DETERMINING THE INDIVIDUAL SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION OF PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTOR IN HOUSING DELIVERY IN NIGERIA

One of the greatest challenge confronting both rural and urban residents in Nigeria is the need to provide adequate shelter. This study examined the individual significant contribution of the public and private sector in public-private partnerships (PPP) in housing contracts in Ogun State, Nigeria. A field survey was conducted in government ministries (public sector) and some selected professionals (private sector) within the study area. Information gathered from both primary and secondary data was used to determine the significant contribution of the public and private sector in housing delivery. Questionnaires were distributed through systematic sampling method to 58 respondents in both private and public sector participating in PPP housing production in the study area. Result showed that the significant contribution of the public sector in PPP housing provision in Nigeria is the provision of land while the private sector contributes significantly high percentage of finance, manpower and technical support. The study recommended that for successful implementation of PPP housing projects, all tiers of government must strive to complement the weaknesses of the public sector with the strengths of the private sector. Furthermore, since the private sector provides bulk of the finance for PPP housing projects, government should provide a more conducive economic environment to attract more private sector investors

Economic Efficiency of Yam Production in Oyo State of Nigeria

This study estimates economic efficiency of yam growing farmers in Oyo State of Nigeria using stochastic frontier production function. The empirical application used farm level data collected from 120 farms following 2007/2008 growing season. The results indicate that farm size, hired labour, yam set and equipment are the major factors that influence changes in yam output. Farm specific variables, such as farming experience, diversification and extension, were the significant factors influencing inefficiency among yam producers. Predicted economic efficiencies range between 0.0094 and 0.876 with a mean economic efficiency of 0.594. Based on these results, sample yam producers could increase their output by 40.6% through better use of available resources

A Correlational Analysis of Students' Achievement in Waec and Neco Mathematics

This study presents the findings of the relationship between students' achievement in mathematics conducted by the West African Examination Council (WAEC) and the National Examination Council (NECO) in four selected secondary schools in Ifedayo Local Government Area, Osun State, Nigeria.The analysis showed that there is significant positive relationship between mathematics in all the selected schools contrary to the hypothesis that says there is no relationship in WAEC and NECO mathematics results in the schools. It is therefore recommended that students should develop more interest in sitting for either of the two examinations since they produce equivalent results. Keywords: WAEC, NECO, Correlation Coefficient, Mathematics results, Performanc

Agricultural Productivity Growth and Incidence of Poverty: An Experience from Africa

This study investigates the effects of agricultural productivity growth on poverty.  Using Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) data covering two decades (1971-2009) we determined the relationship between agricultural productivity and poverty. Malmquist Index Total Factor Productivity (TFP) was used as indicator of agricultural productivity while Human Development Index (HDI) was adopted as proxy for poverty. Further analysis was carried out to determine whether the performance of factor productivity is due to change in technology or technical efficiency. The result of Malmquist TFP index analysis showed that the average TFP growth over the period was found to be 0.2 percent per annum with large variation in growth rate across the sampled countries.  Twenty-two countries representing about 52% of the total sample experienced productivity growth and this is largely due to technological change.  Congo and Somalia experienced decline in growth and this may be attributed to the incidence of war and civil unrest which have adverse effect on growth.  Overall, the continent experienced improvement in technology with 2.1 percent upward shift in the production frontier and 1.8 percent decline in efficiency.  Regional comparison of agricultural productivity growth reveals that East, South and North Africa experienced growth of 3.3, 2.6 and 3.6 percent respectively.  There were declines in agricultural productivity in West and Southern Africa regions as a result of reduction in efficiency. The analysis of agricultural productivity growth on poverty shows a positive and significant relationship between indicators of the two variables.  Specifically, the result indicates that a unit increase in productivity growth will lead to 0.69 percent change in human development index and conversely poverty.  Further analysis revealed that the unit improvement in technological change will cause about 1.3 percent improvement in human development index. The study concludes that agricultural productivity growth is pro-poor and effective strategy to reduce poverty in Africa.  It is recommended that relevant policies to address the constraints to technology progress and efficiency should be promoted to improve productivity growth and reduce poverty. Key Words: Malmquist index, Total Factor Productivity, Technology, Efficiency, Agricultural Productivity, Poverty, Africa

