Prediction of Type II MODY3 diabetes using backpercolation.

This paper examined the use of the backpercolation neural network algorithm to identify mutated MODY3 gene sequence data that is responsible for type II (maturity onset) diabetes. It was then demonstrated that a supervised feed forward method gave more accurate results in predicting point mutation in genes than the neural network backpropagation method. This paper brought the technique to the attention of other researchers as to how the method can be used for this and for the prediction of other diseases. The technique had been widely used in analysing environmental data is now commonly used in Bioinformatics

THEORETICAL CORRELATION OF AGEING, MENTAL ACTIVITY AND MEMORY RECALL: IMPLICATION FOR SECURITY PERSONNEL

This study explored theoretical correlation of ageing, mental activity and memory recall and its implication for security personnel. Ebbinghaus’ experiment with the list of nonsense syllables in 1885 has created the awareness that a lot factors can influence brain behaviour; critically ageing and mental activity. Despite the abundance of empirical literature on varying experiments to expose the correlation of brain behaviour and other human behavioural outcomes, the need to establish theoretical basis for understanding these relationships becomes important. Using Two-Stage Process theory of memory recall by Watkins and Gardiner (1979) which emphasized search and retrieval process; and Encoding Specificity theory by Tulving and Donald (1973) which emphasized encoding conditions and conditions at the time of retrieval, memory recall process was reviewed as brain behaviour in the light of how ageing and mental activity (cognitive exercise) may influence it. Given the found theoretical linkage, it is recommended that positive valences which improve mental wellbeing and varying brain behavior be encouraged in the workplace to improve the quality of human output in the organization.  Article visualizations

Analysis of Energy Balance on Nigeria’s Economic Growth: Evidence On Electricity Sector: 1970-2010.

This study analysed the effects of energy balance on Nigeria’s economic growth, with specific focus on the electricity sector. The endogenous growth model complimented with an econometrics packages were adopted to determine the relationship between energy (electricity) demand, energy supply and energy balance: their stationarity and short and long run effects. The parsimonious estimate declared the relevance of electricity supply and demand to economic growth. To test the impact of electricity balance on economic growth, the second model included energy (electricity balance, this resulted to overall change in influence and significance. The implication to the study is that the energy difference caused by excess demand is a strong determinant to the diabetic economic growth in the country. Against this background I this study suggests adequate funding, rehabilitation of existing power plants and construction of new ones to support the existing ones. Also recommended is the exploitation of nuclear sources of power supply, intensification of efforts to checkmate vandals and thieves of power apparatus, distilled massive private investment and incentives via multi year tariff order (MYTO) and gas sales agreement that eliminated direct government subsidies

Curbing Corruption in Nigeria: The Imperatives of Good Leadership

The work generally examined the past and present government leaderships' efforts at curbing corruption in Nigeria and the imperatives of good leadership. The study, specifically, analyzed the relationship between effectively fighting and curbing corruption and the leadership style in Nigeria. The basic finding is that because corruption in Nigeria is very pervasive at the nation's various leadership levels, the effort to curb it has not been significantly successful. This is because the leaders who are at the forefront of the anti-graft war are grossly embedded in corrupt activities themselves. In the face of this, the work recommends that to effectively fight and control corruption in Nigeria, government leadership at all levels must be honest, upright, sincere and accountable in their management of state affairs. Very importantly, the leaders need to exhibit exemplary attitudes and serve as models for upright and honest public and even private lives. In fact, Nigeria leaders must be willing and capable to demonstrate personal commitment to the ant-graft war not only in words but, very importantly, in deeds. This is very necessary if the efforts at fighting corruption in Nigeria are to be effective and meaningful

Open circuit fault diagnosis technique for inverter switches and gate drive malfunction

Open circuit faults (OCFs) in voltage source inverters (VSIs) can significantly affect their performance and reliability. In this paper, a novel fault diagnosis technique (FDT)is presented for the detection and classification of two types of OCFs in VSIs: gate drive malfunction (GDM) and open switch fault (OSF). the effect of these OCFs on the output current of the VSI is analysed, this shows that they can be identified and distinguished using the average and root mean square (RMS) ratio of the current parameters. The proposed FDT is simple to implement and can identify switch faults with quick response, without the need for additional equipment. In this work the authors adopted the ensemble bagged tree classification method to detect and classify the GDM and OSF, the results show the credibility of the proposed technique in identifying different open circuit faults

An Evaluation of Library and Information Science Education in Some Selected Nigerian Universities

