Art is Everything and Nothing, in an Artistically Uninformed Nigerian Society.

Art is everything and therefore life, because life imitates art and art, life. Art fastens itself inseparably to every aspect of human project and lifestyle. But, it is highly unfortunate that in Nigerian society, the 95% of Nigerians are still very much ignorant of the roles, functions and contributions of art in their everyday lives and nation building, when it is still the same art that forms the integral parts of life, both in traditional and modern settings. This paper, therefore, sets to buttress more and make it very clear that art is everything and has been regarded as nothing and worthless in an artistically uninformed Nigerian society. It simply exposed the captivity held on to and the highly insipid and insinuative opinions on art by this 95% artistically uninformed Nigerian society. Also, in this paper, efforts were made to highlight how art permeates the entire Nigerian society. But, whether regarded or not, it is still art that shapes the Nigerian society in its entirety because of the very vital roles it plays in religion, politics, education, print media, tourism, advertising, social arena, therapy, carnivals, culture, architecture, commerce, textiles to mention a few. Art is everywhere and is long and it is through the longevity of art that the shortness of life is extended. Keyword: Art, Everything, Nothing and Uninformed Nigerian Society

Paradigm Shift: Local Pots and Earth Pigments as Supports, Grounds and Media for Painting in Nsukka Art School, Nigeria

It has been noted that the creative ideology of Nsukka Art School lays much emphasis on the exploration of the environment as potent creative sources of ideas, materials and forms, which has in no small measures contributed and also resulted in the appropriation of culture based art forms as viable creative resources. It is this exploration that permeates the various areas of art in the school. For instance, in the area of painting, the use of clay, other earth pigments and local pots for media, ground and supports are clearly the resultant effects and the gain of this restless search for down - to - earth materials for painting. Therefore, this paper sets to review the conventional paradigm and then underscore the paradigm shift to ascertain what gave rise to their usage, origin, as well as their advantages and disadvantages over the conventional ground, supports and media. Examples of works rendered in this manner will be used as visuals for easier comprehension. However, it has been found that the use of earth pigments and clay pots for supports, ground and media is aesthetically appealing, highly innovative and far cheaper to acquire than conventional painting materials. Keywords: Earth pigments, Local pots, Grounds, Supports and Media and Nsukka Art School

Gender Differences in Perceived Sources of Stress: A Cross Sectional Survey of Public Secondary School Teachers in Ebonyi State, Nigeria

Individuals, especially teachers, who work in serving professions involving interaction with other people, may be more liable to suffer psychological discomfort as a result of stress. However, the level of stress suffered may be dependent on the sources that generate the stress. The study, therefore, was conducted to determine the perceived sources of stress among male and female public secondary school teachers in Ebonyi state. The descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. The population of the study was 4,360. A sample size of 436 (male 220, female 216) teachers participated in the study. This sample size was arrived following the suggestions of Nwana (2014) that if the population of a study is in a few thousands, 10% could be used. A self-developed questionnaire titled: Sources of Stress Questionnaire (SSQ) was used as instrument for data collection. The instrument was subjected to face validation by five experts in the field of Health Education and Psychology. The reliability of the instrument was computed using Cronbach alpha procedure which yielded a coefficient of 0.81. Data collected for the study were analyzed using mean and standard deviation. Independent samples t-test was used to test the hypothesis at an alpha level of 0.05. The results revealed that the public secondary school teachers in Ebonyi state studied had a high level stress which was perceived to have been generated by administrative-related, workload-related, environmental-related and economic-related sources. It was recommended that government should improve the working condition of the teachers in order to scale down their stress levels. Keywords: Gender, Stress, Secondary School teachers, Public DOI: 10.7176/JEP/14-15-13 Publication date:May 31st 202

Evaluation of potential drug–drug interactions among patients with chronic kidney disease in northeastern Nigeria

