Analysis of Annual Maximum Rainfall Series using Method of L-Moments in Some Selected Sites in South-South Geographical Zone, Nigeria

Determination of the extent of peak rainfall for different return periods is an essential ingredient for the accurate design of hydraulic structures such as drains, dams and culverts as well as detection of flood risk areas. The focus of this study is to analyze annual maximum daily rainfall series in some selected sites within the coastal region of Nigeria using three parameter probability distribution models, namely, Generalized Logistics (GLO), Generalized Extreme Value (GEV) and Generalized Pareto (GPA) with the view of identifying the best fit probability distribution model per station that can be employed to estimate the rainfall magnitude for selected return periods. Specific time series analysis test, namely, detection of outlier and homogeneity test were performed to certify that the data utilized are adequate and suitable. Descriptive statistics such as sample mean, variance, standard deviation, kurtosis, skewness, and coefficient of variation were computed using basic statistical equations. The probability weighted moment parameters (b0, b1, b2 and b3), L-moment values (λ1, λ2, λ3 and λ4) and ratios (τ2, τ 3 and τ4) including the distribution parameters, namely, shape (k), scale (α) and location (ξ) parameters were computed based on L-moments procedures. To select the best-fit probability distribution model per station, carefully chosen goodness-of-fit statistics, namely, root mean square error, relative root mean square error, maximum absolute deviation index, maximum absolute error and probability plot correlation coefficient were employed since they can adequately assess the fitted distribution at a site. Results obtained indicate that the GLO is the best fit distribution for analyzing annual maximum daily rainfall series from Warri and Calabar while GPA for Port Harcourt and Uyo

Introduction: Climate Change and Planned Retreat

Chapter 1. This edited volume advances our understanding of climate relocation (or planned retreat), an emerging topic in the fields of climate adaptation and hazard risk, and provides a platform for alternative voices and views on the subject. As the effects of climate change become more severe and widespread, there is a growing conversation about when, where and how people will move. Climate relocation is a controversial adaptation strategy, yet the process can also offer opportunity and hope. This collection grapples with the environmental and social justice dimensions from multiple perspectives, with cases drawn from Africa, Asia, Australia, Oceania, South America, and North America. The contributions throughout present unique perspectives, including community organizations, adaptation practitioners, geographers, lawyers, and landscape architects, reflecting on the potential harms and opportunities of climate-induced relocation. Works of art, photos, and quotes from flood survivors are also included, placed between sections to remind the reader of the human element in the adaptation debate. Blending art – photography, poetry, sculpture – with practical reflections and scholarly analyses, this volume provides new insights on a debate that touches us all: how we will live in the future and where? Challenging readers’ pre-conceptions about planned retreat by juxtaposing different disciplines, lenses and media, this book will be of great interest to students and scholars of climate change, environmental migration and displacement, and environmental justice and equity

Emission dispersion modeling and geospatial analysis of vehicular emissions in some parts of Benin City, Nigeria

Over the years, decline in air quality has been connected to the growing rate of urbanization and increasing number of vehicles on the roads. Most of the pollutants emitted from vehicular activities have been observed to have adverse effects on individuals as well as the atmosphere. Although, the focus of this study is to develop an emission dispersion model to predict the concentration of specific air pollutants with distance, the application of geostatistical technique such as Kriging interpolation to study the spatial distribution of pollutants from vehicular emissions around the study area was also exemplified. Seven (7) georeferenced points, namely, Ugbowo main gate, Ekosodin junction, Agen junction, Super D junction, Nitel junction, Okhunmwun junction and Oluku market junction were used for data collection. Pollutants from vehicular emissions, namely, nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO) including the total radiation were monitored in the morning and evening for a period of 35 days (7th July to 12th August 2020) with the aid of portable toxic gas monitors and radiation alert meters. Other parameters of interest, which were also measured include maximum temperature and wind speed using infra-red thermometers and portable anemometer respectively. To ascertain the quality of the data, selected preliminary analysis, namely, test of normality, test of homogeneity, outlier detection and reliability test were done. Result of the study showed a high concentration of NO2, CO and total radiation around Ugbowo main gate and Okhunmwun community and environs especially during the peak hours of evening (5.0 p.m. – 6.0 p.m.) when the traffic load is high

Nutrition Tea Club : engaging students in reading scientific papers

Many students do not engage with reading the scientific literature, which is a core skill in undergraduate students. The learning environment has an important impact upon learning. It was postulated that taking reading out of the formal learning environment might impact upon students’ willingness to engage with the literature, and confidence in doing so. A staff-student research partnership initiative funded by Kingston University allowed this hypothesis to be tested. Three Tea Club sessions, informal drop-in reading sessions were offered in a student-owned space within the Students’ Union. Refreshments were supplied, aiming for a ‘coffee house’ feel. Although the numbers of students who engaged with the Tea Club were small, evaluations were positive. In particular students valued the opportunity for peer learning. However the chosen environment was too noisy. Future sessions will be offered within a different, less noisy environment with facilities for refreshments, and will be offered throughout the academic year to facilitate student engagement.Keywords: Learning environment, peer support, extracurricular, scientific readin

