The Mediating Effect of Financial Distress on the Relationship between Profitability and Value of Listed Non-Financial Firms in Nigeria

This study examined mediating effect of financial distress on the relationship between profitability and firm value. The prior studies have focused on the FND and firm value, individually. To date, relatively little research has been conducted in this area, the current study would like to investigate this issue and fill such a research gap in Nigerian capital market. The study used listed non-financial services firms in the Nigerian Exchange Group for the period 2011 to 2020. Purposive sampling technique was used in the study. The study used 72 firms out of the 113 non-financial services firms that were listed for the period under study. The descriptive statistics, correlation and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) were used as techniques for data analysis while Monte Carlo model was used to determine the level of significance of the indirect effects. The study found that profitability has positive and significant effect on value, as well as financial distress of listed non-financial services firms in Nigeria. Financial distress has negative and significant effect on firm value. Finally, financial distress partially mediates the relationship between profitability and value of listed non-financial service firms in Nigeria. Hence, the study recommends among others that listed non-financial service firms in Nigeria should put profitability into consideration as it may the effect of profitability reduce financial distress and increase the value of their firms

Clinical profile of paediatric sickle cell disease at a reference hospital in North–eastern Nigeria

Background: Sickle cell disorders (SCD) are the commonest inherited haemoglobin (Hb) disorders. Globally, about 300,000 babies are born annually with these conditions. The clinical profiles of SCD have been described in many parts of the world. These however have not been adequately investigated in some parts of Nigeria. This study evaluated the clinical features, Hb phenotype and complications of children with SCD being managed at a Paediatric haematology clinic in Northern Nigeria. Methods: A prospective observational study of steady state SCD patients aged 2 – 16 years, was conducted from January, 2019  -October, 2020. Historical and examination findings were documented. Analysis of data was done with the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.0. Results: One hundred children were studied. Mean age was 6.97 ± 3.63 years. Male: female ratio was 1.6:1.Mean weight and mean height were lower than reference standards (t= -1.20, p= 0.14), (t= - 0.66, p= 0.27) respectively. Mean age at diagnosis was 13.24 ±14.83 months, and at first presentation was 13.86 ±17.51 months, 58.5% of subjects were adequately vaccinated for age, while 92% had a Hb phenotype of SS. Acute chest syndrome occurred more frequently in children aged 9-12 years (χ2= 11.59, P ˂ 0.001), and in those with severe bacterial infections (χ2= 7.41, p= 0.006). Conclusion: The complications of Paediatric SCD in this part of North-Eastern Nigeria mirrors those in other parts of the country. Socio-economic class, Hb phenotype and vaccination status had no influence on the development of complications

Investigation of hospital discharge cases and SARS-CoV-2 introduction into Lothian care homes

Background The first epidemic wave of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) in Scotland resulted in high case numbers and mortality in care homes. In Lothian, over one-third of care homes reported an outbreak, while there was limited testing of hospital patients discharged to care homes. Aim To investigate patients discharged from hospitals as a source of SARS-CoV-2 introduction into care homes during the first epidemic wave. Methods A clinical review was performed for all patients discharges from hospitals to care homes from 1st March 2020 to 31st May 2020. Episodes were ruled out based on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) test history, clinical assessment at discharge, whole-genome sequencing (WGS) data and an infectious period of 14 days. Clinical samples were processed for WGS, and consensus genomes generated were used for analysis using Cluster Investigation and Virus Epidemiological Tool software. Patient timelines were obtained using electronic hospital records. Findings In total, 787 patients discharged from hospitals to care homes were identified. Of these, 776 (99%) were ruled out for subsequent introduction of SARS-CoV-2 into care homes. However, for 10 episodes, the results were inconclusive as there was low genomic diversity in consensus genomes or no sequencing data were available. Only one discharge episode had a genomic, time and location link to positive cases during hospital admission, leading to 10 positive cases in their care home. Conclusion The majority of patients discharged from hospitals were ruled out for introduction of SARS-CoV-2 into care homes, highlighting the importance of screening all new admissions when faced with a novel emerging virus and no available vaccine

SARS-CoV-2 Omicron is an immune escape variant with an altered cell entry pathway

Vaccines based on the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 are a cornerstone of the public health response to COVID-19. The emergence of hypermutated, increasingly transmissible variants of concern (VOCs) threaten this strategy. Omicron (B.1.1.529), the fifth VOC to be described, harbours multiple amino acid mutations in spike, half of which lie within the receptor-binding domain. Here we demonstrate substantial evasion of neutralization by Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 variants in vitro using sera from individuals vaccinated with ChAdOx1, BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273. These data were mirrored by a substantial reduction in real-world vaccine effectiveness that was partially restored by booster vaccination. The Omicron variants BA.1 and BA.2 did not induce cell syncytia in vitro and favoured a TMPRSS2-independent endosomal entry pathway, these phenotypes mapping to distinct regions of the spike protein. Impaired cell fusion was determined by the receptor-binding domain, while endosomal entry mapped to the S2 domain. Such marked changes in antigenicity and replicative biology may underlie the rapid global spread and altered pathogenicity of the Omicron variant

Pattern of discharge against medical advice amongst paediatric in-patients at Federal Medical Centre, Azare, Nigeria

Background: Discharge against medical advice (DAMA) is a common problem in health care delivery in developing countries, including Nigeria. Children are vulnerable in this situation as they may neither comprehend nor contribute to the decisions and it may be that DAMA is not in their best interest. We therefore sought to determine the prevalence rate of DAMA amongst paediatric in-patients at the Federal Medical Centre, Azare.Methods: This was a retrospective study carried out over a 3 year period from January 2011 to December 2013. Hospital Numbers of  patients who were discharged against medical advice were identified from the ward admission and discharge registers for the Paediatric medical ward (PMW) and Special Care baby Unit (SCBU). Folders were retrieved; relevant clinical and socio-economic data were extracted as well as duration of hospital stay. Data was analyzed to generate rates and percentages.Results: A prevalence rate of DAMA was 4.3% amongst the 3896 children admitted into the wards. PMW had a prevalence rate of 3.5% and SCBU had a prevalence of 6.8%. Acute infections accounted for the majority of admissions, the mean duration of hospital stay was less than one week and the most common documented reason for DAMA was financial constraints (15.5%) on the part of the caregivers.Conclusion: DAMA is still frequent amongst paediatric patients and financial constraint is the most common reason given by caregivers for the request. Laws and policies enabling health insurance coverage of all children or provision of free health care should be made

Perception of Substance Use among In-School Adolescents and Key Informants in Gombe State, Nigeria

Background: Substance use has gradually become a global problem resulting in negative effect on the physical, mental and social wellbeing of individuals. This study aimed to determine the perception of adolescents and key informants on substance and illicit drug use in order to control this menace.Methods: A cross-sectional study design employing qualitative method of data collection. Focused Group Discussions (FGDs) and Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) were conducted. All data generated were collated and analysed using content analysis. Results: The key informants reported that peer influence, male sex and having broken homes were factors that were responsible for substance use. Adolescents also reported that easy access to these substances, the zeal to perform better in school, ability to have more fruitful relationships and ability to confront their parents were some of the reasons they engaged in substance use. Conclusion: This study has therefore implied that adolescents in school have easy access to and engage in substances despite being aware of the complications as it is mostly done to address their social needs.Recommendation: It is therefore recommended that periodic mental health screening should be conducted for adolescents with the support of their parents and guardians in line with school health services in order to identify and manage those with mental problems that could predispose them to use of substances

Vestibular damage affects the precision and accuracy of navigation in a virtual visual environment

