Constructing Ideology through Modality in Newspaper Editorials on Security Challenges in Nigeria

This paper explores Nigerian media’s deployment of modality on editorials on security challenges in Nigeria. The study examines how such impress on the ideological position of the media on the security issues in Nigeria. The study relates to how well Nigerian newspaper organisations attempted to reveal or mask security cases across different regions of the country through modal options. The editorials were sourced from The Punch and The Guardian (South-Western region), Vanguard and The Sun (East) and Leadership and Daily Trust (Northern Region) between 2014 and 2016. The frequencies and percentages of occurrences of these modality markers were examined and their implications were interpreted to reflect the attitudes and dispositions of the newspapers to security issues. Our findings show that the six newspapers expressed unbiased concerns over the Boko-Haram Insurgency whether or not the newspaper is situated in the northern region. However, the fact that certain security issues emanated from particular regions also prompted the kinds of modal markers employed by specific newspapers representing such regions. The Sun’s choices of modal indirectly expressed support for their plights and protests of the pro-Biafra agitators. The Punch’s choices of modal verbs portrayed President Buhari as sharing some ethnic affinity with herders

Paroxetine is Pro-inflammatory in Human Brain Microvascular Endothelial Cells

BACKGROUND: Paroxetine is an antidepressant that is widely used. However, Paroxetine possesses anticholinergic properties which may contribute to cognitive decline in older adults. Surprisingly, the mechanisms of the cognitive decline of anticholinergic drugs in older adults remains elusive. A hypothesis is that a loss of cholinergic signaling is pro-inflammatory in the brain. We designed experiments to determine if Paroxetine is pro-inflammatory in Normal Human Brain Microvascular Endothelial Cells (NHBMECs). METHOD: NHBMECs were grown at 5% CO2, 37C and 95% relative humidity until 90% confluent. NHBMECs were treated with the RNA free water as control, Paroxetine as 1.67x 10 4 mM/mol, IL1B 2ng/ml for 24 hours. RNA was isolated, converted into CDNA, and gene expression determined via RT-PCR. Statistical analysis was performed via ANOVA and post-hoc Tukey’s with a significant p-value \u3c 0.05. Experiments were completed on 10-04-19. The mRNA expression studies were performed on 11-01-19. RESULTS: NHBMECs exposed to Paroxetine for 24 hours demonstrated elevated expression of CCL2 and CXCL5. NHBMECs exposed to Paroxetine + IL1B demonstrated synergistic elevations in CCL2 and CXCL5. CONCLUSION: Our result suggests that Paroxetine may have pro-inflammatory properties within this subset of human brain cells. Therefore, our preliminary data suggests the possibility of pathological pro- inflammatory mechanisms associated with Paroxetine. Further evaluation of different populations of normal human brain cells are warranted.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/gradposters/1096/thumbnail.jp

Structural Behaviour Of Distressed And Strengthened Post-Tensioned Box Girder Beams

Box girder prestressed concrete beams are used widely in bridge construction due to its efficient structural response under flexural as well as torsional loading. Prestressing can be either internally or externally applied to a beam. Every year, many prestressed concrete bridge girders are damaged due to accidental load and /or due to an aggressive environment surrounding the bridge. Corrosion and /or snapping of prestressing cables will cause serious damage in the bridge structure. Many researchers have covered the strengthening of prestressed concrete girders under flexure or under shear. Very limited research is available on the significance of different strengthening techniques under combined shear–flexural loading. Furthermore, torsional load is another important aspect which needs to be considered when discussing the strengthening techniques effect This research covers the effect of snapping of externally prestressed cables on the structural behaviour of box girder bridge beams subjected to a combined flexural – shear – torsional load. Five full scale box-girder beams were cast and tested experimentally. The first beam specimen acted as a control beam while in the remaining four beam specimens, 15% of the prestressing cable area was snapped. After snapping, one specimen was tested till failure and the other three specimens are strengthened using different techniques and tested till failure. To restore the beam capacity, three different strengthening techniques were used under the same load combination. The techniques adopted for this research are externally bonded CFRP laminates, extra longitudinal prestress cables and vertical prestressing applied by using bolts and nuts system. The results show that snapping of 15% of the prestressing cable will result in a 74% increase in deformation at service load and a 22% decrease in ultimate load. Furthermore, the snapping of the prestress wire will increase the stresses in the cables by 70% as compared to the unsnapped beam. All the strengthening techniques used can effectively restore the beam capacity at service and overcome the effect of cable snapping, however, at ultimate the restorative capacity of one of the strengthening techniques could not be fully established due to a localized failure

THE EFFECT OF MULTIMEDIA INSTRUCTIONAL PACKAGES ON STUDENTS' ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN BIOLOGY

This study examined the effects of computer-based multimedia instructional packages on the academic achievement of students offering Biology in Senior Secondary Schools in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. Two multimedia instructional packages were designed for the study. The study adopted the pretest-posttest, control group, experimental research design. The population of the study consists of 80 randomly selected students from three secondary schools in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. The samples were randomly assigned to three groups (one control and two experimental groups). The moderating effects of gender and learning styles were also tested. The results showed that there was a significant main effect of treatment on students' achievement in Biology (F (2, 58) = 27.18; P < 0.05; partial eta square = 0.48). Also, gender had no significant main effect on students' performance (F (1, 58) = 3.97; P > 0.05; Partial eta square = 0.06). It was therefore concluded that multimedia instructional packages significantly enhanced students learning of Biology concepts than the conventional strategy, regardless of gender and the preferred learning style of students. Therefore, it was recommended that more multimedia instructional packages be designed and used in secondary schools for effective and efficient teaching and learning of Biology. Keywords: multimedia instructional packages, academic achievement, Biology, teaching strategy, learning styles, gende