This paper intended to investigate the perspective of final year students of Nigerian Library and Information Science (LIS) schools in ascertaining the current status of LIS education and training in Nigeria. This has been necessitated by the fact that prospective fresh graduates of LIS schools are expected to be fully formed and equipped in providing timely and relevant information services to their immediate environment and the society at large especially in this era where the continued advances of ICTs upon the profession even places greater expectations on the prospective LIS professionals to be agents of transformation and development in Nigeria. The studies revealed that the current sets of students are predominantly between the age bracket of 20-24, with a large enrollment of female students. Cyber Security and Digital Archiving were ranked the least courses included in the departmental curricula. Most of the respondents agreed that Library and Information Science Education is very educative. There is low satisfaction among the respondents in the quality of faculty available in the Library Schools. Facsimiles and Scanners are least accessed and utilized ICTs in the Library Schools. There is a general low rate of ICTs access and utilization in the Library School by the students especially on a daily basis. Power Outage, inadequate computers and limited access and utilization of ICT in the computer Laboratories and departmental Libraries are the major challenges confronting the students in the Library Schools. Recommendations were made for all stakeholders of Library and Information Science Education in Nigeria

Development and characterization of hybrid coconut/glass fibers reinforced low density polyethylene composites for bumper application

The EU's End of Life Vehicles (ELV) regulations are forcing car manufacturers to consider the environmental impact of their production and possibly shift from the use of synthetic materials to the use of agro-based materials. However, poor mechanical properties and certain manufacturing limitations currently limit the use of agro-based materials to non-structural and semi-structural automotive components. This research is focused on a composite of hybrid coconut/glass fiber as reinforcement in recycled low density polyethylene matrix alone to enhance the desired mechanical properties for car bumper as automotive structural components. X-ray fluorescence analysis conducted on coconut fiber showed the presence of silica and alumina materials make coconut fibre a choice one. Morphology analysis was performed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), which reveals that there are small discontinuities and reasonably uniform distribution of the reinforcement fibers and the reinforced low density polyethylene (RLDPE) binder resulting to better mechanical properties. Physic-chemical properties that directly affect developed composite such as variation of Density, Water Absorption, Tensile Strength, Bending strength, Modulus of rupture, Impact Strength and Hardness Values were investigated for both unhybridized and hybridized developed composite. The study shows the successful development of composites of coconut fiber (CF) hybridized with glass fiber (GF) and reinforced low density polyethylene (RLDPE) binder using a simple molding technique. Hybridized samples (CF-GF/RLDPE) showed higher strength when compared to un-hybridized (CF/RLDPE) composites. Better microstructural bonding exists with 25% and 30% wt CF-GF composite resulting in good mechanical properties for the hybridized composites. The grades of composites obtained in the course of this study are applicable in the production of low strength car bumpers

Obstetric analgesia for vaginal birth in contemporary obstetrics: a survey of the practice of obstetricians in Nigeria

BACKGROUND: Contemporary obstetrics in sub-Saharan Africa is yet to meet the analgesic needs of most women during child birth for a satisfactory birth experience and expectedly, obstetricians have a major role to play in achieving this. METHODS: This was a questionnaire-based, cross-sectional study of 151 obstetricians and gynecologists that attended the 46th Annual General Meeting and Scientific Conference of the Society of Gynaecology and Obstetrics of Nigeria (SOGON) held in Abakaliki, southeast Nigeria in November, 2012. SOGON is the umbrella body that oversees the obstetric and gynecological practice in Nigeria. Data was collated and analyzed with Epi-info statistical software, and conclusions were drawn by means of simple percentages and inferential statistics using Odds Ratio, with P-value < 0.05 at 95% Confidence Interval (CI) taken to be statistically significant. RESULTS: Of the 151 participants, males predominated; 110 (72.9%) practiced in government-owned tertiary hospitals in urban locations. Only 74 (49%) offered obstetric analgesia. Among users, only 20 (13.3%) offered obstetric analgesia routinely to parturients, 44 (29.1%) sometimes and 10 (6.6%) on patients’ requests. The commonest analgesia was opioids (41.1%). Among non-users, the commonest reasons adduced were fear of respiratory distress (31.1%), cost (24.7%) and late presentation in labour (15.6%). CONCLUSION: The routine prescription and utilization of obstetric analgesia by obstetricians in Nigeria is still low. Obstetricians are encouraged to step up its use to make childbirth a more fulfilling experience for parturients