Jesus’ Model of Leadership and the Integrity of Church Leaders in Nigeria

A scholarly integrity check on the leaders of the Church in Nigeria demands a study that would make the leadership model of Jesus a template for church leaders to emulate. The nature of the ethical standing of many leaders in the Church in Nigeria cannot escape authentic scholarship in the face of daily reports of terrible behavioural failures in the church today. It has been observed that as churches grow in Nigeria many of the leaders of these congregations have gone with the wind of moral laxity due to inability to model Jesus’ leadership style. Hence, many church leaders in Nigeria have become gods on the Lord’s heritage. This paper aims at evaluating the leadership model of Jesus and how this model has enhanced his integrity and the urgent need to adopt this model by church leaders in Nigeria in this contemporary time. The study also looks at leadership styles and models in both the human and business organizations as well as in the church. Methodologies employed for data collection and analysis include historical, contextual and phenomenological. Efforts have been made to emphasize the adoption of Jesus' model of leadership by church leadership in Nigeria as a way to enhance the integrity of both the leaders and the church. The work concludes by recommending an ethical commission to serve as checks and balances on the churches in Nigeria

Factors Influencing Number of Physiotherapy Treatment Sessions for Patients with Low Back Pain

Little is known about the influence of physiotherapists’ characteristics and treatment modalities on the number of treatment sessions in Nigeria. This study was designed to evaluate the factors influencing the number of treatment sessions for patients with low back pain (LBP). Three hundred and eleven practising physiotherapists based in Nigeria participated in this study (77.8% response rate). They were required to complete a 31-item closed-ended questionnaire, which collected information on demographic data, work experience and treatment activities. Data was represented using bar charts, frequency and percentage. Chi-square was used to determine significant difference at p = 0.05. About 114 (38.10%) of the respondents employed 10 treatment sessions in the treatment of patients with LBP. Gender, age, areas of interest and educational attainment influenced the number of treatment sessions (p<0.05). Older male respondents, with higher educational attainment, especially those who are specialized in orthopaedics had fewer treatment sessions with their patients. However, working experience, acquisition of additional training (through continuous professional education) and types of treatment modalities did not have any significant relationship with number of treatment sessions (p>0.05). The average number of treatment sessions administered to patients with LBP before they are discharged in Nigeria is ten sessions. This was influenced by gender, age, areas of interest and educational attainment. There was a general consensus that a treatment guideline is needed for proper management of patients with LBP

Perovskite solar cells: An integrated hybrid lifecycle assessment and review in comparison with other photovoltaic technologies

Solar cells are considered as one of the prominent sources of renewable energy suitable for large-scale adoption in a carbon-constrained world and can contribute to reduced reliance on energy imports, whilst improving the security of energy supply. A new arrival in the family of solar cells technologies is the organic-inorganic halide perovskite. The major thrust for endorsing these new solar cells pertains to their potential as an economically and environmentally viable option to traditional silicon-based technology. To verify this assertion, this paper presents a critical review of some existing photovoltaic (PV) technologies in comparison with perovskite-structured solar cells (PSCs), including material and performance parameters, production processes and manufacturing complexity, economics, key technological challenges for further developments and current research efforts. At present, there is limited environmental assessment of PSCs and consequently, a methodologically robust and environmentally expansive lifecycle supply chain assessment of two types of PSC modules A and B is also undertaken within the context of other PV technologies, to assess their potential for environmentally friendly innovation in the energy sector. Module A is based on MAPbX3 perovskite structure while module B is based on CsFAPbX3 with improved stability, reproducibility and high performance efficiency. The main outcomes, presented along with sensitivity analysis, show that PSCs offer more environmentally friendly and sustainable option, with the least energy payback period, as compared to other PV technologies. The review and analysis presented provide valuable insight and guidance in identifying pathways and windows of opportunity for future PV designs towards cleaner and sustainable energy production

Bipolar disorder longitudinal study in Nigeria – Preliminary data on demographic and clinical findings of the study cohort

Background: Bipolar disorder, severe mood disorder characterised by its ability to swing between two contrasting poles of low and elated mood with a return to relatively normal level of functioning, has a lifetime prevalence of up to 2.4%, a heterogenous clinical picture, significant burden of disease, and a high co-morbidity rate. With significant lack of data from the African continent on bipolar disorder, this study was started with an aim to provide insight into the sociodemographic, biological, clinical, and cultural picture of bipolar disorder in Nigeria. Methods: Phase I of the study required the development of a bipolar registry and collection of data in a retrospective manner from patient clinically diagnosed with bipolar disorder at the department of neuropsychiatry, University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital in Nigeria. Data collection on demography, illness onset, duration to bipolar diagnosis, mood polarity etc., were extracted manually from patient case files using a data form developed by the research team. Result: Bipolar disorder has a mean age at onset of 27.43±10.56 years, with younger age at onset in males. There is a relatively high misdiagnosis rate of bipolar disorder with delay in making a bipolar diagnosis of 19.39 months. The data also show the presence of singular mood polarity in bipolar disorder. Conclusion: Preliminary findings from the bipolar disorder longitudinal study in Nigeria has provided much needed data for bipolar disorder in Nigeria. It also makes evident the need for a prospective, multicentre study of the life course of bipolar disorder as intended in the second phase of the study

Identification of quantitative trait loci associated with leaf rust resistance in rye by precision mapping

Abstract Background Leaf rust (LR) is among the most destructive fungal diseases of rye (Secale cereale L.). Despite intensive research using various analytical and methodological approaches, such as quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping, candidate gene expression analysis, and transcriptome sequencing, the genetic basis of the rye immune response to LR remains unclear. Results A genome-wide association study was employed to detect QTLs controlling the immune response to LR of rye. A mapping population, G38A, was constructed by crossing two inbred lines: 723 (susceptible to LR) and JKI-NIL-Pr3 (a donor of the LR resistance gene Pr3). For genotyping, SNP-DArT and silico-DArT markers were used. Resistance phenotyping was conducted by visual assessment of the infection severity in detached leaf segments inoculated with two isolates of Puccinia recondita f. sp. secalis, namely, 60/17/2.1 (isolate S) in the main experiment and 86/n/2.1_5x (isolate N) in the validation experiment, at 10 and 17 days post-infection (dpi), respectively. In total, 42,773 SNP-DArT and 105,866 silico-DArT markers were included in the main analysis including isolate S, of which 129 and 140 SNP-DArTs and 767 and 776 silico-DArTs were significantly associated (p ≤ 0.001; − log10(p) ≥ 3.0) with the immune response to LR at 10 and 17 dpi, respectively. Most significant markers were mapped to chromosome 1R. The number of common markers from both systems and at both time points occupying common chromosomal positions was 37, of which 21 were positioned in genes, comprising 18 markers located in exons and three in introns. This gene pool included genes encoding proteins with a known function in response to LR (e.g., a NBS-LRR disease resistance protein-like protein and carboxyl-terminal peptidase). Conclusion This study has expanded and supplemented existing knowledge of the genetic basis of rye resistance to LR by (1) detecting two QTLs associated with the LR immune response of rye, of which one located on the long arm of chromosome 1R is newly detected, (2) assigning hundreds of markers significantly associated with the immune response to LR to genes in the ‘Lo7’ genome, and (3) predicting the potential translational effects of polymorphisms of SNP-DArT markers located within protein-coding genes

Origin of Enhanced Hole Injection in Organic Light-Emitting Diodes with an Electron-Acceptor Doping Layer: p‑Type Doping or Interfacial Diffusion?

The electrical doping nature of a strong electron acceptor, 1,4,5,8,9,11-hexaazatriphenylene hexacarbonitrile (HATCN), is investigated by doping it in a typical hole-transport material, <i>N</i>,<i>N</i>′-bis­(naphthalen-1-yl)-<i>N</i>,<i>N</i>′-diphenylbenzidine (NPB). A better device performance of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) was achieved by doping NPB with HATCN. The improved performance could, in principle, arise from a p-type doping effect in the codeposited thin films. However, physical characteristics evaluations including UV–vis absorption, Fourier transform infrared absorption, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy demonstrated that there was no obvious evidence of charge transfer in the NPB:HATCN composite. The performance improvement in NPB:HATCN-based OLEDs is mainly attributed to an interfacial modification effect owing to the diffusion of HATCN small molecules. The interfacial diffusion effect of the HATCN molecules was verified by the in situ ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy evaluations