The influence of informal institutions on informal sector entrepreneurship: A study of Nigeria’s hand-woven textile industry

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.This paper draws on the institutional theory framework to explore the prevalence of entrepreneurship in the informal economy in Nigeria. An interpretive approach was taken in analyzing open-ended interview data collected from 26 entrepreneurs in the hand-woven textile industry in the southwestern region of Nigeria. Our findings show that beyond regulatory burden or survivalist economic necessity, the enterprise culture in the Nigerian informal economy is determined by value-driven criteria of sociocultural and normative environment that constitute part of the cognitive process of entrepreneurial emergence in a typical institutional context

Institutional Environments and Youths Entrepreneurial Orientation: Evidence from Nigeria

Entrepreneurial activities and venture creation among youths represent one of the key drivers of job creation and economic growth (OECD, 2016; Acs, 2006). What influences individual entrepreneur to business start-up remains an enduring issue of interest in academic research on entrepreneurship. Recent studies suggest that the institutional context plays a key role in influencing individual behaviour, as well as in facilitating entrepreneurial climate for new ventures. Consequently, this study draws on institutional theory as a valuable lens to investigate the extent to which the regulative, normative and cultural-cognitive environments affect individual entrepreneurial orientation (IEO) and self-employment among Nigerian youths. The study adopts a quantitative research approach, allowing for primary data collection conducted through survey questionnaire and administered to a sample of 482 student respondents. A three-stage hierarchical regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses and to investigate the predictability impact of the model. The result revealed that all three predictor variables (Institutional environments) made a statistical unique contribution to the model. However, the regulative and cognitive model made a statistically significant unique contribution to impacting the individual entrepreneurial orientation among the university educated Nigerian youths

Quantitative flow ratio-based outcomes in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation quaestio study

Background: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is common in patients with aortic valve stenosis (AS) ranging from 60% to 80%. The clinical and prognostic role of coronary artery lesions in patients undergoing Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI) remains unclear. The aim of the present observational study was to estimate long-term clinical outcomes by Quantitative Flow Ratio (QFR) characterization of CAD in a well-represented cohort of patients affected by severe AS treated by TAVI. Methods: A total of 439 invasive coronary angiographies of patients deemed eligible for TAVI by local Heart Teams with symptomatic severe AS were retrospectively screened for QFR analysis. The primary endpoint of the study was all-cause mortality. The secondary endpoint was a composite of cardiovascular mortality, stroke/transient ischemic attack (TIA), acute myocardial infarction (AMI), and any hospitalization after TAVI. Results: After exclusion of patients with no follow-up data, coronary angiography not feasible for QFR analysis and previous surgical myocardial revascularization (CABG) 48/239 (20.1%) patients had a QFR value lower or equal to 0.80 (QFR + value), while the remaining 191/239 (79.9%) did not present any vessel with a QFR positive value. In the adjusted Cox regression analysis, patients with positive QFR were independently associated with an increased risk of all-casual mortality (Model 1, HR 3.47, 95% CI, 2.35−5.12; Model 2, HR 5.01, 95% CI, 3.17−7.90). In the adjusted covariate analysis, QFR+ involving LAD (37/48, 77,1%) was associated with the higher risk of the composite outcome compared to patients without any positive value of QFR or non-LAD QFR positive value (11/48, 22.9%). Conclusions: Pre-TAVI QFR analysis can be used for a safe, simple, wireless functional assessment of CAD. QFR permits to identify patients at high risk of cardiovascular mortality or MACE, and it could be considered by local Heart Teams

Fostering Entrepreneurial Activities through Microfinance in Nigeria

This paper examines the mechanisms by which microfinance loans foster entrepreneurship using social capital. Our empirical data was gathered through questionnaire survey of 317 active small business borrowers in Nigeria. Two models were considered for this study, social capital as a measure of social network and social capital as a measure of trust among group members were tested. On microfinance and social network on entrepreneurial success our study shows that: a) microloans obtained on group membership platform enhances entrepreneurial success of borrowers; b) further probing of the sex of respondents interacted with relationship with loan officers shows that female respondents perceive their relationship with their loan officers yield better entrepreneurial success. Female borrowers also perceived their group membership as the platform for their entrepreneurial success. On pre-loan training and level of education, we found that borrowers with lower levels of education receiving microloans were more successful in their entrepreneurial activities than borrowers with higher levels of education. In the same vein, borrowers with lower levels of education perceived the relationship with their loan officers enhances their entrepreneurial activities more so than respondents with higher levels of education. c) On trust as a measure of social capital, microloan show positive significant impact on entrepreneurial success. Further probing shows that borrowers with lower levels of education are more trusting of their group members than borrowers with higher education levels and this we believe enhances their entrepreneurial success. Also, borrowers with lower level of education believe that group membership enhance their access to microloan although result obtained is not statistically significant at 5 percent. In the same vein, borrowers with lower education levels perceived their group membership enhance their welfare while borrowers with higher education levels do not. We also observed gender differences in loan access such that female borrowers perceived group membership enhances ability to access loans while male respondents did not see any connection between group membership and loan access. Interacting this with entrepreneurial success resulted in a negative influence which implies that access to loan on the platform of group membership does not enhance entrepreneurial success of the respondents. Furthermore, female borrowers perceive group membership enhances their welfare and have positive impact on their entrepreneurial success but not male borrowers. The result also suggests that female borrowers place more trust on their group members which in turn enhance their entrepreneurial success. Further robust check shows that both models are of good fit and statistically significant at 1 percent. This study thus extends the entrepreneurship literature to microfinance and provides empirical insight into the significance of social capital in facilitating microfinance contribution to business creation and growth

