Exercise participation and diet monitoring in pursuit of healthy aging among the university staff members

This study examined the level of exercise participation and diet monitoring in pursuit of healthy aging. Descriptive survey research design and self-structured questionnaire was used to elicit information from the respondents. Proportionate stratified and simple random sampling techniques were used to select two hundred and nineteen (219) respondents (60.7% male and 33.2% female) who formed the sample size for the study. Statistical analysis of mean, standard deviation, percent counts, frequency, chi-square and spearman rank correlation coefficient were carried out. Results showed that university staff members had significant level of exercise participation and proper diet monitoring in pursuit of healthy aging (X2=204.05, p=.000; X2=235.16, p=.000). Exercise participation and diet monitoring in pursuit of healthy aging had very weak positive relationship (r=0.132,p=.000). The study revealed that it is possible to focus more on exercise participation and neglect diet monitoring or vice versa. Exercise participation and diet monitoring are closely related to living a healthy lifestyle with satisfactory life-work growing productivity level and both should be given adequate attention.Keywords: Exercise participation, diet monitoring, healthy agin

Effect of Coulomb interaction on the band gap of NiO

The band theory and local density approximation LDA predict NiO to be a metal but experimentally this material is known to be an insulator. To overcome this problem, we employ the LDA+U (where U is the on-site Coulomb interaction) technique in order to get the true nature of the material. We observed an increase in the band gap of the material as we gradually increase the value of U. Our result was compared with other works and that of experimental result. Keywords: LDA+U; Electronic band gap; on-site Coulomb interactio

Synthesis of Zeolite Y from Kaolin Using Novel Method of Dealumination

In this study Zeolite Y was successfully synthesized from local kaolin in Ado-0do Ota, Ogun state Nigeria through a novel process of dealumination. The thermal activation of kaolin was achieved through the process of metakaolinization at 850 oC for 6 hours in a furnace and dealumination with H2SO4 in order to achieve a desire silica/alumina molar ratio between 3 and 8. Zeolitization involved alkaline attack of dealuminated metakaolin and its consequent transformation into Zeolite Y crystal. Silica/Alumina molar ratio of 5.84 of metakaolin was synthesized under hydrothermal treatment with aqueous NaOH at atmospheric pressure. It was then aged for 7 days at room temperature and crystallized at 100 oC for 24 hours; Zeolite NaY of molar ratio of 3.46 was achieved and then modified to its hydrogen form by ion exchange with NH4Cl. The molar ratio of Zeolite Y in hydrogen form is 3.22. The samples were characterized with X-ray Fluorescence (XRF), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The result showed that zeolite Y was synthesized from Arobieye mined kaolin with a molar ratio of 6SiO2 : Al2O3 : 9Na2O : 24H2O by ageing at room temperature for 24 hours and crystallized at 100 oC for 24 hours

Ethno-religious voting in Nigeria: interrogating voting patterns in the 2019 presidential election

This article analyses voting patterns in Nigeria’s 2019 presidential election. Its main objective is to gauge continuity or change in ethnic, regional and religious voting in Nigeria’s elections. The paper takes a historical approach in examining voting patterns in the past elections as a background to the examination of the 2019 presidential election. It was discovered that ethnic, regional and religious sentiments were still major factors that shaped voting choice in the election

Review of Maintenance Strategies For Achieving Sustainable Developments In Tropical Climates

Buildings, like almost all physical objects degrade over time due to a combination of factors. The deterioration affects all components and parts of the building in different ways, gradually reducing the quality of the structure and adversely impacting the building’s ability to effectively perform its basic functions in an environment. This paper relied on a systematic review of published literatures in reputable databases to examine how building developments and public environments can be designed in tropical climates to require minimal maintenance activities to enhance the ease of executing such activities. 39 open access published documents were reviewed. Data sieved from the publications were content analysed and descriptively presented in themes. The study identified principles and methods which can be implemented in the design of buildings with a focus on maintainability towards enhancing the development of sustainable public buildings and environments in tropical climates. The review promotes maintenance culture and emphasises increased consideration for maintenance in building design, which further helps to promote the eleventh target of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals that aims at the development of resilient, safe and sustainable communities, cities and human settlements. The paper is instructive to researchers, scholars, students of architecture and building design, as well as policy makers on issues surrounding the principles of designing for maintainability, particularly in tropical settings

Risk factors and effects of hookworm infections on anthropometric indices of school children in Samaru, Zaria, Nigeria

