Entrepreneurs Response to the 2020 Pandemic: Impact on Business Activities of SMEs in Lagos State.

Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) have always been faced with various challenges in their journey to attain success. Researchers have identified these challenges to include inadequate funding, inadequate information management and recording keeping, poor infrastructure, lack of managerial skills and many others. With the 2020 pandemic, SMEs had to encounter a new set challenges that seems to threaten the very existence/sustenance of the enterprises. The 2020 pandemic came with attendant negative consequences on both human lives as well as the institutional structures and systems that have been put in place for the functioning of the economy. This study set out to examine the immediate and far-reaching impact that 2020 pandemic had on the activities of SMEs and also measures that could be put in place for the continuous survival of SMEs being the engine and catalyst of growth and development of economies of many countries. The research design for the study is Survey. To guide the study four research questions and three hypotheses were generated. The sample for the study were 101 SMEs located within the Lagos State Metropolis. The instrument for data collection is a questionnaire titled, “Questionnaire on Entrepreneurs Response to Pandemic 2020: Impact on Business Activities of SMEs in Lagos State” which had a Cronbach Alpha coefficient value of 0.60. Data collected from the study was analysed using regression statistical tool on the SPSS version 20. The result from the study revealed that entrepreneurs’ response to 2020 pandemic significantly impacted the product/service package cycle, patronage, profitability and innovative tendency of SMEs. It is recommended that all efforts be geared towards creating an enabling environment for the sustainability of entrepreneurial activities of SMEs in the state as they have been identified as the engine of growth and development of all economies

Achieving Excellence in the Operations of Entrepreneurship Development Centres in Nigeria Higher Institutions

There have been several policy interventions in Nigeria that were aimed at stimulating enterprise development. In line with this effort, entrepreneurship syllabus was embedded in the higher institutions curriculum to stimulate entrepreneurship mind-set among Nigeria graduates. And Entrepreneurship Development Centres (EDCs) sprang up in various institutions with varying approaches to the challenges posted to them.  With almost a decade experience in entrepreneurship educational development in our higher institutions, a stock-taking of their activities and way to achieve the aims and objectives is urgently needed. It was discovered that these centres, which most institution have established have not reach their potential capacity. So, the paper takes a look the current mode of operation of the some of the centres and their impacts on their graduates. In conclusion, the paper recommend ways and manners the centres can meet the contemporary challenges and their roles in enterprise development, skill acquisition and entrepreneurship education. Key words: Entrepreneurship Development Centres, Entrepreneurship education and Enterprise development

Composición en nutrientes de cinco variedades de maní (Arachis hypogaea L.) de consumo habitual en Nigeria

The nutrient composition of the five major varieties of groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) commonly consumed in the south-western part of Nigeria was investigated. Raw dryshelled samples were analyzed for proximate (moisture, ash, protein, fat, fiber and carbohydrate), ‘vitamins’ (β-carotene, thiamine, niacin and tocopherol) and minerals (Na, K, Ca, P, Mg, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, Se, Co, Al, As, Cd and Pb). Results showed that the groundnuts had 4.12-9.26% moisture, 2.77-3.31% ash, 24.26-26.35% protein, 45.41-48.14% fat, 2.51-2.94% fiber and 15.90-17.75% carbohydrate. All the varieties analyzed showed β-carotene (63.32-65.35mg/100g), thiamin (0.73-0.98mg/100g), niacin (14.00-16.03mg/100g) and tocopherol (18.62-21.07mg/100g) activities; with boro red having significantly (P P> Mg> Ca> Mn> Cu> Na> Zn> Fe> Al> Se in most of the varieties. Boro red also had the highest elemental contents in most of the minerals analyzed. Thus, these groundnuts can be considered useful foodstuffs in minimizing proteinenergy malnutrition (PEM) and micronutrient deficiencies in Nigeria. However, the boro red variety is most recommended. The outcome of this research is a contribution to the food composition table.Se ha investigado la composición en nutrientes de las cinco principales variedades de maní (Arachis hypogaea L.) de consumo habitual en la parte sur-occidental de Nigeria. A las muestras crudas con cáscara y secas se les analizó su composición proximal (humedad, ceniza, proteína, grasa, fibra e hidratos de carbono), vitaminas (β-caroteno, tiamina, niacina y tocoferol) y minerales (Na, K, Ca, P, Mg, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, Se, Co, Al, As, Cd y Pb). Los resultados mostraron que el maní tenía entre 4.12 - 9.26% de humedad, 2.77- 3.31% de cenizas, 24.26 - 26.35% de proteína, 45.41 - 48.14% de materia grasa, 2.51 - 2.94% de fibra y 15.90 -17.75% de carbohidratos. Todas las variedades analizadas contenían β-caroteno (63.32-65.35mg/100g), tiamina (0.73-0.98mg/100g), niacina (14.00-16.03mg/100g) y tocoferoles (18.62-21.07mg/100g), siendo la variedad “Boro rojo” la que contiene las cantidades significativamente más altas (P P> Mg> Ca> Mn> Cu> Na> Zn> Fe> Al> Se. La variedad “Boro rojo” también tuvo el mayor contenido elemental en la mayoría de los minerales analizados. Por lo tanto, estos cacahuetes de la variedad “Boro rojo” es la más recomendable y pueden ser considerados unos productos alimenticios útiles para minimizar la malnutrición proteico-energética (MPE) y las deficiencias de micronutrientes en Nigeria. El resultado de esta investigación puede suponer una significativa contribución a la tabla de composición de alimentos

