HCME: An Environment-Friendly I.C. Engine Fuel

The study revealed that Hura crepitans oil is a good candidate for Hura crepitans methyl ester (HCME) production. Two steps (esterification and transesterification) production stages influenced the high yield of HCME. Three possible experimental runs were performed in each step, the best of the three conditions were 1.45 (% v/v) for H2SO4 conc., 5:1 for methanol/oil molar ratio, 40 min for reaction time which gave 1.06 % for FFA in the first step, in the second step, 92.70 %(w/w) of HCME was obtained at 0.55% KOH, 5:1 methanol/oil molar ratio, 60 oC temperature and 30 min reaction time. The produced HCME had fuel properties which satisfied both ASTME D6751 and EN 1424 standards. The fatty acid profile of the HCME revealed the dominant fatty acids were linoleic (64.50%), oleic (17.54%) and palmitic (12.70%). Exhaust emissions from an internal combustion (I.C.) engine revealed that there is 60% decreased in CO, 58% decreased in NOx, 60% decreased in HC, 39% decrease in smoke opacity and 42% decreased in BSFC at B20, respectively. Flue gas temperature increased by 12% at B20, 45% increased in BTE at B50 when compared to pure diesel (AGO). Hence, it can be concluded that B20 (20% HCME + 80% AGO) will provides the best emission reduction at the lowest cost

Democracy and National Development: A Focus on Nigeria

Democracy is a government form based on the general consent, is seen to becoming common in global nations; and that if the tenet is followed it facilitates national development. This study used the content analysis method to examine democracy in Nigeria and national development. It was found that some pre-colonial administrations in Nigeria had embraced democratic tenets before the colonials master came; the difference, however, border on structural arrangements. It was found that the version of western democracy has not adapted the Nigeria environment making its practice difficult and also difficult to attain national development. It was also found that the phase Nigeria democracy passed, especially, during the military regimes has not provided opportunities for development. The ethnic diversity of Nigeria and inabilities of leadership to manage it was found to pose legislative influence on democracy and national development. It was found that Nigeria environment lacks the absorptive capacity to accommodate liberal democracy considering the death of institutions and the skewed electoral process. It was found that absence of effective democracy in Nigeria disarticulated the pre-colonial democratic structure, and the exclusivist approach to liberal democracy and the rule of the game, manifest in incessant agitations, militancy, insurgency, banditry, and general underdevelopment. It was also suggested that a change in leadership approach is necessary, more importantly, to allow a breath of democratic participation in policy-making for national development. It was also recommended that all forms of discriminations are addressed and that constitutionalism should be upheld

Amplification of neural stem cell proliferation by intermediate progenitor cells in Drosophila brain development

BACKGROUND: In the mammalian brain, neural stem cells divide asymmetrically and often amplify the number of progeny they generate via symmetrically dividing intermediate progenitors. Here we investigate whether specific neural stem cell-like neuroblasts in the brain of Drosophila might also amplify neuronal proliferation by generating symmetrically dividing intermediate progenitors. RESULTS: Cell lineage-tracing and genetic marker analysis show that remarkably large neuroblast lineages exist in the dorsomedial larval brain of Drosophila. These lineages are generated by brain neuroblasts that divide asymmetrically to self renew but, unlike other brain neuroblasts, do not segregate the differentiating cell fate determinant Prospero to their smaller daughter cells. These daughter cells continue to express neuroblast-specific molecular markers and divide repeatedly to produce neural progeny, demonstrating that they are proliferating intermediate progenitors. The proliferative divisions of these intermediate progenitors have novel cellular and molecular features; they are morphologically symmetrical, but molecularly asymmetrical in that key differentiating cell fate determinants are segregated into only one of the two daughter cells. CONCLUSION: Our findings provide cellular and molecular evidence for a new mode of neurogenesis in the larval brain of Drosophila that involves the amplification of neuroblast proliferation through intermediate progenitors. This type of neurogenesis bears remarkable similarities to neurogenesis in the mammalian brain, where neural stem cells as primary progenitors amplify the number of progeny they generate through generation of secondary progenitors. This suggests that key aspects of neural stem cell biology might be conserved in brain development of insects and mammals

Effect of repeated reading on the reading ability of children with reading difficulties

Utilising the quasi-experimental research design, the study investigated the effect of repeated reading on the reading ability of children with reading difficulties. Simple random and purposive sampling techniques were used to select 22 Basic Three children for the study. The experimental group comprised 12 children while the control group had 10. Running record was used for the data collection. The study revealed that Repeated Reading (RR) is an effective and significant approach that can be used to improve children’s reading abilities. There was a statistically significant difference in the scores of children in the experimental group and children in the control group. The study recommended that school heads, administrators and teachers should make a conscious effort to screen pupils in primary three to ascertain their reading abilities. Ministry of Education (MOE) in collaboration with school heads should provide in-service training for teachers to enable them acquire the requisite skills and strategies to teach pupils who face reading challenges

