Count data modelling application.

Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.The rapid increase of total children ever born without a proportionate growth in the Nigerian economy has been a concern and making prediction with count data requires applying appropriate regression model.. As count data assumes discrete, non-negative values, a Poisson distribution is the ideal distribution to describe this data, but it is deficient due to equality of variance and mean. This deficiency results in under/over-dispersion and the estimation of the standard errors will be biased rendering the test statistics incorrect. This study aimed to model count data with the application of total children ever born using a Negative Binomial and Generalized Poisson regression The Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey 2013 data of women within the age of 15-49 years were used and three models applied to investigate the factors affecting the number of children ever born. A predictive count modelling was also carried out based on the performance evaluation metrics (root mean square error, mean absolute error, R-squared and mean square error). In the inferential modeling, Generalized Poisson Model was found to be superior with age of household head (<.0001), age of respondent at the time of first birth (<.0001), urban-rural status (<.0001), and religion (<.0001) being significantly associated with total children ever born. In the predictive modeling, all the three models showed almost identical performance evaluation metrics but Poisson regression was chosen as the best because it is the simplest model. In conclusion, early marriage, religious belief and unawareness of women who dwell in rural areas should be checked to control total children ever born in Nigeria.Supervisor Professor Zewotir prefers using his publications name of Zewotir, Temesgen

Dairy farm wind generator model

CER79-80OIA-RNM51.March 1980.Includes bibliographical references (pages 39-40).Prepared for United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Rural and Remote Areas Wind Energy Research Program, USDA/SEA/ARS research agreement no. 58-32U4-8-34

Investment-Cash Flow Sensitivity Around the Crisis: Are African Firms Different?

Purpose: This paper examines the contentious relationship between investment and cash flow using the 2008—09 credit supply shock as a form of quasi-natural experiment. Methodology: Panel threshold models with unknown sample separation are estimated for a sample of publicly listed firms from nine African countries over the period 2003— 2012. Using this approach reduces subjective or ex-ante sample splitting bias that is not accounted for in the extant literature. Findings: We show that investment-cash flow sensitivity is decreasing even during the Global Financial Crisis, and for firms more likely to be financially constrained. We conclude that the usefulness of investment-cash flow sensitivity as a proxy for financial constraints is diminishing over time, even after directly addressing biases from ex-ante subjective sample splitting and various forms of endogeneity. Originality: We provide new empirical evidence from sharper tests of financial con- straints for understudied African firms, and highlight the need to re-look at the usefulness of investment-cash flow sensitivity as a proxy of financial constraints

PROTEIN AND MINERAL PROFILE IN FERMENTED AFRICAN OIL BEAN (PANTACLETHRA MACROPHYLLA BENTH) SEED

The study aimed at evaluating the protein and mineral profile in fermented African oil bean (Pantaclethra macrophylla Benth) seed. Total protein, free amino acid profile, protein fractions, and total mineral content were monitored in the fermenting seed using standard analytical procedures. The total protein content decreased as the fermentation progressed from 45.33 ± 9.24 to 13.30 ± 4.62 mg/100g while free amino acid profile increased from 5.00 ± 3.46 to 22.6 ± 2.31 mg/100g. Glutellin levels increased as the fermentation progressed from 50.6 ± 18.48 to 106.6 ± 4.62 mg/100g while a decrease in levels of albumin, globulin, and prolamin were observed. The mineral and amino acid content was higher than the recommended daily allowance. This study showed that fermented Panthaclethra macropylla Benth seed may be a good source of amino acid and minerals

Synthesis and Characterization of 4-amino-N'-[(1E)-1-(2-hydroxy-6-methyl-4-oxo-4H-pyran-3-yl)ethylidene]benzohydrazide and its Cu(II), Ni(II), Zn(II) and Mn(II) Complexes

New benzohydrazone compound, 4-amino-N'-[(1E)-1-(2-hydroxy-6-methyl-4-oxo-4H-pyran-3-yl)ethylidene] benzohydrazide (HL1) and its Cu(II), Ni(II), Zn(II) and Mn(II) complexes were synthesized. The structures of HL1 and its complexes were elucidated by elemental analysis and IR, UV-Vis, 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. The infrared spectral data of the complexes revealed that HL1 coordinated with the metal ions through azomethine nitrogen, enolic oxygen and amide carbonyl oxygen atoms, hence, HL1 behaves as a monobasic tridentate ligand. UV-Vis data revealed that Zn(II) and Mn(II) complexes adopted octahedral geometry, while Cu(II) and Ni(II) complexes had five-coordinate and square-planar geometries respectively. The mass spectra data and elemental analysis values are in accordance with the calculated values for the suggested molecular formula of the complexes, a confirmation of the 1:1 ligand to metal stoichiometry in case of Cu(II) complex and 2:1 ligands to metal stoichiometry in case of the other complexes

Pattern and trends of respiratory diseases in an outpatient setting: a five-year review in a tertiary hospital in South-South, Nigeria

Background: Limited information exists on the epidemiology of respiratory diseases in South-South Nigeria, especially regarding changing risk factors. This study aimed to assess the frequency and pattern of respiratory diseases in an adult outpatient clinic in a teaching hospital in South-South Nigeria. Methods: Medical records of newly referred patients with respiratory diseases who received care at the chest clinic of Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital from January 2018 to December 2022 were retrospectively reviewed. Results: The study included 655 patients (mean age: 54.7±18.7 years). The majority of cases occurred in the 41-60 age group, and 55.4% were female. Non-communicable respiratory diseases accounted for 60.9% of cases, while communicable respiratory diseases accounted for 39.1%. The most common respiratory diseases observed were bronchial asthma (22.6%), tuberculosis (21.1%), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (19.2%), pneumonia (11.1%), interstitial lung diseases (6.7%), and lung cancer (4.1%). Less common respiratory diseases included pulmonary aspergilloma (1.5%), pleural-related diseases (0.8%), hypersensitivity pneumonitis (0.8%), and obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (0.6%). The study's annual trend showed a gradual increase in the number of respiratory cases, reaching a low point in 2020. Significant differences were found in the age and gender distribution of the top six respiratory diseases (p &lt;0.001). Conclusions: This study provides valuable insights into the demographic and disease patterns of respiratory diseases in an outpatient setting, informing targeted prevention and treatment measures for these conditions

Relatiohship between Reference Evapotranspiration and some Climatic Parameters for Umudike, Nigeria.

Reference evapotranspiration, ETo, is important as it is used to determine the evaporative demand of the atmosphere. there is a need for continued studies to determine the reference evepotranspiration of different locations as well as its relationship with various climatic parameters for the prediction of water demands for human and ecological reasons. A study undertaken to determine the relationship between ETo, obtained using the Food and Agriculture Organization of United Nations, Penman-Monteith (FAO-56 PM) method, and some climatic data in Umudike, Nigerian environment are presented. The climatic parameters considered are solar radiation, sunshine hours and wind speed. The interactions of climatic parameters in the input variables of the ETo model, are also investigated. Simple linear regression analyses of the ETo and the climatic parameters of the study area were conducted, and correlation coefficients between the ETo and the climatic parameters were obtained to be +0.676 for solar radiation, +0.673 for sunshine hours, and -0.151 for wind speed. While the population regression coefficients were : +0.234 for solar radiation, +0.0274 for sunshine hours, and +0.0282 for wind speed. The R2 was 0.976 and the significance F value was 0.000639. The results obtained were compared with results of studies by other researchers and fitted well

The evolution of the Roman army during the third century AD

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:DX207618 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

COVID‐19 and credit risk variation across banks: international insights

This paper focuses on utilizing non-performing loans (NPLs) as the primary indicator of credit risk to analyze how various bank and country-level characteristics influence changes in credit risk within and between banks across China, Europe, and the U.S. during the COVID-19 period. Over 4,959 bank-quarter observations (from Q4 2019 to Q4 2021), it becomes evident that COVID-19 significantly contributes to the variation in NPLs, underscoring its adverse impact on credit risk. This pattern is consistent across all countries; however, Chinese banks exhibit more robust capabilities in managing credit risk exposure compared to their European and U.S. counterparts. These findings offer significant implications for policymakers, investors, and regulators who are concerned about the repercussions of global pandemics on financial institutions