Resident's Compliance With Colonia Planning Regulations In Periurban Area Of Ibadan, Nigeria

The present planning standard in Nigeria is with a colonial footprint. The study examined resident’s compliance with planning regulations in peri – urban of Ibadan, Oyo state, Nigeria. A cross-sectional survey research design was adopted while both primary and secondary data were sourced. Using a multistage sampling technique, two peri-urban local Government areas (Ido and Oluyole local government) in Ibadan region were identified and two settlements (Apete and Odo Ona Elewe) were randomly selected from each selected LGAs. A total of 7,170 houses from Apete (3,500) and Odo Ona elewe (3,670) were enumerated and 3% (215) sample size was taken. Observation checklist was used to assess the level of compliance with the planning regulations. Both descriptive and inferential statistics (chi square) were used to analyse the data at P ≥ = 0.05%. The study revealed that about 75.3 % of the respondents were aware of the planning regulation, while only 58.6% complied with the building setback regulation. The study concluded that planning regulations have not been given adequate attention. Therefore, planning standard relating to building should be strictly enforced

Retrofitting and Greening Existing Buildings: Strategies for Energy Conservation,Resource Management and Sustainability of the Built Environment in Nigeria

Energy consumption in residential buildings is one of the increasing phenomenal in the built environment.It has become imperative to react to the state of rapidly dwindling natural resources, environmental pressures and climate change posing fundamental threat to economic systems and human survival in Nigeria and globally. Until fairly recently, green considerations for existing residential buildings have received less attention. In Nigeria, thousands of households of low income buildings spends large sums of their earnings on energy bills, while getting less energy-driven services for their appliances and utilities to meet their needs. This paper explores possible alternatives for less dependence on national energy supply with more environmental benefits through sustainable retrofit and resource-efficiency interventions for low-income houses. The objective is to address issues relating to energy generation,conservation and other associated resource management with a view to achieving the development of a low carbon and more eco-friendly built environment. It is expected that the outcome of this paper will make an important contribution in the form of recommendations for future policies and programmes regarding retrofitting of existing residential houses and the construction of new ones in Nigeria. It concludes that if policies and regulatory mechanism are put in place for greening low-income housing in Nigeria, this could deliver a pathway to improving energy efficiency of the existing building sector

Social Crisis, Terrorism and Food Poverty Dynamics: Evidence from Northern Nigeria

Food security has become an issue of global concern in the recent time. Nigeria, with her huge endowed natural and human resources is not spared. However, food poverty in Northern Nigeria has come under threats since the emergence of series of attacks by a terrorist sect called ‘Boko Haram' (BH). Since the emergence of the BH activities in Nigeria, sectors with direct impact on the wellbeing of the people has been negatively affected. The aim of this paper is therefore to examine the various ways in which the activities of BH have threatened food security and worsens food poverty in Northern zones (North West, North Central and North East) of Nigeria where the sects are dominating and imposing demeaning menace using 2010 Nigerian Living Standard Survey (NLSS) data. The data is analyzed using descriptive statistics and ordered probit. The study used mean food per capita expenditure to generate the poverty line and ordered the households into three categories; food poor, moderately food poor and food non poor. The estimate revealed that the mean food per capita expenditure (annually) was ₦25524.36 ($128.23). The study further established that 84.85% of the households in northern Nigeria are food poor in which majority are rural households, male headed households and uneducated households. Furthermore, the study found that the activities of the sect have negatively impacted the wellbeing of the northern Nigerians and increases food poverty extremely. However, interventions such as donations from foreign organizations such as UNICEF, WHO, World Bank etc. were found to improve the food security and reduce food poverty of the northerners. Therefore, this study recommends increasing intervention effort by the Nigerian government and the international community in curbing the menace of “Boko Haram”. Also, state government and other stakeholders including non-governmental organization should boost awareness on productive opportunities for the unemployed women and youths; and establishment of training/development centers for the uneducated. Keywords: Terrorism, Food Poverty Dynamics, Northern Nigeria JEL Classifications: I32 P36 Q1

Is there any gender gap in the production of legumes in Malawi? Evidence from the Oaxaca–Blinder decomposition model

Understanding the gender differences in agricultural productivity is crucial for formulating informed and effective policies to sustainably improve low productivity which characterises agriculture in Sub-Sahara Africa. Using a panel dataset from the ICRISAT led Tropical Legumes project III (2008–2013), we analyse the gender gap in the production of legumes in Malawi. Employing the Oaxaca–Blinder decomposition method allows decomposition of gender gap into the following: (i) the portion caused by observable differences in the factors of production (endowment effect) and (ii) the unexplained portion caused by differences in return to the same observed factors of production (structural effect). We conducted the empirical analysis separately for pigeonpea and groundnut. Our findings reveal that for groundnut cultivated plots, women are 28% less productive than men after controlling for observed factors of production; however, the gender gap estimated in the pigeonpea cultivated plots are not statistically significant. The decomposition estimates reveal that the endowment effect is more relevant than the structural effect, suggesting that access to productive inputs contributes largest to the gender gap in groundnut productivity, and if women involved had access to equal level of inputs, the gap will be reduced significantly. The variation in the findings for groundnut and pigeon plot suggests that policy orientation towards reducing gender productivity gap should be crop specific

Insights about Cannabis and Psychosis Using Video Games for Young People with a First Episode of Psychosis, Particularly Those from Black Racialized Communities: Protocol for a Mixed Methods Study

Background: Cannabis use disorder among young people with a first episode of psychosis contributes to relapse, hospitalization, and impaired functioning. However, few studies have examined what young people with early phase psychosis, particularly those from Black racialized communities, understand or appreciate about this relationship, even though they may be at risk. There are no formally tested knowledge translation strategies that disseminate these research findings for young people with emerging psychosis from Black racialized communities. Objective: This study aims to conceptualize what young people with early phase psychosis/cannabis use disorder understand about the relationship between cannabis and psychosis, focusing on people from racialized backgrounds. This study also aims to assess whether the knowledge translation product, the “Back to Reality Series,” increases awareness of the impact of cannabis use on psychosis from the perspectives of young people with emerging psychosis and cannabis use disorder from Black African and Caribbean communities. Methods: Qualitative analysis will reveal themes from qualitative interviews about cannabis and psychosis from the perspectives of young people with emerging psychosis and cannabis use disorder from Black African and Caribbean communities. Perceptions before and after exposure to the Back to Reality Series will be qualitatively analyzed. A control game will be used for comparison, and scores on a quiz after playing the Back to Reality Series will be quantitatively analyzed to establish whether the Back to Reality Series raises awareness of the effects of cannabis on psychosis. An advisory council involving young people from Black communities, family members, and clinicians will bring community perspectives to this research. Results: We began recruiting participants for this study in September 2021. We will complete data collection on demographic and clinical factors, qualitative interviews, and quantitative assessments of the Back to Reality Series. Conclusions: The voices of young people from racialized backgrounds will generate preliminary data to inform early psychosis programs, addressing cannabis use in this population. The findings may advance the use of a new knowledge translation product that deals with gaps in knowledge about cannabis use for people experiencing early phase psychosis, particularly those from racialized communities

PHYSIOLOGICAL AND YIELD RESPONSE OF SOME UPLAND RICE VARIETIES TO RE-WATERING AFTER IMPOSED SOIL MOISTURE STRESS

A pot experiment was conducted in the Screen house of Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, October, 2011 (late dry season) to study drought recovery ability of 13 upland rice varieties exposed to soil moisture stress (20 days) at three growth stages (vegetative, reproductive and grain filling stage). The experiment was in completely randomized design, with three replicates. Under moisture stress significantly higher growth recovery, more erect canopy and flatter leaf surface were obtained in all the rice varieties at vegetative growth stage than other growth stages with increasing duration of re-watering. Under stress condition NERICA 4 maintained a significantly higher leaf area (27.50 cm2 and 40.18 cm2), plant height (53.45 cm and 67.62 cm) and number of tillers (1.67 and 1.67), but with a depressed number of leaf, slanted leaf posture and curved leaf especially during the later stage of its growth (Reproductive and grain filling stage respectively). It could be concluded that NERICA 4 had higher recovery ability than other rice varieties in drought prone upland ecology

ROOT RESPONSE OF SOME SELECTED RICE VARIETIES TO SOIL MOISTURE STRESS AT DIFFERENT PHENOLOGICAL STAGES

Physiological adjustment in plant root system is a determinant for survival and crop productivity in situation of moisture stress. A screen house experiment was conducted to access response of rice roots to moisture stress. Thirteen  varieties of rice comprising six NERICAs, WAB 56-104, CG 14, ART26-3-1-B, AC 103549, MOROBEREKAN, ART19-25-1-B and a local check (OFADA) were subjected to twenty-day moisture stress once at  each phenological stage. Results indicated that root growth generally showed preference over shoot growth. Moisture stress did not affect root volume (RV), deep root numbers (DRN), root dry weight (RDW) and root depth (RD) of all the rice varieties at reproductive stage. CG14 however recorded 67.6% increase in RD at this stage while NERICA 3, CG14 and OFADA recorded an increase in root depth: shoot length. At vegetative and grain filling stages, RV, DRN, RDW, RD, and RMC were significantly (p< 0.05) increased by moisture stress in most rice varieties. NERICA2, NERICA7, ART26-3-1-B, MOROBEREKAN and WAB56-104 however recorded 54%, 76.5%, 72.7%, 57.1%, and 56.3% significant reduction in DRN respectively at vegetative stage. Correlation analysis showed that plant height, leaf area, and number of tillers depend highly on, RD, RV, RDW and deep root weight. Therefore, attention should be focused on these parameters in selection for moisture stress tolerance in rice

Global, regional, and national burden of chronic kidney disease, 1990–2017 : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017

Background Health system planning requires careful assessment of chronic kidney disease (CKD) epidemiology, but data for morbidity and mortality of this disease are scarce or non-existent in many countries. We estimated the global, regional, and national burden of CKD, as well as the burden of cardiovascular disease and gout attributable to impaired kidney function, for the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2017. We use the term CKD to refer to the morbidity and mortality that can be directly attributed to all stages of CKD, and we use the term impaired kidney function to refer to the additional risk of CKD from cardiovascular disease and gout. Methods The main data sources we used were published literature, vital registration systems, end-stage kidney disease registries, and household surveys. Estimates of CKD burden were produced using a Cause of Death Ensemble model and a Bayesian meta-regression analytical tool, and included incidence, prevalence, years lived with disability, mortality, years of life lost, and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs). A comparative risk assessment approach was used to estimate the proportion of cardiovascular diseases and gout burden attributable to impaired kidney function. Findings Globally, in 2017, 1·2 million (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 1·2 to 1·3) people died from CKD. The global all-age mortality rate from CKD increased 41·5% (95% UI 35·2 to 46·5) between 1990 and 2017, although there was no significant change in the age-standardised mortality rate (2·8%, −1·5 to 6·3). In 2017, 697·5 million (95% UI 649·2 to 752·0) cases of all-stage CKD were recorded, for a global prevalence of 9·1% (8·5 to 9·8). The global all-age prevalence of CKD increased 29·3% (95% UI 26·4 to 32·6) since 1990, whereas the age-standardised prevalence remained stable (1·2%, −1·1 to 3·5). CKD resulted in 35·8 million (95% UI 33·7 to 38·0) DALYs in 2017, with diabetic nephropathy accounting for almost a third of DALYs. Most of the burden of CKD was concentrated in the three lowest quintiles of Socio-demographic Index (SDI). In several regions, particularly Oceania, sub-Saharan Africa, and Latin America, the burden of CKD was much higher than expected for the level of development, whereas the disease burden in western, eastern, and central sub-Saharan Africa, east Asia, south Asia, central and eastern Europe, Australasia, and western Europe was lower than expected. 1·4 million (95% UI 1·2 to 1·6) cardiovascular disease-related deaths and 25·3 million (22·2 to 28·9) cardiovascular disease DALYs were attributable to impaired kidney function. Interpretation Kidney disease has a major effect on global health, both as a direct cause of global morbidity and mortality and as an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease. CKD is largely preventable and treatable and deserves greater attention in global health policy decision making, particularly in locations with low and middle SDI