Alloy design is the major driving force of next-generation materials technology. Traditionally alloy design has relied on empirical rules and iterative trial-and-error experimentation, with the process of identifying novel compositions being time-consuming, costly, and inefficient. The landscape has recently been revolutionized by advances in machine learning (ML) that enable data-driven methods to improve the efficiency of sophisticated alloy design, selection, and property prediction. ML algorithms can learn effectively the relationships between composition, processing, structure, and properties from existing data and thus guide the discovery of novel alloys with target properties. In this review, a survey of ML approaches employed in alloy design is provided, including supervised and unsupervised learning, feature engineering, and combination with physical modeling frameworks such as CALPHAD. Read more

The paper is an assessment of several efforts undertaking as well as challenges faced by National Environmental Standards Regulatory and Enforcement Agency (NESREA) being the regulator in enforcing the provisions of various environmental laws which have been enacted from independence to the present as an unwavering answer to dealing with environmental threats challenging Nigeria as a country. The work examines the effectiveness of NESREA in Nigeria as an enforcement agency, looks in brief the environmental challenges to economic development of Nigeria and the well-being of its citizenry in line with the national and international provisions for environmental assessment in Nigeria. This work employed the use of primary and secondary sources in gathering of information. The paper identified a lot of challenges confronting NESREA to include flagrant abuse of environmental laws without commensurate penalties, weak enforcement, corruption on the part of the staff of the regulatory agency, poor public enlightenment education while also advocating for the reinforcement of the regulatory institution to make room for a broader participation, an elaborate supervisory, monitoring and enforcement of environmental rules, laws and principles. Read more