Seasonal evaluation of groundwater quality around Igando dumpsites in Lagos metropolis using correlation and regression analysis.

Correlation and Multiple linear regression analysis was used to establish the degree of relationship and variability of groundwater quality parameters around Solous 1 and 2 Dumpsites, in Igando, Lagos, for the wet and the dry seasons. The correlation between TDS and other hydrochemical parameters which constituted the independent variables were positive, with significantly high positive correlation exhibited between TDS and EC for the wet season. For the dry season, the correlation between TDS and other groundwater quality parameters (EC, NO3- and Cl- ) was positive, while its correlation with Zn2+ and Fe2+ was negative. The results of the multiple linear regressions for the wet and the dry seasons indicate that the model accounts for 96.8 percent and 93.9 percent, respectively of the variance of TDS concentration of groundwater around the dumpsites.@JASE

Analysis Of Rainfall Distribution In Owerri And Enugu, Nigeria Using Precipitation Concentration Index

The precipitation concentration index (PCI) of Owerri and Enugu for 1974 to 2011 was computed to characterise the rainfall distribution for both locations. The PCI was estimated on an annual and seasonal scale. The seasonal estimation was based on the categorisation of the seasons in eastern Nigeria into long wet season, short wet season, short dry season and dry season. The results of the PCI computed for Owerri showed that 87% of the years for which annual PCI was computed fell within the moderate concentration category range, while for Enugu 71% of the years fell within the moderate concentration category. For the long wet season for the study period, 74% and 66% of the years fell within the uniform precipitation concentration category at Owerri and Enugu, respectively, while 13% of the years at Owerri, and 16% of the years at Enugu fell within the moderate precipitation category. The varying degrees of precipitation concentration as indicated by the study implies that effective management of water resources and agriculture, and the control of erosion in the study locations might be more difficult to achieve under the prevailing climatic conditions.Key Words: Precipitation Concentration Index; Owerri, Enugu, Rainfall; Variabilit

The Eradication of Complexities in Human-Computer Interface Design for Increased System Usage Productivity

Computer applications have been developed for virtually all sectors, ranging from medicine, banking to education. The mostimportant factor for the proper use of a computer program is the interface; however in recent times, some computer programshave become highly intricate and uneasy to manipulate. Efforts by programmers to make productive and interactive systemshave been successful yet there is the tendency to introduce complexity and sophistication in the interface designs. This paperattempts to review issues surrounding Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and its relationship to Information Systems. Weidentify some causes of complexity in user interface design and provide solution paradigms to mitigate these complexities.Keywords: Interface design, Human-Computer Interaction, Complexities, Systems and Usabilit

A review of instructional delivery in social work education using ICT tools

Education has been aptly referred to as a veritable tool for meaningful development. The quality and effectiveness of teaching determine to a great extent the overall quality of education and the attainment of educational goals and objectives. Information and Communication Technology ICT) has been globally acclaimed as a tool that can accelerate and promote teaching and learning (National Policy for Information Technology, 2001). As opined by Kirschmer and Waperies, (2003), Information and Communication Technology can make the school more efficient and productive, there by engendering a variety of tools to enhance and facilitate teachers’ professional activities. This theoretical paper reiterates the vital role of ICT in effective teaching and learning generally and essentially in Social Work Education. It kicked off by examining the concepts of ICT and social work; establishing the need for ICT tools in instructional delivery in social work. The paper thereafter examined some applications of ICT tools in Social Work Education delivery and emphasizes the need for social work educators to judiciously utilize the opportunities and benefits inherent in ICT oriented instructional delivery. The paper concludes with a caution on the potential impact of ICT on professional identity of confidentiality

Experience of gender-based violence to students in public and private secondary schools in Ilorin, Nigeria

Objective: To determine and compare prevalence of Gender based Violence (GBV) in public and private secondary schools students and to identify factors associated with experience of GBV by the students.Design: Comparative cross-sectional survey of using a 60 item self-administered questionnaire.Setting: Ten public and private secondary schools in Ilorin South Local Government area of Kwara State.Participants: 640 students, (320 each) from public and private schools.Main outcome variable: Prevalence and factors influencing experience of physical, sexual and psychological violenceResults: At least one form of GBV was experienced by 89.1% of public and 84.8% private schools students(p=0.32). Psychological violence was commonest type of GBV experienced (Public -72.5% vs. Private - 69.2%;p=0.37), while sexual violence was least (Public -41.4% vs. Private - 37.4%; p=0.3). Females were less likely toexperience physical violence (OR 0.3; 95% CI 0.2-0.4) and psychological violence (aOR 0.6; 95%CI 0.4-0.8). Studentswho were in a relationship and who had history of parental violence were more likely to experience sexual(aOR 1.7; 95%CI 1.2-2.4) and aOR 1.5; 95%CI 1.2-2.2) and psychological (aOR 1.3; 95%CI 1.1-1.5 and aOR 1.3;95%CI respectively) violence.Conclusions: GBV was a common experience of students in both groups of schools. Multi-disciplinary interventionsemphasising ending physical and psychological violence among private school students and sexual violence in public school are recommended. Interventions that involve the parents, school authorities and students on nonviolence conflict resolution are urgently required. Parents and students who perpetrate violence should be referred for counselling.Funding: Author fundedKeywords: Violence, Gender based violence, Violence exposure, Secondary School, Student

Monitoring drought and effects on vegetation in Sokoto state, Nigeria using statistical and geospatial techniques

This paper aimed at assessing drought occurrences and its effects on vegetation cover in Sokoto State, Nigeria using geospatial and statistical techniques. Monthly precipitation data which span through a period of 40 years (1980-2010) and 30 years (1982-2011) respectively were used for generating Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) graphs and maps. LandSat   imageries of bands 3 and 4 acquired by Thematic Mapper (TM) and Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM+) Sensor were used for generating Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). SPI and NDVI were generated for the study area based on inter-annual and decadal timescale. Findings showed that SPI values varied from extremely dry condition to extreme wet condition although near normal condition ranked highest while extremely wet condition ranked least.  It also revealed that most of the Local Government Areas experienced near normal conditions but  Isa, Sabon Birni and little part of the boundary between Goronyo and Wurno experienced moderately wet conditions between 1982 and 1991. It was further observed that the whole region was dominated with near normal condition except Sabon Birni and Isa LGAs that experienced extremely, severely and moderately wet condition between 1992 and 2001. In contrast, the SPI values for over 90% of the state  between 2002 and 2011 fall within the severely dry conditions. Findings further showed that change scenarios observed from the derived NDVI and SPI maps indicated that the climatic variability currently being experienced is likely to increase and intensify in future. It is obvious that urgent attention on drought management over this region is needed.Keywords: Drought, SPI, NDVI, Vegetation Cover, Landsat Imageries, Northern Nigeri

Internet of Things and Supply Chain Management: An Empirical Analysis of Nigeria Perspective

IT developments is a paradigm shift in various domains, including supply chain management (SCM). This study examines internet of a thing (IOT) and SCM; an empirical analysis of Nigeria perspective. The study examined IOT factors and its effect on SCM, with a specific focus on Jumia Nigeria. The survey research design was used in this study. The study's sample size is comprised of 265 members of Jumia employees who were randomly selected with 253 valid responses retrieved. SmartPLS3 was used for the analysis, and hypotheses were tested using structural equation model at a significance threshold of 0.05 to see whether they were correct. Results demonstrated that IOT has a standardized beta value and P value of 0.948 and 0.000 on SCM which its r2 indicates 89.9% on SCM. In conclusion, IOT factors integration will lead to continuous improvement as it helps to enhanced its supply chain management

Protein Kinase D1 Maintains the Epithelial Phenotype by Inducing a DNA-Bound, Inactive SNAI1 Transcriptional Repressor Complex

Protein kinase D1 is downregulated in its expression in invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast and in invasive breast cancer cells, but its functions in normal breast epithelial cells is largely unknown. The epithelial phenotype is maintained by cell-cell junctions formed by E-cadherin. In cancer cells loss of E-cadherin expression contributes to an invasive phenotype. This can be mediated by SNAI1, a transcriptional repressor for E-cadherin that contributes to epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT).Here we show that PKD1 in normal murine mammary gland (NMuMG) epithelial cells is constitutively-active in its basal state and prevents a transition to a mesenchymal phenotype. Investigation of the involved mechanism suggested that PKD1 regulates the expression of E-cadherin at the promoter level through direct phosphorylation of the transcriptional repressor SNAI1. PKD1-mediated phosphorylation of SNAI1 occurs in the nucleus and generates a nuclear, inactive DNA/SNAI1 complex that shows decreased interaction with its co-repressor Ajuba. Analysis of human tissue samples with a newly-generated phosphospecific antibody for PKD1-phosphorylated SNAI1 showed that regulation of SNAI1 through PKD1 occurs in vivo in normal breast ductal tissue and is decreased or lost in invasive ductal carcinoma.Our data describe a mechanism of how PKD1 maintains the breast epithelial phenotype. Moreover, they suggest, that the analysis of breast tissue for PKD-mediated phosphorylation of SNAI1 using our novel phosphoS11-SNAI1-specific antibody may allow predicting the invasive potential of breast cancer cells

Prediction of Peak Temperatures of Nigeria Research Reactor Core Components under Several Reactivity Accident Tests

The Nigeria Research Reactor-1 (NIRR-1) consists of small water cooled square cylindrical core of 23cm in diameter and 23cm high. The small dimension of the core of this reactor facilitated our choice of PARET to perform reactivity accident analysis for NIRR-1 system. Our goal in this work is to predict the peak temperature of some important Nigeria Research Reactor (NIRR-1) core components under several reactivity accident tests. At power levels below 80kW, there were no significant differences between the peak fuel centerline temperatures, the peak fuel surface temperature and the peak clad surface temperature in the hot channel as well as in the average channel. The result from the reactivity accident test shows that power can never rise to an uncontrollable level in the core of NIRR-1 under ramp or step insertion of up to 4mk of reactivity. The calculated temperature of the important core components (e.g. fuel and clad) in the two channels (during this reactivity accident test) were far below their melting point temperatures. Boiling of any kind was not observed during this reactivity accident test. Therefore, NIRR-1 can be operated safely even if there is an inadvertent addition of up to 4mk of positive reactivit