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Violent conflicts precipitated by allegations of blasphemy have resulted in loss of many lives and property in Nigeria. Worse still is the effects on peaceful coexistence among the different ethno-religious groups in the country. In all this, the media is a stakeholder, whether as a promoter of peace or exacerbater of tension and division. 306 editions of Daily Trust and The Punch newspapers were explored to ascertain how these national dailies are responding to the tenets of peace journalism enunciated by Johan Galtung, especially in their choice of words, to what extent do they specifically avoid war language in the coverage of sensitive incidents as blasphemy. Using quantitative content-analysis and framing as methodological and theoretical frameworks respectively, this study found that 71 of such (war) lexical indicators were used in covering the incidents of blasphemy investigated, with The Punch having the highest frequency (63). Out of the three war language categories coded (demonizing, victimizing, and emotive), first one is the most prevalent (90%) with individual words like ‘barbaric’ (25.3%), ‘fanatic’ (23.9%) and ‘extremist’ (18.3%) preponderating. All these are arguably a corollary of political, professional and economic factors. The research finally recommends that for blasphemy conflict with its attendant violence to be pre-empted, Nigerian journalists covering ethno-religious crises need to be conscientized on the tenets of peace journalism, whilst national cohesion and peaceful coexistence need to be prioritized by media industry over and above profiteering.

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have gained a lot of attention due to their high efficiency and low cost. In this research paper, a methylammonium tin iodide (CH3NH3SnI3) based solar cell was simulated using a one-dimensional solar cell capacitance simulation (SCAPS-1D) tool. The SCAPS-1D tool is based on Poisson and the semiconductor equations. After thorough investigation, the initial device presents the following parameters; power conversion efficiency (PCE)=15.315%, fill factor (FF)=64.580%, current density (Jsc)=29.152 mA/cm2, and open circuit voltage (Voc)=0.813 V. The effect of absorber and ETL thicknesses were explored systematically. The performance of the simulated device was significantly influenced by the thickness of the absorber and ETL. The optimized absorber thickness was 0.5 µm and the ETL thickness was 0.02 µm, giving rise to an optimized PCE of 15.411%, FF of 63.525%, Jsc of 29.812 mA/cm2, and Voc of 0.814 V. Additionally, the effect of temperature on the optimized device was evaluated and found that it affects the performance of the device. This model shows the prospect of CH3NH3SnI3 as a perovskite material to produce toxic-free environment-friendly solar cells with high efficiency.

Introduction. West Nile Virus (WNV), a member of Flaviviridae family, is one of the most widely distributed arboviruses in the world. In developing countries like Nigeria, fever resulting from the WNV infection is often presumptively ascribed to malaria or typhoid due to misdiagnosis and low-level awareness of the viral infection. This study determined the prevalence of WNV IgM and IgG antibodies among febrile patients in the Ilorin metropolis. Materials and methods. A total of two hundred (200) blood samples were collected from consenting patients and each serum was screened for anti-WNV IgM and IgG antibodies using indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Statistical correlation and logistic regression analysis were conducted. Results. Overall, 6% (12/200) anti-WNV IgM seropositivity rate was recorded amongst the acute febrile patients with higher prevalence (6.30%) in females than in males (5.45%). Anti-WNV IgG positivity rate of 52% (104/200) was recorded, with 50.67% positivity rate in males and 38.95% in female participants. The convalescence phase posited by the 5.4% (11/200) co-detection of anti-WNV IgG and IgM antibodies among the participants was recorded. A statistical correlation was noticed with the age and religion of respondents to WNV serological positivity while gender, occupation, use of mosquito nets and formal education had no positive correlation at p 0.05. However, based on odd ratio at 95% CI and logistic regression coefficients, the evaluated risk factors such as blood transfusion, residency, malaria parasite, and proximity to stagnant water and bush were significant to anti-WNV IgG and IgM positivity. Conclusion. The findings of this study show the circulation of WNV in the study area. There is an urgent need for clinicians/physicians to include screening for the West Nile virus in cases of febrile patients before the commencement of treatment.

