This study analyzes the effect of climate change on rice production in Adamawa State, Nigeria. The study describes the trend in rice production and determines the factors affecting the output of rice ...in Adamawa. Secondary data from 1990-2015 was used. The analytical tools used were descriptive analysis, unit root and regression analysis. The result of the study reveals that there is variation in the trend of the climatic factors affecting rice production in Adamawa State. The findings reveal that rainfall and minimum temperature are the major climatic factors that affect the rice production; such that 1% increase in rainfall leads to 22.2% increase in rice production and 1% increase in minimum temperature leads to 3.7% reduction in rice production. Therefore rainfall is found to be positively significant to rice output, while minimum temperature is found to be negatively significant. The study therefore recommends that irrigation facilities should be built, especially in the north where drought threatens food production. Also breeders should develop rice varieties that have less gestation period and can survive high temperature.
Recently, the conversion of palm waste to activated carbon for various applications has attracted significant attention from researchers. Over the years, abundant palm wastes have been generated due ...to active palm milling in various part of the world. These environmentally challenging wastes have been converted to valuable and economical materials for gas adsorption and water treatment but rarely for energy storage application. The lignocellulose composition of palm wastes has made it a favorable candidate for starting material of activated carbon for supercapacitor application. In this review, the pretreatment condition, factors to consider for choosing starting material, activation techniques, and activation parameters such as activation temperature, activation time, activation agent and impregnation ratio are analyzed. The advantages of the synergistic effect of the lignocellulose composition of different palm wastes for energy storage device is discussed. The major drawbacks in the conventional Barrett-Joiner-Halenda (BJH) porosity characterization technique are addressed and the novel Non-localized Density Functional Theory characterization technique is suggested. Conclusively, future prospects in the activation of palm bio-wastes for supercapacitor application are highlighted.
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•Promises and prospects of exploration of palm wastes for energy storage.•Advances in analysis and characterization techniques of the porosity of activated carbons.•Optimization techniques of pretreatment and preparatory conditions of activated carbon.•Relevancies of heat kinetics in improving biomass activation.•Palm waste optimization technique for activated carbon production application.
The rise in the number of vehicles in Nigeria has significantly increased the vehicular emissions in the country especially in towns and cities. Some studies in the area of vehicular emissions of ...petrol and diesel engine vehicles concentrating on CO and CO2 existed. This study in addition to CO and CO2 emissions characteristics attempt to study the O2 emission of both types of engines. The analysis of data conducted on the emissions of petrol and diesel engine vehicles using a two-sample equal variance one-tail t-test showed that there were significant differences between the data of CO for the two types of engines (p=4.86x10^sup -6^), for CO 2 (p=1.77x10^sup -14^) and O2 (p=1.65x10^sup -19^). The CO and CO2 emissions were consistently higher for petrol engines as compared to diesel engine vehicles while O2 was consistently lower. Pearson Correlation Coefficient for age and CO of petrol engine vehicles showed that there was very low negative correlation (r= -0.27). Same test showed that there was no correlation between age and CO2 (r=0.00) as well as age and O2 (r= -0.02). Similarly, for diesel engine vehicles there was very low positive correlation between age and CO (r= 0.29), no correlation between age and CO2 (r= -0.03) as well as a very low positive correlation between age and O2 (r= 0.25).These results suggest that the rise in manufacture and distribution of diesel engine vehicles can be further strengthened if its higher emission of O2 is considered in addition to lower emissions of poisonous CO and green house gas CO2. It may also be stated that emissions from vehicles irrespective of type of type of engine is independent of age. PUBLICATION ABSTRACT
The use of spreading codes with a zero correlation zone or a low correlation zone can reduce multiple access interference in code-division multiple-access (CDMA) radio systems. However, problems can ...arise from the limited number of codewords. In this paper it is shown that this shortage of codewords can be mitigated by a combination of two approaches. Existing constructions of binary and ternary codes for quasisynchronous CDMA are modified to double the number of spreading codewords. Increases in correlation are restricted to certain codeword pairs. A metaheuristic algorithm inspired by those used in frequency assignment is then used to assign these codewords. This is done in such a way that a satisfactory signal-to-interference ratio across the network is obtained. Excellent results are reported for several networks. Interference is lower than when a Gold code is used as a scrambling code. Bit-error-rate improvements are quantified in the case that binary phase shift keying is used.
