Analysis of cryptocurrency as legal tender in Nigeria

This article examines the prospect of cryptocurrency as legal tender in Nigeria. After the 2008 financial crisis, there was the need for a currency that was more secured, transparent and decentralised. This led to the emergence of cryptocurrencies. However, Bitcoin is the first established cryptocurrency. While the main argument surrounding cryptocurrency is whether it should be regulated or not and the extent to which it can be regulated, the crux of this article is how cryptocurrency can be made legal tender in Nigeria. The reason for this article’s line of analysis is not farfetched. 11% of Nigerian internet users own one cryptocurrency or the other. Nigeria is leading in the number of persons between the ages of 18 and 24 using cryptocurrency in the world. The article argues that cryptocurrency is attractive to the younger generation and as such should be made a legal tender in Nigeria. The article also observed that controversial monetary policies in Nigeria which erode peoples’ savings also make people to see investment in cryptocurrencies as an opportunity to circumvent controversial monetary policies. Thus, the article concludes that cryptocurrency has come to stay in Nigeria irrespective of the seemingly Government’s opposition to it. However, the article suggests a hybrid of both fiat currency and cryptocurrency. It argues that this hybrid approach will give people the liberty to use the type of currency that best suits their purpose

The effect of caffeine on tear formation

The effect of caffeine on tear formation of thirty young healthy subjects (mean age: 22.27±2.7yrs), was studied using Schirmer test 1. The Pre-test, post-test method of experimental design was used. The tear formation was evaluated before and after intake of 150ml cup of coffee (caffeine concentration of 1.65g/l derived by dissolving a teaspoon of pure coffee in 150ml of water). The post-test was at hourly intervals over a periodof four hours.A reduction in tear formation from the mean baseline value (22.5mm) was recorded after the hourly intervals thus 19.67mm, 13.73mm, 15.50mmand 16.18mmat 1hr, 2hrs 3hrs and 4hrs respectively. This showed a percentage reduction of 12.58%, 38.98%, 31.11% and 28.09% respectively. The greatest reduction was therefore recorded 2hrs after intake of caffeine. This effect was significant (P>0.05) using the paired t-test. It may be necessary to advise patients with symptoms of dry eye to avoid caffeinated substances so as not to aggravate their condition

Mikrosfere s mukuna gumom za peroralnu primjenu glibenklamida: In vitro ispitivanje

An investigation into the suitability of mucuna gum microspheres for oral delivery of glibenclamide is presented. Mucuna gum microspheres were formulated under different conditions of polymer concentration and crosslinking time at constant speed. The formulated microspheres were thereafter loaded with glibenclamide by the remote loading process. The microspheres were evaluated according to particle size, yield, loading efficiency and swelling. In vitro release of glibenclamide from the microspheres was studied in simulated intestinal fluid (SIF, pH 7.4). The release data was fitted into two release models to investigate the mechanism of glibenclamide release from the microspheres. All the microspheres showed good swelling characteristics in distilled water. The investigation revealed that the microspheres produced with 5% (m/V) mucuna gum with a crosslinking time of 5 h had the optimum prolonged release pattern. The microspheres produced using 10% (m/V) mucuna gum with a crosslinking time of 1 h had the highest delayed release of the incorporated drug whereas those without crosslinking had the fastest release of the incorporated active ingredient. Ritger-Peppas case I transport model appeared to have adequately described the release process as about 54% of the batches of microspheres conformed to this model. This implies that a formulation of glibenclamide-loaded mucuna gum microspheres is likely to offer a reliable means of delivering glibenclamide by the oral route.U radu je opisana priprava mikrosfera s mukuna gumom za peroralnu primjenu glibenklamida. Pri izradi mikrosfera varirana je koncentracija polimera i vrijeme umrežavanja, a brzina je bila konstantna. Mikrosfere su zatim punjene glibenklamidom metodom odvojenog punjenja. Pripravljenim mikrosferama procijenjena je veličina čestica, iskorištenje, učinkovitost punjenja (LE %) i sposobnost bubrenja. In vitro oslobađanje glibenklamida iz mikrosfera praćeno je u simuliranoj intestinalnoj tekućini (SIF, pH 7.4). Za određivanje mehanizma oslobađanja ispitana su dva modela. Sve mikrosfere su imale dobru sposobnost bubrenja u destiliranoj vodi. Optimalno produljeno oslobađanje glibenklamida postignuto je iz mikrosfera priređenih s 5% (m/V) mukuna gume, uz vrijeme umrežavanja 5 h. Ljekovita tvar se najsporije oslobađala iz mikrosfera priređenih s 10% (m/V) mukuna gume, uz vrijeme umrežavanja 1 h, dok se najbrže oslobađala iz mikrosfera s 10% (m/V) gume, bez umrežavanja. Nekoliko mehanizama oslobađanja uključeno je u otpuštanje ljekovite tvari iz mikrosfera. Međutim, Ritger-Peppasov transportni model I opisuje proces oslobađanja u 54% slučajeva, što znači da mikrosfere glibenklamida s mukuna gumom predstavljaju pouzdan sustav za peroralnu primjenu te ljekovite tvari

Laying Down the Foundations for International Student Journey. Students as Academic Partners Project Report.

The aim of this project was to explore the lived experiences of being an international student studying at a University within the UK and to make recommendations for future provision. There are increasing numbers of international students studying at Universities within the UK. Positive learning environments and arrangements are the responsibility of the host University and international students’ needs should be taken into consideration. This project was led by international students in collaboration with academic staff. It involved a qualitative exploration of international student perspectives and their experiences of studying within the UK. Ten international students completed a questionnaire that was designed by international students. Respondents were asked questions in relation to three areas: coming to the UK, arriving in the UK and studying in the UK

Who the hell was that? Stories, bodies and actions in the world

This article explores a two-way relationship between stories and the experiential actions of bodies in the world. Through an autoethnographic approach, the article presents a series of interlinked story fragments in an effort to show and evoke a feel for the ways in which stories, bodies, and actions influence and shape each other over time. It offers some reflections on the experiences the stories portray from the perspective of a social constructionist conception of narrative theory and suggest that while stories exert a powerful influence on the actions of our bodies, our bodies intrude on or ‘talk back’ to this process because bodies have an existence beyond stories

Wear of human teeth: a tribological perspective

The four main types of wear in teeth are attrition (enamel-on-enamel contact), abrasion (wear due to abrasive particles in food or toothpaste), abfraction (cracking in enamel and subsequent material loss), and erosion (chemical decomposition of the tooth). They occur as a result of a number of mechanisms including thegosis (sliding of teeth into their lateral position), bruxism (tooth grinding), mastication (chewing), toothbrushing, tooth flexure, and chemical effects. In this paper the current understanding of wear of enamel and dentine in teeth is reviewed in terms of these mechanisms and the major influencing factors are examined. In vitro tooth wear simulation and in vivo wear measurement and ranking are also discussed

Composite risers for deep waters using a numerical modelling approach

There has been an increase in the application of composite structures in the oil and gas industry over the past four decades. This is due to more technological advancement and an increase in demand for the oil and gas. This trend has led to offshore exploration to transit from shallow water to deep water operations. Thus the need for more lightweight composite structures to reduce the deck loads and enable ease of operation. Composite risers are important as the properties of composite materials can be harnessed to improve riser performance and weight. This will enhance the development of deep water hydrocarbon reservoirs. In this paper, numerical stress analysis of composite offshore risers for deep water applications is carried out. ANSYS ACP is used for the finite element modelling of the composite riser for six load cases. From the design, recommendations for the design of the composite riser are made

Ascertaining the Overall Occurrence of Dental Fluorosis in Students of Selected Secondary Schools in Rivers State

