The role of agriculture in the Nigerian economy since independence

The Nigerian agricultural sector deserves to be studied not less for the contribution of such knowledge to our understanding of the past, and present, but more for the usefulness of such knowledge in shaping the sector. The role that agriculture plays in Nigeria’s national economy since her independence may be determined by considering first, the changing structure of the national economy. As the national economy changes, also the role of agriculture. The observed structure at successive periods thus reveals the contribution that agriculture makes to the national economy. A total picture could also be presented through an examination of the contribution of agriculture to the gross domestic product GDP, over the years. It is also possible to add to the above presentation, the annual production of each agricultural crop over the period, or the productivity of the individual farmer as the years pass by. No doubt, the role of agriculture shall not remain static, for as deliberate efforts are made to develop the economy, the agricultural sector is also affected, although several endogenous factors also influence development within the sector. An emperical approach to the understanding of what is happening within the sector is to be prefered and such is documented in small scale studies conducted already by such scolars as FRICKE (1965), TIFFEN (1976) and MALCHAU (1999a+b)

Palynological studies of the genus Combretum Loefl. from Akwa-Ibom State, Nigeria

Variations in pollen morphology were investigated in nine (9) common species of Combretum found in Uyo metropolis, Akwa-Ibom State, Nigeria. The species included Combretum bracteatum, C. calobotrys, C. dolichopetalum, C. hispidum, C. mannii, C. mooreanum, C. platypterum, C. racemosum and C. zenkeri. The pollen samples were acetolysed and examined under light microscope. The investigation showed that the pollen grains were all heterocolpate and circular in shape. Sculpturing was psilate or scabrate and pollen shape class was either sub-prolate, oblate-spheroidal or prolate spheroidal. Among the 9 species of Combretum, maximum polar dimension (34.41-44.40 μm) was found in C. platypterum whereas minimum polar dimension (21.09-38.85 μm) was noted in C. racemosum and C. zenkeri. The equatorial dimensions were highest (29.97-34.12μm) in C. mooreanum while the lowest equatorial dimension (17.76-31.08 μm) was observed in C. zenkeri. Pore diameters were highest (8.88-15.54) in C. calobotrys and C. platypterum and least (5.55-13.32) in C. bracteatum, C. racemosum and C. zenkeri. There was no significant difference in exine thickness among the species

Pi‐29

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/110026/1/cptclpt200664.pd

Pii‐18

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/110052/1/cptclpt2006156.pd

Estrogen Receptor Genotypes, Menopausal Status, and the Lipid Effects of Tamoxifen

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/109885/1/cpt6100343.pd

Comparison of Changes in the Lipid Profile of Postmenopausal Women With Early Stage Breast Cancer Treated With Exemestane or Letrozole

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/97162/1/0091270011424153.pd

Thresholds for therapies: highlights of the St Gallen International Expert Consensus on the Primary Therapy of Early Breast Cancer 2009

The 11th St Gallen (Switzerland) expert consensus meeting on the primary treatment of early breast cancer in March 2009 maintained an emphasis on targeting adjuvant systemic therapies according to subgroups defined by predictive markers. Any positive level of estrogen receptor (ER) expression is considered sufficient to justify the use of endocrine adjuvant therapy in almost all patients. Overexpression or amplification of HER2 by standard criteria is an indication for anti-HER2 therapy for all but the very lowest risk invasive tumours. The corollary is that ER and HER2 must be reliably and accurately measured. Indications for cytotoxic adjuvant therapy were refined, acknowledging the role of risk factors with the caveat that risk per se is not a target. Proliferation markers, including those identified in multigene array analyses, were recognised as important in this regard. The threshold for indication of each systemic treatment modality thus depends on different criteria which have been separately listed to clarify the therapeutic decision-making algorithm

Novel Modeling of Combinatorial miRNA Targeting Identifies SNP with Potential Role in Bone Density

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are post-transcriptional regulators that bind to their target mRNAs through base complementarity. Predicting miRNA targets is a challenging task and various studies showed that existing algorithms suffer from high number of false predictions and low to moderate overlap in their predictions. Until recently, very few algorithms considered the dynamic nature of the interactions, including the effect of less specific interactions, the miRNA expression level, and the effect of combinatorial miRNA binding. Addressing these issues can result in a more accurate miRNA:mRNA modeling with many applications, including efficient miRNA-related SNP evaluation. We present a novel thermodynamic model based on the Fermi-Dirac equation that incorporates miRNA expression in the prediction of target occupancy and we show that it improves the performance of two popular single miRNA target finders. Modeling combinatorial miRNA targeting is a natural extension of this model. Two other algorithms show improved prediction efficiency when combinatorial binding models were considered. ComiR (Combinatorial miRNA targeting), a novel algorithm we developed, incorporates the improved predictions of the four target finders into a single probabilistic score using ensemble learning. Combining target scores of multiple miRNAs using ComiR improves predictions over the naïve method for target combination. ComiR scoring scheme can be used for identification of SNPs affecting miRNA binding. As proof of principle, ComiR identified rs17737058 as disruptive to the miR-488-5p:NCOA1 interaction, which we confirmed in vitro. We also found rs17737058 to be significantly associated with decreased bone mineral density (BMD) in two independent cohorts indicating that the miR-488-5p/NCOA1 regulatory axis is likely critical in maintaining BMD in women. With increasing availability of comprehensive high-throughput datasets from patients ComiR is expected to become an essential tool for miRNA-related studies. © 2012 Coronnello et al

Planning imperatives for sustainability of qualitative educational enterprise in Nigeria: the role of the educational planner

Planning Education is a prerequisite for achieving gains in educational enterprise. This paper presents prescriptions, which planners should adopt as a frame-work to do effective planning and implementation of educational programmes in Nigeria. The paper discusses National aspirations, National challenges, resultoriented planning, imperatives for goal achievement, and levels of education in Nigeria. Important suggestions are presented as recommendations drawn from the write up. African Journal of Educational Studies in Mathematics and Sciences Vol. 2(2) 2004: 41-5