Treatment Evaluation of Iron Deficiency Anemia in Women of an Underserved Community

Background/Purpose: Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is the most common micronutrient deficiency globally. More than 20% of women experience IDA during the reproductive year. As the first-line treatment in IDA, oral iron supplement (IOS) is associated with gastrointestinal side (GI) effects, and it is often a barrier to achieving normal hemoglobin (Hb) and serum ferritin (SF) levels. Ineffective treatment fueled by a lack of guidelines increases the dilemma of dosing frequency in primary care, leads to poor quality of life, and increases the burden of anemia. Intervention: Evidence showed that intermittent OIS is as effective as daily dosing. It is associated with fewer GI side effects, increased Hb and SF, and compliance. Methods: The San Diego (SD) 8A\u27s Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) Model guided this practice change. Research articles were reviewed for evidence. The project evaluated the application of EBP guidelines among the primary care providers (PCPs), identified patients diagnosed with IDA with a Hb/dl and SF \u3c 20 ng/mL who are currently on daily OIS dosing and educated PCP for practice change to alter the dosing frequency to every other day. Levels of Hb, SF, and GI side effects at pre-and post-intervention were evaluated to assess practice change. Results: Providers\u27 survey revealed the lack of consensus in applying EBP guidelines. Comparison of data shows the mean of Hb and SF were significantly different between pre-and post-data with p = .001 for Hb and p = .003 for SF. The results indicate that a change to every other day dosing effectively increased levels of Hb and SF and decreased GI side effects. Implication for Nursing: Clinicians should adopt the practice with positive patient outcomes. The results will guide clinicians to select every other day OIS as a preferred form of treatment of IDA, resulting in fewer GI side effects, improved compliance, and effectiveness of anemia reversal

Online Learning during COVID19 and Beyond: A Human Right Based Approach to Internet Access in Africa

© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Teaching and learning were disrupted due to lockdown imposed as part of efforts to curb the spread of the COVID19 virus that hit the world in 2020. As a result, many national governments requested educational establishments to migrate their teachings online. In Africa, internet penetration has improved in the last decade. However, the continent still lags in integrating the Internet into learning. Besides, there is unequal access to technologies used in online education and unequal access to data and connectivity. Regarding access to quality learning, the COVID-19 pandemic has widened the gap between the rich and the poor and has exposed society's fragility. This paper evaluates the strategies of African leaders in sustaining access to learning and the experience of learners during COVID19 lockdown. It argues that most African countries' educational systems are unprepared for the sudden switch to online learning. Finally, it investigates future policy strategies in bringing more Africans out of the digital desert.Peer reviewe

Investigating the Predictors of E-commerce Adoption: the Mediating Role of Customers’ Affective Responses

Extended abstract from Faculty of Business and Law Research Day 202

Planning a functional city centre in a physiographic constrained landscape: A case study of Lokoja, Nigeria

The city centre planning and redevelopment in developing cities, the location, function and physical form of such cities notwithstanding often remain the hardest planning proposal to be accomplished by any planning endeavour. The magnitude of this problem has been linked to the origin and locations of many settlements especially those associated with poor relief environment which later poses numerous planning challenges such as malfunctioning of such cities’ central area planning. This study therefore aims at planning a more viable and functional 'city centre' that befit the ever growing and physically distorted Lokoja town which existing central area is currently undermining the physical need of the inhabitants. Moreover, in the face of physical environmental challenge, there must be a good choice of locating a befitting site for its central area development. In the literature, it is evident that there are different concepts worldwide in the development of this centre hence copying from one style of design may not really work else where because of many peculiarities. Methodologically, the study employs detailed land-use studies, traffics survey and other social research analytical tool to propose a better choice of alternative site for the central area development. The researchers conceived a ‘pedestrian precinct principle’ for the central areas that is being anticipated and concludes that the fiscal resources or funding of the central area plan implementation be sourced possibly from either urban development bank or directly from central government.Key word: City centre, designing, physical terrain, planning

A tale of two rights: mediating between P2P owners and digital copyright holders.

The emergence of peer-to-peer file sharing technology revolutionises the discourse around copyright infringement. This new pirate of digital technology poses challenges not only to legal structures but it redefines tensions among various stakeholders: artists and creators genuine users of copyrighted works, content industries and technologists. They threaten cultural production turning users to consumers without effort to become producers. Conversely, it is contended that such software increase collaborative interactions and change the way we perceive social and communicative structures. A caveat is that the response of law when juxtapose with technological changes in the internet itself, has heavily increased the effective regulation of creativity. This paper examines the early debate around the regulation of p2p software. Can there be a middle ground

Surveying Efficiencies of Nigerian Banks before and after the Minimum Capital Requirement Increase

This study investigates the efficiency of the Nigerian banking system between the years of 1999 and 2005. Bank efficiency is evaluated using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), and the main determinants are identified by using a Tobit model. The results indicate that efficiency fluctuated during the first part of the period and improved during the recent years, a period associated with the increase in minimum capital requirement. Differences in bank efficiency are explained by problematic loans and bank size