Vision of Ancestorhood and Apotheosis in Alternative Yoruba Music

The Yoruba world is the totality of the tripartite connection of the worlds of the dead, the living, and the unborn. These three spheres and phases also correspond to the past, the present and the future, respectively. The living are always in awe of the dead and revere them, while the dead are believed to possess the ability to (re)visit the world of the living through reincarnation. The present study is based on the claim that, while aspects of the indigenous Yoruba belief system such as ancestorhood and apotheosis are getting lost on the millennial generation of Yoruba persons, the alter-native Yoruba music genre provides a viable evidence of how elements of Yoruba folk culture are being preserved by culturally and ideologically conscious members of the same generation. Using the Cultural Theory framework, the study demonstrates the possibility of mainstreaming Yoruba cultural studies into the larger corpus of canonical theories in global cultural studies

Conflict Resolution in E-HRM Environments

There have been studies on conflict resolutions but many focused on regional inter-tribe and international conflicts between or among nations of the world. Only very few have written about industrial conflict recently, even these few did not touch the mechanism of resolving conflicts in the organization in depth. Therefore, this article will focus on various conflict resolution mechanisms and the three major models of conflict resolutions—namely distributive bargaining, integrated bargaining, and interactive problem solving as given by Cross, Susan, Rosenthal, and Robert (1999). To do this effectively, we will explore the available literature on the antecedents of conflicts in human resource systems. Varieties of views and notions held by individuals and groups in respect of the role and the consequences of conflicts in the functioning of humans in our modern complex organizations will be considered. The consequences of conflicts on interpersonal, inter-group, and inter-organizational processes, when conflict may empower, distress, or lubricate the wheels of human interaction in the context of human resource management will be traced. The views of experts, professionals and academicians on how and why conflicts should be handled to ensure a healthier and conducive environment to work will be traced

The abiotic ecology of breeding ground of Palaemonid prawns in the Ilaje Estuary, Ondo State, Nigeria

In situ ecological assessment of the breeding grounds of palaemonid prawns was conducted in some selected locations around Ondo state coastal area between the months of April and September. Data obtained were subjected to both descriptive and inferential statistics. Three species of Palaemonid prawns were identified in four different locations within the study area with relative abundance ratio of 4:3:1. Macrobrachium macrobrachion, Nematopalaemon hastatus and Palaemon maculatus respectively. Sex ratio of 1 male to 5 females for M. macrobrachion, and 1 male to 2 females for N. hastatus and P. maculatus were observed with result showing significant relationships (P < 0.05) in distribution patterns across collection sites. Population distribution within the water column showed that palaemons are sub-lithoral prawns inhabiting maximum mean depth of 0.67m ± 0.025. Surface macro-phytes such as Eichhornia crassipies, Paspalum vaginatum, and Pistia stratiotes are common providing hiding spots for the prawn at the breeding ground. The mean soil pH across the sites stands at 6.67± 0.399 with the soil textural class that range from silty-loam to silty-clay. Also, the water quality parameters of study areas suggest that captive culture and rearing of Palaemons may be feasible outside the breeding areas

A Sociopragmatic Study of Values of Nigerians as Exemplified in Wale Okediran's Tenants of the House: Implication for a Political Caste System