Assessment of Physicochemical Parameters and Heavy Metals in Sagamu Abattoir Waste Water Ogun State, Nigeria

Abattoir wastewater is a great threat to environmental safety. This study was aimed at assessing the physiochemical constituents using standard methods and some heavy metals using Agilent Microwave Atomic Emission Spectrometer (MP-AES) 4200 model after sample digestion of wastewater from three (3) major abattoirs in Sagamu, Ogun State, Nigeria. The sample was digested using a mixture of nitric acid, hydrochloric acid and hydrogen peroxide. The digested samples were then analyzed for heavy metals. Data from the physicochemical characterization show that pH, TS, TDS, TSS and COD ranged from; (5.8 – 6.2), (11500 – 27733.33), (5500 – 9066.67), (6000 – 18666.67), and (1507.67 – 3671) respectively. The assessed heavy metals are in the range (mg/L): Zn (0.132-0.337), Cu (0.091 – 0.516), Mn (0.410 – 0.994), Fe (5.294 – 15.44), V (0.132 – 0.32), Cd (0.036 – 0.119), Ni (0.029 – 0.17), Pb (0.136 – 0.234), Cr (0.299 – 1.277), and Co (0.015 – 0.079). Zn, Cu and Fe are essential metals within tolerable limits except Mn that exceeded the limits of World Health Organization (0.04 mg/L) but below Federal Ministry of Environment (5 mg/L) while Ni, Pb and Chromium are above permissible limits in all samples.  The pretreatment of the wastewater before discharging into environment is highly recommended and more research should be done on remediation to reduce the abattoir wastewater heavy metals concentration and the effect it is having on the ecosystem and the environment at large

Data-driven malaria prevalence prediction in large densely populated urban holoendemic sub-Saharan West Africa

Over 200 million malaria cases globally lead to half-million deaths annually. The development of malaria prevalence prediction systems to support malaria care pathways has been hindered by lack of data, a tendency towards universal "monolithic" models (one-size-fits-all-regions) and a focus on long lead time predictions. Current systems do not provide short-term local predictions at an accuracy suitable for deployment in clinical practice. Here we show a data-driven approach that reliably produces one-month-ahead prevalence prediction within a densely populated all-year-round malaria metropolis of over 3.5 million inhabitants situated in Nigeria which has one of the largest global burdens of P. falciparum malaria. We estimate one-month-ahead prevalence in a unique 22-years prospective regional dataset of > 9 × 10^{4} participants attending our healthcare services. Our system agrees with both magnitude and direction of the prediction on validation data achieving MAE ≤ 6 × 10^{-2}, MSE ≤ 7 × 10^{-3}, PCC (median 0.63, IQR 0.3) and with more than 80% of estimates within a (+ 0.1 to - 0.05) error-tolerance range which is clinically relevant for decision-support in our holoendemic setting. Our data-driven approach could facilitate healthcare systems to harness their own data to support local malaria care pathways

