Professional Development and Experience as Determinants of Counselling Perceived Effectiveness among Selected School Counsellors in Southwestern, Nigeria

Counseling must have existed in one form or another since the very beginning of human civilization. Man must have sought comfort, help and solace from the family and close associates. Children were brought up in a neatly woven relationship of the extended family in African Traditional Societies. The society had counselors who included aunts, uncles, and grandparents. However the home as one avenue of instilling sex education is challenged by modern constraints such as shattered cultural basis of child upbringing, rising standards of living, economic constraints, and inadequate family guidance and counseling, child headed homes, wars, tribal clashes, cattle rustling, displacement and moral conflict. The purpose of this study was to investigate professional development and experience as determinants of counselling perceived effectiveness among selected school counsellors in Southwestern, Nigeria.Descriptive research design of ex-post-facto type was used in the study. Five hundred (500) respondents were selected from secondary schools in selected five States (i.e, Ogun States, Osun States, Oyo States, Lagos States and Ekiti States) in Southwestern, Nigeria. The respondents were measured with relevant standardized scales strong reliability coefficient and the data obtained was analyzed using Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) and Multiple Regression statistical analysis of the Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS). Three research hypotheses and two research questions were raised and answered in the study.The result showed that counselling effectiveness is significantly correlated with professional development (r = .623; p<.05) and experience (r= .833; p<.05), independent variables when pulled together have significant contribution to on the counsellors’ perceived effectiveness (R (adjusted) =.719 and R2 (adjusted) =.893) and each of the independent variables made a significant contribution to the prediction of counsellors’ perceived effectiveness. In term of magnitude of contribution, professional development made the most significant contribution (Beta= .813; t= 1.094; P<0.05) to the prediction follow by experience (Beta= .608; t= 6.129; P<0.05). On the strength of these findings, it was stressed and advocated that the schools should develop enabling environment for counsellors’ need and development, the enlightenment of counsellors in the school on the need to improve their professional development, because this has a great impact in their perceived effectiveness and the parents/guardians also need to be trained on the need to monitor the students and give adequate emotional caring for them. This will help in complementing the efforts of counselors to materialize in the school. . Keywords: Professional Development, Experience, Counselling Perceived Effectiveness, School Counsellor

Gender, School Climate and Job Satisfaction as Correlates of Job Absenteeism among Selected Secondary School Teachers in Osun State, Nigeria

Absenteeism has long been considered a significant and pervasive problem in industries and schools. As a result, theories have been developed and numerous studies conducted to identify the causes of absenteeism. Probably one of the most common theories is the notion that absenteeism is caused by employees avoiding a painful or dissatisfying work situation. Although it is recognized that absenteeism may be caused by the employee's inability to come to work, motivation to attend work is assumed to be a major factor determining how often an employee is absent. To many in the world of work, absenteeism is one of those stubborn problems for which there is no clear culprit and no easy cure. The purpose of this study was to investigate gender, school climate and job satisfaction as correlates of job absenteeism among selected secondary school teachers in Osun State, Nigeria.Descriptive research design of ex-post-facto type was used in the study. Four hundred (400) respondents were selected from Local Governments in Osun State, Nigeria. The respondents were measured with relevant standardized scales strong reliability coefficient and the data obtained was analyzed using Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) and Multiple Regression statistical analysis of the Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS). Three research hypotheses and two research questions were raised and answered in the study. The result showed that teachers’ absenteeism is significantly correlated with gender (r = .561; p<.05), school climate (r = .495; p<.05) and job satisfaction (r= .784; p<.05), independent variables when pulled together have significant contribution to teachers’ absenteeism (R (adjusted) =.592 & R2 (adjusted) =.582) and each of the independent variables made a significant contribution to the prediction of teachers’ absenteeism (school climate made the most significant contribution (Beta= .612; t= 2.542; P<0.05) follow by job satisfaction (Beta= .268; t= 3.471; P<0.05) and gender (Beta= .056; t= 1.071; P<0.05).  On the strength of these findings, it was stressed and advocated that public and private schools should endeavour to provide enabling environment for the teachers, school management also should motivate their teacher and give attractive welfare packages to enhance their job satisfaction, because their level of job satisfaction has significant influence on teachers’ job absenteeism in the school. Keywords: Gender, School Climate, Job Satisfaction and Job Absenteeis

Letter to Editor COVID-19 outbreak and medical waste: Challenge in hand

The ongoing pandemic of  novel coronavirus disease, COVID19, which first reported in Wuhan, China, inDecember 2019, [1] and caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARSCoV2) has resulted to more than 6,881,352 confirmed cases in the world, and 399,895 global deaths, as reported in 8:36am CEST, 8 June 2020. [2] It has been reported that the primary spread of COVID-19 via human transmission is during close contact, most often through small droplets spread by coughing, sneezing, and talking. [3] Researchers and health experts have discovered that wearing of appropriate face masks can significantly reduce the transmission up to the 75%

Exhaust Hydrocarbon Emission Concentration Level in Abeokuta Metropolis, Ogun State, Nigeria: A Case Study of Commercial Motorcycles (Okada)

Transportation, especially the use of 2-stroke motorcycles has been a key contributor to air pollutants, hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide alike, mostly in the developing countries. High rate of unemployment amongst the teeming youth population in Nigeria have led to the use of differen

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

INTRODUCTION Investment in Africa over the past year with regard to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing has led to a massive increase in the number of sequences, which, to date, exceeds 100,000 sequences generated to track the pandemic on the continent. These sequences have profoundly affected how public health officials in Africa have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. RATIONALE We demonstrate how the first 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Africa have helped monitor the epidemic on the continent, how genomic surveillance expanded over the course of the pandemic, and how we adapted our sequencing methods to deal with an evolving virus. Finally, we also examine how viral lineages have spread across the continent in a phylogeographic framework to gain insights into the underlying temporal and spatial transmission dynamics for several variants of concern (VOCs). RESULTS Our results indicate that the number of countries in Africa that can sequence the virus within their own borders is growing and that this is coupled with a shorter turnaround time from the time of sampling to sequence submission. Ongoing evolution necessitated the continual updating of primer sets, and, as a result, eight primer sets were designed in tandem with viral evolution and used to ensure effective sequencing of the virus. The pandemic unfolded through multiple waves of infection that were each driven by distinct genetic lineages, with B.1-like ancestral strains associated with the first pandemic wave of infections in 2020. Successive waves on the continent were fueled by different VOCs, with Alpha and Beta cocirculating in distinct spatial patterns during the second wave and Delta and Omicron affecting the whole continent during the third and fourth waves, respectively. Phylogeographic reconstruction points toward distinct differences in viral importation and exportation patterns associated with the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants and subvariants, when considering both Africa versus the rest of the world and viral dissemination within the continent. Our epidemiological and phylogenetic inferences therefore underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic on the continent and highlight key insights and challenges, for instance, recognizing the limitations of low testing proportions. We also highlight the early warning capacity that genomic surveillance in Africa has had for the rest of the world with the detection of new lineages and variants, the most recent being the characterization of various Omicron subvariants. CONCLUSION Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve. This is important not only to help combat SARS-CoV-2 on the continent but also because it can be used as a platform to help address the many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats in Africa. In particular, capacity building for local sequencing within countries or within the continent should be prioritized because this is generally associated with shorter turnaround times, providing the most benefit to local public health authorities tasked with pandemic response and mitigation and allowing for the fastest reaction to localized outbreaks. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century

Food insecurity and associated factors among households with under-5 children in slum communities in Ibadan, Nigeria

Abstract Introduction Food insecurity is a leading cause of childhood morbidity and mortality. This study assessed the prevalence of household food insecurity and its associated factors among under-5 children in Ibadan, Nigeria. Methods This was a cross-sectional household survey of 1,027 under-5 children and their caregivers in urban and rural slums in Ibadan. We used an electronic interviewer-administered, semi-structured questionnaire adapted from the Nigeria Demographic Health Survey and Household Food Insecurity Access Scale was used to report sociodemo-economic characteristics, food insecurity, and anthropometric measurement. The household food insecurity scale consisted of nine questions graded from 0 (Never) to 3 (Often) computed to determine the presence of food insecurity. Nutrition indices were computed, and the results were classified according to World Health Organization 2006 cut-off points. Chi-square tests were used to assess associations between food insecurity and the independent variables. Binary logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify the predictors of food insecurity (α = 0.05). Results The mean ages of the caregivers and under-5 children were 31.7 ± 7.47 years and 34.49 ± 15.8 months respectively. Overall, 530 (51.7%) children were females, and 765 (74.5%) had normal weight for height. In all, 195 (19.0%) households had food insecurity, while 832 (81.0%) households had food security (Chi-square = 103.364, p = < 0.001). Under-5 children living in urban slums were seven times more likely to experience household food insecurity compared to those in rural slums (AOR = 6.859, 95%CI = 4.524–10.509, p = < 0.001). Discussion Household food insecurity was more prevalent in urban slums. Strengthening of the school health program would help identify children with nutritional deficits, and improve the overall health status of children living in slum communities

Microporous metal-organic frameworks based on deep eutectic solvents for adsorption of toxic gases and volatile organic compounds: A review

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) belonging to porous 2- or 3-dimensional materials have shown promising potential with wide use in different multidisciplinary fields because they possess remarkable structural properties which confer on them tunable functionalities coupled with excellent morphologies and topologies. Different syntheses approaches have been designed and developed for the preparation of various MOF derivatives. However, unique solvents such as deep eutectic solvents (DESs) have been extensively studied recently because they can serve as essential precursors for preparing many novels and sophisticated composite materials where environmental benign processes are required. These green solvents are gaining serious attention as a templating agent for the facile, direct mixing, and/or ionothermal synthesis of MOFs because they synthesize easily, production is less expensive, and possess effective control of particle morphologies, pore sizes, and shapes, which have been reported to have significant influence in their adsorptive functions. Thus, this review highlights the progress in the development of DES-based MOFs bearing tunable functionalities and their applications for the adsorption of toxic gaseous pollutants

Effect of Amino Functionality on the Uptake of Cationic Dye by Titanium-Based Metal Organic Frameworks

Titanium-based metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), named MIL-125 and NH₂-MIL-125, have been successfully synthesized by the hydrothermal method. They were specially designed for the application of methylene blue (MB) removal from aqueous solution. The maximum adsorption capacity of MB was found to be 321.39 mg/g and 405.61 mg/g. The amount of dye that has been adsorbed 99.9% was 300 ppm within 20 and 120 intervals of time. The results show that NH₂-MIL-125 is more effective in terms of both selectivity and capacity for the adsorption of MB cationic dye compared with MIL-125. The high adsorption selectivity was due to the unique electrostatic interaction between the amino groups of the dye molecules and NH₂-MIL-125 but, on the other hand, owing to the more negative zeta potential (−32.4 mV), resulted from the charge balance for the protonation of −NH₂. Moreover, reaction parameters including exposure time, adsorbent dose (0.02–0.05 mg), initial dye concentration (100–500 mg/L), and temperature were studied in detail. The adsorption processes in the two MOFs were determined to follow a pseudo-second-order pathway and obey a Langmuir isotherm model. Furthermore, the reaction was found to be spontaneous in nature yet thermodynamically an endothermic process. Characterization and structural analysis of the samples were evaluated by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometry, N₂ adsorption/desorption (BET), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and zeta potential

Recent advances in heterogeneous catalysis for green biodiesel production by transesterification

Heterogeneous catalysis has provided a viable alternative to homogeneous catalysis for the production of lowcost biodiesel fuel, overcoming the constraints of homogeneous catalysis. In recent years, there have been numerous breakthroughs in the development of high-efficiency and cost-effective heterogeneous-based catalysts for catalytic transesterification of triglycerides (oil or fat) to biodiesel. Because of its simplicity and low cost, the heterogeneously catalyzed transesterification reaction has long been considered the most feasible biodiesel synthesis method. The intrinsic features of nine types of heterogeneous catalysts, including heteropolyacid, zeolite, hydrotalcite, carbon and waste materials, metal, metal oxide, enzyme, and ion exchange resins, which are commonly used in today's biodiesel research, have been studied in detail. Emphasis is placed on versatile catalysts with high-activity and low production cost as they make biodiesel production more practical, efficient and sustainable. Key parameters that influence the activity of heterogeneous catalysts as well as challenges and opportunities that could motivate future exploration are also highlighted