Counselling against early marriage of the girl-child in Anambra state

This study investigated the capacity building strategies for counselling against early marriage of the Girl-child in Ogidi Education zone of Anambra state. Three research questions were used and descriptive survey design was adopted. The population for the study is all the parents who are members of the parents’ teachers’ association of all the schools in Ogidi education zone and all the eleven counsellors in the chosen zone. A sample of 660 respondents was chosen through random sampling and all the 11 counsellors were chosen because the population size is small. On the whole 671 respondents were used for the study. Instrument used was questionnaire and mean rating was used as the statistical tool. The results showed that all but one of the items are the capacity building strategies as agreed by the respondents. This implies that unless the parents work together with the counsellors, counselling might not contribute much in the fight against early marriage of the Girl-child. Recommendations include that parents in conjunction with the counsellors should mount campaigns through seminars, workshops, etc to modify the girls’ attitude towards early marriage

A review of regression models employed for predicting diffuse solar radiation in North-Western Africa

The knowledge of diffuse solar radiation (Hd) is of almost importance for determining the gross primary productivity, net ecosystem, exchange of carbon dioxide, light use efficiency and changing colour of the sky. However, routine measurement of Hd is not available in most locations in North-Western Africa. During the past 36 years in order to predict Hd in the horizontal surface on hourly, daily and monthly mean basis, several regression models have been developed for numerous locations in North-Western Africa. As a result, several input parameters have been utilized and different functional forms applied. The regression models so far utilized were classified into six main categories and presented based on the input parameters applied. The models were further reclassified into numerous main groups and finally represented according to their developing year. In general, 188 regression models, 33 functional forms and 20 groups were reported in literature for predicting Hd in North-Western Africa. The regression and soft computing models developed within North-Western Africa and across the globe were examined in order to determine the best technique of prediction. The result revealed that soft computing models are more suitable for predicting Hd in North-Western Africa and across the globe. Citation: Ogbulezie, J., Ushie, O., and Nwokolo, S. (2017). A review of regression models employed for predicting diffuse solar radiation in North-Western Africa. Trends in Renewable Energy, 3(2), 160-206. DOI: 10.17737/tre.2017.3.2.004

Assessing the Impact of Soiling, Tilt Angle, and Solar Radiation on the Performance of Solar PV Systems

This research examined the observed datasets and a theoretically derived model for estimating yearly optimum tilt angle (β), maximum incident solar radiation (Hmax), clean gain indicator (CGI), and soiling loss indicator (SLI) at Mumbwa, Zambia, the Mediterranean Region, and low latitude locations across the globe. The cleaned tilted collector emerged as the best performing collector due to Hmax and much higher energy gains compared with the soiled collector. CGI showed an appreciable performance of 0.4737% over -0.4708% on the SLI, indicating that soiling on the surface of photovoltaic (PV) modules significantly depreciates the overall performance of PV modules. Two established empirical models obtained from the literature were compared with the established theoretical model (β=φ). The result revealed that the two models overestimated the observed annual optimum tilt angle in this paper, simply because the models were developed with high latitude location datasets from the Asia continent. However, the newly established monthly and yearly global radiation indicator (GRI) models by the authors in their previous paper performed excellently in the selected representative cities in the Mediterranean region.Citation:

Exploring Cutting-Edge Approaches to Reduce Africa's Carbon Footprint through Innovative Technology Dissemination