Under-screened women are more likely to be diagnosed with invasive cervical cancer at later stages and have worse survival outcomes. Under- or un-insured women, low-income women, and minoritized ...groups face barriers to screening. Intention to screen is an indicator of future screening behavior, yet is understudied among low-income, under-screened women. Participants were 710 low-income, uninsured or publicly insured women ages 25–64 years in North Carolina who were not up to date on cervical cancer screening according to national guidelines. Participants were asked about barriers to screening and intention to screen. We estimated reported barriers to cervical cancer screening stratified by race and ethnicity (categorized as White, Black, and Hispanic) and assessed predictors of intention to screen. Sixty-one percent of all participants reported 5 or more barriers to screening. The most commonly reported reasons for not getting screened were lack of insurance (White: 71%, Black: 62%, Hispanic/Latina: 63%) and cost (White: 55%, Black: 44%, Hispanic/Latina: 61%). Women were more likely to have an intention to screen if they reported “it was not hard to get screening” (OR: 1.47 (1.00, 2.15)). Older women reported being less likely to intend to screen. Black women reported being more likely to intend to screen than White women. Lack of health insurance and cost were frequently reported barriers to cervical cancer screening. Increasing knowledge of affordable clinics and expanding access to Medicaid may reduce barriers and increase cervical cancer screening uptake.
A case of advanced extrauterine pregnancy involving the rectum and with passage of fetal limb through the anus is presented. The patient probably had a heterotopic gestation.
The deleterious effects of Resident Doctors' (RDs') long duty hours are well documented. Driven by concerns over the physician's well-being and patient safety, the RDs' duty hours in many developed ...countries have been capped. However, in Nigeria and many African countries, there are no official regulations on work hours of RDs. This study evaluated the work schedule of Nigerian RDs and its impact on their wellbeing and patient safety.
A national survey of 1105 Nigerian RDs from all specialties in 59 training institutions was conducted. With an electronic questionnaire designed using Google Forms, data on the work activities of RDs were obtained and analyzed using the IBM SPSS software version 24. The associations were compared using Chi-squared test with the level of significance set at < 0.05.
The mean weekly duty hours (h) of the RDs was 106.5 ± 50.4. Surgical residents worked significantly longer hours than non-surgical residents (122.7 ± 34.2 h vs 100.0 ± 43.9 h;
< 0.001). The modal on-call frequency was two weekday on-calls per week (474, 42.9%) and two weekend on-calls per month (495, 44.8%), with the majority of RDs working continuously for up to 24 hours during weekday on-calls (854, 77.3%) and 48-72 hours during weekend on-calls (568, 51.4%), sleeping for an average of only four hours during these on-calls. The majority of RDs had post-call clinical responsibilities (975, 88.2%) and desired official regulation of duty hours (1,031, 93.3%).
The duty hours of Nigerian RDs are currently long and unregulated. There is an urgent need to regulate them for patient and physician safety.
All cases of eclampsia over a 15-year period in Ile-Ife University Teaching Hospital, Nigeria, were reviewed inorder to highlight the problems associated with this condition. The incidence was 0.76% ...of the total deliveries and showing increasing trend during the period of study. Nulliparas, mainly teenagers and young adults, who were of lower socioeconomic group and who lacked antenatal supervision constituted the majority of cases. Many patients presented following numerous convulsions. Diazepam in combination with hydralazine were the most commonly used drugs. The associated maternal and perinatal mortality and morbidity were unacceptably high. Suggestions as to how the incidence might be reduced are included.
This study explores the potential of water financialisation and entrepreneurship in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) to supplant the traditional responsibility of national, state, and local governments in ...providing public water supply, aligning with SDG Goals. Despite its typical association with the global north, a shifting landscape reveals emerging financial actors and multinational companies playing a more prominent role, prompting governance and accountability inquiries. Given the dearth of investment and persisting challenges in SSA's water infrastructure, the burgeoning involvement of financial actors and capital management entities in the water cycle seems inevitable. However, this trend raises concerns about exacerbating global water stress. Through qualitative methods, the study engaged 50 SSA participants via open-ended questionnaires, analysed using thematic analysis. The findings underscore a nuanced perspective. While acknowledging the potential of water financialisation and entrepreneurship to drive essential investment in SSA's water sector, the research emphasizes the irreplaceable role of government in policy execution and safeguarding citizens' well-being. Government intervention remains crucial to ensuring equitable water access and sustainability. Additionally, the analysis suggests that overemphasizing water financialisation could divert attention from critical infrastructural and technological advancements needed in SSA's water sector. This underscores the necessity of a balanced and comprehensive approach to address the multifaceted challenges surrounding water availability, governance, and sustainability in the region.
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