The Influence of Training on Bricklayers’ Productivity in Nigeria

The global economic situation and the need for construction contractors to remain in business in this competitive environment have made productivity improvement more and more important. This study therefore investigated the impact of formal and informal trainings on the productivity of bricklayers in three commercial nerve centres of Nigeria (Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt).To achieve this, questionnaires, backed up with interviews and on-site measurements were conducted on the management and bricklayers of construction firms who were randomly drawn from the three categories of construction firms in the country (large-sized, medium-sized and small-sized firms). 90 and 180 structured questionnaires were distributed to the management and bricklayers in the study area while 72 and 118 questionnaires were respectively filled and returned in this regard. The results of the descriptive and inferential statistical techniques indicated that training had significant effect on the productivity of bricklayers in Nigeria. Other factors such as monetary and nonmonetary incentives, planning and control, organizational strategy, supervision aspects and general management also had their contributory effects to bricklayers’ productivity. The study concluded that the issue of training should be accorded a priority attention by the managements of construction firms in order to attain greater workers’ productivity on construction sites

Capital Flight and the Economic Growth: Evidence From Nigeria

This research examined the impact of capital flight and its determinants on the Nigerian economy using the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model to analyze data source from the period of 1981 to 2015. The variables included current account balance, capital flight, foreign direct investments, foreign reserve, inflation rate, external debt, and the real gross domestic product. It was to examine the existence of a long run relationship among the variables studied. The result indicates that capital flight has a negative impact on the economic growth of Nigeria. Therefore, there is a need for government to implement policies that will promote domestic investment and discourage capital flight from Nigeria

Women’s Participation in Natural Resource Conservations in Giwa Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Nigeria

The study was conducted to assess the role of rural women in natural resource conservation in Giwa Local Government Area of Kaduna State. A multistage sampling technique was used to select respondents for this study. The first stage involved the purposive selection of Giwa Local Government Area. Secondly, 5 villages were randomly selected and 20% of the women from each of the villages were randomly selected. Primary data were collected from 120 respondents using structured questionnaire. The study revealed that the usage of indigenous knowledge had influence on women's participation on management and conservation practices. The study also showed that, the major problems encountered by rural women in conservation practices are plant diseases and pollution. It was recommended that, sensitization in rural communities by government so as to fight ecological destruction. Degradation of natural resources gradually diminishes the capacity of women in the study area

CT-423: Neuropsychiatric Disorders in Hospitalized Patients Undergoing Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-Cell Therapy for Multiple Myeloma

Context: Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapies have shown efficacy in treatment of relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (MM). Neuropsychiatric disorders (NPD) in patients undergoing CAR-T have not been well described. Objective: To evaluate prevalence of NPD in patients who underwent in-hospital CAR-T therapy for MM and explore association of NPD with in-hospital outcomes of CAR-T therapy. Design: Retrospective. Setting: We evaluated NPD among patients undergoing in-hospital CAR-T therapy for MM in 2018 using data from the National Inpatient Sample (NIS). We applied discharge level weights to extrapolate findings to hospitalizations across the nation. Patients: Hospitalizations for patients ≥ 18 years who received investigational CAR-T therapy for MM were selected from the NIS database using International Classification of Disease, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) procedure and diagnostic codes. Demographic and CAR-T treatment variables were collected. Regression models were fit to assess association of NPD with clinical variables, and odds ratios (OR) were reported. Main Outcomes Measures: The primary outcome was prevalence and distribution of NPD. The secondary outcome was association of NPD with CAR-T outcomes. Results: A total of 200 CAR-T procedures met inclusion criteria; 65% males, 71% Caucasians, and 15.8% African Americans, with a median age of 59 years. Most CAR-T procedures (95%) were performed in urban teaching hospitals. Prevalence of NPD was 27.5%. Anxiety was the most common NPD, then depression and insomnia. Patients with NPD, compared to those without, were more likely to have Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) \u3e 3 (54.5% versus 20.7%, p= 0.01). There were no observed differences in the distribution of NPD with regard to race, age, gender, insurance, or prior receipt of bone marrow transplantation. Association was noted between NPD and CCI ≥ 3 (OR= 4.60, 95% CI= 1.29–16.40), between NPD and fever (OR= 0.16, 95% CI= 0.04–0.70). No significant association were found between NPD and neurotoxicity, in-hospital mortality, respiratory or renal failure, length of stay, or hospital charges. Conclusions: One in every four patients who underwent CART therapy for MM in 2018 had NPD. Patients with multiple comorbidities were at higher risk, while patients with fever during CART therapy were likely underdiagnosed with NPD

Modeling Socioeconomic Factors Affecting Age at Marriage among females in Kogi State, Nigeria

