THE EVOLVING ROLES OF LIBRARIES AND LIBRARIANS IN THE 21ST CENTURY

The role of libraries and librarians in the present century has generated heated intellectual arguments among different people. This to a large extent is due to the increasing amount of information available especially on the internet, and the use of information and communication technologies for library activities and operations. As a result of this, there have been assumptions, theories, laws and assertions that have sought to question the existence of the library, librarians and information science profession. In the light of this, this study seeks to brings to the limelight the roles of libraries, librarians and other information professionals in the present century with a view to arouse the interest of people and make them see the relevance of libraries and librarians in the current information society

Book Piracy and the Challenge of Saving Nigeria\u27s Publishing Industry

Book piracy has been an issue trending in the Nigerian publishing space recently. This is because of the ripple effects of the action on both publishers and authors alike. This action has over the years been a bottle neck for publishers and authors in achieving their aim of reaching out to the public and making sales from their respective publications. In the light of this, this study seeks to explain certain reasons why this action has not been effectively nipped in the bud as well as the pandemic effects of this situation. Conclusively, the study would suggest some of the ways in which this challenge could be surmounted, thus further encouraging authors and publishers, and boosting their quest and desire to publish the more

Technical and Vocational Education: Key to Poverty Alleviation in the Third World with Particular Reference to Nigeria

Education is considered to be the key to effective development strategies, technical and vocational education is the master key that can alleviate poverty, promote peace, conserve the environment, improve the quality of life for all and help achieve sustainable development. This study sets out to examine the potency of technical and vocational education as a key for poverty alleviation. The concept and the scope of technical and vocational education was discussed as well as the causes of poverty and its alleviation through technical and vocational education. It was concluded that no meaningful poverty alleviation can be achieved by any nation without effective and efficient technical and vocational education programmes. It was therefore recommended that there should be emphasis on the practical aspect of vocational education so as to enhance the production of productive members of the nation's labour force who will be self-reliant or employable in an industry or company. The man power needs of technical and vocational schools should be met by employing people who have the basic human capacity, and knowledge of vocational courses. Proper funding of technical and vocational education by the government, nongovernmental organizations, private individuals and the society should be provided. Keywords: Sustainable Development, Poverty Alleviation, Self-reliant, Technical Education and Vocational Education

Graphical User Interface (GUI) for Position and Trajectory Tracking Control of the Ball and Plate System Using H-Infinity Controller

In this paper, a graphical user interface (GUI) for position and trajectory tracking of the ball and plate system (BPS) control scheme using the double feedback loop structure i.e. a loop within a loop is proposed. The inner and the outer loop was designed using linear algebraic method by solving a set of Diophantine equations and  sensitivity function. The results were simulated in MATLAB 2018a, and the trajectory tracking was displayed on a GUI, which showed that the plate was able to be stabilized at a time of 0.3546 seconds, and also the ball settled at 1.7087 seconds, when a sinusoidal circular reference trajectory of radius 0.4m with an angular frequency of 1.57rad/sec was applied to the BPS, the trajectory tracking error was 0.0095m.  This shows that the controllers possess the following properties for the BPS, which are; good adaptability, strong robustness and a high control performance.   

Load-ability Analysis during Contingency with Unified Power Flow Controller Using Grey Wolf Optimization Technique

Voltage stability enhancement with optimal placement of a unified power flow controller considering load-ability analysis is investigated in this paper. It is essential, because when voltage instability is left unattended, it leads to voltage collapse and, consequently, in a partial or total blackout of the whole network resulting from cascading effect. The optimization process is achieved by increasing the percentage load demand index to the maximum load-ability and under single contingency. This method will be of great benefits to bulk dispatcher of power to plan ahead of how to wheel and deliver power to the end-users during both normal and contingency conditions at the least cost and time. A grey wolf optimization technique is utilised to find the optimal location and sizing of UPFC on the network. The line’s voltage stability and load margin are then evaluated with and without UPFC under different loading conditions using optimal power flow technique. The approach’s effectiveness is carried out on 31-bus, 330kV Nigeria National Grid (NNG) based on two scenarios: load-ability analysis under maximum loading of the network and load-ability analysis under single contingency. The results show that power can be transmitted to meet the growing energy demand over an existing network during normal and contingency conditions without violating voltage stability by making use of the proposed method in this pape

Enhancement of Voltage Stability with Unified Power Flow Controller Considering Loadability Analysis

Voltage stability is an important issue in planning and operation of electric power system during both normal and under contingency conditions. This paper presents line voltage stability index (LVSI) for transmission lines voltage stability assessment and evaluation. The system stability under maximum loading and contingency conditions are analyzed using optimal power flow analysis. FACTS device is considered for a real-time control and a dynamic reactive power compensation of the system. Voltage source-based power injection model of unified power flow controller (UPFC) is used for the minimization of voltage deviation and losses on the network. Optimal location and sizing of UPFC is carried out using grey wolf optimization (GWO) technique in order to identify an optimal location where the FACTS device will be installed. UPFC device has proven to increase the line transmittable power, controls the voltage magnitude at the buses as well as enhancing the stability and security of the power system. The various conditions and scenarios used to test the efficacy of this model for system stability and security under contingency conditions are demonstrated on standard IEEE 14-bus test system

Role of lauric acid against prenatal sleep deprivation-induced-stress rise in corticosterone and low birth weight in rat offspring

