Multi-elemental analysis of some Nigerian mineral rocks for a comparative assay of gamma shielding with concrete using winxcom

Analysis of chemical composition and concentration of three Nigerian minerals have been carried out with the research reactor (GHARR-1) at Ghana Atomic energy commission Kwabenya Accra, in order to analyze their gamma photon shielding prospects using WINXCOM software. The physical densities of Serpentinite rock from Katsina/ Zamfara state, Hematite rock from Kogi state and Barite from Benue states of Nigeria were measured, and their moisture content analyzed with the Am-Be neutron source irradiation facility at Centre for Energy Research and Training (CERT) A.B.U. in Nigeria Qualitative and quantitative evaluation of gamma ray spectra of the residual radio nuclides of the rock samples were performed using the SPAN 5.0 software. The result of the chemical composition was observed to have a good elemental correlation with the well known neutron shields (concrete), but indicative of a better substitute to ordinary concrete when, in addition, the moisture retention capabilities, refractive properties and, most importantly, their densities are taken into account. The knowledge of the elemental composition is a requirement for calculating the shielding characteristics using WINXCOM. For an increase in photon energy by a factor of 0.21keV the mass attenuation in Serpentinite decreased by 2.0cm2/g; Hematite had a decrease of 5.0cm2/g; Barite also decreased by 5cm2/g while concrete had its mass attenuated by only 1.3cm2/g. Keywords: Transmission, Reflection, Mineral rock, Thermal neutrons, Fast neutrons, Moistur

Epidemiology of Hepatitis B infection among pregnant women in Minna, Nigeria

A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted amongst 261 pregnant women attending ante natal clinic at General hospital, Minna, Nigeria to determine the social characteristics and seroprevalence of Hepatitis B Virus (HBV). The mean age of the respondents was 25years. Thirty two (12.3%) of the 261 blood samples tested positive for HBV. Of the the +ve cases, 13.6% were in the second trimester of their pregnancy and 60% within the age brackets of 21-30 years. Illiterate women constituted 15.9% of those sampled while civil servants were 13.6%. Testing for HBsAg is recommended for all pregnant women at first prenatal visit so that positive mothers receive prompt intervention. Key words: HBV, epidemiology, pregnant women, antenatal clinic, Minna, Nigeri

Fuzzy simulated evolution algorithm for topology design of campusnetworks

The topology design of campus networks is a hard constrained combinatorial optimization problem. It consists of deciding the number, type, and location of the active network elements (nodes) and links. This choice is dictated by physical and technological constraints and must optimize several objectives. Example of objectives are monetary cost, network delay, and hop count between communicating pairs. Furthermore, due to the nondeterministic nature of network traffic and other design parameters, the objective criteria are imprecise. Fuzzy logic provides a suitable mathematical framework in such a situation. We present an approach based on the simulated evolution algorithm for the design of campus network topology. The two main phases of the algorithm, namely, evaluation and allocation, have been fuzzified. To diversify the search, we have also incorporated tabu search-based characteristics in the allocation phase of the SE algorithm. This approach is then compared with the simulated annealing algorithm, which is another well-known heuristic. Results show that on all test cases the simulated evolution algorithm exhibits more intelligent search of the solution subspace and was able to find better solutions than simulated annealin

A fast constructive algorithm for fixed channel assignment problem

With limited frequency spectrum and an increasing demand for mobile communication services, the problem of channel assignment becomes increasingly important. It has been shown that this problem is equivalent to the graph-coloring problem, which is an NP-hard problem. In this work, a fast constructive algorithm is introduced to solve the problem. The objective of the algorithm is to obtain a conflict free channel assignment to cells which satisfies traffic demand requirements. The algorithm was tested on several benchmark problems, and conflict free results were obtained a within one second. Moreover, the quality of solution obtained was always same or better than the other reported technique

Fuzzy simulated evolution algorithm for topology design of campusnetworks

The topology design of campus networks is a hard constrained combinatorial optimization problem. It consists of deciding the number, type, and location of the active network elements (nodes) and links. This choice is dictated by physical and technological constraints and must optimize several objectives. Example of objectives are monetary cost, network delay, and hop count between communicating pairs. Furthermore, due to the nondeterministic nature of network traffic and other design parameters, the objective criteria are imprecise. Fuzzy logic provides a suitable mathematical framework in such a situation. We present an approach based on the simulated evolution algorithm for the design of campus network topology. The two main phases of the algorithm, namely, evaluation and allocation, have been fuzzified. To diversify the search, we have also incorporated tabu search-based characteristics in the allocation phase of the SE algorithm. This approach is then compared with the simulated annealing algorithm, which is another well-known heuristic. Results show that on all test cases the simulated evolution algorithm exhibits more intelligent search of the solution subspace and was able to find better solutions than simulated annealin

An evolutionary algorithm for network topology design

The topology design of campus networks is a hard constrained combinatorial optimization problem, dictated by physical and technological constraints and must optimize several objectives. Furthermore, due to the non-deterministic nature of network traffic and other design parameters, the objective criteria are imprecise. Fuzzy logic provides a suitable mathematical framework in such a situation. We present an approach based on a simulated evolution algorithm for design of a campus network topology. Three variations of the algorithm are presented and compared. Results show that the third variation, namely, simulated evolution with tabu search characteristics gives the best resul

Analysis of Arable Crop Farmers’ Utilization of Unorthodox and Orthodox Healthcare Services in Oyo State, Nigeria.

This study analysed farmers’ utilization of Unorthodox and Orthodox health-care services in Oyo State, Nigeria. Primary data were collected using structured interview guide administered to 200 respondents selected using a multistage sampling technique. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC), Chi-square and t-test. Results showed that the mean age of the farmers was 52 years, majority (93.00%) were males, and 47.50% had no formal education. The average household size was 9 persons with mean income of N238,435.00 per annum while the mean farm size was 3.84 hectares. Almost (99.50%) all the farmers did not patronize unorthodox health care services. The farmers preferred orthodox over unorthodox health care services. Correlation analysis revealed significant relationships (p < 0.05) between farmers’ income level (r = 0.15); household size (r = 0.18) and their utilization of orthodox health-care services. Chi-square analysis showed a significant association (p < 0.01) between farmers’ educational level and utilization of unorthodox health-care services (?2 = 19.48, df = 5). There was a significant difference (p < 0.01) between the patronage of orthodox and unorthodox health-care services by farming households (t = 10.00, df = 398). The study concluded that more arable crop farmers in Oyo state patronized orthodox health-care services than unorthodox health-care services. It was recommended that Government should facilitate the establishment of orthodox health-care services in the rural communities to further increase utilization of available services within the medical sphere. Keywords: Arable crop farmers, utilization, healthcar

Domain Growth and Finite-Size-Scaling in the Kinetic Ising Model

This paper describes the application of finite-size scaling concepts to domain growth in systems with a non-conserved order parameter. A finite-size scaling ansatz for the time-dependent order parameter distribution function is proposed, and tested with extensive Monte-Carlo simulations of domain growth in the 2-D spin-flip kinetic Ising model. The scaling properties of the distribution functions serve to elucidate the configurational self-similarity that underlies the dynamic scaling picture. Moreover, it is demonstrated that the application of finite-size-scaling techniques facilitates the accurate determination of the bulk growth exponent even in the presence of strong finite-size effects, the scale and character of which are graphically exposed by the order parameter distribution function. In addition it is found that one commonly used measure of domain size--the scaled second moment of the magnetisation distribution--belies the full extent of these finite-size effects.Comment: 13 pages, Latex. Figures available on request. Rep #9401

Cytochrome P450 isoforms 1A1, 1B1 AND 2W1 as targets for therapeutic intervention in head and neck cancer

YesEpidemiological studies have shown that head and neck cancer (HNC) is a complex multistage process that in part involves exposure to a combination of carcinogens and the capacity of certain drug-metabolising enzymes including cytochrome P450 (CYP) to detoxify or activate such carcinogens. In this study, CYP1A1, CYP1B1 and CYP2W1 expression in HNC was correlated with potential as target for duocarmycin prodrug activation and selective therapy. In the HNC cell lines, elevated expression was shown at the gene level for CYP1A1 and CYP1B1 whereas CYP2W1 was hardly detected. However, CYP2W1 was expressed in FaDu and Detroit-562 xenografts and in a cohort of human HNC samples. Functional activity was measured in Fadu and Detroit-562 cells using P450-Glo™ assay. Antiproliferative results of duocarmycin prodrugs ICT2700 and ICT2706 revealed FaDu and Detroit-562 as the most sensitive HNC cell lines. Administration of ICT2700 in vivo using a single dose of ICT2700 (150 mg/kg) showed preferential inhibition of small tumour growth (mean size of 60 mm3) in mice bearing FaDu xenografts. Significantly, our findings suggest a potential targeted therapeutic approach to manage HNCs by exploiting intratumoural CYP expression for metabolic activation of duocarmycin-based prodrugs such as ICT2700.The authors would like to thank Bradford Institute for Health Research for funding a PhD studentship to DP through a competitive scheme and Yorkshire Cancer Research programme Grant (B381PA) for supporting our cytochrome P450-focused drug discovery research

Search for Gravitational Waves Associated with Gamma-Ray Bursts Detected by Fermi and Swift during the LIGO-Virgo Run O3b

We search for gravitational-wave signals associated with gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) detected by the Fermi and Swift satellites during the second half of the third observing run of Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo (2019 November 1 15:00 UTC-2020 March 27 17:00 UTC). We conduct two independent searches: A generic gravitational-wave transients search to analyze 86 GRBs and an analysis to target binary mergers with at least one neutron star as short GRB progenitors for 17 events. We find no significant evidence for gravitational-wave signals associated with any of these GRBs. A weighted binomial test of the combined results finds no evidence for subthreshold gravitational-wave signals associated with this GRB ensemble either. We use several source types and signal morphologies during the searches, resulting in lower bounds on the estimated distance to each GRB. Finally, we constrain the population of low-luminosity short GRBs using results from the first to the third observing runs of Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo. The resulting population is in accordance with the local binary neutron star merger rate. © 2022. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society