Comparative Analysis of South West Students’ Performance in National Mathematics Olympiads Competitions in Nigeria

The main purpose of this study was to carry out a comparative analysis of the performance of South West students in the mathematics Olympiads competition organized annually in Nigeria by National Mathematical Centre, Abuja. Secondary data of the results of students for 2015, 2016 and 2017 Olympiads examinations in the six states of South West, Nigeria was collected and analyzed. Frequency count, percentage, mean and standard deviation were used to answer the three raised research questions while t-test and ANOVA were used to test the two formulated hypotheses. Results of the study showed that South West students’ performance for the three years was largely poor. The result also showed that male students performed better than their female counterparts. It was recommended among others that the National Mathematical Centre, Nigeria should make preparatory textbooks and other materials available and accessible to participating students to get them well prepared and perform better in the Olympiads. Keywords: Olympiads, National Mathematical Centre, Abuj

Computational Numerical Solution for Traveling Salesman Problem

This paper examined and analysed the desire of Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP) to find the cheapest way of visiting all given set of cities and returning to the starting point.     We presented a unique decomposition approach model for TSP in which the requirements and features of practical application in communication network, road transportation and supply chains are put into consideration.  We used a Mathematical Modeling solution with the application of Ant Colony Search Algorithm (ACSA) approach for result computation. In our approach, different Agents were created for difference purposes.   Information agent gathered information about best tour and detected the solution agent that arrived at a given point with information message containing details of where the solution agent has come from as well as best tour cost.  The place ant performs local pheromone decay on the relevant links.   This help to avoid random visit to irrelevant edges and allows the place ant to calculate the cost of tour of all place ants including the latest pheromone level on the links to each of the place ants. The solution agent uses available information to decide  which node to visit next and informs the place ant of  its decision to move to a given destination and update better tour  previously sampled while information about where to go next also obtained.       The place ant updates its pheromone value for that link using the equivalent of the algorithm for local pheromone update.    The cycle continues until solution agent arrives at its destination. The main advantage of our approach is that it permits the use of mixed integer programming and combinatorial optimization techniques to compute real optimal routing path, solving the problem in practice by returning actual shortest route with its numerical value and not the best effort result as provided by some previous models and analytical methods. The implementation was carried out using C# programming language.  Data used were generated and the performance evaluation of the model was carried out through simulation using Matlab 7.0.  The result shows that by considering all possible paths between a node as the source and another as the destination, all possible routes for a particular journey with shortest route in each case were generated. Keywords: Ant Colony, Combinatorial Optimization, Mixed Integer Programming, Pheromone, Search Algorithm and Traveling Salesman

Impact of Job Stress on the Job Performance of Nigeria Security And Civil Defence Corps Members.

This study assessed the impact of job stress on job performance among workers of Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC). Job stress was measured by the Job-Related Tension Index (JTI) developed by Kahn, Wolfe, Quinn, Snoek and Rosenthal (1964) and job performance was measured by the Role Based Performance Scale (RBPS) developed by Welbourne, Johnson and Erez (1998).The sample for the study consisted of 300 participants, comprising of 185 males and 115 females. Participants were selected using the convenience sampling method from the population of NSCDC workers. And results of the analyses of data collected indicated that job stress positively influenced job performance. Additionally, it was found that age, gender and years of experience neither independently not interactively influenced job performance. Discussion of results was in line with previous literature and it was recommended that organizations should foster functional stress to trigger moderate anxiety for higher performance while simultaneously avoiding over stressing workers to guide against redundancy and lower job performance. Keywords: Job stress, job performance, NSCDC workers, Ekiti State, Nigeria

Computational Numerical Solution for Traveling Salesman Problem

This paper examined and analyzed the desire of Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP) to find the cheapest way of visiting all given set of cities and returning to the starting point.     We presented a unique decomposition approach model for TSP in which the requirements and features of practical application in communication network, road transportation and supply chains are put into consideration.  We used a Mathematical Modeling solution with the application of Ant Colony Search Algorithm (ACSA) approach for result computation.  In our approach, different Agents were created for difference purposes.   Information agent gathered information about best tour and detected the solution agent that arrived at a given point with information message containing details of where the solution agent has come from as well as best tour cost.  The place ant performs local pheromone decay on the relevant links.   This help to avoid random visit to irrelevant edges and allows the place ant to calculate the cost of tour of all place ants including the latest pheromone level on the links to each of the place ants. The solution agent uses available information to decide  which node to visit next and informs the place ant of  its decision to move to a given destination and update better tour  previously sampled while information about where to go next also obtained.  The place ant updates its pheromone value for that link using the equivalent of the algorithm for local pheromone update.  The cycle continues until solution agent arrives at its destination. The main advantage of our approach is that it permits the use of mixed integer programming and combinatorial optimization techniques to compute real optimal routing path, solving the problem in practice by returning actual shortest route with its numerical value and not the best effort result as provided by some previous models and analytical methods. The implementation was carried out using C# programming language.  Data used were generated and the performance evaluation of the model was carried out through simulation using Matlab 7.0.  The result shows that by considering all possible paths between a node as the source and another as the destination, all possible routes for a particular journey with shortest route in each case were generated. Keywords: Ant Colony, Combinatorial Optimization, Mixed Integer Programming, Pheromone, Search Algorithm and Traveling Salesman

Knowledge and practice of blood donation among national youth corp members in orientation camp Sagamu Ogun State

Objectives: Millions of lives are saved each year through blood transfusion, yet the availability, quality and the safety of blood transfusion is still a concern, particularly in the developing countries. The factors influencing blood donation vary and one's knowledge can influence this decision. To assess the factors influencing the knowledge and practice of blood donation among youth corp members in Ogun State, Nigeria.Methods: A cross-sectional study of randomly selected 600 youth corp members. Data was collected through self- administered pretested structured questionnaires and analyzed with SPSS version 21. Multiple regression analyses were used to identify the significant predictors of knowledge and practice of blood donation, with statistical significance at 95% confidence interval.Results: Knowledge of blood donation was adequate among 220 (41.5%) of the respondents, 89 (16.6%) had donated blood. Age younger than or equal to 24 years (AOR=2.040, 95% CI:1.404,2.966) and studying health science courses (AOR=10116, 95% CI:4,368,427) were significant determinants of knowledge. Male gender, marital status, religion, course of study, medium of awareness and good knowledge of blood donation were significant determinants of blood donation among corp members. The commonest reason for donation was replacement (48.3%) and most common reason for not donating was because of never been asked to donate (53.6%). One hundred and sixty-three (30.5 %) signified that they would donate if asked.Conclusion: Level of adequate knowledge about blood donation was low and those who had donated are in the minority. There is need to create more awareness on the importance of blood donation among the youth.Keywords: blood donation, knowledge, youth corp members, practic

Parents' Acceptability and Health Workers' Perspectives of Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccination for Under-Fives in Ile-Ife, Nigeria

Background: Pneumococcus, apart from being the commonest bacterial cause of Respiratory tract infections (RTIs) also causes a wide array of morbidities which can all be prevented with the administration of potent Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine. Despite its effectiveness and availability, Pneumococcal vaccines are not part of routine immunization in Nigeria. This study assessed parents' acceptability and health worker's perspectives of Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccination for under-fives.Methods:  The cross-sectional survey was conducted in Ife Central Local Government Area, Osun state. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect information from 400 parents of under-fives selected via multi-stage random sampling. In-depth interviews were conducted for the heads of immunization units in four selected facilities in the local government area. Data were analysed using SPSS version-16.Result: More respondents were females, married and had tertiary education. About three-fifth (59.2%) of parents had good knowledge about RTIs though majority (79.00%) were unaware of Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV). most parents (93.5%) were willing to accept PCV for their children but only 43.5% of them could afford to pay for the cost of the vaccine at the prevailing market price. Most health workers (three out of four) interviewed were not aware of PCV. Most parents (96.25%) and all health workers interviewed wanted PCV incorporated into the National Program on Immunization (NPI). Parents with good knowledge about respiratory tract infections (RTIs) were significantly willing to accept PCV for their underfives (p= 0.005). Younger parents less than 35years, parents with lower educational attainments and low income groups significantly could not afford to pay for the cost of vaccines. (p=0.014, 0.001 and <0.001 respectively).Conclusion: Though almost three fifth of parents surveyed had good knowledge about RTIs, awareness about PCV was poor and most of them were unable to afford PCV. There is an overwhelming need to incorporate PCV in to the NPI, as both parents and health workers agreed. Aside from overcoming a major financial barrier to vaccine access, this will also make PCV widely available to parents who are already willing to accept the vaccine for their children.Keywords: Parents' Acceptability, Pneumococcal conjugate Vaccinatio

Performance improvement of AA6061-T651 friction stir butt-weldment using particulate addition strategy

The joint quality performance of AA6061-T651 friction stir weldments had been investigated in this study through addition of pulverized waste glass (PWG), palm kernel shell ash (PKSA) and synthetic silicon carbide (SSC) with a bid to enhancing some selected mechanical properties. Optimized processing parameters which include 1120 rpm rotational speed, 40 mm/min traverse speed, 1.5o tilt angle) and optimum reinforcement strategy (parallel hole) established from a preliminary investigation were utilized for the friction stir welding. The mechanical properties such as the tensile strength, hardness and impact energy were then further investigated. The results showed that the mechanical properties of all the reinforced welded joints improved significantly than the unreinforced joint having a relatively reduced joint performance of 132 MPa tensile strength, hardness of 45.3 HRB and impact energy of 39.4 J. The PWG-reinforced friction stir welded joint performed optimally at a tensile strength of 212.7 MPa, 72 HRB hardness and 54.5 J impact energy followed by the SSC-reinforced joint which exhibited 173.7 MPa tensile strength, 54.8 HRB hardness and impact energy of 41.7 J. Hence, 80%, 59% and 38% joint performance was exhibited through tensile strength, hardness and impact energy of PWG-reinforced friction stir weldments of AA6061-T651 against the unreinforced weldments

A Cross-sectional Survey of the Willingness of Tertiary Hospital Staff to Donate Blood in Sagamu, Nigeria

Background: Available donor blood rarely meets the demand in sub-Saharan Africa due to obstacles to blood donation. Willingness to donate blood is adjudged an important step to the actual practice of donating blood. Objective: To assess the willingness of the members of staff of the hospital to donate blood and determine factors affecting their willingness or otherwise. Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study. A proportional allocation of participants was carried out at the various departments in the hospital using self-administered questionnaire. Results: Overall, 183 (73%) of the 246 respondents expressed willingness to donate blood, 111(45%) of whom have been asked to donate blood in the past. Only 91(37%) had donated blood in the past. Significantly higher proportion of health staff showed the willingness to donate blood generally and voluntarily compared to non-health staff. Significantly higher proportion of respondents with tertiary education showed the willingness to donate blood. Two hundred and eighteen (88.8%) were willing to donate blood to help the patient in need while fear of exposure to HIV infection, needle prick and dizziness constituted the major factors discouraging blood donation (19.9%, 18.7% and 18.3% respectively). Conclusion: Willingness to donate blood was mostly based on the primordial motivation of helping the patient in need which does not translate to blood donation. There is a need to improve awareness and advocacy on blood donation among hospital staff and the general population

Marine Actinobacteria Bioflocculant: A Storehouse of Unique Biotechnological Resources for Wastewater Treatment and Other Applications

Staff PublicationThe bioactive compounds produced by actinobacteria have played a major role in antimicrobials, bioremediation, biofuels, enzymes, and anti-cancer activities. Biodegradable microbial flocculants have been produced by bacteria, algae, and fungi. Microbial bioflocculants have also attracted biotechnology importance over chemical flocculants as a result of degradability and environmentally friendly attributes they possess. Though, freshwater actinobacteria flocculants have been explored in bioflocculation. Yet, there is a paucity of information on the application of actinobacteria flocculants isolated from the marine environment. Similarly, marine habitats that supported the biodiversity of actinobacteria strains in the field of biotechnology have been underexplored in bioflocculation. Hence, this review reiterates the need to optimize culture conditions and other parameters that a ect bioflocculant production by using a response surface model or artificial neural network