Trend Analysis of Teenage Pregnancy in Nigeria (1961-2013): How Effective is the Contraceptive Use Campaign

Teenage pregnancy (TP) is a recurrent global and public health problem. It poses both social and health challenges. Considering the massive campaign on the use of modern contraceptives to prevent TP in recent decades, we assessed trends in TP in Nigeria between 1961 and 2013. Pregnancy and contraception history of 70,811 women who were at least 20 years old when the Nigerian DHS was conducted in 1990, 2003, 2008, and 2013 respectively were used for the study, and descriptive statistics, time analysis techniques and multiple logistic regression were used to analyze the data at 5% significance level. The overall prevalence of TP between 1961 and 2013 was 49.5% which fluctuated insignificantly during the studied period. The TP prevalence among women who entered adulthood in 1961 was 39.2%; it peaked in 1978 at 58.9% before its unsteady decline to 39.6% in 2012, and then rose sharply to 55.6% in 2013. We predicted TP prevalence as 49.0%, 49.9% and 51.0% in 2014, 2015 and 2016 respectively. The odds of TP were over 4 times higher in the North East and 5 times higher in the North West than in the South West. Teenagers with no education had higher odds of TP and it was higher among teenagers from the poorest households (OR=5.64, 95% CI: 5.36-5.94). Rather than reducing with the worldwide acknowledged increase in contraceptive campaigns, TP increased over the years studied. As far as TP is concerned in Nigeria, the impact of the campaign on MC use is far from being effective. To achieve the objective of fewer TPs, fewer resources should be spent on access to contraception and instead diverted to areas more likely to achieve results such as improvements in educational achievement amongst girls

Irrigation Water as Possible Source of Food Borne Pathogens in Raw Vegetables

The effects of different sources of water on the microbial quality of raw leafy vegetables were studied. Two vegetables, lettuce (Lactuca sativa) and fluted pumpkin (Telfairia occidentalis) were planted in a sterile soil in the screen house, irrigated with rain, sewage-polluted stream, tap and well waters, for 60 days and harvested. Coliform and bacterial loads were counted on vegetable leaf surfaces and in the different water samples. The total bacterial counts of vegetable leaf surfaces ranged from 5.46log10 cfu/g to 6.11log10 cfu/g while coliform counts ranged from 0.00 to 5.43log10 cfu/g. The total bacterial counts of the irrigation water samples ranged from 5.60log10 cfu/ml to 6.12log10cfu/ml while coliform counts ranged from 0.00 to 5.48log10cfu/ml. Pathogenic bacteria observed in the samples were Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella spp, Shigella dysenteriae, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Aeromonas hydrophila and Enterobacter aerogenes. This study shows that irrigation waters are possible sources of contamination of edible vegetables; therefore the irrigation of food crops with water of unknown microbial quality should be avoided.&nbsp

e‐Maintenance Framework for Strategic Asset Management in Tertiary Institutions

Tertiary institutions require buildings such as its senate building, classrooms, laboratories, administrative rooms, hostels and other offices in order to function. Providing and maintaining these buildings require a lot of planning and capital investment. The study examined the prospects of using e‐ Maintenance platform for strategic asset management in tertiary institutions. This study noted that adequate maintenance of the building infrastructural base of tertiary institutions is crucial for sustainability in the face of dwindling funds in the education sector. In order to automate the e‐ Maintenance process for strategic maintenance of the institution’s building maintenance, a use case diagram, system block diagram, sequence diagram and activity diagram were designed and presented in this study. Three (3) main users are essential in the sequence of operation of the e‐Maintenance platform. These users represent the building occupants, the facility manager and the management personnel; for effective oversite and performance monitoring. The methodology of this research includes using the combination of HTML, CSS and the C‐Sharp programming language for the interface design and server side scripting while MySQL was the database platform used for storing and retrieving the data used for the application. In conclusion, the study developed an e‐Maintenance framework for strategic asset management in tertiary institutions. Keywords Asset management Automation Construction industr

