Forms of address and language ideologies: The case of a southwestern Nigerian university

This paper examines the forms and functions of address terms employed among staff members and the language ideologies that inform the use of these address forms in a southwestern Nigerian university. The study is guided by Anchimbe’s (2011a) categorisation of address forms, and theories on language ideologies. The data are collected through participant-observation, oral and written interviews, and these are analysed qualitatively. The analysis reveals that forms of address used in the university include academic titles, official titles, kinship terms, social titles, nicknames, first names, surnames, and different combinations of these address forms. The address terms are derived from English, Yoruba, Nigerian Pidgin and other indigenous Nigerian languages. The address forms are informed by postmodernist and functionalist language ideologies which are influenced by cultural ideologies where interactants’ cultures play significant roles in the choice of address terms

Argumentation in Doctor-Patient Interactions in Nigeria

This paper examines argumentation in doctor-patient interactions, with a special focus on antenatal consultations between doctors and pregnant women, using the extended pragmadialectical theory of argumentation. The data comprise two case studies, extracted from forty doctor-pregnant women interactions which were purposively selected from a private hospital in Ibadan, Nigeria. The findings show that depending on the stage of the interaction, the doctor and the pregnant women have interchangeable roles as protagonists and antagonists. The interactants tend to use causal argumentation scheme while employing subordinative and complementary coordinative argumentation structures. The interactants also employ different strategic manoeuvres at different argumentative stages of the critical discussion. Thus, the study shows the influence of the medical communicative activity type on the argumentative activities that can occur in a critical discussion. The study also recommends that argumentation should be included in the medical training of health personnel in order to enhance patient-centred communicatio

Studies on Aflatoxin, Prenatal Exposure and Its Toxicosis in Adamawa Sate, North East of Nigeria

Of the known mycotoxins, the most important in relation to direct hazard to human health are the aflatoxins produced by a large number of Aspergillus spp. To determine the level of exposure of aflatoxin from mother to child and its mode of transfer. 70 pregnant women in the labor ward of The Federal Medical Centre Yola were investigated for their aflatoxin content by using the velasco fluorotoxinmeter which comprised of 89 samples of amniotic fluid, 213 of serum from maternal blood and 211 serums from neonatal cord blood; 57 of those were controls. The aflatoxin values of G1, G2, and M2 above 20 ppb were obtained in 66 samples of the amniotic fluid (74.1%); 133 from venous maternal blood (62.4%) and 142 from neonatal cord blood (67.2%). This results is suggestive that aflatoxin present in maternal blood crosses the transplacental barrier and accumulates in the fetus which further explains the high concentration of aflatoxin in the amniotic fluid and the in - utero exposure to these toxins

Event Models: A Socio-cognitive Study of Selected Interrogations in 2008 Quasi-judicial Public Hearing on Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Administration in Nigeria

This study carries out a socio-cognitive analysis of 2008 national quasi-judicial public hearing on Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Nigeria. Video recordings of interrogations between the public hearing panel and complainants/defendants were used as data for the study, which were taken from the 2008 national public hearings on FCT administration in Nigeria. Van Dijk’s socio­cognitive approach to Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) was used in the analysis of the data. Twenty randomly sampled interrogations were recorded and transcribed. The event models of the interactants featured global topics and local semantics, argumentative and rhetorical strategies. These are influenced by protective, suppressive, defensive and restorative ideologies. The study helps in the understanding of public hearing interrogations as it gives one the knowledge of how ideologies can shape linguistic and semantic patterns in a text.Key words: Critical discourse analysis; Sociocognitive; Ideologies; Event models; Quasi-judicial Public Hearin

The Synergy between Meteorological Parameters and the Total Suspended Particles in the Atmosphere using Polynomial as Model

Pollutants in the atmosphere are influenced by weather and chemistry thus making it difficult to know when they will concentrate and cause poor air quality. The only way to be sure of this is to monitor the air pollution at as many sites as possible and very often as well. In this study, particulate matter was captured at ten locations using SKC Air check XR5000 High volume Gravimetric sampler. The meteorological parameter was captured by LM-8000 Anemometer and with hydro thermograph -RS humidity /temperature meter. This study was conducted from May to October, 2010 in Sapele, Nigeria. The mean concentration range from156.25-850.70μg/m3 while the correlation of suspended particulate matter with wind speed and temperature were both positive and the correlation of suspended particulate matter with relative humidity was negative. It was observed that the total suspended particulate matter correlated well with relative humidity and poorly with wind speed and temperature.Keywords: Spatial Variation; Meteorological; Urban area; Suspended Particulate matter, polynomial mode

Adsorption of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons from aqueous solution: Agrowaste-modified kaolinite vs surfactant modified bentonite

The adsorption efficiency of a new hybrid clay adsorbent for polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) is compared with known modified clay adsorbents. The new hybrid clay adsorbent (HYCA) showed far higher adsorption capacities for the adsorption of various PAH molecules compared with sodium dodecyl sulfate modified and humic acid modified Bentonite clay adsorbents. With the new hybrid clay adsorbent (HYCA), the adsorption of some of the larger PAH molecules was complete in the first 1 h as compared with ≈ 62% and ≈ 76% observed for both humic acid modified and sodium dodecyl sulfate modified Bentonite clay adsorbents respectively. In 24 h adsorption of the PAHs was complete for all adsorbents with HYCA adsorbent showing better efficiency in the removal of the PAH molecules from aqueous solutions. No significant change was observed with increase in time up to 48 h. The adsorption was observed to be more spontaneous with HYCA adsorbent than with either modified Bentonite adsorbents. The enthalpy of adsorption did not follow any specific order and were not consistent for all PAH molecules considered

