Implementation of Management Strategies and Academic Staff Retention in Private Universities in Southwest, Nigeria

Implementing management strategies to retain staff is an important issue for universities as it impacts the institution's quality of teaching, research, and administrative services. The study examined the implementation of management strategies and their impact on academic staff retention in nine selected private universities. The research sample comprises 1,736 academic staff members from these institutions. The study investigated the various management strategies employed by private universities to retain their academic workforce and explored their effectiveness in promoting staff retention. The paper utilized a mixed-methods approach, combining both quantitative and qualitative data collection techniques. A survey questionnaire was distributed among academic staff members to assess their perceptions of management strategies and their impact on retention. Additionally, in-depth interviews were conducted with key university administrators to gain insights into the specific strategies employed and their rationale. The findings highlighted the management strategies that private universities adopt to retain academic staff and the implications of enhancing their staff retention efforts. The findings also informed university administrators and human resource professionals about the strategies that can greatly impact academic staff retention if implemented properly.The study concluded that formulation and effective implementation of management strategies will improve academic staff retention. By identifying successful practices and addressing areas for improvement, universities can enhance their ability to attract and retain talented academic staff. This, in turn, will contribute to the overall quality of the universities

Fracture, VUG and Intercrystalline Porosity and Permeability Analysis from Well Logs of LIRTIM Oil Field, Iraq

Carbonate reservoir unarguably contributes over 50% of presently produced crude oil in the world today especially from the middle-eastern part of the world with appreciable amount of reserve estimate yet unexplored. Deposition, sedimentation, diagenesis and other geological features of carbonate rocks has been studied leading their classification into: mudstone, wackestone, packstone, grainstone, boundstone and crystalline carbonate rocks. These are all characterised by various features such as fractures and vugs which influences its petro-physical behaviour. The study of the main features of carbonate reservoir using Archie’s cementation exponent “m” is an acceptable method of verifying the geological features in the reservoir which actually contribute to rock fluid properties and other production attributes of the reservoir. This was verified for some reservoir using well log values for Lirtim oil field in Iraq. The dominating geological features of the field were verified from a graphical representation of the different data from field reservoir. The reservoirs used as case studies in the research were also classified into different carbonate rocks using a graphical plot of their permeability against porosity values. This result gives a clue of the textural and grain size characteristics as well as the effective pore sizes of the reservoir. This method of analysis makes it easier to evaluate the post diagenetic strength of the reservoir rocks and fluid hosting capability in view of recovering hydrocarbon in the are

DETERMINATION OF ACETIC AND PROPANOIC ACIDS CONCENTRATION IN NIGERIAN KEROSENE

The paper aims to determine acetic and propanoic acid concentrations in some selected samples of kerosene used in Nigeria. The Armfield Liquid-Liquid Extraction Unit was employed to carry out the study. Distilled water and kerosene samples from five different sources were used for the investigation. The parameters taken into consideration during the course of the experiments were time, thermal conductivity, temperature, flow rates and concentration of the acid. It was deduced from the research that the temperature and the conductivity decreased with significant decrease in concentration of the acid and vice versa. The results gotten from the extraction of the kerosene samples also showed that sample A, sample D, and sample E did not contain acetic acid while sample B and sample C had traces of acetic acid, with sample C having traces of propanoic acid. After comparing the values with the standard classification of acetic acid, it was discovered that the concentration of both acetic and propanoic acid in the samples were not significantly sufficient to harm human beings

DETERMINATION OF ACETIC AND PROPANOIC ACIDS CONCENTRATION IN NIGERIAN KEROSENE

The paper aims to determine acetic and propanoic acid concentrations in some selected samples of kerosene used in Nigeria. The Armfield Liquid-Liquid Extraction Unit was employed to carry out the study. Distilled water and kerosene samples from five different sources were used for the investigation. The parameters taken into consideration during the course of the experiments were time, thermal conductivity, temperature, flow rates and concentration of the acid. It was deduced from the research that the temperature and the conductivity decreased with significant decrease in concentration of the acid and vice versa. The results gotten from the extraction of the kerosene samples also showed that sample A, sample D, and sample E did not contain acetic acid while sample B and sample C had traces of acetic acid, with sample C having traces of propanoic acid. After comparing the values with the standard classification of acetic acid, it was discovered that the concentration of both acetic and propanoic acid in the samples were not significantly sufficient to harm human beings

Lipidomics of blood and organs of rats fed diets supplemented with different edible oils