PHENOTYPIC CHARACTERIZATION AND IN VITRO SCREENING OF LACTIC ACID BACTERIA FROM GOAT MILK FOR PROBIOTIC USE

A study was carried out to isolate and identify probiotic Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) from milk of West African Dwarf (WAD) goats. Fifty LAB strains were isolated from WAD goat milks and tested for in- vitro antibiotics susceptibility, tolerance to bile, resistance to low pH values and haemolytic activity. Sixteen isolates were found to possess probiotic characteristics and these isolates were identified as Lactobacillus plantarum (44%), L. acidophilus (38%) and L. fermentum (18%). These isolates were resistant to most of antibiotics tested, showed the survivability (8.00 ± 0.05 to 72.60 ± 0.1%) at high bile acid concentration and resistance to pH 1.5 (0.00 to 46.00 ± 0.2%), pH 2.0 (30.60 ± 0.15 to 63.00 ± 0.6%) and pH 2.5 (48.60 ± 0.03 to 85.20 ± 0.6 %). None of the LAB isolates produced hemolysin. Among the probiotic isolates, Lactobacillus acidophilus displayed strong bile acid and low pH tolerance, followed by Lactobacillus plantarum. From the results obtained, L. acidophilus and L. plantarum could be used as probiotic starter cultures for fermented dairy foods as well as feed additives in livestock production due to high tolerance to high bile and acidic medium.Â

PHENOTYPIC CHARACTERIZATION AND IN VITRO SCREENING OF LACTIC ACID BACTERIA FROM GOAT MILK FOR PROBIOTIC USE

A study was carried out to isolate and identify probiotic Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) from milk of West African Dwarf (WAD) goats. Fifty LAB strains were isolated from WAD goat milks and tested for in- vitro antibiotics susceptibility, tolerance to bile, resistance to low pH values and haemolytic activity. Sixteen isolates were found to possess probiotic characteristics and these isolates were identified as Lactobacillus plantarum (44%), L. acidophilus (38%) and L. fermentum (18%). These isolates were resistant to most of antibiotics tested, showed the survivability (8.00 ± 0.05 to 72.60 ± 0.1%) at high bile acid concentration and resistance to pH 1.5 (0.00 to 46.00 ± 0.2%), pH 2.0 (30.60 ± 0.15 to 63.00 ± 0.6%) and pH 2.5 (48.60 ± 0.03 to 85.20 ± 0.6 %). None of the LAB isolates produced hemolysin. Among the probiotic isolates, Lactobacillus acidophilus displayed strong bile acid and low pH tolerance, followed by Lactobacillus plantarum. From the results obtained, L. acidophilus and L. plantarum could be used as probiotic starter cultures for fermented dairy foods as well as feed additives in livestock production due to high tolerance to high bile and acidic medium.Â

BACTERIAL QUALITY AND CYTOTOXICITY SCREENING OF FRESH VEGETABLES IRRIGATED WITH POLLUTED WATERS

The mutagenic effects of raw vegetables irrigated with polluted water and their bacterial quality were studied. Two vegetables, lettuce (Lactuca sativa) and fluted pumpkin (Telfaria occidentalis) were planted in sterile soil and irrigated with sewage-polluted stream, rain, tap and well waters, and harvested. The presence of pathogenic bacteria on the vegetable leaf surfaces was determined. The Allium cepa assay was then used to evaluate the genetic and acute effects of the vegetable leaf extracts. The heavy metal concentrations of the vegetables were determined using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Pathogenic bacteria isolated were Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella paratyphii, Shigella dysenteriae, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Aeromonas hydrophila and Enterobacter aerogenes. In A. cepa assay, none of the treatments induced chromosome aberration at the tested concentrations, but retardation of growth and suppression of mitotic activity occurred. The concentrations of heavy metals in the vegetables were lead (0.261-0.531mg/kg), zinc (0.142-1.618mg/kg), cadmium (0.00-0.13mg/kg), copper (0.021-0.057mg/kg), iron (0.711-1.122mg/kg) and chromium (0.00-0.14mg/kg). This study shows that irrigation waters could have effects on the quality of edible vegetables.Â

Comparison of Item Parameter Estimates of Traditional True Score Theory and Modern Mental Theory in Oyo State Junior Secondary School Certificate Mathematics Examination

The study compared the Traditional True Score Theory (TTST), and Modern Mental Test Theory (MMTT) estimated item parameter indices to the ability of examinees in Junior Secondary School Certificate Examination (JSSCE) in Mathematics. This is with the view of providing empirical justification on the appropriateness of decisions made statistically from psychometric tests. The study adopted a descriptive survey design. A sample of 600 students was randomly selected from a population of 95,419 students who sat for the 2016 JSSCE Mathematics Paper 1 in Oyo State, Nigeria. An adoption version of the 2016 Oyo State JSSCE Mathematics Paper 1 titled Mathematics Test (MT) instrument was utilized for information aggregation. Data collected were analyzed using SPSS and BILOG-MG software packages. The effects indicated that the difficulty indices of Mathematics test items based on TTST ranged from 0.00 to 0.65. The discrimination indices ranged from 0.00 to 0.41. Fifty-two items (86.67%) on the MT items had moderate item difficulty (0.200 ≤ p ≤ 0.620). On the other hand, 42 (70%) on the items discriminate poorly (0.10 ≤ D ≤ 0.29). Regarding MMTT results, item difficulty parameter ranged between 0.216 and 7.988 for 2PLM while the discrimination parameter ranged between 0.100 - 0.729 respectively. Furthermore, there was a negative relationship between the difficulty indices of MMTT and TTST models (r = -0.702, p < .01). The concomitance correlation for discrimination was positive (0.646, p <. 01). The study concluded that the Oyo State 2016 JSSC Mathematics examination was of a moderate psychometric quality irrespective of the theoretical measurement model used in the appraisal. KEYWORDS:     Keywo Traditional True Score Theory, Modern Mental Test Theory, Item Difficulty, Item Discriminatio

