Sentiment Analysis in the Era of Web 2.0: Applications, Implementation Tools and Approaches for the Novice Researcher

Nowadays, people find it easier to express opinions via social media-formally known as Web 2.0. Sentiment analysis is an essential field under natural language processing in Computer Science that deals with analyzing people's opinions on the subject matter and discovering the polarity they contain. These opinions could be processed in collective form (as a document) or segments or units as sentences or phrases. Sentiment analysis can be applied in education, research optimization, politics, business, education, health, science and so on, thus forming massive data that requires efficient tools and techniques for analysis. Furthermore, the standard tools currently used for data collection, such as online surveys, interviews, and student evaluation of teachers, limit respondents in expressing opinions to the researcher's surveys and could not generate huge data as Web 2.0 becomes bigger. Sentiment analysis techniques are classified into three (3): Machine learning algorithms, lexicon and hybrid. This study explores sentiment analysis of Web 2.0 for novice researchers to promote collaboration and suggest the best tools for sentiment data analysis and result efficiency. Studies show that machine learning approaches result in large data sets on document-level sentiment classification. In some studies, hybrid techniques that combine machine learning and lexicon-based performance are better than lexicon. Python and R programming are commonly used tools for sentiment analysis implementation, but SentimentAnalyzer and SentiWordnet are recommended for the novice. Keywords:   Sentiment Analysis; Web 2.0; Applications; Tools; Novic

Recent Rainfall Trends and Variability in Sudano- Sahelian Region of Nigeria (1986- 2015)

It was speculated that the droughts of the 1970s and 1980s that ravaged the Sahelian region of West Africa had ended following the occurrence of floods of different magnitudes in the last fifteen years or so which necessitated the need to re-examine the rainfall conditions in the region. Monthly rainfall data of five meteorological stations in the region were collected from the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) over the period 1986-2015 and analyzed for trends and variability using linear regression model and coefficient of variation (C.V.%). A significant upward trend was found in annual regional rainfall composite of the region with similar patterns in annual rainfall series at all selected stations except Sokoto. The patterns of annual rainfall trend at individual stations did not reflect the patterns in their individual months. Further result showed that, annual rainfall was less variable in 1996-2005 decade at both Sokoto and Nguru stations while it was highly variable at Kano and Nguru in 1985-1995 decade. The observed rainfall patterns could be linked to dynamics of rain-producing systems in the region. The study has contributed to a deeper understanding of the recent changing rainfall patterns in the Sudano-Sahelian region of Nigeria. The implication of this study is that the climate change adaptation and mitigation policies designed based on apparent decline in rainfall from the late 1960s through 1980s need to be revisited and possibly replaced with new ones reflecting the current reality of increased rainfall in the region

Knowledge of HIV/AIDS and use of mandatory premarital HIV testing as a prerequisite for marriages among religious leaders in Sokoto, North Western Nigeria

Background: In Sub-Saharan Africa, an estimated 1.8 million became infected with the HIV in 2009 and Nigeria currently has about 3.4 million people living with HIV. Measures put in place by religious organizations to combat HIV/AIDS in Nigeria include mandatory premarital HIV testing. The knowledge of HIV/AIDS amongst religious leaders in Nigeria has not been sufficiently explored . In this study, we assessed the knowledge of HIV/AIDS amongst religious leaders in Sokoto and if they routinely demand for mandatory premarital HIV testing for all intending couples. Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study involving 158 religious leaders (30 Christians and 128 Muslims) who officiate or assist during marriages. Data was collected using interviewer and self administered questionnaire which sought such information as biodata, knowledge of HIV/AIDS , speaking to congregation about AIDS and using Premarital HIV status as a pre-requisite for contracting marriages. Data was entered into and analysed using Epi-info computer soft ware program. Level of statistical significance was put at P=0.05. Results: The ages of the respondents ranged from 35 to 78 years with a mean age of 26.3 ± 20.3 years. Forty nine percent of the respondents had adequate knowledge of HIV/AIDS with more Christian clerics compared to Muslim Clerics having better knowledge of HIV/AIDS (P<0.0001). All the Christian clerics opined that they would insist on mandatory premarital HIV testing for their subjects before joining them in marriages. Conclusion: The results of the study have shown that most of the religious leaders lacked adequate knowledge of HIV/AIDS and the use of mandatory premarital HIV testing is yet to be adopted by the Muslim clerics. Awareness campaigns should be intensified for the religious leaders to improve their knowledge of HIV/AIDS

Socio-demographic factors associated with knowledge and uptake of family planning among women of reproductive age in a Rural Community of Abuja, Nigeria

