Acknowledgments

I present the last book of Volume 53, the last in a series of four print issues the University of Richmond Law Review publishes throughout the academic year. Our publications would not have been possible without those who generously dedicated their time to this organization. As those before me, I take these first few pages of this final book to offer my gratitude to those who have contributed to the successes of the Law Review

Legal Issues in Educational Management in Nigeria

The interaction of issues of law and schooling are becoming morepronounced by the day as our society continues to witness significant and rapid socio-political and economic changes. In an age that is globally infused with the concern for individual rights, there is of recent an emergence of local court cases as a confrontation of school house authority. In Nigeria, this is a post-1970 phenomenon and discussion on the same in the academic literature is scanty. It is against this background that this paper discusses pertinent legal issues in educational management in the country.Keywords: Legal basis of education; Litigation; Management

Applicability valuation for evaluation of surface deflection in automotive outer panels

Upon unloading in a forming process there is elastic recovery, which is the release of the elastic strains and the redistribution of the residual stresses through the thickness direction, thus producing surface deflection. It causes changes in shape and dimensions that can create major problem in the external appearance of outer panels. Thus surface deflection prediction is an important issue in sheet metal forming industry. Many factors could affect surface deflection in the process, such as material variations in mechanical properties, sheet thickness, tool geometry, processing parameters and lubricant condition. The shape and dimension problem in press forming is defined as a trouble mainly caused by the elastic recovery of materials during the forming. The use of high strength steel sheets in the manufacturing of automobile outer panels has increased in the automotive industry over the years because of its lightweight and fuel-efficient improvement. But one of the major concerns of stamping is surface deflection in the formed outer panels. Hence, to be cost effective, accurate prediction must be made of its formability. The automotive industry places rigi

Microbial flora of oil-spilled sites in Egbema, Imo State, Nigeria

The microbial flora of areas with and without oil spillage within the Egbema oil field in Ohaji/Egbema of Imo State was determined by standard microbiological methods. Preliminary results show moderatebiological activities in both environments studied. The average microbial population of the area with oil spillage was 3.08 x 107 cfu/g, while that of the adjoining environment was 3.14 x 107 cfu/g for bacteria. Fungi population was of the order 106. The microorganisms isolated were identified to species level. Majority of the microorganisms were true bacteria. Actinomycete species were also found. In general,species difference between the two environments tended to be considerably significant. Since species and microbial population differences in soils are directly proportional to the availability of carbonsource (nutrient), soil acidity, oxygen level and other factors, the significant variation in species and slight difference in microbial population observed are indicative of the effects of oil spillage onmicrobial flora of a given area

Prevalence of hospital acquired enterococci infections in two primary-care hospitals in Osogbo, Southwestern Nigeria

Enterococci are opportunistic bacteria that become pathogenic when they colonize niches where they are not normally found. Of recent, they have become major cause of nosocomial infections, especially of the bloodstream, urinary tract and surgical sites. The aim of this study is to determine the point‐prevalence rate of human enterococci infections among hospitalized patients in Osogbo, Nigeria. The study was conducted between January and June 2009 in two primary‐care hospitals in Osogbo and involved a total of 118 patients who developed clinical evidence of infection at least 48 hours after hospital admission. Appropriate clinical samples were collected from the patients after an informed consent and cultured for isolation/biochemical identification of Enterococcus species at the Bacteriology Laboratory of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Osogbo using standard microbiological methods. There were 525 hospital admissions within the time frame of the study of which 118 (22.5%) developed hospital acquired infection (HAI); 58 (49.2%) of which cultured positive for bacterial pathogens. Enterococci were isolated from infective focus in 7 patients, giving a prevalence rate of hospital‐acquired enterococci infection of 5.9%. Two species of Enterococcus were identified; Enterococcus faecalis from urinary tract infection (UTI) and surgical site infection (SSI) of 6 (85.7%) patients and Enterococcus faecium from UTI in 1 (14.3%) patient. Other bacteria recovered from other infective foci were Klebsiella spp 31.0%, Pseudomonas spp 20.7%, Staphylococcus aureus 17.2%, Escherichia coli 12.1%, Staphylococcus epidermidis 3.4%, Streptococcus pneumoniae 1.7% and Serratia spp 1.7%. All the enterococci isolates were multiply antibiotic resistant, and 42.9% were vancomycin‐resistant enterococci (VRE) with the VRE strains showing resistance to wider range of antibiotics than the vancomycin‐sensitive strains. Other Gram‐positive and Gram negative bacterial isolates also demonstrated multiple resistance to all commonly available antibiotics in this community except E. coli and Pseudomonas spp which were relatively sensitive to ciprofloxacin and ceftazidime. This limited study demonstrated a high prevalence rate of multiple antibiotic resistant enterococci infections among hospitalized patients in this environment. There is need for systematic surveillance of hospitals for enterococci infections; prudent use and rational prescription of antibiotics and stringent measures to reduce the prevalence rate by health education on infection control measures such asisolation, cleaning, disinfection and sterilization.Keywords: Nosocomial, Prevalence, Enterococcus, Vancomycin‐Resistance, Primary Car

