Extant scholarly inquiries focused predominantly on the influence of demographic physiognomies of SMEs' owner-managers on MMT adoption, with dearth recourse to how the proxies of location factors ...such as workforce diversity and knowledge centres moderate and describe such relationship. To bridge that void, opinions of 345 SMEs' owner-managers in five industries situated in the state capital and commercial nerve cities of three Geo-political zones of Nigeria were purposively sampled. The analysis involved hierarchical regression and its outcome showed that diversified workforce and enhanced knowledge centres critically moderated the extant relationship between the demographic composition (age, gender, education and experience) of owner-managers and MMT adoption. Hence, location factors are moderators of the relationship between owner/managers' demographic composition and MMT adoption. Implicit is that understanding the demographic composition of owner-managers provides industry players with strong basis for competitive advantage, as well as opportunity to proactively and tactically make decisions that relate to MMT adoption.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are contaminants of interest in the ecosystem due to associated health risks. Therefore, their detection in the environment is important. In this regard, the ...risk assessment of PAHs in borehole water near the unlined dumpsite in Anambra State was investigated. Samples of borehole water (16 each) were collected from the study and control areas during both seasons. The PAH concentrations in the borehole water samples were analyzed using gas chromatography. The mean PAH concentration in the study and control samples for the wet season varied from BL-7.65 µg/L to BL-2.98 µg/L, respectively. The study samples' dry season values ranged from BL to 3.33 µg/L, while control samples ranged from BL to 1.87 µg/L. Formula: see textPAHs for the wet and dry seasons varied from 5.8 to 13.94 µg/L and 4.25 to 10.09 µg/L for study and control samples, respectively. The four and five rings PAH were the most dominant group in the Formula: see text PAHs for the study and control samples, respectively. Diagnostic ratios suggested pyrolytic and petrogenic sources for both locations. The cluster analysis showed different sources of the congeners in the samples. The non-carcinogenic risk showed no possibility of risks via dermal and ingestion routes. In addition, the possibility of cancer risks via ingestion routes was doubtful. The carcinogenic risk index through dermal contact exceeded the acceptable limit for adults and is at a tolerable limit for children, indicating potential threats to humans, with adults more susceptible to cancer risks. Therefore, this study recommends that sanitary dumpsites be constructed for waste disposal and implementation of environmental laws to prevent underground water pollution and the environment.
The level of commitment to jobs is the driver of how much a worker could offer to those that need the services. People become poised to deliver services when they hold the job in high esteem. ...Evidence abounds that some workers in public services barely value their professional responsibilities and conduct. This motivated the present researchers to test the impacts of rational emotive behavioral occupational intervention (REBOI) on the professional ethics and values of Staff in University Medical Centers.
to achieve the above aim, a randomized control design was used. A total of 114 staff were recruited, assessed 3 times using 3 instruments, and coached by therapists. The coaching last for 12 sessions. The data collected were subjected to a multivariate statistical analysis to test how effective the intervention was in changing negative perceptions about values and ethics in workplaces.
It was found that REBOI changes negative perceptions about professional ethics and values among staff of medical centers. The effectiveness of the REBOI is not statistically influenced by gender and group interaction. Gender does not moderate the impact of the intervention.
This study finally suggests that REBOI effectively changes negative perceptions about values and ethics among health workers. Thus, recommends for the advancement of Ellis' principles in other workplaces and across populations.
Yaws is a disease caused by the bacteria Treponema pallidum subspecies pertenue, which is most commonly seen among children below 15 years. In the twentieth century yaws was endemic in Nigeria but ...eradication strategies markedly reduced the disease burden. Currently there is minimal data on the ongoing transmission of yaws in Nigeria, despite reports of confirmed yaws cases in neighbouring West African countries.
We conducted both community and school-based active yaws case search among school-aged children in southeast Nigeria. Children were screened by trained community volunteers. Suspected yaws cases were clinically reviewed and tested using rapid diagnostic serological tests.
