Federal University Oye Ekiti

The study here compares and evaluates the performance of different antennas such as the dipole, Yagi-Uda, and helical antennas in the context of FM broadcasting. The main goal here is to compare how these antennas perform in terms of signal strength and efficiency. The study carried out experiments in a controlled environment and tested the antennas in an outdoor environment by scanning the FM band from 88 to 108 MHz. The experiments were conducted in a similar environment to compare the performance of these antennas. The parameters taken for the study were gain in dBi, SNR, RSSI, bandwidth efficiency, and radiation pattern stability. The results obtained from the experiments show that the dipole antenna performed at an average gain of 2.1 dBi and an RSSI of -64 dBm at a distance of 1 km. The study also found that the SNR for the dipole was 18.4 dB. The results obtained from the experiments show that the dipole antenna performed well at a distance of 3 km. The performance of the dipole antenna was average. The study also found that the Yagi-Uda antenna performed very well in terms of directional efficiency. The results obtained from the experiments show that the Yagi-Uda antenna performed at an average gain of 9.6 dBi and an RSSI of -47 dBm at a distance of 1 km. The study also found that the SNR for the Yagi-Uda antenna was 27.8 dB. The results obtained from the experiments show that the Yagi-Uda antenna performed very well at a distance of 8.5 km. The study also found that the helical antenna performed at an average gain of 6.2 dBi and an RSSI of -55 dBm at a distance of 1 km. The study also found that the SNR for the helical antenna was 23.1 dB. The results obtained from the experiments show that the helical antenna performed very well at a distance of 6.2 km. The study found that the helical antenna performed better in an environment with buildings and foliage. The study concluded that the choice of the antenna depends upon the requirements. The study concluded that the Yagi-Uda antenna should be used for long-distance and high-gain requirements. The study concluded that the helical antennas should be used for difficult propagation environments. The study concluded that the dipole antennas should be used for economical requirements.

Urban slaughterhouses in developing cities often operate in densely populated environments with limited oversight, posing significant occupational health risks. This study investigated the influence of urban planning and proximity factors on disease transmission among workers in slaughterhouses across Aba, Abia State, Nigeria. The aim was to assess how spatial placement, architectural design, and environmental exposures contribute to occupational illnesses. A mixed-methods approach was employed, involving geospatial analysis, environmental monitoring, health surveys (n = 180), and facility inspections across six slaughterhouses (SH-1 to SH-6). GPS mapping revealed that four out of six facilities were within 200 meters of residential or market areas, with SH-1, SH-3, and SH-5 violating basic zoning regulations. Environmental monitoring showed elevated PM2.5 levels ranging from 54–94 µg/m³ (WHO limit: 25 µg/m³), with the highest levels at SH-3 (94 µg/m³). Ammonia (NH₃) and hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) concentrations exceeded safe thresholds in three facilities. Health data showed respiratory symptoms in up to 73% of workers (SH-3) and skin infections in 60% (SH-3). A strong positive correlation was observed between PM2.5 exposure and reported illness, and a significant negative correlation between distance to residential areas and respiratory complaints. Poor infrastructure, weak policy enforcement, and improper zoning were found to exacerbate these health risks. This study concludes that inadequate urban design and poor slaughterhouse placement significantly impacted occupational health. It recommends spatial restructuring, infrastructure upgrades, and integration of health impact assessments into abattoir planning policies in Nigeria.

This study examined the nexus between e-tax system adoption and tax compliance through the mediating and moderating role of taxpayer satisfaction and taxpayer system competence in the post Covid-19 pandemic era in Nigeria. A quantitative method of analysis was employed through an adapted questionnaire which was distributed to 480 taxpayers, asking about their thoughts on e-tax system adoption regarding compliance costs, security, quality of service, and time spent filing returns.[1] The findings reveal a significant and positive relationship between each element of hypothesis one (H1a-d) and tax compliance. Hypotheses 2b, 2c, and 2d also showed significant positive relationships with taxpayer satisfaction. However, cost as an e-tax system adoption factor did not significantly affect taxpayer satisfaction (H2a: β = -0.051, t = 0.153, p = > 0.010). Conversely, H3 revealed a substantial and positive correlation between e-tax system competency and tax compliance (β = 0.042, t = 5.606, p = < 0.05). The indirect effect of taxpayer satisfaction on the link between e-tax system adoption influencers and tax compliance was also found to be significant, while social media did not significantly moderate the SAT-SMP path to a positive level (H4a-d: β = 0.078, t = 0.564, p > 0.05). By providing useful information on taxpayer satisfaction and e-tax system competence, the study offers new insights into the factors influencing e-tax adoption and compliance in a developing country. This information can be used to inform policy and practice in Nigeria.

This paper examines how popular culture and digital media shaped youth-led mobilization during Nigeria’s #EndSARS protests. While scholarship on Nigerian activism often focuses on state violence and democratic struggle, this study highlights the creative cultural practices that energized participation. Drawing on ethnographic observation, social media content analysis, and interviews with 25 activists, artists, and digital creators, the paper shows how music, memes, performances, and protest art transformed demonstration sites into vibrant spaces of resistance. Hip-hop, Afrobeats, satire, and visual art amplified public grievances about police brutality while fostering solidarity across Lagos, Abuja, and diasporic communities. The study also finds that platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok extended protest culture beyond physical spaces, enabling local demands to circulate globally. The paper argues that creativity in African urban contexts operates as both political expression and survival strategy, and that understanding these cultural dimensions is essential for interpreting contemporary youth activism and democratic change.

Purpose: Harnessing the therapeutic wealth of medicinal plants through nanotechnology has emerged as a powerful frontier in drug discovery. This study explores the medicinal properties of Azadirachta indica (Neem) leaf extracts and their biosynthesized silver nanoparticles, bridging traditional knowledge with modern biomedical innovation. Methods: Aqueous and ethanolic leaf extracts of A. indica were prepared and analyzed for proximate composition, mineral content, and key phytochemicals using standard procedures. Antioxidant activity was assessed by DPPH, nitric oxide, FRAP, and TBARS assays. Silver nanoparticles were synthesized using the aqueous extract and monitored by UV–Visible and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Antibacterial activity of the extracts and biosynthesized AgNPs was evaluated using the disk diffusion method. Results: Proximate analysis indicated that A. indica leaves are nutritionally dense, with high protein (25.35%) and carbohydrate (33.32%) content, and moderate levels of crude fat (10.20%) and fiber (9.74%). Mineral profiling revealed appreciable amounts of essential elements such as magnesium, calcium, potassium, iron, and zinc. Phytochemical evaluation showed that the extracts contained flavonoids, steroids, saponins, and phenolic constituents. Antioxidant screening demonstrated efficient scavenging of DPPH and nitric oxide radicals, along with notable ferric reducing antioxidant power. The aqueous extract displayed measurable antibacterial activity, whereas the biosynthesized silver nanoparticles produced markedly stronger antibacterial effects. FTIR analysis confirmed the involvement of hydroxyl, carbonyl, and amine functional groups in AgNP formation. Conclusion: These findings show that A. indica possesses rich bioactive constituents and effectively mediates AgNP synthesis, producing nanoparticles with enhanced antibacterial activity.

Prenatal exposure to potentially toxic elements (PTEs), including heavy metals and metalloids, poses a significant public health risk in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where environmental surveillance is limited. This study assessed maternal and foetal exposure to PTEs in maternal and umbilical cord blood samples (n = 32 each) collected at Ishaka Adventist Hospital, Uganda, an agricultural region with known environmental contamination. Concentrations of arsenic (As), lead (Pb), chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), and zinc (Zn) were quantified using Microwave Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy; cadmium was undetected. Maternal samples had significantly higher mean concentrations than cord blood (p < 0.05), suggesting partial placental filtration. Nonetheless, maternal–foetal transfer ratios ranged from 10% (Zn) to 50.51% (Pb), indicating foetal exposure. Weighted Risk Score modelling revealed substantial maternal and foetal risks, primarily due to exposure to elevated levels of multiple metals (Pb, Ni, Cr and As). Spearman correlation and multivariate parsimonious regression analyses revealed significant associations between maternal and cord blood PTE concentrations and reported health issues. Notably, hypertension, respiratory allergies, gastrointestinal upsets, and gestational diabetes were correlated (singly or in combination) with higher maternal blood metal(loid) levels, passive smoking, geophagia, repeated use of mosquito coils, and use of biomass fuel (firewood), identifying these as potential environmental sources. Stratified Mann–Whitney and Kruskal–Wallis tests showed significantly higher Cr and Pb among mothers reporting geophagia, and significantly lower birth weight (LBW) among infants of older mothers and those practising geophagy. Similarly, cord blood metal(loid) levels were associated with LBW. Findings highlight substantial in utero exposure to a mixture of toxicants, with potential implications for adverse birth outcomes and long-term health effects, underscoring urgent maternal-child health interventions and environmental regulation in LMICs settings.

Africa’s land-based migration corridors, particularly in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa, have become zones characterized by pervasive violence and migrant disappearances, driven by the intersection of securitization and humanitarian governance regimes. While existing scholarship emphasizes the role of militarized borders and externalized EU migration controls in fostering migrant precarity, the gendered and racialized logics underpinning these regimes have received comparatively less attention. This article foregrounds critical perspectives informed by abolition feminism and critical border studies to examine the political economy of ‘carceral humanitarianism’, where aid and protection efforts coexist with punitive border enforcement, surveillance, and detention. Centring the lived experiences, epistemologies, and intersecting vulnerabilities of migrant women and nonbinary people, the analysis highlights how disappearances are entangled with gendered violence yet also generate practices of endurance, refusal, and resistance. By tracing the histories of colonial border making and contemporary security governance, I argue that the intertwined practices of humanitarian assistance and carceral control produce conditions of invisibility and impunity that perpetuate migrant disappearances and restrict mobility. Attending to embodied agency, care networks, and transnational feminist solidarities disrupts state-centric narratives of victimhood and reveals migrants as political actors envisioning alternative futures of mobility, justice, and belonging. Abolitionist feminist theorizing elucidates how dismantling these carceral logics can create opportunities for transformative, rights-centred approaches to migration governance and reimagine solidarity beyond borders.

Emotion recognition from speech plays a crucial role in enhancing human–computer interaction by enabling systems to interpret and respond to users’ emotional states. This study develops and evaluates a Speech Emotion Recognition (SER) system using three machine learning techniques; Support Vector Machines (SVM), Multilayer Perceptron (MLP), and Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs). The system is trained and tested on the RAVDESS dataset, which contains 1,440 professionally recorded audio samples representing a wide range of emotions. Our approach involves careful preprocessing of the audio signals, extraction of key acoustic features, and comparative performance evaluation of the three models using standard metrics. Results show that each model exhibits unique strengths and limitations, with CNNs achieving the most robust feature learning and generalization. The study underscores the importance of diverse feature representation for accurate emotion classification and provides insight into how different model architectures handle emotional nuances in speech. Identified challenges such as dataset diversity, feature selection, and computational complexity are discussed, along with recommendations for future research to improve SER systems’ real-world adaptability. This work contributes to ongoing efforts toward developing emotionally aware technologies that can enhance natural human–machine communication.