When Basil Bernstein postulated tire Deficit Hypothesis Theory, little did he know that nonverbal means of expression much more than the "code" would hell' in establis!ung the social class system which Bem; tein had intended to eradicate by formally uncot>ering it. In Nigeria, today, the concept of social class, !lluc!rmore than accepted socralnorms and practices, is celebrated and accentuated. The old idea of relat- 11gand integratmg culturally with other members of a communal Afrrcan society seems to have been lost. By scrutinizing Wale Okediran's Tenants of the House, we unravel the pragmatic features of the varius social classes rn the present political institutiOn of tire country as demonstrated by the Honorables in ·he House of Represmtatit•es, using the critical discourse analysis model. In doing this, we look beyond Itt referential end or grammatical meaning of the words to studying how para-linguistic and non-ver~ 1 expressions get sitrwtional meanings in context. The group dichotomy talked about makes aspirants 1 relatit>ely lrigha social dass members compared to where they originally belong. Tirey become oblivious f the close tre that ordinarily exists among Nigt'Tia~Js who are of the same region or state. It is culturally li;approPing how Lizzy, "a tmant of the House" could be int>olved in a plar1 to impeach her kinsman, the speaker of the House. a cotenant though of a higher social rank. We understand the importance placed on social class ratha than khrship affinity or social norms where we cons1der the rdea that the haunted speaker 1s Lizzy's close fnend. What mcessant political impeachments result in-especially when they are intkxed by polrticrans' zeal to indiscrimmately move up a higher class-are unremitting inconclusive proj- ts and uncultrmted ideologie

Management of Root-Knot Nematodes (Meloidogyne Spp) on Tomato using Antagonistic Plants

African marigold (Tagetes erecta) and Crotalaria juncea were used as intercrops to control root knot nematodes on a susceptible tomato cultivar, Ibadan local in a pot experiment at the roof top of Crop Protection and Environmental Biology Dept, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. Four weeks old tomato plants intercropped with African marigold (Tagetes erecta) and Crotalaria juncea were inoculated with 5000eggs of root knot nematodes. Results indicated that absence of marigold or Crotalaria plants in the inoculated treatments led to increase in the number of second stage juvenile of root knot nematodes. The antagonistic plants produced significant reduction (P&lt;0.05) in the root gall indices, reproductive factor and final nematode population in susceptible tomato plants roots. However, no significant differences were observed across the treatments in terms of mean number of leaves and plant heights. The results obtained have important implications for the design of alternative nematode management strategies using antagonistic plants. Keywords: antagonistic plants, root-knot nematodes, Gall index, Reproductive factor

Methanolysis of Balanite aegyptiaca (Desert Date) Oil using CaO as Catalyst

Biodiesel is a trans-esterified vegetable oil which is renewable energy source that can be considered as a pivotal solution to combating global warming, climate stabilization through the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and dependence on mineral diesel. In this work Methanolysis of Balanite aegyptiaca (Desert date) seeds oil was done using a heterogeneous catalyst (CaO). The transesterification was carried out at 55 oC for a period of 1 h. and catalyst loading of 0.4%. FTIR as well as the physico-chemical parameter analysis of the biodiesel obtained were carried out; the FTIR spectrum shows major peaks at 3007 cm-1, 2921 cm-1, 1745 cm-1, 1163 - 1210 cm-1, 1439 cm-1, 1033 cm-1correspond to C-H stretching of alkene, C-H stretching of alkane, C=O of esters, O-C stretching of ester, CH3 asymmetric bending, O-CH3 of ester respectively. The results show a high yield of biodiesel was obtained (96.3%). Physico-chemical results show the density of 0.9 g/cm3, iodine value 96.95, and acid value 0.9. Thus, it can be concluded that Desert date (Balanite aegyptiaca) seed oil can be used as a good feedstock for the biodiesel production with high percentage yield. Keywords: Biodiesel, Desert date, Heterogeneous catalyst, Methanolysis, Physico-chemical propertie

Launaea taraxacifolia; a Neglected Vegetable from Nigeria, its Antiinflammatory and Antioxidant Activities

