IMPORTANCE OF THE 3M 

The usual first line of teaching and tutorials in statistics is "Mean, Median, Mode" -  the 3M. What are they, and what is the importance of these three statistic? The mean, median and mode of a data set are collectively known as measures of central tendency as these three measures focus on where the data is centered or clustered. To analyze data using the mean, median and mode, we need to use the most appropriate measure of central tendency. We need to remember the following points:

a.       The mean is useful for predicting future results when there are no extreme values in the data set. However, the impact of extreme values on the mean may be important and should be considered.  

2. The median may be more useful than the mean when there are extreme values in the data set as it is not affected by the extreme values.
3. The mode is useful when the most common item, characteristic or value of a data set is required.

How do you go about this in a simple manner? Follow this link www.mathsteacher.com.au/year8 and this www.mathgoodies.com/lessons/toc_vol8

PORTRAIT OF THE "OIL DOCTOR"

 

This is one portrait every parent, school leavers, admission seekers, university undergraduates, fresh carrier seeking graduates and everyone who cares must study and hang in a neat corner of their hearts.

 

Dr. Salifu Odiba, an indigene of Kogi State is a 35-year old graduate of Medicine and Surgery from the University of Jos (UNIJOS). He gained admission into the university in 1996 and graduated in 2004 with a dream to own his hospital some day.

Dr. Odiba

In 2006 he abandoned the stethoscope and veered off into a life on the fast lane, joining a pipeline vandalism cartel.

Odiba did his compulsory National Youth Service Scheme (NYSC) in Bauchi State and then got a job at Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission where he worked for six months. He was sacked for reasons yet unknown.

It was in 2006 he moved to Kogi State where he joined the vandalism cartel. As a cartel member, he got a job at the Federal Medical Centre receiving N90, 000. 00 monthly as a part time staff. He considered the amount too meagre to meet his needs and so stuck to the business of the criminal cartel. Upon his arrest by the Special Task Force on Anti-Pipeline Vandalism, Force Headquarters, Odiba said he was attracted to the illegal business because it was lucrative. Odiba also said he even had a part-time job at another hospital but the commission he received was too little.

 

For his role in the cartel, Odiba said he acted as a middleman between the vandals and buyers.

He said although he never destroyed a pipeline, he was actively involved in the business and soon became popular so much so that people call him Oil Doctor. He justified the name saying that "I always had ready buyers for all kinds of petroleum products". He was usually paid commission by pipeline vandals and buyers after he had sold the products. In their operations Odiba's cartel could siphone and sell up to 17 trucks (containing 33, 000 Litres) of petroleum products in one night.

“People started calling me ‘oil doctor’ because I always had ready buyers for all kinds of petroleum products. Oil business is very lucrative especially in Kogi State where as many as 17 trucks of petroleum products could be siphoned and sold in one night,” he said.

Odiba is of the opinion that medical profession is no longer as prestigious as it was due to the “large number” of people practising it and that "People don’t visit hospitals like before. as many Nigerians prefer to take self medication these days”.

Odiba was arrested by policemen in Lokoja, Kogi State and paraded in December 2012 on his way to finalize a deal with a contact who claimed to have large quantities of oil in a barge for sale.

Dr. Odiba was arrested in December 2011 for a similar offence in Kaduna, and spent his Christmas in detention after which he was released when investigation revealed that he played a minor role in the crime. Here is another Christmas and he is spending it in police net again.

 

POSTCRIPT

 

This portrait shows that you can study what is considered the best course and not be satisfied. In fact you can get the best degree from the university and still dump that certificate for something else. I know not a few university-trained doctors, laywers, accountants, bankers, engineers and other professionals who have long dumped their degrees for legimate businesses that have served as better alternatives to the best courses they studied in the university.

Odiba's latest case is a proof that it is not only miscreants that are into the illegitimate business of pipelaine vandalism. The business is very lucrative because a tanker of crude oil could be bought illegally for as low as N800, 000 and resold at N5m during scarcity. This is economic sabotage which carries a carries a life sentence. A word is enough for the wise!

Odiba's story is adapted from The Punch.

UNCOMMON SOUVENIR

AISHA & AWWAL
There's nothing that would not be distributed as souvenir at parties by Nigerians. You would have received combs, hand fans of various types, kitchen utensils, mugs, wine cups, detergents and so on; you just name it and you have it. But some months back in Ikorodu an uncommon souvenir was given to guests at the burial ceremony of the late mother of a colleague. You don't want to guess! It was a plastic bottle filled to the brim with herbs for use against pile (Agbo jedi, as it is called in Yoruba language). What a gift!
Party souvenir took a new definition at the wedding ceremony of the daughters of Vice President Namadi Sambo on 1st December, 2012. It was reported that the souvenir shared at the ceremonies included smart TVs and dual sim phones. A sample of the phone is shown here:

The phone bears the name of the Vee Pee's daughter (Aisha) and her husband (Awwal) embossed on it as though it is the brand name of the phone. Heres wishing the wedded marital bliss.

BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION 2

WHY WE NEED TO CONSERVE BIODIVERSITY

Ecological Reasons

Individual species, populations and ecosystems have evolved over millions of years into a complex interdependent entities. The ecological arguments for conserving biodiversity are therefore based on the premise that there is need to preserve biodiversity in order to maintain life support systems. Two interconnected issues currently of great ecological concern are world-wide deforestation and global climate change.

Forests hold large numbers of different species and also play a critical role in regulating climate. Deforestation, particularly by burning, results in great increases in the amount of carbon in the atmosphere. Burning releases huge quantities of carbon dioxide, one of the main greenhouse gases implicated in the current global warming, into the atmosphere. Average global temperatures have been showing a steadily increasing trend. Snow and ice cover have decreased, deep ocean temperatures have increased and global sea levels have risen by 100 - 200 mm over the last century. If current trends continue, scientific predictions say that the earth could be on average 1^oC warmer by 2025 and 3^oC warmer by 2100. Although these changes are small, they could have drastic effects. As an example, average temperature during the last Ice Age was a mere 5^oC colder than current temperature. In addition to this, rising sea levels which could drown many major cities, extreme weather conditions resulting in drought, flooding and hurricanes, together with changes in the distribution of disease-bearing organisms are all effects of climate change as previously predicted. Forests also affect rainfall patterns through transpiration losses and protect the watershed of vast areas. Deforestation therefore results in local changes in the amount and distribution of rainfall. It often also results in erosion and loss of soil and often to flooding. These are only some of the ecological effects of deforestation. The effects described translate directly into economic effects on human populations.

          

Economic Reasons

Environmental disasters such as floods, forest fires and hurricanes indirectly or directly caused by human activities, all have dire economic consequences for the regions afflicted. Large-scale habitat and biodiversity losses mean that species with potentially great economic importance may become extinct before they are even discovered.  In the event of extinction, the vast, largely untapped resource of medicines and useful chemicals contained in wild species may disappear forever. The wealth of species contained in tropical rain forests may harbour untold numbers of chemically or medically useful species. Many marine species defend themselves chemically and this also represents a rich potential source of new economically important medicines. Additionally, the wild relatives of our cultivated crop plants provide an invaluable reservoir of genetic material to aid in the production of new varieties of crops. If all these are lost, then our crop plants also become more vulnerable to extinction.

               

Ethical Reasons

It is very pertinent to ask some salient questions here. For instance, Do we have the right to decide which species should survive and which should die out? Do we have the right to cause a mass extinction? Most people would instinctively answer 'No!'. However, we have to realise that most biodiversity losses are now arising as a result of natural competition between humans and all other species for limited space and resources.

Aesthetic Reasons

Most people would agree that areas of vegetation, with all their attendant life forms, are inherently more attractive than burnt, scarred landscapes, or acres of concrete and buildings. Who wouldn't prefer to see butterflies dancing above coloured flowers, rather than an industrial complex belching smoke?  Human well-being is inextricably linked to the natural world. In the western world, huge numbers of people confined to large urban areas derive great pleasure from visiting the countryside. The ability to do so is regarded not so much as a need, but as a right. National governments must therefore juggle the conflicting requirements for more housing, industry and higher standards of living with demands for countryside for recreational purposes.

Follow these links for further reading:

1.      http://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/conservation-of-biodiversity-13235087

2.      http://www.natureserve.org/consIssues/tenReasons.jsp

3.      http://www.wildlifetrust.org.uk/urban/ecorecord/bap/html/framewk2.htm

4.      http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/1692

Also read from this book:

Ayodele, I A and Lameed, G. A. (1999). Essentials of Biodiversity Management. Powerhouse Press and Publishers, Ibadan, Nigeria. 73pp.

 

 

 

THE MOST COMMON ANIMALS

Insects are the most common animals on earth. They can be friends, allies, enemies and aides to humans depending on which one of them  you are considering and under what conditions. They include the most common ones such as cockroaches eg (Periplaneta americana) and the least commonly encountered ones like the petroleum fly named Psilopa petroli found in crude oil. Read the following text excerpted from the book INTRODUCTION TO COMMON ARTHROPODS by Abiodun Denloye. This excerpt is an introduction to the insects belonging to the class of animals called Insecta.



Adult Petroleum fly, Psilopa petroli

Class Insecta
The insects are the most diverse and the commonest arthropods today. They include,
ants, bees, wasps, beetles, butterflies, dragonflies and fleas. They range in size from
microscopic soil-dwelling insects to large beetles and butterflies. They are mostly
terrestrial and some are aquatic. The aquatic species survive inside water by trapping air
bubbles against their respiratory openings (spiracles). Terrestrial insects are one of only
two groups of animals that are truly adapted to terrestrial life, in that they manage water
to an extent that allows them to explore the terrestrial habitat fully (the other group is the
Amniota, which includes Mammalia and Reptilia).
Wingless insects are known from rocks as old as Devonian (from 416 Ma), and the
winged forms appear first in the Pennsylvanian. Most Paleozoic insects are known from
swamp deposits, and most Mesozoic and Cenozoic fossils from air-fall tuffs.

Adult american cockroach, Periplaneta americana

Characteristics of Insects
All insects have an exoskeleton consisting of a firm cuticle. The firm exoskeleton
supports the insect, maintains its shape and protects it from damage and from
evaporation. The rigid exoskeleton prevents insects from growing in a continuous
manner and growth takes place in spurts. The outer layer of cuticle is shed and the
insect expands its body until the new layer of cuticle forms and hardens. This moulting
process (or ecdysis) takes place five or moretimes until the mature insect appears, after
which there is no further growth or ecdysis. Stages between each moult are referred to
as instars.
The body is typically divided into about 20 segments which are grouped into the head (6
fused segments), the thorax (3 segments) and the abdomen (11 segments). The typical
insect body is divided into three distinct tagma: the head (composed of six segments),
thorax (three segments), and the abdomen (11 segments, usually with only 10 being
apparent). The external morphology of insects is illustrated the American Cockroach
The head bears sensory organs and mouthparts. There is a pair of antennae which are
sensitive to touch and smell. There is also a pair of compound eyes made up of
hundreds of separate lenses (ommatidia) and sensory cells. These can detect light,
movement and colour and can form crude images of shapes. In bees and butterflies
these senses allow the insect to find sources of nectar in flowers by their colour, shape
and smell.
There are three sets of mouthparts carried externally on the head. This consists of a pair
of mandibles (jaws) which bites off portions of food and passes them into the mouth. A
pair of maxillae helps the insect in tasting and manipulating the food while the labium (or
lower 'lip') has different functions depending on the species of insect.
The insect thorax is made up of three segments. The first (connecting with the head), the
second and the third are called prothorax, mesothorax and metathorax respectively.
Each of the three thoracic segments has uniramous (unbranched) legs and, in most
insects the mesothorax and metathorax bear two pairs of wings which may be reduced
to one pair. Also, some species have no wing at all.

Characteristically, all insects have three pairs of legs, one pair on each thoracic
segment. Each of the legs has five sections with joints between each section. The joint
enables the leg to move in different directions. The exoskeleton at these joints consists
of a flexible cuticle which permits freedom of movement. In the mature insect the
abdomen carries no appendage other than some apparatus on the final segment to
assist with egg-laying.
Insects are the most successful amongst all animals. Alone, they make up about 76% of
all animals, with several species yet to be discovered. They live in all environments
capable of supporting life. They are therefore found on land (primarily), the sea, and
freshwater. Notably, a dipteran species known as Petroleum fly (Helaemyia syn.
Psilopa petroli  lives in crude oil. Their distribution cuts across every part of the world.
Insect orders
Insects are divided into 29 orders which are listed below..

1. Order Thysanura

2. Order Diplura

3. Order Protura

4. Order Collembola
5. Order Ephemeroptera
6. Order Odonata

7. Order Plecoptera

8. Order Grylloblatodea

9. Order Orthoptera
10. Order Phasmida

11. Order Dermaptera

12. Order Embioptera

13. Order Dictyoptera

14. Order Isoptera
15. Order Zoraptera

16. Order Psocoptera

17. Order Mallophaga

18. Order Siphunculata

19. Order Hemiptera

20. Order Thysanoptera

21. Order Neuroptera

22. Order Mecoptera
.
23. Order Siphonaptera
24. Order Coleoptera

25. Order Strepsiptera
.
26. Order Diptera

27. Order Lepidoptera

28. Order Trichoptera

29. Order Hymenoptera
Success of insects
Insects are successful because:
1. They are small in size
2. They have the ability to fly
3. They produce resistant eggs capable of being dispersed by air water currents
and animals.
4. They are resistant to desiccation
5. They adapt to all conditions.
The study of insects is called entomology. In broad terms entomology is the science that
deals with the biology (structure & function), ecology and importance of insects.
Structure and function relates to the morphology, physiology and genetics. Ecology
deals with the study of the interrelationships between insects and themselves as well as
other organisms and their physical environment.

INTRODUCING ARTHROPODS SIMPLY

                                                                           All who would like to know the basic things about insects, spiders, millipedes, centipedes, scorpions, prawns, crabs, lobsters in the simplest of language and presentation need this book. Secondary school students preparing for university admissions in the field of the biological sciences such as zoology, microbiology, biochemistry, and medicine will find it very useful. It is a lucid introduction to the group of animals with hard outer covering and collectively called Arthropods. Common examples are used to introduce this group of animals. Get your own copy quickly.

STAND UP AGAINST BEAN WEEVILS WITH GARLIC AND SPRING ONIONS

 

Bean weevils have become a veritable albertross in kitchens, pantries and stores. After careful seletion wading through markets for insect free grains of cowpea, you store the grains away in paint buckets, sacs, or polythene bags with a feeling of satisfaction and food (bean) security you soon find out that your beans have become home for unwanted small brown insects commonly called weevils. 

Adult bean weevil

Eggs and damage holes of bean weevil 

Females lay the eggs cemented to the bean or the pod. In 2 - 3 days the eggs hatch into gurblike larvae which bores into the seed where it makes a 'window' before becoming pupa, a resting stage before adulthood. The larval and pupal stages are spent inside the bean. The adult emerges through the 'window' leaving a neat round hole. This weevil attacks dried beans; thus this weevil is a serious storage pest. The larval stage of the weevil bore hole  within the beans and eat up almost all the entire bean contents. After the pupa stage in the beams t adults emerge through a round hole in the seed coat. The damage done is a combination of the feeding and contamination with frass. This calls for control measures that are cheap, readily available and environmentally friendly. In a bid to find such quality means of keeping these weevils away from stored beans  we carried out laboratory bioassays to investigate the bioactivity of powders, extracts, and essential oils from garlic (Allium sativum L.) (Alliaceae) and Spring onion (A. fistulosum L) .(Liliaceae)against adults, eggs,and larvaeof bean weevils technically called Callosobruchus maculatus F.
On thebasis of48hr median lethal toxicity (LC50), test plant powders and extracts from garlic were more toxic to the weevils than those from spring onion. The 48hr LC50 values for the powder against the test insect species were 9.66g/kg and 26.29g/kg for garlic and spring onion  fistulosum, respectively. Also the 48hr LC50 values obtained show that water extracts of the garlic 0.11g/L and 0.411g/L  for spring onion were more toxic to the weevils than the corresponding ethanol
extracts. The study shows that garlic spring onion have potentials for protecting stored beans from
damage by storage weevils named C. maculatus.
Details of this study can be found here http://www.google.com.ng/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=abiodun+denloye&source=web&cd=13&v ed=0CDYQFjACOAo&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdownloads.hindawi.com%2Fjournals%2Fpsyche%2F2010%2F958348.pdf&ei=68W8UKGJCdSY0QW35IHgAw&usg=AFQjCNGb3xsflKT1SUISW6W5o-ctbAZljw

