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
Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have emerged as revolutionary adsorbents for nuclear waste remediation compared to conventional adsorbents due to their exceptional properties including high surface areas, tunable pore structures, and customizable functionalities. This comprehensive review highlights cutting-edge innovations in MOF synthesis, functionalization, and their diverse applications in removing radioactive pollutants in the last years. We systematically explore sophisticated functionalization strategies encompassing surface modification, metal node engineering, post-synthetic modification, and linker design that significantly enhance adsorption performance and selectivity. Attention has been given to actinide MOFs, which demonstrate unique structural properties and superior stability under harsh radioactive conditions. The applications section comprehensively covers gaseous radionuclides (Rn, I2, Xe, Kr), anionic species (TcO4-, ReO4-, TeO32-), and cationic pollutants (U(VI), Th4+, Sr2+, Cs+, Eu3+), revealing diverse adsorption mechanisms, which are thoroughly discussed. Furthermore, the adsorption kinetics, MOFs regeneration and reusability, and economic feasibility and lifecycle analyses are considered. Despite remarkable progress, specific gaps persist, including the lack of systematic, long-term radiation and hydrolytic stability data for most MOFs under realistic nuclear waste conditions and the still unclear synergistic mechanisms operating in multi-functionalized, composite, or hybrid MOF systems. Future research should focus on constructing intrinsically radiation-resistant frameworks, developing scalable and sustainable synthesis and shaping routes, and elucidating structure performance relationships through in-situ and multi-scale mechanistic studies that correlate framework features with radionuclide capture and regeneration behavior under prolonged irradiation.
Abstract Background Children living with disabilities often face challenges in participating in sports and physical activities in schools, which can negatively impact their health and well-being. This is because schools have been considered as one of the most important and suitable primary social institutions for promoting physical activity in children. Aims This study seeks to critically examine the determinants influencing the inclusion of children with disabilities in sports and physical activity participation within Nigerian primary schools. Methodology This cross-sectional study involved primary school teachers from selected public and private schools in Ibadan, Nigeria, using purposive and consecutive sampling. Data were collected via adapted, validated questionnaires assessing attitudes and barriers to inclusion. Results The mean age of all participants (52 females and 22 males) was 41.51±1.175 years. Over half of the participants (52.7%) had a negative attitude towards inclusion of children with disability in sports. There was no significant association (p>0.05) between each of the participants' age, sex, years of teaching experience and academic qualification and attitude towards inclusion of children with disability in sports and physical activity. The major factors identified as barriers to inclusion were lack of opportunity for children with disability to participate in sports, unavailability of special aids or adapted sports equipment, poor fitness, fear of mockery and rejection, unwillingness of parents to allow their children to participate in sports, lack of trained therapists, inaccessibility of school buildings and playgrounds, lack of schools’ policy on assistance with disability to participate in sports. Conclusions It was concluded that a number of factors served as barriers to inclusion of children with disabilities in sports and physical activity and primary school teachers in Nigeria have negative attitude towards inclusion of children with disability in sports and physical activities.
