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Security Issues and Outcomes of the 2015 General Elections in North Eastern Nigeria
No full textSecurity issues have the propensity to stimulate electorates to adopt positive democratic attitudes that can facilitate safety. Such as following and engaging approaches that proffers a sense of safety, self value and cause the aspiration for leaders who share these common goals. Studies of security and elections in north eastern Nigeria exist however, limited to academic standards. This study examines security issues and factors influencing the outcome of the 2015 general elections in north eastern Nigeria through a qualitative method of data collection and analysis. The study concludes that factors, that caused the victory of an opposition political party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2015 general elections includes. The electorates’ evaluations of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) government’s depressing records in securing lives and property, mismanagement of the economy, and challenges in confronting corruption; better election campaign tactics and credible candidates presented by opposition parties; and better preparation by the electoral body, particularly the use of biometric voter cards. But most importantly of the factors is insurgency that occupied the northeast region. This shows the relevance of security, economy, and political concerns as top factors influencing electoral outcomes in north eastern, Nigeria
Is Systems Complexity a Property in a Functional State Space of Each System?
No full textHuman-Centric Functional Modeling has been proposed as a universal approach towards defining representations of the behavior of systems in terms of “functional state spaces”. Such descriptions are hypothesized to be complete in terms of having the capacity to represent all the behavior the system is capable of displaying. This paper provides a brief exploration of Human-Centric Functional Modeling, how it might be used to model the behavior of the cognitive system in terms of a functional state space, and how cognitive complexity might be defined as a property in this functional state space of the cognitive system. Assuming that functional state spaces can be defined for other systems as well, this paper explores the questions that must be asked in considering whether this hypothetical expression for complexity in the functional state space of the cognitive system systems represents a general pattern for defining complexity in any functional state space, and whether complexity is therefore a well-defined property of the functional state space of any system
Which Scholarly Platforms / Infrastructures / Networks Exist On The African Continent?
No full textPresentation held at the Open Science day co-hosted by UNESCO and the African Open Science Platform (AOSP) at the World Science Forum 2022.
You can access the live presentation at https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/10vZTeslg8wcZavRoP9CzFtmtIlKVTXlgp316I3S0Hbc/edit#slide=id.g1299adf0a46_0_8
Machine Learning Meets Microscopy: Cell Explorer Tool for a Diagnostic Laboratory
No full textIntroduction: Control of tropical diseases has for decades depended on diagnosis by microscopy as the gold standard method of detection. It, however, faces the drawbacks of low sensitivity, operator reliance on user expertise and experience essential to make an accurate diagnosis leading to variable results.
Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore a method that could help improve the process of microscopy via machine learning models for the detection of intra- and intercellular parasites.
Methods: A digital tool known as ‘cell explorer’ was developed to help in the detection and annotation of microscopic slide images taken from blood smears containing Leishmania donovani, Plasmodium falciparum and Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense parasites. Advanced statistical modelling techniques were used including Convolutional Neural Networks, open-source image processing algorithms and clustering algorithms to detect cellular morphology of the parasites. Using Simple Linear Interactive Clustering, the cell explorer also functioned as a cell counter.
Results: The neural network was able to immediately detect cellular morphology and identify the Leishmania and Trypanosome parasites as well as different stages of the Plasmodium parasite with an average accuracy of ̴ 95% . It was also able to accurately quantify the number of cells presented within each slide image.
Conclusion: The cell explorer presents a fast and accurate computer-aided microscopy tool with the ability to detect cellular morphology, successfully identifying Leishmania donovani, Plasmodium berghei and Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense parasites. This work highlights the research potential of machine learning models as disease diagnostic applications effective in improving the microscopy process
Phonological Adaptation Of The Belgian French Vowels In Kinshasa Lingala
No full textThis study provides a systematic analysis of vowel sound adaptations in KL with evidence from acoustic phonetics. The research is restricted to the phonological adaptations of vowel sounds from Belgian French (BF). It provides evidence from loan data on the existence of the contrastive features [±ATR] in KL phonological system. Questions raised include: does the phonological system of KL take precedence in the phonological adaptation process of the loanwords? Does similarity play a role in the adaptation of the loanwords? What happens when the foreign input does not offer any similarity with the phonological system of the recipient language (RL)? what happens when a feature/feature combination (FC) in a foreign input vowel either presents similarities with a feature/FC in the RL phonological system, or else does not present any similarities to any feature or FC in the phonological system of the RL? The data were extracted in a sentential context with a carrier sentence. Participants filled in the dots with the missing word that was suggested by the picture. The F1 and the F2 measurement values, in hertz (Hz) were taken at three different points of the vowel spectrogram. The script also generated the average measurement values which were considered as input for statistical analysis. The null hypothesis (Ho) predicts that BF [ɛ, œ, ø] would be adapted as [e] (Ho: [ɛ] = [e], [œ] = [e], and [ø] = [e]) in KL, while the alternative hypothesis (H1) predicts that the BF vowels [ɛ, œ, ø] would not be adapted as [e] (H1: [ɛ] ≠ [e], [œ] ≠ [e], and [ø] ≠ [e]) in KL. The Ho predicts that [ɔ] will be adapted as [o] (Ho: [ɔ] = [o]). Due to correlated nature of the data, Generalized Estimating Equation (GEE) was used to determine the degree of significant differences between two/more targeted variables. The findings have shown that KL speakers still discriminate between [ɛ] and [e], and [ɔ] and [o], which implies the existence of the underlying contrast between the features [+ATR] and [−ATR]
Introduction to Qualitative Evidence Synthesis as a Methodology
No full textThe outbreak of COVID-19 has disrupted research methods just as it had to all other sectors of education across the globe. Many institutions and organisations, including researchers sought to find ways to deal with research while observing the requirement for remote interactions. While many options have been implemented, the use of systematic reviews, and in particular, Qualitative Evidence Synthesis (QES) have not been explored. QES, as a research method, offers a high level of evidence through the synthesis of primary qualitative studies, using established and endorsed critical appraisal methods such as PRISMA Workflow charts or COREQ, CASP (the latter is commonly used in QES), and many more that are suitable based on the nature of the study design. The other beneficial quality of QES is the ability to preserve research, use and embellish primary research and provide formidable networks among researchers. This presentation was first presented at a workshop organized by the National Center for Research Methods and the University of Manchester (UK) in October 2021 and later on at the 6th World Conference on Qualitative Research (Spain) in January 2022
Proto-Bantu Existential Locational Construction(s)
No full textThis chapter proposes a Proto-Bantu reconstruction of existential constructions based on a convenience sample of 180 Bantu languages, which points towards “existential locationals” (ELs) as a suitable base for comparison. ELs include inverse-locational predications as well as expressions of generic existence. We develop a detailed typology of ELs through a careful examination of the morphosyntactic variation which their building blocks display across Bantu. This typology clearly singles out two types of ELs with high frequencies and Bantu-wide distributions, which are reconstructable to at least node 5 in the phylogenetic tree of the Bantu family of Grollemund et al. (2015). Both display locative subject markers and “figure inversion” in relation to plain locational constructions. The difference between the main types lies in the selection of the copula: either a locative or a comitative one. North-Western and Central-Western Bantu languages show few reflexes of the suggested reconstructions. Instead, they often have non-inverted ELs which are cross-linguistically uncommon or, less frequently, ELs involving expletive inversion. The non-dedicated EL can be considered a retention of the original structure or a (contact-induced) innovation. Our preference goes to the second hypothesis assuming that a severe reduction of (locative) noun classes and ensuing (locative) agreement triggered a more rigid word order and consequently non-inverted ELs or inverted expletive ELs exempt of locative marking
On a set avoiding solutions of the Erd\H{o}s-Straus equation : Erd\H{o}s-Straus equation
Get PDFWe apply the notion of the olloid to show that a certain set contains no solution of the Erd ̋os-Straus equatio
Concentrations of mercury and cadmium in Silver Cyprinid (Dagaa) fish from Lake Victoria, Kenya.
No full textThe toxicity of heavy metals is in part because they bioaccumulate in biological tissues. The objective of this study was to assess the concentrations of lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) in dagaa from open and gulf waters and compare the concentrations to their maximum permissible limits under Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS), European Commission (EC) and World Health Organization (WHO) regulations. The study was undertaken in December 2020 (dry season) and samples (dry and wet) were collected from six dominant dagaa landing sites along Lake Victoria, Kenya (Marenga, Uhanya, Litare, Sori, Asat, and Bao) for heavy metal analyses. The study indicated that Rastrineobola argentea from different sources had different concentrations of heavy metals (Table 1). Mercury and cadmium were detected in all dagaa samples analyzed; however, their concentrations were within the permissible limits of 0.5ppm as recommended by World Health Organization (WHO, 2010; EC, 2001; SDF&BE, 2018). We recommend continued surveillance measures necessary in containing industrial and sewerage effluents discharge and agricultural inputs run-off impacts towards heavy metal deposition in the lake and bioaccumulation in fish
The negative existential cycle in Chadic
No full textChadic languages, like languages of West and Central Africa more generally, are known to make use of typologically rare negation strategies. Not only do many Chadic languages exhibit bi-partite negation, there is also a tendency for the second of these two verbal negators to occur after the verb, in contrast to a cross-linguistic preference for pre-verbal negation. This particular study examines the extent to which Croft’s (1991) Negative Existential Cycle (NEC) may be demonstrated across Chadic languages. Furthermore, the study explores the use of the NEC as an explanatory framework in determining sources and pathways of verbal negation in Chadic languages. An important implication of this study is that identification of the B~C stage of the NEC elucidates the relationship between verbal negation and negative existential predication, as well as the relationship between these domains and other domains of the grammar such as aspect