The 2009 Educational Reforms in Nigeria: An Evaluation of the Policy on Access and Gender Parity

In spite of the pivotal role of education to the advancement of mankind, the opportunities for enrolment in tertiary education in Nigeria were grossly inadequate for the needs of the country. Access to higher education, gender parity and the lack of capacity of the system to absorb the numbers of candidates seeking admission to higher educational institutions among others, continue to pose serious problems to the attainments of education sector goals in the country. This paper is aimed at evaluating the 2009 educational reforms benchmarks towards the development of tertiary institutions in Nigeria. The paper relied on secondary source of data. Official publication of Federal Ministry of Education, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) country reports, Roadmap for Education (2009) and JAMB Annual Reports/publications were used for descriptive and analytical purposes. The paper established that for the period under review 2011-2016, the 20% annual increase in admission benchmark though reasonably achieved with 62% positive variance, the gap between those admitted and candidates left out continue to grow, thus out of the 7.5 million candidates that applied for placements into Nigerian tertiary institutions, only about 1.7 million candidates were admitted (21.9%) leaving out 78% or 5.9 million from opportunities for tertiary education and the reform benchmark on gender equity (55%/45% male-female) was yet to be achieved. The paper recommends for the expansion of the activities of National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), Open and Distance Learning (ODL) and National Teachers’ Institute (NTI) with improved facilities, advancement of Technical and Vocational Education (TVE) programmes, and increase of carrying capacity of tertiary institutions without compromising standards. Also that female admission ratio into tertiary institutions should be improved with continuous gender focused education programmes. Keywords: Education, Access to education, Gender parity, Quality education DOI: 10.7176/PPAR/10-11-02 Publication date: November 30th 202

Evaluation of the Impact of Good Governance on Sustainable Rural Development in Nigeria: A Study of Kaduna State

This paper evaluates the impact of good governance on rural development in Kaduna State. The problem investigated is stimulated by the expectation of the people for good governance in this democratic era. The specific objective of the study include determining the extent to which the government achieved the tenets of good governance, finding out the impact of good governance on rural development and examining the constraints of good governance in achieving rural development. Data for the study were generated from both primary and secondary sources using the instrument of observation, questionnaire, published and unpublished material as well as the internet. Data were analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The descriptive tools used include tables and simple percentages while the inferential tool used is the spearman rank correlations. The study revealed that, good governance has not provided rural development. More specifically, there is low service delivery, low rate of adherence to rule of law, lack of transparency and accountability, existence of high rural poverty, decay in rural educational system, inadequate water and road infrastructure as well as inadequate health facilities. The study also revealed poverty, corruption, poor judicial system, as constraints for good governance. It was therefore recommended that, there should be institution of integrity, transparency and accountability in governance, there should be improvement in social services and there should be measures to check misgovernance and mismanagement. Keywords: Good Governance, Development, Rural Development, Sustainable Development. DOI: 10.7176/RHSS/10-22-11 Publication date: November 30th 202

Determination of multi - pesticide residues in coconut water by QuEChERS - dSPE ionic liquid - based DLLME couple with high performance Liquid Chromatography - Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LCMS/MS)

