The Prospects and Challenges of Market Segmentation Practice in the Equipment Leasing Industry of Nigeria 2000-2013

Efficiency in the blending of the marketing mix elements all things being equal is higher among firms whose operations are based on market segmentation principles. Given this, the study appraised the level of adoption of the principle of market segmentation in the equipment leasing industry of Nigeria as it assessed this industry in relation to the nation’s macro economic development. Data base of the research are questionnaire and oral interviews. Findings are that the volume and value of transactions in the equipment lease industry is small thus lessors are involved in scramble merchandizing rather than in specialized operational fields of equipment leasing, lessors have poor knowledge of the needs and operational environments of the lessees hence adoption rate to changes in the market is poor, among others. This work recommends the recapitalization of the market as a means of strengthening the financial base of lessors for specialized operation as well as introduction of policies that have the capacity of encouraging cross boarder lease transactions in Nigeria

Cd4 count levels and pattern of respiratory complications in hiv seropositive patients in calabar, Nigeria.

A prospective observational study was carried out to describe the pattern of pulmonary complications in hospitalized patients with Human Immune-deficiency Virus (HIV) infection at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Calabar between January 2005 to December 2006. One hundred and twenty-four patients which consists 60 males and 64 females, aged between 20 – 60 who met the inclusion criteria formed the subjects for the study. The mean age of the subjects was 34.60+1.2 years. A structured questionnaire was used to obtain the demographic data, clinical information and CD4 lymphocyte count. Radiological analysis of chest was done with the chest X-ray of each subject. Chronic productive cough topped the list of respiratory symptoms (89%) followed by chest pain (74%) and dyspnea (62%). Lung consolidation was the commonest respiratory sign as seen in 44% of the cases. Hilar lymphadenopathy was seen in (35%), Pleural effusion (32%), lung fibrosis (21%) and finger clubbing (15%). The clinical and radiological pattern of most patients with chronic cough washighly suggestive of mycobacterial infection such as tuberculosis, although only 40% of cases had positive Acid Fast Baccilli. The mean CD4 lymphocyte count level was 174.8 + 5.4 cells/l and thismay be responsible for the respiratory findings as opportunistic lung infections are said to be commoner at CD4 count levels below 200 cells/l. However, four patients had mediasternal masseswhich may suggest neoplasms. Concerted efforts and continuous evaluation of these patients are needed to determine the spectrum of respiratory illnesses among HIV positive patients in Calabar

Determinants of length of hospitalization in a federal psychiatric hospital in Nigeria

Objective: The present study aims to determine the association between clinical-demographic variables and length of stay of patients admitted into Federal Psychiatric Hospital, Calabar.Design: Retrospective review of case records.Methods: 280 case records of patients (discharged from September 1st, 2015 to August 31st, 2016) were assembled for review, out of which twelve cases were excluded for various reasons. Clinical and demographic data collected from the remaining 268 case records were subjected to univariate and multivariate analyses to determine variables associated with prolonged length of stay.Results: Mean length of stay was 56.2 ± 40.9 and the commonest clinical diagnosis was schizophrenia (45.9%). Although gender, age, marital status and clinical diagnoses tended to influence length of stay, gender (p =0.007) and clinical diagnosis of schizophrenia (p =0.044) were the only variables that significantly predicted prolonged length of stay.Conclusion: We found that gender and clinical diagnoses were important determinants of length of stay. If validated in future studies, these factors may help in accurate identification of cases at risk of prolonged hospitalization and act as guide to clinicians who may need to optimize intervention strategies early enough in managing such cases.Keywords: Psychiatric hospitalization, Length of stay, Prolonged hospitalization, Psychiatric patients, Calaba

Growth and Agonistic Responses of Yaffa Breed Cockerels Administered Testosterone Propionate

The effect of birds’ duration of administration (duration of exposure) to exogenous Testosterone propionate on total weight gain (TWG) and agonistic behaviours (ABs) were evaluated in the Teaching and Research farm of the University of Ibadan, in Southwestern Nigeria. Testosterone propionate (TP) was administered once weekly, to Yaffa breed cockerels in T1,T2,T3,T4,T5 (for 8,12,16,18 and 20 weeks respectively).Birds in T6,received no testosterone propionate.ABs were evaluated twice daily, on a scale of 1-4,where 1 stood for ‘least agonistic’ and 4 stood for ‘very agonistic’. Agonistic acts like Head and feather pecks,kicks,chases and pushes were visually evaluated  TP-administered birds had significantly (p<0.05) higher ABs and TWGs than the birds in the Control. Higher ABs however did not affect TWG and other growth parameters negatively Keywords: Cockerels, Testosterone propionate, Growth, Agonistic behaviour

Growth performance of broiler chickens fed maize offal and crayfish-waste based diets

