Assessment of Subsurface Conditions in a Coastal Area of Lagos using Geophysical Methods

An integrated geophysical and geotechnical survey was carried out at Magodo Estate, Lagos, Nigeria. The buildings in this area are either sinking or intensively affected by severe cracks showing structural instability. The survey was aimed at characterizing the shallow subsurface in order to delineate features that may have caused structural instability that led to cracking and sinking of the residential buildings in the area. To image the subsurface, resistivity profiling (2-D) using a Wenner array and Cone Penetration Test (CPT) was carried out on five profiles of length 180 m each. The acquired data were processed and interpreted integrally to image the shallow geotechnical setting of the site. Integrated interpretation led to the delineation of low resistivity, low bearing capacity clay which is identified as the main cause of instability that resulted in potentially dangerous cracking and sinking of residential buildings in the area.Keywords: Geo-materials, resistivity, geotechnical, geophysica

Leasing as an Alternative Source of Finance: The Nigerian Experience

The Nigerian economy is at present beset with multi-dimensional socio-political-economic problems. Globalization, deregulation, and the instability of the value of the naira have crippling effects on business organizations. Fiscal and monetary policies put in place to nurse the economy back to buoyancy have tended to squeeze and curtail credit expansion. This paper advocates that leasing is an alternative of finance that could be used to assist companies in particular and the Nigerian economy in general to the path of economic growth and development

Diversity and abundance of butterfly species (Lepidoptera) fauna in Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi forestry nursery, Benue State, Nigeria

Butterflies belong to one of the most important taxa of insects. Understanding their significance in an ecosystem as an environmental health indicator and pollination of flowering plants is crucial to achieving sustainability and conservation of floral diversity. Owing to habitat destruction due to some anthropogenic activities, butterflies are fast disappearing and at present, their survival is under threat. The study assessed the diversity and abundance of butterfly species in the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi forestry nursery, Nigeria. Line transects were used to survey three habitats within and around the forestry nursery using handheld sweep nets in March and April, 2016. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and One-way analysis of variance. A total of 337 individuals representing 17 butterfly species belonging to 5 families were recorded across the three habitat types. Out of these, members belonging to the family Nymphalidae were the most common with 7 species being recorded accounting for 41.2% of the total species and 26.7% of total number of individuals collected. Species richness, evenness and diversity varied from habitat to habitat and decreased from dry land area to swampy area (D= 2.336 – 1.966), (J= 0.336 – 0.236), (H1= 1.394 – 0.955). There was no significant different in species composition/richness across habitat types at 0.05%. It was recommended that management effort towards conservation be put in place so as to ensure sustenance of butterflies and ecosystem services derived from them, and further exploration of butterfly species be done to update this checklist.Keywords: Butterfly, Species, Forestry Nursery, Diversity, Abundanc

Measurements of Head Circumference, Intercanthal Distances, Canthal Index and Circumference Interorbital Index of Ikwerre School Children in Nigeria

The study was aimed at determining standard values for head circumference, inner canthal distance, outer canthal distance, canthal index and circumference interorbital index of Ikwerre school children between the ages of 3-18 years. The measurements of head circumference, inner and outer canthal distances, canthal index and circumference interorbital index were obtained from a randomly selected sample size of one thousand, five hundred and twenty-three(1523) children, Seven  hundred and sixty-four males(764) and Seven hundred and fifty-nine females(759). The mean values for male subjects (10.45±4.61 years) were found to be, 52.42±2.22cm  for head circumference, 3.39±0.30cm  for inner canthal distance, 9.118±0.65cm for outer canthal distance, 37.00±2.48 for canthal index and 6.84±0.47 for circumference interorbital index. The mean values for female subjects (11.00±4.62years) were found to be51.95±2.18cm for head circumference, 3.38±0.33cm for inner canthal distance,9.31±0.75cm for outer canthal distance, 36.46±3.11cm for canthal index and 6.51±0.54cm for circumference interorbital index. Statistical analysis using z-test showed that males had significantly higher values than the females in all the parameters measured (p<0.05), except inner canthal distance were there was no significant difference (p>0.05) showing some form sexual dimorphism The knowledge of these values are important because normal values of  head circumferences, inner and outer canthal distances,canthal index and circumference interorbital index are useful parameters in the evaluation and treatment of congenital or post traumatic deformities of the cephalic and facial regions such as telecanthus, occular hypotailorism and craniosynostosis. Key Words: Head circumference, inner canthal distance, outer canthal distance, canthal index, circumference interorbital index and Ikwerr

Dermatoglyphic Patterns of Autistic Children in Nigeria

Dermatoglyphic patterns have positive correlation in a number of genetic diseases. This research was carried out to determine any possible relationship between dermatoglyphics and autism in Nigeria using digital and palmar patterns, total ridge count, a-b ridge count and crease pattern. The digital and palmar prints of 20 autistic subjects from an autistic centre in Port Harcourt, Rivers state Nigeria were taken with parental guidance. The percentage frequency distribution of the digital pattern of the autistic subject was 49.5% for the arch, 18.5% for the whorl, 28.5% for the ulnar loop and 3.5% for the radial loop against 44% for the ulnar loop, 25.5% for the arch, 22% for the whorl and 8.5% for the radial loop for normal subjects. The mean values of the a –b ridge counts on the right and left hands of autistic male were 34.66 and 33.33 against 36.40 and 31.33  in non-autistic children respectively while in  female they were 38.6 and 35.8 against 41.40 and 38.6 respectively. Though no statistical significant difference was observed when the two groups were compared (P>0.05). It was, however, observed that the number of the total ridge counts in the right and left hands of the autistic children were lower than those of the normal subjects. Thus, there is need for further investigation using larger sample size. The data from this study will serve as a good reference for future study on this subject in Nigeria. Key Words: Dermatoglyphics and Autis

A marine bacterium, Oceanobacillus sp. Pinky, isolated from Algoa Bay sediment produces a thermostable glycoprotein flocculant

In this study, we report on the bioflocculant production potential of an Oceanobacillus sp. isolated from the marine sediments of Algoa Bay. The bacteria produced an extracellular bioflocculant optimally in the presence of sodium carbonate as source of carbon with flocculating activity of about 95.5%. Other optimal culture conditions included: tryptone as nitrogen source (flocculating activity, 84.5%); presence of Ca2+; inoculum size of 2% (v/v) and alkaline pH (10). Composition analyses revealed the purified bioflocculant to be thermostable and composed of polysaccharide and protein. Optimum dose of the purified bioflocculant for the clarification of 4 g/L kaolin clay suspension at neutral pH was 0.2 mg/ml. Scanning electron microscopic (SEM) observations were indicative of a porous bioflocculant structure while Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrum revealed the presence of carboxyl, hydroxyl and amine groups. We proposed that the bacteria hold promise as a potential source of new bioflocculant compound(s).Keywords: Oceanobacillus sp., bioflocculant, glycoprotein, marine sediment, Algoa BayAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(26), pp. 4135-414

Market Sanitation: A Case Study of Oregbeni Market Benin - City Edo State, Nigeria

Poor market sanitation is an intractable problem in Nigeria and has contributed to the spread of infectious diseases and environmental degradation. This study was undertaken to determine the awareness and practice of solid waste management in market places among market users. It involved 180 store owners and customers recruited from Oregbeni market in Benin City, Nigeria. They were administered questionnaires while an in depth interview was conducted with the waste managers in the market. Checklist was used to carry out observation of the market place sanitation status. The data obtained was then analyzed and compared using SPSS. The results showed that a high proportion of respondents were aware of improper waste management (133; 62.8%) and agreed (174; 96.7%) that it is associated with many risks. Despite this high level of awareness, the practice of open dumping of waste was prevalent (108; 60.0%). Interestingly, 96.1% expressed willingness to pay for an improved waste disposal system while 55.6% rated the existing system as poor. Our findings suggest therefore that there is an urgent needs to improve waste collection, and disposal at market places.Keywords: Market sanitation, Solid Waste Management, Health hazards, Environmental degradation

Financial Literacy as an Intrument of Poverty Alleviation

The study examined the nexus between financial literacy and poverty reduction using the survey research method with data generated from five hundred and twenty-five households randomly selected from three densely populated sub-urban areas across three geographical regions in Nigeria. The Likert-type research instrument was used to elicit the opinion of respondents on a number of research statements and data generated from the survey was analyzed and evaluated based on the method of means. The result indicates that financial literacy affects the quality if financial decisions made by households and that poverty results from poor financial decisions. Based on the findings, the study concludes that financial literacy is a potential instrument of poverty alleviation. It is therefore recommended that financial literacy should be promoted in all its ramifications through the introduction of financial education as a part of core curriculum at all levels of the school system and as part of informal education propagated at home and other educational media. Also, it is one thing to gather knowledge but it is another to engage it productively. It is advised that wisdom be applied in household financial management to achieve prudence in the procurement and deployment of financial resources

Redox signalling to nuclear regulatory proteins by reactive oxygen species contributes to oestrogen-induced growth of breast cancer cells

Background: 17β-Oestradiol (E2)-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) have been implicated in regulating the growth of breast cancer cells. However, the underlying mechanism of this is not clear. Here we show how ROS through a novel redox signalling pathway involving nuclear respiratory factor-1 (NRF-1) and p27 contribute to E2-induced growth of MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Methods: Chromatin immunoprecipitation, qPCR, mass spectrometry, redox western blot, colony formation, cell proliferation, ROS assay, and immunofluorescence microscopy were used to study the role of NRF-1. Results: The major novel finding of this study is the demonstration of oxidative modification of phosphatases PTEN and CDC25A by E2-generated ROS along with the subsequent activation of AKT and ERK pathways that culminated in the activation of NRF-1 leading to the upregulation of cell cycle genes. 17β-Oestradiol-induced ROS by influencing nuclear proteins p27 and Jab1 also contributed to the growth of MCF-7 cells. Conclusions: Taken together, our results present evidence in the support of E2-induced ROS-mediated AKT signalling leading to the activation of NRF-1-regulated cell cycle genes as well as the impairment of p27 activity, which is presumably necessary for the growth of MCF-7 cells. These observations are important because they provide a new paradigm by which oestrogen may contribute to the growth of breast cancer