Fertility Status of Fadama Soils in Gantsare Village, Wamakko Local Government, Sokoto State As Affected by Cement Dust

A study was conducted in Gantsare village, Wamakko local government, Sokoto state to determine the effect of cement dust emitted from Sokoto cement factory on the fertility of fadama soils. Soil samples were collected in June, 2008 from the eastern, northeastern, and southeastern parts of the village and Girabshi; a nearby village with least effect of the dust. The samples were collected at two depths (0-15 and 15-30 cm) using simple random sampling method. Randomized complete block design (RCBD) was employed, replicated three times, making a total of 24 samples. The samples were analyzed for pH, OC, CEC, total N, available P, exchangeable bases (Ca, Mg, K and Na) and particle size. Almost all parameters determined were found to be statistically significant (P < 0.01). OC was found to be lower in concentration in the areas closer to the factory; eastern part6.25 respectively, likewise CEC and exchangeable bases. The trend in the results observed may be attributed to possible adverse effects of the dust on microbial population, reduction in the availability of some nutrients and a favour on the concentrations of exchangeable bases and CEC. The topsoils showed better results of all the soil chemical properties. The study recommends minimization of the amount of dust reaching agricultural soils and the use of phosphorus and nitrogen fertilizer supplements as soil management practices to enhance soil fertility status and enhance adequate crop yield in the area. Key words:Cement dust, fertility status, fadama soils, soil chemical properties, soil management

Polarized photoreflectance and photoluminescence spectroscopy of InGaAs/GaAs quantum rods grown with As2 and As4 sources

We report photoreflectance (PR) and photoluminescence (PL) investigations of the electronic and polarization properties of different aspect ratio (height/diameter) InGaAs quantum rods (QRs) embedded in InGaAs quantum wells (QWs). These nanostructures were grown by molecular beam epitaxy using As2 or As4 sources. The impact of the As source on the spectral and polarization features of the QR- and QW-related interband transitions was investigated and explained in terms of the carrier confinement effects caused by variation of composition contrast between the QR material and the surrounding well. Polarized PR and PL measurements reveal that the polarization has a preferential direction along the [ 110] crystal axis with a large optical anisotropy of about 60% in the (001) plane for high aspect ratio (4.1:1) InGaAs QRs. As a result, in PL spectra, the transverse magnetic mode dominated (110)-cleaved surfaces (TM[001] > TE[110]), whereas the transverse electric mode prevailed for (110)-cleaved surfaces (TM[001] < TE[110] ¯ ). This strong optical anisotropy in the (001) plane is interpreted in terms of the hole wavefunction orientation along the [ 110] direction for high aspect ratio QRs

Multi-messenger observations of a binary neutron star merger

On 2017 August 17 a binary neutron star coalescence candidate (later designated GW170817) with merger time 12:41:04 UTC was observed through gravitational waves by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors. The Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor independently detected a gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) with a time delay of ~1.7 s with respect to the merger time. From the gravitational-wave signal, the source was initially localized to a sky region of 31 deg2 at a luminosity distance of 40+8-8 Mpc and with component masses consistent with neutron stars. The component masses were later measured to be in the range 0.86 to 2.26 Mo. An extensive observing campaign was launched across the electromagnetic spectrum leading to the discovery of a bright optical transient (SSS17a, now with the IAU identification of AT 2017gfo) in NGC 4993 (at ~40 Mpc) less than 11 hours after the merger by the One- Meter, Two Hemisphere (1M2H) team using the 1 m Swope Telescope. The optical transient was independently detected by multiple teams within an hour. Subsequent observations targeted the object and its environment. Early ultraviolet observations revealed a blue transient that faded within 48 hours. Optical and infrared observations showed a redward evolution over ~10 days. Following early non-detections, X-ray and radio emission were discovered at the transient’s position ~9 and ~16 days, respectively, after the merger. Both the X-ray and radio emission likely arise from a physical process that is distinct from the one that generates the UV/optical/near-infrared emission. No ultra-high-energy gamma-rays and no neutrino candidates consistent with the source were found in follow-up searches. These observations support the hypothesis that GW170817 was produced by the merger of two neutron stars in NGC4993 followed by a short gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) and a kilonova/macronova powered by the radioactive decay of r-process nuclei synthesized in the ejecta

Mapping geographical inequalities in oral rehydration therapy coverage in low-income and middle-income countries, 2000-17

Background Oral rehydration solution (ORS) is a form of oral rehydration therapy (ORT) for diarrhoea that has the potential to drastically reduce child mortality; yet, according to UNICEF estimates, less than half of children younger than 5 years with diarrhoea in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) received ORS in 2016. A variety of recommended home fluids (RHF) exist as alternative forms of ORT; however, it is unclear whether RHF prevent child mortality. Previous studies have shown considerable variation between countries in ORS and RHF use, but subnational variation is unknown. This study aims to produce high-resolution geospatial estimates of relative and absolute coverage of ORS, RHF, and ORT (use of either ORS or RHF) in LMICs. Methods We used a Bayesian geostatistical model including 15 spatial covariates and data from 385 household surveys across 94 LMICs to estimate annual proportions of children younger than 5 years of age with diarrhoea who received ORS or RHF (or both) on continuous continent-wide surfaces in 2000-17, and aggregated results to policy-relevant administrative units. Additionally, we analysed geographical inequality in coverage across administrative units and estimated the number of diarrhoeal deaths averted by increased coverage over the study period. Uncertainty in the mean coverage estimates was calculated by taking 250 draws from the posterior joint distribution of the model and creating uncertainty intervals (UIs) with the 2 center dot 5th and 97 center dot 5th percentiles of those 250 draws. Findings While ORS use among children with diarrhoea increased in some countries from 2000 to 2017, coverage remained below 50% in the majority (62 center dot 6%; 12 417 of 19 823) of second administrative-level units and an estimated 6 519 000 children (95% UI 5 254 000-7 733 000) with diarrhoea were not treated with any form of ORT in 2017. Increases in ORS use corresponded with declines in RHF in many locations, resulting in relatively constant overall ORT coverage from 2000 to 2017. Although ORS was uniformly distributed subnationally in some countries, within-country geographical inequalities persisted in others; 11 countries had at least a 50% difference in one of their units compared with the country mean. Increases in ORS use over time were correlated with declines in RHF use and in diarrhoeal mortality in many locations, and an estimated 52 230 diarrhoeal deaths (36 910-68 860) were averted by scaling up of ORS coverage between 2000 and 2017. Finally, we identified key subnational areas in Colombia, Nigeria, and Sudan as examples of where diarrhoeal mortality remains higher than average, while ORS coverage remains lower than average. Interpretation To our knowledge, this study is the first to produce and map subnational estimates of ORS, RHF, and ORT coverage and attributable child diarrhoeal deaths across LMICs from 2000 to 2017, allowing for tracking progress over time. Our novel results, combined with detailed subnational estimates of diarrhoeal morbidity and mortality, can support subnational needs assessments aimed at furthering policy makers' understanding of within-country disparities. Over 50 years after the discovery that led to this simple, cheap, and life-saving therapy, large gains in reducing mortality could still be made by reducing geographical inequalities in ORS coverage. Copyright (c) 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.Peer reviewe

Search for type-III seesaw heavy leptons in leptonic final states in pp collisions at s√=13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search for the pair production of heavy leptons as predicted by the type-III seesaw mechanism is presented. The search uses proton–proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to 139fb−1 of integrated luminosity recorded by the ATLAS detector during Run 2 of the Large Hadron Collider. The analysis focuses on final states with three or four electrons or muons from the possible decays of new heavy leptons via intermediate electroweak bosons. No significant deviations above the Standard Model expectation are observed; upper and lower limits on the heavy lepton production cross-section and masses are derived respectively. These results are then combined for the first time with the ones already published by ATLAS using the channel with two leptons in the final state. The observed lower limit on the mass of the type-III seesaw heavy leptons combining two, three and four lepton channels together is 910 GeV at the 95% confidence level

Observation of electroweak production of two jets in association with an isolated photon and missing transverse momentum, and search for a Higgs boson decaying into invisible particles at 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This paper presents the measurement of the electroweak production of two jets in association with a $Z\gamma$ pair with the $Z$ boson decaying into two neutrinos. It also presents the search for invisible or partially invisible decays of a Higgs boson with a mass of 125 GeV produced through vector-boson fusion with a photon in the final state. These results use data from LHC proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV collected with the ATLAS detector corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb$^{-1}$. The event signature, shared by all benchmark processes considered for measurements and searches, is characterized by a significant amount of unbalanced transverse momentum and a photon in the final state, in addition to a pair of forward jets. For electroweak production of $Z\gamma$ in association with two jets, the background-only hypothesis is rejected with an observed (expected) significance of 5.2 (5.1) standard deviations. The measured fiducial cross-section for this process is 1.31$\pm$0.29 fb. Observed (expected) upper limit of 0.37 (0.34) at 95% confidence level is set on the branching ratio of a 125 GeV Higgs boson to invisible particles, assuming the Standard Model production cross-section. The signature is also interpreted in the context of decays of a Higgs boson to a photon and a dark photon. An observed (expected) 95% CL upper limit on the branching ratio for this decay is set at 0.018 (0.017), assuming the 125 GeV Standard Model Higgs boson production cross-section