This study was conducted to evaluate the value of maize offal and cray fish waste meals as the main energy and protein sources respectivelys  in broiler chicken diets. One hundred and twenty day-old-Lohmann Brown broiler chicks were randomly allotted into two treatment groups of three replicates of60 and 20 birds, respectively. Maize offal and crayfish waste meals were used to replace maize and soybean/fishmeal, respectively in the control diet (T ) 1 to form (T ). Growth parameters monitored were final live weight, daily weight gain, feed 2 conversion ratio, internal and external body linear measurements were evaluated were statistically analysed using the studentized t-test at 5% and 1% probability. Results showed significantly (P<0.05) higher values in all the parameters apart from feed intake for birds on the control diet. The final live weight of birds on the test diet (T ) only reached that of the 2 control at 10 weeks of age. The phenotypic correlation of body weight and linear body measurements for birds on both the control and test treatment diets were high and positively significant (P<0.01). However, birds on the control diet had the longest body parts than those of the test diet, likewise the internal body parts. When expressed based on percentage body weight, birds on the test diet tended to have longer external and internal body parts. It is concluded that if maize offal and crayfish waste are to be used as total replacement for maize, soybean and fishmeal, the period of broiler production should be extended from 8 weeks to 10 weeks for birds to reach market weight and with attendance  lower cost of production. Keywords: Maize offal, crayfish waste, phenotypic correlation, linear measuremen

In-vitro Anti-Microbial and Brine-Shrimp Lethality Potential of the Leaves and Stem of Calotropis procera (Ait).

Calotropis procera (Family, Asclepiadeae) is implicated in a variety of ethno-medicinal therapies ranging form oral, skin, gastro-intestinal to respiratory problems. The effects of this plant on the sensitivity of micro-organisms need verification and its potential for cytotoxicity needs to be investigated. Thus, the anti-microbial and brine–shrimp lethality studies on the leaves and stem were carried out. The crude ethanolic extract of the stem and its ethylacetate fraction elicited good antibacterial activity against clinical strains of Bacillus subtilis , Staphylococcus aureus but gave minimal activity against Escherichia coli , Klebsiella pneumoniae and Salmonella typhi but none against the fungal isolate; Candida albicans . The brine-shrimp lethality assay analyzed using the Finney probit method showed that the crude ethanolic extracts of the leaves and stem displayed LD50 values at 192 ppm and 182 ppm respectively. These findings indicate the potential of the plant as panacea for infectious diseases and also reveal a novel potential in the fight against tumors in man

Socio-cultural constraints to rice production in Obubra local government area of cross river state

This study was conducted to analyze the impact of socio-economic constraints to rice production in Obubra local government of Cross River State. Specific objectives of the study were to determine how (i) economic variables and (ii) social factors affect rice production. Interviews were conducted using a structured interview schedule on 110 rice farmers randomly selected from the eleven wards of the study area. Data collected were analyzed using appropriate descriptive statistics and regression analysis. The result showed that farm size, annual expenditure and loans acquisition significantly and positively affected rice production. The descriptive statistics indicated that the social characteristics of the farmers such as age, gender, educational level and marital status all influence rice production in the study area.Key words: Rice production, Socio-economic variables, Obubra L.G.A. Cross River State

Effects of folic acid supplementation on the performance of broiler chicken

Sixty (60) day- old broiler chicks were used to investigate the effects of graded levels of folic acid supplementation on the performance of broiler chickens. The study was carried out using complete randomized design. Commercial starter and finisher diets were used for the experiment which lasted for eight weeks. The folic acid supplement was administered in drinking water within the first seven (7) days of life of the broiler chickens at the following levels: O, 15, 30 and 45mg per litre of drinking water, corresponding to treatments T1 (control), T2, T3 and T4 respectively. Feed and water were provided ad libitum.The lowest (15mg) and highest (45mg) levels of folic acid supplementation did not differ significantly (p>0.05) from the control in most of the parameters measured (final body weight, average growth rate, and feed conversion ratio). The T3 group (30mg of folic acid supplement|) was significantly (p<0.05) higher than other levels including the control in the above mentioned parameters. This level (30mg of folic acid supplementation pre Littre of drinking water provided a safety margin of 1.45mg of supplemental folic acid per bird per day.Keywords: Folic acid, supplementation, tolerable intake level, performanc

Enhancement of mobile scissor lifting system for windy environments

This paper focuses on the enhancement of mobile scissor lifting system for windy environments. This study was necessitated in order to address the lack of support arm problem on the mobile scissor lifting system for the strong wind environment such as Minna in Niger State Nigeria. The outstation broadcasting operations in Minna metropolis are usually challenging during windy days as wind often affects the stability and efficiency of the outstation broad-casting platforms. This research employs electronic control circuit to control mechanical hydraulic actuated scissor lifting system in response to variations in wind speed. The mechanical components were designed using solidworks software. The control unit was remodeled using Proteus 8.0 software with the code written in Arduino integrated development environment (IDE). The model simulation results for both electronic and mechanical system reveal the possibility of achieving system stability with the resultant signal fidelity in outstation telecommunication broad-cast within windy areas. The experiment result shows that the system was capable of lifting the telecommunication platform 2 meters high within 20 seconds considering the load range of 500 to 1000 kg. An overload alert mechanism was incorporated to signal the operators of excessive loading. Then, the system automatically deploys its support arms to counter the attendant consequences of the strong wind thereby restoring the stability of the mobile scissor lift. Therefore, the authors conclude that the enhanced mobile scissor lifting system would be deployed in the windy environment for the maximum attainment of stability objectives while physical model from this design should be subsequently fabricated in the near future