Extent of availability and utilization of law reports by law students in the universities of Uyo and Calabar law libraries

This study investigates the extent of availability and utilization of law reports by final year in the Universities of Uyo and Calabar law libraries. Survey research design was adopted for the study. A total of 450 under graduate final year Law students projects were examined to determine the frequency of citations of law reports. The study was carried out between 2003/2004-2006/2007 academic sessions. The instrument used for collecting data was the observation method. Simple percentage and chi-square were used to analyze data. Findings showed that the number of law reports available in the universities of Uyoand Calabar law libraries and the frequency of citations keep increasing in each academic session. Further results showed that there is a relationship between the extent of availability and utilization of law reports by law students in the law libraries surveyed. Recommendations were made, consequent upon findings of the study. Keywords: Law reports, Utilization, Availability, Law library, Students

Use of ICT facilities for teaching library and information science courses at the University of Uyo, Nigeria

This article investigated availability and functionality of ICT facilities and its utilization in the teaching of Library and Information Science (LIS) students in the University of Uyo. The study adopted a survey design and was guided by four objectives, four research questions, and two hypotheses. The population of the study comprised all 48 final year students in the LIS unit of the departments of Educational Technology and Library Science, University of Uyo and the students were purposively sampled for the study. A structured questionnaire and a checklist constituted the instruments for data collection. The data obtained were analyzed using Mean and Standard Deviation to answer research questions while t-test, Analysis of Variance and Simple Regression Analysis were used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significant. The result revealed that there is a significant influence of availability and functionality on the use of ICT facilities in teaching LIS courses in the University of Uyo library school and concluded that the availability and functionality of ICT facilities enhance usage for the teaching of LIS students. It also recommended proper funding of library schools. Keywords: ICT facilities, functionality, utilization, library and information science, students, uy

Awareness and Digitization of School Library Resources in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

This study investigates the awareness and digitization of school libraries in Akwa Ibom State. The main objective of the study was to examine the extent of awareness of librarians on digitization of school library resources in private secondary schools and the software used in digitization and to further examine if the school librarians have the necessary skills for digitization of the library resources in Akwa Ibom State. Out of about 150 private secondary schools in the state, 25 were randomly sampled for the study. This study adopts cognitive flexibility theory. The design for the study was descriptive survey. The data were analysed using percentages and charts. The result of the findings indicated that librarians in Akwa Ibom State school libraries are awareof the digitization technology; but the extent of planning for digitization is low in their libraries. It was noticed that there are inadequate facilities in the libraries for digitization. The study further revealed that the school librarians do not have the skills for the implementation of digitization in the school libraries. Among the recommendations made was that school librarians should be trained and retrained for information skills acquisitio

Survey of drug use and crime in Nigerian libraries: a study of public and academic libraries in Akwa Ibom state.

Drug use is a menacing problem currently affecting every aspect of Nigeria's national life. The clandestine nature of many drug use behaviours-may provide suitable conditions for the development of relative ethnographies, and one of such is the library environment as a secret hideout for drug abuse. Considering the seclusive nature of every library complex, the present study investigated, through a survey, the possible existence and prevalence of drug use network in selected public libraries in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Participants were library users and patrons, including students, library workers and other public users. Results indicate that negligible (low) level of drug use was reported in the library with corresponding low level of related crime. There were also other indicators of drug use comparing respondents‟ reports under several demographic factors including gender, education, marital status of users, residential status of users, recent history of drug use in the library, estimated age of users, estimated financial cost of drug use as well as indices of crimes committed in the library. It was however not clear if reported crimes, which are usual day to day occurrences associated with the library, could in any way be linked to library drug use. Recommendations were made concerning the need and urgency to provide public sensitization on the dangers of drug use not only in the library but also in general, and the need to prevent its consequences through improved security measures in our academic and public facilities. Keywords: Drug use, academic and public libraries, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria, investigative survey

Ecological niche modelling of Hemipteran insects in Cameroon ; the paradox of a vector-borne transmission for Mycobacterium ulcerans, the causative agent of Buruli ulcer

Background: The mode of transmission of the emerging neglected disease Buruli ulcer is unknown. Several potential transmission pathways have been proposed, such as amoebae, or transmission through food webs. Several lines of evidence have suggested that biting aquatic insects, Naucoridae and Belostomatidae, may act as vectors, however this proposal remains controversial. Materials and methods: Herein, based on sampling in Cameroon, we construct an ecological niche model of these insects to describe their spatial distribution. We predict their distribution across West Africa, describe important environmental drivers of their abundance, and examine the correlation between their abundance and Buruli ulcer prevalence in the context of the Bradford-Hill guidelines. Results: We find a significant positive correlation between the abundance of the insects and the prevalence of Buruli ulcer. This correlation changes in space and time, it is significant in one Camerounese study region in (Akonolinga) and not other (Bankim). We discuss notable environmental differences between these regions. Conclusion: We interpret the presence of, and change in, this correlation as evidence (though not proof) that these insects may be locally important in the environmental persistence, or transmission, of Mycobacterium. ulcerans. This is consistent with the idea of M. ulcerans as a pathogen transmitted by multiple modes of infection, the importance of any one pathway changing from region to region, depending on the local environmental conditions

Rapid Thermal Technologies for High Efficiency Silicon Solar Cells

Presented at the 12th International Photovoltaic Science and Engineering Conference; Jeju Island, Korea; June 11-15, 2001.This paper shows that rapidly formed emitters (≤ 6 min) in a conveyor belt furnace or 3 minutes in an RTP system, in conjunction with a screen-printed (SP) RTP Al-BSF and passivating oxide formed simultaneously in 2 minutes can produce high efficiency cells with no surface texturing, point contacts, or selective emitter. It is shown for the first time that an 80 Ω/ emitter and SP Al-BSF formed in a high throughput belt furnace can produce 19% FZ cells, 18.4% MCZ cells and greater than 17% CZ cells with photolithography (PL) contacts. Using PL contacts, we also achieved 19% efficient cells on FZ, >18% on MCZ, and ~17% boron-doped CZ by emitter and SP Al-BSF formation in less than 10 minutes in a single wafer RTP system. Finally, a manufacturable process with 45 Ω/ emitter and screen-printed (SP) Al-BSF and Ag contacts formed in the conveyor belt furnace gave 17% efficient cells on FZ silicon. Compared to the photolithography cells, the SP cell gave ∼2% lower efficiency along with a decrease in Jsc and fill factor (FF). This loss in performance is attributed to a combination of the poor blue response, higher series resistance and higher contact shading in the SP devices

Nanomechanics and Sodium Permeability of Endothelial Surface Layer Modulated by Hawthorn Extract WS 1442

The endothelial glycocalyx (eGC) plays a pivotal role in the physiology of the vasculature. By binding plasma proteins, the eGC forms the endothelial surface layer (ESL) which acts as an interface between bloodstream and endothelial cell surface. The functions of the eGC include mechanosensing of blood flow induced shear stress and thus flow dependent vasodilation. There are indications that levels of plasma sodium concentrations in the upper range of normal and beyond impair flow dependent regulation of blood pressure and may therefore increase the risk for hypertension. Substances, therefore, that prevent sodium induced endothelial dysfunction may be attractive for the treatment of cardiovascular disease. By means of combined atomic force - epifluorescence microscopy we studied the impact of the hawthorn (Crataegus spp.) extract WS 1442, a herbal therapeutic with unknown mechanism of action, on the mechanics of the ESL of ex vivo murine aortae. Furthermore, we measured the impact of WS 1442 on the sodium permeability of endothelial EA.hy 926 cell monolayer. The data show that (i) the ESL contributes by about 11% to the total endothelial barrier resistance for sodium and (ii) WS 1442 strengthens the ESL resistance for sodium up to about 45%. This mechanism may explain some of the vasoprotective actions of this herbal therapeutic

Targeted Deletion of HIF-1α Gene in T Cells Prevents their Inhibition in Hypoxic Inflamed Tissues and Improves Septic Mice Survival

Sepsis patients may die either from an overwhelming systemic immune response and/or from an immunoparalysis-associated lack of anti-bacterial immune defence. We hypothesized that bacterial superantigen-activated T cells may be prevented from contribution into anti-bacterial response due to the inhibition of their effector functions by the hypoxia inducible transcription factor (HIF-1alpha) in inflamed and hypoxic areas.Using the Cre-lox-P-system we generated mice with a T-cell targeted deletion of the HIF-1alpha gene and analysed them in an in vivo model of bacterial sepsis. We show that deletion of the HIF-1alpha gene leads to higher levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, stronger anti-bacterial effects and much better survival of mice. These effects can be at least partially explained by significantly increased NF-kappaB activation in TCR activated HIF-1 alpha deficient T cells.T cells can be recruited to powerfully contribute to anti-bacterial response if they are relieved from inhibition by HIF-1alpha in inflamed and hypoxic areas. Our experiments uncovered the before unappreciated reserve of anti-bacterial capacity of T cells and suggest novel therapeutic anti-pathogen strategies based on targeted deletion or inhibition of HIF-1 alpha in T cells

Heparan Sulfate Regrowth Profiles Under Laminar Shear Flow Following Enzymatic Degradation

The local hemodynamic shear stress waveforms present in an artery dictate the endothelial cell phenotype. The observed decrease of the apical glycocalyx layer on the endothelium in atheroprone regions of the circulation suggests that the glycocalyx may have a central role in determining atherosclerotic plaque formation. However, the kinetics for the cells’ ability to adapt its glycocalyx to the environment have not been quantitatively resolved. Here we report that the heparan sulfate component of the glycocalyx of HUVECs increases by 1.4-fold following the onset of high shear stress, compared to static cultured cells, with a time constant of 19 h. Cell morphology experiments show that 12 h are required for the cells to elongate, but only after 36 h have the cells reached maximal alignment to the flow vector. Our findings demonstrate that following enzymatic degradation, heparan sulfate is restored to the cell surface within 12 h under flow whereas the time required is 20 h under static conditions. We also propose a model describing the contribution of endocytosis and exocytosis to apical heparan sulfate expression. The change in HS regrowth kinetics from static to high-shear EC phenotype implies a differential in the rate of endocytic and exocytic membrane turnover.National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (Grant HL090856-01)Singapore-MIT Allianc