This paper investigates the possibility of revolutionizing Africa's carbon footprint through innovative technology dissemination strategies for GHG emission reduction.  It highlights the importance of harnessing renewable energy sources to mitigate climate change and promote sustainable development in Africa. This paper also examined several technology diffusion theories in order to unleash Africa's climate-smart potential by tying them to the recommended techniques for dealing with technological diffusion concerns. These theories varied from diffusion of innovation theory to planned behaviour theory. By analysing these theories, it was found that the most appropriate technology diffusion theory for the assessment of innovative technology dissemination strategies for GHG emission reduction in Africa would be the Diffusion of Innovations Theory. This is due to the theory's emphasis on the dissemination and adoption of new ideas, technologies, or innovations by people or groups within a social system. It would give useful insights into the variables influencing the adoption and dissemination of novel technology for reducing GHG emissions in Africa. The paper also discusses the challenges and barriers faced in the diffusion of renewable energy technologies across the continent while proposing innovative strategies to overcome these obstacles and unlock Africa's untapped climate-smart potential. These strategies include promoting policy and regulatory frameworks that incentivize investment in renewable energy, fostering partnerships between governments, private sector entities, and international organizations to support technology transfer and capacity building, and implementing financial mechanisms such as green bonds and carbon pricing to mobilize funding for renewable energy projects. These proposed strategies were also used to develop seven policies required for innovative technology dissemination strategies for GHG emission reduction in Africa. These policies aim to address the unique challenges faced by African countries in adopting and implementing innovative technologies for GHG emission reduction. By focusing on capacity building, financial incentives, and knowledge sharing, these strategies seek to promote the widespread adoption of sustainable technologies across the continent. They emphasize the importance of collaboration between governments, private sector entities, and international organizations to ensure the successful implementation and long-term sustainability of these policies.Citation: Nwokolo, S. C., Eyime, E. E., Obiwulu, A. U., & Ogbulezie, J. C. (2023). Exploring Cutting-Edge Approaches to Reduce Africa's Carbon Footprint through Innovative Technology Dissemination. Trends in Renewable Energy, 10, 1-29. doi:10.17737/tre.2024.10.1.0016

Influence Of Cognitive Styles On Technical Drawing Students’ Achievements In Senior Secondary School In Federal Capital Territory, Abuja

There are different cognitive strategies for processing information which in turn influence students’ academic achievement. This paper reports an investigation of cognitive styles and achievement scores of secondary school students. In the study, the standardised Group Embedded Figures Test was used to determine the influence of student’s cognitive styles on Technical Drawing students’ achievement in Senior Secondary Schools in Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja. A research question and null hypothesis tested at 0.05 level of significance guided the study. The design of the study was a causal comparative or (expost-facto) design. The sample for the study consisted of 87Senior Secondary School Two (SSSII) Technical Drawing students drawn from the three sampled schools in three Area Councils of FCT. The students were categorized into three groups based on Group embedded figure test (GEFT). The instrument used for data collection was Technical Drawing Achievement test (TDAT). The instrument was face and content validated by three Technical Drawing Lecturers and two experts in Measurement and Evaluation. The reliability coefficient of Basic Electricity Achievement Test (BEAT) was established using Kuder- Richardson formula 20 (K-R20) and this yielded an index of 0.69. Data were analyzed with mean, standard deviation and analysis ofvariance (ANOVA). Results of the study revealed that cognitive style significantly influenced students’ achievements in Technical Drawing. Recommendations made among others were that students’ cognitive styles be adopted for effective teaching of Technical Drawing in Secondary Schools

Effects of Angstrom-Prescott and Hargreaves-Samani Coefficients on Climate Forcing and Solar PV Technology Selection in West Africa

We evaluated and compared the performance of simulated Angström-Prescott (AP) and Hargreaves-Samani (HS) models on monthly and annual timescales using generalized datasets covering the entire West African region. The fitted AP model yielded more efficient parameters of a = 0.366 and b = 0.459, whereas the HS model produced a 0.216 coefficient based on an annual timescale, which is more suitable in the region compared to coefficients recommended by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) (a = 0.25 and b = 0.5) and HS (0.17), respectively. Employing the FAO and HS recommended coefficients will introduce a relative percentage error (RPE) of 18.388% and 27.19% compared to the RPEs of 0.0014% and 0.1036% obtained in this study, respectively. When considering time and resource availability in the absence of ground-measured datasets, the coefficients obtained in this study can be used for predicting global solar radiation within the region. According to the AP and HS coefficients, the polycrystalline module (p-Si) is more reliable than the monocrystalline module (m-Si) because the p-Si module has a higher tendency to withstand the high temperatures projected to affect the region due to its higher intrinsic properties based on the AP and HS coefficients assessment in the region.Citation: Agbor, M. E., Udo, S. O., Ewona, I. O., Nwokolo, S. C., Ogbulezie, J. C., Amadi, S. O., and Billy, U. A. (2023). Effects of Angstrom-Prescott and Hargreaves-Samani Coefficients on Climate Forcing and Solar PV Technology Selection in West Africa. Trends in Renewable Energy, 9, 78-106. DOI: 10.17737/tre.2023.9.1.0015

