14 research outputs found
Solid waste management, air quality, and sustainability in Nigeria: A scoping review.
No full textBackground: A major global health risk, environmental air pollution results in significant death and morbidity from respiratory, cardiovascular, and other illnesses. In low-and middle-income nations like Nigeria, environmental difficulties brought on by inappropriate solid waste disposal are now big problems. This is due to the enormous increases in solid waste creation that have followed population growth and urbanisation. This dissertation thus aimed to discover from the existing literature how solid waste management relates to air quality and sustainability.
Methods: A scoping review of literature published between 2015 and 2023 was undertaken in July 2023 using three databases. This was to accommodate different types of quality research needed to achieve the aim of the dissertation. Both manual and appropriate literature searches were done. Screening entailed examining the title and abstract before full-text screening against predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria. The PRISMA-SCr was used to extract data, which was subsequently charted and categorised according to themes before synthesis.
Results: Out of 1123 studies identified, twenty made up the scoping review. Fourteen studies focused on the challenges of managing Municipal Solid waste; three studies assessed the generation; two studies explored its effects on humans and the environment; and one addressed solution. Government-led initiatives in air quality monitoring are scarce, which makes it difficult to effectively control and regulate air quality and subsequent health issues. The review identified that waste in Nigeria thus includes biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste. The problem of municipal solid waste stems from inadequate funding, the absence of resources and equipment, and poor implementation of policies.
Conclusion: It is impossible to overstate the connection between a clean environment and good health. It is essential to encourage sustainable initiatives that can increase data availability over time, strong communication between various government sectors, and widespread collaboration. Unquestionably, good solid waste management will support a clean environment. By improving government action, appropriate laws, and public knowledge, the region can prioritise the preservation of public health and air quality sustainability. Further studies then needed to address other areas to determine the effects of the different wastes and their impact on public health
The Representation of Women Dominating Woman in Ayobami Adebayo’s Stay With Me”
No full textThis research aims to delineate the discourse of women dominating woman constructed in Ayobami Adebayo’s novel, Stay With Me, which is published in 2017. The study analyzes a childless woman’s condition that is being oppressed, objectified and subordinated by other women in her surroundings. The main female character, Yejide, is still childless after her four years of marriage. Her childless condition makes Yejide, as a subordinate woman in her patriarchal society, being oppressed and objectified by women in her surroundings. In the textual form, Ayobami Adebayo conveys her opinion and feeling about harsh treatment that receives by a childless woman in patriarchal society that done not only by men but also by women. To analyze the discourse of women dominating woman, I use Stuart Hall’s representation theory linked to Michel Foucault’s discourse. The research is categorized as qualitative research, as the data use are in the form of literature which is narrative sentences. In addition, there are two kinds of data in my research which are primary and secondary data. The primary data are taken from narrations and dialogues in the primary source, Stay With Me. Meanwhile, the secondary data are taken from related journals, books, essays, and other sources which present any information about the contextual background in Nigeria in 1980s and the biography of the author.
It can be summed up that a childless woman are treated badly and even consider as ‘not woman’ by other women in her society. During Yejide’s struggle, as a childless woman, to keep her position as a wife she is treated as a subordinate, seen only as an object that produce child, and also get oppressed by women in her surroundings. Thus, by treating Yejide as a subordinate, exploiting by objectifies her and oppress her, they want to control on what Yejide should do and not do as a woman, and this three aspect form the discourse of women dominating woman in
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the novel. The novel setting is in Nigeria where the society is patriarchal. Moreover, the setting is at 1980s where patriarchal is the dominant culture and affect every aspect of life of the people that live in the culture. That is why the relation of women dominating woman and patriarchal culture is important. It is because patriarchal culture is the one that triggers women to dominate other women to support male supremacy.
Above all, Ayobami Adebayo, despite her protest and resistance towards patriarchal culture that seen in her novel, still shows how she as a woman in a patriarchal culture cannot fully escape those culture. In addition, she also emphasizes on childless women who do not fit into the expectation will receive harsh treatment and are treated as less than human, and more importantly she wanted to highlight that the one that capable of dominating women by objectifying and oppressing is not only men, but also women towards other women
Analogue RF front-end IC design for ultra-wideband implantable wireless body area network radio
No full textImplantable wireless body area networks (WBAN) are a promising technology for health monitoring and treatment of patients requiring special care, where sensors are placed inside the human body to carry out measurements which may include telemetry or video streaming. Ultra-Wideband technology (UWB) is investigated as a candidate for the proposed implanted wireless body area sensor network due to its wide frequency spectrum and, hence, its low bit energy. UWB is introduced and then explored in terms of system constraints and circuit implementation.
In this work the author has explored the unlicensed frequency spectrum to achieve better communication for implantable medical devices, since the licensed frequency band has been occupied and is overcrowded. The advantages of the unlicensed frequency band technology include a wide bandwidth which allows for Gigabit data rates over short distances. This technology only requires low power consumption due to the low complexity of the Ultra-wideband system and the low transmit power. However, with the growing demand for wireless communications systems, more challenging requirements arise. Since a wide frequency range is required, the design of a transceiver front end in the entire frequency range is challenging. In this work the author has designed a transceiver RF front end, optimised for low power using Silicon on Sapphire (SOS) CMOS technology. The circuit designed has been fabricated and measured.
The author also describes how applicable UWB is used for implantable WBANs and invites future work on designing a radio capable of being installed inside the human body for medical care and monitoring
Floristic indicators of tropical landuse systems: Evidence from mining areas in Southwestern Nigeria
No full textAbstractMost forests in the tropics have not only been reduced in size but have also experienced forest degradation. The delicate balance of the components of the forest ecosystem has been altered largely by the landuse systems which have resulted in the disappearance of some species and the introduction of new ones. In order to understand the influence of human disturbance caused by artisanal mining on plant biodiversity and the physical environment, this study assessed changes in vegetation characteristics using plant functional groups, such as invasive, pioneer and understory species. The study was conducted at two sites in two Southwestern states of Nigeria, Itagunmodi in Atakumosa West Local Government Area of Osun State and Olode in Oluyole Local Government Area of Oyo State. Complete enumerations of woody, non-woody and herbaceous plant species were carried out in 20 m by 20 m plots selected using stratified random sampling as representative of landuse classes: freshly mined (<6 months), abandoned mine (>6 months) and a control plot (secondary forest). The results showed that the control plot in Itagunmodi had undergone degradation as indicated by the presence of Alchornea laxiflora, Geophilia obvallata, Musa sapientum,Elaeis guineensis and Keetia hispida. However, if left undisturbed, it has the potential of regeneration back to its original state because of its woody tree species composition and lianas (Triclisia gilletii). In addition the forest soils in the mines had been exposed to direct insolation for a long period, and the soil structure and texture have been affected, consequently altering the viability of the seed bank. Poaceae and Papilionoideae were the most common in the freshly mined plots while invasive species were the most common in abandoned mined plots. In conclusion, the floristic composition in the mining sites has been altered and there was no clear evidence that regrowth would bring restoration of the lost ecosystem services
An insight into maternal recognition of pregnancy in mammalian species
No full textAbstractPregnancy loss especially at the early state of gestation is a major cause of infertility in both human and animal species. This has been attributed to the impaired interaction between the maternal endometrium and the developing embryo and/or inadequate hormonal support for the pregnancy continuation. Progesterone is the hormone of pregnancy and is essential for establishment and sustainance of pregnancy in most mammals. It is principally produced by the corpus luteum which undergoes regression mostly due to luteolytic action of prostaglandins F2alpha at certain period of the oestrous cycle. Maternal recognition of pregnancy (MRP) is the phenomenon through which luteolysis of corpus luteum is abrogated for continuous production of progesterone in a conceptive cycle and is achieved by different agents in different mammalian species. It is interferon tau in ruminant, oestrogen in pig, while it is human chorionic gonadotropin in human. In mare, the MRP agent remains ambiguous and was speculated to be some protein and prostaglandins E2. It is the purpose of this review to highlight the MRP signals in domestic mammals with emphasis on ruminant while discussing their mechanisms of action. Given the importance of progesterone in supporting pregnancy in all mammalian species, understanding the physiology of these mechanisms through which luteolysis is nullified will aid approaches necessary to correct pregnancy loss associated with defective MRP in one hand and may also lead to developing a novel contraceptive on the other hand
Causal Effects of Road Geometry on Car-Following Behaviour of Autonomous Vehicle Pairs and Human-driven Vehicle Pairs
No full textThis study adopted a meta-learner (X-learner) in machine learning to investigate the causal effects of curvature and slope on car-following behaviour. The effects were analyzed using real-world trajectories of human-driven vehicles (HDV) and autonomous vehicles (AV) in different road geometric conditions in Italy, Sweden and Hungary. The study considered the effects of curvature and slope at different look-ahead distances to capture the drivers' anticipatory behaviour before entering curves and slopes. These effects were predicted using two machine learning models - eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) and Light Gradient Boosting Machine (LightGBM). The results show that AVs and HDVs showed different speed patterns across look-ahead distances on curves and slopes, with notable differences between free-flow and car-following states. The results also showed that XGBoost and LightGBM models with the road geometry variables showed higher prediction accuracy than the models without the road geometry variables.The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the pdf file of the accepted manuscript may differ slightly from what is displayed on the item page. The information in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript reflects the original submission by the author
DESIGN OF A NEW LIBRARY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM BASED ON PAST EXPERIENCES WITH THE LIBRARIES IN NIGERIA
No full textPast experiences with Nigerian libraries, where issues like inadequate record-keeping, limited accessibility, and ineffective book cycling still exist, are taken into thought with designing a web-based library management system. In Nigeria, public libraries frequently use manual cataloging, which is prone to errors, delays, and misplaced books. Additionally, because of outdated
or disorganized systems, users usually have issues monitoring book availability, borrowing status, and overdue penalties. With real-time accessibility for librarians and users, this system seeks
to computerize essential library operations including catalogs, book lending, user registration, and fee management. An interactive search interface that enables users to find books by title, author, or subject will be an essential part of the system. Additionally, the reliability of the system will be increased by integrating authentication for users' mechanisms to prevent book vandalism and unauthorized access. In order to improve efficiency, accessibility, and utilization of resources
in Nigerian libraries, this system aims to close the gap between normal library services and new technological needs through the use of web-based technology.Při navrhování webového systému správy knihoven se berou v úvahu minulé zkušenosti
s nigerijskými knihovnami, kde stále existují problémy jako nedostatečné vedení záznamů, omezená dostupnost a neefektivní koloběh knih. V Nigérii veřejné knihovny často používají ruční katalogizaci, která je náchylná k chybám, zpožděním a ztraceným knihám. Kvůli zastaralým nebo neorganizovaným systémům mají uživatelé navíc obvykle problémy se sledováním dostupnosti knih, stavu půjček a penále po splatnosti. Díky dostupnosti v reálném čase pro knihovníky
a uživatele se tento systém snaží digitalizovat základní knihovnické operace včetně katalogů, půjčování knih, registrace uživatelů a správy poplatků. Nezbytnou součástí systému bude interaktivní vyhledávací rozhraní, které uživatelům umožní vyhledávat knihy podle názvu, autora nebo tématu. Spolehlivost systému bude navíc zvýšena integrací mechanismů autentizace pro uživatele, které zabrání vandalismu a neoprávněnému přístupu.Fakulta ekonomicko-správníThe student defended Master's thesis named: Design a new library management system based on past experiences with the libraries in Nigeria.The aim of the thesis was to develop and implement a web-based Library Management System (LMS), transitioning from a manual to an automated system to improve operational efficiency, enhance user experience, and streamline resource management.Dokončená práce s úspěšnou obhajobo
Future role of wave power in Seychelles: A structured sensitivity analysis empowered by a novel EnergyPLAN-based optimisation tool
No full textMitigating climate change requires a variety of energy technologies and energy simulation approaches to evaluate the best possible system structures. Screening whether novel technologies are a viable solution for a particular country within a cost-optimised system setup is usually simulation- and time-intensive. This study introduces the novel add-on optimisation tool EP-ALISON-LUT for use in combination with EnergyPLAN applied to the test case of wave power in the case of Seychelles in 2030 and 2050 within a structured sensitivity analysis. The tool enables a high number of possible system setups and scenarios, including the import and domestic production of electricity-based fuels, to be modelled, allowing for an in-depth view of the system impacts of integrating wave power. The results indicate a limited role for wave power due to its relatively low yield, especially in 2030. However, in 2050, up to 500 MW of wave power capacity is possible with a lower or similar levelised cost of final energy compared to the reference scenario in 2019, which can benefit the diversification of the power generation portfolio. Thus, this novel tool is fast and effective in technology screening studies requiring a fast optimisation algorithm.Offshore Engineerin
Supernatural bodies: the intersection of Nigerian feminism and body autonomy
No full textMany Nigerian women are depicted in literature as possessing little to no personal agency. Due to socio political issues, these women are often relegated to the margins of discourse surrounding Nigerian literature. Because of the chasm left within this arena, it becomes apparent that a critical investigation should be complied on the ways in which Nigerian feminism is employed within literature of the Global South. Specifically, with the recent surge in young, female, Nigerian authors being published, there has been an increase in the usage of the supernatural as a key element to provide women a semblance of agency. These young writers use various supernatural elements to open the discourse on Nigerian bodies, and how previous scholarship has failed to adequately capture underpinnings that are crucial to Nigerian feminism. The female protagonists in Ayobami Adebayo's Stay with Me, Helen Oyeyemi's White is for Witching, and Akwaeke Emezi's Freshwater each find agency via supernatural elements. Applying the theoretical framework of Oye?Çro?ünke?ü Oye?Çwu?Çmi?ü, specifically regarding gender roles in Nigeria, it becomes clear that each of these protagonists adheres to but also rejects Nigerian gender roles. Through this subversion of Western patriarchal notions of gender and feminism, the three authors studied provide a new type of Nigerian feminism, one that accounts for all feminine bodies, binary or non. By looking at how each author uses supernatural elements in tandem with bodies, it becomes clear that a discourse on the body cannot be parsed from its attachment to agency
Author Correction: Bacterial communities associated with the surface of fresh sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum) and their potential as biocontrol
No full textAn amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper
