Ethnic Politics and National Integration in Nigeria: An Impact Analysis

Since Nigeria s independence in 1960 Nigerian politics has been bedeviled by ethnic politics as a result of ethnic polarization and sentimental coloration of all national issues This problem has been one of the major factors inhibiting national integration and national development in Nigeria Nigerian politics is tainted with ethnic sentiments and politically induced disharmony Ethnic politics has been one of the factors responsible for low productivity and the general poor socio - economic development in Nigeria The major focus of this study is to examine the challenges of ethnic politics in Nigeria as it relates to national integration with a view to critically evaluating the impact Secondary data was used to gather relevant information for this study One finding of the study is that ethnic politics was deliberately introduced and propagated in the Nigerian political system by the British colonial government through its divisive divide and rule policy to actualize colonial and imperialist economic and political objectives The situation has not abated in spite of several attempts to redress it through state creation and the Federal character principl

Rethinking Prebendialism in Nigeria’s Socio-Political Process: The Implication for Democratisation of South-South Region

This study examines Godfathers impacts in the Nigerian socio-political process and the implication on the nascent democracy in the South-South Region The design was exploratory and the study was descriptive combining secondary data from books and the internet The study uncovered that godfathers were patron-occupying state offices as pre-bends They became the gate-keeper determines the development initiative to be followed and employed benefactors of privileges This study s findings also indicated that the state s character and the natures of politics in Nigeria had impacted negative values which now threatens the very foundation of the country s blossoming democracy leading to unhealthy rivalry and competition among godfathers to have control over state powers using their favoured political godsons and denies the electorates of their right to elect a generally acceptable candidate This act renders no free and fair elections Also the struggle for control of state powers has resulted in electoral violence in Nigeria either before or during or after election

Participatory Budgeting in Nigerian Local Government Administration: A Panacea for Rural Development in Nigeria

Government annual budget is a public proclamation of its projected and actual expenditures which provide vital evidence of where a State sets its priorities Therefore this article seeks to show how the participatory budgeting offers citizens a large opportunity to learn about government operations and to deliberate debate and influence the allocation of public resources in the local government councils Through a descriptive historical analysis this study shows that the local government s current budget processes reveal that citizens have no understanding of what the local government council is committing itself to in its policy declarations and what it actually does in its budgetary allocations The extremely complicated technical and esoteric nature of the budget-making process and documents does not allow citizens to participate to have any say in it or to monitor the process it is the position of this paper that participatory budgeting programs are implemented at the behest of governments citizens nongovernmental organizations NGOs and civil society organizations CSOs to allow citizens to play a direct role in deciding how and where resources should be spent It is a tool for educating engaging and empowering citizens and strengthening demand for good governance It also enhanced transparency and accountability More so the study revealed that participatory budgeting helps reduce government inefficiency and curb clientelism patronage and corruption Besides recommending encouragement of citizen s participation in budgeting community-based organizations the civil society and the media should be involved and be stimulated to play the role of a conscience keeper on behalf of the poor and marginalized in the societ

Size-dependent optical properties of colloidal PbS quantum dots

We quantitatively investigate the size-dependent optical properties of colloidal PbS nanocrystals or quantum dots (Qdots) by combining-the Qdot absorbance spectra with detailed elemental analysis of the Qdot suspensions. At high energies, the molar extinction coefficient epsilon increases With the Not volume d(3) and agrees with theoretical calculations using the Maxwell-Garnett effective medium theory and bulk values for the Qdot dielectric function. This demonstrates that quantum confinement has no influence on E in this spectral range, and it provides an accurate method to calculate the Qdot concentration. Around the band gap, epsilon only increases with d(1.3), and values are comparable to the epsilon of PbSe Qdots. The data are related to the oscillator strength f(if) of the band gap transition and results agree well with theoretical tight-binding calculations, predicting a linear dependence of f(if) on d. For both PbS and PbSe Qdots, the exciton lifetime tau is calculated from f(if). We find values ranging between 1 and 3 mu s, in agreement with experimental literature data from time-resolved luminescence spectroscopy. Our results provide a thorough general framework to calculate and understand the optical properties of suspended colloidal quantum dots. Most importantly, it highlights the significance of the local field factor in these systems

Rapid Research and Analysis of Local Cultural Education Partnerships

This rapid programme of research and analysis provides a detailed and up-to-date understanding of Local Cultural Education Partnerships (LCEPs) across the five Arts Council England (ACE) regions to inform future investment in LCEPs. LCEPs aim to support children and young people (CYP) in their creative potential, providing access to cultural experiences in their place (i.e., where they live, where they go to school, and where they spend their free time). The partners that make up the network of partnerships in each LCEP come from a cross-section of multiple sectors, including culture, arts, education, higher education, youth, health, criminal justice, voluntary, commercial, and creative sectors, as well as local or combined authorities. LCEPs are place-specific, and they take on many different forms that respond to local needs and interests. They are supported by ACE’s network of Bridge Organisations, who provide developmental and strategic support that is relevant to their stage of development and need. This report is based on data collected through four methods: (1) interviews with Bridge Organisations and LCEPs, (2) a national survey of LCEPs, (3) a literature review based on quarterly monitoring reports (QMRs) and ACE documents, and (4) digital mapping. From our analysis of this data, we have shared key considerations that ACE can take on in their approach to LCEPs under the following themes: Who are We? Where is the energy coming from? What is the money for? How can we learn from and with each other

