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Student difficulty in public administration has witnessed some writings within the African context. Although these studies are emerging, there seems to be minimal research on the influence of school libraries on students' understanding of public administration. This gap in the public administration literature precludes educational managers from determining whether or not the variable influences students understanding of the course/programme. Not establishing this places educational managers in a situation that inhibits them from placing measures to enhance the understanding of the course from the lenses of school libraries. This study responds to the gap in the public administration literature by employing a mixed-method approach to investigate the influence of the variable in the study of public administration by Ghanaian and Nigerian university students using a sample of N = 650. Anchored on the Culturo-Techno- Contextual Approach, the study results suggest "significant differences in corruption, governance, and defining public administration" (p < 0.001) when there are poor school libraries. Both theoretical and practical implications have been proferred for the use of school libraries to enhance students' understanding of difficult concepts in the study of public administration in Ghanaian and Nigerian universities.

Abstract Purpose: Large-angle horizontal ocular deviations will commonly require bilateral surgery to correct the primary ocular deviation. However, considering the need for full correction with one surgical procedure and patients' reluctance to be operated on the good eye, such large horizontal ocular deviations may be managed with true muscle transplantation. The authors present a case series of patients who underwent this procedure and develop a surgical table to guide management. Methods: Patients with horizontal squints measuring 80 prism diopters (PD) or larger in all age groups who underwent extraocular muscle transplantation surgery between January 2019 and June 2022 in Nigeria were included. Preoperative deviation of the squint, sensory evaluation, surgical dosage, and outcomes were documented. Part of the resected muscle was transplanted to give additional recession in the antagonist muscle. Success was defined as deviation corrected by 60% or more or postoperative ocular alignment within 10 PD or less, six weeks postoperatively. Results: Fourteen patients with extra-large-angle strabismus were operated. Male/female ratio was 0.6:1. Mean preoperative deviation of 89.6 ± 9.3 collapsed to 6.6 ± 1.8 PD at six weeks and continued to improve to a mean deviation of 2.5 PD at six months postoperatively. When the subgroup of patients who were < 18 years were analyzed, the outcome was equally successful; preoperative deviation of 89.4 PD collapsed to 1.4 PD, six months postoperatively. There were equal success rates when those with sensory strabismus were compared with those with binocular vision; preoperative deviation of 92.5 PD in the sensory group and 88.5 PD in the binocular group collapsed to 5.9 PD and 1 PD, respectively, six months after surgery. Conclusion: A viable alternative for treating extra-large-angle strabismus in adults and children in developing countries was described with good postoperative outcome. In addition, a new expanded surgical dosage table for muscle transplantation surgery corrections of up to 130 PD was developed.

Hepatocellular carcinoma is a prevalent form of liver cancer that is life threatening. Many chemically synthesized anti-cancer drugs have various degrees of side effects. Hence, this study investigated the effect of FEAC interventions on NDEA-CCl4-induced HCAR in male Wistar rats. HCAR was induced by intraperitoneal administration of 200 mg/kg of NDEA and 0.5 mL/kg CCl4 (as a promoter of HCAR). Following the induction of HCAR, rats were treated differently with two different doses (25 and 50 mg/kg) of FEAC. HCAR induction was confirmed by the significant elevation of serum levels of ALT, AST, and α-FP. Also elevated significantly were liver levels of Akt/PKB, NF-κB, TNF-α, MDA, GSH, and activities of GST, SOD, and CAT, while levels of liver p53 and Nrf2 were significantly lowered compared with normal rats. Treatment interventions with both 25 and 50 mg/kg of FEAC against the DEN-CCl4-induced HCAR gave comparable effects, marked by a significant reduction in the levels of serum ALT, AST and α-FP, as well as liver levels of MDA, GSH, Akt/PKB, NF-κB, TNF-α, GST, SOD, and CAT, while levels of liver p53 and Nrf2 were significantly elevated compared with normal rats. Put together and judging by the outcomes of this study, FEAC being a potent antioxidant may also be potent against chemical-induced HCAR via upregulation of p53 and Nrf2, as well as downregulation of the Akt/PKB-NF-κB pathway in rats.

