Evaluation of the Wood and Plastic Formworks in Building Construction Industry for Sustainable Development

This research work assessed wood and plastic in building construction. The study was a descriptive survey design and as such made use of questionnaire with 42 items. The Population of the study was 110 respondents which include 40 building professional and 70 non-building professional. The data were analysed using mean and standard deviation. The finding of the study shows that plastic work form can be used for casting slab, concrete wall among others. The finding also revealed some factors that determines the selection of form work such as climatic condition, labour efficiency and that plastic formwork saves cost as a result of long reuse period. It is therefore recommended that; plastic and wooden formwork should be integrated often in the casting of slabs, beam and columns without discrimination, proper adherence to standards and specifications for use of any type of formwork, there should be large scale production of plastic formwork to conserve forest and wood, factors to be considered in the selection of formwork should not be ignored, there should be proper weighing of the advantages and disadvantages of each type of formwork relating to the scale of construction before the choice of any formwork

Accessibility of Federally Funded Family Planning Services in South Carolina and Alabama

This study operationalized the five dimensions of health care access in the context of contraceptive service provision and used this framework to examine access to contraceptive care at health department (HD) (Title X funded) and federally qualified health center (FQHC) (primarily non-Title X funded) clinics in South Carolina and Alabama. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2017/18 that assessed clinic-level characteristics, policies, and practices related to contraceptive provision. Provision of different contraceptive methods was examined between clinic types. Survey items were mapped to the dimensions of access and internal consistency for each scale was tested with Cronbach\u27s alpha. Scores of access were developed and differences by clinic type were evaluated with an independent t-test. The overall response rate was 68.3% and the sample included 235 clinics. HDs (96.9%) were significantly more likely to provide IUDs and/or Impants on-site than FQHCs (37.4%) (P \u3c 0.0001). Scales with the highest consistency were Availability: Clinical Policy (24 items) (alpha = 0.892) and Acceptability (43 items) (alpha = 0.834). HDs had higher access scores than FQHCs for the Availability: Clinical Policy scale (0.58, 95% CL 0.55, 0.61) vs (0.29, 95% CL 0.25, 0.33) and Affordability: Administrative Policy scale (0.86, 95% CL 0.83, 0.90) vs (0.47, 95% CL 0.41, 0.53). FQHCs had higher access scores than HDs for Affordability: Insurance Policy (0.78, 95% CL 0.72, 0.84) vs (0.56, 95% CL 0.53, 0.59). These findings highlight strengths and gaps in contraceptive care access. Future studies must examine the impact of each dimension of access on clinic-level contraceptive utilization

Enhancing Training of Staff of the Agricultural Development Programme for Effective Agricultural Extension Service Delivery in Nigeria

This paper, identified the areas where staff of the Agricultural Development Programme (ADP) that carry out grassroots extension service delivery need to be trained and the field problems requiring research intervention. Secondary data from Annual Performance Survey (APS) report of NAERLS and NPAFS between 2010 and 2012 were used. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results showed that the most frequent key areas where trainings needed were long term course, short term refresher trainings, pre-season training, management training for administrative staff, specialized for subject matter specialist and data collection processing/analysis. The study further revealed that the development of livestock feed formula from local materials, heat-tolerant and disease resistant varieties of tomato and wheat were the most pressing problems requiring the researchers’ attention. It is recommended that ADPs should be given periodic training by relevant organizations on the identified areas and researchers should focus their researches more on the identified problems requiring research intervention. Moreover, state governments should adequately sponsor trainings of ADPs in their various states. This will strengthen the ADPs skills and increase their productivities for an effective extension service delivery in Nigeria

Enhancing Training of Staff of the Agricultural Development Programme for Effective Agricultural Extension Service Delivery in Nigeria

This paper, identified the areas where staff of the Agricultural Development Programme (ADP) that carry out grassroots extension service delivery need to be trained and the field problems requiring research intervention. Secondary data from Annual Performance Survey (APS) report of NAERLS and NPAFS between 2010 and 2012 were used. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results showed that the most frequent key areas where trainings needed were long term course, short term refresher trainings, pre-season training, management training for administrative staff, specialized for subject matter specialist and data collection processing/analysis. The study further revealed that the development of livestock feed formula from local materials, heat-tolerant and disease resistant varieties of tomato and wheat were the most pressing problems requiring the researchers’ attention. It is recommended that ADPs should be given periodic training by relevant organizations on the identified areas and researchers should focus their researches more on the identified problems requiring research intervention. Moreover, state governments should adequately sponsor trainings of ADPs in their various states. This will strengthen the ADPs skills and increase their productivities for an effective extension service delivery in Nigeria

Bacteriological Investigation of Poultry Feeds Sold Within Jos Metropolis

Animal feeds can potentially become contaminated with food borne bacteria either during harvesting, processing at the feed mill or during storage. Animal feeds are also potential reservoirs for cross contamination from environmental sources while being fed to animals. This study was therefore carried out to analyse the bacterial load of poultry feeds sold within Jos metropolis and to deduce the bacteriological quality of feeds sold at the various sales outlets. Four different commercial poultry feeds namely, broiler finisher, broiler starter, growers mash and layers mash obtained from their trade outlets in Jos, Bukuru and K-Vom, Nigeria were examined for their microbiological qualities using standard microbiological and analytical methods. The bacterial count was highest in broiler starter with 3.50 x 107 cfu/g, while the least count of 5.40 x 103 cfu/g was recorded in layers mash. A total of six bacteria were isolated which include; Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Proteus mirabilis, Listeria monocytogens and Klebsiella spp. The presence of some pathogenic microorganisms in poultry feeds lucidly reveals the level of contamination. Therefore, the commercial poultry feeds should be periodically examined for biosafety, so as to reduce or probably prevent the risk of cross contamination of poultry and poultry products.Keywords: Poultry feeds, bacteria, contaminatio

