Nile University of Nigeria

This qualitative study was conducted to explore Moroccan nursing students' experiences of participating in Action Learning Sets (ALS) to reflect on the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence chatbots (AI chatbots) for learning. Twenty-five nursing students participated in five ALS. Two Action Learning (AL) sessions per ALS were conducted over two months. Qualitative data were collected through thirteen individual interviews. Content analysis of the collected data was conducted. Within the two themes that emerged from the data: the benefits and challenges of participating in the ALS by nursing students, four subthemes were categorized as follows: ALS as a free supportive environment of reflection, ALS generates peer learning opportunities, fear of peer judgement at the beginning of the AL session and time constraints. ALS was found to be a free supportive environment of reflection on the use of AI chatbots for learning in nursing education. Participants from different disciplines of nursing, suitable time and space for discussion were the key elements of a successful ALS process. Further studies may implement and evaluate ALS as a teaching strategy within the nursing curriculum.

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.

Access to safe drinking water and decent sanitation is a basic human right, yet most people in developing countries, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, lack access to them. The problem of inadequate clean water becomes complicated when biological and chemical agents contaminate available water sources. In Nigeria, bacterial water contamination is common; however, in recent literature, there is a lack of synthesis linking drinking water contamination with the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB), including how the drinking water ecosystem may contribute to the spread of antibiotic resistance (AR). In addition, the microbiological mechanism that ensures the persistence of ARB in drinking water needs to be fully explored. Thus, this review integrates evidence on bacterial contamination and evaluates the role of drinking water in the dissemination of AR in Nigeria, including the contributions of poor sanitation, industrial effluents, abattoir operations, leachates from dumpsites, agricultural practices, and runoff from farm fields to the bacteriological quality of surface and underground water, and their consequences on human health. Also expanded are the processes leading to the emergence of ARB in water contaminated by sewage from domestic and pharmaceutical sources. Anthropogenic water contamination results in the emergence of ARB carrying transmissible antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in drinking water, thus highlighting the need to eliminate bacterial contamination of drinking water sources to protect public health and ensure the sustainability of water resources. Integrating surveillance for AR in environmental and treated water into the national antimicrobial resistance surveillance network is recommended to control the spread and reduce the burden of waterborne antibiotic-resistant bacteria in Nigeria.

The co-occurrence of petroleum hydrocarbons (PHs) and heavy metals in contaminated soils presents a complex remediation challenge where traditional methods often fail due to high costs, limited efficacy, and potential secondary pollution. Nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI) has emerged as a promising alternative, leveraging its core–shell structure and dual functionality in both reductive degradation and immobilization processes. However, bare nZVI suffers from rapid aggregation, surface passivation, and short reactive lifespans. This review critically examines advanced modification strategies, including polymer stabilization, sulfidation, carbonaceous supports, and bimetallic doping, to enhance nZVI’s mobility, longevity, and selectivity. We provide mechanistic insights into contaminant removal pathways and synthesize field-scale performance data, offering a unique perspective on the environmental trade-offs and field-scale deployability challenges often overlooked in laboratory studies. By integrating current advances with a critical analysis of remaining bottlenecks, this work provides a framework for optimizing modified nZVI systems to bridge the gap between laboratory promise and sustainable, field-scale remediation of complex contaminant mixtures.

The optimisation of structural behaviour requires a robust understanding of the interaction between material composition and geometric parameters. This study performs a multi-objective optimisation of rice husk ash (RHA)-modified lateritic concrete using Scheff & eacute;'s third-degree simplex lattice design. Laterite and RHA were used as partial replacements for fine aggregate and cement, respectively, to reduce cement consumption while improving compressive and flexural performance. Fifty-six mixtures were experimentally evaluated for compressive strength, flexural strength, and fracture energy, while size-dependent fracture behaviour was assessed using the span-to-height (L/h) ratio of the flexural strength samples. A comparable maximum compressive strength and flexural strength of 27.12 and 3.47 MPa were obtained at a water-binder ratio of 0.62 with 18% and 10% RHA replacement, respectively. Improved crack resistance was achieved at an L/h ratio of 10.25 with W/B = 0.68 (cement = 0.79, RHA = 0.34, laterite = 0.47; mass fractions) with about 19% increase in fracture energy. Material characterisation using X-ray fluorescence confirmed the pozzolanic reactivity of RHA due to its high amorphous silica content, while the iron- and alumina-rich laterite contributed to matrix densification and improved interfacial bonding. The developed models enable both forward and inverse prediction of beam geometry or mix composition.