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Introduction: Oral health is defined as a state of being free of mouth and facial pain, oral infections and sores, and other diseases that limit an individual's capacity for biting, chewing, smiling, speaking, and psychosocial well-being. This study assessed the knowledge, barriers, and facilitators of oral health knowledge among Pharmacists in Enugu, Nigeria. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of 163 pharmacists in two tertiary hospitals in Enugu, South East, Nigeria. Data on sociodemographic profiles, knowledge of oral health care, barriers, and facilitators of oral health knowledge was collected. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 26 and P < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: There were more female 96 (58.9%) than male pharmacists 67 (41.1%). Their mean age was 32.98 ± 8.33 years. The majority of respondents, 56 (34.4%) graduated between 2010 and 2019, and 44 (27%) had additional qualifications. Many of the pharmacists 88 (54%) believed that oral health is part of general health. Also, 107 (65.6%) of the respondents had a good knowledge of oral health while 56 (34.4%) had poor knowledge. There was a significant association between academic qualification (P = 0.04) and having good knowledge of oral health care among pharmacists with those with additional qualifications having better knowledge than the others. Poor creation of oral health awareness by dentists 106 (65.0%) was considered as the main barrier to having good oral health knowledge by the pharmacists. Conclusion: More than half of the pharmacists had good knowledge of oral health and academic qualification was associated with having a good knowledge of oral health care among pharmacists in the study population.

An analysis of review articles on solar drying of agricultural products is presented. The review also discusses detailed economic evaluation methods and market participation approaches for transitioning solar dryers from the workshop to the market. This study aims to serve as a model for future solar drying reviews. In addition to broad perspective reviews, most reviews focused on using thermal storage, hybrid technologies, solar greenhouses, 4E evaluations, software applications and crop quality. From most of the reviews, solar dryers with thermal storage are now a viable substitute for fossil energy source dryers and can provide the continuous temperature range of 40–60 °C required to dry food crops. When phase change material is deployed, the transition temperature should be at 5 °C above the desired drying temperature. However, all reviews included sections on types, classification, mode of airflow through the collector, and use of thermal storage in solar drying. Hence, the authors review nearly the same research material, but review gaps remain. Thus that aspect was covered by examining the economic and exergoeconomic analysis methods used in solar dryer evaluations. Again agribusiness inter-phasing between researchers and users, which will spore market participation of solar dryer fabricators lacking in the literature were presented. Therefore, for a more market-oriented development of solar thermal technologies, solar dryer producers must engage in market-oriented production. The nature of markets located at different places calls for better strategies to improve market orientation and access to solar dryers and fabricators.

The paper presents the environmental sustainability of the Nigeria transport sector (NTPS) through the decomposition and decoupling analysis from 1988–2019. The study’s objective is to determine ways of saving energy in the NTPS and reduce carbon emission for a sustainable environment. The approach was based on the Logarithmic Mean Divisa Index (LMDI) and the Tapio approach, built on Kaya extended identity. Five decoupling indicators were considered based on the four energy carriers consumed in the NTPS. The indicators include economic activity, energy structure, economic structure, population and energy intensity. The results identified three decoupling states, weak negative decoupling, weak decoupling and strong decoupling. The energy intensity, economic activity, population and energy structure prevented decoupling during the study period, while the economic structure factor promoted decoupling. The overall impact of carbon emissions from NTPS was calculated at 44.45 million tonnes of CO2. The study suggests frameworks that will support policy makers to formulate broad base policies for environmental sustainability.

Serological surveys provide an objective biological measure of population immunity, and tetanus serological surveys can also assess vaccination coverage. We undertook a national assessment of immunity to tetanus and diphtheria among Nigerian children aged p < 0.001). Full seroprotection (≥0.1 IU/mL) was the same for tetanus (42.2%) and diphtheria (41.7%), while long-term seroprotection (≥1 IU/mL) was 15.1% for tetanus and 6.0% for diphtheria. Full- and long-term seroprotection were higher in boys compared to girls (p < 0.001). Achieving high infant vaccination coverage by targeting specific geographic areas and socio-economic groups and introducing tetanus and diphtheria booster doses in childhood and adolescence are needed to achieve lifelong protection against tetanus and diphtheria and prevent maternal and neonatal tetanus.

