Effect of Organic Solvents on the Synthesis and Characterization of Carboxymethyl Cellulose from Sawdust

Sawdust generated as waste by-product from timber industries finds limited industrial applications and is mostly discarded or incinerated, causing environmental problems. This research work was carried out with a view of utilizing sawdust to synthesize Carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC). Cellulose was isolated from sawdust of commercially used hardwood (Mahogany- Khaya ivorensis) and softwood (Silk cotton- Eriodendron orientale) by alkali-acid and bleaching treatments. Using ethanol, butanol, isobutanol and isopropanol as solvent media, the isolated cellulose samples were converted to CMC through mercerization with sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and etherification with sodium monochloroacetic acid (SMCA). The products obtained were characterized using Degree of Substitution (DS), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy and Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA). Studies revealed that optimum DS of 0.54 could be reached when isopropanol is used as solvent medium. The presence of carboxyl and methyl functional group at wavenumber 1580-1590 and 1380-1415 cm-1 respectively on the FTIR spectra confirmed the conversion of cellulose to CMC. TGA showed that the thermal stability of CMC is lower than that of the parent cellulose. The results obtained demonstrate a simple method for the conversion of sawdust to a high quality water-soluble cellulose derivative which has applications in the food, textile, cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries

Recruitment and Selection Practices of Construction Employers in Rwanda

Human resources play a key role in the achievement of construction projects. This study investigated the recruitment practices of construction employers in Rwanda. The problem of the study is the lack of empirical evidence to support the recruitment and selection practices of construction employers in Rwanda. Similar studies are abundant in other sectors of the economy but very scarce in the construction industry. The descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. A closed-ended questionnaire was used for data collection. The population of the study are the construction organisations that employ construction workers in Rwanda. Hence, the population of the study is the 580 construction organisations that are officially working in Rwanda. A sample of 80 firms used for the study were determined with the use of Slovin’s formula. The findings of the study indicated that requests for the curriculum vitae, cover letter, face-to-face interview, submission of applications with key information of education/work experience and knowledge test to measure job specific knowledge are the prevalent strategies of recruiting and selecting staff in the construction industry. The prominent sources of recruitment and selection are internship performance, internal advertisement, and local newspaper advertisement. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended that construction organizations should study and adopt the recruitment and selection strategies that have given them the most effective results. It was also recommended that the organisation should stick to the most effective sources of recruitment and selection for their organisation

Attitude of Graduate Youths Towards Agro-allied Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development Programme in Oyo State

Abstract The paper investigated the Agro-allied skill set of the Skill and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) programme of the National Youth Service Corps in Oyo state. Specifically, the study examined the personal characteristics of the corps members, determined the attitude of the corps members to agro-allied activities of the SAED and identified challenges facing corps members in executing the agro-allied activities. Two Local Government Areas namely: South west and Ido Local Government Areas were purposively selected. Pre-tested structured questionnaire was used to elicit information from a total of 82 corps members. Data obtained were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The results revealed that majority (67.1%) of the youths were female. Half (54.9%) of the youths were in the age category of 24-26 with more than 62.7% having Bachelor of Science/Technology degree. Only 17.1% of the youths had a degree in agriculture. Majority of the youths (79.3%) were into livestock production and 20.7% chose agricultural engineering. Financial independency and ability to manage resources (67.6%), ability to innovate and inspire other youths (12.0%) were the major motivations of youth. Majority (64.0%) of the corps members are favourably disposed towards the programme. Challenges to entrepreneurship as major challenges were poor supervision of the programme by NYSC officials (mean=1.89), lack of sufficient facilities for training (mean=1.85), inconsistence government policies (mean=1.84), incompetence of some of the facilitators (mean=1.74) and lack of motivational support by government and other stakeholders (mean=1.73). The inferential statistics analysis shows youth graduates’ sex (χ2 =21.07, p<0.05), educational qualification (χ2 =7.47, p<0.05), and marital status (χ2 =5.72, p<0.05) had significant association with their attitude. Correlation analysis of youth graduates’ attitude and benefits derived from SAED programme was found to be significant (r=0.38, p≤0.00).  For further involvement and positive attitude of youth graduates to agro-allied skill set of SAED, financial assistance, supervision, monitoring and psychological motivation should be improved upon by stakeholders and government during and after the youths’ service year so as to encourage more graduate youths to take up agriculture and agribusiness as a profession and means of livelihood. Also, engaging youth graduates in agriculture and retaining them in the sector is a strategy that could both contribute to increasing agricultural productivity and address youth unemployment.   Keywords: Entrepreneurship Development, Youth Graduates, Attitude and Employmen

Attitude of Graduate Youths Towards Agro-allied Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development Programme in Oyo State

Abstract The paper investigated the Agro-allied skill set of the Skill and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) programme of the National Youth Service Corps in Oyo state. Specifically, the study examined the personal characteristics of the corps members, determined the attitude of the corps members to agro-allied activities of the SAED and identified challenges facing corps members in executing the agro-allied activities. Two Local Government Areas namely: South west and Ido Local Government Areas were purposively selected. Pre-tested structured questionnaire was used to elicit information from a total of 82 corps members. Data obtained were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The results revealed that majority (67.1%) of the youths were female. Half (54.9%) of the youths were in the age category of 24-26 with more than 62.7% having Bachelor of Science/Technology degree. Only 17.1% of the youths had a degree in agriculture. Majority of the youths (79.3%) were into livestock production and 20.7% chose agricultural engineering. Financial independency and ability to manage resources (67.6%), ability to innovate and inspire other youths (12.0%) were the major motivations of youth. Majority (64.0%) of the corps members are favourably disposed towards the programme. Challenges to entrepreneurship as major challenges were poor supervision of the programme by NYSC officials (mean=1.89), lack of sufficient facilities for training (mean=1.85), inconsistence government policies (mean=1.84), incompetence of some of the facilitators (mean=1.74) and lack of motivational support by government and other stakeholders (mean=1.73). The inferential statistics analysis shows youth graduates’ sex (χ2 =21.07, p<0.05), educational qualification (χ2 =7.47, p<0.05), and marital status (χ2 =5.72, p<0.05) had significant association with their attitude. Correlation analysis of youth graduates’ attitude and benefits derived from SAED programme was found to be significant (r=0.38, p≤0.00).  For further involvement and positive attitude of youth graduates to agro-allied skill set of SAED, financial assistance, supervision, monitoring and psychological motivation should be improved upon by stakeholders and government during and after the youths’ service year so as to encourage more graduate youths to take up agriculture and agribusiness as a profession and means of livelihood. Also, engaging youth graduates in agriculture and retaining them in the sector is a strategy that could both contribute to increasing agricultural productivity and address youth unemployment.   Keywords: Entrepreneurship Development, Youth Graduates, Attitude and Employmen

Electricity Consumption and Manufacturing Sector Performance: Evidence from Nigeria

Adequate supply of energy is important for sustainable growth in an economy. The rate of the growth of the Nigeria's electricity development is very slow and not effective compare to other emerging economies; this on the other hands has discouraged production, most especially in the manufacturing sector. In light of this, the study investigates the long-run impact of electricity consumption on manufacturing sector performance proxy by output, employment and capital using Canonical Cointegrating Regression. Evidence from the result in the output equation shows that electricity consumption and credit to manufacturing sector have a negative relationship with output. In the employment equation, consumption in electricity and interest rate have negative effects on employment. In the capital equation, electricity consumption is not statistically significant. In conclusion, effects of electricity consumption as input in the manufacturing sector have not improved the performance in the sector. To improve the situation, the study recommends among others the need to create a framework to promote energy efficiency by maximizing output from the power sector and minimize wastage. Keywords: Electricity consumption; Employment; Output; Capital JEL Classifications:  Q4; J2; O1; G1 DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/ijeep.1139

Humoral immunological kinetics of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection and diagnostic performance of serological assays for coronavirus disease 2019: an analysis of global reports

As the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues to rise and second waves are reported in some countries, serological test kits and strips are being considered to scale up an adequate laboratory response. This study provides an update on the kinetics of humoral immune response to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and performance characteristics of serological protocols (lateral flow assay [LFA], chemiluminescence immunoassay [CLIA] and ELISA) used for evaluations of recent and past SARS-CoV-2 infection. A thorough and comprehensive review of suitable and eligible full-text articles was performed on PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Wordometer and medRxiv from 10 January to 16 July 2020. These articles were searched using the Medical Subject Headings terms 'COVID-19', 'Serological assay', 'Laboratory Diagnosis', 'Performance characteristics', 'POCT', 'LFA', 'CLIA', 'ELISA' and 'SARS-CoV-2'. Data from original research articles on SARS-CoV-2 antibody detection >= second day postinfection were included in this study. In total, there were 7938 published articles on humoral immune response and laboratory diagnosis of COVID-19. Of these, 74 were included in this study. The detection, peak and decline period of blood anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgM, IgG and total antibodies for point-of-care testing (POCT), ELISA and CLIA vary widely. The most promising of these assays for POCT detected anti-SARS-CoV-2 at day 3 postinfection and peaked on the 15th day; ELISA products detected anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgM and IgG at days 2 and 6 then peaked on the eighth day; and the most promising CLIA product detected anti-SARS-CoV-2 at day 1 and peaked on the 30th day. The most promising LFA, ELISA and CLIA that had the best performance characteristics were those targeting total SARS-CoV-2 antibodies followed by those targeting anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG then IgM. Essentially, the CLIA-based SARS-CoV-2 tests had the best performance characteristics, followed by ELISA then POCT. Given the varied performance characteristics of all the serological assays, there is a need to continuously improve their detection thresholds, as well as to monitor and re-evaluate their performances to assure their significance and applicability for COVID-19 clinical and epidemiological purposes

Evaluation of pattern of shell utilization of the hermit crab Clibanarius africanus (Aurivillus, 1898) (Decapoda: Diogenidae) in the Lagos lagoon: an example of bioecological relationship in benthos

Abstract. Evaluation of pattern of shell utilization by Clibanarius africanus was investigated in the intertidal area of the Lagos lagoon, between March and August, 2008 at five study sites. A total of 663 specimens of hermit crab in gastropod shells were collected. Shell occupation of C. africanus was limited to gastropod shells belonging to Pachymelania and Tympanotonus spp. The gastropod shell most inhabited was those of Pachymelania spp, which accounted for 60.96% of inhabited shells, while about 39% of the shell inhabited belonged to Tympanotonus spp. Shell preferences were characterized by shell length, weight and aperture width. Positive and statistically significant correlations were obtained between morphometric characteristics of C. africanus and those of the shells inhabited, suggesting that fitness of shell to crab dimension constitutes mainly the determinant for C. africanus shell utilization. Spatiotemporal variations in the type of shell occupied were not significant in this study. Analysis of the abundance of C. africanus in the study area indicates that, a relatively higher abundance of C. africanus was observed in site 3, due probably to the favourable environmental conditions provided by large percentage of sand fractions in the sediment. From the data recorded in this study, it may be concluded that shell utilization by hermit crabs involves individual preferences related to the shell features that best provide protection, survival and opportunity for the enhancement of behavioural attributes that are necessary for the maximization of bio-ecological relationships

Governance Factors and Mismanagement of Public Project Funds in Nigeria: A Case Study of Ondo State

This paper evaluates the governance factors that are responsible to the mismanagement of public project funds in Nigeria. Governance factors are variables that influence the effective usage of project funds to achieve project delivery while public projects relate to works done by the government to meet public interest. The target population for this study include ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) in the public sector in Ondo State comprising a total number of seventy-four (74) establishments in the state. Primary and secondary data were collected. Principal component analysis method and explorative factor analysis were combined to extract the five relevant governance factors that impact public project delivery in the study area. Findings reveal that execution of public projects could be fettered with different types of corrupt practices such as bribery, favour-to-favour, nepotism, percentage sharing and contract inflation in the study area; however, weaknesses and lapses were observed in bureaucracy, accountability and due process. Therefore, the study suggests among others, that there should be a political will to redress corruption dilemma, tighten accountability, due process and bureaucratic control in project environment