The Changing Face of Education and the Dilemma of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) in Nigeria’s Tertiary Institutions: Implications for Development

On-going studies indicates that the changing face of education via online instruction has drastically turned the tables on the essence of the flipped classroom where usually class work goes home and home work comes to class, a scenario referred to as ‘education tsunami’. Aside the psychological and ethical problems arising from this scenario, preliminary studies carried out among Nigerian tertiary institutions revealed that most students tend to feel their fingers burnt out when they fail to get expected results from the exercise (enrolling in a Massive Open Online Course ‘MOOC’ programme). While employing the traditional methods of rational critical analysis in philosophy to interrogate, and analyze the major contending arguments on the place and relevance of MOOCs in Nigeria’s 21st century educational development, preliminary investigations show an increasing number of students dropping out of MOOCs programmes as a result of problems ranging from distancing phobia and unnecessary anxiety. The flipped classroom model is however recommended as a method which institutions and educators need to embrace since it offers a win-win situation for both students and facilitators

Curcuma longa (Turmeric): Ethnomedicinal uses, phytochemistry, pharmacological activities and toxicity profiles—A review

Introduction: Curcuma longa, popularly known as Turmeric, is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial plant used in folk medicine for the treatment, prevention, and management of various illnesses such as cancer, diabetes, Arthritis, diarrhoea, inflammation, psoriasis, hepatobiliary diseases, gastric and peptic ulcers. Results: This study reviewed the ethnomedicinal potentials, phytochemicals, and pharmacological activities of C. longa. In vitro and in vivo studies reported that C. longa and its major bioactive constituent (curcumin) pos�sess various pharmacological properties. These include; anticancer, antidiabetic, anti-osteoarthritis, antidiar�rheal, cardioprotective, anti-oxidative, neuroprotective, hepatoprotective, anti-microbial, renoprotective and anti-inflammatory activities. This review demonstrated that the various pharmacological activities of C. longa might be attributed to the presence of numerous bioactive compounds. However, these varying potentials have not been effectively analysed for optimal application in developing new therapies. Also, the applicability and mode of action of the different bioactive compounds found in C. longa have not been fully exploited. Conclusion: This study showed that C. longa could be exploited by pharmaceutical industries to develop phar�maceutical products. However, there is a need for human clinical trials and quality control studies to establish effective and safe doses of C. longa and its major bioactive constituent-curcumin suitable for treating several disease

Toxicity Evaluation of the Aqueous Stem Extracts of Senna alata in Wistar Rats

Abstract Aim: This study evaluated the phytochemicals, proximate and the toxicity effect of aqueous stem extract of Senna alata using wistar rats. In acute toxicity test, aqueous dried stem extract of Senna alata were administered orally up to 10 g/kg body weight to male wistar rats. Materials and methods: In sub-acute study, the wistar rats were daily administered orally with aqueous dried stem extract of Senna alata at doses of 250, 500 and 1000 mg/kg for 14 days and haematological, biochemical parameters were determined and a histopathology of the liver and kidney were analyzed. Results: The acute toxicity of oral administration of aqueous extracts of Senna alata stem on albino rats after 24 hours did not produce any mortality at concentration up to 10 g/kg body weight. In the subacute toxicity, significant differences (P> 0.05) were observed in the results of urea, creatinine, and bicarbonate across the tested groups when compared with the control rats. The results of the liver enzymes showed significant difference (P> 0.05) on alkaline transaminase (ALT), Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and Alkaline phosphatase (ALP). Conclusion: Our results showed that the dried stem of Senna alata is not toxic at the tested doses

Effectiveness of xylanase and Saccharomyces cerevisiae as feed additives on gas emissions from agricultural calf farms

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the potential of supplementing calves’ diets with exogenous enzymes (xylanase; XYL) and yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae [SC]) on the sustainable control of methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) productions in agricultural calves farming. Three different levels of supplemented diets of XYL (0, 3 and 6 mg/g of dry matter (DM)), SC (0, 2 and 4 mg/g of DM) and mixture of XYL and SC (0, 2 mL XYL þ 2 mg SC, 6 mL XYL þ 4 mg SC/g of DM) were tested. Asymptotic gas production (GP) consistently decreased by each of the additives with the lowest value at the high dose of XYL þ SC mixture (P < 0.05) compared with the control and the low dose of XYL þ SC mixture. Methane production was reduced by additives inclusion (P < 0.05) when compared with the control treatment with no additive. Xylanase þ SC at all doses increased CO2 production (P < 0.05) whereas the high dose had the most statistically significant (P < 0.05) reduction in GP and CH4 production compared with control, XYL and SC additives at different doses. Interaction between additive and rumen liquor was observed for rate of GP (P ¼ 0.027) and initial delay before GP (P < 0.001). Inclusion of XYL, SC, and XYL þ SC mixture had less asymptotic GP while XYL þ SC mixture had the lowest initial delay (39%) before GP began. The XYL þ SC had the lowest rate of CH4 production (9%) and highest asymptotic CO2 production (81%). The findings of this study indicate that inclusion of XYL or SC additives can improve rumen fermentation and reduce greenhouse gases production. The study also established that the mixture of XYL and SC is more efficient in reducing gas and CH4 emissions for cleaner environmental production conditions in calf farming

Effectiveness of xylanase and Saccharomyces cerevisiae as feed additives on gas emissions from agricultural calf farms

Worldwide, agricultural farming systems, such as livestock production, face the increasing challenge of maintaining future global demand for meat and dairy products because of an expected increase in population (Wiedemann et al., 2017). The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO, 2006) expects that an increase in purchasing power for food from animal sources raises the yearly demand to 465 and 1.043 million t for meat and milk products. Besides, the FAO estimates the growth of global population to reach 9.6 billion by the y 2050 (FAO, 2016), with a doubled purchasing power for meat and dairy products. To meet this rise in demand, agricultural systems need to devise a means to adapt to the probability of dangerous climate change and become more resilient, productive and sustainable (FAO, 2016)The aim of the present study was to evaluate the potential of supplementing calves’ diets with exogenous enzymes (xylanase; XYL) and yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae [SC]) on the sustainable control of methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) productions in agricultural calves farming. Three different levels of supplemented diets of XYL (0, 3 and 6 mg/g of dry matter (DM)), SC (0, 2 and 4 mg/g of DM) and mixture of XYL and SC (0, 2 mL XYL þ 2 mg SC, 6 mL XYL þ 4 mg SC/g of DM) were tested. Asymptotic gas production (GP) consistently decreased by each of the additives with the lowest value at the high dose of XYL þ SC mixture (P < 0.05) compared with the control and the low dose of XYL þ SC mixture. Methane production was reduced by additives inclusion (P < 0.05) when compared with the control treatment with no additive. Xylanase þ SC at all doses increased CO2 production (P < 0.05) whereas the high dose had the most statistically significant (P < 0.05) reduction in GP and CH4 production compared with control, XYL and SC additives at different doses. Interaction between additive and rumen liquor was observed for rate of GP (P ¼ 0.027) and initial delay before GP (P < 0.001). Inclusion of XYL, SC, and XYL þ SC mixture had less asymptotic GP while XYL þ SC mixture had the lowest initial delay (39%) before GP began. The XYL þ SC had the lowest rate of CH4 production (9%) and highest asymptotic CO2 production (81%). The findings of this study indicate that inclusion of XYL or SC additives can improve rumen fermentation and reduce greenhouse gases production. The study also established that the mixture of XYL and SC is more efficient in reducing gas and CH4 emissions for cleaner environmental production conditions in calf farming