Agricultural land-use change and disappearance of farmlands in Kaduna Metropolis-Nigeria

This study assessed agricultural land-use change in Kaduna metropolis. This study combined the use of remote sensing and geographic  information system (GIS) application to ascertain the rate of agriculturalland-use change from 1980 to 2012 in the study area. The four imageries (Landsat MSS 1980, Landsat TM 1990, Landsat ETM+ 2005 and Nigeria Sat X 2012) used were classified and compared to understand the rate and extent of agricultural land-use change during the different periods. The  findings revealed that the study area experienced a significant reduction inagricultural land and these leads to continued disappearance of farmlands. Lastly, the decrease in agricultural lands leads to loss of livelihood, reduction in food supply and increase poverty. This has raised so many concerns about the sustainability of Urban and Peri Urban Agriculture (UPA) production in the study area whereby the small scale farmers are the most affected.Key Words: Land-Use, Urban, Farmers, Remote Sensing, Geographic Information System (GIS) and Kaduna, Nigeri

Diversity antenna for a wrist telephone

A radiotelephone wrist device includes a case having a transceiver and a strap attached to the case for fastening the device to a user's wrist. The strap has a top layer and a bottom layer. The top layer is attached to the bottom layer by a pivot mechanism which facilitates rotating at least a portion of the top layer with respect to the bottom layer. A microphone is located on the strap and electrically connected to the transceiver. A speaker is located at an end of the top layer of the strap and electrically connected to the transceiver. A first antenna is located in the bottom layer of the strap. A second antenna is located in the rotatable portion of the top layer of the strap.Published versio

Crystallization kinetics: A solution for geometrical impingement

Starting from the wrong derivation by Erukhimovitch and Baram of an equation alternative to the classical Kolmogoroff-Johnson-Mehl-Avrami one for the transformed fraction in an infinite specimen, undergoing an isothermal first-order phase transformation, it is shown that a different exact solution of the geometrical problem of impingement can be obtained. Such solution is equivalent to the empirical one already presented by Austin and Rickett more than sixty years ago and allows to better fit experimental results for isothermal transformations. This also suggests that perhaps different statistical derivations could allow to reach the same result.651

Association between vitamin D receptor gene polymorphisms and chronic periodontitis among Libyans

Background: Chronic periodontitis (CP) is a common oral disease characterized by inflammation in the supporting tissue of the teeth ‘the periodontium’, periodontal attachment loss, and alveolar bone loss. The disease has a microbial etiology; however, recent findings suggest that the genetic factors, such as vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene polymorphisms, have also been included.Aim: Investigation of the relationship between VDR gene polymorphisms and CP among Libyans.Materials and methods: In this study, we examined 196 unrelated Libyans between the ages of 25 and 65 years, including 99 patients and 97 controls. An oral examination based on Ramfjord Index was performed at different dental clinics in Tripoli and information were collected using a self-reported questionnaire. DNA was extracted from buccal swabs; the VDR ApaI, BsmI, and FokI polymorphisms were genotyped using polymerase chain reaction and were sequenced using Sanger Method.Results: A significant difference in the newly detected ApaI SNP C/T rs#731236 was found (p0.022), whereas no significant differences were found in ApaI SNP G/T rs#7975232, BsmI SNPA/G rs#1544410, and FokI SNP A/G rs#2228570 between patients and controls (p0.939, 0.466, 0.239), respectively.Conclusion: VDR ApaI SNP C/T rs#731236 may be related to the risk of CP in the Libyan population.Keywords: chronic periodontitis; vitamin D receptor; gene; polymorphisms; variations; SN

A review on corpus annotation for arabic sentiment analysis

Mining publicly available data for meaning and value is an important research direction within social media analysis. To automatically analyze collected textual data, a manual effort is needed for a successful machine learning algorithm to effectively classify text. This pertains to annotating the text adding labels to each data entry. Arabic is one of the languages that are growing rapidly in the research of sentiment analysis, despite limited resources and scares annotated corpora. In this paper, we review the annotation process carried out by those papers. A total of 27 papers were reviewed between the years of 2010 and 2016

PENGENALAN KEARIFAN LOKAL RATOP PADA GENERASI MELENIAL DESA REMPE SETELUK SUMBAWA BARAT

ABSTRAKKearifan local semakin melemah dikalangan generasi melenial saat ini dalam kehidupan bermasyarakat. Program pengabdian kepada masyarakat menjadi penting sebagai salah satu bagian dari Tridharma perguruan tinggi dalam meperkenalkan kearifal lokal ditengah masyarakat. Tujuan kegiatan pengabdian ini adalah  untuk Pengenalan Kearifan Lokal Ratop Pada Generasi Melenial Desa Rempe Seteluk Sumbawa Barat. Metode pelaksanaan kegiatan pengabdian masyarakat ini melalui pendampingan berbentuk teori dan praktek. Sasaran kegiatan yaitu para generasi melenial yang mau belajar tentang kearifal local ratop. Tempat kegiatan di Desa Rempe Kecamatan seteluk Kabupaten Sumbawa Barat. Hasil dari kegiatan pendampingan dalam pengenalan kearifan local ini adalah adanya motivasi dari generasi milenial untuk mau belajar tentang kearifan local terutama tentang Ratop. Kegiatan pengenalan melalui pendampingan kearifan local pada generasi milenial diberikan teori penggunaan Ratop dengan melibatkan orang tua yang sudah ahli dibidang tersebut. Keberhasilan kegiatan pengenalan kearifan local pada generasi milenial ini sebagai bentuk melestarikan budaya local di masa kini dan masa akan datang. Kata Kunci : pendampingan; kearifan local dan generasi Milenial  ABSTRACTLocal wisdom is getting weaker among the current millennial generation in social life. Community service programs are important as part of the Tridharma of higher education in introducing local wisdom in the community. The purpose of this service activity is to introduce Ratop Local Wisdom to the Millennial Generation of Rempe Seteluk Village, West Sumbawa. The method of implementing this community service activity is through mentoring in the form of theory and practice. The target of the activity is the millennial generation who wants to learn about the local wisdom of ratop. The place of activity is in Rempe Village, Seteluk District, West Sumbawa Regency. The result of this mentoring activity in the introduction of local wisdom is the motivation of the millennial generation to want to learn about local wisdom, especially about Ratop. Introduction activities through mentoring local wisdom in the millennial generation are given the theory of using Ratop by involving parents who are experts in the field. The success of the introduction of local wisdom to the millennial generation is a form of preserving local culture in the present and in the future. Keywords: mentoring; local wisdom and Millennial generatio

