Book Review: Faith and Politics in Nigeria: Nigeria as a Pivotal State in the Muslim World

Reviews the book Faith and Politics in Nigeria: Nigeria as a Pivotal State in the Muslim World, by John N. Paden. Published by the United States Institute of Peace Press, 2008

History and Methodology in a Nigerian University

This work highlighted the challenges faced by graduate students of History in Nigeria. A major snag confronted by these students in writing M.A. dissertations and doctoral thesis at the Department of History, University of Ibadan, Nigeria (Ibadan School of History), is the issue of methodology and in particular, the use of theories. The Department decries the use of theories as anathemic to historical writing. This article seeks to interrogate the universal nature of history vis-a-vis the nature of history from the perspective of the Department. The questions raised by this research work include the what, when and why of the nature of historical scholarship at the University of Ibadan? How relevant is the position of the Department in the twenty-first century? What are the arguments for and against theory in historical scholarship at Ibadan? A school of thought argues that rational analysis and empiricism are central to the historian’s craft. Based on this premise, can the historian write about the past without theories? History and the challenges of Methodology in Nigerian universities is analyzed based on the author’s experience as a doctoral student at the Department of History. This research work concludes that the study of the past is not static, thus, the Ibadan School of History cannot afford to be static.Key Words: History, Historiography, Theories, Methodology, and Ibadan School of History

A comparative assessment of artificial and natural energy drinks in the epididymal and testicular milieu

Artificial and natural energy drinks are both taken for increased energy, physical stamina, and alertness, although they differ in composition. This study investigated the effects of artificial and natural energy drinks on the testicular milieu in male pubertal rats. Eighteen Wistar rats were randomly divided into 3 groups of 6 rats each and all animals had access to food ad libitum. Group 1: (control) received water only; Group 2: (artificial energy drink- AED) received AED; Group 3: (natural energy drink- NED) received NED. A dose of 1.41ml/day/150g animal was administered and this lasted for 28 days. Sperm and testicular variables, biochemical parameters, and hormonal assays were carried out.  There were significant decreases in the levels of testosterone, Lactate dehydrogenase, glucose, 3β-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase, and 17β- Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase activities in AED and NED groups when compared to the control group. There was a marked increment in sperm abnormalities in the NED group when compared to AED and control groups. Also, the intake of AED led to an elevated level of Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase compared to the control while a significant reduction was observed in the NED group when compared to the AED group. Artificial and natural energy drinks although consumed for strength and vigor distorted epididymis and testicular integrity via alteration of the testicular metabolism, lowering sperm quality and androgenic hormones in pubertal male Wistar rats

Young Single Widow, Dynamics of In-Laws Interference and Coping Mechanisms: Simplicity–Parsimony Approach

The incidence of short marital duration due to the demise of a husband that often exposes young widows to in-laws’ exploitation of the asset of the deceased spouses, without regard for negative health consequences and potential vulnerability to poverty has not been exhaustively investigated, especially in sub-Saharan Africa where 16% of adult women are widows. The study examined the coping mechanisms among the young widow (aged � 40) who have experienced short conjugal relationships (�5 years) and burdensome from in-laws. The research design followed a qualitative approach with the aid of semi-structured in-depth interviews among 13 young widows selected through snowballing and informant-led approaches in the purposively selected communities. Data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics and a thematic approach. The findings, among others, shows the median age of young widow as 29 years. All participants, except one, have faced exploitation from their in-laws over their husbands’ assets. All the participants desired to re-marry in order to: have a father figure for their children, have their own children or have more children. There is an absence of government support, but a few have received support from religious organisations. The author proposed attitudinal-change campaigns targeting the in-laws through accessible media and legislature that could challenge the exploitation of widows and unhealthy widowhood rites

The global burden of cancer attributable to risk factors, 2010-19 : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background Understanding the magnitude of cancer burden attributable to potentially modifiable risk factors is crucial for development of effective prevention and mitigation strategies. We analysed results from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019 to inform cancer control planning efforts globally. Methods The GBD 2019 comparative risk assessment framework was used to estimate cancer burden attributable to behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risk factors. A total of 82 risk-outcome pairs were included on the basis of the World Cancer Research Fund criteria. Estimated cancer deaths and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) in 2019 and change in these measures between 2010 and 2019 are presented. Findings Globally, in 2019, the risk factors included in this analysis accounted for 4.45 million (95% uncertainty interval 4.01-4.94) deaths and 105 million (95.0-116) DALYs for both sexes combined, representing 44.4% (41.3-48.4) of all cancer deaths and 42.0% (39.1-45.6) of all DALYs. There were 2.88 million (2.60-3.18) risk-attributable cancer deaths in males (50.6% [47.8-54.1] of all male cancer deaths) and 1.58 million (1.36-1.84) risk-attributable cancer deaths in females (36.3% [32.5-41.3] of all female cancer deaths). The leading risk factors at the most detailed level globally for risk-attributable cancer deaths and DALYs in 2019 for both sexes combined were smoking, followed by alcohol use and high BMI. Risk-attributable cancer burden varied by world region and Socio-demographic Index (SDI), with smoking, unsafe sex, and alcohol use being the three leading risk factors for risk-attributable cancer DALYs in low SDI locations in 2019, whereas DALYs in high SDI locations mirrored the top three global risk factor rankings. From 2010 to 2019, global risk-attributable cancer deaths increased by 20.4% (12.6-28.4) and DALYs by 16.8% (8.8-25.0), with the greatest percentage increase in metabolic risks (34.7% [27.9-42.8] and 33.3% [25.8-42.0]). Interpretation The leading risk factors contributing to global cancer burden in 2019 were behavioural, whereas metabolic risk factors saw the largest increases between 2010 and 2019. Reducing exposure to these modifiable risk factors would decrease cancer mortality and DALY rates worldwide, and policies should be tailored appropriately to local cancer risk factor burden. Copyright (C) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.Peer reviewe

Rapid construction of a whole-genome transposon insertion collection for Shewanella oneidensis by Knockout Sudoku

Whole-genome knockout collections are invaluable for connecting gene sequence to function, yet traditionally, their construction has required an extraordinary technical effort. Here we report a method for the construction and purification of a curated whole-genome collection of single-gene transposon disruption mutants termed Knockout Sudoku. Using simple combinatorial pooling, a highly oversampled collection of mutants is condensed into a next-generation sequencing library in a single day, a 30- to 100-fold improvement over prior methods. The identities of the mutants in the collection are then solved by a probabilistic algorithm that uses internal self-consistency within the sequencing data set, followed by rapid algorithmically guided condensation to a minimal representative set of mutants, validation, and curation. Starting from a progenitor collection of 39,918 mutants, we compile a quality-controlled knockout collection of the electroactive microbe Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 containing representatives for 3,667 genes that is functionally validated by high-throughput kinetic measurements of quinone reduction

Unsupervised learning analysis of European working condition

AbstractWorkers require good working conditions to enhance their job performance, in this study, we conducted a survey of European working conditions in 2022 and compared the results with that of 2016 using an unsupervised learning approach for exploratory data analysis and determining the relationships. Hence, the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was adopted. The analyses were in two parts for both the 2016 and 2022 surveys. Following the PCA, the first part shows that European workers are mostly characterized by cheerfulness and good spirits. The second part reveals that European workers are best characterized by enthusiasm in their work. Test statistics showed that the European working condition for the two periods does not differ significantly. The working conditions in Europe have not been altered in the space of six years. This study recommends that the working condition in Europe should be improved so that employers would continue to give their best

Le monde a-t-il un genre ?

International audienc

Women's behavioral patterns in domestic tasks in Western Nigeria : hazards forecasting with neural network classifier

Behavioral pattern is the characteristic ways a person acts and has been recognized as a cause of many home accidents (h-accd). This study reviewed the types and prevalence of injuries among women in domestic works and proposes a model using Artificial Neural Network (ANN) function to forecast the safety level of women in domestic duty. The study was conducted in some parts of Western Nigeria among 340 subjects (171 married and 169 unmarried) using questionnaire. SPSS was used for data analysis. The ANN function was developed in MATLAB 2015a using the subjects’ behavioral patterns and the model was used to predict safety in domestic duties (d-duties) among some women. ‘Cuts/laceration’ (40%) and ‘skin contact with hot substance’ (35.6%) were commonly reported. Carelessness (26.5%) and distraction (22.1%) were the main leading factors across the groups. Marital status and h-accd (Chi-square =4.323 and p= .038); ‘hours spent on domestic works’ and ‘the h-accd’ were both significant among other tested groups variables. With the developed ANN function, the results of the MSE was 0.33626 indicating that the function predicted the exact value. The result of the predicted h-accd (safety= -0.5445, hazards= 1.0228) in d-duties of the tested variables with the ANN function, showed a very low level of safety. The article concludes that the developed model is reliable and a recommended ergonomic tool useful in all homes, most especially where women perform most domestic works.http://vc.bridgew.edu/jiwshj2021Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineerin