Prediction of Bank Failure Using Camel and Market Information: Comparative Appraisal of Some Selected Banks in Nigeria.

This paper attempted to predict bank failure using CAMEL and stock market information. The study reviewed journal, seminal papers, articles, websites and banks’ annual financial statement. The study covered five accounting years between 2006 and 2010. Multiple discriminant model was used to predict bank failure and the status of Nigerian banks. It was discovered that almost all the banks used for the study had their Z score fall within bankruptcy region. An attempt was further made to thoroughly evaluate managerial quality because experience has shown that bank failure in Nigeria was largely due to managerial inefficiency . Managerial quality were evaluated using variable such as total loan to total deposit, interest expenses to total deposit and operating expenses to total deposit. We concluded that bank failure is as a result of  poor CAMEL rating as well as excessive risk taking and the end results are credit crunch, unemployment, illiquidity etc . we suggested that the only way to contain bank failure is by ensuring regular and transparent on site and off site examination by CBN and NDIC. Keywords: bank failure, CAMEL, stock market informatio

Comparison of the electrochemical performances of MCDCFC using hand and ball milled biomass carbon fuels

The electrochemical performances of a single cell molten carbonate electrolyte direct carbon fuel cell (MCDCFC) using miscanthus and switchgrass biomass carbon fuels subjected to hand and ball milling treatments are presented in this paper. Conventional direct carbon fuel cell (DCFC) uses carbon derived from coal, a fossil fuel with adverse consequences on the environment. This paper explores a more benign carbon fuel source which is the biomass to power the DCFC. The performances of the hand milled (HM) carbon fuels were slightly higher than those of the ball milled (BM) carbon fuels. At 800oC for the open circuit voltage, miscanthus fuel (1.03 V) has higher values for the HM and switchgrass fuel (0.77 V) for the BM. Higher peak power densities were observed for switchgrass fuel (21.60 and 12.32 mW/cm2) for both the HM and BM. Switchgrass fuel (74 mA/cm2) gave the maximum current density for both the HM and BM. Miscanthus fuel (0.72 V) show higher voltage at peak power generation for the HM and switchgrass fuel (0.39 V) for the BM. The peak power efficiency evaluated show that miscanthus fuel (70%) gave higher values for the hand milled and equal values for both carbon fuels (51%) for the ball milled

COMPARISON OF THE ELECTROCHEMICAL PERFORMANCES OF MCDCFC USING HAND AND BALL MILLED BIOMASS CARBON FUELS

The electrochemical performances of a single cell molten carbonate electrolyte direct carbon fuel cell (MCDCFC) using miscanthus and switchgrass biomass carbon fuels subjected to hand and ball milling treatments are presented in this paper. Conventional direct carbon fuel cell (DCFC) uses carbon derived from coal, a fossil fuel with adverse consequences on the environment. This paper explores a more benign carbon fuel source which is the biomass to power the DCFC. The performances of the hand milled (HM) carbon fuels were slightly higher than those of the ball milled (BM) carbon fuels. At 800oC for the open circuit voltage, miscanthus fuel (1.03 V) has higher values for the HM and switchgrass fuel (0.77 V) for the BM. Higher peak power densities were observed for switchgrass fuel (21.60 and 12.32 mW/cm2) for both the HM and BM. Switchgrass fuel (74 mA/cm2) gave the maximum current density for both the HM and BM. Miscanthus fuel (0.72 V) show higher voltage at peak power generation for the HM and switchgrass fuel (0.39 V) for the BM. The peak power efficiency evaluated show that miscanthus fuel (70%) gave higher values for the hand milled and equal values for both carbon fuels (51%) for the ball milled

Child malaria treatment decisions by mothers of children less than five years of age attending an outpatient clinic in south-west Nigeria: an application of the PEN-3 cultural model

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Using the PEN-3 cultural model, this study sought to understand mothers treatment decisions about their child febrile illness by examining positive health beliefs and practices held by mothers, examine existential (unique) practices that are indigenous to mothers and have no harmful health consequences, and explore negative beliefs and practices that limit recommended responses to febrile illness in children.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This qualitative study was conducted in the paediatric section of an outpatient clinic in south-west Nigeria. A total of 123 mothers with children less than five years of age with febrile illness diagnosed as malaria by physicians were individually interviewed on their treatment-seeking practices prior to visiting the clinic and their reasons for attendance at the clinic.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>For some mothers interviewed, effective treatment from the clinic for their child's febrile illness, coupled with physician's approach with malaria diagnosis and treatment practices was important in generating positive maternal treatment-seeking responses to child febrile illness. In addition, beliefs related to a child teething highlighted existential decisions with treatment-seeking for child febrile illness in this setting. Finally, the belief that febrile illness is not all that severe despite noticeable signs and symptoms was a concerning negative perception shared by some mothers in this study.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The findings highlight the need to consider not only the responses that may serve as barriers to effective treatment, but also an acknowledgment of the positive and existential responses that are equally critical in influencing mothers' management of malaria in their children.</p