Nigeria has a population of about 180 million, estimated to double in 22 years due to low uptake of family planning services. Low utilization of family planning is the major factor associated with high fertility pattern in Nigeria. This trend is higher among rural women in Northern Nigeria. Without a thorough understanding of, and due attention to the local context, utilization of family planning may continue to be low. Identification of correlates of family planning would be invaluable in designing strategies for ultimately improving uptake of family planning services. This study became relevant as no previous study on family planning has been carried out in Ushafa Community. The study was conducted at Ushafa community, a rural community, located in Bwari Area Council on the northern axis of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) of Nigeria. The study was a descriptive cross-sectional study, conducted among women of reproductive age (15-49 years) who were permanent resident of Ushafa Community. Using proportion of contraceptive usage of 16% from a previous study, 240 women were recruited into the study by systematic sampling technique. Data was collected by means of a structured interviewer administered questionnaire, data was entered and analysed using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 20. All tests were conducted using 2 tails while level of significance was set at 0.05. About a quarter of respondents (26.3%) knew that amenorrhoea could be a side effect of oral contraceptive pills, 51.1% knew that oral contraceptive pills must be taken daily, 58% were not using any form of family planning. Age (χ2 = 8.382, p = 0.01) and marital status (χ2 = 8.915, p = 0.01) were significantly associated with family planning knowledge. Level of education was significantly associated with current use of family planning (χ2 = 10.78, p = 0.03). Educational status was significantly associated with likelihood of using family planning in the future (χ2 = 8.64, p = 0.04). Although the respondents had fairly good knowledge of family planning, the study observed some misconceptions especially with respect to side effects and methodology of use of the commodities. Low uptake of family planning was observed among the respondents. Age and marital status were significantly associated with family planning knowledge; level of education was significantly associated with current use of family planning. There is need for incorporation of facts on usage and side effects of family planning in message disseminated by health workers in health facilities in Ushafa Community so as to correct misconceptions

Validasi Metode Analisis Cilostazol Dalam Plasma in Vitro Secara Kromatografi Cair Kinerja Tinggi

Cilostazol is an antiplatelet agent with the mechanism of action by inhibiting phos-phodiesterase III (PDE III). Referred to Food and Drug Administration(FDA),cilostazol is a drug recommended to be bioequivalence (BE) studied. A high-perfor-mance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method with ultraviolet detector for in vitro determination of cilostazol in human plasma had been developed and validated.Cilostazol and pioglitazone as internal standard were extracted from human plasma by protein precipitation method using methanol. The mobile phase consisting of ac-etonitrile-potassium di-hydrogen phosphate buffer 50 mM (40:60) was used at the flow rate of 1.5 mL/min on reversed phase C18 column (SunfireTM, 5 µm, 250x4.6 mm), and was detected at wavelength of 257 nm. Linearity was established withinconcentration range of 20-2000 ng/mL with coefficient correlation (r) was 0,9999.Accuracy (% diff) of this method was -14.67% up to 8.84% with precision (CV) being 0.98% to 4.93%, and absolute recovery was established to be 82.26% to 119.85%.Cilostazol in plasma was stable for 30 days in -200C storage

Are Islamic Banks Truly Shariah Compliant? An Application of Time Series Multivariate Forecasting Techniques to Islamic Bank Financing

This paper analyzes the Shariah compliant nature of Islamic banks (IB) by using Time Series Multivariate Forecasting techniques to test the correlation and direction of causality between interest rates and IB financing . Islamic finance defines a 0% Interest rate, both on the asset and on the liability side. Thus, in a utopian Islamic financial system, any movement in interest rates should have no direct impact on any aspect of any Islamic bank. However, the supposition of IBs being genuinely Shariah compliant from a Credit Risk perspective has been challenged by many Shariah scholars. Using Malaysia as a test case, this paper measures changes in KLIBOR (Kuala Lampur Interbank Offer Rate) and tests them for correlations and directional causality with the IB Lending rate (used as a proxy measure for financing by Malaysian IBs). If a correlation and causality can be established between KLIBOR and financing by IBs, then it is an indication that IB’s may not be genuinely Shariah compliant. This research is original in that it attempts to relate an important issue of a fiqhi nature to data analysis, via some time series forecasting techniques. It also discusses the policy impacts of the results, and the subsequent risk faced by the Regulators in managing the Interest rate risks for a financial system structured on dual banking - Islamic and Conventional. The findings of the research tend to indicate a correlation and lead-lag causality relationship between Interest rate changes and Islamic bank financing

Are Islamic Banks Truly Shariah Compliant? An Application of Time Series Multivariate Forecasting Techniques to Islamic Bank Financing

