Human Capital Development in Science and Technology Education: Challenges and New Responsibilities of the Teacher

Abstract The importance of science and technology education cannot be over-emphasized. Human capital development in science and technology education is the gateway to a scientific, technological, and progressive society. It is also the very bedrock upon which modern and advanced nations are based. However, science was featured in a few secondary and teacher training schools in Nigeria between 1859 and 1929. The major subjects taught in the schools were astronomy, chemistry, physiology, geology, and botany. These were later systematized and then changed first to Nature Study and later General Science. Training of technology education teachers in Nigeria started in 1962 with the establishment of the Department of Vocational Teacher Education at the University of Nigeria-Nsukka under the supervision of Michigan State University (USA) at its formative years. Human capital development in science and technology education is faced with a lot of challenges such as retraining of science and technology teachers, dearth of qualified technology trainers, and inadequate funding among others. This paper addressed how these challenges could be forestalled for successful implementation of human capital development and also the new responsibilities of the teachers for science and technology education in Nigeria

Technical and economic appraisal for harnessing a proposed hybrid energy system nexus for power generation and CO2 mitigation in Cross River State, Nigeria

By creating hybrid energy systems and obtaining a framework that equally satisfies a continuous operation for renewable energy technology, this study presents renewable and sustainable energy options as an integral method to energy transitioning from non-renewable to renewable energy utilization in Cross River State, Nigeria. For a needed load of 2424.25 kWh/day in Cross River State, this study focused on proposing a designed hybrid energy system (HES) nexus, mitigating CO2, and appraisal of the technical and economic viability. To accomplish this, HOMER software was utilized in simulating the ideal components that suggested a HES nexus. The software enabled the selection of the optimal HES using various renewable energy sources since it predicts future electrical demand, wind speed, solar irradiation, and temperature. Economic results obtained showed that the proposed HES's Levelized cost of energy (LCOE), net present cost (NPC), and operating cost (OC) were $0.89/kWh,$10,138,702 and $134,084.37 respectively. Further technical appraisal showed that the renewable energy conversion systems (RECs) make up 78.74% of the proposed HES. The photovoltaic (PV) arrays were primarily responsible for the hybrid energy system's electricity output. The annual electrical energy output was 1,984,111kWh (89.4%), produced by the PV arrays. The generic fuel cell produced the least, at 29,957kWh/year, accounting for just 1.35% of the total electricity produced. However, the wind power plant produced 205,365kWh/year annually. Furthermore, comparing the HES with diesel-powered generators, the system achieves a net-zero carbon emission status. Therefore, it has proven to be the most reliable energy as it will solve the problem of energy demand and reduces carbon emissions in Cross River State, Nigeri

Transient Stability Analysis of Nigeria 330kv Power System Network Using Numerical Method: A Case Study of Calabar, Alaoji and Afam 330kv Network

Instability constitutes part of the major challenges in the power system industry as a result of the increase in the complexity of power system networks. Electric energy demand keeps increasing while the expansion of electrical power generation and transmission is faced with severe challenges due to some factors which range from loss of synchronization as a result of some contingencies on the network. This study analyzes the transient stability of the Nigeria 330KV sub-network (Odukpani, Alaoji and Afam) with its analysis performed using MATLAB software to simulate a 3 - phase fault on the network to determine the fault clearing time of the system. The results obtained show that the relative swing between the generator rotor angles is less when the fault clearing time is less with fault clearing time at 0.1, 0.2, 0.3 and 0.4 seconds respectively. By these, there is a tendency for the system will regain stability due to the swing within the stability limit of 0.1sec to 0.4sec with a critical clearing time of 0.45sec. For an unstable condition, the fault clearing time increases at 0.5, 0.6, 0.7 and 0.9 seconds respectively with the rotor angle of the generator increasing out of limit or out of step. Hence, for a system to be stable the fault that occurs should be cleared within a minimum of 0.1sec to 0.4sec which implies the lesser the fault clearing time the greater tendency for stable condition and vice versa

A Simplified Overview of Text-To-Speech Synthesis

Computer-based Text-To-Speech systems render text into an audible form, with the aim of sounding as natural as possible. This paper seeks to explain Text-To-Speech synthesis in a simplified manner. Emphasis is placed on the Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Digital Signal Processing (DSP) components of Text-To-Speech Systems. Applications and limitations of speech synthesis are also explore

Seroprevalence of Human Immunodeficiency Virus, Hepatitis B Virus, and Syphilis Infections among Pregnant Women Booked for Antenatal Care at Kogi State Specialist Hospital, Lokoja, Nigeria

Background: Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among pregnant women are an important health issue in Nigeria, but its prevalence inLokoja is not known. Objective: The objective of this study is to establish the seroprevalence of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), and syphilis infections among pregnant women booked for the antenatal clinic in Kogi State Specialist Hospital, Lokoja, Nigeria, and determine risk factors associated with the infections. Methods: We prospectively screened three hundred pregnant women booked for antenatal care between January 1, 2016, and December 31, 2016, for HIV, HBV, and syphilis. Their demographic data, risk factors, and results of the screening tests were analyzed using the SPSS version 20 and presented in simple charts, tables, and percentages. Results: Thirty nine (13%) out of the 300 pregnant women tested seropositive for either HIV (28, 9.3%), HBV (10, 3.3%), or syphilis (one, 0.3%). The most common identifiable risk factor for these infections was multiple sexual partners which accounted for 38.4%. Conclusions: The seroprevalence of STIs in this study was 13% and the most common risk factor for the infections was multiple sexualpartners. Therefore, effective preventive strategies for HIV, HBV, and syphilis are advocated. Keywords: Hepatitis B virus, human immunodeficiency virus, Nigeria, pregnancy, screening, seroprevalence, syphili

Comparative Analysis of Production Efficiency of Government-Assisted and Unassisted Pig Farmers in Lagos State

This study comparatively examined the efficiency of pig production among government-assisted and non-assisted farmers in Lagos State, Southwest, Nigeria. The study was based on primary data obtained in a cross-section survey of 120 pig farmers, 60 each drawn purposively from among the government-assisted (GAPF) and unassisted pig farmers (UAPF) in the state. The data were analysed by descriptive, budgetary and econometric (Stochastic Production Frontier) methods. The study revealed that, most of the pig farmers (67.7% of GAPF and 95.0% of UAPF) are men. Majority of the pig farmers (65.0% of GAPF and 55.0% of UAPF) are within 30 - 50 years age bracket; with as much as 83.3% of GAPF and 60.0% of UAPF, having no more than six years of experience in pig farming. However, most (95.0% of GAPF and 75.0% of UAPF) of the pig farmers had some tertiary education. Budgetary analysis revealed that an average GAPF incurred a total cost of N987,682 in producing N1,360,050 worth of pigs with a net farm income of N372,368 yielding 33.67% rate of returns on their investment during the 2008/2009 production season. His UAPF counterpart incurred a total cost of N727,860 in producing N938,000 worth of pigs with a net farm income of N210,140 yielding 31.73% rate of returns on during the same production season. The technical, allocative and overall economic efficiency estimates computed based on estimated Stochastic Production and Conditional Revenue Frontier models of the two categories of pig farmers revealed that GAPF are generally more efficient (with mean technical, allocative and overall economic efficiency index of 0.66, 0.68 and 0.48, respectively) than their UAPF counterparts (with mean technical, allocative and overall economic efficiency index of 0.53, 0.60 and 0.35, respectively). The differences in the production efficiency of the two categories of farms were found to be as a result of the institutional and infrastructural support received by GAPF which is not available to the UAPF. &nbsp

Design and results of a first generation pilot plant for supercritical water desalination (SCWD)

A pilot plant of 5 kg/h based on the principle of supercritical water desalination (SCWD) has been designed, built and operated. The detailed design, operating procedures and performance of the plant is presented in this paper, along with the first results. Firstly, the plant has been tested for feed streams of 3.5 wt% NaCl to evaluate the stability and repeatability of the system, with the results indicating that mass balance closure is good and that reproducible results can be obtained. Furthermore, the results showed that 93% of the feed is recovered as fresh drinking water, which corresponds with expected results from phase equilibria simulations. The plant was further tested for higher feed concentrations of up to 16 wt% NaCl. For all feed concentrations, the NaCl concentration of the SCW was that of drinking water quality (< 600 ppm). Experimentally, using a single stage separator, a concentrated brine (38 wt% NaCl) was obtained and calculations showed that with a two-stage flash-evaporation scheme, zero liquid discharge (ZLD) can be obtained. Further modifications to the plant and tests with other salt mixtures are recommended in order to advance to industrial application

