The Role of Small Businesses in Economic Growth and Poverty Alleviation in North-western Nigeria

The great aim of this research is to empirically assess small business-critical roles in economic development and poverty reduction in northwest Nigeria. There is a positive relationship between small enterprise and economic growth in the OLS regression analysis. There is also a clear inverse association between poverty incidence, small business and economic growth. The empirical result thus established the connection between small business, economic growth and poverty incidence

Separation or Trouble?

https://egrove.olemiss.edu/citizens_clip/1108/thumbnail.jp

Physicochemical characterization of polysaccharides extracted from sesame leaves: a potential matrix for sustained release tablets

Purpose In the developing world the pharmaceutical sector depends heavily on imported raw materials which elevate the cost of medicines beyond the reach of the majority of the local population; despite often being rich in renewable sources which could be used as excipients. In this study we have extracted and characterised a largely undeveloped polysaccharide, sesamum gum, with a view to application as an alternative pharmaceutical excipient. Methods Polysaccharide from the leaves of Sesamum indicum was extracted by maceration in distilled water followed by precipitation in absolute ethanol. The material was oven dried and milled to a particle size of 250 m. The resulting material was characterized using X-ray diffractometry (XRD), Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis. The total carbohydrate content, protein content and intrinsic viscosity of the extracted gum were determined according to standard protocols. Constituent sugar analysis of the material was determined by high performance anion exchange chromatography after hydrolysis of the samples using 2M trifluoroacetic acid for 3 hours. Compaction studies were carried out using a Testometric materials testing machine and data analysed by Heckel analysis. Results The polysaccharide gum had a total carbohydrate content of 98.1% and protein content of 1.7%. XRD spectra were typical of an amorphous material with a maximum decomposition temperature of 266.7 °C. Intrinsic viscosity was determined to be approximately 3.31 and 4.40 dl/g in 0.1 M NaCl and deionized water respectively. Dispersions of the polysaccharide are viscoelastic and exhibit shear-thinning behaviour. The polysaccharide contains fucose (0.1%), rhamnose (1.1%), arabinose (2.8%), galactose (48.9%), glucose (2.7%), mannose (6.8%) and xylose (33.6%) as neutral sugars, and glucuronic acid (3.0%) and galacturonic acid (1.1%) as acid sugars. Heckel analysis indicates that sesamum consolidates plastically having mean yield pressure of 131.45 MPa. Conclusion Sesamum polysaccharide is typically amorphous with a low content of uronic acids. Results suggest it is a thermally stable, high molecular weight polymer which exhibits shear-thinning behaviour in the hydrated form. The polymer in the dry state is a highly compactable material which has the potential to be exploited as a matrix former in sustained release tablets

Evaluation of green solution potentials of unripe banana (musasapientum) peel biomass

In the present study, the green solution potentials of unripe banana (musa sapientum) peel biomass were evaluated by using the adsorbent for the removal of Cd (II) and Cr (VI) from aqueous solution. The batch method was employed: parameters such as pH, initial concentration, adsorbent dose and contact time were studied. Unripe banana peel was found to remove Cd (II) and Cr (VI) ions from aqueous solutions. Removal rate of Cd (II) was found to increase from pH > 4, while Cr (VI) decreases from pH > 4. Langmuir and Freundlich models were applied to adsorption equilibrium data to find the best fit amongst these models. Langmuir model type 1, with R2 = 0.999 best fit for Cr (VI) adsorption data. The separation parameter, RL values were less than 1.0 i.e., 0.01219, 0.00613, 0.00308, and 0.00205 with corresponding initial concentrations of (50, 100, 200 and 300) mg/L respectively. This indicates that adsorption of Cr (VI) ion on unripe banana peel biomass was favourable to Langmuir isotherm, while Freundlich model with R2 = 0.949 best fit Cd (II) ion with (n) value of 1.1, which was favourable adsorption. Thus, the results of these findings showed that unripe banana peel biomass could be effectively and efficiently utilized for the removal of Cd (II) and Cr (VI) ions from aqueous solution