Global burden of 288 causes of death and life expectancy decomposition in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BACKGROUND Regular, detailed reporting on population health by underlying cause of death is fundamental for public health decision making. Cause-specific estimates of mortality and the subsequent effects on life expectancy worldwide are valuable metrics to gauge progress in reducing mortality rates. These estimates are particularly important following large-scale mortality spikes, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. When systematically analysed, mortality rates and life expectancy allow comparisons of the consequences of causes of death globally and over time, providing a nuanced understanding of the effect of these causes on global populations. METHODS The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 cause-of-death analysis estimated mortality and years of life lost (YLLs) from 288 causes of death by age-sex-location-year in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations for each year from 1990 until 2021. The analysis used 56 604 data sources, including data from vital registration and verbal autopsy as well as surveys, censuses, surveillance systems, and cancer registries, among others. As with previous GBD rounds, cause-specific death rates for most causes were estimated using the Cause of Death Ensemble model-a modelling tool developed for GBD to assess the out-of-sample predictive validity of different statistical models and covariate permutations and combine those results to produce cause-specific mortality estimates-with alternative strategies adapted to model causes with insufficient data, substantial changes in reporting over the study period, or unusual epidemiology. YLLs were computed as the product of the number of deaths for each cause-age-sex-location-year and the standard life expectancy at each age. As part of the modelling process, uncertainty intervals (UIs) were generated using the 2·5th and 97·5th percentiles from a 1000-draw distribution for each metric. We decomposed life expectancy by cause of death, location, and year to show cause-specific effects on life expectancy from 1990 to 2021. We also used the coefficient of variation and the fraction of population affected by 90% of deaths to highlight concentrations of mortality. Findings are reported in counts and age-standardised rates. Methodological improvements for cause-of-death estimates in GBD 2021 include the expansion of under-5-years age group to include four new age groups, enhanced methods to account for stochastic variation of sparse data, and the inclusion of COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality-which includes excess mortality associated with the pandemic, excluding COVID-19, lower respiratory infections, measles, malaria, and pertussis. For this analysis, 199 new country-years of vital registration cause-of-death data, 5 country-years of surveillance data, 21 country-years of verbal autopsy data, and 94 country-years of other data types were added to those used in previous GBD rounds. FINDINGS The leading causes of age-standardised deaths globally were the same in 2019 as they were in 1990; in descending order, these were, ischaemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lower respiratory infections. In 2021, however, COVID-19 replaced stroke as the second-leading age-standardised cause of death, with 94·0 deaths (95% UI 89·2-100·0) per 100 000 population. The COVID-19 pandemic shifted the rankings of the leading five causes, lowering stroke to the third-leading and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to the fourth-leading position. In 2021, the highest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 occurred in sub-Saharan Africa (271·0 deaths [250·1-290·7] per 100 000 population) and Latin America and the Caribbean (195·4 deaths [182·1-211·4] per 100 000 population). The lowest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 were in the high-income super-region (48·1 deaths [47·4-48·8] per 100 000 population) and southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania (23·2 deaths [16·3-37·2] per 100 000 population). Globally, life expectancy steadily improved between 1990 and 2019 for 18 of the 22 investigated causes. Decomposition of global and regional life expectancy showed the positive effect that reductions in deaths from enteric infections, lower respiratory infections, stroke, and neonatal deaths, among others have contributed to improved survival over the study period. However, a net reduction of 1·6 years occurred in global life expectancy between 2019 and 2021, primarily due to increased death rates from COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality. Life expectancy was highly variable between super-regions over the study period, with southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania gaining 8·3 years (6·7-9·9) overall, while having the smallest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 (0·4 years). The largest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 occurred in Latin America and the Caribbean (3·6 years). Additionally, 53 of the 288 causes of death were highly concentrated in locations with less than 50% of the global population as of 2021, and these causes of death became progressively more concentrated since 1990, when only 44 causes showed this pattern. The concentration phenomenon is discussed heuristically with respect to enteric and lower respiratory infections, malaria, HIV/AIDS, neonatal disorders, tuberculosis, and measles. INTERPRETATION Long-standing gains in life expectancy and reductions in many of the leading causes of death have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the adverse effects of which were spread unevenly among populations. Despite the pandemic, there has been continued progress in combatting several notable causes of death, leading to improved global life expectancy over the study period. Each of the seven GBD super-regions showed an overall improvement from 1990 and 2021, obscuring the negative effect in the years of the pandemic. Additionally, our findings regarding regional variation in causes of death driving increases in life expectancy hold clear policy utility. Analyses of shifting mortality trends reveal that several causes, once widespread globally, are now increasingly concentrated geographically. These changes in mortality concentration, alongside further investigation of changing risks, interventions, and relevant policy, present an important opportunity to deepen our understanding of mortality-reduction strategies. Examining patterns in mortality concentration might reveal areas where successful public health interventions have been implemented. Translating these successes to locations where certain causes of death remain entrenched can inform policies that work to improve life expectancy for people everywhere. FUNDING Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Global, regional, and national burden of disorders affecting the nervous system, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BackgroundDisorders affecting the nervous system are diverse and include neurodevelopmental disorders, late-life neurodegeneration, and newly emergent conditions, such as cognitive impairment following COVID-19. Previous publications from the Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factor Study estimated the burden of 15 neurological conditions in 2015 and 2016, but these analyses did not include neurodevelopmental disorders, as defined by the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-11, or a subset of cases of congenital, neonatal, and infectious conditions that cause neurological damage. Here, we estimate nervous system health loss caused by 37 unique conditions and their associated risk factors globally, regionally, and nationally from 1990 to 2021.MethodsWe estimated mortality, prevalence, years lived with disability (YLDs), years of life lost (YLLs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), with corresponding 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs), by age and sex in 204 countries and territories, from 1990 to 2021. We included morbidity and deaths due to neurological conditions, for which health loss is directly due to damage to the CNS or peripheral nervous system. We also isolated neurological health loss from conditions for which nervous system morbidity is a consequence, but not the primary feature, including a subset of congenital conditions (ie, chromosomal anomalies and congenital birth defects), neonatal conditions (ie, jaundice, preterm birth, and sepsis), infectious diseases (ie, COVID-19, cystic echinococcosis, malaria, syphilis, and Zika virus disease), and diabetic neuropathy. By conducting a sequela-level analysis of the health outcomes for these conditions, only cases where nervous system damage occurred were included, and YLDs were recalculated to isolate the non-fatal burden directly attributable to nervous system health loss. A comorbidity correction was used to calculate total prevalence of all conditions that affect the nervous system combined.FindingsGlobally, the 37 conditions affecting the nervous system were collectively ranked as the leading group cause of DALYs in 2021 (443 million, 95% UI 378–521), affecting 3·40 billion (3·20–3·62) individuals (43·1%, 40·5–45·9 of the global population); global DALY counts attributed to these conditions increased by 18·2% (8·7–26·7) between 1990 and 2021. Age-standardised rates of deaths per 100 000 people attributed to these conditions decreased from 1990 to 2021 by 33·6% (27·6–38·8), and age-standardised rates of DALYs attributed to these conditions decreased by 27·0% (21·5–32·4). Age-standardised prevalence was almost stable, with a change of 1·5% (0·7–2·4). The ten conditions with the highest age-standardised DALYs in 2021 were stroke, neonatal encephalopathy, migraine, Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, diabetic neuropathy, meningitis, epilepsy, neurological complications due to preterm birth, autism spectrum disorder, and nervous system cancer.InterpretationAs the leading cause of overall disease burden in the world, with increasing global DALY counts, effective prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation strategies for disorders affecting the nervous system are needed

