight costs, among others, often result from a high cost governance structure. This paper explores the effects of destructive political competition. It suggests constitutional provisions that will guarantee true separation of powers, restructure the mechanism of governance to, among other measures, limit the size of the cabinet to reduce the high cost of governance in Nigeria

Severity of intrauterine adhesions and pregnancy success rates after treatment: Comparison of adhesions obtained from open myomectomy versus uterine curettage

Intrauterine adhesions (IUA) are rare. A retrospective comparative study was conducted between January 1, 2015, and December 31, 2018. Group A comprised 117 women who developed IUAs after open myomectomy, while Group B comprised 113 women who developed IUAs following uterine trauma caused by uterine instrumentation after a termination of pregnancy (TOP) or spontaneous miscarriage. The IUA grade and pregnancy rates and outcomes were compared using the March classification system. All patients underwent hysteroscopic adhesiolysis. The adhesions tended to be more severe (45/117, 38.5%) in Group A than in Group B (29/113, 25.7%); however, this difference was not statistically significant (Chi-Suare 5.047; p = .080). The period of observation was 24 months from the last hysteroscopy. The pregnancy rate in Group A (26, 22.2%) was significantly lower than in Group B (46, 40.7%) (OR: 2.403, 95% CI: 1.352–4.271; p = .003). Open myomectomy was the preceding aetiological factor in a greater proportion of women with IUA in our study. In cases where pregnancy is desired after open myomectomy, especially where the endometrial cavity is breached, postoperative hysteroscopy to exclude IUAs is recommended. (Afr J Reprod Health 2022; 26[12]: 90-96). Les adhérences intra-utérines (IUA) sont rares. Une étude comparative rétrospective a été menée entre le 1er janvier 2015 et le 31 décembre 2018. Le groupe A comprenait 117 femmes ayant développé des AIU après une myomectomie ouverte, tandis que le groupe B comprenait 113 femmes ayant développé des AIU à la suite d'un traumatisme utérin causé par une instrumentation utérine après l'arrêt d'une grossesse (TOP) ou fausse couche spontanée. Le grade IUA et les taux de grossesse et les résultats ont été comparés à l'aide du système de classification de mars. Tous les patients ont eu une adhésiolyse hystéroscopique. Les adhérences avaient tendance à être plus sévères (45/117, 38,5 %) dans le groupe A que dans le groupe B (29/113, 25,7 %); cependant, cette différence n'était pas statistiquement significative (Chi-Suare 5,047 ; p = 0,080). La période d'observation était de 24 mois à partir de la dernière hystéroscopie. Le taux de grossesse dans le groupe A (26, 22,2 %) était significativement plus faible que dans le groupe B (46, 40,7 %) (OR : 2,403, IC à 95 % : 1,352–4,271 ; p = 0,003). La myomectomie ouverte était le facteur étiologique précédent chez une plus grande proportion de femmes avec IUA dans notre étude. Dans les cas où une grossesse est souhaitée après une myomectomie ouverte, en particulier lorsque la cavité endométriale est percée, une hystéroscopie postopératoire pour exclure les IUA est recommandée. (Afr J Reprod Health 2022; 26[12]: 90-96)

P h y to c h emical Evaluation o f Phytochemicals o f C a ssi a P o docarpa

Abstract - The usefulness of cassia podocarpa as locally antifungal agent necessitated the qualitative and quantitative determination of the phytochemicals present.The screening of the leaf and flower showed the presence of flavonoid, tannin, saponin, alkaloid and glycoside. The quantitative analysis showed that the flavonoid in the leaf (6.73 mg/g)was more than that of the flower (5.83mg/g). Also, the tannin in the leaf (10.11mg/g) doubled that of the flower (5.24mg/g).The saponin content in the leaf (27.36mg/g) was higher than that of the flower (1 3.91mg/g). The alkaloid content in the leaf (19.70mg/g) was more than that of the flower (6.59mg/g). However the glycoside of leaf (7.10mg/g) was just little bit higher than that of flower (6.32mg/g). From the quantitative evaluation of the leaf and flower of this plant, this has really confirmed the local use in the treatment of eczema in human body when the liquid is being extracted and the plant is a reservoir of many novel compounds which can be of immense use to the pharmaceutical world