Enrichment of captive environment for effective animal reproduction

Animals are kept in captivity for the purpose of recreation, experimentation, rearing, reproduction,  conservation, research etc. This study reviews how adequate welfare must be provided for the animals in captivity so that they will be able to perform to their maximum  capabilities. It is imperative that the animals should not suffer because of the conditions they have been subjected to. The captive  environment must be adequately enriched to foster effective reproduction that will sustain the population of the endangered species. This review has identified some of the problems faced by the captive animals and how to minimize these challenges. It is mandatory that before any animal is confined, adequate provision for its welfare must be provided to reduce any form of physiological or psychological stress

Users’ motivation and satisfaction as predictors of lecturers’ use of Library Resources in Colleges of Education in southwest, Nigeria

The study investigated users’ motivation and satisfaction as predictor of lecturers’ use of library resources in colleges of education in southwest, Nigeria. This is to reveal that library user motivation and satisfaction will predict lecturers’ effective use of library resources. . The descriptive research design was adopted, while a multi-stage sampling procedure was used in the study. Simple random sampling method was employed to select respondents from the selected colleges of education. A total of 568 lecturers (297 males and 271 females) participated in the study. A structured questionnaire tagged “Questionnaire on Users’ Motivation, Satisfaction and Library Material on Lecturers Use of Library in Colleges of Education South West Nigeria (QMSLMLULCESWN), four research questions were answered. The results showed that the motivational level lecturers in colleges of education on the use of library is low, although the finding revealed that majorly of them frequently use the library. Also, the finding revealed that lecturers’ level of satisfaction is at average level and users’ motivation and satisfaction can predict lecturers’ use of library. Therefore lecturers’ motivation and satisfaction is necessary to enhance their use of library resources

Evaluation of the Causes and Effects of Flood in Apete, Ido Local Government Area, Oyo State, Nigeria.

Floods in Nigeria had done more harm without any notice of benefits. In the last 30 years, Nigerian cities have experienced great physical development, in terms of building, manufacturing industries and others without any appreciable infrastructures such as drainages, roads and canals to support them. These have made floods to be a serious challenge that plague many Nigerian cities. Thus, this research investigates the causes and effects of flood in Apete Area of Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria, and proffer recommendations to avert the future occurrence of flood in the area. The results of the research will expose Nigerian government to the strategies of mitigating any occurrence of flood, as well as enlighten the public on how to guide against the occurrence of flood. 156 questionnaires were administered to the residents of Apete area to know the causes and effects of floods in the area. The findings of this research show that there is poor waste management practices among the residents of Apete .They engaged in indiscriminate waste dumps which have blocked the inadequate drainage available. There is high rate of building construction along water channels which usually results to floods. Many lives and properties have been destroyed by floodsl. Keywords: Floods, harm, cities, physical development, infrastructure, drainage, plague, publi

Women in the War: A Gendered Analysis of Media Coverage of the Russian-Ukraine War

In recent years several commentators have observed the trend of mainstream media ignoring and distorting women’s perspectives and experiences in armed conflicts. Both in the reporting and the wider discourse about conflicts, women tend to be cast less as political actors and more as helpless victims, often paired with children in accounts of war incidents. Carolina Marques de Mesquita (2016), in her study of media coverage of recent wars and conflicts, observed that while major media outlets tend to represent the scale of violence in a conflict through the harm and death inflicted on women, they are otherwise often neglected. This contention sets the backdrop for our study that aims to explore the Russian-Ukraine War from a gendered lens. We examine the coverage of the ongoing conflict in four news outlets to see whether or not they reflect the established pattern of gendered representations of war. Our analysis reveals, by and large, persistence in the pattern of coverage of the war that corroborates the charge that media reportage of conflict tends to underrepresent women and distort their involvement in wars through narrow role characterizations

The universal and contingent impossibility and desirability of ethics in Ato Sekyi- Otu’s Left universalism, Africacentric essay

The essay reviews Ato Sekyi-Otu's fascinating book on Universalism from an "Africacentric" perspective. It examines part of Sekyi-Otu's focus on Postcolonial Humanity and the ethics of thinking about multiculturalism, transnationalism and the humanities writ large

Antimicrobial efficacy and tissue reaction of Euphorbia hirta ethanolic extract oncanine wounds

Antimicrobial efficacy and tissue reaction of crude ethanolic extract of Euphorbia hirta was investigated in canine infected incised wounds. The gross appearance and histopathological reactions of the lesions were evaluated at 72 h after treatment. The results showed that crude ethanolic extract of E. hirta neither promoted the growth of Staphylococcus aureus nor provoked tissue reaction in canine wounds. It was concluded that infected wound would benefit from treatment with ethanolic extract of E. hirta and its use in surgical site preparation is thus recommended.Key words: Antimicrobial, efficacy, tissue reaction, Euphorbia hirta, canine wounds

EVALUATION OF LAND-USE AND LAND-COVER CHANGES CUM FOREST DEGRADATION IN SHASHA FOREST RESERVE, OSUN STATE, NIGERIA USING REMOTE SENSING