Vitamin A, Iron and Iodine Status of Under Five Children in Kaduna State, Nigeria

Background: Micronutrient deficiency has been considered as a major risk factor for child survival in Nigeria, it increases the risk of death from common diseases that affects children.          Objective: The study assessed the vitamin A, iron and iodine status of children in Kaduna state.Methods: The study was a cross sectional descriptive survey research. Children aged 6-59 months (84 subjects) were selected using a multi- stage sampling technique. Five milliliters of blood were collected for analysis of serum retinol and hemoglobin determination. Urinary Iodine Excretion (UIE) was based on the iodine concentration in urine samples. Vitamin A as serum retinol was determined using Highperformance liquid chromatography (HPLC), Hemoglobin concentration was determined using Atomic absorption spectrometry while the UIE level was analyzed using wet digestion method.Results: Anaemia was more common with female (35.1%) in the study area compared to male (18.93%) with various haemoglobin level. Children aged 25 – 36 months were the most deficient in anaemia (16.66%). Urinary iodine deficiency (mild) affected more female (13.09%) than male (10.7%). Children aged 13 – 24 months (10.71%) were the most affected age group on mild iodine deficiency. Vitamin A deficiency affected more male (2.38%) than female (1.19%) and the deficiency of vitamin A was found in ages 25 – 36 months only (2.38%).Conclusion: Vitamin A, iron and iodine deficiencies were mostly observed in children between two to three years in the study area. Female children were affected most. Routine screening of children, timely supplementation and intervention will reduce deficiencies in the local government areas and communities affected in the state

Prevalence of Malnutrition among Children Aged 6-59 Months in Kaduna State, Nigeria

Background: The World Health Organization quotes malnutrition as a major single threat to the world's public health.Objective: The study assessed the anthropometric indices of the under five children from the three senatorial districts in Kaduna State.Materials and Methods: A cross sectional descriptive survey was adopted for the study Proportionate sampling technique was used to select 420 children from a population of 1, 172,43, aged 6- 59 months. The nutritional status was assessed using a structured questionnaire, anthropometric parameters based on World Health Organization (WHO) classification of malnutrition, mild (weight for height ratio between - 1SD to -2SD) moderate (-2SD TO-3SD) and severe (less than -3SD), while 24-hour food recall wasobtained on the children looking at the breakfast, lunch and dinner. The data obtained was analyzed using SPSS version 16.0. Frequency distribution and percentages were used to present anthropometric status of the children.Results: Female were 53.8% and 46.2 % male. Anthropometric assessment showed the prevalence of different categories of malnutrition among the children as severe stunting38.6% moderate stunting 31.4% while 30% of the children were normal. Severe underweight was 41.24%, moderate underweight 35.2% and normal was 23.6% while severe wasting was 21.26%, moderate wasting 26.4% while 51% were normal. Twenty-four (24) hour dietary recall showed the diet of the children is monotonous in nature.Conclusion: Severe malnutrition exists among children in Kaduna State therefore, there's need for improvement in the diet and nutritional status of children in the State

Infant Feeding Practices and the Effect of Early Complementary Feeding on Child Nutritional Status in Makada, Sabon Gari Local Government Area, Kaduna State, Nigeria

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine infant feeding practices and the effect of early complementary feeding on the nutritional status of children in Makada Community, Sabon Gari Local Government Area (LGA), Kaduna State, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was carried out. The sample consists of 100 mothers (and their children), selected randomly from the turnout of women at the Makada Health Centre’s Tuesday child clinic. The study instrument was a self-validated structured questionnaire that solicited information on demography, breastfeeding, types and time of complementary feeding, immunizations, age and weight of children and any special foods given to children. Data on the nutritional status of children were obtained using the weights, heights and ages of children. The association between the nutritional status of the child and the period food was introduced was evaluated using Chi- square analysis. Results: The results showed that 50% of mothers had no formal education, 33% had Islamic/primary, 10% secondary and 7% post-secondary education. On occupation, the respondents were mostly housewives (50%); 30% were food vendors, 19% were petty traders and 1% farmers. Ten percent (10%) of the respondent’s breast fed their children with colostrums. On the question of age, time and type of food given before six months, 70% gave herbs/water, 12% gave water and pap, 5% gave infant formula/fresh cow milk, 3% gave honey/sugar, while 10% fully breastfed. Fifty-nine percent of respondents fell within the normal weight range, while the remaining 41% of 3-6 months and 7-12 months were found to be underweight. The result of the chi-square analysis revealed association between the age at which food was introduced to children and their nutritional status. Conclusion: The study concluded that early introduction of complementary foods may have negative effect on the weight of the children and is also associated with undernourishment.Key words: Feeding practices, early complementary feeding, nutritional status, child healt