Vestibular information is available to the brain during navigation, as are the other self-generated (idiothetic) and external (allothetic) sensorimotor cues that contribute to central estimates of position and motion. Rodent studies provide strong evidence that vestibular information contributes to navigation but human studies have been less conclusive. Furthermore, sex-based differences have been described in human navigation studies performed with the head stationary, a situation where dynamic vestibular (and other idiothetic) information is absent, but sex differences in the utilization of vestibular information have not been described. Here, we studied men and women with severe bilateral vestibular damage as they navigated through a visually-barren virtual reality environment and compared their performance to normal men and women. Two navigation protocols were employed which either activated dynamic idiothetic cues (dynamic task, navigate by turning, walking in place) or eliminated them (static task, navigate with key-presses, head stationary). For both protocols, we employed a standard “triangle completion task” in which subjects moved to two visual targets in series and then were required to return to their perceived starting position without localizing visual information. The angular and linear accuracy (derived from response error) and precision (derived from response variability) were calculated. Comparing performance within tasks, navigation on the dynamic paradigm was worse in male vestibular-deficient patients than in normal men but vestibular-deficient and normal women were equivalent; on the static paradigm vestibular-deficient men (but not women) performed better than normal subjects. Comparing performance between tasks, normal men performed better on the dynamic than the static paradigm while vestibular deficient men and both normal and vestibular-deficient women were equivalent on both tasks. Statistical analysis demonstrated that for the angular precision metric, sex had a significant effect on the interaction between vestibular status and the test paradigm. These results provide evidence that humans use vestibular information when they navigate in a virtual visual environment and that men and women may utilize vestibular (and visual) information differently. On our navigation paradigm, men used vestibular information to improve navigation performance, and in the presence of severe vestibular damage they utilized visual information more effectively. In contrast, we did not find evidence that women used vestibular information while navigating on our virtual task, nor did we find evidence that they improved their utilization of visual information in the presence of severe vestibular damage

Designing course materials for Quranic Language 1: towards promoting student-centred learning culture in IIUM based on TBLT approach

Task-based language teaching (TBLT) is not a common approach in teaching Arabic for non-native speakers in Malaysia. Prior to 2012, teachers of Arabic language courses in CELPAD mostly used the traditional method in their teaching. Students relied totally on their teachers: from explaining the subject, translating the text, preparing the exercises until choosing groups of vocabulary that they must memorize. TBLT is implemented by CELPAD to produce IIUM graduates who are able to use basic Arabic language vocabulary in their conversation even though they are not majoring in Arabic-based programs. By introducing this new approach in CELPAD, it has created major changes in the teaching of Arabic language in IIUM. Students have to adapt to a totally different approach as compared to whatever they were accustomed to in their secondary school. Outside the Arabic speaking world, particularly in Malaysia, there are hardly any other institutions that employ such approach in Arabic language teaching. Therefore, this project is conducted to assist teachers of Arabic language in IIUM to adopt this new approach in their teaching process

Biochemical and histological changes in the heart of post-partum rats exposed to Natron

Background: The customary puerperal practice of Natron consumption has been identified as one of the predisposing factors in the etiology of peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM). This study was designed to investigate the effect of Natron in postpartum Wistar albino rats. Methods: A total of 30 postpartum Wistar rats were exposed to different doses (50 mg/kg, 100 mg/kg, 200 mg/kg and 300 mg/kg) of Natron for 28 days. After the treatment, we carried out biochemical analyses and histological evaluations of kidney, liver and heart. Results: The study revealed that the exposure of postpartum rats to 100 mg/kg of Natron and above significantly (p < 0.05) increase the cardiac markers; myoglobin, creatine kinase-MB, troponin I and T as compared with control. The result of liver function indicated no significant difference in alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, gamma-glutamyltransferase, albumin and total protein of the Natron treated groups as compared with control. However, at higher doses, the levels of total protein, globulin and alkaline phosphatase activity were significantly increased in comparison to the control. There was no significant difference in the kidney function markers of the treatment groups as compared with control. Histological examinations revealed no changes in the kidney of the treated groups. Mild portal triaditis was observed in the liver of the treated rats. The heart of the rats administered ≥100 mg/kg of Natron showed myocyte hypertrophy. Conclusion: The study demonstrated that the administration of Natron for 28 days caused changes in the heart of postpartum rats and thus may contribute to the pathogenesis of PPCM. Keywords: Peripartum cardiomyopathy, Natron, Myocyte hypertrophy, Postpartum, Wistar ra