Language Use for Sustainable Development in Nigeria: a Systemic Functional Study of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s 7-Point Agenda

It has become almost the norm with the various successive governments in Nigeria, to launch, at the beginning of their tenures, a policy statement that would act as a guide to the attainment of their promises to the people during political campaigns. The 7- Point Agenda is one of such policy statements meant to impact on Nigeria’s quest for sustainable development and its language is considered as a socially oriented discourse strategically performing illocutionary functions intended to meet a target trend. In this regard, its language in this paper is considered as an analyzable text meant to be explored through the eclectic deployment of both the systemic functional approach and the speech-act theory of pragmatics to ascertain its role. The study analyses five performative clauses from each of the seven Agenda using the pragmatic markings provided by Searle’s categorization of the speech-act and concludes that the performative/illocutionary force of the language used tends to be weak and ineffectual to mediate action on the part of government, therefore, lacks the commitment to initiate action towards addressing the challenges of sustainable development in Nigeria. Appropriate deployment of language resources should therefore, factor into issues of development for growth and advancement in Nigeria

Investigation of Effect of KBr Matrix on Drift Infrared Spectra of Some Minerals

Diffuse Reflectance Infrared Fourier Transform (DRIFT) spectroscopy was used in this work to investigate the effect of KBr on infrared spectra of calcite and illite/smectite. 30 mg of each of these minerals were dispersed in 270 mg of KBr and their drifts spectra were obtained and analysed using OMNIC software. Same minerals samples were also run in DRIFT spectroscopy without being dispersed in KBr matrix and their spectra were obtained and analysed. After the investigation it was observed that minerals dispersed in KBr have spectra that are better than those run without KBr in terms of peaks resolution, repeatability and peaks height. Therefore, KBr played a vital role for better DRIFTS spectra which aid for the diagnosis of functional groups of different minerals useful during shale gas exploration processes.Keywords: Calcite, DRIFTS, illite/smectite KBr, Mineral sample

Acute effects of Hibiscus sabdariffa calyces on postprandial blood pressure, vascular function, blood lipids, biomarkers of insulin resistance and inflammation in humans

The acute impact of Hibiscus sabdariffa calyces (HSC) extract on postprandial vascular function and other cardiometabolic risk factors have not been studied previously. This study investigated the acute impact of HSC extract consumption on blood pressure (BP), vascular function and other cardiometabolic risk markers. Twenty-five men with 1% to 10% cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk (determined by QRISK 2) were randomised to consume either 250 mL of the aqueous extract of HSC or water with breakfast in a randomised, controlled, single-blinded, 2-meal cross-over study (ClinicalTrials.gov, NTC02165553) with a two weeks washout period between study days. BP was measured at baseline and hourly for 4 h. Flow mediated dilatation (FMD) of the branchial artery was measured at baseline, 2 and 4 h post intervention drink consumption. Acute consumption of aqueous extract of HSC caused a significant increase in % FMD ( < 0.001), a non-significant decrease in systolic BP (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP); non-significant increase in urinary and plasma nitric oxide (NOx) and reduced response of serum glucose, plasma insulin, serum triacylglycerol and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels; significant ( = 0.026) improvement in the area under systemic antioxidant response curve (0 to 2 h); no significant changes in arterial stiffness following the acute consumption of the extract of HSC. Gallic acid, 4-O-methylgallic acid, 3-O-methylgallic acid and hippuric acid reached a maximum plasma concentration at 1 to 2 h post consumption of the extract of HSC. The extract of HSC improved postprandial vascular function and may be a useful dietary strategy to reduce endothelial dysfunction and CVD risk, although this requires confirmation

The use of castor oil as a flame retardant in polyurethane foam

Thirteen polyurethane foam samples were prepared with varying quantity of castor oil as a reactant with polyisocyanate and their flammability test was carried out using various flame test procedures. Physical properties of the foam samples were found to increase with the increasing in the quantity of castor oil. Results of flammability test shows that the flame propagation rate and the after-glow time are relatively reduced with the corresponding increase in the quantity of castor oil. The add-on test and the ignition time increases with increase in the quantity of castor oil as flame retardant. Foam with 8cm3 and 10cm3 quantity of castor oil as flame retardant seems to be perfect and required for good quality and quantity of polyurethane foam.Keywords: Castor oil, Polyurethane forms, Flame retardant. Polyol, Polyisocyanat

In vitro comparative activity of ciprofloxacin and enrofloxacin against clinical isolates from chickens in Benue State, Nigeria

