DOES WORKING CAPITAL MANAGEMENT AFFECT THE PROFITABILITY OF CONSUMER GOODS MANUFACTURING FIRMS IN NIGERIA?

The study examined the effect of working capital management on profitability of consumer goods manufacturing firms in Nigeria between the periods 2009 to 2018. The study adopted ex-post-facto design to generate data from the audited financial statements of the selected companies. The population of the study comprised 24 listed consumer goods manufacturing companies, out of which 10 were purposively selected based on the availability of data. The surrogates for independent variables were Account Payable Period (APP), Account Receivable Period (ARP), Inventory Turnover Period (INVTP), Cash Conversion Cycle (CCC) and Sales Growth (SG) as a control variable while the proxy for profitability was Return on Asset (ROA). Descriptive and inferential statistics coupled with multiple regressions were adopted to analyze the data.  The Random Effects Generalized Least Square showed that ARP, INVTP, CCC had a negative and significant relationship with ROA while APP, SG had a positive and insignificant relationship with ROA. The study concluded that timely collection of debts and shorter inventory turnover period with cash conversion cycle enhance profitability of consumer goods manufacturing companies. Hence, the study suggested that the management of the companies should implement efficient working capital management for improved profitability.   &nbsp

THE EFFECT OF ELECTRONIC PAYMENT ON CUSTOMER SERVICE DELIVERY IN NIGERIAN BANKS

ABSTRAC

COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF GENOTYPING AND CULTURE-BASED TECHNIQUES FOR FUNGAL KERATITIS DETECTION

The study aims to compare the direct polymerase chain reaction with microbial culture for the detection and fungal pathogens in infectious keratitis.  A total of 81 corneal ulcers were culture and analyzed prospectively. PCR was performed with all corneal scrapping with fungal and bacteria specific primers. PCR products were analysed and compared with the culture results using standard methods. Of the 81 samples, 80 were positive by PCR, 51 for fungi and 29 for bacteria. Out of 51 PCR positive samples, 22 samples were culture positive and 29 were culture negative. The majority of PCR genotyped samples matched the positive culture results. The positive detection rate of 80/81 (98.8%) with high suspicion of fungal keratitis and positive detection rate of direct PCR 50/51(98.0%) were observed. The sensitivities for the diagnosis of fungal keratitis with direct PCR and culture were 98.0% (50/51) and 43.1% (22/51) (p< 0.001) whereas the specificities were 100.0% (2/2) and 100.0% (1/1) respectively. The time required to complete the direct PCR was only 3 hours. The direct PCR assay is a rapid diagnostic technique with high sensitivity and specificity for infectious keratitis and it is expected to have impact on the diagnosis and treatment of infectious keratitis. &nbsp

Households Demand Analysis For Processed Fruits In Abeokuta Metropolis of Ogun State, Nigeria

Abstract This study hypothesized that demand for for processed fruits is price inelastic i

COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF GENOTYPING AND CULTURE-BASED TECHNIQUES FOR FUNGAL KERATITIS DETECTION

The study aims to compare the direct polymerase chain reaction with microbial culture for the detection and fungal pathogens in infectious keratitis. A total of 81 corneal ulcers were culture and analyzed prospectively. PCR was performed with all corneal scrapping with fungal and bacteria specific primers. PCR products were analysed and compared with the culture results using standard methods. Of the 81 samples, 80 were positive by PCR, 51 for fungi and 29 for bacteria. Out of 51 PCR positive samples, 22 samples were culture positive and 29 were culture negative. The majority of PCR genotyped samples matched the positive culture results. The positive detection rate of 80/81 (98.8%) with high suspicion of fungal keratitis and positive detection rate of direct PCR 50/51(98.0%) were observed. The sensitivities for the diagnosis of fungal keratitis with direct PCR and culture were 98.0% (50/51) and 43.1% (22/51) (p< 0.001) whereas the specificities were 100.0% (2/2) and 100.0% (1/1) respectively. The time required to complete the direct PCR was only 3 hours. The direct PCR assay is a rapid diagnostic technique with high sensitivity and specificity for infectious keratitis and it is expected to have impact on the diagnosis and treatment of infectious keratitis

Optimal Stochastic control theory and its’ application to Landmark University Development ventures and investment model

This paper deal with optimal stochastic control theory and its’ application to Landmark University Development ventures and investments model. Here Stochastic Differential Equations (SDE) is considered as an ordinary differential equations (ODE) driven by white noise and we justified the connection between the Ito’s integral and white noise in the case of non-random integrands interpreted as cost functions

In silico evaluation of inhibitors of Plasmodium falciparumAP2‐I transcription factor

Recent treatment failures observed for Artemisinin‐based combination therapy (ACT) have raised concerns about the efficacy of the front‐line drug to treat malaria and the need to develop a new antimalarial drug regimen. Plasmodium falciparum Apicomplexan Apetala 2 Invasion (PfAP2‐I) transcription factor (TF) is a protein that regulates the expression of a subset of gene families involved in Plasmodium falciparum red blood cell (RBC) invasion. Inhibiting PfAP2‐I TF with small molecules represents a potential new antimalarial therapeutic target to combat drug resistance, which is the aim of this study. The 3D model structure of PfAP2‐I was predicted ab initio using ITASSER and ROBETTA prediction tools and was validated using Errat and Procheck from the Save server 6.0. Computed Atlas of Surface Topography of proteins (CASTp) 3.0 and ConCavity were used to predict the active sites of the PfAP2‐I 3D7 modeled structure. Pharmacophore modeling of the control ligand (3W7 from COACH server) and modeled 3D structure of PfAP2‐I was carried out using the Pharmit server to obtain several compounds for docking analysis. Chimera software was used to remove the complexed ligands, and the modeled protein structure was defined as a receptor. Virtual screening and post‐screening studies were conducted using AutoDock vina and LigPlot. The designed ligands’ toxicity predictions and in silico druglikeness were performed using the Swiss ADME predictor and OSIRIS Property Explorer. The modeled protein from the ROBETTA prediction tool was prioritized based on structure validation results of 96.827 for ERRAT and 90.2% of the amino acid residues in the most favored region for the Ramachandran plot. A total of 8656 compounds obtained from six (6) databases on the Pharmit server were used to prepare the ligand library and screened against the prepared 3D model structure of PfAP2‐I, considering the active sites predicted from CASTp and ConCavity. Six (6) best hits were selected based on the binding affinity to the active site PfAP2‐I and were considered for post‐screening analyses. The six compounds exhibited dock score values (between ‐9.9 to ‐10.2 kcal/mol), having lower binding energies than the standard drug ‐ Chloroquine (‐5.10 kcal/mol). The best dock score was compound ZINC97139187 (‐10.2 kcal/mol). For the ADMET properties, compound ZINC97139187 had the highest drug score of 0.63, followed by compound 154861216 with a drug score of 0.58 (both higher than that of the standard drug ‐ chloroquine of 0.25). The good, estimated binding energies and drug score values observed for compound ZINC97139187 and compound 154861216 suggest that they can be considered possible PfAP2‐I inhibitors. Further pre‐clinical experimental validations should be carried out to ascertain the efficacy of these predicted best hit

In Silico Evaluation of Inhibitors of Plasmodium Falciparum AP2-I Transcription Factor and Plasmodium Falciparum Bromodomain Protein 1

Recent treatment failures observed for Artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) have raised concerns about the efficacy of the front-line drug to treat malaria and the need to develop a new antimalarial drug regimen. Plasmodium falciparum Apicomplexan Apetala 2 Invasion (PfAP2-I) transcription factor (TF) is a protein that regulates the expression of a subset of gene families involved in Plasmodium falciparum red blood cell (RBC) invasion. PfAP2-I associates with several chromatin proteins, including the Plasmodium falciparum bromodomain protein 1 (PfBDP1) and that complex formation is associated with transcriptional regulation. Inhibiting PfAP2-I TF and PfBDP1 with small molecules represents a potential new antimalarial therapeutic target to combat drug resistance, which this study aims to achieve

Patient characteristics associated with COVID-19 positivity and fatality in Nigeria: retrospective cohort study

Objective: Despite the increasing disease burden, there is a dearth of context-specific evidence on the risk factors for COVID-19 positivity and subsequent death in Nigeria. Thus, the study objective was to identify context-specific factors associated with testing positive for COVID-19 and fatality in Nigeria. Design Retrospective cohort study. Setting: COVID-19 surveillance and laboratory centres in 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory reporting data to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control. Participants: Individuals who were investigated for SARSCoV-2 using real-time PCR testing during the study period 27 February–8 June 2020. Methods: COVID-19 positivity and subsequent mortality. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to identify factors independently associated with both outcome variables, and findings are presented as adjusted ORs (aORs) and 95% CIs. Results: A total of 36 496 patients were tested for COVID-19, with 10 517 confirmed cases. Of 3215 confirmed cases with available clinical outcomes, 295 died. Factors independently associated with COVID-19 positivity were older age (p value for trend<0.0001), male sex (aOR 1.11, 95%CI 1.04 to 1.18) and the following presenting symptoms: cough (aOR 1.23, 95% CI 1.13 to 1.32), fever (aOR 1.45, 95% CI 1.45 to 1.71), loss of smell (aOR 7.78, 95% CI 5.19 to 11.66) and loss of taste (aOR 2.50, 95% CI 1.60 to 3.90). An increased risk of mortality following COVID-19 was observed in those aged ≥51 years, patients in farming occupation (aOR 7.56, 95% CI 1.70 to 33.53) and those presenting with cough (aOR 2.06, 95% CI 1.41 to 3.01), breathing difficulties (aOR 5.68, 95% CI 3.77 to 8.58) and vomiting (aOR 2.54, 95% CI 1.33 to 4.84). Conclusion: The significant risk factors associated with COVID-19 positivity and subsequent mortality in the Nigerian population are similar to those reported in studies from other countries and should guide clinical decisions for COVID-19 testing and specialist care referrals