Uptake of hormonal implants contraceptives compared to other forms of contraceptives in Abuja, Nigeria

Background: Subdermal implants are a long-term, efficacious, and easily reversible contraceptive with few adverse effects that pose no risk to the health of the users. It is increasingly accepted as a method of contraception in sub-Sahara Africa like ours. Despite this, its uptake in Nigeria has not reached optimum level. This study is aimed at evaluating the socio-demographic characteristics of subdermal implants users in Abuja, Nigeria, its acceptance rate, efficacy, and discontinuation rate.Methods: The case notes of all the women from the family planning unit were studied. Data on socio-demographic characteristics, uptake rate, side effects profile and the discontinuation rates between January 2013 and December 2017 were retrieved and analyzed using SPSS software and results expressed in numbers and percentagesResults: Out of a total of 1,716 clients that were for contraception during the period under review, 786 accepted Jadelle/Implanon accounting for 45.8% of the implants acceptance rate. Of the 786 acceptors, 485(28.3%) chose Implanon, whereas 301(17.5%) preferred Jadelle. Discontinuation rate for both implants was 20.7%; the main reasons cited by the women were desire to have more children; 51(31.35%) and irregular vaginal bleeding; 30(18.4%). The Pearl Index for the implants in the study was zero. The peak parity for implant users was para 3. Approximately 72.1% the users of all forms of contraception were Christians, while 25.4% were Muslims. About 74.0% of the users had tertiary education.Conclusions: Jadelle/Implanon uptake was relatively high compared to other forms of contraception

Determinants of compliance to iron supplementation among pregnant women in Enugu, Southeastern Nigeria

Background: Anemia in pregnancy is highly prevalent among antenatal clinic attendees in Enugu, Nigeria despite the practice of routine iron supplementation in pregnancy. The major problem with iron  supplementation in pregnancy is compliance, and this may be a potential driver to the persistent high prevalence of anemia in this population.Objectives: To find out the compliance rate and determinants of  compliance to iron supplementation among pregnant women in Enugu, southeastern Nigeria.Materials and Methods: This was a questionnaire.based cross.sectional study of eligible pregnant women receiving antenatal care at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Ituku/Ozalla, Enugu, Nigeria between April 1, 2012 and January 31, 2013.Results: The knowledge of iron supplementation was 76.3% (n = 302), however, the compliance rate was 65.9% (n = 261). Tertiary level of education and high social class were factors significantly associated with compliance to iron supplementation after adjusting for other factors in the binary logistic regression analysis (P < 0.05). The major barriers to compliance to iron supplementation included gastrointestinal side effects of iron supplements (41.7%), non.affordability of iron supplements (28.3%), and forgetfulness (15.0%) among the antenatal mothers.Conclusion: The compliance rate of 65.9% for iron supplementation by pregnant mothers in Enugu can further be improved by providing the drug free of charge in the short term and improvement in education and  socioeconomic class of the populace in the long run.Key words: Compliance, determinants, Enugu, iron supplementation,  pregnanc

Bilateral gluteal abscesses and myofibrosis complicating intramuscular pentazocine abuse: a case report

BACKGROUND: There is paucity of reports on the musculoskeletal complications of pentazocine abuse in Nigeria.The aim was to report a case of bilateral gluteal abscesses and myofibrosis as a consequence of parenteral pentazocine abuse.CASE SUMMARY: We report a case of a 39 year old housewife who presented with bilateral gluteal pyomyositis and myofibrosis following intramuscular pentazocine abuse.The patient had received parental pentazocine for pain relief for about 3 weeks seven years ago.She gradually developed dependence on this drug and received increasing doses of this drug by self injection on both buttocks. She subsequently developed bilateral gluteal abscesses and myofibrosis that was treated by surgical drainage,debridement,wound dressing and antibiotics.CONCLUSION: Pentazocine abuse should be considered a differential diagnosis in cases of multiple gluteal abscesses.Clinicians should be cautious in the use of pentazocine as routine painkillers.KEYWORDS: Pentazocine abuse,gluteal abscesses,Nigeria

Successful quadruplet surrogate pregnancy after turbulent medical disorders in first trimester

Quadruplet surrogate pregnancy is a rare pregnancy but, has become common due to assisted reproductive technology (ART). Its management is a big challenge to obstetricians and co-clinicians worldwide. This was a pregnancy managed at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu, Nigeria in a 33 year old hypertensive surrogate mother with turbulent first trimester medical disorders that called for termination of the pregnancy by other co-managing clinicians. However, the pregnancy became stable in late 2nd trimester with emergency caesarean section at 33 weeks following preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM). Its management was a big challenge that necessitated multidisciplinary approach with successful outcome of four healthy live babies (three males and one female) and the controversial practice of surrogac

How to quantify the influence of correlations on investment diversification

When assets are correlated, benefits of investment diversification are reduced. To measure the influence of correlations on investment performance, a new quantity - the effective portfolio size - is proposed and investigated in both artificial and real situations. We show that in most cases, the effective portfolio size is much smaller than the actual number of assets in the portfolio and that it lowers even further during financial crises.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figure