The Physico-Chemical Parameters Of An African Arid Zone Man Made Lake

Physico-chemical studies were conducted in lake Alau, a large reservoir in the northeast arid zone of Nigeria, between October, 2001 and September, 2002. Five stations were selected to determine the physico-chemical characteristics. The results showed that water temperature values ranged from 23 oC to 27 oC, depth varied from 2.85 m to 7.23m, water current was between 19.62 cm/sec and 26.71 cm/sec, Secchi disc transparency ranged from 0.26 m to 0.42 m, pH varied from 6.59 to 7.29, conductivity was between 118.41 homs/cm and 131.45 homs/cm, free CO2 ranged from 2.55 mg/l to 3.06 mg/l, Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) was between 4.30 mg/l and 5.31 mg/l and nitrate-nitrogen concentration was between 30.30 mg/l and 47.0 mg/l. There were significant differences (P < 0.05) between these parameters in relation to stations. Generally, the physico-chemical characteristics of lake Alau fall within the productive values for aquatic systems, and strongly indicate that the lake is unpolluted. Keywords: vAnimal Research International Vol. 1 (2) 2004 pp. 113-11

KEEPING UP WITH GLOBAL TRENDS: ASSESSING PRIVATE TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS' TRAINING AND RETRAINING PROCESSES IN NIGERIA

This study examines the lifelong learning processes of tertiary institutions in Nigeria. One of the most unique attributes of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) is the ability to simplify processes and aid efficiency. Institutions are not run the way they used to some decades back. This is attributed to the evolution of ICT. Since new technologies evolve at astonishing speed, it should be expected that tertiary institutions should not only learn of them, but also adopt them in their administrative processes. This brings to the fore the role of staff members in ensuring the success of this process. This study, therefore, examines the processes adopted by selected tertiary institutions to train and retrain their staff to be able to keep up with ICT trends using multinomial logistic model approach

Artificial Intelligence for Detecting Preterm Uterine Activity in Gynacology and Obstertric Care

Preterm birth brings considerable emotional and economic costs to families and society. However, despite extensive research into understanding the risk factors, the prediction of patient mechanisms and improvements to obstetrical practice, the UK National Health Service still annually spends more than £2.95 billion on this issue. Diagnosis of labour in normal pregnancies is important for minimizing unnecessary hospitalisations, interventions and expenses. Moreover, accurate identification of spontaneous preterm labour would also allow clinicians to start necessary treatments early in women with true labour and avert unnecessary treatment and hospitalisation for women who are simply having preterm contractions, but who are not in true labour. In this research, the Electrohysterography signals have been used to detect preterm births, because Electrohysterography signals provide a strong basis for objective prediction and diagnosis of preterm birth. This has been achieved using an open dataset, which contains 262 records for women who delivered at term and 38 who delivered prematurely. Three different machine learning algorithm were used to identify these records. The results illustrate that the Random Forest performed the best of sensitivity 97%, specificity of 85%, Area under the Receiver Operator curve (AUROC) of 94% and mean square error rate of 14%

Biochemical and genetic analysis of Ecm14, a conserved fungal pseudopeptidase

© 2020, The Author(s). Background: Like most major enzyme families, the M14 family of metallocarboxypeptidases (MCPs) contains a number of pseudoenzymes predicted to lack enzyme activity and with poorly characterized molecular function. The genome of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae encodes one member of the M14 MCP family, a pseudoenzyme named Ecm14 proposed to function in the extracellular matrix. In order to better understand the function of such pseudoenzymes, we studied the structure and function of Ecm14 in S. cerevisiae. Results: A phylogenetic analysis of Ecm14 in fungi found it to be conserved throughout the ascomycete phylum, with a group of related pseudoenzymes found in basidiomycetes. To investigate the structure and function of this conserved protein, His6-tagged Ecm14 was overexpressed in Sf9 cells and purified. The prodomain of Ecm14 was cleaved in vivo and in vitro by endopeptidases, suggesting an activation mechanism; however, no activity was detectable using standard carboxypeptidase substrates. In order to determine the function of Ecm14 using an unbiased screen, we undertook a synthetic lethal assay. Upon screening approximately 27,000 yeast colonies, twenty-two putative synthetic lethal clones were identified. Further analysis showed many to be synthetic lethal with auxotrophic marker genes and requiring multiple mutations, suggesting that there are few, if any, single S. cerevisiae genes that present synthetic lethal interactions with ecm14Δ. Conclusions: We show in this study that Ecm14, although lacking detectable enzyme activity, is a conserved carboxypeptidase-like protein that is secreted from cells and is processed to a mature form by the action of an endopeptidase. Our study and datasets from other recent large-scale screens suggest a role for Ecm14 in processes such as vesicle-mediated transport and aggregate invasion, a fungal process that has been selected against in modern laboratory strains of S. cerevisiae

Relevance and Use of News Bulletin in Public Information Dissemination within Academic Communities: A Case Study of Three Universities in Ogun State, Nigeria

This study focuses on the relevance and use of news bulletin in public information dissemination within academic communities. Three Universities in Ogun State, Nigeria were selected for the study. A total of 500 copies of questionnaires were distributed but only 432 copies were returned for analysis. The study utilized factor analysis to extract major factors that promote the use of the medium in public information dissemination within the community. The findings revealed that almost all respondents see news bulletin as a good means of communication and collaboration and the major factors that promote its uses in the community are utility, worthiness, credibility and consistency. However, a good number of them believed that it does not give room for feedback. In conclusion, the study recommends that management should correct the paucities in the production and distribution systems of the medium in reporting current happenings in the community at regular intervals. Keywords: Information dissemination, News bulletin, Academic community, Communication, Tertiary institutions