Perception and Adaptation to Climate Change among Artisanal Fishermen in Fishing Communities along Anambra River Nigeria

Climate change is threatening the attainment of self-sufficiency in fish production in Nigeria. As a result, artisanal fishermen are developing adaptation practices that will reduce their vulnerability to climate change. The study therefore investigated perceptions and adaptation behavior of climate change among Artisanal Fishermen in Fishing Communities along Anambra River in South East Nigeria. The study adopted multistage sampling technique to select 240 Artisanal Fishermen. The results showed that the mean age of Artisanal Fishermen was 50 years and household size of 4 persons, with 52.5% married. On average, the Artisanal Fishermen have spent about 15 years. Majority (85%) of the respondents have formal education.  Also, majority of the Artisanal Fishermen had access to credit for male (67.5%). Furthermore the result revealed that Artisanal Fishermen ()  were aware of the occurrence of climate change and the most widely used adaptation practice of the Artisanal Fishermen were changing of Diversification of livelihoods (), Information dissemination (), Improved housing (), Financial Support () and Community representative in disaster management (). Ordinary least Square regression result factors influencing adaptation behavior of climate change among artisanal fishermen in fishing communities along Anambra river Nigeria with an R2  value of 88.3% shows that marital status (5%), member of cooperative society (10%) and extension services (1%) were positively related to number of mitigation strategies used by artisanal fishermen in fishing communities, while household size (1%) was significant and negative. The study therefore, recommends that extension workers should be continuously trained and educated on current information about climate change to enable them enlighten and disseminate to fish farmers. This will enable update and synchronization of ideas with the Artisanal Fishermen

Anti-diarrhoeal potential of the ethanol extract of Gongronema latifolium leaves in rats

The leaves of Gongronema latifolium is used in Nigeria for the treatment of diarrhoea and thus, the phytochemical constituents as well as the acute toxicity of the ethanol extract of the leaves of G. latifolium and its effects [at graded doses of 200, 400 and 600 mg/kg body weight (b.w)] against castor oil-induced diarrhoea models in rats were evaluated. The parameters used for the evaluation of the castor oil-induced diarrhoea were: reductions in the wetness of faeces and rate of defaecation. To further understand the probable mechanisms of its anti-diarrhoeal action, its effects were evaluated on gastro-intestinal motility and castor oil-induced enteropooling. The phytochemical screening of the ethanol extract of the leaves of G. latifolium revealed the presence of saponins, tannins, alkaloids, flavonoids, glycosides and cardiac glycosides. The ethanol extract of the leaves of G. latifolium at the tested doses caused significant (p<0.05) dose-dependent reductions of castor oil-induced diarrhoea, gastro-intestinal motility and castor oil-induced enteropooling in the treated rats. The results were comparable with those of the standard anti-diarrhoeal drug, atropine sulphate (2.5 mg/kg b.w). The extract was found to be non-toxic even at a dose as high as 5000 mg/kg b.w. The results indicate that the ethanol extract of the leaves of G. latifolium contains compounds with anti-diarrhoeal effect and may possibly originate an anti-diarrhoeal drug in time to come.Keywords: Gongronema latifolium, diarrhoea, castor oil and atropine sulphateAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(27), pp. 4399-440

Effect of Working Capital Management on Profitability of Flour Mills of Nigeria PLC

The study investigated the effect of working capital management on the profitability of Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc. Specifically the study sought to determine the extent to which Number of Days of Accounts Receivable; Number of Days of Inventory; and Number of Days of Accounts Payable affect Gross Profit Margin (GPM) of Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc. The study was anchored on Trade-off theory of capital structure. The study adopted co relational descriptive non-experimental research design approach based on data derived from the past annual reports of Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc. Data collected was analyzed using Pearson correlation technique via the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 20. The study reports a positive and significant influence of Number of Days of Accounts Receivable; Number of Days of Inventory; and Number of Days of Account Payable on gross profit margin (GPM) of Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc. The implication of the result which showed a positive impact of working capital management variables on gross profit margin of FMN indicates that the longer the number of days it takes a firm to be paid for sales made and inventory held, the less profit it is expected to make. The study recommended that Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc should be very apt in reducing the number of days of account receivables and inventories to a reasonable minimum in order to boost profitability.Keywords: Working capital, Profitability, Accounts receivable, Accounts payable, Inventory, Flour mills, Nigeria

Exploring the ethical dilemmas of afro-centric social media use through agent-based modeling: A review

Social media (SM) has become indispensable for individuals and workplaces/organizations in Africa and beyond. Therein, ethical concerns are posed due to the inability to create virtual boundaries (VM), the intractability of guidelines for managers and other unintended risks/con­sequences. Operations research was used for modeling ethical concerns but have been defeated due to reasons of several ethical values and various assessment criteria for stakeholders. Conse­quently, this review paper initially x-rays the import of ethical dilemmas in older studies so as to conceive a strategy characterized by engaging stakeholders that utilize SM via Agent-Based Modeling (ABM), in such a manner that ethics can be evaluated. Additionally, it presented the rudiments of social media ABM explorations and the peculiarities of Africa. Finally, the review provided a suitable methodology and sheds light on the possible challenges of ABM implementation. Besides the benefit of increased patronage, the agent technology may also constitute a pedagogical tool for learning ethical behavior. Moreover, it is our hope that with the involvement of experts of related disciplines in Africa, attendant theories are formalized and used for building agent models that allows ethical decision making, weighing of pros and cons, analyzing differences and dimensions inherent in VM creation

Effect of aqueous ginger (Zingiber officinale) extract on sperm quality and haematology in lead acetate-treated male albino rats

Purpose: To evaluate the ameliorative effects of aqueous ginger extract on sperm quality and haematology in lead acetate-treated male albino rats.Methods: Twenty-four male albino rats used for this study were randomly assigned to four groups (n = 6). Group 1 was the normal control. Lead acetate (4 mg/kg) was given to group 2 for 6 weeks. Lead acetate (4 mg/kg) and ginger (300 mg/kg) were given to group 4 simultaneously for 6  weeks, while group 4 was given lead acetate (4 mg/kg) for 6 weeks, and then, ginger (300 mg/kg) for another 6 weeks. Haematological parameters, including packed cell volume (PCV), white blood cell (WBC) and red blood cell (RBC) counts, hemoglobin (Hb) concentration, and differential  leukocyte count were evaluated in blood obtained from the retrobulbal plexus of the rats.Results: Sperm motility and viability were markedly lower (p < 0.05) in group 2, in comparison to groups 1 and 3, while sperm motility and viability in group 3 were similar, but differed from group 1 (p < 0.05). The sperm motility and sperm viability of groups 4 and 2 were comparable.  Haematological profile showed a marked reduction in the RBC of rats in group 2, when compared to those in groups 1 and 3. The WBC of group 2 was significantly higher than those of groups 1, 3 and 4 (p < 0.05).Conclusion: The results indicate that aqueous ginger extract has the potential to protect sperm quality and haematology in lead acetate treated male rats. Keywords: Ginger, Lead acetate, Sperm quality, Haematolog

Impact of Financial Development Indicators on Economic Growth In Nigeria, 1980 – 2013

An empirical investigation of the impact of financial development on economic growth in Nigeria was carried out in this paper by employing co integration test and VECM, using the data of annual time series for the period 1980 – 2013. The findings reveal the existence of 3 co integrating vectors which show a long run relationship among the variables. The VEC results show that the ratio of broad money supply to GDP and ratio of domestic credit to private sector to GDP have no significant impact on economic growth in Nigeria. The results suggest that economic growth can be enhanced through increases in ratio of broad money supply to GDP and ratio of domestic credit to private sector to GDP. Thus, if the objective of a policy is to sustain a high rate of economic growth in Nigeria, priority should be given to the development of financial sector. This paper finds support to “supply-leading” (i.e “finance- led growth”) economic growth. Keywords: Broad money supply, domestic credit, Economic growth, VECM, Finance-led growth

Evidence-based nutritional guidelines : what is meant by trustworthy recommendations

The article aims to describe the characteristics of trustworthy recommendations as well as standards for trustworthy guidelines published by the Institute of Medicine and tools that can be used for quality assessment. The next section summarizes published assessments of guidelines quality using AGREE (Appraisal of Guidelines, Research and Evaluation) Instrument and the problems raised by the National Academy of Sciences regarding the development process of nutritional guidelines. Similar problems are also reflected in the assessment of quality of dietary guides, since less than 50?% of the documents were rated as high quality. The article is concluded with the description of the NutriRECS protocol, as an example of a strict, transparent and comprehensive approach to draw up nutritional guidance

Soil Fertility of Tropical Intensively Managed Forage System for Grazing Cattle in Brazil

In Brazil the predominant beef and dairy cattle production systems are based mostly on grazing and rely on native and cultivated pastures, which are grazed by continuous stocking all year round and are the main source of animal feed