The study presents a power-cooling organic Rankine cycle with an ejector system (ORCPCES). The objective is to determine the thermodynamic, economic and sustainability of the ORCPCES from the manufacturing, commissioning and decommissioning phases. Component-wise modelling was first performed based on the exergy concept. The system simulation was carried out using a developed source code in Engineering Equation Solver (EES). The refrigerant leakages and the material component impact on the environment were evaluated at all phases of the plant life cycle. The results indicate that the evaporator cooling rate (ECR) and the power-cooling efficiency (PCE) varied from 120.8 to 153 kW and 28.87 to 34.43 % across the refrigerants with the highest PCE and exergy efficiency obtained using R1234ze. The maximum power output was obtained using R1234ze. The overall environmental impact due to the components occurred at5.1×105mPts, 5.24×105mPts and 5.4×105mPts for R245fa, R1234yf, and R1234ze, respectively, while 4.01×105mPts 7.81×104mPts and9.33×105mPts was due to the working fluids in that order. The unit cost of electricity (UCOE) across the refrigerants varies from 0.181$/kWh to 0.2291$/kWh with the least UCOE, 0.181$/kWh obtained using R1234ze. The highest exergetic sustainability index of 0.56 was achieved using R1234ze.

The aromaticity and CDFT properties of naphthalene and its aza-derivatives were theoretically investigated using density functional theory (DFT) electronic structure method. The reactivity and chemistry of Azanaphthalene (1-AN), 1, 2-diazanaphthalene (1, 2-DAN), 1, 3-diazanaphthalene (1, 3-DAN), 1, 4-diazanaphthalene (1,4-DAN), 1, 5-diazanaphthalene (1, 5-DAN), 1, 6-diazanaphthalene (1, 6-DAN), 1, 7-diazanaphthalene (1,7-DAN) and 1, 8-diazanaphthalene (1, 8-DAN) were thoroughly explored and predicted focusing more on the fuzzy atomic space analysis, quantum chemical descriptors (CDFT), natural bond orbital (NBO), and structural electronic properties. The CDFT is focused on predicting the condensed Fukui function and dual descriptors along with condensed local electrophilicity and nucleophilicity investigation. From the aromaticity computational study, 1,7-DAN gave PDI, FLU, FLU-π, PLR, HOMA, BIRD and LOLIPOP values of approximately one (1) was found to be the most aromatic in the group, and strongest π-stacking ability. The aromaticity follows the trend: 1, 7-DAN > 1, 8-DAN > 1, 5-DAN > 1, 6-DAN > 1, 4-DAN > 1, 2-DAN > 1-AN > naphthalene. The second order perturbation energy NBO analysis revealed that the 3 highest stabilization energies in the molecules are C6–Na to C3–C4 (π∗−π∗ 236.90 kcal/mol) of 1, 6-DAN, C3–C4 to C1–C2 (π∗−π∗236.37 kcal/mol) of 1-AN and C7–N10 to C2–C4 (π∗−π∗235 kcal/mol) of 1, 3-DAN.

Background: Hand injuries sometimes cause significant loss of function with psychological and functional consequences. The national status on dedicated specialised hand surgery units, hand surgery fellowship programmes, and outcome of operative hand surgery cases is generally lacking. Aims: To determine the current state of hand surgery practice in south eastern Nigeria and identify the major challenges to its practice and proffer realistic solutions. Methods: This was a prospective and cross-sectional study conducted amongst accredited hospitals for plastic surgery training in south eastern Nigeria amongst plastic surgery senior residents. Data were collected using a well-structured online questionnaire validated by a panel of investigators created as a Google form. Data analysis was carried out using Statistical package for Social Sciences by IBM, version 22. Ethical approval was obtained from the health, research, and ethical committee of the University of Enugu Teaching Hospital, Enugu, Nigeria. Results: There was a 70.59% response rate with 24 residents filling and submitting the questionnaire. Lack of fellowship training opportunities in hand surgery represents the most important challenge of hand surgery practice, followed by lack of appropriate facilities in government institutions in contrast to a lack of funding in private ones. Other major challenges include lack of adequate funding, lack of facilities, late presentation of cases, and lack of appropriate follow-up physiotherapy protocol. Availability of competent hand surgery specialists was significantly correlated with the frequency of hand surgery cases in the facilities (P = 0.000; χ2 = 20.400). Conclusion/Recommendation: The current state of hand surgery practice in south eastern Nigeria is not yet optimal. The creation of more hand fellowship trainings and courses bagged first place in recommended solutions by nearly half of the respondents. Provision of modern facilities, creation of dedicated hand surgical units, and better funding to the specialty were other suggestions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research study aims to investigate the factors influencing customer choices between e-cab services and traditional taxis in Calabar, focusing on service quality, operational efficiency, pricing strategies, and customer incentives. Addressing gaps in existing literature, the study explores the unique preferences and decision-making criteria of customers in the Calabar metropolis when selecting transportation services. Employing a cross-sectional, descriptive design, the research utilized a structured questionnaire to collect data from 463 adults who have used both e-cab and traditional taxi services. The questionnaire was developed by the researchers, validated by experts and trial-tested for reliability purposes. The reliability coefficient was estimated at .93 using the Cronbach alpha reliability estimate. Collected data were subjected to analysis using descriptive statistics, relative important index, independent t-test and analysis of variance. The analysis revealed that the key factors influencing customer choices in Calabar between e-cab services and traditional taxis include convenience, cleanliness, ride comfort, safety, and cost-related incentives; Customer demographics such as age, gender, and income level did not significantly influence preferences between e-cabs and taxis in Calabar and that service speed, reliability, and competitive pricing strategies play a crucial role in customer decision-making. Recommendations include prioritizing service quality, implementing competitive pricing strategies, and focusing on service speed and reliability to enhance customer satisfaction and retention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, design and performance analysis of 500KVA pumped water energy storage solar power plant for a university campus is presented. The case study site is Akwa Ibom State University Main Campus with geo-coordinates of 4.621437, 7.763922, daily mean sunshine hours of 7.13 hours, mean ambient temperature of 26.74 °C and an annual mean solar radiation of 6.22 kW-hr/m^2/day. The case study is a 24 hours per day power supply system with daily energy demand of 9,600.0 KWh/day which requires hydro turbine with water flow rate of 1.45 /s and pumped water storage reservoir capacity of 413,498.94 to accommodate 3 days of power autonomy. With reservoir water head of 30 m and 7.13 hours of pumping water per day, 40 parallel pumps are required each having a flow rate of 0.1342 and power rating of 47.638 KW. With solar radiation of 6.22 peak sun hours per day it requires a total of 11,458 PV modules, each rated at 300 watts to form a 3,437.528 KW PV array to power the pumps. Also, a total inverter size of 10,421 is required, split into 40 units of 260.5217 KVA inverter, one for each of the 40 water pumps. The efficiency of the solar power segment alone is 63.5%, the efficiency of the hydro power segment alone is 70.7 % while the combined efficiency of the solar hydro plant is 44.9%. In all, careful combination of direct supply and pumped water storage is needed to optimize the system efficiency

Background: This was a cross-sectional community-based survey to study the prevalence of serum antibodies against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 1 (SARS-COV-1) and determine possible source of antibodies as to whether from vaccination or from natural infection as well as attempt to compare antibody levels in response to the different four types of vaccines administered in Nigeria. Methods: A cross-sectional community-based study of the prevalence of serum antibodies against all four vaccine types used in Nigeria amongst a representative sample of people aged 18 years and above in the six geopolitical zones of the country using a multistage sampling technique covering 12 states of the country with two states being randomly selected from each geopolitical zone. High-throughput Roche electrochemiluminescence immunoassay system (Elecsys Anti-SARS-COV-1 Cobas) was used for qualitative and quantitative detection of antibodies to SARS-COV-1 in human plasma. Results: There was no statistically significant difference between the proportions with seropositivity for both the vaccinated and the unvaccinated (P = 0.95). The nucleocapsid antibody (anti-Nc) titres were similar in both the vaccinated and the unvaccinated, whereas the Spike protein antibody (anti-S) titres were significantly higher amongst the vaccinated than amongst the unvaccinated. Antibody levels in subjects who received different vaccines were compared to provide information for policy. Conclusion: While only 45.9% of the subjects were reported to have been vaccinated, 98.7% of the subjects had had contact with the SARS-COV-1 as evidenced by the presence of nucleocapsid (NC) antibodies in their plasma. The 1.3% who had not been exposed to the virus, had spike protein antibodies which most likely resulted from vaccination in the absence of NC antibodies. Successive vaccination and booster doses either through heterogeneous or homologous vaccines increased antibody titres, and this stimulation of immune memory may offer greater protection against coronavirus disease 2019.

