Factors Influencing Innovative Behaviour of Teachers in Secondary Schools in the North East of Nigeria

Innovative behaviour (IB) refers to the process of developing, generating, applying or promoting new ideas by employees to increase job performance. Today, the rapid social and technological changes in our environment highlight the significance of IB of employees and especially for teachers. Thus, this paper aimed to develop a conceptual framework of factors influencing innovative behaviour of teachers in secondary schools. The research was explored through critical related literature analysis. Findings were presented in form of descriptive analysis, which shows that workplace happiness (WP), organisational climate (OC), affective commitment (AF) and transformational leadership (TFL) play a direct role in affecting innovative behaviour. The paper concludes that WP, OC, AF and TL have a positive impact in creating the essential conditions to encourage teachers to show IB in schools

Effect of Executive Compensation on Financial Performance of Listed Non-Financial Firms in Nigeria

Purpose: Examine the effect of executive compensation on the financial performance of listed non-financial firms in Nigeria.   Theoretical framework: The continuous rise in compensation of executives in Nigeria without a corresponding increase in firm performance has continued to generate intense debates and controversial opinions within the corporate environment. Consequently, the need to understand the degree of relationship between executive compensation (measured by salary emolument, bonuses, stock-based compensation and pension) and firm performance (measured by return on equity).   Design/methodology/approach:  A correlational research design was used based on a filtered census population of 63 firms listed on Nigeria’s stock exchange. Secondary data was obtained from the annual financial reports of these firms and analyzed using the generalized methods moments.   Findings: The study found salary emoluments, bonuses and stock-based compensation, as measures of executive compensation, have negative impact on the return on equity of listed non-financial firms in Nigeria. Where executive pension claims a positive impact on the return on equity of listed non-financial firms in Nigeria.   Research,  Practical  &  Social  implications: Regardless of executive compensation being an incentivizing tool for the executive team, which  has a significant impact on company strategy, decision-making, and value creation as well as enhancing executive retention, different components of executive compensation exert different effect on the financial performance of firms as confirmed by this research.   Originality/value: The research points out different executive compensation measures have different impacts on performance. Consequently, the need for stakeholders to determine the perfect combination of the compensation measures that best drive performance

Peer-assisted learning (PAL): An innovation aimed at engaged learning for undergraduate medical students

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of Peer Assisted Learning in teaching at undergraduate level and to assess its effects on Peer Leaders and Peer Learners.Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted at the Aga Khan University, Karachi, from May to October 2017, and comprised Peer Learners who were trained by faculty members in workshops and pre-run of experiments. Students were divided into two groups; Group A had Peer Learners taught by Peer Leaders, and Group B had those taught by trained lab technologists. Knowledge of the groups was assessed by a quiz using Kahoot. Post-session feedback questionnaires were also filled by the participants. Data was analysed using SPSS 23.Results: There were 10 Peer Leaders with a mean age of 19.5±0.85 years, and 62 Peer Learners with a mean age of 19.08±0.81 years. Among the learners, there were 35(56.5%) males and 27(43.5%) females. Post-session assessment showed a significant difference in the test performance by the two groups (p\u3c0.05). Feedback indicated that the learners found Peer Leaders more accessible than lab staff, leading to enhanced understanding of the subject.Conclusions: Peer-Assisted Learning was found to promote learning by creating an informal student-friendly learning environment

POTENTIAL ROLE OF MILK THISTLE SEED AND ITS OIL EXTRACTS AGAINST HEART AND BRAIN INJURIES INDUCED BY γ-RADIATION EXPOSURE

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the protective effect of Silybum marianum (S. marianum) seeds extract its oil fraction against damage effect of γ-radiation in female albino rats.Methods: Ultrasonic-assisted extraction was used for the extraction of S. marianum seeds. Lipid patterns of S. marianum seeds oil were elucidated using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). S. marianum seeds extract was analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Malondialdehyde (MDA), reduced glutathione (GSH) and metallothionein (MT) were estimated in heart and brain tissues of the examined rats. Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and creatine kinase-MB (CKMB) were measured in the serum of the examined rats, and the brain biomarkers; dopamine and serotonin were also measured.Results: The oil was found to be rich in linoleic acid (58.20%) and arachidic acid (23.38%). S. marianum seeds extract revealed the presence of taxifolin and six main active constituents of silymarin, including silydianin, silychristin, silybin A, silybin B, isosilybin A and isosilybin B. Treatment of γ-radiation damage effect using S. marianum seeds extract and its oil fraction led to a significant reduction of MDA levels in heart (139.6 and 165.5 nmol/g, respectively) and brain (158.5 and 135.2 nmol/g, respectively) tissues, however, significant increase of GSH levels in heart (316.4 and 293 mg/g, respectively) and brain (210.4 and 227 mg/g, respectively) tissues was observed, also a significant increase of dopamine levels (85.27 and 65.74 ng/g, respectively) and MT levels of heart tissues (108.5 and 70.52 mg/g, respectively) was observed.Conclusion: S. marianum seeds extract and its oil fraction showed a protective effect against γ-radiation-induced damage in heart and brain.Â

The impact of strife in the poetry of Nasr bin Sayar

هدفت الورقة إلى دراسة صدى الفتن في خراسان في شعر نصر بن سيّار آخر عامل لخراسان لعهد بني أمية، وطبيعي أن تكون صدى هذه الفتن طاغية على شعره بحكم وجوده باعتباره مركزاً للأحداث في خراسان، اعتمدت الدراسة المنهج الوصفي وذلك بجمع شعر نصر في  الفتن من كتب التراجم والسير، والتاريخ والأدب- لعدم وجود ديوان له- وتحليله، ومطابقته بالأحداث وخلصت الورقة إلى عدة نتائج أهمها: جاء شعر نصر في العصبية القبلية تعصباً للمضرية على اليمانية- كما هو متوقع- خلا أبيات له في إنصاف حيٍّ من اليمانية، وأبيات قليلة أخرى تدعو إلى نبذ الفرقة واتحاد القبائل العربية جميعها ضد عدوها المتربص بها. الفتن التي تناولها شعر نصر بن سيّار كانت فتنا متداخلة سياسية كانت أم دينية أم قبلية أدت في النهاية إلى وضع حدٍّ للحكم الأموي، اتسمت أشعار نصر التي قالها بأخرة بالتحذير من الثورة العباسية، وإنِّها إن لم تحسم سوف تنتشر من خراسان إلى ربوع الخلافة الإسلامية كلها، وهو مليء بالتصاوير الفنية وقد صدقت كل تنبؤاته.            The paper aimed to study the impact of strife in Khorasan in the poetry of Nasr bin Sayar, the last governor of Khorasan in the era of Banu Umayyah. Naturally, the impact of this strife would overwhelm his poems with the notice of his existence as a center around which events revolve in Khorasan. The study adopted the descriptive approach by collecting Nasr's poetry in the strife from books of translation, biographies, history and literature, analyzing and comparing it with events.             The paper concluded with several results, the most important of which is: Nasr's poetry came in tribal extremism as expected. An extremism for Mudhariya against Yamani, except for some verses praising a Yamani District or a few other verses calling for the renunciation of division and the union of all Arab tribes against their lurking enemy. This strife that Nasr addressed through his political, religious, or tribal poetry eventually led to an end to Umayyad rule.             Nasr's poems were characterized by the fear of the Abbasid revolution and that, if not resolved, it would spread from Khorasan to all parts of the Islami caliphate. It is poetry complete after artistic image, and all his predication were true

EVALUATION OF THE ESSENTIAL OIL OF FOENICULUM VULGARE MILL (FENNEL) FRUITS EXTRACTED BY THREE DIFFERENT EXTRACTION METHODS BY GC/MS

Background: Hydrodistillation (HD) and steam-distillation, or solvent extraction methods of essential oils have some disadvantages like thermal decomposition of extracts, its contamination with solvent or solvent residues and the pollution of residual vegetal material with solvent which can be also an environmental problem. Thus, new green techniques, such as supercritical fluid extraction and microwave assisted techniques, are potential solutions to overcome these disadvantages. Materials and Methods: The aim of this study was to evaluate the essential oil of Foeniculum vulgare subsp. Piperitum fruits extracted by three different extraction methods viz. Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) using CO2, microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) and hydro-distillation (HD) using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Results: The results revealed that both MAE and SFE enhanced the extraction efficiency of the interested components. MAE gave the highest yield of oil as well as higher percentage of Fenchone (28%), whereas SFE gave the highest percentage of anethol (72%). Conclusion: Microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) and supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) not only enhanced the essential oil extraction but also saved time, reduced the solvents use and produced, ecologically, green technologies

Effect of early tranexamic acid administration on mortality, hysterectomy, and other morbidities in women with post-partum haemorrhage (WOMAN): an international, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Background Post-partum haemorrhage is the leading cause of maternal death worldwide. Early administration of tranexamic acid reduces deaths due to bleeding in trauma patients. We aimed to assess the effects of early administration of tranexamic acid on death, hysterectomy, and other relevant outcomes in women with post-partum haemorrhage. Methods In this randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, we recruited women aged 16 years and older with a clinical diagnosis of post-partum haemorrhage after a vaginal birth or caesarean section from 193 hospitals in 21 countries. We randomly assigned women to receive either 1 g intravenous tranexamic acid or matching placebo in addition to usual care. If bleeding continued after 30 min, or stopped and restarted within 24 h of the first dose, a second dose of 1 g of tranexamic acid or placebo could be given. Patients were assigned by selection of a numbered treatment pack from a box containing eight numbered packs that were identical apart from the pack number. Participants, care givers, and those assessing outcomes were masked to allocation. We originally planned to enrol 15 000 women with a composite primary endpoint of death from all-causes or hysterectomy within 42 days of giving birth. However, during the trial it became apparent that the decision to conduct a hysterectomy was often made at the same time as randomisation. Although tranexamic acid could influence the risk of death in these cases, it could not affect the risk of hysterectomy. We therefore increased the sample size from 15 000 to 20 000 women in order to estimate the effect of tranexamic acid on the risk of death from post-partum haemorrhage. All analyses were done on an intention-to-treat basis. This trial is registered with ISRCTN76912190 (Dec 8, 2008); ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00872469; and PACTR201007000192283. Findings Between March, 2010, and April, 2016, 20 060 women were enrolled and randomly assigned to receive tranexamic acid (n=10 051) or placebo (n=10 009), of whom 10 036 and 9985, respectively, were included in the analysis. Death due to bleeding was significantly reduced in women given tranexamic acid (155 [1·5%] of 10 036 patients vs 191 [1·9%] of 9985 in the placebo group, risk ratio [RR] 0·81, 95% CI 0·65–1·00; p=0·045), especially in women given treatment within 3 h of giving birth (89 [1·2%] in the tranexamic acid group vs 127 [1·7%] in the placebo group, RR 0·69, 95% CI 0·52–0·91; p=0·008). All other causes of death did not differ significantly by group. Hysterectomy was not reduced with tranexamic acid (358 [3·6%] patients in the tranexamic acid group vs 351 [3·5%] in the placebo group, RR 1·02, 95% CI 0·88–1·07; p=0·84). The composite primary endpoint of death from all causes or hysterectomy was not reduced with tranexamic acid (534 [5·3%] deaths or hysterectomies in the tranexamic acid group vs 546 [5·5%] in the placebo group, RR 0·97, 95% CI 0·87-1·09; p=0·65). Adverse events (including thromboembolic events) did not differ significantly in the tranexamic acid versus placebo group. Interpretation Tranexamic acid reduces death due to bleeding in women with post-partum haemorrhage with no adverse effects. When used as a treatment for postpartum haemorrhage, tranexamic acid should be given as soon as possible after bleeding onset. Funding London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Pfizer, UK Department of Health, Wellcome Trust, and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation