Diverse co-teaching: a one-step strategy for assessment, integration, collegiality, transformation, professional and personal growth for the university community

Dr. Fry Dr. Odunuga Dr. Fry and Dr. Odunuga are two very different people. Yet the two share a passion for teaching chemistry and a desire to bring out the best in their students. Since 2016 the two have co-taught chemistry lectures and laboratories, and in this presentation they share their experiences and the benefits of diverse co-teaching. Diverse co-teaching naturally provides students, faculty and staff with a transformational experience, and serves as a universal platform for integrating various groups, promoting collegiality and performing assessment. Summarized below are some items of the transformation that each audience within the university may experience from diverse co-teaching. Faculty How to effectively provide transformational experiences for our students. How diverse co-teaching makes you more aware of how students perceive you. How co-teaching makes your life less stressful and more fun. Students The advantages of listening to, & learning from, people who are different than you. The benefits of having a diverse set of friends/colleagues. How to choose friends who will help you. The University Community How genuine friendships propel both professional & personal growth. The inherent value gained from a diverse community working towards common goals. Respect for all people is fundamental requirement in our society

Physicochemical assessment and bacteriological studies of hand-dug wells of major markets in south western, Nigeria

Rapid population in developing nations has imposed stress on groundwater resources, thus the need to assess physicochemical and bacteriological impact of microbes on hand-dug wells along some major markets in Ibadan Southwestern Nigeria. Water samples from hand-dug wells were measured sequentially, and total dissolved solute (TDS), pH, electrical conductivity (EC), salinity, and temperature were measured in situ. Water samples were analyzed at a Microbiology Laboratory. Most probable techniques used for micro-organism analysis were in three stages: presumptive test used for confirmation of Escherichia coli, confirmed test for total viable bacteria count (TVBC), and complete test to reconfirm the presence of coliform. Presumptive test showed high rate of E. coli in most of the hand-dug wells with (37.5 %). Confirmed test revealed Staphylococcus aureus to be 25 %, followed by Proteus vulgaris (14.6 %), Bacillus species (12.5 %), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (8.3 %), and Klebsiella spp. (2.1 %) respectively. Total viable bacteria counts are 500 to 192,000. Physicochemical results (total dissolved solute (TDS), pH, electrical conductivity (EC), salinity, temperature) when compared with WHO (2006) and SON (2007) revealed all the parameters to be within the permissible limits except pH (5.8 to 9.56), and high values of the parameters were caused by organic matter. High E. coli in the study area revealed influence of human and animal fecal that coul

Comparison of gene expression during in vivo and in vitro postnatal retina development

Retina explants are widely used as a model of neural development. To define the molecular basis of differences between the development of retina in vivo and in vitro during the early postnatal period, we carried out a series of microarray comparisons using mouse retinas. About 75% of 8,880 expressed genes from retina explants kept the same expression volume and pattern as the retina in vivo. Fewer than 6% of the total gene population was changed at two consecutive time points, and only about 1% genes showed more than a threefold change at any time point studied. Functional Gene Ontology (GO) mapping for both changed and unchanged genes showed similar distribution patterns, except that more genes were changed in the GO clusters of response to stimuli and carbohydrate metabolism. Three distinct expression patterns of genes preferentially expressed in rod photoreceptors were observed in the retina explants. Some genes showed a lag in increased expression, some showed no change, and some continued to have a reduced level of expression. An early downregulation of cyclin D1 in the explanted retina might explain the reduction in numbers of precursors in explanted retina and suggests that external factors are required for maintenance of cyclin D1. The global view of gene profiles presented in this study will help define the molecular changes in retina explants over time and will provide criteria to define future changes that improve this model system

Hsp70 chaperones: Cellular functions and molecular mechanism

Hsp70 proteins are central components of the cellular network of molecular chaperones and folding catalysts. They assist a large variety of protein folding processes in the cell by transient association of their substrate binding domain with short hydrophobic peptide segments within their substrate proteins. The substrate binding and release cycle is driven by the switching of Hsp70 between the low-affinity ATP bound state and the high-affinity ADP bound state. Thus, ATP binding and hydrolysis are essential in vitro and in vivo for the chaperone activity of Hsp70 proteins. This ATPase cycle is controlled by co-chaperones of the family of J-domain proteins, which target Hsp70s to their substrates, and by nucleotide exchange factors, which determine the lifetime of the Hsp70-substrate complex. Additional co-chaperones fine-tune this chaperone cycle. For specific tasks the Hsp70 cycle is coupled to the action of other chaperones, such as Hsp90 and Hsp100

Shifting livelihood strategies in northern Nigeria - extensified production and livelihood diversification amongst Fulani pastoralists

Abstract This paper presents an in-depth investigation of the livelihood strategies of Fulani pastoralists in north central Nigeria. Results show a diversified crop-livestock system aimed at spreading risk and reducing cattle offtake, adapted to natural resource competition and insecurity by extensification, with further diversification into off-farm activities to spread risk, increase livelihood security and capture opportunities. However, significant costs were associated with extensification, and integration of crop and livestock enterprises was limited. Mean total income per capita in the study area was $554 or$1.52/person/day with 42% of households earning less than 1.25/person/day. Income levels were positively correlated with income diversity and price received per animal sold, rather than herd size. The outcomes of this livelihood strategy were favourable across the whole community, but when individual households are considered, there was evidence of moderate economic inequality in total income, cash income and herd size (Gini coefficient 0.32, 0.35 and 0.43 respectively). The poorest households were quite vulnerable, with low assets, income and income diversity. Implications for sustainability are discussed given the likelihood that the negative trends of reduced access to natural resources and insecurity will continue

Climate, runoff and landuse trends in the Owo River Catchment in Nigeria

The Owo River is an important surface water source in Lagos particularly to the western section. It is the source of direct water intake for water supply by Lagos State Water Corporation to Amuwo-Odofin, Ojo and parts of Badagry Local Government Areas. This paper examines the complex interactions and feedbacks between many variables and processes within that catchment and analyses the future ability of this semi-urban watershed in sustaining water supply in the face of cumulative environmental change. Stationarity analysis on rainfall, change detection analysis and morphometry analysis were combined to analyse the non-stationarity of Owo River catchment. On rainfall trend analysis, since the correlation coefficient (0.38) with test statistic of 2.17 did not satisfy the test condition we concluded that there is trend and that rainfall in the watershed is not stationary. The dominant land use impacting on the bio-geochemical fluxes is built up area (including structures and paved surfaces) which grew from about 142.92 km2 (12.20%) in 1984 to 367.22 km2 (31.36%) in 2013 recording gain of 224.3 km2 at average growth rate of 7.73 km2 per annum. Total length of streams within the catchment reduced from 622.24 km in 1964 to 556 km in 2010, while stream density reduced from 0.53 in 1964 to 0.47 in 2010 an indication of shrinking hydrological network. The observed trends in both natural and anthropogenic processes indicated non-stationarity of the hydrological fluxes within the Catchment and if this continues, the urban ecosystem services of water supply will be compromised

Water, energy and agricultural landuse trends at Shiroro hydropower station and environs

The study examines the interplay among water resources, hydropower generation and agricultural landuse at the Shiroro hydropower station and its environs, in north-central Nigeria. Non-parametric trend analysis, hydropower footprint estimation, reservoir performance analysis, change detection analysis, and inferential statistics were combined to study the water-energy and food security nexus. Results of Mann–Kendall test and Sen's slope estimator for the period 1960 to 2013 showed a declining rainfall trend at Jos, around River Kaduna headwaters at −2.6 mm yr−1, while rainfall at Kaduna and Minna upstream and downstream of the reservoir respectively showed no trend. Estimates of hydropower footprint varied between 130.4 and 704.1 m3 GJ−1 between 1995 and 2013. Power generation reliability and resilience of the reservoir was 31.6 and 38.5 % respectively with year 2011 being the most vulnerable and least satisfactory. In addition to poor reliability and resilience indices, other challenges militating against good performance of hydropower generation includes population growth and climate change issues as exemplified in the downward trend observed at the headwaters. Water inflow and power generation shows a weak positive relationship with correlation coefficient (r) of 0.48, indicating less than optimal power generation. Total area of land cultivated increased from 884.59 km2 in 1986 prior to the commissioning of the hydropower station to 1730.83 km2 in 2016 which signifies an increased contribution of the dam to ensuring food security. The reality of reducing upstream rainfall amount coupled with high water footprint of electricity from the reservoir, therefore requires that a long term roadmap to improve operational coordination and management have to be put in place