Background: Potential drug–drug interactions (pDDIs) may not manifest clinically in patients who are treated with multiple pharmaceutical agents, but when they do they can produce adverse outcomes. In patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), the frequent use of multiple agents to manage this condition and its complications puts these patients at increased risk for DDIs. We determined the prevalence of pDDIs in CKD patients in two Nigerian hospitals and investigated possible predictors of pDDIs.Methods: This cross-sectional study involved patients with CKD who attended the nephrology unit of the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital and the medical outpatients clinic of the State Specialist Hospital in Maiduguri, Nigeria. We collected prescriptions, clinical data and laboratory data from the medical files of patients seen between January 2013 and December 2017. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data.Results: The study included 201 patients. A total of 273 pDDIs were identified in 166 patients (83%). These pDDIs included 30 unique drug interactions, the most common being between ferrous sulphate and calcium carbonate (seen in 46% of patients with pDDIs), followed by lisinopril and furosemide (8%). The proportion of clinically significant interactions was only 2%. There was a positive association between pDDIs and the total number of drugs prescribed (P < 0.001).Conclusions: A high prevalence of pDDIs was documented among Nigerian patients with CKD. The bulk of the interactions were related to the co-prescription of ferrous sulphate and calcium carbonate. The total number of drugs prescribed was a significant predictor of pDDIs. We recommend routine screening of prescriptions of CKD patients for potential pDDIs

Strategies for Transformation of Higher Education Towards Enhanced Productivity in Nigeria - The Role of Quality Assurance

This paper x-rayed the importance and linkage of education to the development of the Nigerian society. The quality of tertiary education as a system which serves as a mechanism of advancement in Nigeria is being confronted with the age-long difficulties of limited access, scarce financing, decreasing quality and relevance. The paper examines the rationale for the transformation of tertiary education system towards enhanced standard of education in Nigeria. This entails a shift to a more realistic approach that encourages the involvement of everybody’s effort towards ensuring quality in Nigerian higher education. The concept, role and problems of art teaching and learning, role were discussed. The paper concludes that the state of tertiary education in Nigeria is poor and thus the need for new approaches to be utilised to turn the situation around for better. It thus recommended that there should be a complete overhaul of the mode of instruction, massive investment in infrastructures in higher education

Developing a framework of food choice determinants among construction workers in South Africa

Abstract: A plethora of factors are known to influence an individual’s food choice and overall nutrition, which in turn, influences their health and safety performance. However, it appears that little research has been conducted in South Africa, on the factors which influence the food choices and intake of construction workers in particular. The paper develops a framework of food choice determinants from literature review and tests the framework using principal components analysis of empirical data from a field questionnaire survey. Results evinced that food choices among South African construction workers aredeterminable by seven factors as opposed to six theorized factors. The study provides evidence which defines the factors that influence construction workers’ food choice. The study will be useful to construction managers and stakeholders in planning for nutrition improvement in the construction industry. Improving nutrition will contribute to improvement in health and safety performance on construction sites

Relationship between nutrition and construction safety performance : experimental work

Abstract: It is known that nutrition is linked with worker health and safety (H&S) performance. However, this relationship has not been evaluated empirically. The present paper evaluates the relationship between nutrition and safety performance on construction sites. Empirical data were collected through a field questionnaire survey conducted on site construction workers in South Africa. Principal components analysis and Spearman’s correlation analysis were used to analyze the data. Findings revealed that increased consumption of certain foods termed “alternatives” in the current study, including dairy products, eggs, nuts, fish and cereals, was associated with improved safety performance. No significant correlation was found between nutritional choice and negative performance measures. By providing evidence of which foods may be correlated with safety performance of construction workers on construction sites, the design of explicit nutrition interventions for construction workers, particularly including planning for these significant foods, will be allowed. The study will also result in nutrition being given more attention in H&S considerations on construction sites

Hydrocarbon Generative Windows Determination Using Geomathematical Model: Case Study from Ogbogede Field, Niger Delta, Nigeria

Oil and gas generative windows of source rocks in Niger Delta have been determined by applying a mathematical model to geotemperature data from the wells of Ogbogede oil field. GR and Resistivity log signatures show that the Benin and Agbada Formations comprises massive sands with clay intercalations while the Agbada Formation comprises alternate sequence of sandstones and shales. The geothermal gradients for the field range from 1.4oC/100m to 2oC/100m with an average of 1.8oC/100m and standard deviation of 0.2oC/100m. Geotemperature analysis of shales of the Agbada Formation varies from 58.92oC-107.6oC, indicating that they are thermally mature and within the oil generative window, at depths varying approximately from 1833.30 m to 5166.67m. The gas window occurs from 5166.67 m to 11000 m. This work has provided a mathematical method of source rock evaluation to compliment geochemistry. The outcome is a very important tool, which can be applied to other fields and sedimentary basins in hydrocarbon exploration. Keywords: Hydrocarbon Generative Windows, Geotemperature dat

Experimental study on the analysis of nanocellulose treated water in Yola metropolis, Nigeria

In this study, cellulose from sugarcane bagasse and wood pulp were converted to nanocellulose and utilized to treat water from different sources within Yola Metropolis to study the efficacy of both methods. From the analysed water parameters, both nanocellulose materials were effective in treating contaminated water. They showed the capability of reducing the concentrations of the various tested parameters such as Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Nitrate, Chloride, and Nephelometric Turbidity Units (NTU). Interestingly, analysis of the heavy metal concentrations before and after water treatment with the nanocellulose, showed very significant reduction of the heavy metals. This is encouraging as we explore more efficient methods of water treatment, in order to tackle rising cases of lead and other heavy metal poisoning in Nigeria due to illegal mining activities and deregulated industrial activities. Dans cette recherche, la cellulose de la bagasse de canne à sucre et de la pulpe de bois a été converties en nanocellulose et utilisées pour l’épuration d’eau de différentes sources au sein de Yola Metropolis afin d’étudier l’efficacité des deux méthodes. D’après les paramètres d’eau analysés avec les deux types de nanocelluloses étaient efficaces dans le traitement de l’eau contaminée. Ils ont considérablement réduit les concentrations des différents contaminants testés tels que le TDS, le nitrate, le chlorure et le NTU. En effet, l’analyse de la concentration en métaux lourds avant et après le traitement de l’eau avec la nanocellulose a montré une réduction très significative des métaux lourds. C’est une bonne chose car nous explorons des méthodes plus efficaces de traitement de l’eau, pour lutter contre l’augmentation des cas d’empoisonnement au plomb et à d’autres métaux lourds au Nigeria en raison d’activités minières illégales et d’activités industrielles non réglementées

Determination of Entropy and Specific Heat of Hydrogen from Partition Functions of Elementary Particles

Elementary particles are atomic or sub-atomic particles that make up all kinds of matter. They are classified into two main groups, namely: bosons and fermions. In other words, bosons and fermions are found in all states of matter, viz: solids, liquids and gases. Fermions are constituents of matter while bosons are force carriers. Bosons are particles that transmit interactions or the constituents of radiation. The main objective of this paper is to derive and integrate the intermolecular partition function into the general partition function of the elementary gases. The application of the partition function so formulated in the determination of the thermodynamic states of the elementary particles and its validity can eventually be addressed. The partition function of a system is the ratio of the total number of particles in the system to the number of particles in the lowest energy state of that system. Thus, it is dimensionless. Partition function is very important in the analyses of thermodynamic systems. Once an expression for the partition function of a system is known, then the thermodynamic functions appertaining to the system; entropy, specific heat capacity, Helmholtz free energy, internal energy, etc can be determined. Many have been neglecting the effects of intermolecular interactions while calculating the overall partition function of interacting systems. This article considered the common way of determining partition function, z without considering intermolecular interaction effects and compared it with z determined by taking cognizance of the effects of intermolecular interactions. A comparison of the two was made, and the result analyzed. An overview of the various z’s in the old way was presented and a new one called inter-particle interaction partition function was derived using the Schrodinger equation. . To validate the work, the entropies and specific heats of hydrogen were compared with published data by two-way ANOVA.  It was determined that the values were significantly different as expected. This work has established that intermolecular interactio