Prenatal stress is known to affect the offspring later in life. Lauric acid is a known antioxidant shown to play a protective role in experimental animals. This study examines the role of Lauric acid on sleep deprivation-induced stress on serum corticosterone level and birth weight in male rat pups. Pregnant dams were sleep-deprived using the modified multiple water platform for 20hrs daily from gestational day 9-19. Animals in groups 1 and 2 served as normal and stressed controls respectively, groups 3,4 and 5 received Lauric acid of doses 125mg/kg, 250mg/kg and 500mg/kg respectively while group 6 received Vitamin C 300mg/kg. Male offspring birth weight was recorded and at PND 28-36, were sacrificed and blood was collected for corticosterone assay. Serum corticosterone was significantly higher (p< 0.05) in the sleep-deprivation-induced stress group. Its level was also significantly lower (p<0.05) in the LA and vitamin C treated groups. Birth weight was significantly lower (p<0.05) in the stressed and vitamin C (300mg/kg) groups while being significantly higher (p< 0.05) in LA 125mg/kg group. This finding suggest that Lauric acid protect against rise in serum corticosterone level and improves birth weight in male offspring of dams subjected to sleep deprivation

Determination of morphological features and molecular interactions of Nigerian bentonitic clays using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM)

This research focused on identifying the morphological features and molecular  interactions of the Nigerian Bentonitic clays using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) characterisation technique. The SEM microstructure images indicated that the bentonite samples are generally moderately dispersive to dispersive with some large flocs which were apparently separate and dispersed from one another rather than located on the totality of the image. This property is more pronounced on the sodium (Na) activated and the treated samples than in the raw samples, which could be due to quartz removal and Na activation on the raw Bentonitic samples. Dispersive sample surfaces consist of loose flakes with no definitive mass structures observed on the treated samples due to added poly anionic cellulose (PAC) to the samplesKey words: SEM, microstructure, images, bentonite, flocs and PA

"Green" or "Red"? Reframing the environmental discourse in Nigeria

This paper investigates the role of environmental social movements and NGOs in the struggle for democracy in Nigeria. In particular, it examines how environmental issues, specifically in the oil-rich Niger Delta, have come to symbolise the Niger Delta communities’ craving for greater inclusion in the political process. The paper argues that because of linkages to the nature of economic production, environmental crises have been particularly useful in driving the democracy discourse in Nigeria. By linking environmental crisis to democratisation and the interactions of power within the Nigerian federation, NGOs and social movements have been able to gain support for environmental causes. This may, however, have dire implications for the environmental movement in Nigeria. Because ownership, not necessarily sustainability, is the central theme of such discourse on resource extraction, social movements may not be framing the environmental discourse in a way that highlights its unique relevance. The paper concludes by making a case for alternative methods of framing the environmental discourse in a developing-world context like that of Nigeria.Dieser Beitrag untersucht die Bedeutung umweltpolitischer Bewegungen und Nichtregierungsorganisationen (NRO) für den Kampf um Demokratie in Nigeria. Insbesondere widmet er sich der Frage, inwiefern Umweltthemen, speziell im ölreichen Nigerdelta, inzwischen das große Bedürfnis der Bevölkerung reflektieren, stärker in den politischen Prozess einbezogen zu werden. Umweltkrisen haben den demokratischen Diskurs in Nigeria ganz besonders vorangebracht, weil sie zu den Grundlagen der ökonomischen Produktion in Beziehung stehen. Indem soziale Bewegungen und NRO die Umweltkrisen mit dem Demokratiedefizit und den Machtstrukturen innerhalb Nigerias in Beziehung setzten, fanden sie auch Unterstützung in Umweltfragen. Dies könnte allerdings negative Folgen für die nigerianische Umweltbewegung haben. Denn das zentrale Thema eines sozialen Diskurses zum Abbau von Ressourcen ist die Eigentumsfrage und nicht notwendigerweise die Nachhaltigkeit; wird der Diskurs von sozialen Bewegungen bestimmt, wird die einzigartige umweltpolitische Relevanz möglicherweise nicht ausreichend herausgestellt. Der Autor plädiert für eine alternative Themensetzung im umweltpolitischen Diskurs in Entwicklungsländern wie Nigeria

An overview of anti-diabetic plants used in Gabon: Pharmacology and Toxicology

© 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Ethnopharmacological relevance: The management of diabetes mellitus management in African communities, especially in Gabon, is not well established as more than 60% of population rely on traditional treatments as primary healthcare. The aim of this review was to collect and present the scientific evidence for the use of medicinal plants that are in currect by Gabonese traditional healers to manage diabetes or hyperglycaemia based here on the pharmacological and toxicological profiles of plants with anti-diabetic activity. There are presented in order to promote their therapeutic value, ensure a safer use by population and provide some bases for further study on high potential plants reviewed. Materials and methods: Ethnobotanical studies were sourced using databases such as Online Wiley library, Pubmed, Google Scholar, PROTA, books and unpublished data including Ph.D. and Master thesis, African and Asian journals. Keywords including ‘Diabetes’ ‘Gabon’ ‘Toxicity’ ‘Constituents’ ‘hyperglycaemia’ were used. Results: A total of 69 plants currently used in Gabon with potential anti-diabetic activity have been identified in the literature, all of which have been used in in vivo or in vitro studies. Most of the plants have been studied in human or animal models for their ability to reduce blood glucose, stimulate insulin secretion or inhibit carbohydrates enzymes. Active substances have been identified in 12 out of 69 plants outlined in this review, these include Allium cepa and Tabernanthe iboga. Only eight plants have their active substances tested for anti-diabetic activity and are suitables for further investigation. Toxicological data is scarce and is dose-related to the functional parameters of major organs such as kidney and liver. Conclusion: An in-depth understanding on the pharmacology and toxicology of Gabonese anti-diabetic plants is lacking yet there is a great scope for new treatments. With further research, the use of Gabonese anti-diabetic plants is important to ensure the safety of the diabetic patients in Gabon.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio