Analyzing data streams using a dynamic compact stream pattern algorithm

A growing number of applications that generate massive streams of data need intelligent data processing and online analysis. Data & Knowledge Engineering (DKE) has been known to stimulate the exchange of ideas and interaction between these two related fields of interest. DKE makes it possible to understand, apply and assess knowledge and skills required for the development and application data mining systems. With present technology, companies are able to collect vast amounts of data with relative ease. With no hesitation, many companies now have more data than they can handle. A vital portion of this data entails large unstructured data sets which amount up to 90 percent of an organization’s data. With data quantities growing steadily, the explosion of data is putting a strain on infrastructures as diverse companies having to increase their data center capacity with more servers and storages. This study conceptualized handling enormous data as a stream mining problem that applies to continuous data stream and proposes an ensemble of unsupervised learning methods for efficiently detecting anomalies in stream data

Phytochemical screening and antibacterial activity of Centaurea senegalensis growing in Nigeria

The increasing prevalence of drug resistant pathogens in developing countries has necessitated research for effective therapeutic agents from plants. This study was designed to evaluate the antibacterial properties of Centaurea senegalensis and investigate the phytochemical constituents. The plant sample was extracted using methanol and subjected to successive partition with n-hexane, dichloromethane and ethyl acetate. The methanol extract (ME), hexane (HF), dichloromethane (DF) and ethylacetate (EF) fractions were subjected to antibacterial screening on selected gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria using agar well and micro broth dilution methods. The antibacterial efficacies of extracts showed varying zones of growth inhibitions (15-31 mm). The DF fraction was effective on Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and Vancomycin resistant enterococci (VRE) with interesting activity (28 mm, MIC 12.5 mgmL-1). However, the EF was most effective fraction against gram-negative bacteria such as Escherichia coli (31 mm, MIC, 12.5 mgmL-1). Chemical composition of bioactive fraction was determined using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The compounds detected were largely natural acetylenes such as 1, 5-heptadien-3-yne (23.2%), 2-hexyne-1-ol (12.3%), 2-methyl-1,5-hexadien-3-yne (6.6%) and 5-methyl-1-hexyn-3-ol (2.1%) as most abundant phytoconstituents identified. C. senegalensis fractions have demonstrated effective activity on both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, which might be attributed to acetylene derived natural compounds. Our findings have shown the importance of C. senegalensis as source of chemical compounds with effective antibacterial properties.Keywords: Centaurea senegalensis, phytochemical screening, antibacterial activity, GC-M

Preliminary phytochemical screening and antioxidant activity of leave extract of Albizia chevalieri harms (Leguminoseae-Mimosoideae)

Antioxidant evaluation of Albizia chevalieri used in Northern Nigerian traditional medicine, was carried out using the free radical scavenging activity of the 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH), total phenolics content and reducing power assay on the methanol leave extract. The results of the DPPH scavenging activity study indicate a concentration dependent antioxidant activity with 59.588, 68.477, 77.240, 85.925 and 94.732% of various concentrations of 10, 25, 50, 125 and 250μg/ml of the extract respectively. The total phenolic content was found to be 60.20 mg/g Gallic acid equivalent (GAE) and the reducing power of 0.071±0.03nm was obtained. The DPPH scavenging activity of the extract was found to be promising. There is no significant difference (

Yoruba Opera: A practice-based research enquiry into the idea of vocal composition in a non-European cultural framework.

