Normative intersectionality in married women’s property rights in Southern Nigeria

The fate of marriage gifts during a customary law divorce is significant for the interaction of legal orders in sub-Saharan Africa, especially in the context of scholars’ fixation with conflict of laws. In analysing this fate, this article introduces normative intersectionality as a theoretical framework for a nuanced understanding of how laws and socio-economic forces interact in post-colonial settings. Normative intersectionality rejects a legal positivist view of rights, which neglects people’s adaptation of indigenous norms to socio-economic changes. In this sense, normative intersectionality is useful for addressing the traditional Igbo law of matrimonial property, which regards a married woman’s property rights as subsumed in her husband’s rights. Using the division of marriage gifts in Southern Nigeria as a case study, the article draws attention to how legal orders speak to, rather than against, each other, and in so doing, stresses the adaptive character of indigenous laws. It argues that normative intersectionality illumines the interplay of gender equality, property rights and legal pluralism. Accordingly, it urges judges to use the imitative nature of legal pluralism in post-colonial settings to remedy entrenched systems of injustice and inequality, which often hide under the banner of tradition

Phytochemical Composition and Antioxidant Activity Screening of Chloroform Leaves Extract of Man-To-Man (Peperomia pellucida) Harvested from Umunomo Ihitteafoukwu in Imo State, South Eastern Nigeria

Peperomia pellucida commonly called man-to-man or pepper elder is a plant of immense medicinal value and used in the treatment of different ailments such as abdominal pain, abscess, acne, boils colic rhematic joint pain and also consumed as vegetable. This study was conducted to investigate the preliminary and quantitative phytochemical properties of Peperomia pellucida. The results obtained revealed the presence of alkaloids (2.49±0.02), phenols (0.05±0.01), flavonoids (0.59±0.01), saponins (0.64 ± 0.02), tannins (0.08± 0.01) with alkaloid registering the highest presence. Peperomia pellucida leaves extract exhibited significant antioxidant activity at minimum and maximum concentrations of 2.0 and 12.0mg/ml respectively (compared to the ascorbic acid used as the free scavenger). The antibacterial result also showed that P. pellucida extract inhibited the growth of the test organisms, with the highest growth inhibition against Escherichia Coli and the lowest growth inhibition against Bacillus Cereus. The antimicrobial properties indicate the potential usefulness of this plant in the treatment of various pathogenic diseases which in future can be developed as a potential antimicrobial agent used in the treatment of infectious diseases

Peacebuilding and the Interface of State Law and Indigenous Market Laws in Southern Nigeria

How the interface of state law and indigenous market laws contributes to peacebuilding in Nigeria is an unexplored question that demands attention. First, law, human security and peace are interrelated through the cultural ideas and norms that inform human behaviour. Second, the co-existence of normative orders in Africa favours a top-down approach that inadequately acknowledges indigenous law, neglects its economic, cultural and religious influences, and thereby affects human security. Based on key informant interviews, focus group discussions and observation of markets in southern Nigeria, this article finds that although indigenous market laws are much altered, their foundational values inform market union constitutions, bye-laws and dispute resolution mechanisms. Union officials draft these laws with the assistance of Western-trained legal practitioners and apply them in close co-operation with state organs, who recognize market tribunals as quasi-judicial bodies. The article urges policy attention on the manner people adapt indigenous market laws to socio-economic changes

“Talk to my father”: re-thinking social exclusion and access to justice in the context of bridewealth negotiation

Broadly, the concept of social exclusion denotes a condition in which peopie are unabie to voice their opinion freeiy and fuiiy in matters affecting their iives. It often manifests as unequai respect for, and protection of people's rights based on gender, age, race, and simiiar demographics. Sociai inciusion has become a concern for poiicy deveiopment and impiementation, particuiariy in cuiturai matters, where tensions often arise between traditionai norms and universaiist State iaws. In this context, brideweaith payment in Southern Nigeria presents an intriguing iens for examining social exclusion. Here, women's exciusion from their own brideweaith negotiation iiiustrates the interpiay of agency and unequai power reiations, two twin elements that affect access to justice and policy development. So, in what ways does women's exclusion from bridewealth negotiation broaden understanding of access to justice and development programming? This article argues that women's cultural exclusion from bridewealth negotiation hinders their agency in marriage under customary law. Using data obtained from Southern Nigeria in 2016, it shows how the sustenance of social exclusion stands at the intersection of law, culture, and justice

The shadow of legal pluralism in matrimonial property division outside the courts in Southern Nigeria

Scholarly interest in the co-existence of normative orders in African social fields tends to focus on conflicts arising from the interaction of customary law with state law. This article takes a different path by revealing the normative influence of state law on actors involved in matrimonial property division outside the courts in Southern Nigeria. Based on individual interviews and focus group discussions with female divorcees, their parents, clergy, traditional leaders, NGOs and social welfare officials, it analyses inequalities in property division under customary law, arguing that these inequalities often lead to ‘dignity takings’. It reveals how the Social Welfare Department, a government agency mandated to champion the interests of women and children, plays a prominent role in the privileging of gender, class and women’s dignity. Spurred by statutes, this department increasingly orders men to divide matrimonial property and/ or to pay compensation to women. Its quasi-judicial orders on marriage gifts, properties bought by women, and child custody potentially contribute to ‘dignity restoration’ for women infantilised by the customary law of matrimonial property. By revealing the driving forces behind shifts in the traditional philosophy of matrimonial property, the article demonstrates how non-judicial dialogue between state law and customary law facilitates a living customary law of marital property division in Southern Nigeria

Isolation and NMR Characterization of Ursane-Type Triterpenoid from the Leaves of Peperomia pellucida

Peperomia pellucida is a member of the Piperaceae family. Extraction of plant material was carried out by Soxhlet extraction method using hexane and ethylacetate as solvents respectively. The extract was concentrated using a rotary evaporator, followed by isolation and purification using column and thin layer chromatographic techniques. Fraction C20 showed a clearly defined single spot with Rf value of 0.51. Using 1HNMR, 13C-DEPT, COSY, HSQC and HMBC and by comparison with literature values, the structure of the compound was established as an Ursane-type triterpenoid. The use of P. pellucida in ethnomedicine for the treatment of various ailments could be attributed to the Ursane-type triterpenoid and other bioactive chemical compounds present in the plant. Keywords: Peperomia pellucida, extraction, isolation, chromatographic techniques, ursane-type triterpenoi

Does mid upper arm circumference identify all acute malnourished 6–59 month old children, in field and clinical settings in Nigeria?

Objectives: To determine the utility of mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) in identifying acutely malnourished children compared with weight-for-height (WHZ), body mass index (BMI) for age (BAZ) and MUAC z-score (MUACZ) in clinical and field practice.Design: Cross-sectional study.Setting: Children from immunisation and paediatric outpatient clinics of Jos University Teaching Hospital and two schools in Jos, Plateau state, Nigeria.Subjects: Children 6–59 months with parental consent, and no chronic medical condition or pedal oedema. Outcome measures: MUAC, height and weight were measured. The WHZ, BAZ and MUACZ were determined using the World Health Organisation (WHO) Anthro software 3.0. Prevalence of acute malnutrition was compared between these data and those given by MUAC. The World Health Organisation (WHO) z-score cut-off of < -3 and < -2 and MUAC of ≤ 11.5 cm and 11.6 –12.5 cm was used to define severe acute malnutrition (SAM) and moderate acute malnutrition (MAM), respectively. Stata 12SE was used to determine frequency distribution, means and significance.Results: The mean age of subjects was 22.4 ± 15.5 months. The mean MUAC was 14.7 ± 1.5 cm. The MUAC differed between males and females in the age-groups of 6–11 (p = 0.02) and 36–47 (p = 0.006) months. The prevalence of SAM by WHZ was 3.4%, MUAC was 1.5%, BAZ was 4.3% and MUACZ was 1.0%. When compared, WHZ and BAZ were concordant in 77.8% (p = 0.001) of SAM subjects. MUAC and MUACZ indicated that none of the subjects were classified as SAM by WHZ and BAZ.Conclusion: Neither WHZ or MUAC as a single parameter identifies all children with acute malnutrition. A re-definition of MUAC criteria for malnutrition or consistent application of both parameters is required.Keywords: acute malnutrition, BAZ, field and clinical setting, MUAC, MUACZ, WH

Digital Twinning remote laboratories for online practical learning, Production & Manufacturing Research

The COVID19 pandemic has demonstrated a need for remote learning and virtual learning applications such as virtual reality (VR) and tabletbased solutions. Creating complex learning scenarios by developers is highly time-consuming and can take over a year. It is also costly to employ teams of system analysts, developers, and 3D artists. There is a requirement to provide a simple method to enable lecturers to create their own content for their laboratory tutorials. Research has been undertaken into developing generic models to enable the semiautomatic creation of virtual learning tools for subjects that require practical interactions with the lab resources. In addition to the system for creating digital twins, a case study describing the creation of a virtual learning application for an electrical laboratory tutorial is presented, demonstrating the feasibility of this approach

Preclinical Analysis of JAA-F11, a Specific Anti-Thomsen-Friedenreich Antibody via Immunohistochemistry and In Vivo Imaging.

The tumor specificity of JAA-F11, a novel monoclonal antibody specific for the Thomsen-Friedenreich cancer antigen (TF-Ag-alpha linked), has been comprehensively studied by in vitro immunohistochemical (IHC) staining of human tumor and normal tissue microarrays and in vivo biodistribution and imaging by micro-positron emission tomography imaging in breast and lung tumor models in mice. The IHC analysis detailed herein is the comprehensive biological analysis of the tumor specificity of JAA-F11 antibody performed as JAA-F11 is progressing towards preclinical safety testing and clinical trials. Wide tumor reactivity of JAA-F11, relative to the matched mouse IgG3 (control), was observed in 85% of 1269 cases of breast, lung, prostate, colon, bladder, and ovarian cancer. Staining on tissues from breast cancer cases was similar regardless of hormonal or Her2 status, and this is particularly important in finding a target on the currently untargetable triple-negative breast cancer subtype. Humanization of JAA-F11 was recently carried out as explained in a companion paper "Humanization of JAA-F11, a Highly Specific Anti-Thomsen-Friedenreich Pancarcinoma Antibody and In Vitro Efficacy Analysis" (Neoplasia 19: 716-733, 2017), and it was confirmed that humanization did not affect chemical specificity. IHC studies with humanized JAA-F11 showed similar binding to human breast tumor tissues. In vivo imaging and biodistribution studies in a mouse syngeneic breast cancer model and in a mouse-human xenograft lung cancer model with humanized 124I- JAA-F11 construct confirmed in vitro tumor reactivity and specificity. In conclusion, the tumor reactivity of JAA-F11 supports the continued development of JAA-F11 as a targeted cancer therapeutic for multiple cancers, including those with unmet need