This paper is aimed at determining the effect of socioeconomic factors such as cultural background, level of education and religion in relation to age at marriage among women in Kogi State Nigeria. The survey area is made up of diverse ethnic groups with three major languages. The study reveals that education is an important factor which increases the age at marriage in the State. The study equally proved that religion and cultural background does not affect age at marriage among women in Kogi State, Nigeria. A Saturated one-way and two-way model was fitted to reveal the behavioral pattern of the distribution. Key words: Socioeconomic, Modeling, Marriage, Saturated, Analysis

Relationship Between Gestation Length and Birth Weight in Nigerian Sheep and Their Crosses

Effect of genotype and birth weight on gestation length was evaluated using Nigerian breeds of sheep and their crosses. The study was carried out at the Sheep Project Unit of Small Ruminant Research Programme (SRRP) of National Animal Production Research Institute (NAPRI), Ahmadu Bello University, Shika-Zaria. The sheep breeds used were Balami, Uda and Yankasa. Heat (estrus) detection was carried out twice daily; in the morning (07:00-08:00 hours); and in the evening (16:00-17:00 hours) using apron fitted rams to pick does on heat. A total of 56 lambs were used for this study. The data obtained were subjected to analysis of variance using General Linear Model and Correlation Procedure of SAS. All the genotypes had similar gestation length with values between 150.3±0.61 days and 153.3±0.60 days, except for Balami pure breed (BAL X BAL) lambs that recorded a shorter gestation length (137.1±0.81 days). There was a wide variation in the birth weight of lambs with the crosses between Balami rams and Yankasa ewes recording a distinct birth weight of 3.5±0.08 kg while the crosses obtained using Yankasa rams on Uda and Balami ewes gave the lowest birth weights (1.7±0.19 and 1.4±0.18, respectively). Sex and litter type have no significant effect (P>0.05) on gestation length. Birth weight was however affected by sex of lambs and their litter type. Litter type was negatively correlated with birth weight (-0.372). Gestation length had a low and non-significant relationship with birth weight; litter type and lamb genotype. Lamb genotype does not have a significant relationship with litter type. Genetic improvement of Nigeria sheep breed is possible if the resources of within and between breed is exploited. Selection for a reduction in gestation length may indirectly increase prolificacy. (Animal Production 12(3): 135-138 (2010

Monitoring of specific activities of long-lived radioactive elements along the Mini- Okoro/Oginigba Creek, Port Harcourt

Presence and concentrations of radionuclides could be as a result of natural and human activities. This  study examined the associations and differences  among soil, sediment and water specific activities of long-lived radioactive element (LLRE). Gamma spectroscopy was used to measure the concentration of  the LLRE along the Mini Okoro/Oginigba Creek, Port Harcourt. Specific activities of three selected LLRE were derived. Correlation analysis was carried out to  examine associations among the specific activities across different substrates. A strong and a significant negative correlation exists between the specific  activities of Water 40K and Soil 232Th (r =-0.721, p<0.05); Water 238U and Soil 238U (r = -0.717, p<0.05) and Water 40K and Sediment 238U (r=-0.69,  p<0.05). Comparison using Mann-Whitney U test shows that, soil and sediment are similar in their specific activities with Z values of -0.408, -1.209 and  -1.021 (p > 0.05) for 40K, 232Th and 238U respectively. The concentration of solid samples (soil and sediment) is different from the liquid (water) samples. These associations can be attributed to some specific underlying factors. And in other to understand them there is need for more studies. © JASEMKeywords: Radionuclide; environmental monitoring; Niger Delta; Gamma spectroscopy; Environmental managemen

Fatty Acids Constitution of Selected Franchised Snacks in Nigeria

There has been an increase in the frequency of consumption of fast foods in Nigeria. This study aimed to investigate the fatty acid composition of franchised snacks available in south-western Nigeria. Five non-meat-based and five meat-based fast foods were selected from ten fast food outlets from South-west Nigeria using systematic random sampling. The samples were analyzed for fatty acids composition using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Saturated fatty acids (SFA) ranged from 0.72 in popcorn to 11.44 g/100g in doughnut, n-3 unsaturated fatty acid [0.30 doughnut to 2.62 g/100g in meat pie], n-6 unsaturated fatty acids[0.55 in doughnut to 2.03 g/100g beef roll], n-9 unsaturated fatty acids [0.21sausage roll to 6.59 g/100g beef roll] and Trans fatty acids (TFAs) content [0.29popcorn to 11.78 g/100g sausage roll]. However, elaidic acid was abundant in almost all non-meat-based snacks (406.60 to 1146.33 mg) and vaccenic acid in almost all meat based samples (324.03 to 2307.60 mg) except in meat pie. The study established that snacks consumed in south-western Nigeria are abundant in SFA, TFA and unsaturated fatty acids and this information will aid in making informed choice during selection of snacks by consumers. Keywords: Fat content, fast foods, lipids, saturated fats, pastries