Sustainability Reporting and Financial Performance of Deposit Money Banks in Nigeria

This study examines how sustainability reporting is useful for assessing the financial performance of listed Deposit Money Banks in Nigeria. Specifically, the study focuses on the economic, environmental and social dimensions of sustainability reporting using “Return on Assets”, “Return on Equity” and “Earnings per Share” as proxies for financial performance of Deposit Money Banks in Nigeria from 2012 to 2018. The sample of the study was restricted to seventeen deposit money banks out of twenty one Banks quoted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange as at December, 2018. The required data were collected from audited annual financial statements and “sustainability reports” of the selected Deposit Money Banks for the period. A detailed analysis of the three bottom lines of profit (economic), people (social) and planet (environmental) impact was conducted. The descriptive and least squares regression analysis were adopted for the study considering the banks’ sustainability reporting practices against the selected performance proxies. The study concludes that sustainability reporting practices of Banks in Nigeria have substantial impacts on the financial performances of Deposit Money Banks in Nigeria. The study recommends that enabling legislations should be put in place to mandate enhanced sustainability practices among all deposit money banks in Nigeria as well as facilitate meaningful evaluation and measurement of earnings, social and environmental impacts in all areas of bank operations in Nigeria

THE EXPLAINABILITY OF GRADIENT-BOOSTED DECISION TREES FOR DIGITAL ELEVATION MODEL (DEM) ERROR PREDICTION

Gradient boosted decision trees (GBDTs) have repeatedly outperformed several machine learning and deep learning algorithms in competitive data science. However, the explainability of GBDT predictions especially with earth observation data is still an open issue requiring more focus by researchers. In this study, we investigate the explainability of Bayesian-optimised GBDT algorithms for modelling and prediction of the vertical error in Copernicus GLO-30 digital elevation model (DEM). Three GBDT algorithms are investigated (extreme gradient boosting - XGBoost, light boosting machine – LightGBM, and categorical boosting – CatBoost), and SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) are adopted for the explainability analysis. The assessment sites are selected from urban/industrial and mountainous landscapes in Cape Town, South Africa. Training datasets are comprised of eleven predictor variables which are known influencers of elevation error: elevation, slope, aspect, surface roughness, topographic position index, terrain ruggedness index, terrain surface texture, vector roughness measure, forest cover, bare ground cover, and urban footprints. The target variable (elevation error) was calculated with respect to accurate airborne LiDAR. After model training and testing, the GBDTs were applied for predicting the elevation error at model implementation sites. The SHAP plots showed varying levels of emphasis on the parameters depending on the land cover and terrain. For example, in the urban area, the influence of vector ruggedness measure surpassed that of first-order derivatives such as slope and aspect. Thus, it is recommended that machine learning modelling procedures and workflows incorporate model explainability to ensure robust interpretation and understanding of model predictions by both technical and non-technical users

Some mineral profiles of fresh and bottled palm wine – a comparative study

Some mineral profiles of fresh palm wine and those of seven brands of bottled palm wine were analysed using atomic absorption spectroscopy and the values were compared. Three of the bottled samples contained toxic levels of either Pb or Cd or both. Neither metal was detected in fresh palm wine. Zn, Cr and Ni were 2 to 15 times higher while Cu was 2 to 5 times lower in bottled samples than values for fresh sample. The likelihood of water- derived heavy metal contamination during bottling, and its potential health implication for consumers are discussed.Key words: Palm wine, bottling, mineral elementsAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 4 (8), pp. 829-83

SPATIO-TEMPORAL VARIABILITY OF AIR QUALITY AND RELATIONSHIP WITH METEOROLOGICAL PARAMETERS IN CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA

African cities are growing fast, and this rapid urbanisation has tremendously increased air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Despite this disturbing reality, the deleterious impacts of air pollution on livelihoods and the environment are often overlooked. Recently, the link between air quality and meteorological parameters has received attention from researchers and understanding this relationship could significantly improve our understanding of the spatial and temporal dynamics of air quality. This study focuses on analysing the spatiotemporal variation of three key air quality parameters, namely nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulphur dioxide (SO2), and particulate matter (PM10), in Cape Town between 2020 and 2021. The study also aims to assess the relationship between air quality and meteorological parameters during this period, and the compliance with national and international air quality guidelines. Air quality data were collected from five monitoring stations in the City of Cape Town. A preliminary analysis of the data reveals high increases in the concentration of air pollutants from 2020 to 2021. For instance, the average monthly concentration of NO2 and SO2 at Bellville South station more than doubled during this period (from 6.7–14.8 µg/m3 and 3.4–8.1 µg/m3, respectively). This is worrisome as the air quality index (AQI) exceeded the safe limits at several sites. There is a need for urgent action by national and city governments in Africa to invest in air quality monitoring systems to enhance the well-being of citizens and promote the long-term sustainability of cities and infrastructure

Tensile Behaviors of Al-Si-Mg Alloy Reinforced with Periwinkle Shell and Mangifera Indica Particulates

Abstract: Tensile behaviors of Al-12wt%-2wt%Mg based biocomposites containing different concentrations of periwinkle shell and Mangifera indica particulates (PSp and MIp) have been explored experimentally. The effects of hybrid concentrations on the tensile behaviors were also investigated. The structural analysis of the developed biocomposites was done using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The biocomposites demonstrated excellent tensile behaviors at different concentrations of the reinforcements with maximum ultimate tensile strength of 233 MPa obtained by Al-12wt%-2wt%Mg-6PSp-2wt%MIp biocomposite. The biocomposite recorded higher strength than the alloy matrix. The improvements of mechanical properties are guaranteed by the distribution of PSp and MIp particles in the alloy matrix as evidenced in the microstructural analysis. Keywords: Aluminum Alloy, Periwinkle shell. Mangifera Indica Particulate, Tensile behaviors. Title: Tensile Behaviors of Al-Si-Mg Alloy Reinforced with Periwinkle Shell and Mangifera Indica Particulates Author: Chibuzo N. Okoye, Paul C. Okolie, Onyemazuwa A. Azaka, Chidume N. Nwambu International Journal of Novel Research in Civil Structural and Earth Sciences ISSN 2394-7357 Vol. 10, Issue 3, September 2023 - December 2023 Page No: 15-24 Novelty Journals Website: www.noveltyjournals.com Published Date: 22-September-2023 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8369549 Paper Download Link (Source) https://www.noveltyjournals.com/upload/paper/Tensile%20Behaviors%20of%20Al-Si-Mg%20Alloy-22092023-3.pdfInternational Journal of Novel Research in Civil Structural and Earth Sciences, ISSN 2394-7357, Novelty Journals, Website: www.noveltyjournals.co

Combined mitral and tricuspid stenosis in 47-year old rheumatic valvular heart disease patient: a case report

Rheumatic valvular heart disease is a common complication of rheumatic fever; however combined mitral and tricuspid stenosis is an extremely rare form of multi-valve disease presentation. Case Presentation: We report a case of combined mitral and tricuspid stenosis from rheumatic heart disease (RHD) in a 47-year-old woman who was being managed for hypertensive heart disease (HHDx) on anti-hypertensives for 2yrs prior to presentation. However, on further review with transthoracic echocardiography (TTE), she was found to have thickened mitral valve and hockey stick appearance with dilated left atrium (dimension of 60mm) and reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) of 45%. A repeat TTE done 8 years after the first one showed a severely dilated left atrium (LAD 71mm) with estimated area of 55.4cm2; moderate mitral stenosis and severe tricuspid stenosis with moderate TR. The LVEF was 29% with a severe right ventricular (RV) systolic dysfunction (TAPSE of 9mm). Patient is being managed conservatively due to economic constraints and the likelihood of very poor surgical outcome due to severe biventricular dysfunction. Conclusion: The case is reported for its rarity as well as the importance of interval evaluation of unaffected valves in a setting of single valve disease for early detection and possible prompt treatment and intervention

Interpretation of Airborne Magnetic Data of Upper Benue Trough, Northeastern Nigeria

Compilation of the airborne magnetic data was conducted by digitizing along the flight line, picking the contour values across each flight line over the upper Benue Trough, Northeastern Basement complex Nigeria. It shows complicated arrangement of long wavelength anomalies, with significant magnetic low. The study of airborne magnetic data revealed some features that are interpreted in terms of deep geologic structures with variation in susceptibility of the basement rocks of thick Cretaceous sediments. The NE-SW trending of the lineament map identifies the same trending of the Benue Trough. Such same trending may be inferred to have the same subsurface structural control. The residual magnetic anomaly map towards the SW region which is the location of Dong and Numan is smoother, which is masked off by the effect of the stronger magnetic basement likely to be a sedimentary basin. The NE-SW revelation shows that this basement region is polygenetic and has experienced magmatism, metamorphism, and structural deformations caused by Pan-Africa Orogeny

In vitro antibacterial and antifungal activities of Chrysophyllum albidum and Diospyros monbuttensis leave

Despite progress in the development of antibacterial agents, there are still special needs to find new antibacterial agents due to the development of multidrug resistance by bacteria and fungi.This study was conducted to investigate and compare the in vitro antibacterial and antifungal activities of the methanolic and ethanolic extracts of the leaves of Chrysophyllumalbidum and Diospyrosmonbuttensis.Methanolic and ethanolic extracts of D. monbuttensis and C. albidum leaves were prepared using cold extraction method. Antimicrobial sensitivity testing was carried out using agar-well diffusion method against the following test organisms: Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus sp., Escherichia coli (Enteropathogenic), Klebsiellasp., Candida albicans and Aspergillusniger. Minimum inhibitory concentration of the extracts of D. monbuttensis and C. albidum leaves was determined using broth dilution method. S.aureus, Streptococcus sp., E. coli andKlebsiellasp. were sensitive to ethanolic leaf extract of C. albidum at 25, 50 and 100mg/ml respectively. Streptococcus sp.,E. coli (Enteropathogenic), Klebsiellasp. AndC. albicanswere sensitive to C. albidum at 25and 50mg/ml. A. niger showed resistance to both extracts at the different concentrations used. The MIC of the methanol and ethanol leaf extracts of D. monbuttensis and C. albidum against the test microorganisms ranged between 3.125 and 100mg/ml. This is indicative that D. monbuttensis and C. albidum leaf extracts can be used in the treatment of infection