Bank Selection and Patronage By University Students: A Survey of Students in Umudike, Nigeria

University students represent an attractive segment of customers for retail banks  in many countries including Nigeria. The objective of this study is to find out the determinants of the choice of commercial banks by university students, using Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike (MOUAU). MOUAU is selected due to the plurality of its student mix, being the only federal university in Abia State. Data were collected through self-administered questionnaire to 250 final year students, across the university’s ten colleges. Convenience sampling was used. Apart from the traditional analytical tools such as tables and percentages, data were also analysed using descriptive statistics and principal component analysis. The Cronbach’s alpha was used to test the reliability of the measuring instrument. The results show that service is the most influential of all the six determinant-factors for the choice of commercial banks. Proximity, attractiveness, referrals, marketing and price followed suit, based on their mean scores.  Recommendations were proffered for competitive bank management, focused on different market segments among university students

Evaluating the Causes of the Road Failure of Onitsha-Enugu Expressway, Southeastern Nigeria.

Considering the persistence of road failure along the Onitsha -Enugu expressway and many other roads in the southeastern Nigeria, this work was conceived with the aim of evaluating the causes of the road failure in other to help marshal out effective and efficient measures of tackling this problem of road failure. The study adopted a survey design which employed the use of a well structured questionnaire to gather information on the causes and effects of the road failure. To determine the sample size, volumetric analysis was used and the data so generated was analyzed using One-way Analysis of Variance and Post HOC test. The ANOVA shows the variation among the causes is not significantly different while the Post HOC test ranked the causative factors treated. The work thus concluded that all the factors listed contribute to the failure of the road with inadequate maintenance, mismanagement by the government and old age of the road pavement being the major factors. The work therefore recommends that there should be Quality Determination for materials during construction, Effective Maintenance Programme (routine or preventive maintenance, periodic maintenance, and disaster maintenance or major repairs of our roads) and Establishment of an Active Maintenance Crew

Bank Selection and Patronage By University Students: A Survey of Students in Umudike, Nigeria

University students represent an attractive segment of customers for retail banks in many countries including Nigeria. The objective of this study is to find out the determinants of the choice of commercial banks by university students, using Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike (MOUAU). MOUAU is selected due to the plurality of its student mix, being the only federal university in Abia State. Data were collected through self-administered questionnaire to 250 final year students, across the university’s ten colleges. Convenience sampling was used. Apart from the traditional analytical tools such as tables and percentages, data were also analysed using descriptive statistics and principal component analysis. The Cronbach’s alpha was used to test the reliability of the measuring instrument. The results show that service is the most influential of all the six determinant-factors for the choice of commercial banks. Proximity, attractiveness, referrals, marketing and price followed suit, based on their mean scores. Recommendations were proffered for competitive bank management, focused on different market segments among university students

Comparative Analysis of the Soil Geotechnical Characteristics of the Failed and Unfailed Sections of the Onitsha-Enugu Expressway, Southeastern Nigeria.

This work compared the soil geotechnical characteristics of the failed sections of the road and that of the un-failed sections of the road to establish whether they are significantly different or related. To achieve this, soil samples from both failed and un-failed sections of the road were analyzed. The data so generated, were tested using Correlation Coefficient for relationship and Students T-test for difference. It was found that there exist insignificant relationship between the failed and the un-failed sections of the road, there is significant difference between the two variables and there is wide discrepancies between the geotechnical characteristics of the failed sections and the standard of soil geotechnical characteristics set by the Federal Ministry of Works for highway sub-grades.  It was therefore concluded that the road failure was due to poor geotechnical characteristics of the soil. The work recommended that the variation in the geotechnical characteristics of the soils along the roadway should be accommodated during reconstruction. Sequel to this, knowledge of soil geotechnical characteristics and underlying geology of an area becomes indispensable before any construction, reconstruction or rehabilitation project commences.

Construction and Testing of a Treatment System for Raw Water

Water is a wonder of Nature. One among the major problems confronting the world today is access to clean and safe water. The objective of the study was to assemble an affordable water treatment unit for domestic use. This study was carried out in Auchi, which is located between latitude 70 10’ and 70 20’ North of the equator and longitude 60 16’ and 60 36’ east of the Greenwich Meridian with an altitude of 207m. The components of the treatment system are raw water tank, coagulation tank, sedimentation tank, filtration chamber, micro filters, ultraviolent light and treated water storage tank. Sample of the raw water collected from River Orhle in Auchi was kept at a constant temperature in a refrigerator. The raw and  treated water sample was collected in a four litres jerican for laboratory analysis to test for Turbidity, pH, Appearance, Taste, Colour, Electrical conductivity, total dissolved solid (TDS), Nitrates, iron content, total hardness etc. The results met the desired specifications and standards set by WHO and NAFDAC for potable water usage. Keywords: Potable water, raw water, water treatment, slow sand filter, ultraviolent light, water qualit

Understanding reservoir heterogeneity using variography and data analysis: an example from coastal swamp deposits, Niger Delta Basin (Nigeria)

For efficient reservoir management and long-term field development strategies, most geologists and asset managers pay special attention to reservoir chance of success. To minimise this uncertainty, a good understanding of reservoir presence and adequacy is required for better ranking of infill opportunities and optimal well placement. This can be quite challenging due to insufficient data and complexities that are typically associated with areas with compounded tectonostratigraphic framework. For the present paper, data analysis and variography were used firstly to examine possible geological factors that determine directions in which reservoirs show minimum heterogeneity for both discrete and continuous properties; secondly, to determine the maximum range and degree of variability of key reservoir petrophysical properties from the variogram, and thirdly, to highlight possible geological controls on reservoir distribution trends as well as areas with optimal reservoir quality. Discrete properties evaluated were lithology and genetic units, while continuous properties examined were porosity and net-to-gross (NtG). From the variogram analysis, the sandy lithology shows minimum heterogeneity in east-west (E–W) and north-south (N–S) directions, for Upper Shoreface Sands (USF) and Fluvial/Tidal Channel Sands (FCX/TCS), respectively. Porosity and NtG both show the least heterogeneity in the E–W axis for reservoirs belonging to both Upper Shoreface and Fluvial Channel environments with porosity showing a slightly higher range than NtG. The vertical ranges for both continuous properties did not show a clear trend. The Sequential Indicator Simulation (SIS) and Object modelling algorithm were used for modelling the discrete properties, while Sequential Gaussian Simulation (SGS) was used for modelling of the continuous properties. Results from this exercise show that depositional environment, sediment provenance, topographical slope, sub-regional structural trends, shoreline orientation and longshore currents, could have significant impacts on reservoir spatial distribution and property trends. This understanding could be applied in reservoir prediction and for generating stochastic estimates of petrophysical properties for nearby exploration assets of similar depositional environments

Generation of a neutralizing antibody against RD114-pseudotyped viral vectors

The feline endogenous RD114 glycoprotein has proved to be an attractive envelope to pseudotype both retroviral and lentiviral vectors. As a surface protein, its detection on packaging cells as well as viral particles would be useful in different fields of its use. To address this, we generated a monoclonal antibody against RD114 by immunization of rats, termed 22F10. Once seroconversion was confirmed, purified 22F10 was cloned into murine Fc and characterized with a binding affinity of 10nM. The antibody was used to detect RD114 and its variant envelopes on different stable viral packaging cell lines (FLYRD18 and WinPac-RD). 22F10 was also shown to prevent the infections of different strains of RD-pseudotyped vectors but not related envelope glycoproteins by blocking cell surface receptor binding. We are the first to report the neutralization of viral particles by a monoclonal αRD114 antibody

Učinak invazije vrstom Trypanosoma brucei na involuciju maternice nakon partusa.

This study investigated the effects of Trypanosoma brucei infection on post-partum (PP) uterine involution in the albino rat (Rattus norvegicus). Ninety-six rats (80 females and 16 males) were used for the study. The females were divided into 2 equal groups of 40 infected and 40 uninfected. The males which were uninfected were used for mating with the females. From each of the 2 female groups, 5 were humanely sacrifi ced daily from day 0 to day 7 PP. Body mass (BM), uterine mass (UM), uterine mass as a percentage of body mass (UMPBM), uterine histomorphology, packed cell volume (PCV), level of parasitaemia (LOP) and rectal temperature (RT) were evaluated in the females. Results showed that both the UM and the UMPBM of the infected rats were significantly higher (P<0.01) than those of the uninfected between days 1 and 7 PP. Uterine histomorphology showed that between days 3 and 7 PP, involution was more advanced in the uninfected group. Uterine sections of the infected rats had more glands, which were also larger in size. Endometrial stroma was less cellular in the uninfected rats and the myometrium showed higher nuclei density for myofi brils, which suggests some loss of cytoplasm. The PCV of the infected rats was significantly lower than that of the uninfected (P<0.01) between days 9 and 14 post-infection (PI), while the RT of the infected rats was significantly higher (P<0.01) than that of the uninfected between days 5 and 14 PI. It was therefore concluded that T. brucei infection led to a significant delay in PP uterine involution, as evidenced by the higher UM and UMPBM, and the uterine histomorphological findings in the infected rats.Istraživanje je provedeno s ciljem određivanja učinka protozoona Trypanosoma brucei na postpartalnu involuciju maternice u albino štakora (Rattus norvegicus). Za istraživanje je rabljeno 96 štakora (80 ženki i 16 mužjaka). Ženke su bile podijeljene u dvije jednake skupine tako da je 40 ženki pripadalo kontrolnoj, a 40 invadiranoj skupini. Neinvadirani mužjaci su poslužili za parenje. Iz svake skupine bilo je eutanazirano pet ženki i to svaki dan (od nultog do sedmog dana). Za svaku ženku bila je određena tjelesna masa, masa maternice, odnos mase maternice i tjelesne mase, histološki nalaz maternice, ukupan broj krvnih stanica, razina parazitemije i rektalna temperatura. Rezultati su pokazali da je u invadiranih štakorica maternica bila značajno teža kao što je bila i značajno veća masa maternice u odnosu na tjelesnu masu ženke (P<0,01) u razdoblju od prvog do sedmog dana nakon partusa. Histološkom pretragom dokazano je da je involucija maternice u razdoblju od trećeg do sedmog dana bila izraženija u neinvadiranih ženki što je dokazano i većim brojem povećanih žlijezdi. Stroma endometrija neinvadiranih životinja sadržavala je manje stanica. U miometriju je dokazana veća gustoća jezgara u miofibrilima što govori u prilog gubitku citoplazme. Ukupan broj krvnih stanica u invadiranih štakorica bio je značajno manji u odnosu na neinvadirane (P<0,01) u razdoblju od devetog do četrnaestog dana nakon invazije. Invadirane štakorice imali su višu tjelesnu temperaturu (P<0,01) u razdoblju od petoga do četrnaestoga dana. Na temelju postignutih rezultata zaključuje se da invazija vrstom Trypanosoma brucei dovodi do značajnog kašnjenja involucije što je potvrđeno većom masom maternice, većom masom u odnosu na tjelesnu masu te histomorfološkim nalazom u invadiranih ženki

