The Effect Of Actellic 25 Ec On Mineral Composition On Cured Fresh Water Fish: Heterobranchus longifilis, Heterotis niloticus And Chrysichthys nigrodigitatus

A study to evaluate the effects of the preservative, Actellic 25 EC solution, on the mineral composition of the three freshwater fish species was carried out. Pieces of fish (samples) were analysed for mineral composition before and after traditional smoke drying and smoke drying after Actellic treatment. The investigations were carried out using fresh water fish, Heterobranchus longifilis, Heterotis niloticus and Chrysichthys nigrodigitatus. The result showed that Actellic 0.03 % solution greatly reduced the sodium content of the smoked dried fish species. Furthermore, Actellic 25 EC eroded the magnesium (Mg) content of C. nigrodigitatus and also reduced slightly the naturally high iron content of H. longifilis, H. niloticus and C. nigrodigitatus. The implications of these results are discussed. Keywords: Actellic, Mineral, Freshwater fishAnimal Research International Vol. 1 (2) 2004 pp. 86-8

PUBLIC EXPENDITURE AND ECONOMIC GROWTH IN NIGERIA: VAR APPROACH

The major objective of this study was to examine the impact of government expenditure on the growth of the Nigerian economy. This study specifically examined the impact of government capital, government recurrent expenditure and government fiscal deficit on the growth of the Nigerian economy. The ex-post facto design was adopted and secondary data were sourced from the CBN statistical bulletin and collected using desk survey for the period 1980 to 2017. The VAR technique was applied among other techniques to analyse the data. Findings showed that government capital expenditure had a positive but insignificant effect on the growth of the Nigerian economy. Also, it was revealed that government fiscal deficit had insignificant negative effect on the growth of the Nigerian economy. Lastly, the study revealed that at the short run, government recurrent expenditure had an insignificant positive effect on the growth of the Nigerian economy while in the long run it has a positive but insignificant effect on economic growth. Based on these findings, it was recommended that Government should revamp non-functioning capital projects to reduce the inefficiency in capital expenditure and monitor its contract awarding process closely, to prevent over estimation of execution cost and boost economic growth; government should enhance it recurrent expenditure to sustain the growth potentials of the economic through increasing it expenditure in running governmental activities and the planning and coordination of expenditure process of government should be made more efficient to avoid running into deficit and promote surplus funding of public expenditure. JEL: H10; H83; O11  Article visualizations

Use of Passive Cooling Strategies in Selected Mega-Churches within Lagos-Ogun Megacity, Nigeria

Typically, church buildings are large spaces characterized by infrequent usage at given intervals. Quite often, modern churches rely on air conditioning for the indoor comfort of occupants, which presents challenges for environmental sustainability. However, church buildings, especially in tropical regions, have also adopted passive cooling strategies both as an alternative to air conditioning and as a complement to it, where it helps to reduce air conditioning load and promote environmental sustainability. The aim of this study is to evaluate the use of the passive cooling strategies for achieving environmental sustainability in selected mega-churches in Lagos-Ogun megacity, Nigeria. Qualitative research method was used in this study and primary data was obtained using an observation guide in order to document the passive cooling strategies used in the selected four churches. The results were analyzed using descriptive analysis and presented in texts, plates and tables. From the result, the study found that some of the passive cooling strategies found in literature were employed in the four selected mega-churches although they were not adequate to meet the cooling needs of the large congregation. This resulted in the selected mega-churches relying fully on air-conditioning. The results also showed that passive cooling strategies can be very relevant even in large spaces where they mitigate the air conditioning load. It also indicates that passive strategies can be relied upon when the buildings are used outside the conventional periods, especially for smaller groups of church members. Based on the findings, the study recommends that proper attention should be paid to integrating passive cooling strategies at the initial stage of the design. Additionally, thermal simulations can be carried out to examine the effectiveness of the passive cooling strategies utilized

Effects of the Aqueous Root Extract of Vernonia amygdalina on the Haematological Profile of Rattus norvegicus

The effects of Vernonia amygdalina root extract on the haematological profile of 20 male albino rats (Wistar strain) were investigated for a period of 21 days. The rats were divided into three treatment groups A, B, and C and a control group D. The experimental groups A, B, and C were treated with 50mg.Kg-1, 150mg.Kg-1, and 300mg.Kg-1 body weight respectively while the control (group D) received equal volume of normal saline. The extracts were given to the animals orally for 21 days. Blood was collected through the orbital-plexus of rats to assay the effect of the extract on packed cell volume (PCV), white blood cell count (WBC), red blood cell count (RBC) and haemoglobin (Hb) level. The mean WBC, RBC, PVC and haemoglobin level ranged from 1560 ± 120 to 3200 ± 1200, 150.00 ± 40.00 to 276.00 ± 44.50, 38.00 ± 1.00 to 41.00 ± 3.00, and 16.00 ± 2.00 to 12.50 ± 0.50, respectively. There was no significant different (p>0.05) in the haematological profile of the treated groups when compared with the control. However, there was significant different (p<0.05) within each group from week one to week three except WBC in group D and PVC in all the groups. This suggested that the effect of the aqueous extract of V. amygdalina on the haematological profile of Rattus norvegicus was dependent on duration of consumption. Keywords: Vernonia amygdalina, Aqueous root extract, Haematological profile, Rattus norvegicu