Yòrùbá professional traditional musicians and performers have been making music persistently for centuries. Therefore, in this project, I will investigate and explore their context, process and methods of compositions and put it to practise in performance, recording, notation and transcription and by way of analysis. Yòrùbá music was destined to travel in the streams of Oral tradition in an unending yet spontaneous circle. But now, I want to begin to create a notation system that will not stop Yòrùbá music (particularly, Yòrùbá rhythmic section) from its desired and destined journeys, but this (my notation system in the name of ‘Segnotation’), will now allow both indigenous and foreign stakeholders to have an avenue and an opportunity to take a closer glimpse (by way of interactive analysis and performance) into Yòrùbá rhythm’s true to life structural elements, as it has never been done before. Yòrùbá traditional music usually may have many collaborating performers, all making music by contributing and playing unique roles to adorn what I call a given ‘solid or authoritative sketch’. The sketch itself (usually literary) will only be authentic because it carries literal textual signatures which are taken from primary literary sources and because it reflects the socio-religious and cultural ethos in a persisting Yòrùbá communal context. And, like water, Yòrùbá rhythm has got structure and form but it will certainly not be exact at different times it is performed, it will always behave like liquid. Yet, the producers (musicians and percussionists) and the consumers (the community at large) can intuitively recognize and appreciate Yòrùbá rhythm in whichever way it is being served in a musical-rhythmic menu, because both the indigenous producers and consumers are enculturated or have got supplementary knowledge. Supplementary knowledge itself is attained by familiarity and assimilation of the intricacies of Yoruba music. A Yòrùbá percussive ensemble, the Dùndún drums not only act as surrogates (surrogates because it can handle non syllabic and syllabic materials in the Yòrùbá language) and rhythmic tools, but as exemplified in this project are also richly harmonical, improvisatory, metronomic and much more. This Opera will serve as my pastoral homily to young Yòrùbá/Nigerian youths who are desperate to immigrate to Europe or Overseas; also, as a display of Yòrùbá cultural heritage and as my candid invitation to prospective researchers who may be interested in doing similar non-European projects to come to Salford University. But this project is also an opportunity, in one hand, to start to resolve the rhythmic section of Yòrùbá music and, in another hand, to put forward (albeit from diaspora) the Yòrùbá process and methods of making and analysing musical projects, as an academic method and theory for practice, for a Westernised academic audience

Antimycobacterial activity of some medicinal plants in Niger state, Nigeria

Ten Nigerian medicinal plants Abrus precatorius, Annona senegalensis, Anogeissus leiocarpus, Crateva adansonii, Detarium microcarpum, Faba spp, Neocarya macrophylla, Ocimum gratissimum, Securidacalongpenduculata and Terminalia avicennioides used by traditional medicine practitioners for the management of infectious and chronic diseases such as tuberculosis and whooping cough were investigated for in vitro antimycobacterial activity against attenuated strains of Mycobacterium bovis (BCG). Hexane and methanol extracts of the plant materials were obtained by maceration. The antimycobacterial activity was determined by the broth microdilution method. The hexane extracts of Anogeissus leiocarpus and Terminalia avicennioides showed stronginhibitory activity at 312μg/ml. Eight of the ten plant extracts showed moderate inhibitory activity in either hexane or methanol extract at 1250μg/ml. While the hexane and methanol extracts of Detarium microcarpum and Neocarya macrophylla did not exhibit any significant activity. These observed activities could be associated with secondarymetabolites in these plants. This study demonstrates the efficacy of Nigerian medicinal plants as potential agents in the management of the tuberculosis disease.Key words: Antimycobacterial activity, Nigeria, Medicinal plants, Secondary metabolites, Tuberculosi

Effect of Audit Quality on Financial Performance of Deposit Money Banks in Nigeria: Corporate Governance Perspectives

This study examined the effects of audit quality on the financial performance of 10 out of 16 Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) listed on Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) for which data were available covering a period of 10 years (2010-2019). While the specific objectives are to ascertain the effect of Audit Fee (AUF), Audit Report Lag (ARL) and Audit Committee Diligence (ACM) on the financial performance of Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) in Nigeria, it applied Return on Assets (ROA) as a measure of financial performance. The study adopted ex post facto research design, data for the study were collected from annual reports and accounts of listed DMBs. The study employed multiple regression analysis using SPSS to test the formulated hypotheses. The result showed Audit Fees (AF) and Audit Reported Lag (ARL) significantly affect financial performance of DMBs in Nigeria while Audit Committee Diligence (ACM) has insignificant effect on the financial performance of DMBs in Nigeria. The study recommends that: DMBs should strive to enhance the efficiency of their financial reporting processes to reduce the need for extensive audit procedures. Implementing robust internal control systems, automating processes, and adopting advanced accounting software can streamline financial reporting and potentially lower audit fee; DMBs should strive to streamline their internal processes and improve the efficiency of the financial reporting and auditing processes. This includes ensuring timely preparation of financial statements, prompt resolution of accounting issues, and effective communication with auditors. By reducing unnecessary delays in the audit process, companies can minimize audit report lag; DMBs should promote a culture of continuous improvement and learning within audit committees. This can be achieved through ongoing professional development programs, access to relevant resources and training, and opportunities for committee members to stay updated on emerging trends and regulatory changes. By continuously enhancing their knowledge and skills, audit committees can contribute more effectively to financial performance

Analyzing frequent patterns in data streams using a dynamic compact stream pattern algorithm

As a result of modern technology and the advancement in communication, a large amount of data streams are continually generated from various online applications, devices and sources. Mining frequent patterns from these streams of data is now an important research topic in the field of data mining and knowledge discovery. The traditional approach of mining data may not be appropriate for a large volume of data stream environment where the data volume is quite large and unbounded. They have the limitation of extracting recent change of knowledge in an adaptive mode from the data stream. Many algorithms and models have been developed to address the challenging task of mining data from an infinite influx of data generated from various points over the internet. The objective of this thesis is to introduce the concept of Dynamic Compact Pattern Stream tree (DCPS-tree) algorithm for mining recent data from the continuous data stream. Our DCPS-tree will dynamically achieves frequency descending prefix tree structure with only a single-pass over the data by applying tree restructuring techniques such as Branch sort method (BSM). This will cause any low frequency pattern to be maintained at the leaf nodes level and any high frequency components at a higher level. As a result of this, there will be a considerable mining time reduction on the datase

Geoimaging of subsurface fabric in Awgbagba, Southwestern Nigeria using geomagnetic and geoelectrical techniques

The heterogeneous nature of the earth has given rise to variations experienced in the subsurface. Some parts are good for hydrological exploration while others are good for civil engineering activities. These variations experienced in the subsurface could not be detected except through geophysical survey and analysis. Integration of ground magnetic and Vertical Electrical Sounding (VES) techniques were carried out in Awgbagba to image the subsurface fabric with a view to mapping subsurface geological features, such as the weak and competent zones, to determine the overburden thickness, and suitability of Awgbagba for civil engineering and hydrogeological purposes. Ten ground magnetic traverses were established in W-E and N-S azimuths. Twenty VES points were randomly sounded for the study in order to cover the entire study area. The magnetic residual field anomaly values ranged from -1, 600 to 700 nT. The study area is grouped into low, average, and high magnetic zones. The depth to magnetic sources ranged from 8.1 to 48.9 m with a mean value of 17.4 m. Three planar feature orientations in the study area are in NE-SW, NW-SE, and SE-NW orientations. VES results showed 7 QH-curve type, 6 HA-curve type, 4 KH-curve type, 1 AA-curve type, 1 HK-curve type and 1 QQ-curve type respectively. The ratio of thin-to-thick overburden and fresh-to-fractured bedrock are 3:7 and 2:3 respectively. It is concluded that the study area cannot withstand high-rise building constructions. However, the mapped fracture zones in the study area would serve as promising zones for borehole development

Board Gender Diversity and Financial Performance of Listed Deposit Money Banks

In developing countries such as Nigeria, the role of women is minimized at the economic and social strata; thus limiting their contribution in the society. The main aim of this study is therefore to examine the effect of board gender diversity on financial performance of listed deposit money banks in Nigeria. The study sampled 12 listed deposit money banks and obtained data spanning from 2012 to 2022. The result of the regression analysis document that the proportion of female directors to total directors on the board has no significant negative effect on financial performance of listed deposit money banks in Nigeria while the presence of critical mass of female directors (at least three female directors) has a positive and significant effect on financial performance of listed deposit money banks in Nigeria. The study recommends for the inclusion and participation of more women on the corporate board of banks in order to ensure that their impact are more felt on their financial performance