Flood Effects on Agricultural Productivity Implications for Mangrove Forest Ecosystem in Akpabuyo cross River State Nigeria

Flood is a natural disaster that affects lives livelihoods household food security and natural ecosystems Hence the study sought to determine flood effects on agricultural productivity Implications for Mangrove Forest Ecosystem in Akpabuyo Cross River State Nigeria Specifically the paper identified high and low-risks flood areas in Akpabuyo determined the frequency of flood events and extent of agricultural land inundation identifying the crops species affected by flooding and assessed the income and food survival strategies of farmers affected by annual flood events Descriptive statistics frequency counts percentages and averages were employed to analyze the data derived from a structured questionnaire and field measurement of elevation of high and low-risk flood areas Results revealed that the agricultural land at high risk of flooding is those with 1-44 metres elevation above sea level Table 1 Findings on Table 4show that the food staple most affected are the root or tuber species with 77 52 percent annual destruction vegetable species were also at high risk and some economic crops like Musa spp plantain were also at high risks of destruction The result further revealed that income loss and food shortages occasioned from flooding of agricultural land are mitigated by Mangrove Forest Ecosystem Resources Extraction Table 6 Thus conservation of the Mangrove Forest ecosystem in Akpabuyo and Cross River State is tied to the efficient management and mitigation of flood events in agricultural lan

Professional Development and Lecturers’ Job Effectiveness in Universities in South-South Geo-Political Zone of Nigeria

The aim of this research was to fine out the influence of lecturers’ professional development on their job effectiveness in federal government owned universities in South-South Geo-Political Zone of Nigeria. Survey research design was adopted to study a sample of 180 (45 lecturers and 135 students)  selected from the six federal Universities in South-South Geo-Political Zone of Nigeria using stratified random sampling technique.           Two research instruments called ‘‘Lecturers’ professional Development Questionnaire (LPDQ)’’ and ‘‘Job Effectiveness Questionnaire (JEQ)’’ constructed by the researchers and validated by experts were used for data collection. All hypotheses were analysed using Independent t- test statistics. The result indicated that lecturers’ professional development in terms of retraining,  research publication and ICT utilization significantly influenced their job effectiveness in terms of  instructional delivery, communication skills and students evaluation. It was recommended that for the work of lecturers to be effective in the university system, the aspect of their professional development must be given good attention by the management of the university. Key words: Professional development, lecturers, job effectivenes

Challenges and Prospects of Applying Scientific Methods in Sociological and Policy Investigation

The paper examines sociological and policy investigations, in terms of its method of inquiry and the possibility of applying scientific methods. Major tools, techniques and methods of science were highlighted and discussed showing their extent of application in Sociology and Policy Studies. The paper maintains the stand that both disciplines as Social Sciences utilized scientific methods and identified measurement difficulties, subjectivity and methodological crises as their major limitations as sciences. It concluded that though theory building and experimentation are not possible in social sciences, the adaptation of observation, quantification, identification of problem, hypothesis formulation and testing, position both Sociology and Policy Study as sciences. It is expected that with the passage of time, Sociology and Policy Studies will reveal their full scientific attributes. It was recommended that scientific methods should be explored and utilized in all social sciences extensively

Financial Management Competence of Principals and Attainment of Secondary School Goals in Calabar Education Zone of Cross River State, Nigeria

The study sought to examine the financial management competence of principals as it relate to their secondary school goal attainment in Calabar Education Zone of Cross River State, Nigeria. Two researcher made questionnaires validated by experts in Measurement and Evaluation, University of Calabar were used to collect data from a sample of 120 respondents (30 principals and 90 teachers) startifiedly selected from the seven Local Government Areas that make up the study area. All hypotheses were tested at 0.5 level of significance using Pearson Product Moment Correlation Analysis and the result showed that secondary school goal attainment was significantly dependent on the principals’ financial management competence. It was recommended that principals be trained on financial management and that government should increase their allocation to secondary schools to ease the administrative tasks of principals and to enhance their goal attainment. Keywords: Financial Management, Competence, Goal Attainmen

“In Limbo”—use of, and alterations to, modified diets by nursing home staff in the absence of timely specialist support

BackgroundDysphagia is common in nursing home (NH) residents. Staff may not always be able to access speech and language therapist (SLT) assessments in a timely manner and there are some reports of nurses initiating or changing modified diets in these circumstances.MethodsA mixed quantitative and qualitative approach was used to analyse responses to an online anonymized survey of senior nurses working in Irish NHs. They were asked about their experience of delays accessing SLT services and whether they would ever initiate or change modified diets. Respondents were asked if they would give water to a thirsty resident, prescribed mildly thick liquids, who demanded it on a hot day because thickened fluid was not thirst quenching.ResultsOf 77 nurses surveyed, 63 (82%) responded. Three quarters reported delays accessing SLT services sometimes or often. Thirty-four (54.0%) would not give the thirsty resident water. About 70% reported that thickened fluids or modified texture diets were started without SLT sometimes or often. A third of respondents would thicken fluids or modify food to a greater extent than previously recommended but very few would make a diet less restrictive. The main themes that emerged from the comments provided were related to the uncertainty and dilemmas created for staff, what mitigating actions they might take in those circumstances and the need for better guidance and better access to SLT services.DiscussionDelays accessing SLT services are common for Irish NHs, and staff may initiate or change modified diets themselves in these circumstances. The responses suggest a widespread, and unjustified, belief that thicker or more modified is better for those with dysphagia. Clear and accurate guidance, and a better SLT service, is needed for NH staff

MTADV 5-MER peptide suppresses chronic inflammations as well as autoimmune pathologies and unveils a new potential target-Serum Amyloid A.

Despite the existence of potent anti-inflammatory biological drugs e.g., anti-TNF and anti IL-6 receptor antibodies, for treating chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, these are costly and not specific. Cheaper oral available drugs remain an unmet need. Expression of the acute phase protein Serum Amyloid A (SAA) is dependent on release of pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1, IL-6 and TNF-α during inflammation. Conversely, SAA induces pro-inflammatory cytokine secretion, including Th17, leading to a pathogenic vicious cycle and chronic inflammation. 5- MER peptide (5-MP) MTADV (methionine-threonine-alanine-aspartic acid-valine), also called Amilo-5MER, was originally derived from a sequence of a pro-inflammatory CD44 variant isolated from synovial fluid of a Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) patient. This human peptide displays an efficient anti-inflammatory effects to ameliorate pathology and clinical symptoms in mouse models of RA, Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) and Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Bioinformatics and qRT-PCR revealed that 5-MP, administrated to encephalomyelytic mice, up-regulates genes contributing to chronic inflammation resistance. Mass spectrometry of proteins that were pulled down from an RA synovial cell extract with biotinylated 5-MP, showed that it binds SAA. 5-MP disrupted SAA assembly, which is correlated with its pro-inflammatory activity. The peptide MTADV (but not scrambled TMVAD) significantly inhibited the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-6 and IL-1β from SAA-activated human fibroblasts, THP-1 monocytes and peripheral blood mononuclear cells. 5-MP suppresses the pro-inflammatory IL-6 release from SAA-activated cells, but not from non-activated cells. 5-MP could not display therapeutic activity in rats, which are SAA deficient, but does inhibit inflammations in animal models of IBD and MS, both are SAA-dependent, as shown by others in SAA knockout mice. In conclusion, 5-MP suppresses chronic inflammation in animal models of RA, IBD and MS, which are SAA-dependent, but not in animal models, which are SAA-independent

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P < 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely

Challenges to Language Revitalization: The Efut Perspective

Efut, a Bantoid language in the Niger-Congo Family, known as Balondo in its ancestral Cameroon homeland, seems to survive on the life support of cultural rituals and Ekpe (‘Leopard’) Society. There is no intergenerational transmission, as language shift is ubiquitous in almost all domains. As a corollary, except Okon Noah (2021), most works underscore only its extinction rather than resuscitation and it is not listed in Ethnologue (2019); hence, part of the momentum for our revitalization effort. From our exploratory investigations, the major challenges to Efut include: aftermath of war, lack of documentation, poor language attitude, linguistic environment, leadership tussle, economic and technological factors. We discuss these issues and suggest stimulus packages towards revitalization. Some of these include proficiency in Efut as a positive reward system and prerequisite for ascendancy to the highest Efut traditional patriarchy (Muri Munene), chieftaincy title awards and free land allocation. The use of social media, optimizing the gains of cultural rituals and Ekpe would serve also as veritable revitalization tools. The paper challenges language enthusiasts and other stakeholders, especially Efut indigenes, to bring fresh perspectives towards revitalizing the language. No human language deserves to die