Disinfection of water with new chitosan-modified hybrid clay composite adsorbent

Hybrid clay composites were prepared from Kaolinite clay and Carica papaya seeds via modification with chitosan, Alum, NaOH, and ZnCl2 in different ratios, using solvothermal and surface modification techniques. Several composite adsorbents were prepared, and the most efficient of them for the removal of gram negative enteric bacteria was the hybrid clay composite that was surface-modified with chitosan, Ch-nHYCA1:5 (Chitosan: nHYCA = 1:5). This composite adsorbent had a maximum adsorption removal value of 4.07 × 106 cfu/mL for V. cholerae after 120 min, 1.95 × 106 cfu/mL for E. coli after ∼180 min and 3.25 × 106 cfu/mL for S. typhi after 270 min. The Brouers-Sotolongo model was found to better predict the maximum adsorption capacity (qmax) of Ch-nHYCA1:5 composite adsorbent for the removal of E. coli with a qmax of 103.07 mg/g (7.93 × 107 cfu/mL) and V. cholerae with a qmax of 154.18 mg/g (1.19 × 108 cfu/mL) while the Sips model best described S. typhi adsorption by Ch-nHYCA1:5 composite with an estimated qmax of 83.65 mg/g (6.43 × 107 cfu/mL). These efficiencies do far exceed the alert/action levels of ca. 500 cfu/mL in drinking water for these bacteria. The simplicity of the composite preparation process and the availability of raw materials used for its preparation underscore the potential of this low-cost chitosan-modified composite adsorbent (Ch-nHYCA1:5) for water treatment

Sorption of hydrophobic organic compounds on natural sorbents and organoclays from aqueous and non-aqueous solutions: a mini-review

Renewed focus on the sorption of hydrophobic organic chemicals (HOCs) onto mineral surfaces and soil components is required due to the increased and wider range of organic pollutants being released into the environment. This mini-review examines the possibility of the contribution and mechanism of HOC sorption onto clay mineral sorbents such as kaolinite, and soil organic matter and the possible role of both in the prevention of environmental contamination by HOCs. Literature data indicates that certain siloxane surfaces can be hydrophobic. Therefore soils can retain HOCs even at low soil organic levels and the extent will depend on the structure of the pollutant and the type and concentration of clay minerals in the sorbent. Clay minerals are wettable by nonpolar solvents and so sorption of HOCs onto them from aqueous and non-aqueous solutions is possible. This is important for two reasons: firstly, the movement and remediation of soil environments will be a function of the concentration and type of clay minerals in the soil. Secondly, low-cost sorbents such as kaolinite and expandable clays can be added to soils or contaminated environments as temporary retention barriers for HOCs. Inorganic cations sorbed onto the kaolinite have a strong influence on the rate and extent of sorption of hydrophobic organic pollutants onto kaolinite. Structural sorbate classes that can be retained by the kaolinite matrix are limited by hydrogen bonding between hydroxyl groups of the octahedral alumosilicate sheet and the tetrahedral sheet with silicon. Soil organic carbon plays a key role in the sorption of HOCs onto soils, but the extent will be strongly affected by the structure of the organic soil matter and the presence of soot. Structural characterisation of soil organic matter in a particular soil should be conducted during a particular contamination event. Contamination by mining extractants and antibiotics will require renewed focus on the use of the QSAR approaches in the context of the sorption of HOCs onto clay minerals from aqueous and non-aqueous solutions

Vermiculite bio-barriers for Cu and Zn remediation: an eco-friendly approach for freshwater and sediments protection

The increase in heavy metal contamination in freshwater systems causes serious environmental problems in most industrialized countries, and the effort to find ecofriendly techniques for reducing water and sediment contamination is fundamental for environmental protection. Permeable barriers made of natural clays can be used as low-cost and eco-friendly materials for adsorbing heavy metals from water solution and thus reducing the sediment contamination. This study discusses the application of permeable barriers made of vermiculite clay for heavy metals remediation at the interface between water and sediments and investigates the possibility to increase their efficiency by loading the vermiculite surface with a microbial biofilm of Pseudomonas putida, which is well known to be a heavy metal accumulator. Some batch assays were performed to verify the uptake capacity of two systems and their adsorption kinetics, and the results indicated that the vermiculite bio-barrier system had a higher removal capacity than the vermiculite barrier (?34.4 and 22.8 % for Cu and Zn, respectively). Moreover, the presence of P. putida biofilm strongly contributed to fasten the kinetics of metals adsorption onto vermiculite sheets. In open-system conditions, the presence of a vermiculite barrier at the interface between water and sediment could reduce the sediment contamination up to 20 and 23 % for Cu and Zn, respectively, highlighting the efficiency of these eco-friendly materials for environmental applications. Nevertheless, the contribution of microbial biofilm in open-system setup should be optimized, and some important considerations about biofilm attachment in a continuous-flow system have been discussed.This work has been produced thanks to the collaboration of Dip.SA (University of Bologna) and IBB (University of Minho). A particular acknowledgment is due to Dr. E. Rosales. The work was partially financed by the FCT Strategic Project Pest-OE/EQB/LA0023 and the Project ‘‘BioEnv—Biotechnology and Bioengineering for a sustainable world,’’ co-funded by the Programa Operacional Regional do Norte (ON.2–O Novo Norte), QREN, FEDER