Between February and May 2021, up to 28 trained community volunteers screened a total of 105,015 school children for yaws. Overall, 7,706 children with various skin lesions were identified. Eight (8) suspected cases of yaws were reported, reviewed and screened, but none was confirmed using rapid diagnostic tests. The four most common skin conditions identified were scabies (39%), papular urticaria (29%), tinea corporis (14%) and tinea capitis (12%).
No case of yaws was confirmed in this large population of children in south-east Nigeria. Continuous community awareness and yaws case finding activities have been recommended across Nigeria.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Abstract
Background
Lymphatic filariasis (LF), Buruli ulcer (BU) and leprosy are neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) of the skin co-endemic in some communities in Nigeria. Not enough is known about ...the effectiveness of integrated morbidity management and disability prevention in people with these conditions. An integrated self-care intervention was carried out for people with these skin NTDs in two endemic communities of Anambra state, Nigeria. The objective of the study was to assess the effectiveness of self-care practices on costs of care, disability status and health-related quality of life.
Methods
This study utilised a quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test design to assess the effectiveness of the self-care interventions for people affected by NTDs to care for these impairments at home. Data were collected using questionnaires administered at the beginning and at the end of the intervention on monthly cost of morbidity care, and on participants’ disability status and their quality of life (QoL). Focus group discussions (FGDs) were held with both the participants and healthcare workers at follow-up.
Results
Forty-eight participants were recruited. Thirty participants (62.5%) continued the self-care interventions until the end of the project. Of those, 25 (83%) demonstrated improvement from their baseline impairment status. The mean household costs of morbidity care per participant decreased by 66% after the intervention, falling from US$157.50 at baseline to US$53.24 after 6 months of self-care (
p
= 0.004). The mean disability score at baseline was 22.3; this decreased to 12.5 after 6 months of self-care (
p
< 0.001). Among the 30 participants who continued the interventions until the end of the project, 26 (86.7%) had severe disability score (i.e. a score of 10–46) at baseline, and the number with severe disability fell to 18 (60%) of the 30 after the intervention. The mean QoL score increased from 45.7 at baseline to 57.5 at the end of the intervention (
p
= 0.004).
Conclusions
The 6-month self-care intervention for participants affected by BU, leprosy, or LF led to lower costs of care (including out-of-pocket costs and lost earnings due to morbidity), improved QoL scores, and reduced disability status.
Trial registration
ISRCTN Registry:
ISRCTN20317241
; 27/08/2021, Retrospectively registered.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Background: Medical schools have traditionally assessed medical students using long and short cases. Objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) has been found to be more reliable. Aim: To ...compare OSCE and traditional method of assessment in the summative assessment of final-year medical students. Methodology: This was a retrospective cross-sectional study conducted at Enugu State University of Science and Technology College of Medicine. The Department of Internal Medicine organized clinical examinations consisting of long and short cases. The Department of Surgery organized an OSCE consisting of two parts (picture OSCE and clinical OSCE). Students' scores in both internal medicine and surgery were collated and subjected to analysis with SPSS version 23 (IBM; SPSS, Chicago, IL, USA). Pearson's correlation was used to assess the correlations, paired t-test was used to compare the mean scores, and Cronbach's alpha was used to assess the reliability. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Out of the 73 candidates, 41 were female and 32 were male giving a female: male ratio of 1.3:1. Using paired sample t test, there were significant differences between the mean score in long case (mean = 52.86, standard deviation SD = 4.315) and mean score in clinical OSCE (mean = 58.356, SD = 7.906), t (72) = −7.181, P = 0.000; mean score in short case (mean = 52.86, SD = 4.097) and mean score in picture OSCE (mean = 48.580, SD = 8.992, t (72) =4.558, P = 0.000; no significant difference between the mean total score in internal medicine clinicals (mean = 105.712, SD = 6.680) and mean total score in surgery clinicals (mean = 106.915, SD = 15.846), t (72) = −0.788, P = 0.433. The Cronbach's alpha for traditional examination and OSCE was 0.437 and 0.863, respectively. Conclusion: OSCE gives a similar mean score to traditional method, but OSCE is more reliable.
