Easing the “Disease” of Poverty in Nigeria

This paper examines the issue of poverty in Nigeria, its causes, previous attempts made by past and present administrations aimed at taming the monster coupled with the way forward for the country. Poverty itself is as old as the whole world. One of the Holy Scriptures even stated that the poor shall never seize in your midst. Poverty is a devil   it stirs a lot of misgiving. This is because it has a very devastating influence on its victims. It reduces the social and psychological prestige of its victims. Poverty is a condition of being poor. The quest to eradicate poverty has been identified as the most critical challenge facing development in the world today. Women and children are disproportionately affected by poverty. Poverty has been a serious challenge to governments in Nigeria. Its effect, which includes lack and deprivation in the basic necessities of life, is worrisome. Poverty humiliates and dehumanizes its victim . Nigeria is Africa’s most populous nation. It is also one of the poorest countries in the world. Rapid progress in reducing poverty in Nigeria is dependent upon improved access to basic services, particularly health and education. If Nigeria fails to reduce poverty quickly enough, it is unlikely that the Millennium Development Goals will be achieved in Africa or globally. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are targeted at eradicating extreme hunger and poverty in the 189 member countries of the United Nations (UN). Nigeria as a member of the United Nation keyed into the implementation of the framework of the goals by formulating the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS), NEEDS as a policy is targeted at eradicating poverty and bringing about sustainable development. This is done through the establishment of Agencies like the National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP). However, the scourge of poverty is till been felt by the majority of the citizens of the country who do not have access to primary health care, water and food. Unemployment, corruption, non-diversification of the economy, income inequality, laziness, and a poor education system can be considered to be some of the key factors contributing to poverty in Nigeria. Poverty prevention is more dependent on education than on any other factor, as an escape from poverty. Education is the primary means by which people can lift themselves out of poverty, yet the amount spent on education targeting low-income children falls far short of the need. Keywords: Poverty and it’s causes; Alleviation programmes; Job Creation and   Economic  empowermen

Vocational Education and Employability: The Nigerian Situation

Vocational education is the form of education whose primary objective is the acquisition of skills and attitudes for gainful employment in a specific occupation or professional area. On the other hand, Employability skills are those essential skills required to secure and retain a job. These skills are required by young undergraduates to prepare them to meet the needs of various occupations after graduation. Today, the quality of graduates in terms of requisite skills development such as communication, technical abilities, human interaction, social, conceptual and analytical capacity, is on a rapid decline. This paper therefore seeks to look into the possible relationship between vocational education and the acquisition of employability skills. It also discusses basic requirements of employers worldwide in this regard. For our young graduates to be found as being employable, employability skills should be incorporated into the curriculum of Nigerian tertiary institutions. Keywords: Vocational Education, Employability Skills, Graduates  

Chloroquine reduces urinary excretion of cloxacillin when it is administered concurrently with ampicillin-cloxacillin combination

Purpose: To investigate a possible effect of chloroquine on urinary excretion of cloxacillin when chloroquine is administered concurrently with ampicillin-cloxacillin combination. Methods: Eight healthy adult volunteers received single oral doses of Ampiclox® (ampicillin-cloxacillin combination) alone and in combination with chloroquine in a cross-over study design with one week washout period between the drug administrations. Total urine voided was collected from each volunteer at predetermined time intervals for a period of 9 hr. The urine was analyzed for cloxacillin by a reversed-phase HPLC method. Results: A significant reduction in the amount of cloxacillin excreted in urine was observed following the co-administration of chloroquine and the ampicillin-cloxacillin combination products. The mean total amount of cloxacillin (Du¥), maximum peak of excretion (Dumax) and % dose excreted after Ampliclox® was administered alone were 84.6 ± 57.0 mg, 49.5 ±41.6 mg and 33.9 ± 22.7% respectively. The corresponding values after co-administration with chloroquine were 30.2 ± 27.2 mg, 13.5 ± 10.4 mg and 12.1 ±10.9%. The respective times of maximum absorption (Tmax) and elimination half-life (t1/2) of cloxacillin were 2.7 ± 0.4 hr and 0.7 ± 0.4 hr after Ampiclox® alone and 1.5 ± 0.8 hr and 0.6 ± 0.5 hr after co-administration of the two drugs. The results showed a significant decrease (p < 0.0001) in the mean total amount as well as % dose of cloxacillin excreted in urine by 64% and a significant reduction (p < 0.05) in the Tmax of excretion by 45%. Conclusion: There is appreciable reduction in the urinary excretion of cloxacillin when given concurrently with chloroquine. The mode of this interaction and possible therapeutic implication is unknown. However, caution should be exercised when prescribing or administering these two drugs together. Key words: Drug-drug interaction, bioavailability, chloroquine, cloxacillin Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research 2003; 2(1): 169-17