A low cost course information syndication system

This study presents a cost-effective, reliable, and convenient mobile web-based system to facilitate the dissemination of course information to students, to support interaction that goes beyond the classroom. The system employed the Really Simple Syndication (RSS) technology and was developed using Rapid Application Development (RAD) methodology. The design of the system was modelled using Unified Modeling Language (UML) diagrams, while its implementation was done using Java Micro Edition (JME) and “PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor” (PHP).A simulation technique was used to evaluate the proposed system performance by comparing the approach used in its design to one adopted in a similar study, using response time and bandwidthconsumption as metrics. The results obtained revealed that the performance of the proposed syndication system was better. Similarly, an experiment to investigate the students’ perception of the system was conducted, with students’ responses revealing a tremendous success of this project

Conflict Management in Inter-Governmental Relations in Nigeria: Issues and Prospects

Intergovernmental relation is an interaction among different levels of government. Intergovernmental relation is often times conflict-ridden, and the extent of the conflict depends on how they are managed by the actor operating at the government levels. This study examines conflict management in intergovernmental relation in Nigeria. The content analysis method would be used. This will be carried out by analyzing data obtained from extant literature on the subject matter. This paper found that intergovernmental conflicts mainly borders on tax jurisdiction and revenue allocation. Other areas of conflict were found to include domination by the centre of other units, as well as, parallel and vertical misunderstanding among units on administrative, legal, social and economic matters. It was suggested that levels of government should introduce such method as discussion, integration, good management of communication in other to attain a peaceful intergovernmental relations regime

Seroprevalence of hepatitis B virus infection among pregnant women attending antenatal clinic in Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital, Lafia, Nasarawa State

Context: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a cause of chronic liver disease, causing cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, and pregnant women are not spared. Perinatal transmission is a significant way that the disease is spread from mother to children who will eventually become adults and chronic carriers. This study sought to determine the burden of the disease among pregnant women.Aims: To estimate the prevalence and investigate possible factors associated with HBV infection among pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in DASH, Lafia.Settings and Design: A hospital‑based descriptive cross‑sectional survey conducted at the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department of DASH, Lafia, NasarawaMethods and Material: Around 200 pregnant women who attended the ANC clinic were consecutively enrolled, their venous blood samples collected, and hepatitis B profile was carried out using commercially available rapid chromatographic kits Statistical Analysis Used: Data were collected by trained data collectors using a proforma, then entered into a predesigned program in the Epi‑info version 3.5.4 (CDC, Atlanta, Georgia, USA) and analyzed.Results: The seroprevalence of HBV infection was high (8%) and there were no statistically significant associations between the infection and the investigated sociodemographic and other risk factors.Conclusions: The study showed that HBV is hyperendemic in this region, and antenatal screening for this virus is desirable to avert its sequelae in both mothers and their newborn babies. Key words: Antenatal; hepatitis B virus; Lafia

Information Seeking Behaviour of Graduate Students of University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria: A Qualitative Approach

The study evaluates how the graduate students behave towards seeking knowledge they need for academic activities in the institution. The study used exploratory qualitative research design. The population of the study was the graduates of University of Agriculture Abeokuta (UNAAB) for 2010/2011 session. An in-depth semi structured interview was explored to examine their information seeking behaviour. The study revealed that inaccessibility and ease of use were the major factors affecting the choice of information resources by the students and that the influences of people like lecturers and lead scholars in the institution shape and reshape the approach of students to information seeking behaviour. It was also observed that e-journals, agricultural CD-ROMs, handbooks and reference materials were the important sources of information to these students. However, lack of time, unawareness, information overload and epileptic power supply were the challenges hindering their information seeking. The study concluded that the information seeking behaviour of these students was more organized than being random and the use of internet do not improve the information use skills of the students, Thus, it was suggested that librarians should trigger their ability to validate sources of information that the students utilized to improve their relevancy, and they should train the lead scholars that the students consulted when they need information. Keywords Information Seeking Behaviour, Graduate Students, University of Agricultur

Sequential simulation used as a novel educational tool aimed at healthcare managers: a patient-centred approach

Background: A new challenge for healthcare managers is to improve the patient experience. Simulation is often used for clinical assessment and rarely for those operating outside of direct clinical care. Sequential simulation (SqS) is a form of simulation that re-creates care pathways, widening its potential use. Local problem Numbers, outcome measures and system profiling are used to inform healthcare decisions. However, none of these captures the personal subtleties of a patient’s experience. Intervention 56 students attended a teaching module using SqS and facilitated workshops as part of their induction week on an MSc International Health Management course. The workshop was voluntary and was offered as an opportunity for the students to gain an insight into the UK health system through the medium of simulation. Methods: An evaluation survey incorporating quantitative and qualitative student feedback was conducted. Descriptive statistics were generated from the quantitative data, and thematic analysis was undertaken for the qualitative data. Results: There was strong agreement for the acceptability of the workshop approach in relation to the aims and objectives. Likert scale (1–-5) mean total=4.49. Participants responded enthusiastically (revealed through the qualitative data) with ideas related to perspectives sharing, understanding healthcare management and processes and the consideration of feasibility and practicalities. They also suggested other applications that SqS could be used for. Conclusion: The SqS approach has demonstrated that simulation has a wider potential than for clinical assessment alone. Further studies are required to determine its potential uses and affordances beyond its current format