Recently, the use of switched reluctance motors (SRMs) has considerably increased due to technological developments of systems and devices requiring more control. More so, peculiar features of SRMs such as robustness, reliability, low cost construction makes it ideal for applications in ventilation systems, pumps and systems that require high speed. However, SRMs have the problem of torque ripples and high acoustic noise from design and development stage. The torque ripples experienced by the SRM ensues as the rotor tries to align itself to an excited phase on the stator. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to design and develop a 3 phase, 6/4 switched reluctance motor in order to reduce the issues of torque ripple and acoustic noise. Finite element analysis software (Ansys-Maxwell) was used to carry out the nonlinear electromagnetic transient analysis of the motor while the control topology used was simulated using the MATLAB software. The design stages involved suitable assumptions which were made for the stator design, winding design and rotor design. The results from the analysis and performance of the motor have been presented in the work. The magnetic field plot of the developed motor does not present saturation effect on any part. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following the rising cases of high hospitalization versa-vise incessant fatality rates and the close affinity of listeriosis with HIV/AIDS infection, which often emanates from food-borne pathogens associated with listeria monocytogenes infection, this present paper seek and formulated as penultimate model, an 8-Dimensional classical mathematical Equations which directly accounted for the biological interplay of dual listeriosis virions with dual set of population (human and animals). The model was studied under multiple chemotherapies (trimethoprimsulphamethoxazole with a combination of penicillin or ampicillin and/or gentamicin). Using ODE's, the positivity and boundedness of system solutions was investigated with model presented as an optimal control problem. In the analysis that follows, the study explored classical Pontryagin's Maximum Principle with which the model optimality control system as well as existence and uniqueness of the control system were established. In correlating the derived model with clinical implications, numerical validity of the model was conducted. Results indicated that under cogent and adherent to specify multiple chemotherapies, maximal recovery of both human and animal infected population was tremendously achieved with consequent rapid decline to near zero infection growth. The study therefore suggests further articulation of more chemotherapies and early application at onset of infection for a visible elimination of listeriosis infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work introduces a newly developed kinetic mechanism and thermodynamic study that gives a clear theoretical insight between the iodine and chromium in acid solution. The paper mainly focuses on evaluating kinetic mechanism and thermodynamic properties of the oxidation of iodide by dichromate ion in acidic medium. This study was investigated using iodometric method. The rate has been studied by appropriate choice of concentrated conditions at constant temperature and ionic strength. The kinetic studies revealed half order reaction with respect to dichromate ion, first order for iodide ion and second order for hydrogen ion concentration. The dependence of reaction rate on the temperature was monitored in order to generate some thermodynamic parameters, which can be used in predicting the direction and spontaneity of the reaction. The thermodynamic studies of this reaction revealed negative values for ΔG, ΔS and positive values for ΔH which is an indication that the reaction was spontaneous and endothermic. The oxidant chromium (vi) exist in acidic media as H2CrO4. The effect of ionic strength on the rate of redox reaction was investigated. The ionic strength was adjusted by varying the concentration of the nitrate to maximum. The effect of temperature was also studied to evaluate the thermodynamic parameters. Transition metals should be use as catalyst for future purpose to monitor the rate of redox reaction. The techniques employed on this research are very useful in determining the rate of a redox reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]