Morphometric, meristics and comparative studies of Chrysichthys nigrodigititus (Lacepede) from Lagos Lekki and Badagry Lagoons, Lagos State, south west Nigeria

Morphometric measurements, meristic counts and comparative studies of Chrysicthys nigrodigitatus samples from Lagos, Lekki, and Badagry Lagoons was carried out to determine the amount of variation among the species from the different locations using seven meristic and two morphometric characters. Significant differences were observed only between the headlength (F==14.02; P<00.05), number of anal rays (F=19.9; P<0.05) and of gill raker counts (F=142.0, 160.94; P<0.05). The differences observed in the meristic characters could be attributed to environmental and climatic differences of the three isolated sites and therefore phenotypic rather than genetic. This study is valuable for the selection of quality strains of fish species for aquaculture productio

Physical, chemical and macrobenthic invertebrate fauna characteristics of swampy water bodies within University of Lagos, Nigeria

A comparative study conducted on three swampy water bodies draining through the University of Lagos into the Lagos Lagoon describes the physical, chemical and macrobenthic invertebrate characteristics of these water bodies at the study sites. Three stations, one at each water body were sampled fortnightly from June to December, 2000. Water temperature, total alkalinity and salinity were the only physical and chemical conditions significantly different at the study stations. The physical and chemical conditions at stations A and B were similar and significantly different from station C exposed to domestic effluent, thereby, reflecting the perturbational stress at that site. A total of 43 benthic invertebrate taxa belonging to five classes, 31 families and 2424 individuals were recorded at the study stations. The study stations can be ranked as B > A > C and B > C > A in terms of number of taxa and number of individuals, respectively. The low number of taxa and individuals in stations A and C is suggestive of habitat instability. The pattern of invertebrate distribution and abundance was influenced by the fluctuations in the abundance of Oligochaeta, Hemiptera and Diptera. The taxon richness (D), genera diversity (H) and evenness (E) estimated for the study sites supported the trends observed in the numbers of taxa occurring and their abundance. The low concentrated dominance (C) calculated for station B compared to stations A and C reflects an ecologically heterogenous and relatively stable site. Morisita-Horn index showed that station C was dissimilar to stations A and B. Jaccard’s coefficient indicated that all stations were dissimilar. In general, the faunal comparison showed that the level of exposure to urban discharges, inert pollutants and the presence of aquatic macrophytes influenced the differences in the abundance, occurrence and number of taxa at the three stations

Thoughts and Reflections on Nigerian Pedagogy Through the Lens of Engaging Minds: Influence and Personal Experience from the Four Moments of Educational Practices

My aim of coming to Canada to pursue a graduate study in Education was to fulfil my life dream of becoming a university teacher. It was my hope that this dream will give me the opportunity to engage and inspire young people in issues of social and national development especially around citizenship education in my country that is de-valorised and polarised by bigotry, corruption and ethnic chauvinism. I believed earning a Ph.D. would position me in front of the university classroom to engage restoratively with young people and champion change towards new way of thinking.  While the courses I have taken so far in a Canadian University- Memorial University of Newfoundland did not fail to give me that preparatory notch to achieve this humble ambition, most impacting was a course in Curriculum, teaching and learning. It offered me an added professional development to make me a better teacher and educator. Going through the four moments of educational practices, much of my time had been spent on soul searching, trying to evaluate the ‘before and after’ perspectives in my educational career as a teacher; this reflection has created a paradigm shift in my construction of knowledge and more extensively, my approach to school culture and discipline. While the theories, principles and critical thinking enabled by Canadian education offered me the academic preparation, the professional development acquired hopefully, will stand me in good stead in the praxis of teaching and learning both in formal and non-formal education setting This paper will therefore, explore the four moments of education as espoused by Davis, B. et al (2015) in “Engaging Minds” with a view to critically reflect on educational methods and practices in my home country Nigeria and bring to fore, the need for change in classroom and school administration in Nigeri

