Availability and Use of ICT in South-Western Nigeria Colleges of Education

This paper investigated the level of availability and use of ICT in someSouth-western Nigeria Colleges of Education. The study revealed low levelof usage of ICT gadgets and non-availability of some ICT equipments. Thedata for the study were gathered through a two page questionnaireadministered to 200 respondents who were accessible in the School ofEducation in all the Colleges of Education in the South-Western part ofNigeria. In total, 180 questionnaires were retrieved which represents 90%return rate. At the same time, the data were analyzed quantitatively usingSPSS. The results of the survey on College of Education staff on the level ofavailability, use of and perception of the impact of ICT on teacher educationin Nigeria revealed and suggested a low level of usage of ICT gadgets; nonavailability of ICT equipment and that the respondents were disgruntled with the sluggish use and integration of ICT

An Assessment of Use and Currency of Information on the Undergraduate Students’ Web Portal at the University of Ilorin

A portal is a public or private space that gives users the ability to organize information, readily access that information, manage documents, share calendars and enable efficient collaboration, all in a familiar, browserbasedenvironment. The introduction of web portal in Universities in Nigeria, especially at the University of Ilorin has been considered a worthwhile development. However, since the creation for the individual undergraduate students; no study has been carried out to examine its uses and the currency of information on it. In the light of this, this study examined the use and currency of information on the undergraduate students’ web portal at the University of Ilorin. The study adopted a survey design. The target population was the University of Ilorin Undergraduate students from which a total of two hundred and fourty (240) were selected through simple random sampling technique to represent the sample for the study. Four resesarch questions were developed. The results reveal among others that majority of the undergraduate students use the web portal to check their results, register their courses, print their school fees receipts and view their current session charges. Similarly, majority of the undergraduate students rated the contents on their web portal as excellent and agreed that the contents are always very current. An overwhelming majority of the  respondents (99.2%) were satisfied with the web portal at the University of Ilorin while the common problems encounter with the access to and useof web portal in the University include connection failure, slow server, power outage and processing errors. Base on these findings, the study  recommends that the University of Ilorin management should enhance theinformation content on the students’ web portal by including chatting icon so as to facilitate the exchange of information between the university management, the staffs and students as this would assist in adddressingimportant issues on time regardless of the users location. The study concluded web portal is a very nice discovery and very good information system which is contributing a great deal to the information disseminationbetween the university authority and the students and between the students and the authority

Improving global foods system, human health, and alleviating poverty through small ruminant production: the nigerian gains

Small ruminant has great potential in enhancing the global food system, improving human health, and alleviating poverty.  Nevertheless, on average, small ruminant production has not been able to keep pace with the overall food demand globally. Meaning that without drastic action, the world food crisis will continue to persist and many people around the world will continue to live in abject poverty. To avert this ongoing phenomenon, this paper examines how the global food system and human health can be improved and poverty alleviated through small ruminant production; and how Nigeria will benefit from it. To properly articulate the theme of this paper, the discussion will focus on what small ruminant animals are; their benefits and constrain; the global food system, small ruminant production and its relation to human health and poverty eradication, efforts at improving small ruminant production and how this will have an impact on the Nigerian economy. Furthermore, the paper provides recommendations for the improvement of small ruminant production in Nigeri

INFLUENCE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SKILLS ON LIBRARY PATRONAGE BY UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS IN SOUTH-WEST, NIGERIA

This study investigated the influence of information technology skills on library patronage by undergraduate students in South-west Nigerian universities. A descriptive research design of the ex-post facto was adopted using a sample size of 1527 selected out of the total population of 239,048 undergraduate students in the universities. Questionnaire was used to collect data. The results of the study revealed that the majority of undergraduate students patronised the library between two to three times a day. The finding of the study also revealed that information technology skills had influence on library patronage by undergraduate students in the universities (r = 0.59, N = 1333, p \u3c 0.05). The study concluded that information technology skills influenced library patronage of undergraduate students in the universities. The study, therefore, recommended that students should enhance their information technology skills to enhance their library patronag

Divalent metal complexes of 4-amino-N-pyrimidin-2-ylbenzene sulphonamide and their antimalarial activities against Plasmodium berghei

Coordination compounds of 4-amino-N-pyrimidin-2-ylbenzene sulphonamide (APS) were synthesized. The complexes were formulated as [Co(APS)2(H2O)2], [Cu(APS)2(H2O)2], [Ni(APS)2(H2O)2], [Cd(APS)2](H2O)2, [Fe(APS)3](H­2O)­3 and [Mn(APS)2(H2O)2] characterized by elemental analysis, conductivity, IR, UV-Vis, magnet moment and 1H-NMR and mass spectroscopies. In all the complexes the metal ions coordinate through pyrimidinic nitrogen and sulphonamidic nitrogen of the two molecules of APS. The suggested structure for Cd(II) complex of APS is tetrahedral, while that of Cu(II), Mn(II) and Ni(II) APS complexes is octahedral. The inner coordination spheres were occupied by two water molecules in Co(II), Mn(II), Cu(II), Ni(II) APS complexes except Cd(II) with 2 molecules of  water outside the coordination  sphere. Fe(III) coordinates with 3 molecules of APS with 3 molecules of water outside the coordination sphere. The antiparasitic studies using Plasmodium berghei as test organism showed that the Fe(III) complex exhibits higher activity than chloroquine and  ligand. All other complexes have lower antiparasitic activity.KEY WORDS: Sulphonamide, Antimalarial activity, Plasmodium berghei Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2011, 25(3), 371-380

Influence of ICT on Reference Services in Selected University Libraries in South-West Nigeria

In university libraries in South-west Nigeria, the use of ICT at the reference section is becoming rampant especially at the reference section. However, research assessing the impact of ICT on reference collections and services in the Nigeria University’s libraries context has been ignored. In the light of this, this study examines the impact of ICT on reference collections and services in selected university libraries in south-west Nigeria. A stratified random sampling technique was used to select 10 universities libraries out of the 21 university libraries in the South West Nigeria. Interview and questionnaire were used as data collection instrument. Collected data was analyzed using the percentage and frequency count. A total of 200 copies of questionnaire were administered. The respondents were given the questionnaire at the reference section of the selected University libraries. Four research questions were answered by the study. These are: i. What are the impacts of traditional reference collections and services on users of selected academic libraries? ii. What are the impacts of digital reference collections and services on users of selected academic libraries? And, iii. What are the challenges of ICT on reference collections and services in the selected academic libraries? The results revealed that a total number of six out of the ten Universities examined in this research have adopted ICT at their reference section and library users in the provision of reference services are satisfied with the services offered at the reference section than those that have not adopted ICT. The study also revealed that the adoption of ICT at the reference section of academic libraries in South-west Nigeria has some associated challenges. The challenges revealed by the study are: electricity problem, incomplete automation, reduced patronage (because of the availability of search engines), changing technology, high cost of ICT equipment as well as ICT illiteracy on the part of the library users. Despite the challenges faced by the staff and students in the adoption of ICT at the reference section of academic libraries, it was found that librarians/ library staff are foreseeing a bright future in ICT adoption for reference collection and services. The study recommends that more electronic resources should be provided at the reference section

Burden of cervical cancer in Northern Nigeria

Background: Data regarding burden of illness borne by women affected with cancer of the cervix (CaCvx) has been largely anecdotal. This study aimed to evaluate disability and cost burden of the illness in northern Nigeria.Materials and Methods: Cost of illness was determined using the bottom‑up approach and involved estimating costs of managing various stages of the illness while disability adjusted life year (DALY) was estimated sing CaCvx survival data from northern Nigeria.Results: Overall cost of illness ranged from ₦191,338 ($524) to ₦1,001,298 ($2,743) for local to metastatic diseases, respectively. Of these, direct medical costs accounted for up to 75.4% while indirect costs accounted for up to 48% in different stages of the disease. Productivity losses ranged from 18.3% to 43.1%, while surgical, medical, and radiotherapies accounted for losses between 37.2% and 46%. Estimated DALY was 269 years/100,000 women with cost/DALY saved on treatment estimated at between $19 and$1,443 for different stages. At the discounted rate, it was estimated that it would be 16 to 902 times cheaper to screen for the disease than to treat (P < 0.0001).Conclusion: Though burden of illness borne by women with CaCvx in northern Nigeria is similar to that borne by women in other developing countries, it is still too high; and the only panacea to this is institution of early screening programs and immunization. In addition, concerted effort is needed to ensure extension of health insurance coverage for cancer therapy and increase in availability of radiotherapy service as a means of reducing waiting times for treatment.Keywords: Cervical cancer; cost of illness; disability adjusted life year; productivit

Is cell-mediated immunity related to the evolution of life-history strategies in birds?

According to life-history theory, the development of immune function should be balanced through evolutionary optimization of the allocation of resources to reproduction and through mechanisms that promote survival. We investigated interspecific variability in cell-mediated immune response (CMI), as measured by the phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) assay, in relation to clutch size, longevity and other life-history traits in 50 species of birds. CMI exhibited significant repeatability within species, and PHA responses in chicks were consistently stronger than in adults. Univariate tests showed a variety of significant relationships between the CMI of both chicks and adults with respect to size, development period and lifespan, but not clutch size or prevalence of blood parasites in adults. Multivariate analyses confirmed these patterns but independent variables were too highly correlated to isolate unique influences on CMI. The positive relationship of chick CMI to nestling period is further complicated by a parallel relationship of chick CMI to the age at testing. However, multivariate analysis showed that chick CMI varies uniquely with length of the nestling period. Adult CMI was associated with a strong life-history axis of body size, development rate and longevity. Therefore, adult CMI may be associated with prevention and repair mechanisms related to long lifespan, but it also may be allometrically related to body size through other pathways. Neither chick CMI nor adult CMI was related to clutch size, contradicting previous results linking parasite-related mortality to CMI and the evolution of clutch size (reproductive investment) in birds.Peer Reviewe