Tetanus in a Rural Setting of South-Western Nigeria: a Ten-Year Retrospective Study

We review the records of 79 tetanus patients in two hospitals (one tertiary and one secondary level) in Owo, Ondo state, Nigeria from 1997 to 2006. The male: female ratio was 3:1. Ages were 14–70 years (mean 33.25 years, SD ±16.76). The overall case fatality rate (CFR), 32.91%, did was not significantly different in the two hospitals. CFR for men was 32.10% and for women 35.29%. The main factor indicative of bad prognosis was a short hospitalization period. It was observed that 30.38% of our patients were discharged against medical advice (DAMA), that financial constraint was the underlying problem in 50% of cases, and that the trend of DAMA occurred at the two study sites. This DAMA phenomenon could pose a great danger to the eradication of this vaccine preventable disease in rural areas

Vaginal Candida infection in pregnancy and its implications for fetal well-being

Vaginal Candida infection is one of the most common genital tract infections reported in pregnant women. This study was designed to determine the prevalence of vaginal Candida infection and pattern of Candida species isolates in the genital tract of pregnant women during antenatal period and in early labour; and the associated fetal outcome. The study was conducted at the antenatal clinic and labor ward of Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital Sagamu, Ogun State, Nigeria. High vaginal swabs were collected from 408 pregnant women at the antenatal clinic and repeated in early labour. The samples were processed to isolate Candida species. Data were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) windows version 21.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA). Prevalence of Candida infection was significantly higher in early labour (46%) than during antenatal period (38%) (P=0.02). Candida albicans was the predominant isolate, followed by Candida glabrata and Candida tropicalis. Candida infection was associated with increased likelihood of low birth weight babies (AOR 2.8, CI: 1.1-6.8; P= 0.03). However there was no statistically significant effect of Candida infection on the likelihood of preterm delivery (AOR 1.4, CI: 0.7-2.6; P= 0.35). Routine screening and prompt treatment of women at risk of delivering low birth weight babies is advocated. Keywords: Candida; Pregnancy; Preterm birth; Prevalence &nbsp; L'infection vaginale à Candida est l'une des infections des voies génitales les plus courantes signalées chez les femmes enceintes. Cette étude a été conçue pour déterminer la prévalence de l'infection vaginale à Candida et le profil des isolats d'espèces de Candida dans le tractus génital des femmes enceintes pendant la période prénatale et au début du travail; et l'issue foetale associée. L'étude a été menée à la clinique prénatale et au service d'accouchement de l'hôpital universitaire Olabisi Onabanjo de Sagamu, dans l'État d'Ogun, au Nigéria. Des écouvillons vaginaux élevés ont été prélevés sur 408 femmes enceintes à la clinique prénatale et répétés au début du travail. Les échantillons ont été traités pour isoler les espèces de Candida. Les données ont été analysées à l'aide de la version 21.0 de Windows Package for Social Science (SPSS) (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA). La prévalence de l'infection à Candida était significativement plus élevée au début du travail (46%) qu'au cours de la période prénatale (38%) (P = 0,02). Candida albicans était l'isolat prédominant, suivi de Candida glabrata et Candida tropicalis. L'infection à Candida était associée à une probabilité accrue de bébés de faible poids à la naissance (AOR 2,8, IC: 1,1-6,8; P = 0,03). Cependant, il n'y avait aucun effet statistiquement significatif de l'infection à Candida sur la probabilité d'accouchement prématuré (AOR 1,4, IC: 0,7-2,6; P = 0,35). Le dépistage systématique et le traitement rapide des femmes à risque d'accoucher de bébés de faible poids à la naissance sont recommandés. Mots-clés: Candidose; Grossesse; Naissance prématurée; Prévalenc