Determinants of private domestic savings in Nigeria (1981- 2015).

This study empirically evaluates the determinants of private domestic savings in Nigeria (1981- 2015). Secondary data were sourced from CBN statistical bulletin and bureau of statistics. Hypotheses were formulated and tested using vector error correction model (VECM) and the test for stationarity proves that the variables are integrated in 1(1) order which implies that unit roots do not exist among the variables. There is also long-run equilibrium relationship between the variables and the result also confirms about 29 percent short-run adjustment speed from long-run disequilibrium. The coefficient of determination indicates that about 78 percent of the variations in private domestic savings are explained by changes in its determinants in Nigeria. The results show that per capita income and financial inclusion are major determinants of private domestic savings in Nigeria. The study therefore recommends that concerted and well articulated efforts should be made to make available and affordable credits to productive investments like small scale industries/businesses as they constitute an integral part of the growth and transformation process of an agro based economy like that of Nigeria this will induce employment, increase financial access and income of the various economic agents which will have a spillover effect on private savings. Secondly, since Per capita income and financial inclusion are the important factors that influence private savings in Nigeria, policy makers can promote growth of per capita income by improving productivity of workers and greater effort should be geared towards sustaining or improving on the financial inclusion strategies

Effects of Gowin’s Vee Heuristic Strategy on Secondary School Students’ Conceptual Understanding and Metacognition in the Topic of Moments in Physics, in Uasin Gishu County, Kenya

Physics is a science subject that has contributed immensely to the technological advancement of the world. In the Kenyan 8-4-4 curriculum, it is optional at form three and four. However, physics in Kenya has been faced with poor performance. Consequently, many students drop out of the subject on moving to form three. The cause of this trend has not been fully concluded. On the contrary, many have attributed it to poor instructional methods. This study, therefore, attempts to change this trend. It collected data on the effects of Gowin’s Vee heuristic strategy on students’ conceptual understanding and metacognition in physics among secondary schools in Uasin Gishu County. It was carried out in physics classroom setting. Solomon four quasi-experimental design was used. Two experimental groups were taught using Gowin’s Vee as treatment and two control groups were taught using conventional methods. The target population was 3735 form two students in 83 mixed secondary schools in Uasin Gishu County. Purposive sampling was used to select 134 students to the control and experimental groups. The instruments used were Physics Metacognitive Activity Inventory Questionnaire (PMCAIQ) to test their metacognition and Physics Conceptual Understanding Achievement Test (PCUAT) to test conceptual understanding. The validity of the instruments was determined by supervisors and examination experts from the department of Curriculum, Instruction and Educational Management as well as physics teachers. Reliability of instruments was done using the coefficient of alpha for both instruments. The study found Coefficient of alpha 0.75 and 0.78 for PCUAT and PMCAIQ respectively, hence they were reliable. The data was subjected to descriptive statistics such as mean and standard deviation. Also inferential statistics was done using t-test and one way ANOVA at 0.05 significance level. These were followed by post hoc analysis. The analysis was done by Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS). This study is important in enhancing performance and quality of teaching in the topic of moments in physics and sciences in general. Keywords: Gowin’s Vee, Heuristic, Strategy, metacognition, Conceptual understanding, Physic

Pattern of second primary malignancies in thyroid cancer patients

Many factors, including relatively young age of thyroid cancer diagnoses and improved survival, have led to increased concerns about the occurrence of second primary malignancies. This paper describes the pattern of occurrence of second primary malignancies in patients who were treated for malignant thyroid neoplasms in an Indian hospital. There were 21 affected patients of the approximately 4500 seen over 25 years. Most of the second primary cancers are solid tumors, and when nonthyroid cancers are the second tumors, ductal carcinoma of the female breast is the most common. Most of these tumors have very short detection intervals (including synchronous occurrences), suggesting that therapy with internal radiation was not contributory to the tumor development. Whenthyroid malignancies were the second primary cancers, they usually follow radiotherapy to the head and neck region for treatment of the first primary tumor and tend to be of aggressive histologic types than the common welldifferentiated thyroid carcinomas.Key words: Radiation, radiotherapy, second malignancies, thyroid cance

Ultrasound Findings in the Gallbladder of Sickle‑Cell Patients: A Cross‑Sectional Study in Enugu, Nigeria