Disentangling the Impacts of Industrial and Global Diversification on Firm Risk

We examine the impact of corporate diversification on firm risk exposure from 1998 to 2016. We find that both global and industrial diversification mitigate idiosyncratic and world market risk while having a negligible impact on U.S. market risk, but the effects vary before, during, and after the financial crisis of 2007–2009. Before the crisis, only global diversification mitigates idiosyncratic risk, but it increases firms\u27 exposure to world market risk. During the crisis, industrial diversification increases idiosyncratic risk, but both types of diversification increase exposure to U.S. market risk. After the crisis, both types of diversification increase firms\u27 exposure to U.S. market risk but have negligible impact on idiosyncratic and world market risk. Our findings remain robust after we control for the potential endogeneity of the diversification decision through various self-selection models

Income shifting and corporate taxation: The role of cross-border intrafirm transfers

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the cross-sectional relation between the value of cross-border intrafirm transfers (CITs) and three dependent variables: return on investment (ROI), the US effective tax rate (ETRUS), and the global effective tax rate (ETRGL) to assess the existence or nonexistence of cross-jurisdictional income shifting. Design/methodology/approach Regression analysis is used to test the relationship between CIT and accounting performance and effective tax rates. Findings The results indicate that ROI and ETRUS increase whereas ETRGL decreases with the extent of CITs after we control for variables that impact earnings and taxes (e.g. size, industry classification, internationalization, tax shelter, and growth). This suggests that firms earn income, on average, in jurisdictions with tax rates greater than the USA, such that diverting income from overseas to the USA is a tax-saving action. The tax results are consistent with Jacob and Mills and Newberry\u27s findings that firms shifted income into the USA. The results also reveal that companies that engage in CITs are those that are large, relatively more profitable, and pay more US taxes. Research limitations/implications This study does not differentiate between transfer pricing schemes for tax minimization reasons from those done for earnings management purposes, which should be addressed by future research. Practical implications Results have public policy implications as an understanding of how CITs affect accounting performance and taxes is important for the craft of tax policy and transfer price regulation. Originality/value This study furthers our understanding of the impact of CITs on earnings and taxes, an important component of accounting research which has not been properly addressed by prior studies. © 2008, Emerald Group Publishing Limite

The Effect of Volume of Intrafirm Transfers on Market Metrics

In this paper, we examine the relationship between international intrafirm area transfers and market metrics as measured by market-to-book value and systematic risk. Intrafirm transfers - the amount that multinational corporations charge one another for the transfer of goods, intellectual property, and services - have become an increasingly important issue for policymaking, managerial, financial, and tax purposes. This paper also examines whether international intrafirm intergeographic area transfers are attributed to corporate tax. We find that firms with a sizable volume of international intrafirm transfers have higher systematic risk than comparable firms without these transfers. We show cross-sectionally that firms engage in international transfers have a higher market-to-book ratio, suggesting that transfers add value through their effect on earnings and taxes. Consistent with Mills and Newberry (2003) and Collins, Kemsley, and Lang (1998), we document that U.S. (global) income tax is positively (negatively) related to intrafirm transfers, implying that U.S. multinational firms shifted taxable income to the United States from 1995 to 1999. © 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Income shifting and corporate taxation: the role of cross-border intrafirm transfers

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the cross-sectional relation between the value of cross-border intrafirm transfers (CITs) and three dependent variables: return on investment (ROI), the US effective tax rate (ETRUS), and the global effective tax rate (ETRGL) to assess the existence or nonexistence of cross-jurisdictional income shifting. Design/methodology/approach – Regression analysis is used to test the relationship between CIT and accounting performance and effective tax rates. Findings – The results indicate that ROI and ETRUS increase whereas ETRGL decreases with the extent of CITs after we control for variables that impact earnings and taxes (e.g. size, industry classification, internationalization, tax shelter, and growth). This suggests that firms earn income, on average, in jurisdictions with tax rates greater than the USA, such that diverting income from overseas to the USA is a tax-saving action. The tax results are consistent with Jacob and Mills and Newberry's findings that firms shifted income into the USA. The results also reveal that companies that engage in CITs are those that are large, relatively more profitable, and pay more US taxes. Research limitations/implications – This study does not differentiate between transfer pricing schemes for tax minimization reasons from those done for earnings management purposes, which should be addressed by future research. Practical implications – Results have public policy implications as an understanding of how CITs affect accounting performance and taxes is important for the craft of tax policy and transfer price regulation. Originality/value – This study furthers our understanding of the impact of CITs on earnings and taxes, an important component of accounting research which has not been properly addressed by prior studies.Earnings, Income, Return on investment, Tax planning, Taxes, United States of America

Improving corporate governance: The role of audit committee disclosures

An increasing number of earnings restatements along with many allegations of financial statement fraud committed by high profile companies (e.g. Enron, WorldCom, Global Crossing, Adelphia) has eroded the public confidence in corporate governance, the financial reporting process, and audit functions. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 was an attempt to regain confidence and trust in corporate America and the accounting profession. The Act addresses corporate scandals and the perceived crisis in the auditing profession. Some of its provisions relate to the audit committee oversight function over corporate governance, financial reporting, internal control structure, internal audit functions, and external audit services. This study examines three types of audit committee disclosures: The annual report of the audit committee; reporting of the audit committee charter in the proxy statement at least once every three years; and disclosure in the proxy statement of whether the audit committee had fulfilled its responsibilities as specified in the charter. This study conducts a content analysis on audit committee disclosures of Fortune 100 companies. © 2003, MCB UP Limite