Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU) is a federal university of technology located in Bauchi, north east Nigeria. The university is named after the first Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa. The motto of the university is "Doctrina Mater Artium", which means "Education is the mother of the practical arts".The university was established in 1980 as the Federal University of Technology, Bauchi. The institution's first students were admitted in October 1981 for pre-degree and remedial programmes while the degree courses of the School of Science and Science Education began in October 1982. On 1 October 1984, the university was merged with Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria with a change of name to Abubakar Tafawa Balewa College, Ahmadu Bello University, Bauchi campus. The university regained its autonomous status in 1988 following a general demerger of such institutions. This was followed by a change of name to Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi.The academic pattern of the university was formulated in 1980 after consultation with subject experts from Nigeria, United Kingdom and the United States of America. The curriculum adopted was applied in nature, as suited a technologically based institution, and this theme is maintained in all the units of the university.The university offers degrees through seven schools: the School of Engineering, Science, Environmental Technology, Agriculture, Management Technology, the School of Technology Education and College of Medical Sciences. It offers entry level bachelor's degrees and both Masters and Doctorate degrees. Each school is headed by a Dean/Provost who reports directly to the Vice Chancellor. The Vice Chancellor is the executive head of the university. The Vice Chancellor is appointed by the Federal Ministry of Education on recommendation by the Governing Council of the University.
Global population growth underlies the need to explore alternative materials to address pressing challenges in food security, medicine, energy, and environmental pollution. Spirulina is a nutrient dense cyanobacteria that offers promising solutions to the aforementioned challenges, mainly due to its rich composition of proteins, vitamins, minerals, and bioactive compounds such as β-carotene and phycocyanin. These compounds confer various health benefits, including antioxidant, anticancer, anti-diabetic, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory properties, which make Spirulina a valuable dietary and therapeutic supplement. Essential fatty acids and its rapid growth rate also makes Spirulina a potential source of biodiesel for energy related applications. Additionally, Spirulina's high porosity and variable functional groups endow it with remarkable biosorption properties for soil and wastewater remediation applications. The chemical structure and unique properties of Spirulina have been utilized to produce biotemplates for nanomaterials as well as the fabrication of functional composites for various applications. Thus, in this review, we have highlighted the broad potentials of Spirulina in diverse applications, emphasizing its eco-friendliness, economic viability, challenges, and the prospects of its biomass for sustainable, nutraceutical, therapeutic, energy related, and environmental applications.
This study develops and evaluates a blockchain–IoT framework for enhancing digital banking security, with a focus on the Nigerian financial ecosystem. Unlike prior works that apply blockchain in generic contexts, this research addresses unique challenges facing developing economies, including weak authentication mechanisms, insider fraud, and systemic vulnerabilities in centralized infrastructures. The framework integrates IoT-based payment processes with blockchain protocols to deliver tamper-proof, real-time transactions, supported by lightweight consensus. Implemented in Python and tested under simulated banking conditions, the model demonstrates stable one-second block intervals, simulated peak throughput exceeding 237,000 transactions per second under controlled execution conditions, and robust handling of diverse transaction values. A comparative evaluation of Proof of Authority (PoA), Proof of Stake (PoS), and Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance (PBFT) confirms PoA as the most practical for IoT-enabled banking in Nigeria, balancing scalability, energy efficiency, and real-time validation. By situating blockchain within Africa’s digital economy and providing a context-sensitive consensus analysis, this study advances both the theoretical and applied understanding of secure, decentralized payment infrastructures. The findings lay the groundwork for real-world deployment of blockchain-based solutions to strengthen digital banking security and financial inclusion in emerging markets.
A hernia is the abnormal protrusion of a viscus through a defect in the surrounding wall. Laparoscopic repair is increasingly favored over open surgery for ventral hernias due to its minimally invasive approach. However, consolidated evidence comparing their outcomes remains limited. This study aimed to compare outcomes including surgical site infection, hospital stay, operative time, and hernia recurrence between laparoscopic and open ventral hernia repair in adult patients, using evidence from randomized controlled trials and cohort studies. We systematically searched PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library from 2000 to the current year. Eligible studies included randomized controlled trials and observational (prospective or retrospective cohort) studies comparing laparoscopic and open ventral hernia repair in adults (≥18 years) and reporting at least one of the outcomes of interest. Studies were excluded if they focused on pediatric populations, assessed only one outcome, or were case reports, meta-analyses, reviews, editorials, or studies addressing only inguinal/incisional hernias without specifying inclusion under ventral hernias. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane RoB 2 tool and Newcastle–Ottawa Scale. Considering the included studies differed in clinical characteristics such as hernia type, defect size, mesh materials, fixation techniques, and surgeon experience a random effects model was selected before analysis as the most appropriate statistical approach, A random-effects meta-analysis was conducted and results presented narratively and using forest plots.hig. Nineteen studies (3 RCTs and 16 cohort studies; 7,826 patients) were included. Laparoscopic repair significantly reduced the risk of surgical site infection (RR = 0.36, 95
The accelerating rise in anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions poses a critical threat to global climate stability, necessitating scalable and technologically robust mitigation strategies. Carbon capture and utilization (CCU) have emerged as a key approach for reducing emissions while simultaneously transforming CO2 into fuels, chemicals, and value-added products. This review provides a comprehensive and integrated assessment of recent advances in CO2 capture technologies, advanced capture materials, and utilization pathways, with emphasis on their combined role in influencing conversion efficiency, material performance, and system-level techno-economic outcomes to support net-zero and circular-carbon objectives. Contemporary capture approaches, including pre-combustion, post-combustion, oxy-fuel combustion, and direct air capture, are critically examined alongside emerging materials such as functionalized carbons, graphene-based composites, zeolites, metal–organic frameworks, and hybrid sorbent–catalyst systems. The review further evaluates state-of-the-art CO2 utilization routes, including dry reforming of methane, bi- and oxy-reforming, CO2-assisted dehydrogenation, and catalytic hydrogenation to fuels and chemicals, highlighting how material and capture performance directly affect conversion efficiency and process integration. In addition, this review incorporates a dedicated techno-economic assessment (TEA) of CCU technologies, critically evaluating capital and operating costs, energy requirements, process efficiency, scalability, and market competitiveness across major capture and utilization pathways. Key scientific, technological, and economic barriers hindering large-scale CCU deployment are identified, including capture–conversion coupling, energy intensity, catalyst durability, and the interdependence of material selection and process performance. Finally, future research directions are outlined to accelerate the transition of CCU from laboratory-scale innovations to commercially viable, integrated carbon management solutions. By synthesizing advances in CO2 capture, utilization, and techno-economic performance within a unified framework, this work provides strategic insights for advancing CCU as a practical pathway for emissions reduction and sustainable chemical production.
Nitrogen fertilizer is essential for maintaining crop yields. However, excessive application degrades soil structure, accelerates soil nutrient loss, and threatens sustainable agriculture. Organic amendments can alleviate in alleviating soil degradation, but the effects of different organic amendments on aggregate stability and soil organic carbon stock (SOCs) under long-term nitrogen fertilization remain poorly understood. This study was conducted during the winter wheat season within a winter wheat–summer maize rotation system in the North China Plain. In this season, irrigation is frequent, agricultural inputs are intensive, and carbon loss is considerable. Enhancing SOCs in this season is therefore crucial for maintaining soil fertility and productivity. A two-year experiment was conducted under long-term nitrogen fertilization using a split-plot design. The main plots consisted of two nitrogen levels: N0 (0 kg ha−1) and N240 (240 kg ha−1). Four types of OA as the subplots: straw return (S), chicken manure (M), mushroom residue (MR), and biochar (B). Results showed that nitrogen fertilizer and organic amendments significantly increased SOCs, with N240-B showing the highest SOCs, 21.61 % higher than that of the S (P<0.05). In > 5 mm aggregates, the SOCs of N0-B were the highest, 100.59 % and 22.27 % greater than those of N0-S and N240-B, respectively. In the 0.25–0.5 mm aggregates, the SOC of N240-S was significantly higher than other treatments, 192.57 % and 44.57 % higher than N240-B and N0-S, respectively. Meanwhile, nitrogen fertilizer reduced aggregate stability, whereas organic amendments increased the proportion of macroaggregates and the stability of aggregates. The MWD of N0-B was the highest, 22.79 % greater than that of N0-S. Path analysis and random forest modeling indicated that SOCs in the 0.25–0.5 mm fraction contributed significantly to SOCs. These findings demonstrate that organic amendments—particularly biochar—can effectively improve soil structure and enhance SOCs in intensively managed wheat systems under long-term nitrogen input.
