Customer Relationship Management: A Platform for Customer Loyalty in Banking Sector in Ogun State.

This paper examines the relationship between Customer Relationship Management and Customer Loyalty in the banking sector in Ogun State. A sample of 80 respondents was drawn from the customers of Zenith bank, Guaranty Trust Bank, Sterling bank and United Bank of Africa through the use of purposive sampling technique. Data were gathered by using structured questionnaire. The results showed that there is a significant relationship between customer relationship management and customer loyalty. The study concluded that the higher the implementation of customer relationship management the higher the customer loyalty. Keywords: Banking Sector, Customer Relationship Management, Customer Satisfaction, and Customer Loyalty

Availability and use of CDROM products in Nigerian libraries and information centers

A study was conducted to find out the types of CD products in Nigerian libraries and information centres, and the uses to which they are being put. The study also tried to find out the sources of funding of such products, information about users, hardware configuration, and training facilities available in the country. Of the 157 questionnaires sent out, 85 usable returns (a 54% response rate) were received. The analysis revealed that 44 libraries had at least one PC with only nine of such centres having at least one CDROM workstation. There are 62 copies of 43 CD titles in Nigeria. Information on the discs is classified as bibliographic, full text, statistical, or general information. The subjects they cover in descending numeric order are agriculture, general reference, medicine, science and technology, social sciences, and education. Areas of applications include information retrieval, bibliographic compilations, current awareness services, library acquisition work, and downloading and uploading to local online databases. In general, CD use was minimal in most libraries as opposed to information centres where CD applications were well used by patrons, especially where the mass media was employed to advertise them. Most libraries funded their CD projects with their local budgets. The most frequently used computers are IBM or compatibles. Recommendations are also outlined

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-1 alpha as predictors of survival in peritonitis: A pilot study

Context: Peritonitis induces an inflammatory response characterized by the elevation of various cytokine levels. Included in this cascade of cytokines are tumor necrosis factor‑alpha (TNF‑α) and interleukin‑1 alpha (IL‑1α). The outcome of patient care may be associated with the pattern of elaboration of these cytokines.Aim: The aim of this study was to describe the pattern of cytokine response (TNF‑α and IL‑1α) in the course of peritonitis and evaluate them as predictors of mortality in peritonitis.Setting and Design: This was a prospective study conducted in the Division of Gastrointestinal Surgery, University College Hospital, Ibadan.Methods: Consenting patients with clinical diagnosis of generalized peritonitis over a 6‑month period (July to December 2015) were recruited. The serum samples of these patients were obtained at presentation, immediately after surgery, and 24 h and 48 h after surgery with a follow‑up period of 30 days.Results: Twenty‑six samples out of thirty could be analyzed. Serum TNF‑α and IL‑1α levels were both elevated at presentation in all patients. However, the patterns of change after intervention varied between the survivors and nonsurvivors.Conclusion: Peritonitis triggers a simultaneous increase in serum levels of TNFα and IL‑1α. Lower serum level of TNF‑α is associated with survival, while on the contrary, higher level of IL‑1α is associated with survival.Keywords: Cytokines, outcome, peritoniti

The ASOS Surgical Risk Calculator: development and validation of a tool for identifying African surgical patients at risk of severe postoperative complications

Background: The African Surgical Outcomes Study (ASOS) showed that surgical patients in Africa have a mortality twice the global average. Existing risk assessment tools are not valid for use in this population because the pattern of risk for poor outcomes differs from high-income countries. The objective of this study was to derive and validate a simple, preoperative risk stratification tool to identify African surgical patients at risk for in-hospital postoperative mortality and severe complications. Methods: ASOS was a 7-day prospective cohort study of adult patients undergoing surgery in Africa. The ASOS Surgical Risk Calculator was constructed with a multivariable logistic regression model for the outcome of in-hospital mortality and severe postoperative complications. The following preoperative risk factors were entered into the model; age, sex, smoking status, ASA physical status, preoperative chronic comorbid conditions, indication for surgery, urgency, severity, and type of surgery. Results: The model was derived from 8799 patients from 168 African hospitals. The composite outcome of severe postoperative complications and death occurred in 423/8799 (4.8%) patients. The ASOS Surgical Risk Calculator includes the following risk factors: age, ASA physical status, indication for surgery, urgency, severity, and type of surgery. The model showed good discrimination with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.805 and good calibration with c-statistic corrected for optimism of 0.784. Conclusions: This simple preoperative risk calculator could be used to identify high-risk surgical patients in African hospitals and facilitate increased postoperative surveillance. © 2018 British Journal of Anaesthesia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Medical Research Council of South Africa gran