Haematological Indices and Enzymatic Biomaker of Black Jaw Tilapia (Sarotherodon Melanotheron) from Lagos Lagoon

The increases in industrial activities and rapid urban development which occur along the shores of the lagoon have resulted in serious pollution problems. The release of wastes containing hazardous substances and dumping of waste indiscriminately into water bodies could lead to environmental disturbance that might be considered a potential source of stress to the aquatic organism. A toxicological study was carried out to ascertain the effects of aquatic pollutants in the blood of Sarotherodon melanotheron at the Lagos lagoon for a period of three months. Four enzymatic biomarkers were analysed which include protein, superoxide dismutase, Malondialdehyde and Reduced Glutathione. Water sample were collected from Lagos Lagoon and analyzed.The differential counts of Haematological indices such as Haemoglobin (Hb), Packed cell volume (PCV), Red blood cell (RBC), White blood cell (WBC), Mean corpuscular volume (MCV), Mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH), Mean corpuscular haemoglobin content (MCHC), were investigated. The lipid peroxidation and antioxidant biomarkers in the blood of S. melanotheron showed a significant difference (P < 0.05). The mean value recorded for Haemoglobin was 39.78±14.43g/L, PCV was 0.16±0.16L/L, RBC was 2.13±1.47T/L, WBC 6.22±2.66G/L while the Mean corpuscular volume was 73.39fl, MCH was 24.57±11.07pg, MCHC was 344.19±24.04L/L. Also the mean value Lymphocyte was 70.78±6.53% and Monocyte was 0.39±0.69% while 0% was recorded for Eosinophil and Basophil. Air temperature, water temperature, Salinity, pH, conductivity, Turbidity and dissolved oxygen had a mean value of 25.75±1.44°c, 25.17±0.75°c, 0.15±0.1‰, 6.13±0.82, 3.60±1.49mS/cm, 31.0±8.37FTU, 1.60±0.26mg/l respectively. Also the mean value of alkalinity, nitrate, phosphate, sulphate, chemical oxygen demand and biological oxygen demand are 68.07±22.92mg/l, 6.77±3.90mg/l, 0.53±0.55mg/l,0.84±0.37mg/l, 307.67±27.30mg/l and117.19±14.61mg/l respectively. Environmental factors such as low dissolved oxygen, high Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) values of this study may be implicated as the possible cause of alteration in the haematological characteristics of S. melanotheron in this study. This study indicates that there was an alteration in haematological profile, antioxidant enzyme and lipid peroxidase activities in S. melanotheron blood which may cause biochemical dysfunction in this specie. All these result provide a useful tool in monitoring the condition and state of health of fish by knowing the normal value with respect to their responses to stress which affects body metabolism.Keywords: Biomarker, Sarotherodon melanotheron, Haematology, Lagos Lagoo

Assessment of bio-preservative potential of Gmelina arborea roxb. Seed-oil on laminated bamboo against termite attack