Ethnicity as a cultural factor influencing complete vaccination among children aged 12-23 months in Nigeria

Achieving complete vaccination for children has been challenging in Nigeria. Yet, addressing Nigeria’s completeness of vaccination requires ethno-cultural diversity consideration rather than nationally population based. This study explored patterns and determinants of complete vaccination among children of Hausa/Fulani, Igbo and Yoruba, the predominant ethnicities in Nigeria. The study used a cross-sectional data involving 3980 children aged 12–23 months extracted from the 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey dataset. In this study, complete vaccination is defined as a child who received all recommended vaccinations. A generalized linear mixed model applied to clustered data was used for data analysis (α = 0.05). The prevalence of complete vaccinations was 56.3%, 40.8% and 18.2% among Igbo, Yoruba and Hausa/Fulani children, respectively. The likelihood of complete vaccination was higher among children who were of Igbo (aOR = 1.38; CI: 1.20–1.59) compared with Hausa/Fulani. Predictors of complete vaccination were maternal age-at-childbirth, education, prenatal-care attendant and place of delivery among Hausa/Fulani; place of residence and perceived access to self-medical help, among Igbo; while prenatal-care attendance, among Yoruba. The odds of complete vaccination were higher among Hausa/Fulani (aOR = 1.65; CI: 1.04–2.61), Igbo (aOR = 2.55; CI: 1.20–5.44) and Yoruba (aOR = 4.22; CI: 1.27–13.96) children from higher wealth-quintile households compared to those from poor households. There was evidence of variability in the likelihood of complete vaccination in all the ethnic groups. The Hausa/Fulani tribe had the lowest complete vaccination coverage for children aged 12–23 months. Context-specific program intervention to improve complete vaccination is needed to ensure that the SDG target for vaccination is met

Il ruolo del difensore nella ricerca della prova

The continuous global quest for management of the scarce water resources to make available to the human populace. portable water for drinking has necessitated this study. River Romi is the effluent discharge point of Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company Limited where the refinery waste water is disposed after treatment. This study investigates the impact of Kaduna refinery eflluent on River Romi. The physicochemical properties of Kaduna River, Kaduna refinety eflluent, Romi River (upstream and downstream) were analy=ed f rom dry and wet seasons. The results obtained were compared with standard set by regulatory bodies and it was discovered that Kaduna refinery eflluent has the highest number of pollutants. The body of River Romi upstream was found to contain low level of contaminants which are generally within the standard limits. Comparing the results of both upstream and downstream of River Romi shows that the concentration of pollutants increased after the introduction .of eflluell