Severe childhood malaria syndromes defined by plasma proteome profiles

BACKGROUND Cerebral malaria (CM) and severe malarial anemia (SMA) are the most serious life-threatening clinical syndromes of Plasmodium falciparum infection in childhood. Therefore it is important to understand the pathology underlying the development of CM and SMA, as opposed to uncomplicated malaria (UM). Different host responses to infection are likely to be reflected in plasma proteome-patterns that associate with clinical status and therefore provide indicators of the pathogenesis of these syndromes. METHODS AND FINDINGS Plasma and comprehensive clinical data for discovery and validation cohorts were obtained as part of a prospective case-control study of severe childhood malaria at the main tertiary hospital of the city of Ibadan, an urban and densely populated holoendemic malaria area in Nigeria. A total of 946 children participated in this study. Plasma was subjected to high-throughput proteomic profiling. Statistical pattern-recognition methods were used to find proteome-patterns that defined disease groups. Plasma proteome-patterns accurately distinguished children with CM and with SMA from those with UM, and from healthy or severely ill malaria-negative children. CONCLUSIONS We report that an accurate definition of the major childhood malaria syndromes can be achieved using plasma proteome-patterns. Our proteomic data can be exploited to understand the pathogenesis of the different childhood severe malaria syndromes

Physicochemical characteristics and green microalgae composition of selected rivers in Ogun State, Nigeria

The river system is the most complex of the freshwater bodies in the world and is prone to pollution especially from anthropogenic activities and the quality of water, as partially determined by physicochemical properties, is very crucial for primary productivity in the aquatic environment. This study determined the physicochemical characteristics and green microalgae of water collected from Majopa, Ogunpa and Uren rivers in Ogun State, Nigeria. Surface water samples were collected from three different rivers using direct collection method into the labelled bottles for physicochemical characteristics determination, culturing and ecological studies. Water samples for ecological studies were fixed in 4% unbuffered formalin while sample for culturing were not fixed but growth stimulated using Bold Basal Medium (BBM) and Blue- Green Medium (BG-11). The physicochemical parameters varied widely with the profile of water sample from Ogunpa River being the most favourable for widest diversity of green microalgae of all three. The pH of the water samples were slightly acidic ranging between 6.3 and 6.5 for the rivers, while the lower dissolved oxygen (2.61-3.01 mg/L) recorded pointed to a stressed environment which probably accounted for lower number of microalgae taxa observed, especially in Majopa River. The ecological studies showed the presence of ten taxa from the division Chlorophyta with nine taxa from Ogunpa River and Scenedesmus sp. being dominant genus across the rivers. The microalgae diversity of the river water was Ogunpa River˃Uren River˃Majopa River. BBM supported growth of the microalgae much better. The physicochemical properties portrayed Majopa and Ogunpa River water as unfit for drinking, while that of Uren River is relatively fit for drinking. It is highly recommended that the microalgae reported therein be further characterised for various possible economic benefits. Keywords: Growth, Microalgae, Nutrient, Ogun State, River, WaterDepth, Geothermal Energ

The psychosocial problems of sickle cell disease sufferers and their methods of coping

We interviewed 170 sickle cell disease (SCD) patients (mean age 25 years) with a modified version of the Frankfurter Befindlichkeitskala (FBS, 33-item) and the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), with a view to highlighting the psychosocial issues which worry them, the way they cope with these problems, and the factors associated with these issues. The mean FBS score of SCD patients was comparable with those of insulin dependent diabetics, but significantly higher than that of non-insulin dependent diabetics. The FBS scores were significantly correlated with GHQ-12 scores. Feelings of inadequacy of social contact were significantly associated with high FBS and GHQ scores. Some common complaints were: the limitations illness placed on social life; depressive feelings; abnormal habitus; suicidal ideation during crises; and the burden of illness on the family. They frequently resorted to prayers as a method of coping, as most had no clear ideas on how to deal with these issues. Worries over psychosocial consequences of SCD, seem to add considerably to the burden of illness, and clinicians will offer better care to patients if they routinely enquire into some of these issues and offer health education and counselling in a group setting.sickle cell disease psychosocial coping Nigeria