Incremental bounded model checking for embedded software

Program analysis is on the brink of mainstream usage in embedded systems development. Formal verification of behavioural requirements, finding runtime errors and test case generation are some of the most common applications of automated verification tools based on bounded model checking (BMC). Existing industrial tools for embedded software use an off-the-shelf bounded model checker and apply it iteratively to verify the program with an increasing number of unwindings. This approach unnecessarily wastes time repeating work that has already been done and fails to exploit the power of incremental SAT solving. This article reports on the extension of the software model checker CBMC to support incremental BMC and its successful integration with the industrial embedded software verification tool BTC EMBEDDED TESTER. We present an extensive evaluation over large industrial embedded programs, mainly from the automotive industry. We show that incremental BMC cuts runtimes by one order of magnitude in comparison to the standard non-incremental approach, enabling the application of formal verification to large and complex embedded software. We furthermore report promising results on analysing programs with arbitrary loop structure using incremental BMC, demonstrating its applicability and potential to verify general software beyond the embedded domain

Spinal fluid IgG antibodies from patients with demyelinating diseases bind multiple sclerosis-associated bacteria

ABSTRACT: A panel of 10 IgG enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) were developed for the detection of anti-microbial immune responses in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with demyelinating diseases (DD). The anti-microbial ELISA assays follow on prior human brain tissue RNA sequencing studies that established multiple sclerosis (MS) microbial candidates. Lysates included in the ELISA panel were derived from Akkermansia muciniphila, Atopobium vaginae, Bacteroides fragilis, Lactobacillus paracasei, Odoribacter splanchnicus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Cutibacterium (Propionibacterium) acnes, Fusobacterium necrophorum, Porphyromonas gingivalis, and Streptococcus mutans. CSF responses from patients with demyelinating diseases (DD, N = 14) were compared to those with other neurological diseases (OND, N = 8) and controls (N = 13). Commercial positive and negative control CSF specimens were run with each assay. ELISA index values were derived for each specimen against each of the 10 bacterial lysates. CSF reactivity was significantly higher in the DD group compared to the controls against Akkermansia, Atopobium, Bacteroides, Lactobacillus, Odoribacter, and Fusobacterium. Four of the 11 tested DD group subjects had elevated antibody indexes against at least one of the 10 bacterial species, suggesting intrathecal antibody production. This CSF serological study supports the hypothesis that several of the previously identified MS candidate microbes contribute to demyelination in some patients. KEY MESSAGES: A panel of 10 IgG enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) were developed for the detection of anti-microbial immune responses in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with demyelinating diseases, including multiple sclerosis and acute disseminated encephalomyelitis. CSF reactivity was significantly higher in the demyelination group compared to the controls against the bacteria Akkermansia, Atopobium, Bacteroides, Lactobacillus, Odoribacter, and Fusobacterium. Several of the demyelination subjects had elevated antibody indexes against at least one of the 10 antigens, suggesting at least limited intrathecal production of anti-bacterial antibodies. This CSF serological study supports the hypothesis that several of the previously identified MS candidate microbes contribute to demyelination in some patients. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00109-021-02085-z

Long-Term Consequences of Water Pumping on the Ecosystem Functioning of Lake Sekšu, Latvia

Cultural eutrophication, the process by which pollution due to human activity speeds up natural eutrophication, is a widespread and consequential issue. Here, we present the 85-year history of a small, initially Lobelia–Isoëtes dominated lake. The lake’s ecological deterioration was intensified by water pumping station activities when it received replenishment water for more than 10 years from a eutrophic lake through a pipe. In this study, we performed a paleolimnological assessment to determine how the lake’s ecosystem functioning changed over time. A multi-proxy (pollen, Cladocera, diatoms, and Chironomidae) approach was applied alongside a quantitative reconstruction of total phosphorus using diatom and hypolimnetic dissolved oxygen with chironomid-based transfer functions. The results of the biotic proxy were supplemented with a geochemical analysis. The results demonstrated significant changes in the lake community’s structure, its sediment composition, and its redox conditions due to increased eutrophication, water level fluctuations, and erosion. The additional nutrient load, particularly phosphorus, increased the abundance of planktonic eutrophic–hypereutrophic diatoms, the lake water’s transparency decreased, and hypolimnetic anoxia occurred. Cladocera, Chironomidae, and diatoms species indicated a community shift towards eutrophy, while the low trophy species were suppressed or disappeared