Can Restorative Practice in Schools Make the Difference? A Critical Reflection from Scotland Restorative School Project

At the turn of the 21st century, the world has begun to witness an escalation of indiscipline and school violence in our public schools. Some have blamed indiscipline on family disruption arising from the aftermath of industrial revolution to be the cause of progressive rise in violence in our school today (Chant, 1994). Adam Smith foresaw good reasons at the outset of the industrial revolution for nations to educate their populations; “The more they are instructed, the less liable they are to the delusions of enthusiasm and superstition,” he argued; “An instructed and intelligent people, besides, are always more decent and orderly than an ignorant and stupid one” (Kandel, 1933: 51), but little did he envisage the consequences the relationship between man and the factory will bring to family relationship, social order and school discipline.The context above underlines how the world of the factory impacts on our family values and those cultural capitals that integrate to bring about social cohesion and strong family life base on values, ethics and discipline. As a growing child in the seventies in Africa, the school system wasn’t much divorced from the home. Teachers’ duty of in- loco- parentis was an everyday experience in our lives as young adults, teachers could instil discipline at student’s home with parents approving, our mothers and sometimes, fathers after farm work, stayed at home to nurture their children and the children of other families. Today, the life of factories and industries has overstressed and disconnected relationships. Children and young adult as a result, have been left on their own with scarcity of space to be nurtured in a restoratively just manner. The lack of space for relationship therefore, has impacted on school discipline and classroom behaviour of young adults. The traditional adversarial antidotes known to government and school authorities have not in any way addressed the growing scale of indiscipline and school violence among youths in our public schools. Keywords: Restorative Practice, School Discipline, Relationshi

Language and Meaning: A Syntactic Study of Wale Okediran’s Strange Encounters

Literary writers convey their personal experiences in the society through literature, deploying the recourses of language, the scientific study of which is referred to as linguistics. In linguistics, language is studied at the phonological, syntactic and lexico-semantic levels. The goal of stylistics which has style as its object of study is to explain the relationship between language and artistic function. In a literary text, the stylistician is primarily concerned with the features that are stylistically significant in creating meanings. This study, which focuses mainly on textual investigation of Strange Encounters, a satirical novel, examines the significant syntactic features in the novel, and explicates how Wale Okediran, a Nigerian novelist, utilizes them to convey the themes of corruption and injustice in the Nigerian society. He also condemns such vices and their perpetuators in totality, suggesting ways of correcting them for the growth and development of the society. Key words: Language, meaning, stylistics, Wale Okediran, Nigeria

Hydrobiological studies on Ibiekuma river at Ekpoma, Southern Nigeria, after impoundment: The faunal characteristics

A study of a 3 Km stretch of a perennial rainforest stream in southern Nigeria describes the macrobenthic faunal characteristics of pools (dam site stations) and runs. A total of 84 invertebrate taxa made up of 2,535 individuals were recorded. The overall faunal abundance was not significantly different at the study stretch. The abundance of the major taxonomic groups washowever significantly different (P < 0.05) at the study stations. Hemiptera and Diptera were the most abundant invertebrate groups recorded. The high number of benthic invertebrates observed is a reflection of the physical and chemical stability of the study stream

Food and Feeding Habits of the Guppy, Poecilia reticulata, from Drainage Canal Systems in Lagos, Southwestern Nigeria

