Effect of Gender on Students’ Academic Performance in Computer Studies in Secondary Schools in New Bussa, Borgu Local Government of Niger State

This research studied the relationship between student’s gender and academic performance in computer science in New Bussa, Borgu local government of Niger state. Questionnaire which consist of 30 multiple-choice items drawn from Senior School Certificate Examination past questions as set by the West Africa Examination Council in 2014 multiple choice past question was used as the research instrument consist. The questionnaire was administered to 275 students from both private and public schools in the study area. The students’ responses were marked and scored, afterward analysed using independent t-test. The results of the study showed that even though the male students had slightly better performance compared to the female students, it was not significant. This better performance was found to be pronounced in the private school which was shown to possess the best male brains found in the study area. Based on the findings of this study, recommendations were made. Parents are encouraged to provide the right education they can afford for their children irrespective of gender. Also, there should be a deliberate Federal Government policy to encourage absorbance of female students into further study in computer science. Furthermore, it was recommended that stake holders in the education industry should make use of these findings and try to research into ways of making gender sensitive policies. Keywords: Effect, Gender, Academic, Performance, Computer Studies, Secondary School

ASSESSMENT OF PESTICIDES AND POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS IN BEEF JERKY MEAT FROM NIGERIA AND THEIR DIETARY CONCENTRATION TO HUMAN

The study reports the concentrations, daily intake levels and possible potential health risks of 33 pesticides and 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in beef jerky meat samples collected from sellers in Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria. The PAHs concentration (µg/kg) ranged from 0.007 (indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene) to 0.516 (acenapthylene), while pesticides (µg/kg) ranged from 0.010(2,4,6-trichlorophenol) to 0.272 (oxamyl). The estimated daily intakes of the pesticides were within the acceptable daily intakes (EDI˂˂˂ADI). The hazard indices were significantly less than 1 (HI ˂˂ 1) with estimated range of 1.08 × 10-7 (pyriproxyfen) to 1.81 × 10-4 (aldrin). Non carcinogenic equivalent (mg/kg/day) intakes of PAHs from beef jerky consumption ranged from 0.000027 (pyrene) to 0.00421 (anthracene), while the carcinogenic equivalent concentration ranged from 0.000024 (chrysene) to 0.265 benzo(a)pyrene. The risk associated with beef jerky meat showed no potential non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risk while mutagenic and carcinogenic risk revealed low potential health risk as compared to the guideline value (1.0 × 10-6) for potential cancer risk

Kinetics and thermodynamic studies of adsorption of malachite green onto unmodified and EDTA-modified groundnut husk

A batch experiment was applied to study the adsorption of malachite green from aqueous solution by unmodified and ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA)-modified groundnut husk. The effect of initial dye concentration, temperature, contact time and pH on the sorption process was investigated. The Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherms were applied to test the experimental data. The chemically modified groundnut husk agreed well with both the Langmuir and Freundlich models at the temperature below the room temperature (25°C) and above the room temperature. Unmodified groundnut husk showed poor agreement with the isotherm at temperature below the room temperature but fits well into the model at higher temperature. Kinetics of the adsorption with respect to the initial dye concentration and temperature was also investigated. The pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order and intraparticle diffusion models were used to test the kinetic data. Obtained data were fitted properly in the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The thermodynamic parameters such as change in free energy (∆G°), enthalpy (∆H°) and entropy (∆S°) were also determined and the results obtained confirmed that the sorption process is feasible, spontaneous, and endothermic

Do mothers pick up a phone? A cross-sectional study on delivery of MCH voice messages in Lagos, Nigeria

Background: Voice messages have been employed as an effective and efficient approach for increasing health service utilization and health promotion in low- and middleincome countries. However, unlike SMS, voice message services require their users to pick up a phone call at its delivery time. Furthermore, voice messages are difficult for the users to review their contents afterward. While recognizing that voice messages are more friendly to specific groups (eg, illiterate or less literate populations), there should be several challenges in successfully operationalizing its intervention program.Objective: This study is aimed to estimate the extent to which voice message service users pick up the phone calls of voice messages and complete listening up to or beyond the core part of voice messages.Methods: A voice message service program composed of 14 episodes on maternal, newborn, and child health was piloted in Lagos, Nigeria, from 2018 to 2019. A voice message call of each of 14 episodes was delivered to the mobile phones of the program participants per day for 14 consecutive days. A total of 513 participants in the voice message service chose one of five locally spoken languages as the language to be used for voice messages. Two multilevel logistic regression models were created to understand participants’ adherence to the voice message: (a) Model 1 for testing whether a voice message call is picked up; and (b) Model 2 for testing whether a voice message call having been picked up is listened to up to the core messaging part.Results: The greater the voice message episode number became, the smaller proportion of the participants picked up the phone calls of voice message (aOR: 0.98; 95% CI: 0.97–0.99; P =.01). Only 854 of 3765 voice message calls having been picked up by the participants (22.7%) were listened to up to their core message parts. It was found that picking up a phone call did not necessarily ensure listening up to the core message part. This indicates a discontinuity between these two actions. Conclusions: The participants were likely to stop picking up the phone as the episode number of voice messages progressed. In view of the discontinuity between picking up a phone call and listening up to the core message part, we should not assume that those picking up the phone would automatically complete listening to the entire or core voice message

Effect of early tranexamic acid administration on mortality, hysterectomy, and other morbidities in women with post-partum haemorrhage (WOMAN): an international, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Background Post-partum haemorrhage is the leading cause of maternal death worldwide. Early administration of tranexamic acid reduces deaths due to bleeding in trauma patients. We aimed to assess the effects of early administration of tranexamic acid on death, hysterectomy, and other relevant outcomes in women with post-partum haemorrhage. Methods In this randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, we recruited women aged 16 years and older with a clinical diagnosis of post-partum haemorrhage after a vaginal birth or caesarean section from 193 hospitals in 21 countries. We randomly assigned women to receive either 1 g intravenous tranexamic acid or matching placebo in addition to usual care. If bleeding continued after 30 min, or stopped and restarted within 24 h of the first dose, a second dose of 1 g of tranexamic acid or placebo could be given. Patients were assigned by selection of a numbered treatment pack from a box containing eight numbered packs that were identical apart from the pack number. Participants, care givers, and those assessing outcomes were masked to allocation. We originally planned to enrol 15 000 women with a composite primary endpoint of death from all-causes or hysterectomy within 42 days of giving birth. However, during the trial it became apparent that the decision to conduct a hysterectomy was often made at the same time as randomisation. Although tranexamic acid could influence the risk of death in these cases, it could not affect the risk of hysterectomy. We therefore increased the sample size from 15 000 to 20 000 women in order to estimate the effect of tranexamic acid on the risk of death from post-partum haemorrhage. All analyses were done on an intention-to-treat basis. This trial is registered with ISRCTN76912190 (Dec 8, 2008); ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00872469; and PACTR201007000192283. Findings Between March, 2010, and April, 2016, 20 060 women were enrolled and randomly assigned to receive tranexamic acid (n=10 051) or placebo (n=10 009), of whom 10 036 and 9985, respectively, were included in the analysis. Death due to bleeding was significantly reduced in women given tranexamic acid (155 [1·5%] of 10 036 patients vs 191 [1·9%] of 9985 in the placebo group, risk ratio [RR] 0·81, 95% CI 0·65–1·00; p=0·045), especially in women given treatment within 3 h of giving birth (89 [1·2%] in the tranexamic acid group vs 127 [1·7%] in the placebo group, RR 0·69, 95% CI 0·52–0·91; p=0·008). All other causes of death did not differ significantly by group. Hysterectomy was not reduced with tranexamic acid (358 [3·6%] patients in the tranexamic acid group vs 351 [3·5%] in the placebo group, RR 1·02, 95% CI 0·88–1·07; p=0·84). The composite primary endpoint of death from all causes or hysterectomy was not reduced with tranexamic acid (534 [5·3%] deaths or hysterectomies in the tranexamic acid group vs 546 [5·5%] in the placebo group, RR 0·97, 95% CI 0·87-1·09; p=0·65). Adverse events (including thromboembolic events) did not differ significantly in the tranexamic acid versus placebo group. Interpretation Tranexamic acid reduces death due to bleeding in women with post-partum haemorrhage with no adverse effects. When used as a treatment for postpartum haemorrhage, tranexamic acid should be given as soon as possible after bleeding onset. Funding London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Pfizer, UK Department of Health, Wellcome Trust, and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Features of Tone in Nigerian English Stress Pattern

Nigerian English (NE) has a distinct stress pattern that is often credited to influences from the tone of the Nigerian indigenous languages. This study examined the extent of the influence of tone and the characteristics of stress in NE. Three hundred NE speakers were purposively sampled. The data collected through tape-recording of their renditions of a prepared text was subjected to acoustic analysis, complemented by descriptive statistics. The results showed that stress was assigned in a tone-influenced manner; stress was determined by the presence and the position of the high tone. This suggests that NE should be classified as a pitch-accent language. Therefore, prominence in NE words is better discussed in terms of both tone and stress, rather than as either only tone or only stress

Effect of Social Capital on welfare of Rural Households in South-western States

Abstract: This study conducted an empirical investigation on the effects of social capital on welfare of rural households in the southwestern, Nigeria. Multistage sampling technique was employed. The data for the study were collected with the aid of structured questionnaires from three hundred and ninety nine households in Ekiti and Osun states. The data were analyzed using descriptive and regression techniques. The average age of the households head in the study areas was 41.3 years. Households belong to at least two associations and the most important one is religion association. Average household size is 5.0 members and has about 66.7 percent index of participation. However, the level of heterogeneity index is 54.7 percent while meeting attendance index of the households represents halves of the maximum recorded. Cash contribution index is surprisingly low with value of 16.8 percent while labour contribution index is 66.3 percent and with mean social capital value of 15.21. The result of regression show that location, marital status, household size, primary occupation cash contribution index and heterogeneity index of households significantly impacted welfare. The use of instrumental variable lead to an increase in the value of adjustment R 2 from 0.2302 to 0.2564 compared with the use of the actual social capital index. Policy that enhances better strong social ties of poor households is recommended for poverty alleviation

Use of Media Marketing Tools among Cassava Growers in Oyo State, Nigeria

Abstract The study investigated the level of use of Media Marketing Tools (MMTs) among cassava growers in Oyo State. Interview schedule was used to collect data from a sample size of 192 respondents across the senatorial districts of the state. Data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results revealed that respondents’ years of farming experience, marketing experience and annual income were 16 11.2 years, 12.5 , and N625,833.3  respectively. Despite wider spread and use of media marketing tools for agricultural products and services globally, use of MMTs was low in the study area. Unstable power supply ( =2.0, 0.00), high cost of devices for accessing media marketing tools ( = 1.98, 0.10) and lack of technical know-how ( =1.97, 0.14) were identified as constraints to the use of the tools. Significant relationship existed between awareness (r= -0.57, p=0.00) and the use of media marketing tools, while knowledge (r= 0.355, p=0.067) did not have significant association with the use of the tools. Hence, there is need for intensified awareness and training of cassava growers by all extension stakeholders on the use of MMTs for improved productivity

Use of Media Marketing Tools among Cassava Growers in Oyo State, Nigeria

Abstract The study investigated the level of use of Media Marketing Tools (MMTs) among cassava growers in Oyo State. Interview schedule was used to collect data from a sample size of 192 respondents across the senatorial districts of the state. Data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results revealed that respondents’ years of farming experience, marketing experience and annual income were 16 11.2 years, 12.5 , and N625,833.3  respectively. Despite wider spread and use of media marketing tools for agricultural products and services globally, use of MMTs was low in the study area. Unstable power supply ( =2.0, 0.00), high cost of devices for accessing media marketing tools ( = 1.98, 0.10) and lack of technical know-how ( =1.97, 0.14) were identified as constraints to the use of the tools. Significant relationship existed between awareness (r= -0.57, p=0.00) and the use of media marketing tools, while knowledge (r= 0.355, p=0.067) did not have significant association with the use of the tools. Hence, there is need for intensified awareness and training of cassava growers by all extension stakeholders on the use of MMTs for improved productivity

Use of Media Marketing Tools among Cassava Growers in Oyo State, Nigeria

Abstract The study investigated the level of use of Media Marketing Tools (MMTs) among cassava growers in Oyo State. Interview schedule was used to collect data from a sample size of 192 respondents across the senatorial districts of the state. Data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results revealed that respondents’ years of farming experience, marketing experience and annual income were 16 11.2 years, 12.5 , and N625,833.3  respectively. Despite wider spread and use of media marketing tools for agricultural products and services globally, use of MMTs was low in the study area. Unstable power supply ( =2.0, 0.00), high cost of devices for accessing media marketing tools ( = 1.98, 0.10) and lack of technical know-how ( =1.97, 0.14) were identified as constraints to the use of the tools. Significant relationship existed between awareness (r= -0.57, p=0.00) and the use of media marketing tools, while knowledge (r= 0.355, p=0.067) did not have significant association with the use of the tools. Hence, there is need for intensified awareness and training of cassava growers by all extension stakeholders on the use of MMTs for improved productivity