Practical Steps in the Rehabilitation of Children with Speech and Language Impairment in Nigeria

Background: Medical and allied health professionals and educators are often the first point of contact for parents who are concerned with their child’s communication abilities. Because there are few speech-language pathologists in Nigeria, it becomes imperative for medical and educational professionals to provide practical steps and suggestions to parents to help facilitate their child’s speech and language development.Objective: To provide an overview of speech and language development and impairment and ultimately empower professionals with the practical steps to guide parents on ways to facilitate their child’s communication development.Method: Review of studies that have investigated methods of treating speech and language impairments was performed.Results: The practical steps and suggestions presented have been proven to be effective at facilitating children’s speech and language development.Conclusion: Medical and allied health professionals and educators should avail the parents with appropriate and effective information that would enable them to address their child’s speech and language impairment

Engendering Students’ Positive Attitude to Sustainable Life Style through “Green Biology” Instruction

The study investigated the effect of a” Green Biology” instruction, an environmental and sustainability responsive participatory instructional approach on students’ knowledge and altitude to sustainability life style strategies. Three research questions and one hypothesis were used to guide the study. A quasi-experimental research design was used. The sample of 169 Post Basic year one students formed the experimental and control groups. The pre and post tests were conducted on the two groups using a Sustainability Attitude Questionnaire (SSAQ) and the experimental group treated with “Green Biology” instruction.  Data analysis shows the” Green Biology” group showing significantly higher positive attitude towards sustainable life style strategies. It was recommended that seminars and workshops be organized to expose teachers to the “green” approach to instruction as a strategy for engendering sustainable life style in Nigeria youths. Keywords: sustainable life style, students’ attitude, Green Biology, instructio

Dimension Stone: Exploration and Exploitation in parts of Lokoja, North-Central Nigeria

The study area Lokoja is the home to the confluence between Rivers Niger and Benue. Dimension stone is cut or quarried stone in accordance with specific dimensions, generally more abundant and are used in greater quantities than ore minerals in pavement and several other constructional activities. The objective of the paper is to present prospects and a lead of rocks in Lokoja area for the production of dimension stone. The rocks in the area are being quarried as aggregates or mined as dimension stone and they met quality parameters of the rocks which includes, must be durable, easy to quarry, work, cut and polish. The particular stones selected depend upon the local weathering conditions which can be determined by amounts of industrial gases present and availability of the rocks locally. The rocks identified are marbles, granite gneisses, migmatites and biotite granites. The granites are being quarried for aggregates, marbles are powdered for cement production while migmatites and granite gneisses were mined for dimension stone.The results of Rock Strength (MPA), Rock Class Factor and Swell Factor are within acceptable standard limits except for migmatites with RS 36%, RCF 7% and SF 1.25%, which is above the limit when compared with previous analysis of AAV 22.0%, ACV23.3%, AIV18%and Absorption 0.54% in Boki area. The dimension stone were separated by more precise and delicate techniques, such as diamond wire saws, diamond belt saws, in the mine the cut dimension stone width are 1m, while many are rectangular in shape. They occur in the same geologic setting of the basement complex of Northcentral Nigeria. In the area investment has been at relatively low stage more investment will significantly increase production of the dimension stone for local usage, export and economic growth. Keywords:Dimension stone, durable, available, maintenance, migmatite, Lokoj

Performance of In Vitro Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) Plantlets Weaned with Locally Sourced Substrates

The performance of in vitro cassava plantlets weaned on different locally sourced substrates was evaluated. Nodal cuttings were excised from healthy six weeks old OG 001cassava variety in the culture room of tissue culture laboratory of National Root Crops Research Institute, Umudike, Abia State, Nigeria. The explants were washed, sterilized and cultured in vitro. The resulting plantlets were weaned on the following substrates - top soil (TS), river sand (RS), saw dust (SD), rice hull waste (RH), 2:1 top soil plus river sand (TS +RS), 2:1 river sand plus saw dust (RS + SD), 2:1 river sand plus rice husk (RS + RH), 2:1 top soil plus saw dust (TP + SD), 2:1 top soil plus rice husk (TP + RH), 2:1 saw dust plus rice husk (SD + RH) and 2:1 peat pellet plus vermiculite (PP + VE), which served as the control. Completely randomized design was used with ten replications. Results showed that plantlets weaned on PP + VE performed better than the other treatments at the end of the weaning period with significantly (P 0.05) highest survival rate (98%), plant vigour (2.6), number of leaves (5) and number of nodes (8). This was closely followed by RS with survival rate, plant vigour, number of leaves and nodes of 63%, 1.4, 1.7 and 3.5, respectively. Plantlets weaned on the other substrates performed poorly. Although plantlets weaned on peat pellet + vermiculite mixture out-performed the other substrates, river sand if properly handled could be a potential substitute for the conventional substrate in weaning cassava plantlets

Extent of Access to Health Information and Sources for Chronic Disease Patients in Tertiary Health Institutions in South East Nigeria: Implications for Libraries Role

Access to relevant health information is essential for helping people to take good decisions to enhance their health and well-being. The research examined the importance, level and sources of access to health information for patients with chronic diseases in two Federal Government Teaching Hospitals in South East Nigeria. The research is a cross-sectional survey that used questionnaire to collect data. Sample was 784 patients in two Federal Government Teaching Hospitals in South East Nigeria. Research questions focused on the importance of health information, extent of patients’ access to disease, coping and treatment information. Findings show that while large majority indicated high access to treatment information, about one third to half indicated little or no access to many aspects of disease – specific and coping information. Major source of health information were health professionals. Internet, books, newspapers, pamphlets were also sources of health information. Health information providers can consider areas of low information access for possible focus when planning health information disseminating activities. For medical and public libraries in the zone, sequel to building good consumer health information collections, they should extend their services by engaging in outreach programmes to their user communities. This will serve the dual purpose of creating awareness of their collections and also improve access to quality health information to patients with chronic diseases

Bank Consolidation and Bank Risk Taking Behaviour: A Panel Study of Commercial Banks in Nigeria

This paper investigates the impact of bank recapitalization on the risk taking attitude of commercial banks in Nigeria. We employed panel data model in the analyses and the results show that increase in bank capital promotes bank stability. The results also reveal that excessive provisions for bad loans may be an indication that a large part of bank credit is nonperforming and this affects bank’s stability adversely. The results further indicate that growth in size is an important determinant of credit risk alongside large capital, although growth in size of banks has a nonlinear effect on bank stability. We found that the consolidation period was followed by abnormal increases in bank lending, indicating the existence of moral hazard problem.  Our findings suggest that increase in capital base should also be matched with effective regulations to prevent moral hazard problem from dampening the positive effect of capital reforms on bank stability. Keywords: recapitalisation, merger, consolidation, reforms, risk-takin

Coping Strategies of Teenagers with Bereavement of Parent in Nnewi, Anambra State Nigeria

This study focused on how teenagers cope socially with bereavement of parent. Two research questions and two hypotheses guided the study. The design used was descriptive survey. A sample of 393 (155 males and 238 females) aged between 12-19 years was selected purposively from Secondary Schools in Nnewi Education Zone of Anambra State, Nigeria. The researchers designed questionnaire “Coping with bereavement of parent by teenagers (CBPT)” was validated and used for collecting data. The data was analyzed using mean, standard deviation and t-test. Some social coping strategies such as were identified. Age and gender did not make any significant difference in the teenagers’ choice of coping strategies. It was recommended that school counsellors expose bereaved teenagers to different strategies of coping socially with bereavement of parent. Keywords: Bereavement, Parent, Teenagers, Social, Coping Strategies

Incidence and Pattern of Retinal Detachment in a Tertiary Eye Hospital in Nigeria

Objectives: The aim was to determine the hospital incidence, pattern and clinical presentation of retinal detachment at the Guinness Eye Center, Onitsha, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: Case files of all retinal detachment patients seen at the Guinness Eye Center Onitsha between June 1997 and May 2012 were reviewed. Information on age, gender, symptoms duration, type and anatomic location of detachment, presenting visual acuity, and predisposing factors were analyzed. Results: A total of 93 patients (99 eyes) were seen with a male preponderance (M:F = 2:1) and age range 10–89 years; median ‑ 61 years; mode ‑ 55 years; incidence ‑ 0.13%. Rhegmatogenous retinal detachment comprised 93.6%. Symptoms duration was 5 days to 8 years; median ‑ 9 months; mode ‑ 6 months. All the affected eyes had low vision with 79.8% blind; of the unaffected eyes, 40.2% had low vision with 24.7% being blind. Trauma was the precipitating factor in 33 (35.5%) patients. Proliferative vitreoretinopathy, 19 (19.2%) eyes, and lattice degeneration, 13 (13.1) eyes, were the commonest ocular risk factors. Common ocular co‑morbidities in the affected eyes were cataract, 13 (13.1%) eyes; uveitis, 9 (9.1%) and glaucoma, 6 (6.1%) eyes. Supero‑temporal, subtotal and total detachment constituted 84.8%; the macula was detached in 91.4%. The tears in eyes with rhegmatogenous detachment ranged from 1 to 6, with 51 (54.8%) having multiple tears. 10 (10.8%) eyes had giant tears; 6 (6.5%) had dialysis and 3 (3.2%) had coexisting macula holes; in 73.1% the tears were located in the superior retina. Conclusions: Retinal detachment incidence is low in our hospital; most patients presented late with severe visual loss. A community‑based study will provide more information on the magnitude of the problem. Education of the public on retinal detachment symptoms, the predisposing/precipitating factors and the need for early reporting to hospital are required.Keywords: Incidence, Nigeria, pattern, retinal detachmen

Thermodynamic optimization tools for power tracking in a multistage concentrated solar power Rankine plant

Abstract: The object of the study is to present a method of thermodynamic optimization of power generating plants, in a mode that consolidates and simplifies the analysis of data on heat-work interaction of the plant components. The optimization scheme identifies the technical and process parameters that can improve the thermodynamic performance of the plant with respect to an objective variable, and further, the required thermodynamic measures necessary to improve the operating condition of the plant. Simple but effective tools are used to evaluate the optimal and suboptimal power generating capacities vis-à-vis the fundamental variables—namely, the thermodynamic quantity ratio (TQR) and the power-energy quantity ratio (PQR)—without routing optimization procedures. Beyond the optimal value of the objective variable, the power generation capacity of the plant is affected. The determination of the optimal value of the objective variable can also be approached by computerization; for fixed prescriptions of the boiler, superheater, and turbine parameters, variables such as boiler pressure and temperature can be optimally selected. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)EY.1943-7897.0000367. © 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers

Dimensionless heat transfer correlations for estimating edge heat loss in a flat plate absorber

Data obtained from heat transfer relations discretized with the finite element method were used in developing dimensionless correlations, which led to determining prediction equations for the average edge temperature of a flat plate absorber. For a prescribed flux, if parameters like the incident radiation intensity, edge insulation thermal conductivity and ambient temperature are known, the value of the edge temperature variable is immediately determined. A range of edge-to-absorptive area ratios is considered, as well as the effects of the edge insulation on enhancing thermal performance. Notably, the edge loss is high in absorbers with high edge-to-absorptive area ratios and ambient conditions with low ha and Ta. In extreme operating conditions, however, the loss can be employed of a high proportion. As a result, prediction equations are obtained, which can be employed in design and simulation so as to minimize useful energy losses and thereby improve efficiencyhttp://link.springer.com/journal/11823ai201