Emerging Ties-Nigerian Entrepreneurs and Chinese Business Associates

Africa-China relationships consists of various interactions between government officials, to large corporations, and individuals. This article examines the emerging relationship between Africa and China through the ethnography of a Nigerian entrepreneur who seeks to expand his business by selling to Chinese clients. Entrepreneurship is lauded in Nigerian society. China's increasing presence in the country is often presented as a positive economic opportunity for Nigerians, including entrepreneurs. This research highlights the complex nature of business relationships between Nigerian entrepreneurs and Chinese counterparts. To build trust and business ties, the entrepreneur highlighted manages his brand via social media, utilizes social capital, and taps into relatedness and kinship within Chinese business circles

Chan, Yuk Wah & Koh, S. Y. (Eds.). New Chinese Migrations: Mobility, Home, and Inspirations. Routledge Series on Asian Migration Volume 3, Oxon: Routledge, 2018.

Book review

The Role of a Performance Coach on Athlete's Loyalty: A Case Study of Youth Soccer Players in San Diego and Orange County

The definition of coach effectiveness is ambiguous, with several perceptions on creating an engaging learning environment. Thus, understanding why athletes remain with their respective organizations and recognizing the impact of their coach is essential to increasing retention rates. This study will review existing literature on coach effectiveness and the coach-athlete relationship impacting athlete engagement while mining primary data from elite academy soccer clubs in San Diego and Orange County. The results provide valuable information on athletes' and parents' decision(s) on what club they want to join based on the coaches' behaviors using a qualitative analysis approach. In addition, the results highlight correlations between the athletes' and parents' views of events. The study contributes' to providing practical information for youth sports organizations, who will be able to implement the recommendations of this study to enhance their coaches' education and create a positive coach-athlete experience

A randomised controlled study of goserelin as adjunctive therapy prior to surgery in the management of uterine fibroids

Context: Luteinising hormone analogues are being increasingly advocated in the management of common oestrogendependent gynaecological conditions, notably uterine fibroids, endometriosis and menorrhagia. Objective: The aim was to assess the effects of depot injections of goserelin (Zoladex®), a GnRH-agonist analogue, on the management of uterine fibroids. Patients and Methods: Forty female pre-menopausal patients aged between 26 and 50 years, with uterine sizes 12 to 26 weeks were enrolled in a randomised controlled study. One group was prospectively randomized to surgery (deferred for 0 to 4 months) and another to goserelin treatment for 3 months, followed by surgery. Patients were included if they had a diagnosis of benign uterine fibroids and an abdomino-pelvic mass greater than 12 weeks gestational size. Results: Uterine and fibroids volumes were reduced by a median value of 31.7% and 58.1% respectively for Zoladex patients compared with an increase of 3.3% and 0.6% in uterine and fibroid volumes in the surgery-only patients. The difference between the treatment groups for the absolute changes was statistically significant (

Nutriphytochemical Profiling and Changes in Cardiovascular Risk Index in Malarial Infected Mice Treated with Ethanol Root Extract of Phyllanthus Amarus

Purpose: The use of medicinal plants in malarial treatment has become popular in Nigeria, an endemic country, due to failing chemotherapy and high cost of antimalarial drugs. One of such commonly used herbs is Phyllanthus amarus. The antimalarial activity of P. amarus has been consistently reported, giving credence to its traditional use. Nevertheless, effects of such treatment on reducing cardiovascular risk indices is yet to be fully documented. This is imperative since certain metabolic complications like increased plasma lipids have been associated with considerable risks of fatty liver and cardiovascular diseaes in severe cases of malaria in humans. Methods: In this present study, therefore, the antiplasmodial action of the ethanol root extract of P. amarus and its ED50 dose were determined and associated cardiovascular risk indices were evaluated in BALB/c malarial infected mice, having ascertained the nutritive quality and phytochemicals of plant root. Results: Results showed that P. amarus root is abundant in alkaloid phytochemical and the roots extracts demonstrated significant antiplasmodial activity in a dose-dependent trend with optimal ED50 and maximal potency in reducing cardiovascular risk indices (Atherogenic index of plasma, AIP and heart disease risk, HDR) and fatty liver, which compared well with the values obtained from the uninfected control mice. Conclusion: The roots of P. amarus possess a wide array of nutrients and phytochemicals, with significant antimalarial activity. The roots also reduced the risks of cardiovascular diseases associated with severe malaria, in experimental mice.&nbsp

Intermittent fasting and exercise therapy abates STZ‐induced diabetotoxicity in rats through modulation of adipocytokines hormone, oxidative glucose metabolic, and glycolytic pathway

Abstract Diabetes is a global, costly, and growing public health issue. Intermittent fasting (IF) and exercise therapy have been shown to improve insulin sensitivity (IS) in large studies, although the underlying processes are still unknown. The goal of this study, which included both nondiabetic and diabetic rats, was to look at the mechanisms of intermittent fasting and exercise in the management of diabetotoxicity. The effects of starvation and honey on the oral glucose tolerance test, insulin tolerance test, adipocytokines, oxidative glucose metabolic enzymes, glycolytic enzymes, food intake, and body weight in rats with streptozotocin‐induced diabetes were also investigated. In the nondiabetic phase, rats were administered an oral regimen of distilled water (0.5 ml/rat), honey (1 g/kg body weight), and interventions with IF, and starvation for 4 weeks while in the diabetic phase, after STZ or citrate buffer injections, interventions with IF, exercise, starvation, and honey treatment began for 4 weeks. At all OGTT and ITT points, there was a substantial rise in glucose in the STZ group. Adipocytokines hormone, oxidative glucose metabolic enzymes, glycolytic enzymes, and body weight were all affected by STZ when compared to starvation and honey, however, IF and exercise significantly reduced these alterations. In diabetic rats, intermittent fasting and exercise enhanced serum adipocytokines levels. These findings imply that adipokines modulate glycolytic/nonmitochondrial enzymes and glucose metabolic/mitochondrial dehydrogenase to mediate the antidiabetic effects of intermittent fasting and exercise

Lung ultrasound for detection of pulmonary complications in critically ill obstetric patients in a resource-limited setting

Critically ill parturients have an increased risk of developing pulmonary complications. Lung ultrasound (LUS) could be effective in addressing the cause of respiratory distress in resource-limited settings with high maternal mortality. We aimed to determine the frequency, timing of appearance, and type of pulmonary complications in critically ill parturients in an obstetric unit in Sierra Leone. In this prospective observational study, LUS examinations were performed on admission, after 24 and 48 hours, and in case of respiratory deterioration. Primary endpoint was the proportion of parturients with one or more pulmonary complications, stratified for the presence of respiratory distress. Secondary endpoints included timing and types of complications, and their association with “poor outcome,” defined as a composite of transfer for escalation of care or death. Of 166 patients enrolled, 35 patients (21% [95% CI: 15-28]) had one or more pulmonary complications, the majority diagnosed on admission. Acute respiratory distress syndrome (period prevalence 4%) and hydrostatic pulmonary edema (4%) were only observed in patients with respiratory distress. Pneumonia (2%), atelectasis (10%), and pleural effusion (7%) were present, irrespective of respiratory distress. When ultrasound excluded pulmonary complications, respiratory distress was related to anemia or metabolic acidosis. Pulmonary complications were associated with an increased risk of poor outcome (odds ratio: 5.0; 95% CI: 1.7-14.6; P = 0.003). In critically ill parturients in a resource-limited obstetric unit, LUS contributed to address the cause of respiratory distress by identifying or excluding pulmonary complications. These were associated with a poor outcome

Measurement of electrons from semileptonic heavy-flavour hadron decays at midrapidity in pp and Pb–Pb collisions at √sNN = 5.02 TeV

The differential invariant yield as a function of transverse momentum (pT) of electrons from semileptonic heavy-flavour hadron decays was measured at midrapidity in central (0–10%), semi-central (30–50%) and peripheral (60–80%) lead–lead (Pb–Pb) collisions at √sNN = 5.02 TeV in the pT intervals 0.5–26 GeV/c (0–10% and 30–50%) and 0.5–10 GeV/c (60–80%). The production cross section in proton–proton (pp) collisions at √s = 5.02 TeV was measured as well in 0.5 < pT < 10 GeV/c and it lies close to the upper band of perturbative QCD calculation uncertainties up to pT = 5 GeV/c and close to the mean value for larger pT. The modification of the electron yield with respect to what is expected for an incoherent superposition of nucleon–nucleon collisions is evaluated by measuring the nuclear modification factor RAA. The measurement of the RAA in different centrality classes allows in-medium energy loss of charm and beauty quarks to be investigated. The RAA shows a suppression with respect to unity at intermediate pT, which increases while moving towards more central collisions. Moreover, the measured RAA is sensitive to the modification of the parton distribution functions (PDF) in nuclei, like nuclear shadowing, which causes a suppression of the heavy-quark production at low pT in heavy-ion collisions at LHC