A study of the effect of diversity in the board and the audit committee composition on earnings management for low and high leveraged banks in Nigeria

The study examines the effect of board diversity and audit committee on earnings management of listed Deposit Money Banks in Nigeria, for low and high leveraged Banks. Earnings Management is measured using Chang, Shen and Fang (2008) model. All the 15 banks listed in Nigerian Stock Exchange as at 2015 were used for the analysis. Data were obtained from the financial statements covering the period 2008-2015. Multiple regression technique was employed, while the tool of analysis is Stata 13. The findings revealed that, all the variables have significant effect on earnings management of banks except for women directors and board size under the low leveraged banks, while board ownership was also found to have weak impact on earnings management under the high leveraged banks. Meanwhile, the findings also revealed that the explanatory variables under the low explained earnings management better than high leveraged.peer-reviewe

Molecular Detection of Influenza A(H1N1)Pdm09 Virus Among Chronic Kidney Disease Patients: A Peripheral Blood Sample Approach and Assessment of the Associated Risk Factors

Introduction: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a progressive loss of functional nephron characterized by various risk factors. Influenza virus has been found to cause rhabdomyolysis, which is toxic to the kidneys and can initiate or worsen CKD. This study aims to investigate the frequency and molecular detection of Influenza A(H1N1)Pdm09 Virus gene among CKD patients attending University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, Nigeria.Materials and Methods: Peripheral blood samples were collected from 150 CKD patients. One-step RT-PCR was performed for detection of influenza virus using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention protocol. Relevant clinical data were collected in standardized questionnaires from each patient, and medical history was obtained from their hospital records.Results: Conventional PCR analysis revealed that 16% of the CKD patients tested positive for Inf A/Pdm H1N1. The virus frequency was found to be higher among patients in CKD stage 5 (end-stage CKD) and lower in CKD stage 3 (moderate CKD). Additionally, female CKD patients and those in the age group of 55-64 years showed a higher susceptibility to Inf A/Pdm H1N1 infection.Discussion: The study provides evidence of the presence of Inf A/Pdm H1N1 in CKD patients, aligning with previous research showing its involvement in kidney disease aggravation. CKD patients often exhibit immune dysregulation, which might facilitate the virus's invasion and persistence. Conclusion: This study provides evidence of an association between Influenza A(H1N1)Pdm09 viraemia and decreased kidney function among CKD patients. The findings highlight the importance of monitoring and preventing influenza infection in CKD patients to prevent further kidney damage

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

Passengers’ safety perception on public transport usage during post-COVID-19 in federal capital territory Abuja, Nigeria

The COVID-19 pandemic forces the entire world to deal with a myriad of new challenges that affected the entire world. The major goal of this research is to study the passenger’s safety perception on public transport usage during the post covid-19 in Federal Capital Territory Abuja, Nigeria. The study was quantitative which employed primary sources. The data were sourced through distribution of google form questionnaires. The data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences IBM Version 26. The findings from the analysis revealed that public transport users are satisfied with the covid-19 precautionary measures and level of safety. The study concluded that, given the high risks of contaminating the covid-19 in the public transport, ensuring passengers safety should be prioritized in other to limit the spread of covid-19. The study recommended that relevant authorities such as Nigerian Center for Disease Control (NCDC), National Orientation Agency (NOA), FCT Transport Secretariat, Nigerian Police Force (NPF) should focus on raising the public awareness on the use of facemasks, hand sanitizer, physical distancing and avoiding crowded vehicles as part of the covid-19 precautionary measures when using public transport