Effects of neo-adjuvant chemotherapy for oesophago-gastric cancer on neuro-muscular gastric function

Delayed gastric emptying symptoms are often reported after chemotherapy. This study aims to characterise the effects of chemotherapy on gastric neuro-muscular function. Patients undergoing elective surgery for oesophago-gastric cancer were recruited. Acetylcholinesterase, nNOS, ghrelin receptor and motilin expressions were studied in gastric sections from patients receiving no chemotherapy (n = 3) or oesophageal (n = 2) or gastric (n = 2) chemotherapy. A scoring system quantified staining intensity (0–3; no staining to strong). Stomach sections were separately suspended in tissue baths for electrical field stimulation (EFS) and exposure to erythromycin or carbachol; three patients had no chemotherapy; four completed cisplatin-based chemotherapy within 6 weeks prior to surgery. AChE expression was markedly decreased after chemotherapy (scores 2.3 ± 0.7, 0.5 ± 0.2 and 0 ± 0 in non-chemotherapy, oesophageal- and gastric-chemotherapy groups (p < 0.03 each) respectively. Ghrelin receptor and motilin expression tended to increase (ghrelin: 0.7 ± 0.4 vs 2.0 ± 0.4 and 1.2 ± 0.2 respectively; p = 0.04 and p = 0.2; motilin: 0.7 ± 0.5 vs 2.2 ± 0.5 and 2.0 ± 0.7; p = 0.06 and p = 0.16). Maximal contraction to carbachol was 3.7 ± 0.7 g and 1.9 ± 0.8 g (longitudinal muscle) and 3.4 ± 0.4 g and 1.6 ± 0.6 (circular) in non-chemotherapy and chemotherapy tissues respectively (p < 0.05 each). There were loss of AChE and reduction in contractility to carbachol. The tendency for ghrelin receptors to increase suggests an attempt to upregulate compensating systems. Our study offers a mechanism by which chemotherapy markedly alters neuro-muscular gastric function

Characteristics of Academic Anesthesiologist’s Elected to an Institutional Academy of Master Educators

Background. The educational experience and success of academic anesthesiologists may be elusive to quantify. We wished to examine the characteristics of a cohort of anesthesiology faculty who were inducted into a medical school master educator academy over the last decade. Methods. After IRB approval with waiver of consent, all 10 anesthesiology faculty inductees into the academy supplied relevant data for their accomplishments at the time of induction in multiple educational domains, including teaching and assessment, mentoring and advising, evidence of scholarship and production of enduring materials, and educational leadership. These were deidentified and analyzed. Results. The cohort had evidence of a consistent, visible footprint in the department, medical school, affiliated associations and state and national professional organizations. These included educational leadership positions, numerous teaching recognition and awards, substantial committee service, active mentorship exceeding usual faculty effort and robust portfolios of publications and presentations related to teaching and/or incorporating and supporting mentees as co-authors. Neither time in rank or academic progress was a limitation with several achieving induction in \u3c 5 years. Conclusions. It is possible for full-time anesthesiology clinicians to achieve success in educational recognition within the medical school body. This summary of characteristics of one department’s cohort may be useful to others seeking such recognition and serve. Based on the aggregate findings, we make recommendations for faculty wishing to pursue excellence in education

Investigating Conceptual Models for the Relationship Between Depression and Condomless Sex Among Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who have Sex with Men: Using Structural Equation Modelling to Assess Mediation

The aim of this study is to investigate five hypothesized mechanisms of causation between depression and condomless sex with ≥ 2 partners (CLS2+) among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM), involving alternative roles of self-efficacy for sexual safety and recreational drug use. Data were from the AURAH cross-sectional study of 1340 GBMSM attending genitourinary medicine clinics in England (2013–2014). Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to investigate which conceptual model was more consistent with the data. Twelve percent of men reported depression (PHQ-9 ≥ 10) and 32% reported CLS2+ in the past 3 months. AURAH data were more consistent with the model in which depression was considered to lead to CLS2+ indirectly via low self-efficacy for sexual safety (indirect Beta = 0.158; p < 0.001) as well as indirectly via higher levels of recreational drug use (indirect Beta = 0.158; p < 0.001). SEM assists in understanding the relationship between depression and CLS among GBMSM