Despite the recognized significance of achieving financial inclusion in Nigeria, there is limited studies in this area. This gap primarily arises from the prevailing focus in existing literature on financial inclusion in Nigeria, which predominantly emphasizes the supply side. Therefore, this study delved into the role of financial self-efficacy as a mediator in the relationship between demand-side factors and the financial inclusion of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in selected local governments in Oyo State. The study employed a cross-sectional survey design, the study gathered primary data through structured questionnaires and utilized a structural equation model for analysis. The findings reported a significant positive link between financial attitude and financial inclusion (p-value: 0.000). Likewise, there was a noteworthy positive association between subjective norms and financial inclusion (p-value: 0.001), as well as between personal experience and financial inclusion (p-value: 0.003). Intriguingly, financial self-efficacy emerged as a substantial obstacle to financial inclusion, acting as a mediating factor with a p-value of (0.002). By evaluating the mediation effect, this study shows how financial self-efficacy enhance individuals MSMEs owners to confidently undertake financial tasks and decisions and consequently, financial inclusion in relation to their attitude, experience and subjective norms respectively. Consequently, the study recommends the promotion of positive financial attitudes among individual MSMEs to facilitate continuous access to diverse financial services. Financial service providers should prioritize the establishment of an effective and sustainable financial system that offers affordable services to MSMEs. Furthermore, community leaders are encouraged to play a role in motivating their members to actively engage in the formal financial sector.

The reduction in energy consumption through the energy performance improvement in the use of artificial lighting system found in all sectors of the economy is one of the very important strategies of achieving sustainable energy development. In contrast to conventional lighting, light-emitting diodes (LEDs) provide better energy efficiency. To effectively optimize the performance and efficiency of the LED lighting, the LED heat needs to be dissipated adequately. In the present work, the cooling performance of a radial heat sink with trapezoidal fins is numerically investigated under the consideration of natural convection and radiation. The study investigated the influence of the number of fins (20≤Nf≤36), the height of the fins (15mm≤hfH≤35mm) and the applied heat flux (300W/m2≤q˙≤1100W/m2) on the thermal resistance (Rth) and heat transfer coefficient (havg) of the heat sink. The numerical results obtained from this work were validated with literature, and an excellent agreement was established. The results found that both the Rth and the havg of the heat sink decreased as the number of fins (Nf) and fin height (hfH) increased. Meanwhile, the number of fins (Nf) has an optimal value for achieving the heat sink's effective cooling performance.

Graffiti is one of the salient and less recognized deviant behavours in schools and among the research scholars, particularly in Nigeria. In view of this, this study investigated the patterns of graffiti behaviour among in-school adolescents in Ilorin metropolis, Kwara State. The study followed the descriptive survey design; using a proportionate sampling technique to select 390 respondents. The instrument used was a self-designed "Patterns of Graffiti Behaviour Questionnaire" with Cronbach reliability coefficient of 0.81. About 74 copies of the questionnaire were not returned; while 126 copies were wrongly filled; hence, 200 copies of the questionnaire were included in data analysis. Percentage, t-test and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) statistics were the data analyses tools employed in this study. The results showed that inscription on the school toilet walls, drawing sex organ on toilet walls and drawing of a female's breast on school wall to communicate sexual harassment are the topmost patterns of graffiti behaviour among in-school adolescents in Ilorin metropolis. The hypotheses tested indicated that (gender, age and family; p=0.10; 0.08 and 0.16>0.05) have no significant influence on the patterns of graffiti behaviour among the respondents. Sequel to the outcome of this research, relevant recommendations were provided.

The contamination of edible agricultural goods with pesticides, including dichlorvos (DVDP), poses a substantial public health risk, promoting severe morbidity and mortality, especially in developing countries. It has been shown that hesperidin (hesperetin-7-O-rhamnoglucoside or Hes-7-RGlc) preserves cytomembrane, redox, and lipid homeostasis; unfortunately, its function on dichlorvos-incited heart damage has not been investigated. This work explored the ameliorative influence of Hes-7-RGlc on DVDP-activated cardiotoxicity. For this end, forty-two rats were randomly appropriated into seven groups (6 rats/group): Control, DVDP alone (8 mg.kg⁻¹day⁻¹), DVDP supplied with either Hes-7-RGlc (50 and 100 mg.kg⁻¹day⁻¹) or the reference medication atropine (0.2 mg.kg⁻¹day⁻¹), and Hes-7-RGlc alone (50 and 10 mg.kg⁻¹day⁻¹) were the seven groups investigated. DVDP was administered orally for seven days, followed by fourteen days of Hes-7-RGlc therapy. Then the rats were euthanized, and their blood and hearts were removed. Hes-7-RGlc chemotherapy substantially (p

This study explored the impact of pulsation on the hydro-thermal behavior of an interrupted microchannel heat sink. A homogeneous blend of Al2O3-water was employed as the coolant. The investigation considers the influence of varying amplitude, pulsation frequency and Reynolds number. Findings indicate that using pulsating flow instead of steady flow substantially improved the thermal efficiency of the microchannel. The pulsating flow was observed to improve the Nusselt number by 17.43 %, 33.38 %, 50.66 %, 68.39 %, and 86.12 % at 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 Hz, respectively compared to a steady flow. However, with heat transfer enhancement, there is an accompanying pressure drop caused by pulsating flow. Pressure drops increased with the pulsation frequency and reached a maximum value of 0.2695 MPa at f = 25 Hz and A = 0.8. Nevertheless, the performance evaluation criteria showed that although pulsating flow increases pressure drop, it offers significantly better overall thermal and hydraulic performance than steady flow. The PEC improved by 90.47 % at Re = 100, f = 25 Hz, and A = 0.2. The results demonstrate a conceivable technique to use pulsating flow to improve heat transfer performance in systems with high power density in confined spaces.

Employing sustainable energy systems is a must fact of the current years. Urban districts can lead the decarbonization process of cities to allow the development of decentralization energy systems such as district heating. On the other hand, the exergy analysis combined with energy evaluation can be a suitable way to investigate the efficiency and flexibility of an energy system. In this framework, this study investigates the optimal energy and storage systems to feed a district heating network. Four types of energy systems were analyzed, such as boilers, cogeneration plants, solar systems and the combination of them. The size of the thermal energy storage of the network is investigated in terms of volume and temperature. In parallel, the exergy efficiency of all the systems was calculated. The optimal heating system configuration to feed the studied district heating is the cogeneration plant with solar collectors, according to both the temperature trend fluctuation and exergy efficiency of the system. Moreover, the employment of thermal energy storage is crucial to face the renewable energy source’s variability. As a further investigation, additional exergy indicators can be studied to underline the performances of such an decentralized energy system to increase the quality of the built environment.

This study evaluates how the board composition and asset quality of Nigerian deposit money banks affected their financial performance. The study used a sample size of 20 out of 33 deposit money banks and an ex-post facto research design. Panel least square regression techniques were then used to assess the secondary data gathered from the audited financial records of the participating deposit financial institutions for the years 2014 to 2021. The study found that while asset quality has a negative impact on the performance of Nigerian banks, the size of the board and the makeup of the credit committee have a beneficial impact. As a result, the study came to the conclusion that board qualities and asset quality are two further elements that affect deposit money bank performance in Nigeria. In order to ensure that its members are appropriately diverse and in compliance with the Corporate Governance Code, the study proposed that the size of deposit money institutions' boards be rationalized. In order to guarantee that banks are not exposed to excessive risk, it was also advised that the Central Bank of Nigeria should keep an eye on the operations of the credit committee.

Fermentation has been used for centuries to enhance the sensory and nutritional qualities and the antioxidant content of plant-based foods, making them beneficial for health. This study aims to investigate the microbiological and nutritional qualities of fermented porridges produced in northern Benin. Various nutritional tests and the identification of different microorganisms have gained insights into eight porridges produced in 9 localities of northern Benin. Lactic acid bacteria have the highest proportion among all microorganisms in fermented porridges, followed by the total mesophyll aerobic flora. E. coli, thermotolerant coliforms, and molds are not present in all porridges analyzed. Recorded data suggested that porridges have a variable microbial load depending on the collection municipalities. The dry matter of the eight types of porridge varies greatly, with akloui having 27.03 ± 3.83 g/100 g and fourra having 48.63 ± 3.83 g/100 g. The total ashes also differ significantly, with bita having 39.36 ± 4.67 g/100 g and sagagnèga having 63.19 ± 4.67 g/100 g. It is worth noting that all fermented porridges have a pH lower than 5, and the titratable acidity ranges from 0.01 ± 0.00 g to 0.02 ± 0.00 g. The brix degree varies from 0.46 ± 0.54 to 4.4 ± 0.54. The beta-carotene values of the 8 types of porridge vary from 0.037 ± 0.018 mg/g to 0.138 ± 0.018 mg/g, while the total sugars range from 1.926 ± 0.877 to 5.773 ± 0.877 g/100 g. The lipid content, when present, varies from 0.226 ± 0.029% to 0.408 ± 0.029%. Finally, the protein percentage of the porridge ranges from 7.061 ± 0.779 to 12.419 ± 0.779.

Voluntary SME tax compliance has been of great interest to governments all over the world, given their unimpressive contribution to total tax revenue. This is even more so in Nigeria where the culture of tax compliance among SMEs can be described as poor, requiring innovative enforcement strategies. This study examined the extent to which tax enforcement strategies served as antidote to non-tax compliance in the North-West Nigeria. The study collected quantitative data from 345 randomly and purposively selected SMEs owners duly registered in North-west, Nigeria. The data was subjected to both descriptive and inferential analysis through techniques of central tendency and multiple regressions. Results revealed that three tax enforcement strategies: Use of tax clearance certificate (β=0.024 < 0.003), grant of tax amnesty (β=0.025< 0.020), and imposition of tax penalty (β = 0.013 < 0.014) have significant positive influence on degree of tax compliance among SMEs in the North-West Nigeria. Given the significant statistical evidence, this research inferred and concluded that deployment of both punitive (tax penalty) and persuasive measures (tax clearance certificate and tax amnesty) serve as antidote to non-tax compliance among the SMEs in the North-West, Nigeria. The study shows that tax compliance across informal sectors can be enhanced beyond the use of legal means. In essence, governments have the leverage of achieving increase in tax revenue in the informal sector through multiple strategies of motivation and punishment as implicitly emphasized in the theory of tax morale and deterrence theory.

E-commerce platforms like Amazon, Jumia, Airbnb, Alibaba, eBay and JD.com amongst others play a huge role in linking sellers of products to interested buyers. Consumers generally ask questions in order to know if the product of interest will meet their needs. Relying on existing product reviews posted online by other consumers who have once purchased and used the product becomes a viable option to waiting for direct answers from the community question answer system. They are usually forced to spend time manually wading through these numerous customer reviews, a task which is cumbersome. This motivated to use Bi-directional Auto-regressive Transformer (BART) model for both question-answerability classification and answer generation. A dataset provided by Gupta et al. and conducted on Amazon Mechanical Turk was used for the experiment. It was observed that BART outperformed the heuristic baselines on all the metrics considered with existing models of long short term memory, convolutional neural network and bidirectional encoder representative from transformers. Based on the BART performance, a fuzzy based rule was introduced with system parameters defined for the classification of product-related question answering review into linguistic variables for good purchase decision making. The classification is in line with well-formed responses to product-related questions based on existing customer reviews using BART heuristic baselines.

Palm oil (PO), the most consumed edible oil, is persistently adulterated with Sudan IV dye (S4D). We investigated the potential hematological derangements occasioned by ingesting S4D-adulterated PO. Thirty male albino rats were grouped into five (n = 6); Control, PO (10%), PO + S4D (100 mg), PO + S4D (250 mg), and S4D (250 mg). Rats received unadulterated or S4D-adulterated PO through diet for 21 days. Exposure to S4D (alone and via adulterated PO) provoked significant (p 0.05) in the unadulterated PO-exposed rats compared to the control. These results reveal the potential hematotoxic and immunotoxic effects of adulterating PO with S4D.

There have been few studies on topic difficulty in the public administration curriculum of African universities. This is further problematized by non-existent literature on the relationships between gender, future career interest and country of study on student difficulty in the study of public administration. This is a gap in the public administration literature which this study attempts to fill. The work is significant to the extent that our understanding of 'where the shirt tights' regarding topics that students find difficult will guide teachers and other stakeholders in applying appropriate remedies. The purpose of the study is to find out (a) what topics in public administration students find difficult to learn; (b) if there are statistically significant relationship between gender and concept difficulty in the study of public administration in African universities; (c) if there are statistically significant relationship between student's career interest and concept difficulty in the study of public administration; and (d) if there are statistically significant relationship between country of study and concept difficulty in the study of public administration. Quantitative method was employed with sample (N = 650). The study reports bureaucracy, decentralization, public policy and politics as moderately difficult; significant relationship between gender and concept difficulty; and significant relationship between student future career interest and concept difficulty. We suggest curriculum development that would improve students' knowledge by laying more emphasis on the perceived difficult areas in the study of public administration, gender, and encourage early students' interest in public sector career choices.

Background: Eleusine coracana, a grain crop that may reach a height of 170 cm, is frequently referred to as a cereal food. It is a member of the Poaceae genus of plants. Due to its extreme toxicity at very low quantities, lead (Pb) is one of the most significant trace heavy metals to be examined.Aim: The main objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of lead in finger millet in the capital city of the Niger State.Methods: The lead metal was determined by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) following a pressurized microwave-assisted wet digestion and the use of muffle furnace on the processed/certified finger millet samples with a combination of nitric acid, sulfuric acid, and perchloric acid (4:1:2). Based on calibration with a fortified analytical solution, the measurements were made (lead chloride).Results: With the exception of Suleja millet, which recorded a range of 0.01-1.55 mg/L, the concentration of lead in finger millet samples evaluated in all Local Governments was found to be over the WHO recommended level of acceptable lead in cereals (0.01-0.05 mg/L). The LG (0.170.08 mg/L at range of 0.09-0.32 mg/L) and Kontagora Local Government (1.570.24 mg/L at range of 1.19-1.93 mg/L) had the highest and lowest amounts, respectively. Average lead values in different types of finger millet collected from diverse LGs were statistically different from one another (p

