Banks’ Price Behaviour and its Determinants in Nigeria

Bank-based financial systems, through the financial intermediation function, enhance economic growth. However, in the performance of this function, banks are faced with issues such as information asymmetry and inefficient institutional qualities that may lead to increased operational costs which reflects as social costs of financial intermediation and are passed on to economic units. Consequently, banks may be confronted with the problem of determining the right price for its products and services. On this premise, this study examines the pricing behaviour of Nigerian commercial banks and its determinants. The random effects regression estimation technique is used on annual panel data of 15 publicly listed Nigerian commercial banks for the period 2005 – 2017. Results from the investigation show that bank-specific factors such as bank size (0.871, p<0.05) liquidity (0.256, p<0.01), credit quality (0.095, p<0.1), and inflation (0.436, p<0.05) as a macroeconomic variable, have positive and significant effects on bank price behaviour. These findings suggest that the variables are associated with higher social costs of financial intermediation in commercial banks in Nigeria. It is recommended that in order to lower borrowing costs, banks should endeavour to reduce the level of these bank-specific factors which would lead to reduction in costs associated with information asymmetry and inefficiency. In terms of inflation, banks are recommended to factor in inflation related costs into their pricing process while monetary policy regulators should put in place, policies that target reduction in inflation rate

Rural-urban disparity in lung function parameters of Nigerian children: effects of socio-economic, nutritional and housing factors

Introduction: The effect of socio-demographic and nutritional factors on lung functions of African children is poorly studied. This study set out to determine the effects of these factors on lung functions of Nigerian school children.Methods: Rural and urban secondary schools students in Ilesa, Nigeria were selected by multistage sampling. The socio-demographic, nutritional status as well as lung function parameters measured using incentive Spirometry (MIR Spirolab III srl, Italy) of the children were obtained and compared among the rural and urban children.Results: A total of 250 children (128 rural and 122 urban) aged 9 to 17 years participated in the study over a 12 month period. Mean (SD) age was 12.6 (1.9) years and Male: Female 1:1.1. The urban children were heavier, taller and have larger lung volumes than their age and sex matched rural counterpart. Stunted rural males [Mean (SD) FVC 1.8 (0.3) L vs. 2.2 (0.6) L t-test = 2.360; p = 0.022], underweight females [Mean (SD) FVC 1.8 (0.4) L vs. 2.2 (0.6) L; t-test = 2.855; p = 0.006] and those exposed to unclean fuel [Mean (SD) FVC 2.1 (0.6) L vs. 2.4 (0.5) L; t-test = 2.079; p = 0.041] had significantly lower lung volumes compared to their counterparts without these conditions.Conclusion: Undernutrition, low socioeconomic class and use of unclean fuels adversely affect the lung functions of Nigerian children. Improved standard of living, use of clean fuel and adequate nutrition may ensure better lung health among these children.Keywords: Lung function test, nutritional status, anthropometrics, urban, rural, school childre

Increased brain white matter axial diffusivity associated with fatigue, pain and hyperalgesia in Gulf War illness

Background Gulf War exposures in 1990 and 1991 have caused 25% to 30% of deployed personnel to develop a syndrome of chronic fatigue, pain, hyperalgesia, cognitive and affective dysfunction. Methods Gulf War veterans (n = 31) and sedentary veteran and civilian controls (n = 20) completed fMRI scans for diffusion tensor imaging. A combination of dolorimetry, subjective reports of pain and fatigue were correlated to white matter diffusivity properties to identify tracts associated with symptom constructs. Results Gulf War Illness subjects had significantly correlated fatigue, pain, hyperalgesia, and increased axial diffusivity in the right inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus. ROC generated thresholds and subsequent binary regression analysis predicted CMI classification based upon axial diffusivity in the right inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus. These correlates were absent for controls in dichotomous regression analysis. Conclusion The right inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus may be a potential biomarker for Gulf War Illness. This tract links cortical regions involved in fatigue, pain, emotional and reward processing, and the right ventral attention network in cognition. The axonal neuropathological mechanism(s) explaining increased axial diffusivity may account for the most prominent symptoms of Gulf War Illness

Increased brain white matter axial diffusivity associated with fatigue, pain and hyperalgesia in Gulf War illness. PLoS One

Abstract Background: Gulf War exposures in 1990 and 1991 have caused 25% to 30% of deployed personnel to develop a syndrome of chronic fatigue, pain, hyperalgesia, cognitive and affective dysfunction

Administer and collect medical questionnaires with Google documents: a simple, safe, and free system

Aim: Questionnaires are an invaluable resource for clinical trials. They serve to estimate disease burden and clinical parameters associated with a particular study. However, current researchers are tackling budget constraints, loss of funding opportunities, and rise of research associated fees. We aimed at exploring alternative avenues taking advantage of the free Google docs software for questionnaire administration. This presents an opportunity to reduce costs while simultaneously increasing efficiency and data fidelity. Material and Methods: Google documents were used as a platform to create online questionnaires that were automatically hosted via a unique URL. Password protected access to the URL link and a unique study ID gave patients around the clock access from anywhere in the world. Unique study ID ensured confidentially of all self-reported data. Patient responses were secured using a “Cloud” database where the data was automatically sorted, scaled and scored by custom Excel formulas. Researchers downloaded real-time questionnaire responses in multiple formats (e.g. excel) which was then analyzed with a statistical software of choice. Results: This simple workflow provided instant questionnaire scores that eliminated the use for paper-based responses and subsequent manual entry of data. Ease of access to online questionnaires provided convenience to patients leading to better response rates and increase in data fidelity. The system also allowed for real time monitoring of patient’s progress on completing questionnaires. Online questionnaires had 100% completion rate compared to paper-based questionnaires. Conclusions: Google docs can serve as an efficient and free platform to administer questionnaires to a clinical population without sacrificing quality, security, and fidelity of data

Increased Brain White Matter Axial Diffusivity Associated with Fatigue, Pain and Hyperalgesia in Gulf War Illness

<div><p>Background</p><p>Gulf War exposures in 1990 and 1991 have caused 25% to 30% of deployed personnel to develop a syndrome of chronic fatigue, pain, hyperalgesia, cognitive and affective dysfunction.</p> <p>Methods</p><p>Gulf War veterans (<i>n = </i>31) and sedentary veteran and civilian controls (<i>n = </i>20) completed fMRI scans for diffusion tensor imaging. A combination of dolorimetry, subjective reports of pain and fatigue were correlated to white matter diffusivity properties to identify tracts associated with symptom constructs.</p> <p>Results</p><p>Gulf War Illness subjects had significantly correlated fatigue, pain, hyperalgesia, and increased axial diffusivity in the right inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus. ROC generated thresholds and subsequent binary regression analysis predicted CMI classification based upon axial diffusivity in the right inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus. These correlates were absent for controls in dichotomous regression analysis.</p> <p>Conclusion</p><p>The right inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus may be a potential biomarker for Gulf War Illness. This tract links cortical regions involved in fatigue, pain, emotional and reward processing, and the right ventral attention network in cognition. The axonal neuropathological mechanism(s) explaining increased axial diffusivity may account for the most prominent symptoms of Gulf War Illness.</p> </div

Pain, fatigue and tenderness scores.

<p>Severity of fatigue using a 5 point ordinal scale verified by Chalder’s and MFI general fatigue scores. CMI subjects have significantly decreased systemic pain threshold and higher McGill total and subscale scores. (2-tailed unpaired student’s t-test corrected using FDR, <i>P</i><0.05; Mean [95% Confidence intervals]).</p