Ahmadu Bello University Zaria is a federal government research university in Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria. ABU was founded on 4 October 1962, as the University of Northern Nigeria.The university operates two campuses: Samaru (main) and Kongo in Zaria. There is a pre-degree school in Funtua a few kilometres from the main campus owned by the university. The Samaru campus houses the administrative offices and the faculties of physical sciences, life sciences, social sciences, arts and languages, education, environmental design, engineering, medical sciences, agricultural sciences and research facilities. The Kongo campus hosts the faculties of Law and Administration. The Faculty of Administration consists of Accounting, Business Administration, Local Government and Development Studies and Public Administration Departments. Additionally, the university is responsible for other institutions and programmes at other locations.It is named after the Sardauna of Sokoto, Alhaji Sir Ahmadu Bello, the first premier of Northern Nigeria.The university runs a wide variety of undergraduate and graduate programmes (and offers associate degrees and vocational and remedial programmes). It has a large medical programme with its own ABU Teaching Hospital, one of the largest teaching hospitals in Nigeria and Africa.In September 2021, the University moved the departments of Insurance and Actuarial science, Accounting and Business Administration from Kongo to Samaru (Business school)..
Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), a persistent and bioaccumulative substance, has emerged as a major environmental contaminant of global concern. PFOS, widely used in industry and consumer products, is common in aquatic ecosystems and may harm primary producers like phytoplankton, though its effects on their community structure and physiology remain unclear. Here, we investigated the impact of PFOS on freshwater physicochemical parameters, phytoplankton community dynamics, biochemical composition, and oxidative stress responses in a mesocosm experiment over a 28-day period. The water quality indicators generally were unaltered by PFOS exposure, but phosphate levels decreased initially in the control. Phytoplankton biomass (cell density) decreased at 10 µg L−1 and 10 mg L−1 PFOS exposures. Phytoplankton species richness, Shannon, and Simpson diversity indices declined at 10 mg L−1, with communities at this concentration becoming distinctly different from the control and lower PFOS treatments by day 28. This shift in community structure was primarily driven by taxa such as Chlorogonium sp. and Microcystis aeruginosa, which contributed strongly to the observed compositional dissimilarity. Proteins content in the phytoplankton increased under PFOS exposure, peaking on day 21. In contrast, carbohydrate and lipid contents were reduced under PFOS relative to the control. PFOS exposure elevated glutathione-S-transferase activity, malondialdehyde, and hydrogen peroxide levels, whereas peroxidase activity was reduced. The phytoplankton biomass and lipids were positively associated, while oxidative stress markers were closely linked with high PFOS concentrations. Overall, these results highlight that PFOS exposure suppressed phytoplankton biomass, altered their community composition, and induced oxidative stress and metabolic shift at higher concentrations, highlighting its potential ecological risk in freshwater systems.
Residual byproducts and waste substances now serve as the predominant sources of pollution across ecosystems. Periwinkle shell waste is a widely produced, calcium-rich marine byproduct often piled in open dumps, resulting in foul odours and visual pollution. This study seeks to optimise ash content derived from periwinkle shell waste as a modifier of bitumen for hot-mix asphalt production, while assessing the environmental and cost implications. The optimisation was executed using the Design Expert 13 Software and a custom design approach, which involves the importation of an already structured experimental design. The models developed for the asphalt-mx responses showed good data fit, which was confirmed by good R2 values and a difference between the Adjusted R2 value and Predicted R2 value. Also, the normal plot of Residuals and the plot of Residuals versus the Predicted showed evidence of good data fit. The optimum bitumen content for the control mix and modified mix was 6.086
Multimodal multiobjective optimization problems (MMOPs) frequently arise in real-world applications, where widely separated solutions in the decision space may yield similar objective values. The principal challenge in solving MMOPs lies in identifying all equivalent Pareto-optimal solutions while maintaining an appropriate balance between diversity and convergence in both decision and objective spaces. This paper proposes a novel algorithm, Dynamic Topology Multiobjective Particle Swarm Optimization with Adaptive Lévy Flight (DT-MMPSO-Levy), to address these challenges. DT-MMPSO-Levy incorporates a dynamic small-world topology, enabling adaptive re-wiring of particles throughout generations. This facilitates both local and global information exchange, enhancing decision space diversity. To balance exploration and exploitation across the optimization process, a phase-based adaptive velocity update mechanism is employed. During early generations, Lévy flight-induced heavy-tailed jumps promote global exploration for discovering diverse Pareto-optimal sets. In mid generations, an adaptive control parameter, Omega, modulates the exploration-exploitation trade-off based on population diversity. In later stages, the algorithm shifts focus toward convergence by emphasizing local exploitation. The performance of DT-MMPSO-Levy is benchmarked against seven state-of-the-art MMOP algorithms on twelve standard test problems from the CEC 2019 suite. Experimental results show that DT-MMPSO-Levy achieves superior performance, securing the best scores in 8 out of 12 cases for Inverted Generation Distance in Decision Space (IGDX), 7 out of 12 for Pareto Sets Proximity (PSP), and 7 out of 12 for Inverted Generation Distance in Objective Space (IGDF) metrics, thereby demonstrating its effectiveness and robustness.
The orcinol negative effect has continued to attract interest, as United Nations sustainability development goal 3 is concerned. The substance belongs to a class of compound that causes eye and skin discomfort and high possibility of cancer. Hence, its Cu(II)-assisted oxidation with periodate ion IO_4^ - and exploration of micellar impact on the process. The studied kinetic parameters reveal a first-order reaction with respect to the concentration of orcinol and IO_4^ - and a one-to-two stoichiometric mole ratio [orcinol] : [ IO_4^ - ]. The population of electrolyte concentration leads to neither increase nor decrease in the oxidation rate and acid concentration increase result in rate enhancement, whereas the aggregation of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide monomers hastens the oxidation rate. The critical micelle concentration of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide was validated with conductometric and zeta potential inputs. The binding affinity of the substrate with the micelles is strengthened by Piszkiewicz’s model. The evidence of free radicals and intermediate species are positive and transient, respectively. However, total breakdown of orcinol to pyruvate, acetic acid, and carbonic acid in a green reaction system is sustainable and efficient for greater accessibility of a clean environment. The non-spontaneity of the process is supported by the thermodynamic parameters ( Δ H 1pt ^* = + 37.38 kJ mol^ - 1, Δ G 1pt ^* = + 73.12 kJ mol^ - 1, and Δ S 1pt ^* = - 119.14 J K^ - 1mol^ - 1 ).
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a critical global public health threat which is accelerated by the misuse and overuse of antimicrobials in humans, animals, and agriculture, as well as poor infection prevention and control measures. In Kuje Arae Council (KAC), AMR has silently become a neglected health burden leading to prolonged hospital stays, higher medical costs, and increased mortality. This study aimed at assessing the knowledge, awareness, and attitudes towards AMR among 403 public workers in KAC, FCT Abuja. This cross-sectional study assessed the knowledge, awareness, and attitudes towards AMR among 403 public workers in KAC, FCT Abuja, selected via multistage sampling. Data were collected using a validated questionnaire and analyzed with descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings revealed that public workers possessed adequate knowledge (p = 0.000) and a moderate awareness of AMR’s causes and consequences (p = 0.000). Their attitudes towards antimicrobial use and AMR management were moderately positive (p = 0.000). A significant, strong positive correlation was found between knowledge and attitudes (r = 0.879, p = 0.000). Healthcare professionals were identified as the most credible source of AMR information (66.8
