A Note on a Comparison of Methods for the Estimation of Weibull Distribution Parameters of Nwobi and Ugomma

Felix Noyanim Nwobi and Chukwudi Anderson Ugomma published an article in 2014 titled "A Comparison of Methods for the Estimation of Weibull Distribution Parameters" (Nwobi and Ugomma [1]). The paper compared the performance of the following methods of model parameter estimation: graphical method (mean rank, median rank and symmetric cumulative distribution function cdf) and the analytical method (maximum likelihood estimate (mle), method of moments, and least squares estimate (lse) methods) in estimating the parameters of the two parameter Weibull distribution. Subsequently, we shall refer eitherthe authors or the paper as NU. NU assessed the performance of the various estimation methods by comparing their mean square errors mse and using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov (ks) test. We have noted and outlined several analytical inconsistencies and other mistakes in various sections of the paper by NU and corrections have been given

UK medical students’ perspectives on practical prescribing teaching and learning provisions: a cross-sectional survey

Purpose To determine medical students’ perspectives on the provision for the teaching and learning of processes that lead to and include the writing of a clear, safe and legal prescription (practical prescribing) in UK medical schools. Methods We designed a cross-sectional survey of UK medical students in years three, four and five. Students were asked about their experiences and views of practical prescribing teaching and learning they had encountered on their medical course. Results A total of 1023 medical students responded (7% response rate), from 25 UK medical schools: 22%, 37% and 41% in the third, fourth and final years, respectively. Teaching of practical prescribing was widespread, with 94.3% of final year (n = 396, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 92–97%), 86.8% of fourth year (n = 328, CI = 83–90%) and 73.8% of third year (n = 166, CI = 67–80%) students reporting they had received it. Availability of this teaching appeared to vary by medical school. Self-directed learning was the most frequently reported mode of delivery (90.9%, n = 809). Validated pre-prescribing and simulation were perceived by students in each year group as the most effective methods. Clinical pharmacologists, clinical pharmacists and junior doctors were perceived by the students as being the most effective professional groups at teaching practical prescribing. Conclusions UK medical students reported a variety of methods utilised in the teaching and learning of practical prescribing. However, methods they perceived to be very effective (simulation and pre-prescribing) do not appear to be widely available or are only reserved for the final year of study. Combining such methods with involvement of professional groups perceived to be most effective should be explored

Teaching Method and Assimilation of Students in Tertiary Institutions: A Study of Covenant University,Nigeria

The choice of teaching method which is the general principles, pedagogy and management strategies used for classroom instruction is very important to degree of assimilation by the recipient of teaching. Teaching theories primarily fall into two categories or “approaches” teacher-centered and studentcentered. In the former, teachers are the main authority figure in this model. Students are viewed as empty vessels whose primary role is to passively receive information (via lectures and direct instruction) with an end goal of testing and assessment. However in a student-centered approach, teachers and students play an equally active role in the learning process. The teacher’s primary role is to coach and facilitate student learning and overall comprehension of material. Student learning is measured through both formal and informal forms of assessment, including group projects, student portfolios, and class participation. The main aim of this paper is to examine the relationship between teaching method and assimilation of students and the impact on examination performance. A sample of 300 students cutting across the various schools and colleges in Covenant University who have taken at least not less than two semesters examinations was used for the study. Student-Lecturer relationship, examination contents, students’ mode of study and assimilation, effort and students’ CGPA were the parameters used for this purpose

CANDIDIA AND HIV CO-INFECTIONS AMONG WOMEN ATTENDING HIV CLINIC AT GENERAL HOSPITAL EZZANGBO, NIGERIA

Candidiasis has been identified as a ubiquitous fungal infection commonly affecting people living with HIV/AIDS. This research ascertained the prevalence and risk factors forral and vaginal candidiasis among 180 HIV out-patients at Ebonyi State General Hospital, Ezzangbo. Oral and vaginal swabs were aseptically collected from the participants in duplicate. One of the swabs was streaked on Sabouraud's Dextrose Agar (SDA) and isolates were identified using macroscopic characteristics while the second swab was used for microscopic examination. Structured questionnaires were administered to participants to obtain risk factors associated with the infections. The antifungal susceptibility testing of the Candida isolates was performed using disc diffusion method. Data obtained was statistically analysed using Statistical Package for Social Scientist (SPSS). Results obtained from the study indicated 120(66.7%) were positive for Candidiasis; 31.7% was positive for only vaginal Candidiasis, 22.2% were positive for only oral Candidiasis while 12.8% had both. Candida albicans (CA) was dominant with 71% while none albicans Candida (NAC) was 29%. Isolates were most sensitive to Itraconazole and Griseofluvin and less sensitive to Ketoconazole, Nystatin and Fluconazole. The results of this study underlined essentials of good hygiene practices and importance of regularly assessing HIV patients for candidiasis

Effect of Energy Utilization and Financial Development on Economic Growth in Nigeria

The necessity for rapid economic growth has not only been of great concern to global institutions and agencies but has continued to dominate discussions at major economic conferences at the national and international levels. There is an implicit assumption of positive correlation between economic growth, as measured by increase in national output, and the welfare of citizens, with the effect that governments seek to understand the real causes of output growth to aid formulation and implementation of policies that promote the welfare of their citizens. The depth of academic research in this area of knowledge is a further indication of its relevance to humanity. This study builds on existing body of knowledge on the subject by estimating the contributions of the financial and energy sectors to the Nigerian economy between 1981 and 2018. Using the estimation method of dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS), the study reveals electricity consumption, inflation and financial development as positive predictors of growth while oil price and gross fixed capital are negative predictors. From the above findings, we conclude that robust financial and energy sectors are major influencers of growth and therefore suggest that adequate attention be given to development of these sectors through formulation and implementation of supportive policies. In addition, we see the necessity for a need assessment of the infrastructure needs of the real sector in order to ensure that infrastructure critical to its performance is identified and addressed through targeted investmen

EurOP2E – the European Open Platform for Prescribing Education, a consensus study among clinical pharmacology and therapeutics teachers

Purpose Sharing and developing digital educational resources and open educational resources has been proposed as a way to harmonize and improve clinical pharmacology and therapeutics (CPT) education in European medical schools. Previous research, however, has shown that there are barriers to the adoption and implementation of open educational resources. The aim of this study was to determine perceived opportunities and barriers to the use and creation of open educational resources among European CPT teachers and possible solutions for these barriers. Methods CPT teachers of British and EU medical schools completed an online survey. Opportunities and challenges were identified by thematic analyses and subsequently discussed in an international consensus meeting. Results Data from 99 CPT teachers from 95 medical schools were analysed. Thirty teachers (30.3%) shared or collaboratively produced digital educational resources. All teachers foresaw opportunities in the more active use of open educational resources, including improving the quality of their teaching. The challenges reported were language barriers, local differences, lack of time, technological issues, difficulties with quality management, and copyright restrictions. Practical solutions for these challenges were discussed and include a peer review system, clear indexing, and use of copyright licenses that permit adaptation of resources. Conclusion Key challenges to making greater use of CPT open educational resources are a limited applicability of such resources due to language and local differences and quality concerns. These challenges may be resolved by relatively simple measures, such as allowing adaptation and translation of resources and a peer review system

Cervical Spine Injury: A ten‑year multicenter analysis of evolution of care and risk factors for poor outcome in southeast Nigeria

Study Design: Retrospective study.Objective: To describe the evolution of care and risk factors for poor outcome in patients with cervical spine injury (CSI) treated at three centers in southeast Nigeria.Setting: Nigeria, southeast.Materials and Methods: A 10‑year retrospective multicenter analysis of patients with CSI, managed at three centers in southeast Nigeria, from January 2003 to December 2012.Results: Two hundred and seven patients (55%) had CSI out of 377 spinal injury cases in the three study centers, but 195 cases had complete records and were studied. There were 148 males and 47 females. The age range was 3-74 years with a mean of 32.6 (±1.9) years 95% CI. Most injuries (149 cases) resulted from motor vehicular accidents (MVA). The C5 spinal level was involved in 75 (38%) cases One hundred and seventeen patients (60%) presented with American Spinal Injury Association A (ASIA A) injury. CSI care evolved from the application of a Minerva jacket or cervical traction only to cervical traction and spinal fusion resulting in a reduction in hospital stay (F = 52.5, DF (2, 3) P < 0.05). When compared to 51 patients with incomplete injuries, who improved in neurologic al status at discharge, only three patients with ASIA grade A experienced some improvement. The mortality rate from our series is 16% (32 patients). Those who died were more likely to have a complete injury (25 patients) or a high cervical injury (X2 = 61.2, P < 0.05) among other factors.Conclusion: The cervical spine is the most commonly injured spinal segment in southeastNigeria. Although treatment evolution has resulted in reduction of hospital stay, the associated mortality risk still remains high.Key words: Cervical spine injury, pattern, southeast Nigeria, treatment outcom

Outcome of management of elevated skull fractures in Enugu, South-East Nigeria

Introduction: Elevated skull fractures, previously thought of as a very rare variety of fractures, are no longer very uncommon. They are expectedly gradually finding a slowly growing list of references in neurosurgical literature. They are mostly posttraumatic compound fractures due to the mechanism of injury. Outcome of operative neurosurgical care is generally rewarding.Materials and Methods: A 4‑year retrospective study of case notes, operation registers, and radiology records of patients diagnosed with elevated skull fractures who had neurosurgical care at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu, Nigeria, between 2012 and 2015, was done. Only patients with evidence of elevated skull fracture on head computed tomography scan were included. The presenting Glasgow Coma Score and Extended Glasgow Outcome Score (GOSE) at the time of discharge from the hospital and 6 months thereafter were analyzed.Results: Out of 209 patients managed with skull fractures over the study period, eight met the inclusion criteria. Seven (87.5%) were males. The latency to presentation was 6 h in one case and >8 h in the other cases. All the patients had operative care involving debridement, duroplasty, and bone‑fragment realignment (cranioplasty) either primarily or on an interval basis. The GOSE at 6 months was at least 7 in 87.5% of the patients.Conclusions: Despite the grotesque appearance at presentation, outcome of properly managed elevated skull fractures is good.Keywords: Cranioplasty, duroplasty, elevated skull fracture, extended GlasgowOutcome Scor

The Exponentiated Gumbel Type-2 Distribution:Properties and Application

We introduce a generalized version of the standard Gumble type-2 distribution. The new lifetime distribution is called the Exponentiated Gumbel (EG) type-2 distribution. The EG type-2 distribution has three nested submodels, namely, the Gumbel type-2 distribution, the Exponentiated Fréchet (EF) distribution, and the Fréchet distribution. Some statistical and reliability properties of the new distribution were given and the method of maximum likelihood estimates was proposed for estimating the model parameters. The usefulness and flexibility of the Exponentiated Gumbel (EG) type-2 distribution were illustrated with a real lifetime data set. Results based on the log-likelihood and information statistics values showed that the EG type-2 distribution provides a better fit to the data than the other competing distributions. Also, the consistency of the parameters of the new distribution was demonstrated through a simulation study. The EG type-2 distribution is therefore recommended for effective modelling of lifetime data