Comparative Analysis of Classical Test Theory and Item Response Theory Based Item Parameter Estimates of Senior School Certificate Mathematics Examination

The study compared Classical Test Theory (CTT) and Item Response Theory (IRT)-estimated item difficulty and item discrimination indices in relation to the ability of examinees in Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) in Mathematics with a view to providing empirical basis for informed decisions on the appropriateness of statistical and psychometric tests. The study adopted ex-post-facto design. A sample of 6,000 students was selected from the population of 35,262 students who sat for the NECO SSCE Mathematics Paper 1 in 2008 in Osun State, Nigeria. An instrument consisting of 60-multiple-choice items, May/June 2008 NECO SSCE Mathematics Paper 1 was used. Three sampling plans: random, gender and ability sampling plans were employed to study the behaviours of the examinees scores under the CTT and IRT measurement frameworks. BILOG-MG 3 was used to estimate the indices of item parameters and SPSS 20 was used to compare CTT- and IRT-based item parameters. The results showed that CTT-based item difficulty estimates and oneparameter IRT item difficulty estimates were comparable (the correlations were generally in the -0.702 to -0.988 range in large sample and -0.622 to - 0.989 range in small sample). Results also indicated that CTT-based and two-parameter IRT-based item discrimination estimates were comparable (the correlations were in the 0.430 to 0.880 ranges in large sample and 0.531 to 0.950 range in small sample). The study concluded that CTT and IRT were comparable in estimating item characteristics of statistical and psychometric tests and thus could be used as complementary procedures in the development of national examination

Challenges confronting construction project management system for sustainable construction in developing countries: professionals perspectives (a case study of Nigeria)

The success of the Nigerian construction industry can be aligned with the use of construction project management systems, although, the industry has been maligned by issues such as building collapse, incessant delays, abandonment and cost overrun. It is therefore imperative to examine the challenges confronting construction project management system in Nigeria. In this study the descriptive survey method was adopted and data were obtained by means of inquiries using questionnaires. A sample size of fifty nine (59) construction professionals was used for the study. The study reveals that location of a project majorly influences Project Manager’s decision making on project planning. It asserted the crucial importance of Management skills required in practicing construction project management. In conclusion, the result identified that passive participation from Project Manager, lack of client involvement in making decisions, provision of substandard materials, design error, lack of effective communication and poor treatment of workforce are challenges hampering the use of construction project management. The study recommends the institutionalization of construction project management practice, compulsion of adequate training and skill modification programs for construction professionals to aid the sustainability of construction project management systems in Nigeria

Heterosis and Reciprocal Effect For Body Weight and Leather Properties in Hybrid Goats

Identification and evaluation of economically important traits in livestock is central to genetic improvement. The objective of this study was to evaluate heterosis and reciprocal effects for bodyweight and leather properties among progenies of pure and reciprocal crossing of West African Dwarf (WAD) and Red Sokoto (RS) goats. Bodyweights of 96 kids were recorded at birth, weaning and yearling. Skins collected from slaughtered goats at yearling were processed to leather using vegetable tanning approach. The leathers were subjected to physical analysis to determine Thickness, Percentage Elongation (PE), Surface Area, weight and grain properties comprising Load at Crack, Load at Tear, Distension at Crack and Distension at Tear.  Heterotic effect for bodyweight was negative at birth (-8.99%) and weaning (-11.15%) but positive at yearling (6.64%). Specific heterosis for bodyweight at yearling was higher for progenies of WAD does serviced with RS bucks. General and specific heterosis were positive for all the leather traits except PE. Specific heterosis was higher when RS does were serviced with WAD bucks. Reciprocal effects for bodyweight reduces with increase in goats’ age (Birth Weaning Yearling: 9.88 6.28 5.62).Reciprocal effects for grain properties were generally higher than other leather traits. This study concluded that WAD and RS goats are dissimilar in leather traits and bodyweight at different ages, and that choice of sire or dam for successful crossbreeding programme is trait dependen