Trend Analysis of Landcover/ Landuse Change in Patani L.G.A, Delta State Nigeria

This study examines the use of GIS and Remote Sensing in trend analysis of landcover/landuse change in Patani L.G.A, Delta State Nigeria from 2005 to 2015. Thus the study is to carry out a multi-temporal analysis of development trends, thereby detecting the changes that have taken place between these periods. Two Landsat images, Landsat 7ETM+ (2005) and Landsat 8OLI (2015) were acquired, classified and change detection analysis was performed to determine the multi-temporal landcover/landuse changes between the years. The results showed that vegetation decreased from 16673.73 hectares in 2005 to 15973.9 hectares in 2015 covering 75.45% of landcover/landuse class in the study area, built up area gained from 3684.03 hectares in 2005 to 4346.37 hectares in 2015 covering 20.53 % in the study area, while water bodies also increased from 812.29 hectares in 2005 to 849.78 hectares in 2015 covering 4% of the study area. The study also indicated that the annual growth rate of Built up area has increased at 0.82% from 2005 to 2015, vegetation decreasing significantly at the rate of -0.21% from 2005 to 2015, and water bodies also increasing at a rate of 0.22% from 2005 to 2015. The results from this study can serve as a base for decision making and planning for urban planning and regional developments in Patani L.G.A

Geographic Information System Based Approach to Pre-Election Monitoring In Awka South Local Government Area of Anambra State, Nigeria

GIS based electoral system provides efficient database and also be useful to enhance officials to conduct and manage elections. This research is aimed at using Geographic Information System based approach to monitoring election in Awka South L.G.A of Anambra State. The methodology employed in this research involves conversion of analogue map into digital map (through the process of scanning), georeferencing and digitizing, updating the study road map using Google Earth image. Other processes includes: Plotting of coordinate points, Geo-database creation and queries generations. GIS based mapping is one of the best techniques of depicting spatial data, the location the polling unit was depicted and it was noticed that there are no polling units located at around/within Ngozika and Udoka Housing units

Terrorism Inclination and Self-Esteem Level of Secondary School Students in Nigeria

Incidences of terrorism and proclivity or penchant towards such acts has necessitated the need to examine if secondary school students are inclined towards terrorism, the gender that is most inclined to terrorist tendencies and whether self-esteem issues contribute to terrorism inclination. This is to assist in initiating general and gender specific educational campaign among secondary school students aimed at curbing terrorism in Nigeria. This study aimed to identify the specific gender which is more predisposed to terrorism and to manifesting self-esteem issues among secondary school students. In order to investigate gender differences in terrorism inclination and self-esteem issues among secondary school students in Lagos, 590 students from 8 secondary schools in Lagos State were administered the 10 item Terrorism Inclination Scale by Agbo and Ezeuduji (2010) and the Rosenberg’s self-esteem scale. The participants consisted of 249 males and 341 females aged 9 to 23 years (M = 14.44, SD = 1.58) in Junior and Senior Secondary Schools. The result of a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) used to analyse gender differences in terrorism inclination and self-esteem issues among secondary school students in Nigeria showed a significant influence of gender in terrorism inclination among secondary school students, F (2, 587) = 4.876, p<= 0.01; Wilks’ Lambda = 0.984, partial η2 =0.02 but there was no gender difference in self-esteem level of secondary school students. Male secondary school students reported both higher terrorism inclination (X̅ = 24.56, SD = 8.11) and higher level of self-esteem (X̅ = 21.05, SD = 3.36) than female secondary school students. This study has clearly shown the existence of terrorism proclivity among secondary school students irrespective of their self-esteem level. The need for educators to focus on secondary school students in order to dissuade them from sympathising with terrorists so as to curb the spate of terrorism in Nigeria was discussed

Leadership and Entrepreneurship: Preliminary Validation of Covenant Entrepreneurial Effectiveness Scale

Attaining and maintaining leadership in any field of human endeavour requires regular valid measurement and evaluation. The latter is the quest of Psychometrics. The core objective of this study, therefore, was to develop and attempt preliminary validation of the Covenant Entrepreneurial Effectiveness Scale [CEES], a monitoring device for entrepreneurs. The CEES was based on Schumpeter’s theory of Innovation in entrepreneurship and Leibenstein’s theory of entrepreneurship, combined with current observations of SMEs in a developing economy. The core research questions were: What are the internal consistency reliabilities of the CEES? What are the discriminant validity indices of the CEES? One hundred and ninety-four (194) small scale entrepreneurs were randomly sampled from Ado-Odo Ota local government area in Ogun State, Nigeria. There were 128 males and 66 females with age ranging from 20-65 years. The mean and standard deviation of their age were 38.05 and 8.56 respectively. The responses to the CEES were analysed with Cronbach alpha, Guttman Split-half and Spearman-Brown coefficients and independent student t-test. The results showed that the CEES has significant internal consistency reliability (0.755), splithalf reliability (0.742) and discriminant validities for entrepreneurs who were differentiated on Gender (t=2.75, p=0.007), Age (t=2.003, p=0.048), House (t=5.68, p=0.0) Car (5.89, p=0.0) and Annual Profit (t=3.432, p=0.001). It was recommended that the CEES be administered on SMEs in other parts of the globe to further ascertain its reliability and validity for regular monitoring and evaluation, to catalyse entrepreneurial leadership

Challenges of Residency Training and Early Career Doctors in Nigeria Phase II: Update on Objectives, Design, and Rationale of Study

Background: Early career doctors (ECDs) are a dynamic and highly mobile group of medical and dental practitioners who form a significant proportion of the health workforce in Nigeria. The challenges of residency training and ECDs in Nigeria CHARTING Phase I study explored limited challenges affecting ECDs under the broad themes of demography, workplace issues, and psychosocial issues. The CHARTING II was expanded to provide wider insight into the challenges of ECDs in Nigeria. Objective: This protocol aims to provide clear objectives including description of objectives, design, and rationale for the conduct of the proposed CHARTING II study which seeks to explore other components under the various themes of demographic, workplace, psychosocial issues affecting the ECDs in Nigeria, and which were not explored under CHARTING I.   Methodology: This shall be a mixed study design that will combine qualitative and quantitative methods, to investigate 27 subthemes among 2000 ECDs spread across 31 centers, accredited by the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors. Participants shall be selected using the multistage sampling method. The primary data will be generated using structured proforma and validated questionnaires,while administrative sources would serve as a source of secondary data. Data will be entered and analyzed using appropriate statisticalsoftware. Conclusion: CHARTING II study would provide more robust data and insight into the problems encountered by ECDs in Nigeria. This would in turn build a platform for institutional engagement and advocacy in order to drive relevant policies to mitigate these challenges. Keywords: Early career doctors, Nigeria, residency, resident doctors, trainin

Introduction to a Culturally Sensitive Measure of Well-Being: Combining Life Satisfaction and Interdependent Happiness Across 49 Different Cultures

How can one conclude that well-being is higher in country A than country B, when well-being is being measured according to the way people in country A think about well-being? We address this issue by proposing a new culturally sensitive method to comparing societal levels of well-being. We support our reasoning with data on life satisfaction and interdependent happiness focusing on individual and family, collected mostly from students, across forty-nine countries. We demonstrate that the relative idealization of the two types of well-being varies across cultural contexts and are associated with culturally different models of selfhood. Furthermore, we show that rankings of societal well-being based on life satisfaction tend to underestimate the contribution from interdependent happiness. We introduce a new culturally sensitive method for calculating societal well-being, and examine its construct validity by testing for associations with the experience of emotions and with individualism-collectivism. This new culturally sensitive approach represents a slight, yet important improvement in measuring well-being

Irbesartan in Marfan syndrome (AIMS): a double-blind, placebo-controlled randomised trial

BACKGROUND: Irbesartan, a long acting selective angiotensin-1 receptor inhibitor, in Marfan syndrome might reduce aortic dilatation, which is associated with dissection and rupture. We aimed to determine the effects of irbesartan on the rate of aortic dilatation in children and adults with Marfan syndrome. METHODS: We did a placebo-controlled, double-blind randomised trial at 22 centres in the UK. Individuals aged 6-40 years with clinically confirmed Marfan syndrome were eligible for inclusion. Study participants were all given 75 mg open label irbesartan once daily, then randomly assigned to 150 mg of irbesartan (increased to 300 mg as tolerated) or matching placebo. Aortic diameter was measured by echocardiography at baseline and then annually. All images were analysed by a core laboratory blinded to treatment allocation. The primary endpoint was the rate of aortic root dilatation. This trial is registered with ISRCTN, number ISRCTN90011794. FINDINGS: Between March 14, 2012, and May 1, 2015, 192 participants were recruited and randomly assigned to irbesartan (n=104) or placebo (n=88), and all were followed for up to 5 years. Median age at recruitment was 18 years (IQR 12-28), 99 (52%) were female, mean blood pressure was 110/65 mm Hg (SDs 16 and 12), and 108 (56%) were taking β blockers. Mean baseline aortic root diameter was 34·4 mm in the irbesartan group (SD 5·8) and placebo group (5·5). The mean rate of aortic root dilatation was 0·53 mm per year (95% CI 0·39 to 0·67) in the irbesartan group compared with 0·74 mm per year (0·60 to 0·89) in the placebo group, with a difference in means of -0·22 mm per year (-0·41 to -0·02, p=0·030). The rate of change in aortic Z score was also reduced by irbesartan (difference in means -0·10 per year, 95% CI -0·19 to -0·01, p=0·035). Irbesartan was well tolerated with no observed differences in rates of serious adverse events. INTERPRETATION: Irbesartan is associated with a reduction in the rate of aortic dilatation in children and young adults with Marfan syndrome and could reduce the incidence of aortic complications

