MODELLING HEALTH MAINTENANCE ORGANIZATIONS PAYMENTS UNDER THE NATIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE SCHEME IN NIGERIA

The Nigerian National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) is set up to ensure equitable payment of health care bills combining and prudently reducing cost-burden distribution for residents, versus high health care costs. Health maintenance organizations (HMO) are limited liability companies which could be established by private, public or individual entities with the main aim of being players in the scheme. This paper explored logistic regression (LR), linear discriminant analysis (LDA) and random forest (RF) in determining the factors that could determine if an HMO will cover full or part of an individual's healthcare bill. The results do not show a significant difference in the classification accuracies of the three methods. Inferring that the highest number of the Nigerian residents that make use of the NHIS lie between the 31-40yrs age bracket and that largely, ailment classification and the insured’s age are key determining factors of whether an HMO would cover all or part of the bill

Developing a Web-Based Location Navigation System in the Context of Covenant University

More often than not, people are faced with a number of challenges while considering the environment where they are vis-a-vis locating the exact place they are going at a particular instance. A location-based navigation system, however, helps out by providing direction to the desired location through the use of subjective rating. However, users preferring a combination of maps and photographs of the desired places render such location-based navigation systems inadequate. This paper addresses these challenges by presenting a web- based destinations „ directions system that assists users locate their desired destinations on the campus by navigating their way using the map provided by the audio navigator as the navigator tells the users their locations and how to get to their destinations on the campus

Towards Designing a Biometric Measure for Enhancing ATM Security in Nigeria E- Banking System

Security measures at banks can play a critical, contributory role in preventing attacks on customers. These measures are of paramount importance when considering vulnerabilities and causation in civil litigation. Banks must meet certain standards in order to ensure a safe and secure banking environment for their customers. This paper focuses on vulnerabilities and the increasing wave of criminal activities occurring at Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) where quick cash is the prime target for criminals rather than at banks themselves. A biometric measure as a means of enhancing the security has emerged from the discourse

Comparative Study of Impact of Zinc Oxide and Copper (II) Oxide Nanoparticles on Viscosity of Water Based Drilling Fluid

Drilling fluids play very important roles in the oil and gas industry hence the need to get method of improving their rheological properties cannot be over emphasized. In this study how drilling fluid rheological property can be improved using zinc oxide and copper (II) oxide nanoparticles were investigated. To achieve these objectives, water based drilling fluids (WBDF) were prepared using the standard laboratory barrel (350 ml) method from bentonite, xanthan gum and water. The Zinc oxide and Copper (II) nanoparticles were introduced into the formulation in different proportions. Brookfield rotational viscometer was used to determine the rheological properties of the samples while Fourier Transformation Infra-red (FTIR) spectroscopy was used to determine the structural analysis of the interaction between the nanoparticles and the Xanthan gum. The results showed that Zinc oxide and CuO nanoparticle improved the rheological properties of the water based drilling fluid. The zinc oxide at equal proportion with xanthan gum at 60 rpm shear rate increased the viscosity from 834.7 to 1597.3 mPa.s while the copper (II) oxide nanoparticles at equal proportion with xanthan gum at 60 rpm shear rate increased from 834.7 to 1452.3 mPa.s at low temperature of 31.5oC. The FTIR analysis of the nanoparticles and xanthan gum revealed that the interactions of the bonds between the nanoparticles and xanthan gum contributed to the improvement in the rheological properties of the drilling fluids. It is concluded that introduction of ZnO nanoparticles and CuO nanoparticles improved the rheological performance of water based drilling fluids with xanthan gum. The ZnO nanoparticles, however, exhibited better improvement than the CuO

Aflatoxin contamination of maize vended in Ondo state, Nigeria, and health risk assessment

Aflatoxin contamination of maize is a serious food safety problem worldwide. Despite the widespread consumption of maize in Nigeria, there is limited data on aflatoxin contents of maize vended in open markets in Ondo state, Nigeria. A total of 140 maize samples randomly purchased from major markets in four locations in Ondo state, were screened for total aflatoxins using an ELISA method. Exposure and health risk assessments were performed for the maize consumers by the deterministic and Margin of exposure (MOE) approaches, respectively. About 99% of the maize were contaminated with total aflatoxins (range: 0.65–265 µg/kg; mean: 125.9 µg/kg). Aflatoxin levels exceeding the 4 µg/kg set by the European Union for total aflatoxins were found in 88% of the maize whilst more than one half contained at least 100 µg/kg aflatoxins. The average probable daily intake values were 830, 332 and 138 ng/kg bw/day for the average children, adolescent and adult populations, respectively. Consequently, MOEs for the respective populations were 0.20, 0.51 and 1.23, suggesting a high level of health risk for consumers of maize vended in open markets in Ondo state due to high aflatoxin levels. Maize farmers and households in Ondo state need urgent aflatoxin mitigation interventions

An Empirical Judgment of Computer Simulated Ayo Game for Decision Making

Decision making plays an important role in the life of every living creature. Virtually on daily basis, people must make one or more decision. A faulty decision can lead to defeat in any competition. This paper presents the process of making decisions on the basis of knowledge of game playing as a major key in defining human characteristics. We simulated Ayo game playing on a digital computer and empirically evaluated the behavior of the prototype simulation. Empirical judgment was carried out on how experts play Ayo game as a means of evaluating the performance of the heuristics used to evolve the Ayo player in the simulation. A paper-based questionnaire was designed and administered to the Ayo game players which were used for the assessments of players’ perceptions of the prototype simulation, which gives room for statistical interpretation. This projects a novel means of solving the problem of decision making in move selections in computer game-playing of Ayo game

An Experimental Comparison of Speech and DTMF for VoiceXML-Based Expert Systems

Comparisons of DTMF and speech modalities for interacting with diverse dialogue systems for different tasks, among different user populations have led to different design recommendations for different user populations. This paper reports the results of the experimental comparison of these input modalities in a new context of VoiceXML-based diseases diagnosis expert system among a new user population - Nigerians. The results show that DTMF was more satisfying than speech for system satisfaction. Modality wise, speech was more satisfying than DTMF. Speech was also more natural than DTMF. DTMF was preferred by the majority and was more effective and efficient than speech. For diseases diagnosis expert health dialogue systems in Nigeria, DTMF is recommended for effectiveness and efficiency. It is also recommended for satisfaction. Speech is recommended for modality satisfaction while both modalities are recommended for entertainment purpose. Speech is advocated for modality naturalness. However, a platform that incorporates the two modalities will provide the benefits of the two, and allow the users varieties of choices that best suit their need

Radiation from Visual Display Unit

The radiation from different types of Visual Display Units (VDU) (that is, Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) and Cathode Ray Tube (CRT)), projector and interactive screen were examined using a Cell Sensor Extremely Low Frequency (ELF) detection meter. The study revealed that ELF radiation in CRT VDUs is eight (8) times greater than in LCD VDUs. The mean ELF obtained from interactive screen at 30 cm was 1.6 mG and 1.9 mG at start-up and after 3 hours of use respectively with a mean value of 1.03 mG for a distance of 100 cm at start up. The mean ELF radiation from the projector screen at a distance of 10 cm is 0 mG, while that of interactive screen is 2.4 mG at the same distance. Thus, the study suggested that, projector and screen is better than interactive screen when making presentation considering the closeness of user to the interactive screen throughout the course of presentation

Al-Si alloy for thermal storage applications-a review

In regions that experience abundant sunshine, solar radiation emanating from the sun constantly generates significant thermal energy which has been an established potential source of harvestable clean energy. But an enormous amount of this form of renewable energy reaching the earth’s crust gets re-emitted back into the space at sunset period without being harnessed. There is a special need for researches to further develop thermal storage alternatives with high thermal capacity, good thermal transfer rate, portable, cost effective and durable. From literature, aluminum and silicon alloys have proved to be one of the most efficient thermal storage materials for medium to high temperature storage applications. It has been shown that different combinations of these gives different results depending on the application the alloy is to be used for. This paper reviews the application of Al-Si alloys for thermal storage with superior properties to Al-Cu, Al-Mg, Al-Cu-Zn, Al-Si-Mg and Al-Si-Cu alloys. The making of Al-Si for thermal storage through liquid and solid metallurgical processes were also highlighted