Spatiotemporal analysis of precipitation in the sparsely gauged Zambezi River basin using remote sensing and Google Earth Engine

Abstract:Precipitation plays an important role in the food production of Southern Africa. Understanding the spatial and temporal variations of precipitation is helpful for improving agricultural management and flood and drought risk assessment. However, a comprehensive precipitation pattern analysis is challenging in sparsely gauged and underdeveloped regions. To solve this problem, Version 7 Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) precipitation products and Google Earth Engine (GEE) were adopted in this study for the analysis of spatiotemporal patterns of precipitation in the Zambezi River Basin. The Kendall’s correlation and sen’s Slop reducers in GEE were used to examine precipitation trends and magnitude, respectively, at annual, seasonal and monthly scales from 1998 to 2017. The results reveal that 10% of the Zambezi River basin showed a significant decreasing trend of annual precipitation, while only 1% showed a significant increasing trend. The rainy-season precipitation appeared to have a dominant impact on the annual precipitation pattern. The rainy-season precipitation was found to have larger spatial, temporal and magnitude variation than the dry-season precipitation. In terms of monthly precipitation, June to September during the dry season were dominated by a significant decreasing trend. However, areas presenting a significant decreasing trend were rare (<12% of study area) and scattered during the rainy-season months (November to April of the subsequent year). Spatially, the highest and lowest rainfall regions were shifted by year, with extreme precipitation events (highest and lowest rainfall) occurring preferentially over the northwest side rather than the northeast area of the Zambezi River Basin. A “dry gets dryer, wet gets wetter” (DGDWGW) pattern was also observed over the study area, and a suggestion on agriculture management according to precipitation patterns is provided in this study for the region. This is the first study to use long-term remote sensing data and GEE for precipitation analysis at various temporal scales in the Zambezi River Basin. The methodology proposed in this study is helpful for the spatiotemporal analysis of precipitation in developing countries with scarce gauge stations, limited analytic skills and insufficient computation resources. The approaches of this study can also be operationally applied to the analysis of other climate variables, such as temperature and solar radiation

Strengthening retinopathy of prematurity screening and treatment services in Nigeria: a case study of activities, challenges and outcomes 2017-2020.

OBJECTIVES: Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) will become a major cause of blindness in Nigerian children unless screening and treatment services expand. This article aims to describe the collaborative activities undertaken to improve services for ROP between 2017 and 2020 as well as the outcome of these activities in Nigeria. DESIGN: Descriptive case study. SETTING: Neonatal intensive care units in Nigeria. PARTICIPANTS: Staff providing services for ROP, and 723 preterm infants screened for ROP who fulfilled screening criteria (gestational age <34 weeks or birth weight ≤2000 g, or sickness criteria). METHODS AND ANALYSIS: A WhatsApp group was initiated for Nigerian ophthalmologists and neonatologists in 2018. Members participated in a range of capacity-building, national and international collaborative activities between 2017 and 2018. A national protocol for ROP was developed for Nigeria and adopted in 2018; 1 year screening outcome data were collected and analysed. In 2019, an esurvey was used to collect service data from WhatsApp group members for 2017-2018 and to assess challenges in service provision. RESULTS: In 2017 only six of the 84 public neonatal units in Nigeria provided ROP services; this number had increased to 20 by 2018. Of the 723 babies screened in 10 units over a year, 127 (17.6%) developed any ROP; and 29 (22.8%) developed type 1 ROP. Only 13 (44.8%) babies were treated, most by intravitreal bevacizumab. The screening criteria were revised in 2020. Challenges included lack of equipment to regulate oxygen and to document and treat ROP, and lack of data systems. CONCLUSION: ROP screening coverage and quality improved after national and international collaborative efforts. To scale up and improve services, equipment for neonatal care and ROP treatment is urgently needed, as well as systems to monitor data. Ongoing advocacy is also essential

Box 2: Oversized

Weekly newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, including local, national, and international news, which served as the official newspaper of the Nation of Islam