Sickness behaviour pushed too far – the basis of the syndrome seen in severe protozoal, bacterial and viral diseases and post-trauma

Certain distinctive components of the severe systemic inflammatory syndrome are now well-recognized to be common to malaria, sepsis, viral infections, and post-trauma illness. While their connection with cytokines has been appreciated for some time, the constellation of changes that comprise the syndrome has simply been accepted as an empirical observation, with no theory to explain why they should coexist. New data on the effects of the main pro-inflammatory cytokines on the genetic control of sickness behaviour can be extended to provide a rationale for why this syndrome contains many of its accustomed components, such as reversible encephalopathy, gene silencing, dyserythropoiesis, seizures, coagulopathy, hypoalbuminaemia and hypertriglyceridaemia. It is thus proposed that the pattern of pathology that comprises much of the systemic inflammatory syndrome occurs when one of the usually advantageous roles of pro-inflammatory cytokines – generating sickness behaviour by moderately repressing genes (Dbp, Tef, Hlf, Per1, Per2 and Per3, and the nuclear receptor Rev-erbα) that control circadian rhythm – becomes excessive. Although reversible encephalopathy and gene silencing are severe events with potentially fatal consequences, they can be viewed as having survival advantages through lowering energy demand. In contrast, dyserythropoiesis, seizures, coagulopathy, hypoalbuminaemia and hypertriglyceridaemia may best be viewed as unfortunate consequences of extreme repression of these same genetic controls when the pro-inflammatory cytokines that cause sickness behaviour are produced excessively. As well as casting a new light on the previously unrationalized coexistence of these aspects of systemic inflammatory diseases, this concept is consistent with the case for a primary role for inflammatory cytokines in their pathogenesis across this range of diseases

The impact of inversions across 33,924 families with rare disease from a national genome sequencing project

Detection of structural variants (SVs) is currently biased toward those that alter copy number. The relative contribution of inversions toward genetic disease is unclear. In this study, we analyzed genome sequencing data for 33,924 families with rare disease from the 100,000 Genomes Project. From a database hosting >500 million SVs, we focused on 351 genes where haploinsufficiency is a confirmed disease mechanism and identified 47 ultra-rare rearrangements that included an inversion (24 bp to 36.4 Mb, 20/47 de novo). Validation utilized a number of orthogonal approaches, including retrospective exome analysis. RNA-seq data supported the respective diagnoses for six participants. Phenotypic blending was apparent in four probands. Diagnostic odysseys were a common theme (>50 years for one individual), and targeted analysis for the specific gene had already been performed for 30% of these individuals but with no findings. We provide formal confirmation of a European founder origin for an intragenic MSH2 inversion. For two individuals with complex SVs involving the MECP2 mutational hotspot, ambiguous SV structures were resolved using long-read sequencing, influencing clinical interpretation. A de novo inversion of HOXD11-13 was uncovered in a family with Kantaputra-type mesomelic dysplasia. Lastly, a complex translocation disrupting APC and involving nine rearranged segments confirmed a clinical diagnosis for three family members and resolved a conundrum for a sibling with a single polyp. Overall, inversions play a small but notable role in rare disease, likely explaining the etiology in around 1/750 families across heterogeneous clinical cohorts

Locational Analysis of Filling Stations in Portharcourt Local Government Area, River State, Nigeria Using GIS Approach

The rapid growth of urbanization has created greater demand for vehicles, which results in more fuel consumption and has given rise to the establishment of filling stations in other to satisfy those needs. A petrol filling station is important but meanwhile it is a hazardous facility, so special attention is paid on its location. The paper is aimed at location analysis of filling stations in Port Harcourt local government area of rivers state using GIS approach through acquisition of primary and secondary datasets of the study area, creation of a functional spatial database and spatial attribute queries that will aid in the location analysis of filling stations in compliance with petroleum safety rules and regulations. The result shows that About 7 filling stations were located close to residential buildings, 14 out of 38 filling stations do not have adequate fire extinguishers, 14 filling stations have its pumping machine close to the road and 15 filling station lie in electricity high tension right of way. It is recommended that the regulating bodies should frequently inspect these filling stations to ensure that all the safety measures are properly observed and equipments are put in place