Impact of new global trade regimes on retional integration processes in the south

The critical question is how integration and cooperative schemes are they fairing (or are likely to fare) under the "new" global regimes on trade? The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is our case study for testing our key hypotheses on the challenges and opportunities for the regional integrations schemes in the South against the background of new global trade regimes. We examine the paths taken by countries in West Africa to bring about regional cooperation and integration and ask the question what is the impact of globalization, especially in terms of the pressures of global market forces on integration processes in the South

Using Marketing Performance Appraisal to Develop Bank Marketing Strategy

The 'strategic posture' of banks depends partly on the competitive environment, partly on its allocation of marketing resources. Strategic posture is determined in the context of the strengths, limitations, and corporate objectives of the bank. This paper presents different marketing strategies for bankers, suggesting that the selection of appropriate strategy should be based on the internal conditions and external forces facing the firm. The selected strategy should then be implemented by a prudent marketing plan. If a bank's marketing strategy is to be effective, due attention should be given to the marketing organizational structure and its department responsibilities. Finally, the study suggests several alternative criteria for evaluating the performance of the selected marketing strategy. Dynamic conditions and strategic objectives should be continually appraised in order that bankers might retain the market advantag

Intestinal Bacterial Colonization in the First 2 Weeks of Life of Nigerian Neonates Using Standard Culture Methods

OBJECTIVE: The pattern and timing of development of intestinal microflora in Nigerian infants have been scarcely researched. This study was carried out to investigate the bacteria flora in the rectum of healthy neonates in Ibadan, Nigeria. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In this hospital-based longitudinal study, rectal swabs of 70 neonates were taken within 6–12 h of birth (day 1) and subsequently on days 3, 9, and 14. Information collected included maternal sociodemographic characteristics, antibiotic use for the neonates, and type of feeding during the first 14 days of life. Identification and speciation of gram-negative isolates were done using the Analytical Profile Index 20E(®) and 20NE(®) as appropriate. Gram-positive bacteria were identified biochemically using the catalase and coagulase tests. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Chi-square at p = 0.05. RESULTS: Majority (92.9%) of the neonates were delivered vaginally with a median gestational age of 38 weeks (range = 34–42). On the first day of life, Escherichia coli was isolated more frequently from the rectal swabs of preterm (50.0%) than term (23.1%) neonates (p = 0.031). On day 3 of life, coagulase-negative staphylococcus was the most frequently isolated bacteria from the rectal swabs of nonasphyxiated (64.4%) compared with asphyxiated (27.3%) neonates’ rectal swabs (p = 0.042). Staphylococcus aureus was the most frequently isolated bacteria from the rectal swabs of nonexclusively breastfed (66.7%) than exclusively breastfed (21.3%) neonates on day 14 (p = 0.004). CONCLUSION: Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli were the predominant isolates from the rectum of Nigerian neonates, and these isolates were influenced by breastfeeding and mild–moderate asphyxia. In all, bacterial diversity in the rectum increased as the neonates got older

Contributions of Organisational Transparency, Communication Flow and Intrinsic Motivation to Teachers Job Performance in Ogun State Public Secondary School.

This study sought to determine the joint and relative contributions of organisational transparency, principals’ communication flow and teachers’ intrinsic motivation to teachers’ job performance in Ogun State public secondary schools. This is predicated on the fact that lack of transparency has been the major problem militating against the nation’s development in all spheres of human endeavour. In Nigeria, much attention has not been focused on how organisational transparency individually and jointly combined with other variables to determine the job performance of teachers. The study employed the descriptive research design of the ex-post facto type. One thousand and thirty seven teachers  (1037) in public secondary schools in Ogun State participated in the study. The sampling was done using multi-stage proportional and stratified random sampling techniques. Four instruments were used in collecting data namely; Transparency Factor Questionnaire (TFQ), Principals’ Communication Flow Questionnaire (PCFQ), and Teachers’ Intrinsic Motivation Scale (TIMS) for the independent variable and Teachers’ Job Performance Rating Scale (TJPRS) for the dependent variable.  All the instruments were adapted and pilot- tested and gave validity values of Chronbach alpha values between 0.8246 and 0.8670,  the split- half reliability values ranging from 0.7841 to 0.8824. One hypothesis was formulated and tested. The data collected were analysed using multiple regression analysis. Findings revealed that organisational transparency, principals’ communication flow and teachers’ intrinsic motivation jointly and significantly accounted for 15.1% of teachers’ job performance. Significantly, organisational transparency contributed 3.1%, principals’ communication flow contributed 13.4% and teachers’ intrinsic motivation contributed 3.2% to teachers’ job performance. The study recommended among others that principals should adopt a transparent administrative style and ensure an effective communication flow in their schools; they should also help in enhancing teachers’ intrinsic motivation by motivating excellent performance exhibited by them; government on her part must put in place policies that can enhance transparency in schools and motivate teachers effectively. Key Words: organisational transparency; communication flow;  intrinsic motivation; teachers’ job performance; secondary schools in Ogun State

Hypoxemia predicts death from severe falciparum malaria among children under 5 years of age in Nigeria: The need for pulse oximetry in case management

Background: Oxygen saturation is a good marker for disease severity in emergency care. However, studies have not considered its use in  identifying individuals infected with Plasmodium falciparum at risk of deaths.Objective: To investigate the prevalence and predictive value of  hypoxaemia for deaths in under-5s with severe falciparum malaria infection.Methods: Oxygen saturation was prospectively measured alongside other indicators of disease severity in 369 under-5s admitted to a tertiary  hospital in Nigeria. Participants were children in whom falciparum malaria parasitaemia was confirmed with blood film microscopy in the presence of any of the World Health Organization-defined life-threatening features for malaria.Results: Overall mortality rate was 8.1%. Of the 16 indicators of the disease severity assessed, hypoxaemia (OR=7.54; 95% CI=2.80, 20.29), co-morbidity with pneumonia (OR=19.27; 95% CI=2.87, 29.59), metabolic acidosis (OR=6.21; 95% CI=2.21, 17.47) and hypoglycaemia (OR=19.71; 95% CI=2.61, 25.47) were independent predictors of death. Cerebral malaria, male gender, wasting, hypokalaemia, hyponatriaemia, azotaemia and renal impairment were significantly associated with death in univariate analysis but not logistic regression model.Conclusions: Hypoxaemia predicts deaths in Nigerian children with severe malaria, irrespective of other features. Efforts should always be made to measure oxygen saturation as part of the treatments for severe malaria in children.Keywords: Severe malaria, Under-5 mortality, Oxygen saturation,   Hypoxaemi

Effects of Albizia saman (Jacq. Mull) leaf mulch on vegetative growth of maize (Zea mays L.) and soil chemical properties through biomass transfer

The study presents the effects of Albizia saman (Jacq. Mull) leaves in a biomass transfer as a source of organic fertilizer on the soil chemical properties and vegetative growth of maize (Zea mays) compared with NPK (15-15-15) in greenhouse condition. Albizia saman leaves and NPK (15-15-15) were applied at the rate of 2.5, 5.0 and 7.5 t/ha or 60, 90 and 120 kg/ha respectively, separately or in combination. The findings revealed that application of 2.5 t/ha A. saman leaves produced the maximum values for mean leaf number, leaf area and stem height (7.77, 212.24 cm2 and 49.67 cm, respectively) among the leaf much treatments but were not significantly different from those obtained by applying 90 kg/ha NPK fertilizer (7.86, 225.55 cm2 and 48.78 cm, respectively). However, the maximum number of leaf (8.4), leaf area (240.5 cm2), plant height (54.64 cm) and biomass (16.17 g) were obtained from the combination of 2.5 t/ha leaves with 90 kg/ha NPK. There was significant improvement in the soil chemical status with the application of 2.5 or 5.0 t/ha A. saman leaves whereas the application of 5.0 t/ha A. saman leaves experienced the highest value for organic carbon (3.56%), total nitrogen (0.23%) and potassium (0.16 mg/kg) and 2.5 t/ha leaves gave the highest value for available phosphorus (22.30 mg/kg). It can, therefore, be inferred that the application of 2.5 t/ha A. saman leaves as source of organic fertilizer will give a better growth of maize and the combination of this quantity with 90 kg/ha of NPK would give better results in crop yield and maintenance of soil fertility

Affinity proteomics reveals elevated muscle proteins in plasma of children with cerebral malaria

Systemic inflammation and sequestration of parasitized erythrocytes are central processes in the pathophysiology of severe Plasmodium falciparum childhood malaria. However, it is still not understood why some children are more at risks to develop malaria complications than others. To identify human proteins in plasma related to childhood malaria syndromes, multiplex antibody suspension bead arrays were employed. Out of the 1,015 proteins analyzed in plasma from more than 700 children, 41 differed between malaria infected children and community controls, whereas 13 discriminated uncomplicated malaria from severe malaria syndromes. Markers of oxidative stress were found related to severe malaria anemia while markers of endothelial activation, platelet adhesion and muscular damage were identified in relation to children with cerebral malaria. These findings suggest the presence of generalized vascular inflammation, vascular wall modulations, activation of endothelium and unbalanced glucose metabolism in severe malaria. The increased levels of specific muscle proteins in plasma implicate potential muscle damage and microvasculature lesions during the course of cerebral malaria