Abstract Background Thyrotoxicosis is a common endocrine disorder. The clinical presentation is variable, and it is often misdiagnosed or diagnosed late in Africa. This study was aimed at collating and analyzing the clinical characteristics of the disease across the continent so as to enhance correct and timely diagnosis. Methods The study is a systematic review with a meta-analysis. Studies, done in Africa, which documented the clinical features of thyrotoxicosis were selected. African Journal Online (AJOL), PubMed, SCOPUS and Google Scholar, Research Square, SciELO, and medRxiv were systematically searched using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The study quality was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale. Heterogeneity was determined using I 2 statistic and Cochran’s Q test. LFK index and the symmetry of the Doi plot were used to assess publication bias. Results The eligible studies were 59 and the total sample size was 9592. The most common symptoms of thyrotoxicosis on the continent included palpitations (69%), weight loss (65%), heat intolerance (64%), tiredness (49%), increased appetite (49%), hyperhidrosis (48%), and insomnia (47%). The most common signs were thyromegaly (88%), tachycardia (67%), sweaty palms (54%), hand tremor (49%), and exophthalmos (49%). Atrial fibrillation, heart failure, and thyrotoxic heart disease were found in 9, 12, and 22% respectively. Other findings were hypertension (25%) and diabetes (9%). Conclusion Clinical presentation of thyrotoxicosis varies, and understanding these peculiarities would mitigate misdiagnosis and delayed diagnosis in Africa.

Slippery sequences in mRNA can cause the ribosome to change its reading frame. Using smFRET, Poulis et al. show how reversible fluctuations of peptidyl-tRNA slow down translocation, alter ribosome dynamics, and favor spontaneous ribosome frameshifting.

Background: Trypanosomes cause the parasitic condition, which is transmitted by tsetse fly. The disease is characterized by intermittent fever, anemia, and frequent diarrhea. This study examined antioxidant and anti-trypanosomal effects of the aqueous extract of garlic in mice. Methods: The extract’s phytochemical screening and antioxidant activity were performed based on standard methods. The acute toxicity was evaluated via Lorke’s method and the anti-trypanosomal effect was evaluated in mice at 100, 250 and 500 mg/kg over 16 days. Results: The screening identified phenols, flavonoids, tannins, alkaloids and saponins. Phenols were present at the highest amount (291.88±6.12 mg/100g) and alkaloids were present the least (13.66±0.03 mg/100g). At 100 µg/mL, the extract quenched 53.20% of the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals with an inhibition concentration (IC50) of 12.44 µg/mL. The lethal dose (LD50) of the extract was determined to be >5000 mg/kg in mice. The extract exhibited high anti-trypanosomal activity at 500 mg/kg and lowered the parasitemia count of 9.7±1.15. This was comparable to the diminazene aceturate activity at 5 mg/kg. The extract at 500 mg/kg significantly increased the packed cell volume and bodyweight of the infected mice. There were no significant differences in many hematological indices comparing the control mice to those that received the extract at 500 mg/kg. Conclusion: The garlic extract had a significant anti-trypanosomes effect and ameliorated the anemic condition induced by infection with trypanosomes. Therefore, the extract may become a therapeutic candidate for the management of trypanosomal infections.

Objective: The increased prevalence of leftover medicines in the community is currently a global concern due to the detrimental effects on the environment and health. However, several developing countries have failed to give sufficient consideration to the issue. The primary purpose of this study was to describe the prevalence of leftover medicines, disposal practices, and the factors affecting those in households in Arba Minch Town, Southern Ethiopia. Methods: A community-based, descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among households in Bere Edigetber and Nech Sar of Arba Minch town, from June 25 to August 27, 2022. Data were gathered through face-to-face interviews with revalidated structured questionnaires. A multistage sampling technique was utilized to select each household. Results: Three hundred forty-eight households agreed to participate in a study, resulting in a 94.8% response rate. Of the study participant, 172 (49.4%) of the households had leftover medicines, with antibiotics being the most common (64% of 172). Subsidy of symptoms and saving for later use were two frequently cited reasons for the presence of leftover medicines in the house. Throwing leftover medicines in household garbage was the preferred method of disposal (>60%). Only 0.1% of respondents considered returning leftover medicines to healthcare facilities or professionals. A binary regression analysis identified four predictors for having leftover medicines. Medicines obtained without prescription were the strongest predictor (odds ratio = 3.7; p

Mobile agents are agents that can migrate from host-to-host to work in a heterogeneous network environment. A mobile agent can migrate from host-to-host in its plan with the statistics generated on each host through a route known as migration pattern. Migration pattern therefore is the route the agents use to travel within the plan from the first host to the last host. However, there is a need for a comparison between the commonly used optimization algorithms in developing migration patterns for mobile agents with respect to some evaluation metrics. In this paper, the three techniques firefly algorithm (FFA), honeybee optimization (HBO) and particle swarm optimization (PSO) were used for developing migration patterns for mobile agents and their comparison was done based on migration time, time complexity and network load as metrics. PSO is discovered to perform better in terms of network load with an average of 242.3905 bits per second (bps), time complexity with an average of 41.2688 number of nodes (n), and migration/transmission time with an average of 4.203462 seconds (s). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sometimes even with the best efforts by the eye care worker (ECW), patients cannot be stopped from losing vision even in the best of centers anywhere in the world. However, in developing countries, most vision loss happens in rural and suburban areas away from where ECWs are majorly located due to poor facilities, adverse living conditions, and poverty. Once irreversible blindness happens, rehabilitation should follow. However, the numbers of those who are not referred for rehabilitation by far outstrips those who are, for various reasons. To find out why this is so, 150 ECWs with 1:2 M:F ratio were contacted through Google links sent through WhatsApp groups. Glaucoma was statistically the commonest cause of irreversible blindness (χ2 = 66.17, p -value <.0001) mostly from late presentation (n = 146 of 150 responses, 97.7%). When patients go blind, most (n = 132, 87.4%) of the ECW advise them to go to a blind school (81.2%). Only about a quarter of the respondents properly ensure that they go. A third admitted (n = 78, 39%) that knowing the patients personally improved their willingness to refer. Many do not think the government is doing enough to help the blind (n = 118, 78.7%). Even though many ECWs have given sensitization talks on blindness (124 of 164 responses), very few focus on what happens after blindness occurs (42.4% of respondents). A third of the ECW admitted to not doing enough for the blind in their practice (n = 51, 34%). Majority have, however, heard about The Lens Eye Clinic (TLEC) rehab center, one of the foremost rehabilitation centers for the blind in Nigeria (n = 103, 68.7%). ECW should ensure those who live in rural areas have poor socioeconomic background, less educated, female, elderly, or born blind should have regular screening and awareness programs in the areas of practice to catch the condition on time with provision made for early counseling and support services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Employing sustainable energy systems is a must fact of the current years. Urban districts can lead the decarbonization process of cities to allow the development of decentralization energy systems such as district heating. On the other hand, the exergy analysis combined with energy evaluation can be a suitable way to investigate the efficiency and flexibility of an energy system. In this framework, this study investigates the optimal energy and storage systems to feed a district heating network. Four types of energy systems were analyzed, such as boilers, cogeneration plants, solar systems and the combination of them. The size of the thermal energy storage of the network is investigated in terms of volume and temperature. In parallel, the exergy efficiency of all the systems was calculated. The optimal heating system configuration to feed the studied district heating is the cogeneration plant with solar collectors, according to both the temperature trend fluctuation and exergy efficiency of the system. Moreover, the employment of thermal energy storage is crucial to face the renewable energy source's variability. As a further investigation, additional exergy indicators can be studied to underline the performances of such an decentralized energy system to increase the quality of the built environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluates both short-run and long-run impacts of credit financing facilities provided by commercial banks on crop production development in Nigeria from 1981 to 2020. The study adopts ex post-facto research design and obtains data on the study variables from Central Bank of Nigeria Statistical Bulletin and World Bank Development Indicators. Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model approach was employed as an estimation technique. The outcome of the analysis produces significant negative effect of commercial banks loans and advances on crop production development in the short run. In the long run, however, commercial banks loans and advances and labour employment in agriculture sector exert significant positive impact on crop production development in Nigeria. The researchers conclude that commercial banks credit financing significantly increase contribution of agriculture to Nigeria gross domestic product in the long-run while it reduces crop productivity in the short-run.