Nuorten päihteiden käyttö ja vanhempien saama tuki

Nuorten päihteiden käyttö on lisääntynyt viime vuosina. Nuoret eivät yleensä ole päihteistä riippuvaisia, mutta satunnainenkin kokeilu ja käyttö ovat haitallisia. Päihteiden käyttö voi olla yksittäinen ongelma, mutta myös osa suurempaa ongelmakokonaisuutta. Tämän vuoksi nuoren tilannetta tulee tarkastella kokonaisvaltaisesti. Päihteiden käyttöä ei aina huomata, ja sen ilmeneminen voi olla sokki läheisille. Päihteiden käyttö on ongelma käyttäjälle, mutta voi sairastuttaa myös läheiset. Läheiset, usein nuorten vanhemmat, tarvitsevat myös tukea ja neuvoa tilanteessa. Vanhempien oma asenne ja päihdekäyttäytyminen sekä nuoren asioista perillä oleminen ovat tärkeitä ehkäiseviä tekijöitä nuoren päihteiden käytölle. Myös nuoren oma asenne päihteisiin sekä sosiaaliset suhteet ja onnistumisen kokemukset ovat päihteiltä suojaavia tekijöitä. Tämä opinnäytetyö on tehty kokoamalla kattavasti teoriatietoa päihteistä, niiden käytöstä ja haitoista. Etelä-Karjalan sosiaali- ja terveyspiirin (Eksoten) internet-sivuilta selvitettiin, mistä ja miten voi hakea apua ja neuvoja läheisen päihteiden käytön ongelmiin. Lisäksi tehtiin kysely päihdenuorten vanhemmille. Kyselyllä selvitettiin päihdenuorten vanhempien omaa kokemusta saamastaan tuesta sosiaali- ja terveysalan ammattilaisilta. Tulokset analysoitiin empiirisesti. Tulosten mukaan osa vanhemmista on tyyty-väisiä saamaansa tukeen, osa taas kokee, ettei ole saanut tarpeeksi tukea ja tietoa. Päihdepalvelujen parempi ja määrällisesti laajempi saatavuus on kyse-lyyn vastanneiden vanhempien toiveissa. Tästä voidaan päätellä, että päih-denuorten vanhemmat otetaan huomioon ja tukea on tarjolla, mutta kaikkia tuki ei tavoita. Jatkotutkimuksessa voisi selvittää millaiseksi päihdenuoret kokevat saamansa hoidon. Lisäksi voisi selvittää miten sosiaali- ja terveysalan ammattilaiset koke-vat voivansa vaikuttaa nuorten päihdekäyttäytymiseen ja miten sosiaali- ja ter-veysalan ammattilaiset voisivat ottaa päihdenuorten vanhemmat paremmin huomioon. Kirjallisen nuorten päihdeasioita käsittelevän oppaan tekeminen ja jakaminen vanhemmille voisi olla hyödyllinen.Intoxicant use and abuse in young people has increased in recent years. Young people are generally not dependent on intoxicants, but occasional experimentation and use are harmful. Intoxicant use can be a single problem or part of a larger set of problems. Because of this, the situation of the young people should be considered from a broad perspective. Intoxicant use is not always noticed and its appearance may be a shock to those close to the user. Intoxicant use is a problem in the user, but can cause problems for families and friends, as well. Closely related, commonly parents, also need support and counsel in these situations. Parent's own attitudes and customs to use intoxicants, and knowing well issues about young people are important preventive factors for young people's intoxicant use. Also young people's attitude to intoxicant use and social affairs and experience of success are protective factors for intoxicant use. This thesis has been done by collecting comprehensive information on theory of intoxicant consumption and drawbacks of them. With the help of South Karelia District of Social and Health Service's websites, information about where and how to get help and advice for those close to young people with problems was found. In addition to this has been done an inquiry to parents of young people who use intoxicants. By the inquiry, the parents own experiences of having support from professionals in social and health care were examined. The results were analyzed empirically. According to the results, a proportion of parents are satisfied for support they have got, whereas part of parents find that they have not had enough support and information. The parents hope for better and wider availability of services for intoxicant users. Parents of young intoxicant abusers were taken into ac-count, and support services are available, but they do not reach all who need them. For further study, the opinions of the young people, and also of the health professionals about care of intoxicant abusers would be of interest