Hazard Perception and Demand for Insurance Among Selected Motorcyclists in Lagos, Nigeria

This study examines hazard perception effects on the demand for insurance withspecial focus on motorcycle riders in Lagos state. For this purpose, the researchershave been able to examine selected hazard perception determinants and theireffects on the insuring attitude and desire of motorcycle riders. An explanatoryresearch design was employed and a convenience sampling type of the nonprobabilitysampling technique was adopted.  Data was gathered by interviewsconducted at motorcycle parks along the Lagos-Badagry expressway.  The sampleconsisted of 126 respondents made up of commercial motorcycle riders within thesample areas. Data collected was analysed using multiple regression technique.The study was able to establish some level of contributory linkage between hazardperception and demand for motorcycle insurance. The findings show that whiledread and trust both appeared to have significant effect, publicity and controllabilityboth have positive contributory effect; furthermore, choice expressed an inverserelationship with demand for insurance among the motorcycle riders. The studytherefore recommends pre-loss and post-loss measures among the motorcycleriders so that unforeseen motorcycle risks can be managed. Also, insurancecompanies should endeavour to invest more on enlightening the motorcycle riders in order to lessen their dread of loss outcome, and thus, design policy that can instil trust in motorcycle riders in insurance as a loss control measure

BENZENE ORAL BIOAVAILABILITY ASSESSMENT USING IN VITRO DIGESTION MODEL IN COMBINATION WITH CELL CULTURE METHODOLOGY

The bioavailability of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in a given situation often remains challenging to assess, and the lack of standard methods for introducing VOCs into in vitro bioassays can lead to poorly defined bioavailable concentrations. As a result, in vitro assays normally conducted in wells of cell culture plates for risk assessment of volatile and hydrophobic organic chemicals (VHOCs) have always faced significant experimental difficulties due to high volatility and high hydrophobicity. This compromises the true exposure concentration by: (i) causing the amount of test substances in the test medium to decline, (ii) limits the quality of toxicological responses and their extrapolation, and thus, can lead to interpretational errors. In the research herein, a dosing method was developed to assess the bioavailability of benzene (that served as a model for VHOCs) in aqueous tests and to better characterize exposure estimates for an improved risk assessment during in vitro biotests. This study hypothesizes that (1) benzene bioavailability to intestinal porcine enterocyte cell line (IPEC-1 cells) can be partially explained by phase partitioning, as measured by freely dissolved concentration that drives the diffusive uptake into the cell membranes, (2) benzene equilibrium partitioning between the donor and the cell membranes is dependent upon energetic state of the chemical concentration in the partitioning donor, which describes its chemical activity. Silicone polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) was used as the partitioning donor for passive dosing in transwell plates. The buffering capacity of the donor compensates for routine loss against depletion processes during the toxicity tests, resulting in stable exposure concentrations of benzene freely available to cells at relatively constant chemical activity. For IPEC-1 cells in the passive dosing tests, the median effective concentration (EC50) was 4.82 mg/L. The obtained median effective activity (Ea50) value is within the chemical activity range (0.01– 0.1) for baseline toxicity of several hydrophobic chemicals reported in the literature. Cell inhibition ranged from 9.6 ± 2% to 97.7 ± 0.8% for freely dissolved concentrations of benzene, which ranged from 0.6 to 5.4 mg/L after 24 h exposure. The spiking tests result in an ECSpike-50 projected to be greater than 5.4 mg/L, (highest spiked concentration) and reduced test sensitivity of benzene to IPEC-1 cells. This study introduces a new effective approach to passive dosing and demonstrates the utility of passive dosing over solvent spiking for in vitro toxicity testing of hydrophobic chemical (log Kow ˂ 4.6) with high volatility. This has fundamental implications for a better understanding of the interactions between VHOCs exposure to humans and the toxic effects on the human intestine to help set remediation objectives and further the improve future risk assessment and standard setting for VHOCs

Effects of direct-fed lactic acid bacteria on weight gain and ruminal pH of two south African sheep breeds

A ruminant’s digestion depends on microbial degradation of feed rather than endogenous enzyme degradation as in most monogastric animals. The study was conducted to assess the effects of Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) strains administered as direct-fed microbials on weight gain and ruminal pH of Damara and Meatmaster sheep breeds. Sixty-four Damara and Meatmaster sheep breeds [Damara males (36.6 } 8.3 kg); Damara females (28.9 } 6.9 kg); Meatmaster males (24.6 } 3.4 kg); Meat master females (21.5 } 3.1 kg)] were subjected to a 30-day trial and divided into five treatment groups as follows: pellets with no antibiotic and no probiotics administered (T1); pellets with no antibiotics, only Lactobacillus rhamnosus SCH administered (T2); pellets with no antibiotics, only Lactobacillus rhamnosus AF3G administered (T3); pellets with no antibiotics, with the combination of Lactobacillus rhamnosus SCH and Lactobacillus rhamnosus AF3G, administered (T4); pellets fortified with antibiotic and no probiotic administered (T5). The animals were fed on commercial pellets fortified with or without antibiotics. Animals were each weighed, and rumen fluids were collected using a stomach tube, and pH was read immediately, before and at the end of the trials. Data obtained were subjected to analysis of variance using SPSS version 4.0. The results showed that the effect of treatment, sex and some of their interactive effects were significant (p <0.001) on the body weight of sheep irrespective of breed. The effect of treatments revealed that the animals in the combination of probiotics gained more weight than those in other groups. Damara breed had a heavier body weight than Meatmaster while males were 6 kg heavier relative to females (p <0.001). Only breed was significant (p <0.05) on weight gained. Treatment (p <0.05), breed (p <0.001) and their interactive effect (p <0.05) were significant on ruminal pH. The highest pH value was 7.27 for the T5 group and 7.37 for the Damara breed. Results suggest that LAB may have beneficial effects on the growth performances of sheep and therefore may be suitable as future growth promoters in sheep production, as they don't have any harmful residues compared to antibiotics

Forecasting Nigeria Foreign Exchange Risk with Extreme Value Theory

Foreign exchange forecasting is important in all forms of foreign investments and transactions, the skills which compliments the field of finance and related disciplines. This paper uses extreme value theory to estimate the Value-at-Risk (VaR) and Expected Shortfall (ES), by fitting negative log returns of Nigeria Naira (NGN) against nine other regional and world currencies into the Generalized Pareto Model. In this paper VaR is being used to determine daily foreign exchange risk on investments and the ES is used to determine the average risk over a period of time. Excess distribution and the tail of the underlying distribution were obtained over a required threshold. Empirical analysis shows that parameter estimate of the underlying distribution can be used to describe the performance of the VaR and ES. The findings contributes to the knowledge on foreign exchange forecasting and helps investors and policy makers in Nigeria to measure daily and possible risk over a period of time on certain investments

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN NIGERIA’S DOWNSTREAM PETROLEUM SECTOR

The emergence of a ‘new world economy’ makes it imperative for corporate entities to adjust their corporate values, practices and internal processes. This paper explored the interrelatedness of selected corporate governance practices and human resource management outcomes. The paper relied on established corporate management theories as a platform for empirical consideration of selected issues relative to four established players in Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector. A descriptive method was adopted and data was collected via a survey of 112 respondents. Contextual arguments were captured to achieve a robust appreciation of issues affecting individual participation and operations of corporate entities. The study found that there is a significant relationship between corporate governance practices and human resource management outcomes. Requisite conclusions and recommendations were provided in the light of empirical and theoretical findings

EXPLORING THE METHODS OF COINTEGRATION PROCEDURES USING STOCK PRICES

Stationary models are an essential class of stochastic models for describing time series data which have received a great attention. In reality, however, business and economic data are non-stationary multivariate time series that are often better understood by cointegration analysis. This study investigates the cointegration testing methods of Engle-Granger two-step estimation technique, Phillip-Ouliaris test, and Johansen's multivariate test. The stock prices of selected companies in Nigeria from 2008-2014 are used in the study. Findings revealed that the three techniques produced different results and that the Johansen's method and Engle-Granger two steps procedure exhibits higher efficiencies than Phillips-Ouliaris methods but their efficiency is dependent on the number of variables and correct selection

The analysis of physicochemical characteristics of pig farm seepage and its possible impact on the receiving natural environment

Pig farm seepage poses an environmental risk, considering that seepage can be generally applied on land without appropriate agronomic criteria or may accidentally spill on the natural environment. These environmental risks include increasing oxygen demand, nutrient loading of water-bodies, promoting toxic and algal blooms eutrophication, thus, leading to a destabilized environment. This research was conducted to determine the impact that the pig farm seepage may have the receiving environment based on the analyses of the physicochemical parameters of the adjacent environments. Wastewater and soil samples were collected between the periods of March 2013 to August 2013 and wastewater was analyzed for pH, temperature, Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), salinity, turbidity, Dissolved Oxygen (DO), NO3, NO2, and PO4 3−. The results for wastewater samples for BOD (163 mg/L to 3350 mg/L), TDS (0.77 g/L to 6.48 mg/L), COD (210 mg/L to 9400 mg/L), and NO3 (55 mg/L to 1680 mg/L), were higher than the maximum permissible limits. Results of soil samples for TDS (0.01g/L to 0.88 g/L), COD (40 mg/L to 304 mg/L), NO3 (32.5 mg/L to 475 mg/L), and NO2 (7.35 mg/L to 255 mg/L) were also higher than recommended limits. The results revealed that the seepage from pig farm degraded the natural environment by causing eutrophication, promote toxic and algal blooms, increase oxygen demand and thus destabilize the homeostatic balance of the receiving environment.Keywords: Physicochemical parameters, pollution, soil, wastewater, seepage, pig farm, environmen

Doctors’ practice and attitudes towards red blood cell transfusion at Mthatha Regional Hospital, Eastern Cape, South Africa: A mixed methods study

Background: Unnecessary blood transfusion exposes recipients to potential harms. Aim: The aim of this study was to describe blood transfusion practice and explore doctors’ attitudes towards transfusion. Setting: A hospital providing level 1 and 2 services. Methods: A mixed-methods study design was used. In the cross-sectional descriptive component, a sample was taken from patients transfused over a 2-month period. Blood use was categorised as for medical anaemia or haemorrhage, and appropriate or not. The qualitative component comprised a purposeful sample for focus group and individual semi-structured interviews. Results: Of 239 patients sampled, 62% were transfused for medical anaemia and 38% for haemorrhage. In the medical anaemia group, compliance with age-appropriate transfusion thresholds was 69%. In medical anaemia and haemorrhage, 114 (77%) and 85 (93.4%) of recipients had orders for ≥ 2 red blood cell (RBC) units, respectively. In adults ≥ 18 years old with medical anaemia, 47.1% of orders would have resulted in a haemoglobin (Hb) < 8 g/dL. Six doctors participated in focus group and eleven in individual interviews. There was a lack of awareness of institutional transfusion guidelines, disagreement on appropriate RBC transfusion thresholds and comments that more than one RBC unit should always be transfused. Factors informing decisions to transfuse included advice from senior colleagues, relieving symptoms of anaemia and high product costs. Conclusion: Most orders were for two or more units. In medical anaemia, doctors’ compliance with RBC transfusion thresholds was reasonable; however, almost half of the orders would have resulted in overtransfusion. The attitudes of doctors sampled suggest that their transfusion practice is influenced more by institutional values than formal guidelines

SURVIVAL PRIORITY FOR NIGERIAN BANKS: INVESTIGATING THE NEED FOR DIVERSIFICATION STRATEGIES IN A DOWNTURN ECONOMY

This study examined diversification strategies from a different perspective by evaluating the survival indicators from sampled of Nigerian banks through the exploitation of new product tactics, related and unrelated diversification options. Using survey design to sift data from 372 sampled respondents of five randomly selected money deposit banks in Oyo and Ogun states Nigeria; and by adopting the triangulation analytical technique involving combination of questionnaires and interviews, it was found that there was a significant positive effect of new product/service strategies on the profit growth of selected banks in Nigeria; further it was discovered that unrelated diversification strategies influenced positively on the banking firms’ ability to outperform their competing rivals; and also, banking firms in Nigeria that considered related or unrelated diversification grow faster and perform better than those who remain undiversified. The regression analysis was used to test the three hypothesized questions and results showed significant figures on the variables. The study concludes that the corporate survival of Nigerian banking organizations would be significantly affected by the mode of diversification utilized by such firms. It was advised that the Nigerian banking organizations should pay greater attention to the new-products, related and unrelated diversifications in order to enjoy continuing successful operations. Further, the study admonished that the banking firms need to enhance and improve on their quality design, innovations and unique features. Due to the forces faced from domestic and international competition, a strategy of diversification would be a more viable option for Nigerian banks than strategies based on efficiency and price. JEL: E58, G21, E02  Article visualizations