This study compares the in vitro activities of enrofloxacin and its main metabolite ciprofloxacin against clinical Escherichia coli and non-lactose fermenting enterobacteria isolates from chickens. Ten (10) Escherichia coli and 8 non lactose fermenting enterobacteriaceae species isolated from a pool of clinical cases at the Microbiology Laboratory of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, University of Agriculture Makurdi were used in this study. Ten-fold serial dilution of 10 varying concentrations (0.1-50μg/mL) of enrofloxacin and ciprofloxacin were tested against the isolates in vitro by Bauer’s disc-diffusion method to determine and compare their antimicrobial activities against the isolates. The 18 isolates tested were susceptible to both enrofloxacin and ciprofloxacin, and their mean values in the susceptibility of Escherichia coli and non-lactose fermenters were significantly different (p &lt; 0.01). The study concluded that the clinical isolates are susceptible to both enrofloxacin and ciprofloxacin though ciprofloxacin exhibit higher activity. Comparatively, ciprofloxacin was found to be more potent than enrofloxacin and the difference statistically significant. Ciprofloxacin was recommended as a better choice in the treatment of bacterial infections of chicken in this area compared to enrofloxacin. It was also recommended that proper steps should be taken in the administration of antimicrobials so as to reduce the incidences of bacterial resistance.Keywords:  Escherichia coli, Non-lactose fermenter, Antimicrobials, Ciprofloxacin. Enrofloxacin, Chicke

Backward bifurcation analysis of epidemic model with partial immunity

This paper presents a two stage SIS epidemic model in animal population with bovine tuberculosis (BTB) in African buffalo as a guiding example. The proposed model is rigorously analyzed. The analysis reveals that the model exhibits the phenomenon of backward bifurcation, where a stable disease-free equilibrium (DFE) coexists with a stable endemic equilibrium (EE) when the associated reproduction number (Rv) is less than unity. It is shown under two special cases of the presented model, that this phenomenon of backward bifurcation does not arise depending on vaccination coverage and efficacy of vaccine. Numerical simulations of the model show that, the use of an imperfect vaccine can lead to effective control of the disease if the vaccination coverage and the efficacy of vaccine are high enough.http://www.elsevier.com/locate/camwahb201

Dynamics of SI epidemic with a demographic Allee effect

In this paper, we present an extended SI model of Hilker et al. (2009). In the presented model the birth rate and the death rate are both modeled as quadratic polynomials. This approach provides ample opportunity for taking into account the major contributors to an Allee effect and effectively captures species’ differential susceptibility to the Allee effects. It is shown that, the behaviors (persistence or extinction) of the model solutions are characterized by the two essential threshold parameters λ0λ0 and λ1λ1 of the transmissibility λλ and a threshold quantity μ∗μ∗ of the disease pathogenicity μμ. If λλ0λ>λ0 and μλ1λ>λ1 and μ>μ∗μ>μ∗, the disease derives the host population to extinction with origin as the only global attractor. For the special cases of the model, verifiable conditions for host population persistence (with or without infected individuals) and host extinction are derived. Interestingly, we show that if the values of the parameters αα and ββ of the extended model are restricted, then the two models are similar. Numerical simulations show how the parameter ββ affects the dynamics of the model with respect to the host population persistence and extinction.South African DST/NRF SARChI chair on Mathematical Models and Methods in Bioengineering and Biosciences (N00317).http://www.elsevier.com/locate/tpb2016-12-31hb2016Mathematics and Applied Mathematic

TimeSets for uncertainty visualisation

TimeSets consist of a timeline showing sequence of events displayed across a visualisation, while makings sense of sets relation among events in the timeline [NXWW15]. This study looked into extending TimeSets to accommodate Visualisation of trust and uncertainty as parts of its variables for events displayed across the timeline. The aim of the challenge is to build tools in the context of big data analytics that can be used to aid military operations through intelligence analytics and decision-making

Median lethal dose (LD50) evaluation of some polyherbal formulations marketed in northern Nigeria

The polyherbal preparations reported here are traditionally used in Northern Nigeria for the treatment of wide range of illnesses. The aim of this study was to evaluate the acute toxicity potential of 70% ethanol extracts of forty polyherbal products by determining their median lethal dose (LD50) estimates intraperitoneally and orally using the Lorke’s method in mice. Overall 90% of the extracts indicated values that were either less toxic or slightly toxic intraperitoneally, while 10 % had values that were practically non toxic using the same route. Oral administration of the extracts showed that 25% had values that were only slightly toxic while 75 % of the herbal products had median lethal dose values that were practically non toxic. From our results this could imply that most of the extracts tested may be safe for oral use and this could explain the continuous use of the polyherbal preparations by the local people in traditional management of various ailments in the Northern part of Nigeria.Keywords: Herbal products, AcuteToxicity, Lorke’s method, Northern Nigeri