Perovskite solar cells have garnered significant attention from solar cell researchers due to their potential for achieving high efficiency, primarily attributed to their exceptional Electron Transport layer (ETL). One of the key elements of perovskite solar cells for transporting electrons to generate current is the ETL material. Moreover, there is a promising avenue for enhancing stability and reducing fabrication costs by substituting the transport layer. In this study, TiO2 and SnO2 were used as ETL materials in the architecture of perovskite solar cells for a comparative analysis between two devices featuring distinct structures: TiO2/CH3NH3PbI3/Spiro-OMeTAD and SnO2/CH3NH3PbI3/Spiro-OMeTAD. To evaluate the performance of each electron transport layer (ETL), the SCAPS 1D tool was employed. The investigation involved varying the thickness of the electron transport layers, interface defect density and working temperature, allowing for a comprehensive assessment of key parameters such as voltage at open circuit (Voc), short circuit current density (Jsc), fill factor (FF), and overall efficiency (PCE%). Remarkably, when employing SnO2 as the ETL, the achieved efficiency stands at 10.10 %. In contrast, utilizing TiO2 as the ETL yields a slightly higher efficiency of 12.84%. These findings underline the nuanced influence of transport layer materials on the overall performance of perovskite solar cells.

The development of efficient metal doped semiconductors for Photovoltaic applications has gained a lot of research attention. In this present paper, pure and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs)-modified TiO2 nanocrystals (NCs) with different amount of AgNPs (say 50, 100, 150, 200, and 250 µL) were achieved and the effects of AgNPs on the TiO2 NCs were explored systematically. The optical, structural and morphological properties were probed using UV-visible spectrophotometer, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results of the optical studies showed a characteristic peak of TiO2 and the redshifting of the peak position was observed by introducing AgNPs. The synergetic effects from AgNPs and TiO2 results to diminished band gap. The XRD result confirmed the formation of a tetragonal anatase TiO2 phase with a decrease in crystallite size with increasing AgNPs content. The SEM images show enhanced nucleation and film growth with presence of shining surface which can be seen to contribute to good photon management by enhancing light scattering. The unadulterated TiO2 and AgNPs-modified TiO2 have spherical morphology and uniform size distribution ranging from 20 to 30 nm. This study established the view that surface modification of TiO2 with AgNPs is a viable approach towards achieving an efficient light photocatalyst.

Continuous release of synthetic dyes from industrial effluent into surface water poses a huge environmental threat and health hazard to humans and aquatic life. The need to right the wrong occasioned by the inimical industrial practice of uncontrolled release of carcinogenic dyes into the surface water calls for research into effective treatment technologies for the treatment of dye-contaminated industrial effluent. The isotherm of Crystal Violet (CV) solution on activated carbon (AC) synthesized from millet stover was investigated and presented herein. Samples of AC were synthesized from millet stover at 120⁰C using phosphoric acid as the activating agent. Employing varying mix ratios of stover-to-phosphoric acid (1:0, 1:1, 1:2, 1:3, and 1:4), respective samples of AC were synthesized. The batch adsorption process of the various samples of the AC in 15 mg/l initial concentration of an aqueous solution of CV was carried out at varying times. The CV’s change in the sorbate’s concentration was monitored using a UV spectrophotometer. The optimum adsorption time was 240 min. The optimally synthesized activated carbon was the 1:2 sample having an equilibrium sorbent concentration of 0.74 mg/L and sorbate uptake of 95.1%. Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin isotherm models were employed for the isotherm analysis. The values of the Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin models were 0.99, 0.90, and 0.94, respectively. The isotherm constants for the Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin models were –1.52 l/mg, –4.08, and 0.005 l/min, respectively. The Langmuir isotherm model best fitted the adsorption mechanism with a maximum equilibrium adsorption capacity of 14.0 mg/g.