Hypoglycaemic and Hypolipidemic Effects of Black Brand of Lipton Tea (Camellia sinensis) on Normal Male Albino Rats

Recently, considerable attention has been focused on dietary supplements that possess hypoglycaemic and hypolipidemic properties in lieu of the synergistically synthesized drugs like statins and metiform which have been proven to have adverse effects. This present work was carried out to study the potential effects of Lipton tea aqueous extract (LTAE) on normal male albino rats. 36 six male Wistar rats weighing 115-150 g were assigned into four main groups; each group was divided into three subgroups, consisting of three replicates namely R1, R2 and R3 making a total of nine rats in each of the main groups. Group 1 served as the control and received only water, Group 2 received 200 mg/kg of LTAE, Group 3 received 400 mg/kg of the LTAE, while Group 4 received 800 mg/kg of LTAE. All treatment was given orally on daily basis for 28 consecutive days, but the parameters were assessed on weekly basis. The result revealed that, weight gain, fasting blood sugar and serum (total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL-c and VLDL-c) significantly (p < 0.05) decrease in all the treated groups while HDL-c significantly (p < 0.05) increased when compared to the control group. The Lipton tea aqueous extract induced both a dose-dependent and a time-dependent effect in the parameters measured, apart from the total cholesterol which did not show a dose-dependent effect. This led to an overall decrease in the antherogenic index and coronary risk index, suggesting that LTAE possesses hypoglycaemic and hypoglycaemic activities in normal male rats

Boosting Non-oil Export Revenue in Nigeria Through Non-traditional Agricultural Export Commodities: How Feasible?

Available data indicated that, some traditional agricultural export commodities like cocoa and rubber have remained on Nigeria’s agricultural export list, while others like groundnut and coffee have almost disappeared from the export list. In the same vein, non-traditional agricultural export commodities like sesame seed and cashew nuts have started featuring prominently on the export list. In line with theory, the econometric analysis carried out confirmed that a major policy change, which can provide a boost for agricultural exports, is the depreciation of the real exchange rate. For all the agricultural export commodities analyzed in the study, the coefficient of the exchange rate was positive and highly significant

Analysis of Signaling Mechanisms Regulating Microglial Process Movement

Microglia, the brain’s innate immune cells, are extremely motile cells, continuously surveying the CNS to serve homeostatic functions and to respond to pathological events. In the healthy brain, microglia exhibit a small cell body with long, branched and highly motile processes, which constantly extend and retract, effectively ‘patrolling’ the brain parenchyma. Over the last decade, methodological advances in microscopy and the availability of genetically encoded reporter mice have allowed us to probe microglial physiology in situ. Beyond their classical immunological roles, unexpected functions of microglia have been revealed, both in the developing and the adult brain: microglia regulate the generation of newborn neurons, control the formation and elimination of synapses, and modulate neuronal activity. Many of these newly ascribed functions depend directly on microglial process movement. Thus, elucidating the mechanisms underlying microglial motility is of great importance to understand their role in brain physiology and pathophysiology. Two-photon imaging of fluorescently labelled microglia, either in vivo or ex vivo in acute brain slices, has emerged as an indispensable tool for investigating microglial movements and their functional consequences. This chapter aims to provide a detailed description of the experimental data acquisition and analysis needed to address these questions, with a special focus on key dynamic and morphological metrics such as surveillance, directed motility and ramification

The Perceived Role of Micro-Credit in Poverty Alleviation: The Case of South-South Nigeria

Abstract Gross market imperfection in resource mobilization, allocation and utilization exists in south-south Nigerian economy. This situation has given rise to dualistic tendencies in the operations of the rural and urban economies. The so called urban and semi-urban areas are seemingly developed better than the rural areas. Moreso, there is rural-urban migration that leaves the rural areas poorer and the urban areas filled with criminals because of lack of useful means of livelihood and over stretched facilities. Successive governments have evolved poverty alleviation programmes to alleviate the level of poverty. One of such among many others is the use of microcredit in poverty alleviation. However, the operations of microcredit have only been streamlined and not properly evaluated to assess its desired impact. Impact assessment of microcredit is highly recommended to know how to appropriately streamline operations. JEL Classification numbers: O4