This paper analyzes the Shariah compliant nature of Islamic banks (IB) by using Time Series Multivariate Forecasting techniques to test the correlation and direction of causality between interest rates and IB financing . Islamic finance defines a 0% Interest rate, both on the asset and on the liability side. Thus, in a utopian Islamic financial system, any movement in interest rates should have no direct impact on any aspect of any Islamic bank. However, the supposition of IBs being genuinely Shariah compliant from a Credit Risk perspective has been challenged by many Shariah scholars. Using Malaysia as a test case, this paper measures changes in KLIBOR (Kuala Lampur Interbank Offer Rate) and tests them for correlations and directional causality with the IB Lending rate (used as a proxy measure for financing by Malaysian IBs). If a correlation and causality can be established between KLIBOR and financing by IBs, then it is an indication that IB’s may not be genuinely Shariah compliant. This research is original in that it attempts to relate an important issue of a fiqhi nature to data analysis, via some time series forecasting techniques. It also discusses the policy impacts of the results, and the subsequent risk faced by the Regulators in managing the Interest rate risks for a financial system structured on dual banking - Islamic and Conventional. The findings of the research tend to indicate a correlation and lead-lag causality relationship between Interest rate changes and Islamic bank financing

Analisis Glimepirida Dalam Plasma Tikus

The aim of this research is to find the method for analyze glimepiride and itÂ’s metabolite. Glimepiride is the second generation of antidiabetic oral from the sulphonyl urea that works by stimulating the insulin secretion from beta cells of pancreas. Glimepiride is isolated from plasma the using chloroform. Using the high performance liquid chromatography method which include C18 reversed phase column, using mixture of methanol:water (50:50, v/v) as a mobile phase, flow rate 1.0 ml/minutes, detection at wavelenght 228 nm with photo diode array detector gives retention times of glimepiride in 17 minutes without any interference from endogen component of plasma and from itÂ’s metabolite. Linearity with added internal standard gliclazide was established for the range concentration 100-1000 ng/ml with coefficient of correlation (r) is 0.9977 and give the limit of quantitation of glimepiride in 50 ng/ml. The results of validation method fulfilled for the given criterias

Modelling effects of water stress on the productivity of irrigated wheat (Triticum Aestivum L.) in a semiarid condition of Northeastern Nigeria

Lake Chad region is currently experiencing trending issues. Climate change is among the major influencers of these issues that require inevitable consideration for a sustainable ecosystem. Various crop models have been developed and employed in various environmental conditions and management practices, which are cheaper and easier than field experiments. Therefore, crop models could be used to simulate various water management strategies and suggest suitable options. In this work, the FAO AquaCrop model has been evaluated to simulate deficit irrigation (DI) scenarios for wheat crops using data generated from a field experiment. The model simulated grain yield (GY), biomass yield (BMY), biomass production (BMP) and canopy cover (CC) adequately during its calibration and validation. However, its performance in simulating water productivity (WP) and actual crop evapotranspiration (ETa) was low with average r2, NRMSE, model efficiency (EF) and Willmot Index of agreement (d) of 0.58, 11.0 %, -1.40 and 0.69 respectively. The study of DI scenarios using the model revealed that the application of DI throughout the growth stages of the crop could significantly affect GY and WP. The highest GY and WP of 5.3 t/ha and 1.50 kg/m3 were respectively obtained at the application of full irrigation (T100). Increasing DI beyond 20 % depressed both GY and WP significantly. However, increasing the irrigation interval from seven to ten days did not affect GY, thereby improving WP from 1.28 kg/m3 to 1.38 kg/m3. Therefore, applying an 80 % irrigation requirement throughout the wheat growing season at 10-day intervals could save 25 % of irrigation water, a valuable strategy to improve irrigation water use without significant yield reduction. Furthermore, irrigation-related scientists and managers can use the validated model to decide the current and future irrigation water management for similar wheat varieties in similar environmental conditions

Understanding phishing awareness among students in tertiary institutions and setting-up defensive mechanisms against the attackers

The average loss by companies to phishing in 2021 is $14.8 million, more than triple what it was in 2015. That translates to hundreds of billions of dollars in total losses from phishing attacks on global businesses, and the vulnerability of these attacks is every day increasing, particularly among the younger generation less than 40 years of age. This paper begins with a background exposition on phishing trends and highlights previous findings concerning users' susceptibility to phishing attacks. It however explores the term Phishing itself, its kinds, types and some basic measures necessary for defense against phishing activities. The research was employed with a major focus on the email aspect of phishing. Alongside the website aspect of phishing, the certificate of a website was also considered. The purpose of this study was to identify the level of student awareness related to specific phishing tactics. Findings revealed that while students are unlikely to provide personal information in response to an email/SMS request, they can be easily tricked by numerous other tactics. This paper reports the findings of the study in addition to listing suggested points to employ for creating phishing awareness