The Effects of Good Governance and Education on Economic Stability and Growth in Nigeria

Ultimately, the Nigerian Constitution acts as a catalyst that engenders national consciousness, political reconstruction/participation and economic growth/stability, in addition to providing the structure and function of government. Therefore there is the need for Nigerians to demonstrate a commitment to the democratic principles and economic goals, and to develop the skills and values needed to sustain a constitutional democratic nation through a well-articulated social and democratic education.NESG Economic Indicators Vol. 13 (1) 2007: pp. 33-3

Assessment of National Board for Arabic and Islamic Studies (NBAIS) Curriculum on Implementation of Qur'anic Memorization in North-West, Nigeria

This study assessed the relationship between availability of resources and the implementation of Qur’anic memorization curriculum content of NBAIS in North West, Nigeria. The objectives of the study are to: find out the availability of learning resources and the implementation of Qur’anic memorization curriculum content of NBAIS in senior Arabic and Islamic secondary schools; examine the availability of Qur’anic teachers used in the implementation of Qur’anic memorization curriculum content in senior Arabic and Islamic secondary schools. Two research questions and hypotheses in line with the objectives guided the study. The study was survey design. The instruments were validated by the experts. Mann Whitney u test was used to test the hypotheses. The finding revealed that: there was a significant difference between the availability of learning resources in senior Tahfeez and Islamic secondary schools and that of senior Arabic and Islamic secondary schools in the implementation of Qur’anic memorization curriculum content. There was no significant difference between the availability of teachers in senior Tahfeez and Islamic secondary schools and that of Senior Arabic and Islamic secondary schools in the implementation of Qur’anic memorization curriculum content. The study concludes among others that; available Qur’anic memorization teachers must be provided for effective implementation of Qur’anic memorization curriculum content more especially in senior Arabic and Islamic secondary schools. The study recommended among others that; there is need for to providing more human and material resources especially in senior Arabic and Islamic secondary schools, for qualitative Qur’anic memorizers in the schools

Early Prediction of Cerebrovascular Disease using Boosting Machine Learning Algorithms to Assist Clinicians

Clinicians are required to make an early prediction of diseases to save a  life, especially cerebrovascular diseases. The objective of this research is to use mathematical models such as boosting machine learning algorithms as a tool to be applied by clinicians for cerebrovascular disease. This paper particularly, considered XGBoost, AdaBoost, LightGBM, and CatBoost Classifiers to predict cerebrovascular disease using age, gender, BMI, hypertension, heart disease, residence type, ever married, smoking status, and average glucose level of the patients. Synthetic Minority Over-Sampling Technique Edited Nearest Neighbors Under-sampling (SMOTE-ENN) and Feature Engineering were applied to the dataset to enhance the performance of the algorithms. The result obtained showed that XGBoost Classifier is the best model with an accuracy of 98% and an AUC of 0.983

Investigation of the physical and mechanical properties of Shea Tree timber (Vitellaria paradoxa) used for structural applications in Kwara State, Nigeria

This study investigated the physical and mechanical properties of Shea Tree timber (V. paradoxa) for structural use obtained at different areas of Kwara State, Nigeria. Physical properties of the samples like moisture content, specific gravity and density was evaluated and the mechanical tests were tensile strength, modulus of rupture, modulus of elasticity, compression, shear and hardness. Results show that, the density of the specie varied from 1.05 to 1.48 (g/cm3), and specific gravity varied from 0.98 to 1.39. For the mechanical properties, the results revealed that at 18% moisture content and 80% grade stress, mean MOR of 28.91(N/mm2), mean MOE of 9,108 (N/mm2), compressive strength parallel to grain of 24.7 (N/mm2), compressive strength perpendicular to grain of 8.99 (N/mm2), shear strength of 2.01 (N/mm2), and tensile strength parallel to grain of 16.15 (N/mm2). Finally, according to BS 5268-2 (2002) the specie was characterised into strength classes between D50 and D70. The results obtained showed that Shea Tree is a hardwood and suitable to be used for structural engineering purposes.Keywords: Vitellaria paradoxa, Physical properties, Mechanical properties, Structural timber, Green Constructio

Physicochemical Characteristics and Fish Abundance and Diversity of Mairua Reservoir Water, Funtua, Katsina State, North-Western Nigeria