A Simple Iterative Model Accurately Captures Complex Trapline Formation by Bumblebees Across Spatial Scales and Flower Arrangements

PMCID: PMC3591286This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited

Signatures of a globally optimal searching strategy in the three-dimensional foraging flights of bumblebees

Simulated annealing is a powerful stochastic search algorithm for locating a global maximum that is hidden among many poorer local maxima in a search space. It is frequently implemented in computers working on complex optimization problems but until now has not been directly observed in nature as a searching strategy adopted by foraging animals. We analysed high-speed video recordings of the three-dimensional searching flights of bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) made in the presence of large or small artificial flowers within a 0.5 m3 enclosed arena. Analyses of the three-dimensional flight patterns in both conditions reveal signatures of simulated annealing searches. After leaving a flower, bees tend to scan back-and forth past that flower before making prospecting flights (loops), whose length increases over time. The search pattern becomes gradually more expansive and culminates when another rewarding flower is found. Bees then scan back and forth in the vicinity of the newly discovered flower and the process repeats. This looping search pattern, in which flight step lengths are typically power-law distributed, provides a relatively simple yet highly efficient strategy for pollinators such as bees to find best quality resources in complex environments made of multiple ephemeral feeding sites with nutritionally variable rewards

GERAKAN PENANAMAN POHON BERSAMA KARANG TARUNA DESA REMPE KECAMATAN SETELUK SUMBAWA BARAT

ABSTRAKKegiatan pengabdian kepada masyarakat ini sebagai bentuk usaha dalam melestraikan lingkungan asri ditingkat lingkungan desa dalam mendukung masyarakat SDGs khusus lingkungan berkelanjutan. Kegiatan pengabdian kepada masyarakat ini dengan tujuan : 1) Meningkatkan kesadaran masyarakat  akan pentingnya lingkungan asri di sekitar  dan  2)  memberikan semangat baru dalam motivasi menanam pohon dan pemeliharaan secara berkelanjutan; Metode pengabdian yang digunakan dalam kegiatan ini adalah sosialisasi, Pelaksanaan kegiatan padat karya dan evaluasi program. Pengabdian ini dilaksanakan pada minggu, 22 Mei 2022. Kegiatan penanaman pohon bersama karang taruna ini dilaksanakan pada Desa Rempe Kecamatan Seteluk Sumbawa Barat. Kegiatan pengabdian masyarakat ini memiliki dampak positif terhadap penghijauan jangka pendek dan panjang dalam melestarikan lingkungan masa akan dating. Kata Kunci: penanaman pohon; karang taruna dan lingkungan asri ABSTRACTThis community service activity is a form of business in preserving a beautiful environment at the village level in supporting the SDGs community specifically for a sustainable environment. This community service activity aims to: 1) Increase public awareness of the importance of a beautiful environment around them and 2) provide a new spirit in the motivation to plant trees and maintain them in a sustainable manner; The service method used in this activity is socialization, implementation of labor-intensive activities and program evaluation. This service was carried out on Sunday, May 22, 2022. This tree planting activity with youth groups was carried out in Rempe Village, Seteluk District, West Sumbawa. This community service activity has a positive impact on short and long term reforestation in preserving the environment in the future. Keywords: tree planting; youth organizations  and beautiful environment

Acute fatal presentation of ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency in a previously healthy male

Ornithine transcarbamylase (OTC) deficiency is an X-linked urea cycle defect. While hemizygous males typically present with hyperammonemic coma in infancy, reports of rare late-onset presentations exist, with poor outcomes in males up to 58 years old. Relatives with mutations identical to affected patients often remain asymptomatic, and it is likely that environmental and genetic factors influence disease penetrance and expression. Here, we present our investigation of a patient with late-onset presentation, and we emphasize the potential role of environmental and genetic factors on disease expression. The patient was a previously healthy 62-year-old man who developed mental slowing, refractory seizures, and coma over an 8-day period. Interestingly, the patient had recently used home gardening fertilizers and pesticides. Evaluations for drug and alcohol use, infections, and liver disease were negative. Despite aggressive therapy, blood NH3 concentration peaked at 2,050 μM and the patient died from cerebral edema and cerebellar herniation. Analysis of the OTC gene showed a Pro-225-Thr (P225T) change in exon 7, a mutation that has been previously implicated in OTC deficiency. This case illustrates that OTC deficiency can cause acute, severe hyperammonemia in a previously healthy adult and that the P225T mutation can be associated with late-onset OTC deficiency. We speculate that exposure to organic chemicals might have contributed to the onset of symptoms in this patient. This case also emphasizes that persistent hyperammonemia may cause irreversible neurologic damage and that after the diagnosis of hyperammonemia is established in an acutely ill patient, certain diagnostic tests should be performed to differentiate between urea cycle disorders and other causes of hyperammonemic encephalopathy