Background: Sickle‑cell disease (SCD) causes chronic and recurrent hemolysis which is a recognized risk factor for gallbladder (GB) disease. The prevalence of GB disease in SCD is high and increases with age. Cholelithiasis and cholecystitis are relatively common GB diseases in SCD. They are important causes of acute abdominal pain in SCD and also increase morbidity. Ultrasound is a cheap and noninvasive means of evaluating the GB; it has a high degree of accuracy and is widely available. Aims: The aim of this study is to sonographically evaluate the GB of SCD patients in steady state at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Ituku‑Ozalla, Enugu, and to determine the prevalence of specific GB diseases in SCD patients. Materials and Methods: A prospective cross‑sectional study of 130 known SCD patients attending sickle‑cell clinics at UNTH and 130 controls. Ultrasound of the GB was done after at least 6 h fast, using a Dp2200 mindray mobile ultrasound machine equipped with a 2.5–5 MHz convex probe. The data were analyzed using the SPSS software version 16. Results: The GBs of 130 consecutive SCD participants and 130 control group were sonographically evaluated. The prevalence of cholelithiasis in SCD was 10.8%, whereas the prevalence of cholelithiasis in the control group was 3.1%. No other GB diseases were seen. The mean dimensions of theGB for the study group were length (65.78 ± 9.85 mm), width (29.15 ± 6.01 mm), depth (25.58 ± 5.81 mm), wall thickness (1.59 ± 0.74 mm), and volume (26.52 ± 11.18 cm3). Conclusion: The prevalence of cholelithiasis in sickle cell disease in southeast Nigeria is 10.8% while the prevalence of cholelithiasis in the control population is 3.1%. Keywords: Cholecystitis, cholelithiasis, gallbladder, sickle cell disease, ultrasoun

Indigenous 14C-phenanthrene biodegradation in “pristine” woodland and grassland soils from Norway and the United Kingdom.

In this study, the indigenous microbial mineralisation of 14C-phenanthrene in seven background soils (four from Norwegian woodland and three from the UK (two grasslands and one woodland)) was investigated. ∑PAHs ranged from 16.39 to 285.54 ng g−1 dw soil. Lag phases (time before 14C-phenanthrene mineralisation reached 5%) were longer in all of the Norwegian soils and correlated positively with TOC, but negatively with ∑PAHs and phenanthrene degraders for all soils. 14C-phenanthrene mineralisation in the soils varied due to physicochemical properties. The results show that indigenous microorganisms can adapt to 14C-phenanthrene mineralisation following diffuse PAH contamination. Considering the potential of soil as a secondary PAH source, these findings highlight the important role of indigenous microflora in the processing of PAHs in the environment.N/

Effect of photoperiod on sexual activity of boar

The main objective of this study was to assess the effect of photoperiod on sexual activity of three breeds of boars: Swedish Landrace (n=34), Large White (n=38), and Duroc (n=32). Boar sexual activity was analysed based on the libido index and intensity of ejaculation. The libido index was calculated as the ratio between the duration of ejaculation and time of preparation until ejaculation. The intensity of ejaculation was the volume of ejaculate (mL) secreted in the unit of time (min). The effect of photoperiod was analysed as the effect of duration of daylight ( lt 12 h and >12 h) within photoperiod intervals (increasing and decreasing). Impact assessment was carried out by applying the General Linear Model procedure. Libido and intensity of ejaculation varied under the impact of photoperiod and the breed of boars. With the increase in age, the boar libido weakened, while the volume of ejaculate and intensity of ejaculation increased. Boars manifested better libido when the daylight lasted longer than 12 h in both photoperiod intervals. Different from libido, the volume of ejaculate and intensity of ejaculation were highest when the daylight was shorter than 12 h, but only in the decreasing photoperiod interval. Swedish Landrace boars manifested best libido, while in the production of sperm the Duroc boars were inferior compared with Swedish Landrace and Large White. The phenotypic relationship among libido, ejaculate volume, and ejaculation intensity ranges from very low to high; however, the coefficients were positive, which indicates the possibility of simultaneous improvement of these traits

Physico-Chemical, Microbial and Organoleptic Properties of Yoghurt Fortified with Tomato Juice

The world is currently trending towards the discovery of foods that can also serve as nutraceuticals which are highly beneficial to human health. Fortification of yoghurt with fresh tomato juice has shown to incorporate lycopene into the yoghurt, which in turn, increased the nutritional benefit of the yoghurt. Tomato juice was added as increasing levels of 0, 50, 100, 150 and 200 w/w% to plain yoghurt. Ash, carbohydrate, moisture pH, viscosity and lycopene content were all analyzed using standard methods. Results showed that ash and carbohydrate content of the yoghurt improved in direct proportion with fortification. Lycopene content also increased (1.50- 9.24 mg/kg) as enrichment with fresh tomato juice increased. Viscosity reduced drastically as fortification increased, colour and texture of the yoghurt also changed; however, sample B (50% tomato juice) showed the best acceptance in respect to the sensory analysis of all the fortified samples. Hence, findings in this research indicated that enrichment of yoghurt with fresh tomato juice improved the nutritional indices of the yogurt