Part of health care structures globally are medicinal plants; these are very commonly employed against array of diseases in developing countries like Nigeria. Wild lettuce (Launaea taraxacifolia) is grown mostly in West Africa, it is call “Efo Yarin” in Yoruba Language of Nigeria. This plant is commonly used as leafy vegetable, soup and sauces but its medicinal potentials are untapped. The goal of this study is to evaluate the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity of the leaves of L. taraxacifolia. Its antioxidant activity was tested by 2, 2′-azinobis-( 3-ethyl) benzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) and anti-inflammatory disposition by employing inhibitory of lypoxygenase. The IC50 value for the anti-inflammatory activity of the extract is significant (30.06 μg/mL) when compared with that of the positive control 25.25 μg/mL (Indomethacin), the extract showed a good antioxidant effect with an IC50 of 70.59 μg/mL, ascorbic acid was used as a positive control (62.83 μg/mL). This study makes available new insights on the use of L. taraxacifolia, a commonly used medicinal plant in many countries of West Africa. The phytochemistry of this wild vegetable is largely unknown except for few screening done by few authors.Keywords: L. taraxacifolia; ABTS, lypoxygenase; anti-inflammatory and Wild lettuc

Occurrence of Biphenyl and Alkylbiphenyls in Source Rocks from Tertiary Niger Delta Basin, Nigeria.

Source rocks from the offshore Niger Delta basin, Nigeria have been analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) in terms of their thermal maturity, based on the distribution of biphenyl and its derivatives. The source rocks were characterized by the dominance of C2-biphenyl over other alkylated homologues. 3-methylbiphenyl predominated over other methylbiphenyl isomers in rock samples. 3,3’- dimethylbiphenyl occurred as the most abundant compound among the C2-biphenyl compounds in the rock samples while 3,5,4-trimethylbiphenyl dominated over other C3-biphenyl compounds in the source rocks. The distributions and abundance of the biphenyl and alkylbiphenyls were found not to be influenced by source facies and thermal maturity. The maturity dependent parameter computed from alkylbiphenyl distributions (MBpR, DMBpR-x and DMBpR-y ratios) indicated that the source rocks have wide variations in maturity status and that the rock samples are within immature to oil window maturity status and this is further supported by other maturity parameters computed from the saturate and aromatic biomarkers. This study showed that the abundance and distribution of biphenyl and its derivatives can be used for thermal maturity of source rocks in the Niger Delta Basin.Keywords: Biphenyls, alkylbiphenyls, source rocks, Niger Delta, maturit

Biosynthesis, Characterization and Biological Applications of Silver Nanoparticles using Celosia trigyna and Solanum nigrum Extracts: Neglected Vegetables in Nigeria

Plant-mediated synthesis is gaining acceptance in many fields i.e. biology and pharmaceutical fields. This aim of this study is synthesizing Ag nanoparticles using air-dried leaves of two (2) neglected vegetables i.e.  Celosia trigyna and Solanum nigrum.  Ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to characterize the formation of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). The anti-inflammatory properties of these AgNPs were evaluated using Cell Stabilization Membrane (CSM) and lipoxidase assays, their antioxidant activity were established on DPPH and ABTS+ assays. The positive control employed are indomethacin and ascorbic acid for these activities. Nanoparticles synthesized were labelled for Celosia trigyna (CT-AgNPs) and Solanum nigrum (SN-AgNPs) were noticed through visual color change. The UV–Vis spectra of the synthesized nanoparticles displayed absorption bands at around 360-440 nm, which is a characteristic band for Ag and FTIR displayed possible functional groups responsible for Ag nanoparticles synthesized by these plants.  The SEM image of the AgNPs formed displayed were spherical in morphology. CT-AgNPs exhibited the most significant inhibitory activity against HRBC (IC50: 32.2 µg/ml) while SN-AgNPs displayed the most significant inhibitory activity against lipoxygenases (IC50: 32.8 µg/ml) when compared to the positive control used indomethacin (IC50: 28.1 µg/ml). SN-AgNPs exhibited the most significant antioxidant effect against ABTS (IC50: 11.4 µg/ml) while CT-AgNPs displayed the most significant antioxidant activity against DPPH (IC50: 4.6 µg/ml) when compared to the positive control used ascorbic acid (IC50: 4.7 µg/ml). This work showed that the synthesized AgNPs from non-cultivated vegetable can find relevance and application in health, drugs, food and environmental science