This research explores physico-chemical characteristics and fish abundance and diversity of Mairua Reservoir Water, Funtua, Katsina State, North-Western Nigeria. The duration of the study was 12 months starting from September to August, 2017, using standard methods and procedures.The result revealed that; Water temperature (25.02 ± 0.170C) pH (7.54 ± 0.03), Alkalinity (3.69±0.09), Conductivity (129.43 ± 5.15μЅ/cm), Total Dissolved Solids (50.54 ± 0.57mg/L) Nitrate-nitrogen (0.21 ± 0.04mg/L), Water Hardness (134.44 ± 3.06mg/LCaCO3), Dissolved Oxygen (3.98 ± 0.10mg/L),Biochemical Oxygen Demand (2.53 ± 0.08mg/L), Phosphate-phosphorus (0.19 ± 0.02mg/L),Chloride (5.09 ± 0.15mg/L),Sulphur-sulphate (0.21± 0.01) and Calcium (2.97±0.06mg/L) respectively were  all varied with months and seasons. Analysis of variance indicated significant difference between seasons (P < 0.05).Out of the total number of fish species (8273) identified; the result indicated Fish fauna percentage composition were Coptodon zillii: 1980 (23.9%), Clarias gariepinus: 1560 (18.9%), Oreochromis niloticus: 1020 (12.3%), Lates niloticus: 860 (10.4%), Bagrus. Bayad: 632 (7.6 %), Mormyrus senegalensis: 973 (11.8%), Labeo senegalensis: 595 (7.2%) and Synodontis clarias: 650 (7.9%). Results also indicates most of fish species were positively correlated with the water quality parameters in all the sites studied. Hence, there were fish abundance and a sustainable livelihood amongst the fishermen. However, a careful management strategy and routine monitoring from both government and non-governmental organizations are critical for the improvement and sustenance of the fisheries resources of the reservoir

Assessment of Radiological Hazards Indices in Vegetables Grown Around Ririwai Tin Mines, Kano State, North Western Nigeria

Mining industry in Nigeria provides economic benefits of wealth creation and employment opportunities. Presently there are numbers of artisanal and large scale mining activities going on across Nigeria and most of these artisanal miners currently under take only surface mining. The process produced large volumes of tailings and waste that may contain naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORMs). Some of the NORMs are soluble in water and have the tendency to leach into water bodies and farm lands.    This work assessed the radiological hazard indices in vegetable grown around Ririwai Tin Mine Kano State North Western Nigeria using Direct Gamma Spectroscopy (NaI (Tl)), The results shows that the mean activity concentration in vegetable samples were 259.25±4.77, 28.05±4.97 and 54.56±2.58Bq/kg respectively for 40K, 226Ra and 232Th, the mean absorbed dose rate was 45.043±1.98nGyh-1 the mean committed effective dose for 40K is 0.091±0.002mSv/year, 226Ra has a mean committed effective dose of 0.471±0.083mSv/year while 232Th has a mean committed effective dose of 0.753±0.036mSv/year. The total committed effective dose in vegetable has a mean value of 1.320±0.125mSv/year. The risk estimated for fatality cancer, lifetime  fatality cancer risk, severe hereditary effect and life time hereditary effect in vegetable were 7.26 x 10-5, 5.29 x 10-3, 2.60 x 10-6 and 1.84 x 10-4 respectively. The values obtained in this study are relatively high such that consumption of vegetable grown in the area could pose  radiological health hazards. Keywords: Activity Concentrations, Absorbed dose, Committed effective dose, Risk

A study of the physico-chemistry and mineralogy of Agbaja clay for its industrial application

Agbaja clay was analyzed for its physico-chemical and x-ray properties to ascertain its suitability for ceramic, refractory and other industrial applications. The clay was found to be predominantly composed of Al2O3 (38.68%), SiO2 (39.47%) alkali oxides (0.61%). It had a pH value of 6.61, an Atterberg Plasticity Index of 15.45%. X – ray powder diffraction (XRD) analysis showed kaolinite as the main mineral phase while Halloysite and Illite were the accessory minerals present. Agbaja clay is suitable for use in the production of super-heat duty refractory materials and vitreous ceramic wares. It is also suitable for use in the paper, rubber, plastic and pharmaceutical industries. The clay color changed from milk white to light grey upon firing.Keywords: Agbaja Clay, Atterberg Plasticity Index, X-ray fluorescence, X-ray diffractio

In-Vitro Anthelmintic Efficacy Of Crude Aqueous Extracts Of Neem (Azadirachta Indica) Leaf, Stem And Root On Nematode

The anthelmintic efficacy of the aqueous extracts o neem (Azadirachta indica) leaf and stem and root barks against the hatching of eggs and the survival of larvae of nematode parasites of small ruminants were studied. The results of the in vitro egg hatch assay showed that the aqueous extracts of the leaf and stem bark produced significant anthelmintic effect through reduction in nematode egg hatch. The reduction in egg hatch was concentration dependent being highest (51 % and 50 % for the leaf and stem bark extracts respectively) at the highest concentration (100 mg/ml) of the extracts but inferior to those produced by albendazoe (100 % at 40 mg/ml). Aqueous extracts of the leaf and root bark produced significant reduction in larval survival within 60 minutes at ambienttemperature (30 – 35 ºC). Larval death was similar in both extracts and concentration dependent, increasing with increasing concentration of the leaf and root bark extracts. The reduction in larval survival due to the extracts was similar to that produced by albendazole. In general, the aqueous extract of neem leaf was more efficacious in limiting nematode larvae survival and in-vitro egg hatch. The results confirm the folkloric claims that neem has anthelmintic effect and thus suggest its possible usefulness as an anthelmintic. Keywords: Anthelmintic efficacy, Aqueous extract, Leaf, Stem, Root, Bark, Azadirachta indicaAnimal Research International Vol. 3 (3) 2006 pp. 549-55

Gamma Ray Spectrometric Analysis of Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORMS) in Gold Bearing Soil using NaI (Tl) Technique

In this work, the radioactivity in the gold bearing samples collected from the artisanal mining sites in Birnin Gwari Local Government Area, Kaduna State have been determined, experimental measurements of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K activities concentration in the gold bearing samples have been carried out using a NaI(Ti) gamma ray spectrometer. The measured activity concentration for 226Ra have been found to lie in the specific ranges from 1.0545±0.4983Bq/Kg to 3.8355± 0.3476Bq/Kg while the  mean concentration is 2.383±0.4415Bq/Kg for 232Th, the activity concentration ranges from 9.3501±1.0260Bq/Kg to 66.7047±0.5700Bq/Kg, while the mean activity concentration of 232Th is 32.3644±9.3440Bq/Kg, for 40K,the activity concentration ranges from 120.9953±6.5319Bq/Kg to 815.8631±10.504Bq/Kg, while the mean activity concentration is 383.7924±72.5436Bq/Kg. The mean absorbed dose rate in the study area is 35.7334nGy/hr; while the mean annual effective dose rate is 0.032mSv/year which is lower when compared with tolerable limits of 1mSv/year. Keywords; Natural Radionuclides,Aactivity Concentrations, Absorbed Dose

Studies on physico-mechanical behaviour of kenaf/glass fiber reinforced epoxy hybrid composites

In this study, various treated, untreated, and treated kenaf/glass fiber composites were fabricated using epoxy resin. A portion of kenaf fibers were subjected to treatment with alkali, sub-portion was taken for benzoyl peroxide and potassium permanganate prior to composite fabrication. This treatment on the composite material was undertaken to achieve improved modification of the interface between the matrix and fiber bond. A portion of the glass fiber was used for enhancing the mechanical properties of the hybrid composite. The tensile strength, flexural, density, water absorption and chemical resistance of the composites were analyzed using standard methods. FTIR was conducted on the fiber to ascertain the chemical treatment on the fibers, FESEM was used for the morphological study. The results obtained showed that the tensile and flexural strength improved from 46.45-298.3 kgf, and 10.5-54.7 kgf, respectively, in the composite samples. Chemical resistance of the kenaf fiber treated potassium permanganate composite improved compared to the untreated fiber composite in both cases. The density and water absorption properties of the composites were found to decrease in the treated fibers compared to untreated fiber composites, this treated composites showed less water absorption and density. The FTIR result revealed that reaction has taken place between the fiber and the treatment reagent. Hence, fiber modification has improved the properties of the composites due to increase in fiber-matrix interaction.                     KEY WORDS: Chemical properties, Epoxy resin, Hybrid, Kenaf, Mechanical strength, Natural fiber   Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2021, 35(1), 171-184. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v35i1.1