The efficacy of Gmelina arborea seed-oil as preservative on laminated bamboo against termite attack was investigated. Gmelina arborea fruits and ten matured Bambusa vulgaris of over 4 years were sourced from Oyo State, Nigeria. Oil was chemically extracted from the G. arborea seeds using n’ hexane and ethanol solvents and thereafter mixed with kerosene (at 50%) using volume-to-volume method to increase its quantity. The phytochemical screening of the seed of Gmelina arborea revealed the presence of tannins, alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins and phenols at different quantity. Strips from the base, middle and top of the harvested bamboo culms were soaked in the hexane and ethanol extracted G. arborea seedoil while, the untreated samples served as the control and thereafter used to produce boards. The production of laminated bamboo board was carried out in Bamboo and Rattan Workshop of Forest Products Development and Utilization Department, Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria, Ibadan, Nigeria. Durability test was carried out and data were analysed using descriptive statistics and ANOVA at P<0.05. From the results, the weight loss from termite attack of the laminated boards ranged from 7.93 to 27.75% with increase from top to base resulting in decrease in weight loss of the boards produced. Boards preserved with G. arborea seed-oil ethanol extract were more resistant to termite attack (12.29%) compared to those preserved with the G. arborea seed-oil n’ hexane extract (13.59%). Based on the result obtained, G. arborea seed-oil extracts have the potential of being an effective wood preservative. Keywords: Bamboo, G. arborea seed-oil, chemical extraction, phytochemical, weight los

Life cycle environmental performance of material specification: a BIM-enhanced comparative assessment

This study aims to evaluate the extent to which building material specification affects life cycle environmental performance, using a building information modelling (BIM)-enhanced life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology. A combination of the BIM-based design and analysis tool Revit Architecture, the energy simulation tool Green Building Studio (GBS) and the LCA tool ATHENA Impact Estimator were used for the assessment. The LCA was carried out on a life case study of a 2100 m2 two-floor primary-school building, as well as a variability analysis, by varying the material specification in terms of whole building materials. The life cycle performance of the buildings was primarily evaluated in terms of its global warming potential (GWP) and health impact. The findings of the study show that irrespective of the materials used, buildings that are based on renewable energy perform better than those based on fossil fuels over their life cycle. In terms of building materials, both environmental and health preferences of buildings congruently range from timber, brick/block and steel to insulated concrete formwork (ICF), in descending order. The study suggests that as buildings become more energy efficient during operational stages, serious attention needs to be given to their embodied impact. The study lays out a methodological framework that could be adopted by industry practitioners in evaluating life cycle environmental impact of different BIM-modelled material options at the building conception stage. This has the tendency to ensure that the highest proportion of life cycle environmentally beneficial material combinations are selected during specification and construction

Prevalence of allergic rhinitis and its associated morbidity in adults with asthma: A multicentre study

Objectives To assess the prevalence of allergic rhinitis in adult patients with asthma in Hong Kong, and to compare the morbidity endured by asthma patients with and without allergic rhinitis. Design Cross-sectional study. Setting Respiratory clinics of four major public hospitals in Hong Kong. Patients A total of 600 adults with asthma were recruited from March to May 2007. Main outcome measures Doctors and patients completed separate questionnaires evaluating symptoms, treatment, and health care utilisation. Spirometry data were obtained for a subgroup of patients at the time of survey completion. Results The patients consisted of 267 males and 333 females, with 251 having spirometry data. The mean pre-bronchodilator 1-second forced expiratory volume predicted among those who had spirometry performed was 88% (standard deviation, 28%). In all, 50% of the patients had intermittent and 50% had persistent asthma. Over three quarters (463/600; 77%) of patients had experienced allergic rhinitis symptoms in the past 12 months, of whom 96% had a previous diagnosis of allergic rhinitis. Asthmatics without allergic rhinitis symptoms had higher rates of visits to doctors, pharmacy visits, emergency department attendances, and hospitalisations for asthma than those with both conditions. Among subjects with asthma and allergic rhinitis, those taking nasal steroid (226/463; 49%) had lower rates of emergency department visits (13 vs 25%, P=0.002) and hospitalisations (7 vs 13%, P=0.045) for asthma than those who were not. Conclusion Allergic rhinitis is a common co-morbid condition of asthma in this hospital clinic cohort. Treatment of allergic rhinitis with intra-nasal steroid was associated with less health care utilisation for asthma.published_or_final_versio