Colourful Monkey with “human” eye: How

 Georgette became famous

One day in June 2007, Georgette (Pic 1), the niece of a local scholl Director in the Opalla District, Democratice Replublic of Congo (DRC), Central Africa, was caring for her pet, a monkey when a field team of a group of scientists walked past her. The team did not notice the little girl. Why? Georgette was like any other adolescent girl in any of the cities, villages and forests of DRC. She was simple and  inconsequential. Her pet however caught the attention of the passers-by, particularly the conservation biologists. Allthough the monkey they sighted looked like many others thay had seen, this one has a striking mane, brightly coloured blue arse and most importantly eyes that look like those of humans (pic 2).

 

Pic 1: Georgette

 

Pic 2: Portrait of adult male Lasula

 

Pic 3: Georgette with juvenile female Lasula

Georgette’s pet monkey has become  a new species of  monkey discovered by scientists led by John Hart, a conservation biologist from the Lukuru Wildlife Research Foundation in the DRC. Hart and his team had come to a region in central DRC called the Tshuapa-Lomami-Lualaba Conservation Landscape, which is the land between the Tshuapa, Lomami and Lualaba rivers, to explore the largely unknown, vast and roadless forest within. Upon visiting this pet monkey, Hart found that the locals identified the animal as ‘Lesula’, and the species, although not known to science at the time, was well known by hunters. Georgette’s uncle acquired the infant about two months earlier, before the arrival of the biologists, from a family member who had killed its mother in the forest near Yawende, south of Opala and west of the Lomami River.  The biologists took photographs of the animal and made arrangements for its care. They then continued to observed and take serial photographs of this animal regularly over the following 18 months. More searching in Opala, DRC resulted in another captive male and female Lesula, and these two were monitored for several months. Then, in December 2007, the team saw their first wild Lesula in the Obenge region along the Lomami River.  The team also collected pictures of Lasulas killed by hunters’. Also, they collected snips of skin or a whole carcass of these monkeys which they sent for detailed analysis. These analyses resulted in the identification of the Lasula as a species which although had been existing in the Lomami forests, but was hitherto unknown to science. This new discovery was given Cercopithecus lomamiensis as its scientific name. The second name of the monkey, that is the specific epithet in technical term –“ lomamiensis” is given because the monkey is endemic to the Lomami forest, which is watered by the Lomami river from which these monkeys and many other wild animals take water.

 

Pic 4: Two juvenile Lasula

The detailed scientific description of the species was puclished in a September 2012 edition of PLoS One , an open access journal.  The paper coauthored by Hart and 8 other researchers is titled ’ Lesula: A New Species of Cercopithecus Monkey Endemic to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Implications for Conservation of Congo’s Central Basin” Since the journal was pucblished the names and photographs of georgette became frequently mentioned in the world media including CNN and the internet. This discovery has also been trending on the social media. Sometimes it takes only a little kindness and care of animals from the wild to become famous. This is what the story of the discovery of Lasula has taught the world.

 

Pic 5: Bright blue arse of Lasula

Follow this link http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0044271 for the full scientific pape.