The food and feeding habits of the Guppy, Poecilia reticulata, from drainage canal systems in Lagos Metropolis, Nigeria, was investigated over a period of 24 months. Fish samples were collected monthly from 15 study sites. A total of 2400 fish stomachs were analyzed using the numerical and frequency of occurrence methods. P. reticulata fed mainly on algae, organic detritus, diatoms, mosquito larvae parts, protozoan, zooplankton and fish parts while algae form the most abundant and important food item, constituting 79.03% of food items by numerical and 33.17% by occurrence of stomachs examined. Amongst the algae, Ulothrix sp. was the most preferred, constituting 33.17% by numerical and 20.82% by occurrence. The least eaten food item was fish parts constituting 4.46% by numerical and 1.19% by occurrence. There was a significant difference (P &lt; 0.05) in the number of algae and mosquito larvae consumed, while there was no significant difference (P &gt; 0.05) in the number of other food items consumed for both seasons. However, by occurrence method there was no significant difference (P &gt; 0.05) in food items consumed for both seasons. The three size classes of P. reticulata exhibited similar food habits with the presence of eight categories of food items in their stomachs. The largest size class ate more of algae, organic detritus and fish parts, followed by the medium size class while the small size class ate less of these food items. The species is an opportunistic benthopelagic omnivores, whose preference for food fluctuates with season, with a peak in diversity of food types occurring in the rainy season

Code-Switching and Code-Mixing As Stylistic Devices In Nigerian Prose Fiction: A Study Of Three Nigerian Novels

Nigeria has a very complex linguistic system, with many indigenous languages, various dialects, and the English language. In a multilingual and bicultural society, literary artists are constrained in their literary works by many problems. One of such problems is the expression of African/Nigerian culture, experiences and worldview in English, the language of another culture. Nigerian novelists, like the poets and the dramatists, create literature deriving from Nigerian background, with varying local situations. To proffer solutions to language problems, the novelists modify English language and adopt various stylistic-creative strategies. Among these are code-switching and code-mixing. In this paper, we examine and explicate how three Nigerian novelists employ code-switching and code-mixing as stylistic strategies in their fiction, highlighting also their stylistic significance. KEYWORDS: Code switching, code mixing, dialect, multi-lingual, culture, sociolinguistics, audience and participants

The Role of Leather Microbes in Human Health

Leather tanned from raw hides and skins have been used to cover and protect the human body since early man. The skin of an animal carries thousands of microbes. Some are beneficial and protect the animal while others are pathogenic and cause diseases. Some microbes have no defined roles in animals. These microbes end up in the human body through contact with the animal skin. In recent years, the human body has been studied as an ecosystem where trillions of microorganisms live as a community called microbiome. Humans need beneficial microbes like Bacillus subtilis on the skin surface to stay healthy. Many microbes need the human body to survive. Not many studies have looked into the close link between animal leather and the human microbiome. The assumption is that conventional leather processes inhibit the pathogens on skins from carrying any risk of microbial hazard to the human body. This chapter identifies endemic microbes of “animal skin microbiome” that withstand extreme acidity and alkalinity of leather manufacture and their transmission to humans. Some cause allergic reactions, skin lesion, infections or death to tannery employees with weakened immune systems. This promotes the need to look at leather product microbiome impact on human health

Assessment of Heavy Metals in Landfill Leachate: A Case Study of Thohoyandou Landfill, Limpopo Province, South Africa

Landfilling of solid wastes has gained increasing acceptance due to the ease of disposal. However, such activity has consequences if the landfill site is not designed according to specification or does not have a leachate liner and collection system. Leachate possesses potential risk to surface and groundwater aquifer within the area surrounding the landfill site. The aim of this chapter is to assess the physicochemical parameters and heavy metal levels in leachate generated from a periurban landfill site situated in Thohoyandou, Limpopo Province, South Africa. Physicochemical parameters were measured onsite using standard methods, while heavy metals were analyzed with flame atomic absorption spectrometer (FAAS) after nitric acid digestion. pH, conductivity and turbidity values ranged from 6.97 to 7.68, 426 to 2288 μS/cm and 12.78 to 295.5 NTU, respectively. Most levels of the determined heavy metals exceeded the effluent discharge guideline limit of South African Department of Water Affairs. This could potentially spike their levels in surface and groundwater. Adequate measures should be put in place to manage the leachate generated from landfill sites