Microfinance, Poverty and Youth Unemployment of Nigeria: A Review

This paper acknowledges that poverty is a curse not only for the individual who is poor but for remainder of the community nation and global society at large Poverty is the violation of the basic norm of our civilization Yet poverty persists and it is evident globally In reality unemployment is thought to be the basic cause of Poverty The severity of poverty isclearly evident in underdeveloped countries while it is often disguised in most developed nations The measure of poverty is misleading too as it hardly reflects true nature Poverty may arise either from simple or very complex reasons In Nigeria the poverty and chronic youth unemployment are both apparent This paper examines if Nigerian microfinance programs are being effective in curbing the extent of unemployment and sever poverty from Nigeria Accordingly this paper investigates thegrameen bank s microfinancemodel developed by the Nobel Laureate Dr Yunusof Bangladesh for compariso

Automated short-answer grading and misconception detection using large language models

As education technology continues to evolve, the domains of Automatic Short-Answer Grading (ASAG) and Automated Misconception Detection (AMD) stand at the forefront of innovative approaches to educational assessment. We explore the transformative potential of Large Language Models (LLMs) in revolutionizing these critical areas. Leveraging the remarkable capabilities of LLMs in semantic inference, contextual understanding, and transfer learning, we embark on a comprehensive journey to enhance both ASAG and AMD. On ASAG, we illuminate the efficacy of transfer learning by fine-tuning RoBERTa Large, a state-of-the-art LLM, on task-related corpora, e.g. the Multi-Genre Natural Language Inference (MNLI) corpus. The model\u27s adaptability across unseen questions and domains on the minority class, coupled with its narrowed performance gap from unseen answers, highlights the profound impact of transfer learning on grading diverse student responses. In the emerging realm of AMD, we pioneer a dataset and methodology that inaugurates a new era in misconception detection. Framing the task as Recognizing Textual Entailment (RTE), our approach with RoBERTa Large MNLI captures nuanced misconceptions, unveiling the untapped potential of LLMs in unraveling the intricate landscape of automated misconception detection. The synergy between these endeavors presents a holistic view of the transformative role anticipated for LLMs in automated educational assessment. Our research, spanning adaptability in short-answer grading and groundbreaking advancements in misconception detection, establishes a foundation for a future where LLMs excel not only in understanding nuanced student responses but also in pinpointing and rectifying misconceptions with unparalleled precision. These insights contribute significantly to the dynamic field of educational technology, heralding a new era wherein the full potential of LLMs is utilized to shape the trajectory of educational assessment

Cytological, Phenological and Molecular Characterization of B (S)-Genome Synthetic Hexaploids (2n = 6x = 42; AABBSS)

The B(S) genome diploids (2n = 2x = 14) are a unique reservoir of genetic diversity that can provide wheat breeders a rich source of allelic variation for stress traits that limit productivity. Restricted in practical use essentially due to their complex chromosomal behavior, these diploids have been in limited practical usage. The classic utilization example has been the suppression activity of the Ph locus and role in alien genetic transfer aspects that has been a standard in cytogenetic manipulation studies. For applied efforts focusing on Aegilops speltoides researchers in CIMMYT initiated an ambitious program to make AABBBB(SS) synthetics and made progress by generating over 50 such synthetics. Of these 20 were available for this study in which phenology and powdery mildew screening were evaluated. Four of these 20 synthetics appeared to be useful sources for further exploitation in breeding. These were entries 6, 9, 10 and 11 suited for exploitation in pre-breeding, with positive phenological characters particularly high thousand-kernel weight and are cytologically near euploid at 2n = 6x = 42. The subtle hyper (43) and hypoploid number would not negate their applied use potential. Preference however goes to genotypes 9 and 11

Robust hydrophobic surfaces from suspension HVOF thermal sprayed rare-earth oxide ceramics coatings

This study has presented an efficient coating method, namely suspension high velocity oxy-fuel (SHVOF) thermal spraying, to produce large super-hydrophobic ceramic surfaces with a unique micro- and nano-scale hierarchical structures to mimic natural super-hydrophobic surfaces. CeO2 was selected as coatings material, one of a group of rare-earth oxide (REO) ceramics that have recently been found to exhibit intrinsic hydrophobicity, even after exposure to high temperatures and abrasive wear. Robust hydrophobic REO ceramic surfaces were obtained from the deposition of thin CeO2 coatings (3–5 μm) using an aqueous suspension with a solid concentration of 30 wt.% sub-micron CeO2 particles (50–200 nm) on a selection of metallic substrates. It was found that the coatings’ hydrophobicity, microstructure, surface morphology, and deposition efficiency were all determined by the metallic substrates underneath. More importantly, it was demonstrated that the near super-hydrophobicity of SHVOF sprayed CeO2 coatings was achieved not only by the intrinsic hydrophobicity of REO but also their unique hierarchically structure. In addition, the coatings’ surface hydrophobicity was sensitive to the O/Ce ratio, which could explain the ‘delayed’ hydrophobicity of REO coatings

Requirement for sphingosine kinase 1 in mediating phase 1 of the hypotensive response to anandamide in the anaesthetised mouse

In the isolated rat carotid artery, the endocannabinoid anandamide induces endothelium-dependent relaxation via activation of the enzyme sphingosine kinase (SK). This generates sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) which can be released from the cell and activates S1P receptors on the endothelium. In anaesthetised mice, anandamide has a well-characterised triphasic effect on blood pressure but the contribution of SK and S1P receptors in mediating changes in blood pressure has never been studied. Therefore, we assessed this in the current study. The peak hypotensive response to 1 and 10 mg/kg anandamide was measured in control C57BL/6 mice and in mice pretreated with selective inhibitors of SK1 (BML-258, also known as SK1-I) or SK2 ((R)-FTY720 methylether (ROMe), a dual SK1/2 inhibitor (SKi) or an S1P1 receptor antagonist (W146). Vasodilator responses to S1P were also studied in isolated mouse aortic rings. The hypotensive response to anandamide was significantly attenuated by BML-258 but not by ROMe. Antagonising S1P1 receptors with W146 completely blocked the fall in systolic but not diastolic blood pressure in response to anandamide. S1P induced vasodilation in denuded aortic rings was blocked by W146 but caused no vasodilation in endothelium-intact rings. This study provides evidence that the SK1/S1P regulatory-axis is necessary for the rapid hypotension induced by anandamide. Generation of S1P in response to anandamide likely activates S1P1 to reduce total peripheral resistance and lower mean arterial pressure. These findings have important implications in our understanding of the hypotensive and cardiovascular actions of cannabinoids

Effect of the C-bridge length on the ultraviolet-resistance of oxycarbosilane low-k films

The ultra-violet (UV) and vacuum ultra-violet (VUV) resistance of bridging alkylene groups in organosilica films has been investigated. Similar to the Si-CH3 (methyl) bonds, the Si-CH2-Si (methylene) bonds are not affected by 5.6 eV irradiation. On the other hand, the concentration of the Si-CH2-CH2-Si (ethylene) groups decreases during such UV exposure. More significant difference in alkylene reduction is observed when the films are exposed to VUV (7.2 eV). The ethylene groups are depleted by more than 75% while only about 40% methylene and methyl groups loss is observed. The different sensitivity of bridging groups to VUV light should be taken into account during the development of curing and plasma etch processes of low-k materials based on periodic mesoporous organosilicas and oxycarbosilanes. The experimental results are qualitatively supported by ab-initio quantum-chemical calculations

GEOPOTATO demonstrations: Results of 2018/19 season

The GEOPOTATO project develops a decision-support system (DSS) for farmers in Bangladesh for an improved control of late blight in potato. Late blight, caused by Phytophthora infestans, is a highly infectious and destructive fungal disease in Solanaceous crops, for example, potatoes and tomatoes. To demonstrate and analyze the performance of the DSS, 19 demonstration fields have been implemented comparing farmers’ practice (FP) and the GEOPOTATO practice, i.e. late blight control based on the DSS developed by GEOPOTATO. This report describes the results obtained in the demonstration fields implemented in Munshiganj, Rangpur and Dinajpur during the 2018-2019 potato growing season. In general, potato growth and production exhibited normal patterns in the demonstration fields. Yields increased with longer growing periods. Late blight pressure was low in the 2018-2019 season according stakeholders. Despite the low late blight pressure average yields obtained in the GEOPOTATO plots was 9% higher than in the FP plots: 40.8 t/ha vs. 36.9 t/ha. In Dinajpur, yields of GEOPOTATO plots were 19% higher than FP plots, and in Rangpur and Munshiganj 13% and 2% higher, respectively. Farmers in charge of the FP plots sprayed less than the farmers controlling late blight in the GEOPOTATO plots. Especially in Munshiganj, GEOPOTATO demo farmers sprayed more frequently than FP farmers. The cost-benefit analysis of the GEOPOTATO control strategy versus the FP strategy showed that higher gross returns, associated with the higher potato yields in Rangpur and Dinajpur, outweighed the higher costs of the fungicides used in the GEOPOTATO strategy. In Munshiganj, the 2% yield increase in the GEOPOTATO plots was not enough to compensate the higher costs of fungicides. On average, the GEOPOTATO service resulted in an average financial benefit of 173 Euro/ha

A Systematic Unified Approach for Addressing Temporal Instability in Road Safety Analysis

Multivariate models are widely employed for crash frequency analysis in traffic safety literature. In the context of analyzing data for multiple instances (such as years), it becomes essential to evaluate the stability of parameters over time. The current research proposes a novel approach, labelled the mixed spline indicator pooled model, that offers significant enhancement relative to current approaches employed for capturing temporal instability. The proposed approach entails carefully creating independent variables that allow us to measure parameter slope changes over time and can be easily integrated into existing methodological frameworks. The current research effort compares four multivariate model systems: year specific negative binomial model, year indicator pooled model, spline indicator pooled model, and mixed spline indicator pooled model. The model performance is compared using log-likelihood and Bayesian Information Criterion. The empirical analysis is conducted using the Traffic Analysis Zone (TAZ) level crash severity records from Central Florida for the years from 2011 to 2019. The comparison results indicate that the proposed mixed spline indicator pooled model outperforms the other models providing superior data fit while optimizing the number of parameters. The proposed mixed spline model can allow a piece-wise linear functional form for the parameter and is suitable to forecast crashes for future years as illustrated in our predictive performance analysis