Private Sector Microcredit Programmes, Financial Inclusion and Sectoral Entrepreneurship: Evidence and Insights From Nigeria

Given the growing interest in microcredit operations, especially in the developing economies and the need to investigate the varied interrelationships between sectoral microcredit operations and economic growth of nations, this study examines the nature and direction of causal relationships that prevail between classified sectoral microcredit allocations and sectorally classified entrepreneurship contributions to Nigeria’s economic growth. Secondary data were sourced from Central Bank of Nigeria covering the period 1992 to 2011. Augmented Dickey-Fuller and Unit Root and the Standard Granger Causality techniques were employed in processing the data. The results of the study show that the time series variables are stationary. Out of the five classified sectors of economic activity – agriculture/forestry, other mining/quarrying, manufacturing/food processing, real estate/construction and transport/commerce, significant unidirectional causality only prevails in the other mining/quarrying sector with   causality running from contributions of other mining/quarrying in Nigeria’s GDP to microcredit allocations to that sector. The rest other sectors failed the causality test at 0.05 level, although transport/commerce sector records a near significance level of 0.055. The study concludes that: (i) In the sectors where microcredit operations have become significant and/or near significant, they only function to service rather than promote entrepreneurial activities, (ii) For majority of the sectors, entrepreneurship ventures are largely independent of microcredit institution’s operations. Consequently, the study recommends diversified product development and intensified marketing of microfinance service products on the part of the participating institutions. Further recommended is that the government should, through all legal and institutional means, strengthen the enforcement of credit contracts in general and microcredit operations in particular. This measure is justified in order to minimize the incidence of delinquent credit exposures, guarantee continued microcredit operations and long run survival of microcredit operating institutions in Nigeria. Key Words: Microcredits Allocation, Financial Inclusion, Sectoral Entrepreneurship

Development of titanium dioxide nanowire incorporated poly(vinylidene fluoride–trifluoroethylene) scaffolds for bone tissue engineering applications

Critical size bone defects that do not heal spontaneously are among the major reasons for the disability in majority of people with locomotor disabilities. Tissue engineering has become a promising approach for repairing such large tissue injuries including critical size bone defects. Three-dimension (3D) porous scaffolds based on piezoelectric polymers like poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) (P(VDF-TrFE)) have received a lot of attention in bone tissue engineering due to their favorable osteogenic properties. Owing to the favourable redox properties, titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanostructures have gained a great deal of attention in bone tissue engineering. In this paper, tissue engineering scaffolds based on P(VDF-TrFE) loaded with TiO2 nanowires (TNW) were developed and evaluated for bone tissue engineering. Wet-chemical method was used for the synthesis of TNW. Obtained TNW were thoroughly characterized for the physicochemical and morphological properties using techniques such as X-Ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Electrospinning was used to produce TNW incorporated P(VDF-TrFE) scaffolds. Developed scaffolds were characterized by state of art techniques such as Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), XRD and Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analyses. TEM analysis revealed that the obtained TiO2 nanostructures possess nanofibrous morphology with an average diameter of 26 ± 4 nm. Results of characterization of nanocomposite scaffolds confirmed the effective loading of TNW in P(VDF-TrFE) matrix. Fabricated P(VDF-TrFE)/TNW scaffolds possessed good mechanical strength and cytocompatibility. Osteoblast like cells showed higher adhesion and proliferation on the nanocomposite scaffolds. This investigation revealed that the developed P(VDF-TrFE) scaffolds containing TNW can be used as potential scaffolds for bone tissue engineering applications.This work was supported by the French PIA project « Lorraine university d’excellence » reference ANR-15-IDEX-04-LUE. This article was also made possible by the NPRP9-144-3-021 grant funded by Qatar National Research Fund (a part of Qatar Foundation). The statements made here are the sole responsibility of the authors. Open Access funding was provided by the Qatar National Library

Blood Lactate Levels and the Effects of Recovery Methods on Repeated Sprint Performance

Please refer to the pdf version of the abstract located adjacent to the title

Contributions of pulmonary hypertension to HIV-related cardiac dysfunction

AbstractBackground/AimTo evaluate the prevalence of pulmonary hypertension among patients living with HIV/AIDS and to determine its contribution to cardiac dysfunction.MethodA hospital based cross sectional study was carried out over a 6-month period at the Jos University Teaching Hospital. The subjects were 200 confirmed HIV positive patients, ≥18 years of age who consented to the study. Physical examination, laboratory investigations, 2 dimensional and Doppler echocardiography were conducted on the subjects.ResultsThe mean age of the patients was 38 ± 9 years, and there were 142 females (71%).Females were younger, mean age 36 ± 8 years versus 41 ± 10 years for males (p-value <0.01). The median CD4 cell count was 312 cells/μl, there were no homosexual or intravenous drug user among the subjects.Eight of the subjects had pulmonary hypertension, with a case prevalence of 4%, and this had no relationship to CD4 cell count. Both systolic and diastolic functions were worse in subjects with pulmonary hypertension, with a negative correlation between mean pulmonary arterial systolic pressure (mPASP) and parameters like ejection fraction (r = −0.28, p-value 0.0003), fractional shortening (r = −0.21, p-value 0.003), deceleration time (r = −0.13. p-value 0.09).ConclusionImmune-suppression affects the cardiac function adversely and coexisting pulmonary hypertension contributes to poor systolic and diastolic function in affected patients. The subtle nature of presentation of pulmonary hypertension and other cardiac dysfunctions in HIV/AIDS patients demand a high-index of suspicion and early intervention if detected, to ensure better care for these emerging threats to our patients

Digital phenotyping of coconut and morphological traits associated with eriophyid mite infestation

Observations were recorded on traits associated with mite infestation related at two stages of button on six different coconut cultivars over three years. Highly significant correlation was found between mite damage score with color or weight of tepal. Step-wise multiple regression of the data analysis showed color of inner tepal as major trait associated with infestation by eriophyid mite. Other traits are ratio of tepal weight to tepal area, per cent of buttons with pink discoloration or with resin, tepals of regular aestivation and gap between fruit and tepal. Digital phenotype data of 83 image files were used to calculate color signature and correlated the same to mite damage score over three years. Red spectral values were found to vary from 14 to 251, green values to 12 to 237 and blue to vary from 5 to 183. Spectral values red max, green max, 3* Red + Green max had high significant negative correlation (&gt;-0.4) with mite damage. Color and firmness of fruits and tepals of three coconut varieties were further analyzed where, fruits and tepals of COD variety showed high red/green (a* value of Hunterlab) &gt;12. Firmness of 3 month old tepal and fruit of Benualim (BGRT) tall variety was (penetrometer reading &gt;38) higher than other varieties

Physical Function, Cognitive Function, and Aortic Stiffness in Older Adults

Please view abstract in the attached PDF file

Food insecurity in adults with severe mental illness living in Northern England: Peer research interview findings

\ua9 2023 The Authors. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing published by John Wiley &amp; Sons Australia, Ltd.Food insecurity means that a person does not have access to sufficient nutritious food for normal growth and health. Food insecurity can lead to many health problems such as obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and other long term health conditions. People living with a severe mental illness are more likely to experience food insecurity than people without mental illness. Peer-led in-depth interviews were conducted with adults with severe mental illness from Northern England, during which their experiences of food insecurity and strategies to tackle food insecurity were discussed. Interviews took place between March and December 2022, with interviews being transcribed and analysed using deductive and inductive thematic analysis. Thirteen interviews were conducted, finding that food insecurity in adults with severe mental illness was often a long-standing issue. Unemployment, the cost-of-living crisis and fuel poverty impacted on experiences of food insecurity. Difficulties accessing food banks such as transport, stigma, and the limited selection of available food was also discussed. Strategies to tackle food insecurity centred on making food banks more accessible and improving the quality of available food. Future research should aim to eradicate food insecurity for adults with severe mental illness, as limited research and action focuses on this population group over and above ‘mental illness’ or ‘poor mental health’. Removing barriers to accessing food such as lack of transport, and providing food which is of adequate nutritional quality, should be prioritised, as well as tackling the stigma and accessibility issues surrounding food banks use

(1R*,3′S*,4′R*)-4′-(4-Chloro­phen­yl)-3′-[(4-hy­droxy-2-oxo-1,2-dihydro­quinolin-3-yl)carbon­yl]-1′-methyl­spiro­[ace­naphthyl­ene-1,2′-pyrrolidin]-2-one

The title compound, C32H23ClN2O4, has a quinoline, a chloro­phenyl and an acenaphthalene ring system attached to a central pyrrolidine ring, which has three stereogenic centers. Nevertheless, the compound crystallizes as a racemate with two mol­ecules of identical chirality in the asymmetric unit. They differ in the conformation of the five-membered pyrrolidine ring; in one molecule it has an envelope conformation, while in the other molecule it has a twisted conformation. In each molecule there is an intra­molecular O—H⋯O hydrogen bond making an S(6) ring motif. In the crystal, pairs of N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds produce inversion dimers with R 2 2(8) motifs. There are also C—H⋯O interactions present. The crystal structure contains voids (60 Å3) within which there is no evidence of solvent mol­ecules

How corporate social responsibility and sustainable development functions impact the workplace: A review of the literature

This report sets out to analyse the emergence and distinctive impact of corporate social responsibility and sustainable development (CSR/SD) functions and professionals within organizations. By evaluating the literature on this topic, it seeks to clarify how leveraging the already established CSR/SD functions and professionals across organizations can contribute to the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) objective of achieving a future of work that provides decent and sustainable work opportunities for all. An extensive and integrative review of the academic literature was undertaken and an interview with a panel of academic experts conducted in order to highlight various aspects of CSR/SD functions and professionals. The focus was on three core topics: the embedding of CSR/SD functions and professionals (Topic #1); their role in managing stakeholder relations (Topic #2); and, more specifically, their contribution to the shaping of interactions with employees and trade unions (Topic #3). While CSR and SD have different historical roots, the two concepts overlap significantly. The umbrella term “CSR/SD” is therefore used throughout the report. “CSR/SD” itself is defined as encompassing corporate interactions with society and in particular with the multiple stakeholder groups from the corporate environment. “CSR/SD professionals” are defined as organizational actors either working within CSR/SD functions or whose role and activities at least have to do with managing CSR/SD issues. These functions are not a new phenomenon: a first wave emerged in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Renewed managerial interest in CSR/SD matters triggered the second wave in the 1990s, which was, paradoxically perhaps, strengthened by the 2008 financial crisis