Evaluation of Improved Bioremediation Strategy for the Treatment of Abattoir Wastewater using Bacillus licheniformis ZUL012

The abattoir generates a large volume and variety of biowastes, posing a high risk of environmental contamination, disease outbreaks, and contaminated food. The purpose of this research was to characterize and remediate abattoir wastewater (Aww). The physicochemical characterization of the Aww revealed high level of pollution which served as a baseline for monitoring treatment efficacy. The B. licheniformis ZUL012 isolated from textile wastewater was primed with H2O2 and used to remediate Aww waste water in the current study. This study revealed Aww high pollution level which necessitated a need for the Treatment with this bacterium resulted in a significant decrease in some of the waste water parameters tested. The induced cell reduced the parameters to 155 41 mg/L, 75 mg/L, 454 mg/L, 1750 mg/L, and 1000 mg/L, whereas the naive cell reduced them to 375 mg/L, 776 mg/L, and 3122 mg/L, respectively. This equates to an average reduction of 95 percent (COD), 95 percent (BOD5), 77 percent (TOC), and 71% (TDS) compared to raw wastewater. These novel strategies show that H2O2-induced B. licheniformis ZUL012 could be a viable hybrid-bioremediation option for reducing or transforming the pollutants present in Aww, thereby contributing to compliance with wastewater discharge regulations into bodies of water

Trimethyltin-induced cerebellar damage on adult male Wistar rats. Trimetil estaño induce daño cerebral en ratas machos adultas Wistar.

Abstract: This research work was done to investigate the acute toxicological effect of trimethyltin chloride on the cerebellum of Wistar rat. Ten adult male Wistar rats were used for the study. The animals were grouped into two: Group A and B, with five adult male Wistar rats in each group. Group A serves as the trimethyltin (TMT) group, while group B serves as the normal saline (NS) group. 3mg/kg of trimethyltin chloride was administered to animals in the TMT group, while 1.0mls of normal saline was administered to the animals in the NS group via intraperitoneal route for 3 hours respectively. The animals were sacrificed at the Histology Laboratory, University of Ilorin, using 25mg/kg of ketamine administered intramuscularly to anesthetize the animals; followed by perfusion fixation through the heart. The brains were harvested, and the tissues were processed and stained using H & E, and crystal violet stains. The cerebellar cortex and nissl substances of the cerebellum were analyzed and showed a mild distortion in the layers of the cerebellar cortex. Biochemical analysis was undertaken to investigate the disruption of the oxidative status in the animal tissue, using Super Oxide Dismutase (SOD). Oxidative stress was found to increase significantly (p \u3c 0.05) in the TMT groups compared with the NS group, because the SOD activity decreased more in the brain homogenates of the TMT group. The result demonstrated that trimethyltin exerts its toxic effect by promoting oxidative stress in the brain and this may affect normal brain functioning and growth. Resumen: Este trabajo de investigación se realizó para investigar el efecto toxicológico agudo del cloruro de trimetil estaño en el cerebelo de la rata Wistar. Se utilizaron diez ratas Wistar macho adultas para el estudio. Los animales se agruparon en dos: Grupo A y B, con cinco ratas Wistar macho adultas en cada grupo. El grupo A sirve como grupo trimetil estaño (TMT), mientras que el grupo B sirve como grupo salino normal (NS). Se administraron 3 mg / kg de cloruro de trimetil estaño a animales en el grupo TMT, mientras que se administraron 1,0 ml de solución salina normal a los animales en el grupo NS por vía intraperitoneal durante 3 horas respectivamente. Los animales se sacrificaron en el Laboratorio de Histología, Universidad de Ilorin, usando 25 mg / kg de ketamina administrada por vía intramuscular para anestesiar a los animales; seguido por la fijación de la perfusión a través del corazón. Los cerebros se recolectaron y los tejidos se procesaron y se tiñeron con H&E y tintes de violeta cristal. Se analizaron la corteza cerebelosa y las sustancias nissl del cerebelo y mostraron una leve distorsión en las capas de la corteza cerebelosa. Se llevó a cabo un análisis bioquímico para investigar la alteración del estado oxidativo en el tejido animal, utilizando la superóxido dismutasa (SOD). Se encontró que el estrés oxidativo aumentaba significativamente (p \u3c0,05) en los grupos de TMT en comparación con el grupo de NS, porque la actividad de SOD disminuyó más en los homogeneizados de cerebro del grupo de TMT. El resultado demostró que la trimetilestina ejerce su efecto tóxico al promover el estrés oxidativo en el cerebro y esto puede afectar el funcionamiento y el crecimiento normal del cerebro

Assessment and biological treatment of effluent from textile industry

The assessment of effluent generated from international textile industry (Nig) Ltd. Odongunyan Industrial Estate Ikorodu Lagos was carried out. The effluent was analyzed for biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total solid (TS), suspended solid (SS), dissolved solid (DS), odour and colour intensity prior to biological treatment with mixed culture of Aspergillus  niger and Aspergillus wentil. The product of biological treatment was analyzed after 5 days of treatment. The result revealed that the effluent was initially of high BOD, COD, TS, DS, SS and colour intensity. The method used in this work has significantly reduced COD to well below 250 mg/l and BOD < 30 mg/l, TSS < 30 mg/l which are the upper limit for disposal into surface water. The result indicates remarkable overall COD reduction from 800 mg/l to 200 mg/l (75%), BOD (97.3%) from 750 mg/l to 20 mg/l and bioremediation of TSS < 30 mg/l (99.5%), DS (99.6%) and SS (99.3%).Key words: Textile industrial effluent, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus wentil

A QUEUING MODEL FOR CUSTOMERS’ FLOW IN BANKING SECTOR IN RURAL AND URBAN CENTRES.

Queuing system or waiting line theory is primarily concerned with processes characterized by random arrivals (i.e., arrival at random time interval); the servicing of the customer is also a random process. Obtaining a good model for a queuing system requires an understanding of key components of the queuing system from which the system characteristics are derived. Flow of customers in a banking sector can be affected by location. The research is set to investigate possible variation in queuing model of banks with respect to geographical location. Two rural banks and two urban banks were selected. Queuing model were used of the data collected. The results showed that the queue models depend on location of the bank and banks cited in similar location have similar models

Arable Crop Farming and Adoption of Bee Pollination Services among Farming Households in Kwara State, Nigeria

The majority of crop pollination services are provided by the honey bee (Apis mellifera) but almost not available in most developing countries including Nigeria. This study was undertaken to assess adoption of Bee Pollination Services (BPS) by arable crop farmers in Kwara State, Nigeria. A field survey with questionnaire administration was conducted in 10 Local Government Areas of Kwara State, Nigeria. A total of 160 farmers consisting of 80 watermelon and 80 soybean farmers were randomly sampled in two categories. The first category consist of 17 watermelon and 31 soybean farmers with farms located near apiary while the second category consist of 63 watermelon and 49 soybean farmers far away from apiary. The tools of analysis were descriptive statistics, net margin model and double difference estimators. The results revealed that the average age of watermelon and soybean farmers were 43 and 45 years, mean education index of 4.1 and 4.6 years respectively, household size of 8 for both and average annual farm income of ₦120550 and ₦135600 respectively. The empirical results also revealed there is a significant difference in average annual farm income among watermelon and soybean farmers who adopt BPS and non-adopters. The result showed that low level of farmers’ awareness of importance of BPS and lack of relevant knowledge and skill to adopt BPS are the two most critical constraints towards adoption and application of BPS. The study recommends farmers’ enlightenment and training through extension agents to adopt bee pollination service for insect dependent crop production