Rural communities in Nigeria suffer a great deal of parasitic infections. The effect is severe on children. Parasitic infections affect the health of schoolchildren by causing malnutrition, anaemia, reduced cognitive ability and poor performance in school. This study was aimed at assessing the prevalence of hookworm infections, associated risk factors and their effects on anthropometric indices of schoolchildren in Samaru, Zaria. Children across public and private schools were enlightened about the disease. Fresh morning faecal samples were collected from each of 203 consented pupils. The samples were examined for hookworm eggs by formol-ether concentration technique. Prevalence of hookworms was 4.9%. Children in four out of seven schools were found with hookworm infections (P=0.000). Children from public schools were significantly more infected with hookworms (7.9%, P=0.050) than those in the private schools. Male schoolchildren had higher hookworm infections (5.8%) than the females (4.7%, P>0.05). The youngest children of age 6-7 years old were the most infected (9.1%); followed by those of 10-11 years old who had 5.8% infections. Children who walked barefooted (6.5%), consumed raw vegetables (5.1%) or engaged in farming (5.3%) were more infected with hookworms than those who did not, but the relationship was not significant (P>0.00). Only fever (3.0%) was found among infected children (P=0.582), other symptoms did not occur among those infected with the hookworms. Children with weight of 39-48kg had the highest infection of 8.0%. Weight, height and BMI were not statistically associated with hookworm infections among the children. However, most of the children (87.2%) had underweight BMI

Influence of spark plasma sintering temperature on the densification and micro-hardness behaviour of Ni-Cr-Al alloy

Abstract : Sintering temperature is essential towards attaining desired densification and formation of phases which in turn influences the microstructure and properties of a material. In this study, the densification and microhardness behaviour of Ni-Cr-Al alloy prepared by spark plasma sintering (SPS) at different sintering temperatures were investigated. After sintering operation, the density, hardness, phase analysis, and microstructural evolution were investigated using the Archimede’s principle, hardness tester, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) respectively. The nickel based alloy was sintered at temperatures of 600, 750, 950 and 1100 ºC. The results indicated that the densification, microstructure, and hardness values were influenced by changes in the sintering temperature. The relative density increased from 73.89 % at 600 ºC to 99.89 % at 1100 ºC, while the hardness value was enhanced from 131.9 ± 2.8 HV to 404 ± 1.2 HV respectively

Comparative study of spark plasma sintering features on the densification of Ni-Cr binary alloys

Abstract: Spark plasma sintering (SPS) has been widely regarded as an advanced powder consolidation technique which helps in the development of array of engineering materials. Many have been reported in the literature about sintering parameters such as temperature, pressure, heating rate and holding time. However, little or no reports has been made on some of the intricate features such as process time(s), power SPS (KW), pressing speed (mm/min), and average pressing force (KN) on which sintering parameters are directly related to. This study aims to investigate the behaviour of spark plasma sintered Ni-17Cr binary alloys with emphasis on the densification, hardness value and spark plasma sintering features such as process time (s), power SPS (KW), pressing speed (mm/min), and the average pressing force (KN). Nickel and chromium powders were milled individually using High energy ball milling for durations of 5hr, 10 hr prior to mixing and subsequent sintering. The sintered 5 hr and 10 hr milled Ni-17Cr binary alloys attained relative densities of 98.72 % and 99.1 % respectively. The Microstructural morphology was examined using Scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The sintered 10 hr milled Ni-17Cr binary alloy revealed the higher hardness

Phenotyping and genotyping of CYP2C19 using comparative metabolism of proguanil in sickle‐cell disease patients and healthy controls in Nigeria

Polymorphic expression of metabolic enzymes have been identified as one of the key factors responsible for the interindividual/ethnic/racial variability in drug metabolism and effect. In Nigeria, there is a disproportionately high incidence of sickle‐cell disease (SCD), a condition characterized by painful crisis frequently triggered by malaria. Proguanil, a substrate of the polymorphic CYP2C19, is a chemoprophylactic antimalarial drug widely used among SCD patients in Nigeria. This study aimed to conduct a comparative CYP2C19 phenotyping among SCD patients and healthy controls and to compare the results with those previously reported. One hundred seventy‐seven unrelated subjects comprising 131 SCD patients and 46 non‐SCD volunteers were phenotyped. This was carried out by collecting pooled urine samples over 8 h following PG administration. Proguanil and its major CYP2C19‐dependent metabolites were measured by high‐performance liquid chromatography. Metabolic ratios (MRs) were computed and employed in classifying subjects into poor or extensive metabolizers. Among SCD group, 130 (99.2%) were extensive metabolizers (EMs) and 1 (0.8%) was poor metabolizer (PM) of PG, while 95.7 and 4.3% non‐SCDs were EMs and PMs, respectively. MRs ranged from 0.02 to 8.70 for SCD EMs and from 0.22 to 8.33 for non‐SCD EMs. Two non‐SCDs with MRs of 18.18 and 25.76 and the SCD with MR of 16.77 regarded as PMs had earlier been genotyped as CYP2C19*2/*2. Poor metabolizers of proguanil in SCD patients are reported for the first time. Regardless of clinical significance, a difference in metabolic disposition of proguanil and CYP2C19 by SCDs and non‐SCDs was established