A Qualitative Study of Signal Strength Coverage of Digital Terrestrial Television in Ibadan South Western Nigeria

This work investigated the quality of signal strength coverage of the existing Digital Terrestrial Television (DTTV) operator in Nigeria using Startimes Ibadan as a case study. Signal strength and altitude data at different locations within a 40km radius of the Startimes transmitting station were measured to determine the quality of signal strength reception of Startime's digital television in Ibadan metropolis. A signal analyzer, a 10-meter cable, Yaggi external antenna and Global Positioning System (GPS) were used for the measurements at various locations in Ibadan within 40km radius distance of Startimes based station at Agodi in Ibadan. The city was grouped into six different zones for proper signal testing and efficient data collation. Parameters such as signal strength, distance, altitude, signal to noise ratio, modulation error rate, pre-bit error rate and post-bit-error rate were measured and recorded. The effects of distance and altitude were analyzed. It was observed from the result that there is a direct relationship between power level and altitude. In addition, there is an inverse relationship between power level and distance.   Keywords: DTTV, Signal Strength, Altitude, Distance, DVB-

Genetic predisposition to atorvastatin-induced myopathy: a case report

What is known and Objective: The major clinical complication of statins is a variety of muscle complaints ranging from myalgia to rhabdomyolysis. There is growing evidence that carriers of genetic polymorphisms in the enzymes and transporters implicated in statin disposition, particularly the SLCO1B1 gene, are at increased risk of myotoxicity. Our objective is to report on two cases of statin-induced myopathy occurring in a family with two patients who are carriers of the loss of function SLCO1B1 genetic variant and to briefly review the related literature. Case summary: Patient 1, a 48-year-old man with history of coronary artery disease, experienced rapidly evolving muscle pain and weakness of the extremities during treatment with atorvastatin 40 mg. Patient 2, a 65-year-old man, father of patient 1, had symptoms similar to those of his son after 2 weeks treatment with the same statin. Atorvastatin was stopped in both cases, and symptoms resolved. On the basis of family relationship between the two patients, it was possible to hypothesize a genetic basis for the myopathy. Genotyping showed the patients to be carriers of the rs4363657 polymorphism of SLCO1B1 gene. What is new and Conclusion: The two cases reported here and the brief literature review emphasize the impact of genetic factors on the risk of myopathy with statins. Although genotyping all patients before initiating therapy is not recommended at present, pharmacogenetic testing may be useful for new patients who have a family history of statin-induced myopathy

Lipid-rich plaques detected by near-infrared spectroscopy predict coronary events irrespective of age: A Lipid Rich Plaque sub-study

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61. Rapid and portable, lab-on-chip, point-of-care genotyping for evaluating clopidogrel metabolism

Background: Dual antiplatelet therapy with aspirin and a platelet P2Y12 receptor inhibitors (clopidogrel, prasugrel, ticagrelor) is a cornerstone of antithrombotic treatment in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS). Clopidogrel has been the standard of care for nearly a decade; however, its clinical efficacy is influenced by a considerable inter-patient variability in response, clearly associated to cytochrome P (CYP) enzyme genetic variations. We used a novel point-of-care lab-on-chip instrument to genotype ACS patients in order to identify carriers of the ATB-binding cassette ABCB1 3435, CYP2C19*2 and CYPC2C19*17 alleles and adjust the pharmacological approach accordingly. Methods and results: Between October 2012 and January 2013, 160 ACS patients were enrolled at the Cardiology Unit of the Ospedale Niguarda Ca Granda and genotyped at the patients' point-of-care using the newly developed Q3 portable real-time PCR instrument which remarkably scored the CYP2C19*2, CYP2C19*17, and ABCB13435 alleles in a time of 70 min from DNA extraction to final genotype calls; concordance with the other gold-standard genotyping techniques was 100%. Conclusions: The Q3 instrument proved to be as reliable as the current conventional techniques. As genotyping in the ACS setting cannot be delegated to centralised clinical laboratories for reasons of time, genotyping at the patients' bedside provides an opportunity to conduct large-scale randomised trials in order to assess whether adding genotype data to clinical variables improves clinical outcomes. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved