Comparative analysis of drivers to BIM adoption among AEC firms in developing countries : a case of Nigeria

Purpose – Building information modelling (BIM) adoption is vital to productivity and competitive nature of the construction sector. However, BIM adoptions have not been generally embraced by many Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) firms, particularly in developing countries; and studies that investigate the important drivers to BIM adoptions among construction professionals through quantitative approach are limited. The study purpose is to address the aforementioned gap. Design/methodology/approach – The study used a literature review, a pilot study and a questionnaire survey. The primary data were carried out using structured questionnaire distributed to the four different, selected BIM adopters’ AEC firms. These comprised architectural firms, facility management firms, quantity surveying firms and structural engineering firms in Lagos, Nigeria. Data obtained were analyzed using mean score, standard deviation, Kruskal-Wallis test, and factor analysis. Findings – The study identified 23 drivers to BIM adoption and the relative importance of the identified drivers was gauged from each selected BIM adopters’ AEC firm category. The result of the Kruskal-Wallis test showed that there is no statistically significant difference in the perceptions of the four selected AEC firms in the mean ranking of the identified 23 drivers to BIM adoption. The findings from factor analysis categorized the identified drivers into two major factors to include: cost and time savings, and improved communication; and BIM awareness and government supports. Practical implications – The study empirically identified important drivers to BIM adoption which will be useful for construction stakeholders to formulate strategies to adopt the full implementation of BIM in the Nigerian AEC firms and other developing countries. Also, this study is very important as it identified, analyzed, and compared the drivers to BIM adoptions from four different AEC firms; thereby providing robust and more reliable findings. Originality/value – The study findings would inform the decisions of policymakers and construction stakeholders to make some policy recommendations capable of positively influencing the widespread adoption of BIM in AEC firms and construction industry at large. This study is important because the studies that comparatively and empirically analysed BIM drivers in AEC firms are rare, particularly in developing countries. Hence, this study could be used to benchmark future studies in developing countries

Forage from cropping systems as dry season supplements for sheep

Information on the utilisation of legume hays from an intercropping system as a feed supplement is limited. Three forage legume hays (Stylosanthes guianensis, Lablab purpureus and Aeschynomene histrix) were compared by feeding them as supplements for yearling West African Dwarf rams (LWt 18.0±2.2 kg) fed a basal diet of mature guinea grass (Panicum maximum). The performance of the rams was evaluated in a 60-day growth trial, using a completely randomised design with 6 rams per treatment. Organic matter digestibility and nitrogen retention were assessed in a separate trial using the same design; but with 4 animals per treatment. In the growth trial, rams supplemented with S. guianensis and A. histrix gained more weight (P<0.05) than those on the L. purpureus supplemented diet. Average total weight gains were 33.3, 13.2 and 31.2 g/d for S. guianensis-, L. purpureus- and A. histrix-supplemented diets, respectively. Organic matter digestibility was 643, 568 and 523 g/kg for S. guianensis-, A. histrix- and L. purpureus-supplemented groups, respectively. All treatments resulted in positive nitrogen balance. We concluded that feeding forage legumes from cereal-based cropping systems as a supplement can maintain liveweight in sheep and even achieve modest weight gains during the critical dry period when feed quality is poor

Financial Hardship from Purchasing Prescription Drugs Among Older Adults in the United States Before, During, and After the Medicare Part D “Donut Hole”: Findings from 1998, 2001, 2015, and 2021

BACKGROUND: Cost-related nonadherence compromises successful and effective management of chronic disease. The Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA) and Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA) aimed to increase the affordability of outpatient prescription drugs for older adults (older than age 64 years). The Medicare Part D prescription drug insurance coverage gap (“donut hole”) created by the MMA was fully closed in 2020 by the ACA. OBJECTIVES: To (1) describe prescription drug coverage and financial hardship from purchasing prescription drugs among older American adults for 2021, (2) compare these results with findings from data collected before the MMA and during the progressive elimination of the Medicare Part D coverage gap, and (3) compute the likelihood for financial hardship from purchasing prescription drugs using variables for year, prescription drug insurance coverage, health-related information, and demographics. METHODS: Data were obtained from 4 nationally distributed, crosssectional surveys of older adults to track coverage for and financial hardship from purchasing prescription drugs. Surveys in 1998 and 2001 were mailed to national random samples of US seniors. Of 2,434 deliverable surveys, 700 (29%) provided useable data. Data were collected in 2015 and 2021 via online surveys sent to samples of US adults. Of 27,694 usable responses, 4,445 were from older adults. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression analyses described relationships among financial hardship and demographics, diagnoses, and daily prescription drug use. RESULTS: Five percent of older adults lacked prescription drug coverage in 2021, continuing a downward trend from 32% in 1998, 29% in 2001, and 9% in 2015. Contrastingly, 20% of older adults reported financial hardship from prescription drug purchases in 2021, bending an upward trend from 19% in 1998, 31% in 2001, and 36% in 2015. Financial hardship from purchasing prescription drugs was more likely to be reported by older adults lacking prescription drug insurance, taking multiple medications daily, and having a low annual household income across all survey years. The latter 2 of these 3 factors were still predictive of financial hardship from purchasing prescription drugs among older adults with prescription drug insurance. CONCLUSIONS: Financial hardship from purchasing prescription drugs is still experienced by many older adults after the full implementation of the MMA and ACA. Lacking prescription drug coverage, taking more than 5 prescription drugs daily, and a low annual household income may increase the likelihood of experiencing this financial hardship. Pharmacists can be a resource for older adults making choices about their prescription drug coverages and purchases. DISCLOSURES: Funding was provided by the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy New Investigator Program, the University of Minnesota Grant-in-Aid of Research Program, the Peters Endowment for Pharmacy Practice Innovation, the Chapman University Research Program, and the University Minnesota Research Program. Plain language summary Almost all older adults in the United States have prescription drug insurance, but many still cannot afford them. This is most true for those who take many daily prescriptions, do not have prescription insurance, and have a low income

Evaluation of A Clay Mineral Deposit in Abeokuta, South-West Nigeria

Clay, in regard to its origin is unique. The kaolin of the mine of Ajebo has a hydrothermal geological formation. It presents itself a fragile and crumbly material, of whitish colour. Therefore, the objective of this paper was to evaluate the clay mineral of Ajebo deposit, its microstructure using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and thermal analysis (DSC/TG). The results showed that Ajebo clay belongs to the kaolin group (Kaolinite, nacrite, dickite, and halloysite). Elementary analysis showed the mineral to be composed mainly of aluminium, oxygen and silicon, with a low content of iron. The dehydrated state of the mineral was confirmed by XRD analysis; the basal spacing reflections indicate a sharp peak at 7&Aring; of d001 and the absence of a peak at 10&Aring;, which is indicative of hydrated kaolin. The SEM/SE studies indicated that Ajebo clay mineral particles are smaller than 10&mu;m, forming agglomerates. &nbsp

Voltammetric and impedance studies of phenols and Its derivatives at carbon nanotubes/Prussian bluefilms platinum modified electrode

The electrochemical oxidation of phenol (Ph), 4-chlorophenol (4-ClPh) and 4-nitrophenol (4-NPh) at a platinum electrode modified with and without multi-walled carbon nanotubes/Prussian blue nanocomposite in a pH 7.0 phosphate buffer electrolyte was investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and impedance measurements. The modified electrodes were characterised using techniques such as transmission electron microscopy (TEM), electron X-ray dispersive spectroscopy (XRD), cyclic voltammetry (CVs) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS)..

EVALUATION OF TWO-STAGE SUBSURFACE FLOW CONSTRUCTED WETLANDS FOR ABATTOIR WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT

Abattoir wastewater is high in organic content, the waste recovery and treatment facility is expensive and this results in indiscriminate dumping into streams without adequate treatment. The effectiveness of using a two-stage subsurface flow constructed wetland to treat abattoir effluent was examined in this study. Diluted abattoir wastewater from Lafenwa Abattoir, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria was fed into a two-stage Vegetated Subsurface Bed Constructed Wetlands (VSBCW). The VSBCW consisted of 500 mm deep 10-15 mm diameter granite with 150 mm thick overlay of well graded sand planted with locally available Vetiveria nigritana. Grab samples were collected at selected points along Ogun river and measurement of physico-chemical parameters such as: Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD5), Electrical Conductivity (EC), Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) and Total Suspended Solid (TSS) of the influent and effluent from the VSBCW were carried out. Irrigation with water and diluted abattoir wastewater to examine the variation in plant growth rate was also investigated. The results revealed a pollution load reduction as the wastewater moves away from the discharge point but inadequate to meet the FEPA (1991) standard for wastewater discharge into rivers. The VSBCW was observed to reduce the concentration of BOD5, COD, EC, TDS and TSS in the abattoir wastewater by 88.71, 87.28, 45.72, 56.89 and 72.27 % respectively. The growth rate of the V. nigritana reduced by 1.9% when irrigated with abattoir wastewater. The study revealed that locally available V. nigritana in VSBCW is effective in abattoir wastewater treatment and could be use to curtail the pollution caused by discharge of untreated wastewater into rivers. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp

Effect of Two Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) Fodder Cultivars as Supplements on Voluntary Intake; Milk Yield and Manure Production of Bunaji Cows

The feeding value of fodder from two cowpea cultivars to a basal maize stover diet was investigated using fifteen lactating White Fulani (Zebu) cows. The two cultivars were IT-716 and 994-DP. Diet was constituted as 50g DM/kg live weight and each of the cultivars was supplemented at 50% of the daily dry matter requirement of individual animals. The experimental design was a complete randomize. The parameters measured included feed intake, milk yield and composition and manure production. In a separate trial, dry matter degradation of the fodder was assessed. There were no significant differences in dry matter intake of the supplements. However, the dry matter intake of stover in the control diet was higher than those on the supplemented groups. The milk yields ranged from 887 to 1378 ml/day. Milk yield differed among treatments. Supplementation did not affect (P 0.05) fat, protein, total solids and ash contents of the milk across the treatments. Manure productions were not significantly different among the treatments. Similarly, content of N, P and K in manure were comparable among the treatments except for N that was lower (P 0.05) in the control group. The dry matter degradation was influenced by the fodder cultivars. The feeding of dual-purpose forage legumes residues could enhance milk production in lactating Zebu cows. This may be further increased by exploring other ways of improving feed residue utilization in the dry season

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ETHNOBOTANICAL SURVEY OF PLANTS USED IN THE MANAGEMENT OF DIABETES MELLITUS IN ABEOKUTA, NIGERIA

An ethnobotanical survey of some plants used for management of diabetes in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria was conducted. A total of 100 questionnaires were administered; (50 herbal practitioners and 50 on patients). Investigations were carried out on the plant parts used, methods of preparation and administration including, dosage and duration of usage. The results showed that fifty (50) plant species belonging to 30 families used in herbal anti-diabetes recipes. The most frequently used plant was Vernonia amygdalina (54%), followed by Azadirachta indica (44%), Ocimum gratissimum (20%), Mormodica charantia (10%) and Citrus aurantifolia (10%). Irrespective of the plant parts (leaves, fruits, stem- barks or roots) or combinations of the plant parts, water and alcohol were the main solvents. The most frequently used plant parts was leaf (62%) and mainly by decoction. Treatment regimens were by chewing or drinking of the aqueous herbal preparations (350-400ml) daily for 6-12 weeks or until symptoms of diabetes disappear.Keywords: Anti-diabetic plants, ethnobotanical survey, herbs, plant parts

Inner retinal preservation in rat models of retinal degeneration implanted with subretinal photovoltaic arrays

Photovoltaic arrays (PVA) implanted into the subretinal space of patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) are designed to electrically stimulate the remaining inner retinal circuitry in response to incident light, thereby recreating a visual signal when photoreceptor function declines or is lost. Preservation of inner retinal circuitry is critical to the fidelity of this transmitted signal to ganglion cells and beyond to higher visual targets. Post-implantation loss of retinal interneurons or excessive glial scarring could diminish and/or eliminate PVA-evoked signal transmission. As such, assessing the morphology of the inner retina in RP animal models with subretinal PVAs is an important step in defining biocompatibility and predicting success of signal transmission. In this study, we used immunohistochemical methods to qualitatively and quantitatively compare inner retinal morphology after the implantation of a PVA in two RP models: the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) or transgenic S334ter-line 3 (S334ter-3) rhodopsin mutant rat. Two PVA designs were compared. In the RCS rat, we implanted devices in the subretinal space at 4 weeks of age and histologically examined them at 8 weeks of age and found inner retinal morphology preservation with both PVA devices. In the S334ter-3 rat, we implanted devices at 6-12 weeks of age and again, inner retinal morphology was generally preserved with either PVA design 16-26 weeks post-implantation. Specifically, the length of rod bipolar cells and numbers of cholinergic amacrine cells were maintained along with their characteristic inner plexiform lamination patterns. Throughout the implanted retinas we found nonspecific glial reaction, but none showed additional glial scarring at the implant site. Our results indicate that subretinally implanted PVAs are well-tolerated in rodent RP models and that the inner retinal circuitry is preserved, consistent with our published results showing implant-evoked signal transmission