Public health places a premium on understanding the amount of fluoride in potable water and other toothpastes, as well as how it affects skeletal and dental tissues to cause fluorosis. Fluorosis is, however, poorly understood and known in Nigeria. The goal of this research was to Ascertain the Overall Occurrence of Dental Fluorosis in Students of Selected Secondary Schools in Rivers State. A cross-sectional survey of 541 students from selected secondary schools in Rivers State who were between the ages of 9 and 17 was carried out. All students present at school on the day of data collection had their mouths examined by oral health professionals as part of a quasi-experimental method. Each subject was supported by a torch light while seated on a chair, and their teeth were examined for dental fluorosis in their wet state. The presence of dental fluorosis and the severity of it were documented using Dean's Dental Fluorosis. The presence of dental fluorosis and the severity of it were documented using Dean's Dental Fluorosis. (358) Dental fluorosis impacted 66.17% of the students, varying in severity from very mild to severe cases

Comparative Characterization of Petrophysical and Mechanical Properties of Siliciclastic Reservoir Rocks within a compressional structure of the Teapot Dome Oilfield, Wyoming, USA

Working with subsurface engineering problems in Hydrocarbon exploration as regard rock elastic and petrophysical properties necessitate accurate determination of in-situ physical properties. Several techniques have been adopted in correlating log-derived parameters with petrophysical and mechanical behavior of the rocks. However, limited field applications show there are no particular parameters and correlations that are generally acceptable due to the regional variation in geologic features (i.e., degree of mineralogy, texture, etc.). This study presents a method that assesses the disparity in petrophysical properties of oil and gas reservoir rocks in relation to their elastic/mechanical properties from 10 well-logs and 3D migrated seismic data. Two distinct facies were identified from seismic data after computing attributes. Reflection strength attribute of 2.5 and above depicts Bright spots within the central section of the field as clearly revealed by Variance and Chaos attributes. Formation properties calculated from logs were conformally gridded in consonance with the reflection patterns from the seismic data. The average Brittleness index (BI) of 0.52 corresponds to Young's modulus (E) values of between 8 and 16 for the dense portion. This portion is the laminated, reasonably parallel, and undeformed part, flanked by the unlaminated and chaotic zones. From cross plots, the distinguished lower portion on the plot is the segment with higher sand of more than 50 %. This segment corresponds to the reservoir in this study as confirmed from the genetic algorithm neural network Acoustic impedance inversion process result. Similarly, the plot of Compressional velocity (Vp) and Poisson’s ratio (ν), reveals the laminated sand value of not less than 0.32 of ν, and Vp of about 4.2 km/s. The average porosity is about 16 %, average water saturation is about 16 %, and average permeability is approximately 25 md. Rock properties trends in a unique pattern and showing fluctuation that confirms the compressive nature of the structure with corresponding petrophysical properties. This trend is sustained in permeability computed and suggests a significant gravity-assisted compaction trend and fluid movement. It gives a reasonable idea of the fluid movement interplay and mechanical property variation within the sequence and across the dome. This part probably has been subjected to fair compressional deformational forces initiated from outside the survey

Application of cerium chloride to improve the acid resistance of dentine

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of cerium chloride, cerium chloride/fluoride and fluoride application on calcium release during erosion of treated dentine. METHODS: Forty dentine samples were prepared from human premolars and randomly assigned to four groups (1-4). Samples were treated twice a day for 5 days, 30s each, with the following solutions: group 1 placebo, group 2 fluoride (Elmex fluid), group 3 cerium chloride and group 4 combined fluoride and cerium chloride. For the determination of acid resistance, the samples were consecutively eroded six times for 5 min with lactic acid (pH 3.0) and the calcium release in the acid was determined. Furthermore, six additional samples per group were prepared and used for EDS analysis. SEM pictures of these samples of each group were also captured. RESULTS: Samples of group 1 presented the highest calcium release when compared with the samples of groups 2-4. The highest acid resistance was observed for group 2. Calcium release in group 3 was similar to that of group 4 for the first two erosive attacks, after which calcium release in group 4 was lower than that of group 3. Generally, the SEM pictures showed a surface coating for groups 2-4. No deposits were observed in group 1. CONCLUSION: Although fluoride showed the best protective effect, cerium chloride was also able to reduce the acid susceptibility of dentine significantly, which merits further investigation