Studies were carried out to compare the effects of different edible oils (olive, turkey, palm, groundnut and soya) on lipidomics of blood and organs of rats. Thirty-six male albino rats divided into six groups (n = 6) were fed compounded diets without oil (control) and with different oils (10%) each ad libitum for twenty-eight days. Lipid profiles of tissues (blood, brain, heart and liver) and Hydroxymethylglutaryl CoA (HMG CoA) reductase activity in brain and liver were determined. All edible oil-containing diets (especially groundnut and soya oils) significantly reduced (p<0.05) weight gain and daily growth rate. Condition factor was significantly decreased (p<0.05) only in groundnut and increased in turkey oil fed groups compared with other diets. Different lipidomic patterns were elicited by the different oils compared with control. Significant decreases (p<0.05) were observed in level of cholesterol in plasma (olive and turkey oils) and heart (all oil diets) while increases were observed in HDL (olive, groundnut and soya oils), VLDL-LDL (olive, turkey and palm oils), RBC (all oil diets except olive oil group), brain (groundnut and soya oils) and liver (olive and turkey oils). HMG-CoA reductase activity significantly increased in liver of olive, soya and palm oil fed groups and brain (all oil diets) but decreased in liver of groundnut oil group. Triacylglycerol level significantly increased (p<0.05) in plasma and RBC of palm oil group, HDL (turkey oil) and VLDL-LDL (olive, turkey and palm oils) while it decreased in plasma (groundnut and soya oils), brain (all oil diets) and heart (palm and groundnut oils). Phospholipid levels increased significantly (p<0.05) in RBC (all oil diets except the olive), plasma and VLDL-LDL (all oil diets), brain (soya bean oil) and heart (turkey oil). The results indicated that olive, groundnut and soya bean oils are more beneficial to health compared with palm and turkey oils which may predispose to cardiovascular disease.Keywords: Edible oils, Lipidomic patterns, Lipid profiles, Cholesterol, Triacylglycerol, Phospholipid Plasma, Red blood cells, Lipoproteins, Heart, Brain, Live

Growth, Mineral Deposition, and Physiological Responses of Broiler Chickens Offered Honey in Drinking Water during Hot-Dry Season

Growing broilers were offered either 0 (0H), 10 (10H), 20 mL (20H) honey, or 0.5 g vitamin C/litre water (AA) during hot-dry season. Honey had no significant (>0.05) effect on feed intake (FI), weight gain (WG), feed conversion ratio (FCR), water intake (WI), survival (SURV), dressed percentage (DRE), breast meat (BRE), gizzard (GIZ), drumstick (DRU), shank (SHA), thigh (THI), tibia volume (VOL), and magnesium (MAG). Effect of honey was significant (0.005). Higher dose of honey lowered PR and HR. Honey significantly (0.05) affected. 20H broilers had higher THY than 0H and 10H groups. In conclusion, honey did not affect growth but might improve broilers’ welfare when offered up to 20H during hot periods

Removal of an Impacted Foreign Body from The Upper Airway with a Gastroscope in a Tertiary Hospital in South-West Nigeria – A Case Report

Foreign body ingestion and food bolus impaction are encountered commonly in clinical practice and are a common endoscopic emergency. A wide variety of objects could be ingested which could get impacted, and the site of impaction is commonly the oesophagus but can also be the airway depending on the nature of the substance ingested, the age of the patient and the presence of a neurologic disorder. The predominant clinical features of a patient will depend on the site of impaction of the foreign body; the airway or the oesophagus. Endoscopy remains the gold standard for the diagnosis and management of foreign body ingestion of which there are different modalities and equipment types. For foreign body in the airway laryngoscopy, tracheoscopy and bronchoscopy are the modalities indicated and there are also different types of retrieval devices some of which include standard biopsy forceps, retrieval graspers, retrieval forceps and polypectomy snares. The management of foreign body ingestion cuts across different specialties including Pulmonology, Otorhinolaryngology, General surgery, Cardiothoracic surgery and Gastroenterology all of which are involved in various different endoscopic procedures and their endoscopy equipment have a lot of similarities and in certain instances they can be adapted to perform varying roles. Foreign bodies in the airway require urgent endoscopic removal because it can become rapidly life threatening with associated high morbidity and mortality, therefore the available equipment should be immediately deployed to save lives. We present a case of foreign body impaction in the upper airway (larynx) that was removed with a flexible video Gastroscope using a polypectomy snare

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

Emergence and spread of two SARS-CoV-2 variants of interest in Nigeria.

Identifying the dissemination patterns and impacts of a virus of economic or health importance during a pandemic is crucial, as it informs the public on policies for containment in order to reduce the spread of the virus. In this study, we integrated genomic and travel data to investigate the emergence and spread of the SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.318 and B.1.525 (Eta) variants of interest in Nigeria and the wider Africa region. By integrating travel data and phylogeographic reconstructions, we find that these two variants that arose during the second wave in Nigeria emerged from within Africa, with the B.1.525 from Nigeria, and then spread to other parts of the world. Data from this study show how regional connectivity of Nigeria drove the spread of these variants of interest to surrounding countries and those connected by air-traffic. Our findings demonstrate the power of genomic analysis when combined with mobility and epidemiological data to identify the drivers of transmission, as bidirectional transmission within and between African nations are grossly underestimated as seen in our import risk index estimates

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance.

Investment in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing in Africa over the past year has led to a major increase in the number of sequences that have been generated and used to track the pandemic on the continent, a number that now exceeds 100,000 genomes. Our results show an increase in the number of African countries that are able to sequence domestically and highlight that local sequencing enables faster turnaround times and more-regular routine surveillance. Despite limitations of low testing proportions, findings from this genomic surveillance study underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic and illuminate the distinct dispersal dynamics of variants of concern-particularly Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron-on the continent. Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve while the continent faces many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century