Enhanced methanol oxidation and oxygen reduction reactions on palladium-decorated FeCo@Fe/C Core-shell nanocatalysts in alkaline medium

Palladium based nano-alloys are well known for their unique electrocatalytic properties. In this work, a palladium-decorated FeCo@Fe/C core–shell nanocatalyst has been prepared by a new method called microwave-induced top-down nanostructuring and decoration (MITNAD). This simple, yet efficient technique, resulted in the generation of sub-10 nm sized FeCo@Fe@Pd nanocatalysts (mainly 3–5 nm) from a micron-sized (0.21–1.5 mm) FeCo@Fe/C. The electrocatalytic activities of the core–shell nanocatalysts were explored for methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in alkaline medium. A negative shift of 300 mV in the onset potential for MOR was observed, with a current thrice that of the Pd/C catalysts. A very low resistance to electron transfer (Rct) was observed while the ratio of forward-to-backward oxidation current (If/Ib) was doubled. The overpotential of ORR was significantly reduced with a positive shift of about 250 mV and twice the reduction current density was observed in comparison with Pd/C nanocatalysts with the same mass loading. The kinetic parameters (in terms of the Tafel slope (b) = 59.7 mV dec 1 (Temkin isotherm) and high exchange current density ( jo) = 1.26 10 2 mA cm 2) provide insights into the favorable electrocatalytic performance of the catalysts in ORR in alkaline media. Importantly, the core–shell nanocatalyst exhibited excellent resistance to possible methanol cross-over during ORR, which shows excellent promise for application in direct alkaline alcohol fuel cells (DAAFCs).http://www.rsc.org/pccpam201

Recent trends in Carbon support for improved performance of Alkaline Fuel cells

Alkaline Fuel cells (AFCs) are one of the emerging energy future energy sources and energy conversion systems. The use of the anion exchange membrane in alkaline fuel cells (AEMFCs) has made AFCs more versatile. It has also introduced the use of an abundance of catalysts, mostly non-Platinum group metals (PGMs), especially for its more favorable cathodic oxygen reduction (ORR). The benefits and importance of the presence of efficient porous carbon supports to enhance the electroactivity of these catalysts were highlighted. Apart from the well-known carbon allotropes used as catalyst supports, some new and innovative forms of porous carbon and their composites are discussed. Their performance as stand-alone catalysts or as support for non PGMs for ORR in operating conditions of AEMFCs has given a further boost to the future availability of low-cost AFC driven devices

Electro-oxidation of ethylene glycol and glycerol at palladium-decorated FeCo@Fe core-shell nanocatalysts for alkaline direct alcohol fuel cells : functionalized MWCNT supports and impact on product selectivity

Half-cell reactions and alkaline direct ethylene glycol and glycerol fuel cells (DEGFC and DGFC) have been studied on Pd-based ternary core–shell (FeCo@Fe@Pd) nanocatalyst using multi-walled carbon nanotubes bearing carboxylic (MWCNT-COOH) and sulfonic acid (MWCNT-SO3H) as supporting platforms. The core–shell–shell nature of this nanocatalyst, obtained via the “microwave-induced top-down nanostructuring and decoration”, was clearly proven from atomic resolution transmission electron microscopy (ARTEM). The functional groups of the MWCNTs show a huge impact on the physicochemical properties of the FeCo@Fe@Pd nanocatalyst towards the electrocatalytic oxidation of EG and GLY in alkaline media. The FeCo@Fe@Pd on –COOH-treated MWCNTs showed the small particle size of ca. 7.4 nm, uniform loading of the catalyst on the support, large electrochemically-active surface area and enhanced electrocatalytic activity compared to the FeCo@Fe@Pd on –SO3H-bearing MWCNTs. As a preliminary test, FeCo@Fe@Pd/MWCNT-COOH was used for passive, air-breathing anion-exchange membrane based fuel cells (AEM-DEGFC and AEM-DGFC). The analysis of the exhaust products, established using NMR spectroscopy, revealed a high selectivity towards the complete oxidation of both EG and GLY under benign experimental conditions.This work was funded by the CSIR, the University of Pretoria as well as the South Africa's Department of Science and Technology (DST) and National Research Foundation (NRF) under the “Nanotechnology Flagship Programme” (supercapacitors and fuel cell project, Grant no. 69849). OOF thanks the DST/NRF for doctoral bursary under this project.http://www.rsc.org/journals-books-databases/about-journals/journal-of-materials-chemistry-ahb2016Chemistr

Microwave assisted synthesis of MnO2 on nickel foam-graphene for electrochemical capacitor

A green chemistry approach (hydrothermal microwave irradiation) has been used to deposit manganese oxide on nickel foam-graphene. The 3D graphene was synthesized using nickel foam template by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) technique. Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron and transmission electron microscopies (SEM and TEM) have been used to characterize structure and surface morphology of the composite, respectively. The Raman spectroscopy measurements on the samples reveal that 3D graphene consists of mostly few layers with low defect density. The composite was tested in a three electrode configuration for electrochemical capacitor, and exhibited a specific capacitance of 305 F g−1 at a current density of 1Ag−1 and showed excellent cycling stability. The obtained results demonstrate that microwave irradiation technique could be a promising approach to synthesis graphene based functional materials for electrochemical applications.The South African Research Chairs Initiative of the Department of Science and Technology (SARCHi-DST) and the National Research Foundation (NRF). A. Bello, M. Fabiane, and O.O. Fashedemi acknowledge financial support from University of Pretoria and NRF for PhD bursaries.http://www.elsevier.com/locate/electactahb2016ChemistryPhysic

Synthesis of 3D porous carbon based on cheap polymers and graphene foam for high-performance electrochemical capacitors

A scalable production of high surface area nanoporous carbon material (~ 2994 m2 g-1) with good distribution of micro-, meso- and macro-pores was hydrothermally synthesized using both cheap polymers and graphene foam as carbon sources. The as synthesised material shows a unique interconnected porous graphitic structure. The electrochemical double-layer capacitor fabricated from this nanoporous carbon material exhibited a superior supercapacitive performance of 188 F g-1 at current density 0.5 A g-1. This corresponded to areal capacitance of 6.3 μF cm-2 coupled with a high energy of 0.56 μWh cm-2 (16.71 Wh kg-1) and a power density of 13.39 μW cm-2 (401 W kg-1) due to extended potential window of 1.6 V in KOH aqueous electrolyte. Moreover, no capacitance loss after 10,000 cycles was observed, owing to the unique structure and large surface area of the active material. The outstanding performance of this material as supercapacitor electrode shows that it has great potential for high performance energy-related applications.South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChi) in Carbon Technology and Materials of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the National Research Foundation (NRF). University of Pretoria.http://www.elsevier.com/locate/electacta2016-09-30hb2016ChemistryInstitute of Applied MaterialsPhysic

Microwave synthesis : characterization and electrochemical properties of amorphous activated carbon-MnO2 nanocomposite electrodes

The green chemistry route (Microwave) has been used to produce nanocomposite materials based on activated carbon (AC) and manganese (Mn) oxide nanostructures. XRD analysis revealed that amorphous and crystalline oxide structures were synthesized. Morphological studies reveal rod-like α-MnO2 for the pristine sample, while cubic Mn3O4 and irregular shaped MnO2 structures were anchored on the AC substrate as revealed by the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showing that the nanostructures were uniformly distributed on AC. The electrochemical tests of the composites as electrodes show that the amorphous ACMnO2 had a specific capacitance of 180 F g−1, nearly four times higher than that of crystalline AC-Mn3O4 composite electrode (55 F g−1). The Coulombic efficiency for the AC-MnO2 cell was 98 % after 5000 cycles indicating a small capacitance loss. The green route technique and good electrochemical properties indicate that the amorphous AC-MnO2 nanocomposite could be a good material for high-capacity, low-cost, and environmentally friendly electrodes for electrochemical capacitors.South African Research Chairs Initiative of the Department of Science and Technology and National Research Foundation of South Africa (Grant No 97994) and University of Pretoria.http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jalcom2017-10-31hb2016ChemistryPhysic

Electrochemical studies of microwave synthesised bimetallic sulfides nanostructures as faradaic electrodes

A microwave irradiation method has been used to prepare mixed nickel cobalt sulfide (NixCoyS4) nanosheets with different stoichiometric composition as electrodes for electrochemical capacitors. This study has been undertaken to determine the effect of synthesis time and concentration of nickel on the morphology and pseudocapacitance behavior of the NixCoyS4. It was observed that the time had an effect on the morphology of NixCoyS4, producing sheet-like (leaf-like) morphology which curls in flower-like shapes with increase in growth (synthesis) time. The effect of morphology on the electrochemical behavior was studied by cyclic voltammetry (CV), chronopotentiometry (CP) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques in aqueous solutions. The sample with a concentration ratio of 2:1 of nickel and cobalt (NixCoyS4-3) shows higher faradaic performance when compared to other samples grown under similar conditions but with different ratios. The maximum specific capacitance values obtained for was 1110 F g 1 at a scan rate of 5 mV s 1 for this sample. The Coulombic efficiency of the sample was 80% after 2000 galvanostatic charge-discharge cycles at a current density of 5 A g 1.South African Research Chairs Initiative of the South African Department of Science and Technology (SARCHi-DST), the National Research Foundation (NRF) and University of Pretoria.http://www.elsevier.com/locate/electacta2016-08-31hb201