Soil carbon dioxide efflux and atmospheric impact in a 10-year-old Dipterocarpus recovering lowland tropical forest, Peninsular Malaysia

The recovering logged-over forest ecosystem increases the CO2 efflux into the atmospheric carbon pool in response to environmental factors to changes in the soil temperature and moisture. These CO2 outbursts can have a marked influence on the ecosystem carbon balance and thereby affect the atmospheric carbon pool. The study was conducted in the 10-year-old logged-over forest of Sungai Menyala forest, Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. The measurements of soil CO2 efflux were conducted using the continuous open flow chamber technique connected to a multi gas-handling unit and infrared CO2/H2O gas analyser. The aim of this study was to determine the soil CO2 efflux and the environmental variables and likewise the impact of environmental factors on soil CO2 efflux. Post-hoc comparisons were made using the Tukey test (p < 0.05), and multiple linear regression to determine the impact of environmental factors on soil CO2 efflux. Soil CO2 efflux ranged from 100.22-553.40 mg m-2 h-1 with the highest efflux in the afternoon attributed to an increase in soil temperature and low moisture. A higher soil temperature and low moisture signify an influential factor as the forest is recovering from logging activity. Furthermore, the predictor environmental variables: SOC (soil organic carbon), TOC (total organic carbon), SMC (soil moisture content), Bulk Density, SOCstock (soil organic carbon stock), TAGB (total above ground carbon biomass), Below Ground Carbon Biomass, soil pH, Nitrogen to Carbon ratio account for the spatial and temporal variation in soil CO2 efflux into the atmosphere. The analysis revealed a strong correlation between soil CO2 efflux, changes soil properties and environmental factors with an R2 more than 0.80 at p < 0.01. This is proven that logging activity accounts for the changes in environmental factors to influence soil CO2 efflux rate within 10-years of logging and forest recovering

MULTIPLE TAXATION, HIGH TAX RATE AND TAX COMPLIANCE: IMPLICATIONS FOR SMES’ GROWTH IN ZAMFARA STATE, NIGERIA

The study examines if multiple taxation and high tax rate have significant influence on tax compliance among SMEs in Zamfara State. The study focused on Gusau, the state capital of Zamfara, with an estimated population of 682,700. Method of Sampling the Population is the Taro Yamane's sampling formula. The sample size of the study is 400 people who are small and medium business owners in Zamfara state, Nigeria. The study made use of multiple regression analysis, Anova, Coefficient, Collinearity Test in other to find the impact of high tax rate and multiple taxation among SMEs in Zamfara state. The study revealed that multiple tax system has significant influence on tax compliance. The study also revealed that high tax rate has negative significant influence on tax compliance among tax payers who are small business owners. The study therefore recommends that government should avoid high tax rate as this could have negative effect on tax compliance among SMEs in Zamfara State

IMPACT OF INFRASTRUCTURE ON FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT INFLOW TO NIGERIA

The study investigated the impact of infrastructure on Foreign Direct Investment inflow to Nigeria for the period of 1995-to 2021. the study made use of Descriptive Statistics, Unit Root Test, Pairwise Correlation, and Multiple Regression were used in finding the result on the Effect independent variable on the dependent variable the result revealed that Exchange Rate has a p-value of 0.035, which is statistically significant at a 5% level of significance, this implies that the exchange rate has a substantial impact on the amount of foreign direct investment flowing into Nigeria. The p-value for Electricity Consumption is 0.176, which is statistically insignificant at the 5% level of significance, this suggests that Electricity Consumption has a negligible effect on Nigeria's Foreign Direct Investment inflow. Market Size has a p-value of 0.024, which is statistically significant at a 5% level of significance, this indicates that Market Size has a substantial impact on the inflow of foreign direct investment into Nigeria. The study recommended that Nigerian government may have a significant impact on multinational firms' investment decisions in the country by enacting policies that would strengthen the trade market, availability of power supply, to establish within the nations a more welcoming investment environment to attract foreign direct investment inflow

Histopathological changes in the gill and liver of Clarias gariepinus exposed to acute concentrations of Vernonia amygdalina

Vernonia amygdalina is a tropical African woody shrub with diverse phytochemical constituents recently linked with insecticidal properties that could replace the harmful agrochemical pesticide usage around aquatic environment. This study investigates the histopathological changes in the liver and gills of Clarias gariepinus exposed to acute toxic concentrations of V. amygdalina. C. gariepinus juveniles of varied weight (7.28 ± 0.03 g) and length (4.82 ± 0.06 cm) were exposed to graded aqueous concentrations (0.188, 0.375, 0.75, 1.50 and 3.00 g/l) of V. amygdalina. The varied concentrations of V. amygdalina precipitated varied dose-dependent histopathological distortions in the hepatic (central venous congestion and hepatocellular degeneration) and gill parenchyma (lamellar hyperplasia, clubbing and occluded inter-lamellar space) of exposed C. gariepinus. The liver (hepatocyte nuclear diameter and surface area) and gill (secondary lamellar length, width, interlamellar distance and surface area) morphometrics were strikingly altered varied concentrations of V. amygdalina. V. amygdalina seems to be toxic to fish and therefore has to be cautiously applied when used as insecticides to control unwanted organisms around the fish habitats.Keywords: Vernonia amygdalina, Clarias gariepinus, Histopathology, Liver, Gil

Achieving HIV epidemic control through integrated community and facility-based strategies: Lessons learnt from ART-surge implementation in Akwa Ibom, Nigeria.

This study examines the lessons learnt from the implementation of a surge program in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria as part of the Strengthening Integrated Delivery of HIV/AIDS Services (SIDHAS) Project. In this analysis, we included all clients who received HIV counseling and testing services, tested HIV positive, and initiated ART in SIDHAS-supported local government areas (LGAs) from April 2017 to March 2021. We employed descriptive and inferential statistics to analyze our results. A total of 2,018,082 persons were tested for HIV. Out of those tested, 102,165 (5.1%) tested HIV-positive. Comparing the pre-surge and post-surge periods, we observed an increase in HIV testing from 490,450 to 2,018,082 (p≤0.031) and in HIV-positive individuals identified from 21,234 to 102,165 (p≤0.001) respectively. Of those newly identified positives during the surge, 98.26% (100,393/102,165) were linked to antiretroviral therapy compared to 99.24% (21,073/21,234) pre-surge. Retention improved from 83.3% to 92.3% (p<0.001), and viral suppression improved from 73.5% to 96.2% (p<0.001). A combination of community and facility-based interventions implemented during the surge was associated with the rapid increase in case finding, retention, and viral suppression; propelling the State towards HIV epidemic control. HIV programs should consider a combination of community and facility-based interventions in their programming

Prospective observational cohort study on grading the severity of postoperative complications in global surgery research

Background The Clavien–Dindo classification is perhaps the most widely used approach for reporting postoperative complications in clinical trials. This system classifies complication severity by the treatment provided. However, it is unclear whether the Clavien–Dindo system can be used internationally in studies across differing healthcare systems in high- (HICs) and low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Methods This was a secondary analysis of the International Surgical Outcomes Study (ISOS), a prospective observational cohort study of elective surgery in adults. Data collection occurred over a 7-day period. Severity of complications was graded using Clavien–Dindo and the simpler ISOS grading (mild, moderate or severe, based on guided investigator judgement). Severity grading was compared using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Data are presented as frequencies and ICC values (with 95 per cent c.i.). The analysis was stratified by income status of the country, comparing HICs with LMICs. Results A total of 44 814 patients were recruited from 474 hospitals in 27 countries (19 HICs and 8 LMICs). Some 7508 patients (16·8 per cent) experienced at least one postoperative complication, equivalent to 11 664 complications in total. Using the ISOS classification, 5504 of 11 664 complications (47·2 per cent) were graded as mild, 4244 (36·4 per cent) as moderate and 1916 (16·4 per cent) as severe. Using Clavien–Dindo, 6781 of 11 664 complications (58·1 per cent) were graded as I or II, 1740 (14·9 per cent) as III, 2408 (20·6 per cent) as IV and 735 (6·3 per cent) as V. Agreement between classification systems was poor overall (ICC 0·41, 95 per cent c.i. 0·20 to 0·55), and in LMICs (ICC 0·23, 0·05 to 0·38) and HICs (ICC 0·46, 0·25 to 0·59). Conclusion Caution is recommended when using a treatment approach to grade complications in global surgery studies, as this may introduce bias unintentionally

The surgical safety checklist and patient outcomes after surgery: a prospective observational cohort study, systematic review and meta-analysis

© 2017 British Journal of Anaesthesia Background: The surgical safety checklist is widely used to improve the quality of perioperative care. However, clinicians continue to debate the clinical effectiveness of this tool. Methods: Prospective analysis of data from the International Surgical Outcomes Study (ISOS), an international observational study of elective in-patient surgery, accompanied by a systematic review and meta-analysis of published literature. The exposure was surgical safety checklist use. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality and the secondary outcome was postoperative complications. In the ISOS cohort, a multivariable multi-level generalized linear model was used to test associations. To further contextualise these findings, we included the results from the ISOS cohort in a meta-analysis. Results are reported as odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals. Results: We included 44 814 patients from 497 hospitals in 27 countries in the ISOS analysis. There were 40 245 (89.8%) patients exposed to the checklist, whilst 7508 (16.8%) sustained ≥1 postoperative complications and 207 (0.5%) died before hospital discharge. Checklist exposure was associated with reduced mortality [odds ratio (OR) 0.49 (0.32–0.77); P\u3c0.01], but no difference in complication rates [OR 1.02 (0.88–1.19); P=0.75]. In a systematic review, we screened 3732 records and identified 11 eligible studies of 453 292 patients including the ISOS cohort. Checklist exposure was associated with both reduced postoperative mortality [OR 0.75 (0.62–0.92); P\u3c0.01; I2=87%] and reduced complication rates [OR 0.73 (0.61–0.88); P\u3c0.01; I2=89%). Conclusions: Patients exposed to a surgical safety checklist experience better postoperative outcomes, but this could simply reflect wider quality of care in hospitals where checklist use is routine

Critical care admission following elective surgery was not associated with survival benefit: prospective analysis of data from 27 countries

This was an investigator initiated study funded by Nestle Health Sciences through an unrestricted research grant, and by a National Institute for Health Research (UK) Professorship held by RP. The study was sponsored by Queen Mary University of London