Sustainable forest management requires accurate information on forest covers and periodical changes. Availability and use of spatial data has become very helpful in x-raying structural changes in most tropical rain forest management options due to reliable accuracy of satellite images with readily-available image processing tools. Thus, we assessed forest drains and land-cover changes in Shasha Forest Reserve using Landsat TM, ETM+ and OLI/TC images acquired from USGS. The images were analyzed using ERDAS Imagine and Maximum Likelihood Algorithm in ArcGIS 10.5. Land-use/cover change-dynamics were characterized using Land Change Modeller. Classification accuracies were assessed using Kappa’s and confusion matrix. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index analysis was performed in ArcGIS. The distinguished LULC were forest, farmland, built-up and water bodies/swamp. The forest cover and water bodies/swamp shrank by 638.91 and 1653.48 ha at -23.66 and -61.24 hayr-1, respectively within the 27-year period. Meanwhile, farmlands and built-up areas increased by 1508.40 and 783.99 ha at 55.87 and 29.04 hayr-1, respectively. Results further showed that the reserve was better-vegetated in 1991 (0.39) than 2018 (0.05). The major drivers of forest degradation in the area were subsistence agriculture, illegal timber exploitation and overexploitation of non-timber forest products. Overall classification accuracy was 95.1% with Kappa’s coefficient of 0.9439. User’s accuracy ranged between 90.8 and 96.2%, while Producer’s accuracies were between 90.8 and 98.1%. The result of LULC change simulation showed that if the prevailing trends subsist without regeneration, and if other factors remained unchanged, forest and water bodies/swamp would dip further by -653.74 ha and -318.66 ha by 2050, while farmlands and built-up areas would increase by 622.62 ha and 349.78 ha, respectively, with potential negative consequences on environmental variables

Impact of Microfinance Banks on Poverty Alleviation in Selected Local Government Areas of Oyo State, Nigeria

The study examined the impact of microfinance banks on poverty alleviation in selected Local Government Areas of Oyo State. Standard of living of the respondents was examined; relationship between size of loans and standard of living and the extent to which women has benefitted from microfinance bank activities were also evaluated. The study was carried out in three Local Government Areas which were selected using stratified and purposive sampling techniques. 150 customers of microfinance banks were selected. Primary data were analyzed using Foster Greer Thorbecke; Matching Framework Analysis and Partial Correlation. The results revealed that poverty index of the respondents reduced from 0.1668 to 0.1551 after collection of loans which implied that microfinance banks has impacted positively on their living standards. The extent at which women has benefitted from microfinance banks ranges from 65% to 74% between 2007 and 2010. The result indicated that women are increasingly benefitting from microfinance activities in contrast to yester years when there was gender disparity skewed against women. Moreover, the relationship between size of loan, asset acquisition and profit after loan were positive and significant with P = 0.085 and r = 0.152, this revealed that as the size of loan increases, asset acquisition and profit also increases. It was recommended that the size of loans given to customers should be increased in order to enhance their standard of living and consequently alleviate poverty. Microfinance banks should encourage formation of cooperative societies through which they can give out loans to customers. Keywords: Microfinance bank, Poverty, Living standard, Nigeri

A qualitative exploration of the experiences of young people and their parents regarding the impact of missing school to attend hospital based orthodontic appointments

OBJECTIVE: To explore the experiences of young people and their parents regarding the impact on school performance due to time away from school for orthodontic appointments and to explore their views about a possible extension to the current service. DESIGN: Qualitative study using semi-structured interviews. SETTING: UK district hospitals. PARTICIPANTS: Eleven pairs of interviewees: Young people undergoing fixed appliances and their parents. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with young people and their parents. The interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. A framework approach was used to analyse the data. RESULTS: Thematic analysis of the data identified five main themes which were (i) Expectations of the treatment process and appointments, (ii) Impact of school absences and treatment, (iii) Appointments, (iv) Implications for young people, parents, and others and (v) Satisfaction with treatment. These themes were then further subdivided and analysed. CONCLUSIONS: Thematic analysis of the data identified five main themes which were (i) Expectations of the treatment process and appointments, (ii) Impact of school absences and treatment, (iii) Appointments, (iv) Implications for young people, parents, and others and (v) Satisfaction with treatment. These themes were then further subdivided and analysed

Audit of Open Pediatric Tracheostomies at the University College Hospital, Ibadan

Background: Tracheostomy is the creation of a communication between the trachea and the overlying skin, maintained by a tube. This is done either by an open or percutaneous technique. Anatomical and physiological variation of the paediatric trachea and adjoining structures necessitates finite skills and consistent competence in performing pediatric tracheostomies, lack of which may cause higher mortality and morbidity outcome in tracheostomies in the pediatric age group. Objectives: There are inadequate local data on the outcomes of pediatric tracheostomies; therefore, we conducted a local audit of pediatric tracheostomy to describe our experience. Methods: A retrospective study of pediatric patients who had tracheostomies from June 2011 to December 2017 was done. Results: Thirty‑four patients were identified, all of whom had an open tracheostomy. The age range was 3 weeks to 16 years; M: F ratio was 2.4:1. Indications for surgery were obstructive (88.2%) and prolonged‑assisted intubation (11.8%). Recurrent respiratory papillomatosis, retropharyngeal abscess, and foreign‑body aspiration were the main obstructive causes. Three patients (8.8%) had repeat procedures, and these patients were initially discharged on tracheostomy tube and instructions were given for home care. Conclusion: Despite the evolving local challenges peculiar to clinical practice in developing countries, the outcome of pediatric tracheostomy in our hospital is good. Keywords: Audit, pediatric, tracheostom