The Aurora family of kinases orchestrates chromosome segregation and cytokinesis during cell division, with precise spatiotemporal regulation of its catalytic activities by distinct protein ...scaffolds. Plasmodium spp., the causative agents of malaria, are unicellular eukaryotes with three unique and highly divergent aurora-related kinases (ARK1-3) that are essential for asexual cellular proliferation but lack most canonical scaffolds/activators. Here we investigate the role of ARK2 during sexual proliferation of the rodent malaria Plasmodium berghei, using a combination of super-resolution microscopy, mass spectrometry, and live-cell fluorescence imaging. We find that ARK2 is primarily located at spindle microtubules in the vicinity of kinetochores during both mitosis and meiosis. Interactomic and co-localisation studies reveal several putative ARK2-associated interactors including the microtubule-interacting protein EB1, together with MISFIT and Myosin-K, but no conserved eukaryotic scaffold proteins. Gene function studies indicate that ARK2 and EB1 are complementary in driving endomitotic division and thereby parasite transmission through the mosquito. This discovery underlines the flexibility of molecular networks to rewire and drive unconventional mechanisms of chromosome segregation in the malaria parasite.
Traditional medical practice among the Igbo is not limited to therapeutic or curative role of healing the sick. It extends to exploration and manipulation of powers inherent in nature and material ...entities to achieve some ends. This is popularly known as ime ọgwụ (igwọ ọgwọ) in Igbo parlance. One of such manipulative function is the phenomenon of postponement or transfer of death from a patient to another individual without any direct or physical contact. The process raises serious philosophical concerns about causation as well as the ethical justification of the act. Employing simultaneously the empirical method, the philosophical methods of phenomenological analysis and hermeneutics, the present paper sets out to investigate the possibility of relating the cause with the effect in the phenomenon of postponement and porting of death from an individual to another. The paper explores the Igbo-African ontological understanding of realities as forces and mutual interaction of forces.
Bacteriophages (phages) are nano-sized viruses characterized by their inherent ability to live off bacteria. They utilize diverse mechanisms to absorb and gain entry into the bacterial cell wall via ...the release of viral genetic material, which uses the replication mechanisms of the host bacteria to produce and release daughter progeny virions that attack the surrounding host cells. They possess specific characteristics, including specificity for particular or closely related bacterial species. They have many applications, including as potential alternatives to antibiotics against multi-resistant bacterial pathogens and as control agents in bacteria-contaminated environments. They are ubiquitously abundant in nature and have diverse biota, including in the gut. Gut microbiota describes the community and interactions of microorganisms within the intestine. As with bacteria, parasitic bacteriophages constantly interact with the host bacterial cells within the gut system and have obvious implications for human health. However, it is imperative to understand these interactions as they open up possible applicable techniques to control gut-implicated bacterial diseases. Thus, this review aims to explore the interactions of bacteriophages with bacterial communities in the gut and their current and potential impacts on human health.
This study investigated the modulatory effect of Ginkgo biloba extract on lead acetate-induced endothelial dysfunction. Animals were administered GBE (50 mg/kg and 100 mg/kg orally) after exposures ...to lead acetate (25 mg/kg orally) for 14 days. Aorta was harvested after euthanasia, the tissue was homogenised, and supernatants were decanted after centrifuging. Oxidative, nitrergic, inflammatory, and anti-apoptotic markers were assayed using standard biochemical procedure, ELISA, and immunohistochemistry, respectively. GBE reduced lead-induced oxidative stress by increasing SOD, GSH, and CAT as well as reducing MDA levels in endothelium. Pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α and IL-6) were reduced while increasing Bcl-2 protein expression. GBE lowered endothelin-I and raised nitrite levels. Histological changes caused by lead acetate were normalised by GBE. Our findings suggest that Ginkgo biloba extract restored endothelin-I and nitric oxide functions by increasing Bcl-2 protein expression and reducing oxido-inflammatory stress in endothelium.
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