The use of pesticides in agricultural practices is very vital but continuously accumulates in water, moist soil and contaminate fruits and vegetables. This eventually leads to many health issues such as congenital diseases and different forms of cancers. For this reason, the validated (SANTE 11831-2017) method of quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged and safe (QuEChERS) with the dispersive solid phase extraction (SPE) coupled with ionic liquid-based (IL-based) in dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) was used for sample preparation of coconut water to determine multiple pesticides (Dursban, Diazinon, Thiamethoxam, Metalaxyl, Thiobencarb, Baycarb, Carbaryl and Propamocarb) residue using high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) instrument. The results of accuracy for relative recoveries (84 - 134%) were satisfactory because 87.5% of results were within the recommended range (70 - 120%). The precision results range (0-19%) of relative standard deviation (RSD) were also satisfactory as recommended (≤ 20%). The resulted limit of detection (LOD) and quantitation (LOQ) was satisfactorily ranged 0.08-0.92 and 0.28-3.08μg/kg respectively. The linearity range results (5 – 500 μg/kg) were evaluated (linear) with regression coefficient (R2) > 0.97. The matrix effects range (≤ -72%) were very weak. The measurement uncertainties range (7 - 27%) estimated were satisfactory as recommended (≤ 50%). Conclusively, the research indicates the reliability of the sample preparation method for multiple pesticides analysis in coconut water. Also, the concentration level for each of the pesticide analysed was found lower than the European Union maximum residue limits, which presumes that the analysed sample is safe for consumption to avoid health-related issues.Keywords: Dispersive, Liquid-Liquid Microextraction, Solid-Phase Extraction, HPLC-MS, Pesticides, QuEChER

Effectiveness of a Structured Circuit Class therapy model in stroke rehabilitation: A single blind randomized controlled trial

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD (Physiotherapy)Stroke is a debilitating medical and neurological condition. It is the leading cause of adult disability worldwide. Disability from stroke covers the three key classifications of the WHO-ICF framework on human function centred on health and health related issues, implying that the disability in stroke involve structural and activity limitations to participation restriction. Rehabilitation remains the hallmark of managing the plethora of neurological deficits accompanying stroke. Currently, the key advocacy in neuroscientific studies for stroke rehabilitation is that therapy should be directed towards task specificity. Task Specific Training most recently, the form of Circuit Class Therapy and the intensity of multiple repetition of the task has been identified as physiological mechanisms behind sustained motor learning following stroke.Circuit Class Therapy (CCT) is a form of Task Specific Training (TST) that involves the practice of structuring tasks in a circuit or series of workstations. It offers the patient the ability to practice multiple tasks in a conducive environmental because of its three key features of utilisation of different workstations that allow people to practice intensively in a meaningful and progressive way to suit their respective needs; the efficient utilisation of therapists'/trainees' time; and the group dynamics such as peer support and social support. Although these features are attainable following CCT challenges remain in selecting the most efficient intensity that could produce these benefits in stroke survivors. This study investigated the effectiveness of differing intensities of CCT in the rehabilitation of stroke survivors using the ICF framework to guide patients� response assessments after training

Study on the conformation of insulin by solvent perturbation and ultraviolet spectroscopy

This study attempted to gain an insight of the conformation of insulin using solvent perturbation and ultraviolet spectroscopy. The effects of two solvents, mercaptoethanol and sucrose on the absorption spectrum of Insulin were studied; changes in ionic strength and pH were used to  identify the position of amino acid chromophores. The effect on the absorption spectrum of movement from a non-polar to a polar  environment indicates that tyrosine and phenylalanine reside on the surface of insulin protein. The results show that pH resolved spectral behavior of Insulin in the neighborhood of 290 nm is determined  predominantly by the ionization of imidazole – NH+ of histidine. The results, however, do not rule out the possible contribution of the phenol hydroxyl of tyrosine in the spectral behavior. © 2013 International Formulae Group. All rights reserved.Keywords: Insulin conformation, solvent perturbation, ultraviolet spectroscopy

Integrating project based learning components into woodwork technology education curriculum at colleges of education in Nigeria

The main aim of this paper is to investigate project-based learning components suitable for integration into woodwork technology education curriculum (WTE) at Colleges of education (COE) in Nigeria. The study employed an intrinsic case study design. The population for the study comprised 12 respondents involving woodwork technology education lecturers and curriculum planners in north western Nigeria. Semi structured Interview protocol was the instrument used for collecting data for the study, while NVIVO 12 was used to analyse the qualitative data. Findings from the study revealed that the curriculum structure of WTE at COE does not include PoBL. The findings also revealed 21st century skills, inquiry and innovation, publicly presented product among the PoBL components suitable for integration into WTE curriculum at COE in Nigeria. Findings also revealed relevance of integrating PoBL in WTE curriculum, and equally showed from the responses of the participants that involvement of WTE students in investigation, collaboration grouping, and provision of adequate resource facilities as ways through which PoBL components can enhance student skill when integrated into WTE curriculum. Therefore, integrating components of PoBL into WTE curriculum affords students’ the opportunity to enhance their skills in WTE, and bridge the skill gap existing between WTE graduates and the industries

Source identification and evaluation of surface water quality using factor and discriminant analysis

This study utilizes factor and discriminant analysis to identify the parameter source and evaluate the quality of water from ex-mining ponds and lakes in Selangor. Factor analysis (FA) which explain 83.77% of the surface water quality variation shows that As and Cd that mostly originated from mining activity, and pH are the parameters responsible for the major variation in the surface water quality and were strongly associated with varimax factor 1 (VF1), while Pb, Mn and DO were associated with varimax factor 2 (VF2). The Discriminant analysis (DA) reveals that As, Cd, Mn, Fe and pH are the parameters that significantly differentiate ex-mining ponds from the lake (p < 0.05 and F - ratio >> 1), and supported by the correlation study. The elevated metal concentrations in ex-mining ponds compared to lakes were plausibly associated with the past mining operation, thereby indicating heavy metal dominance in ex-mining ponds. DO and BOD are associated with the anthropogenic input from residential sources. Findings of this study therefore show the need and usefulness of multivariate statistical analysis to get information on the quality status of surface water.Keywords: Discriminant analysis, Ex-mining pond, Factor analysis, Lake, Water quality

Detection of Multidrug-Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii among Gram-Negative Bacteria Isolated from Clinical Samples

Acinetobacter baumannii is an aerobic, Gram -negative cocco-bacilli, non-fermentative, non-motile, and non-fastidious organism belonging to the genus Acinetobacter. The A. baumannii has emerged as a worldwide nosocomial pathogen causing about 80%25 of nosocomial infections comprising ventilator-acquired pneumonia, bacteremia, meningitis, urinary tract infections, skin and soft tissues infections associated with high mortality rate of approximately 63.3%25. Although literature shows sufficient information about the drug resistant A. baumannii, there has been inadequate reports on the antibiotic resistance level of this bacterium in the study area. The aim of this research was to detect Multidrug-resistant A. baumannii isolates among Gram-negative bacteria isolated from Federal Teaching Hospital, Gombe, Nigeria. A total of 1008 clinical samples were collected and cultured on MacConkey agar and Blood agar plates at 37o C for 18-24 hours. Following the incubation period, discrete colonies obtained were subjected to Gram staining. The Gram-negative isolates were identified based on conventional biochemical tests with further use of VITEK 2 COMPACT (BioMérieux, France) for confirmation of A. baumannii amongst the Gram-negative organisms. The results obtained showed that 263 Gram-negative organisms were isolated. A. baumannii accounted for 8.5%25 prevalence. Most of the A. baumannii isolated were from the male patients (75%25) within the age range of 33-48 years. Antibiotic susceptibility test using Kirby Bauer method in accordance with CLSI guidelines was done on 20 A. baumannii isolates. The isolates were more sensitive to levofloxacin (60%25), followed by Gentamicin (55%25), then Ciprofloxacin and Tetracycline (50%25) respectively. High level of resistance to Ceftriaxone (80%25), Cefepime (75%25), Ceftazidime (65%25), Piperacillin-Tazobactam (55%25), Ampicillin%252FSulbactam (60%25), Tigecycline (60%25), Meropenem (55%25) and Amikacin (60%25). This study revealed that 15 (75%25) of the A. baumannii were found to be multidrug-resistant. Therefore, antibiotic stewardship is necessary to combat further dissemination of this organism