Novel Bispecific Antibody for Synovial-Specific Target Delivery of Anti-TNF Therapy in Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Biologic drugs, especially anti-TNF, are considered as the gold standard therapy in rheumatoid arthritis. However, non-uniform efficacy, incidence of infections, and high costs are major concerns. Novel tissue-specific agents may overcome the current limitations of systemic administration, providing improved potency, and safety. We developed a bispecific antibody (BsAb), combining human arthritic joint targeting, via the synovial-specific single-chain variable fragment (scFv)-A7 antibody, and TNFα neutralization, via the scFv-anti-TNFα of adalimumab, with the binding/blocking capacity comparable to adalimumab -immunoglobulin G (IgG). Tissue-targeting capacity of the BsAb was confirmed on the human arthritic synovium in vitro and in a synovium xenograft Severe combined immune deficient (SCID) mouse model. Peak graft accumulation occurred at 48 h after injection with sustained levels over adalimumab-IgG for 7 days and increased therapeutic effect, efficiently decreasing tissue cellularity, and markers of inflammation with higher potency compared to the standard treatment. This study provides the first description of a BsAb capable of drug delivery, specifically to the disease tissue, and a strong evidence of improved therapeutic effect on the human arthritic synovium, with applications to other existing biologics

Stage 2 Hypertension and Electrocardiogram Abnormality: Evaluating the Risk Factors of Cardiovascular Diseases in Nigeria. High Blood Press Cardiovasc

Abstract Introduction This study evaluated the status of stage 2 hypertension, abnormal ECG and their co-occurrence as possible risk factors of cardiovascular disease and their predictors in a Nigerian University population. Methods A total of 717 subjects participated in this study. Blood pressure (BP), resting electrocardiogram (ECG) and other clinical parameters were measured and categorised according to standard organisational guidelines. Bivariate correlation and multivariate logistic regression model were used to determine covariates and clinical parameter association at a 95 % significant level. Results Stage 2 hypertension and abnormal ECG respectively occurred in 264 (37 %) and 217 (39.2 %) subjects, with co-occurrence and abnormal BMI in 85 (11.8 %) and 459 (64.8%) subjects, respectively. Sex (p = 0.001) and occupation (p = 0.022) were independently associated with abnormal BP and ECG, respectively, while age was independently associated (p &lt; 0.001) with abnormal BP, ECG and co-occurrence of these conditions. Predictors of stage 2 hypertension and abnormal ECG were sex (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.652, 95 % CI 1.097–2.488) and occupation (aOR = 0.411, 95 % CI 0.217–0.779), respectively, while age was a predictor for stage 2 hypertension (aOR = 0.065, 95 % CI 0.015–0.283), abnormal ECG (aOR = 0.137, 95 % CI 0.053–0.351) and their co-occurrence (aOR = 0.039, 95 % CI 0.014–0.113). Conclusions This study shows prevalence rates of these risk factors are on the increase. It also suggests that ECG abnormality is a public health issue among stage 2 hypertensive patients that must be monitored. Therefore, appropriate interventions that prevent and control hypertension and identified risk factors should be put in place in addition to lifestyle changes, regular screening and surveillance