SKILL-ENHANCING PRACTICES, EMPLOYEE COMMITMENT, AND PERFORMANCE OF NIGERIA POLICE FORCE: A CROSS-SECTIONAL INVESTIGATION

Evidence has been registered in the literature that human resource management systems for enhancing employee’s skills have a significant influence on employee’s attitudinal and behavioural outcomes, and as well as organisational outcomes. This evidence needs to be justified in Police Institution in Nigeria where studies on HRM practices-performance relationship remain empirically unexamined. This study therefore investigated the mediating effect of organisational commitment on the relationship between skill-enhancing practices and performance of Police Force in Nigeria. Utilising cross-sectional survey data from 321 respondents, this study found that the composite construct of skill-enhancing practices had a significant effect on performance of police Force in Nigeria. This study employed ‘PROCESS macro’ to test the hypothesis of mediation effect and the findings revealed that employee commitment fully mediated the relationship between skill-enhancing practices and performance in the context of Police Force in Nigeria. The findings of this study contain some policy implications on how to enhance human capital in an institution of Criminal Justice System such as Nigeria Police Force. Article visualizations

Nova kolorimetrijska metoda određivanja indometacina pomoću 4-karboksil-2,6-dinitrobenzen diazonija

A simple, sensitive and direct colorimetric method for the determination of indomethacin either in pure form or in capsules has been developed. The method is based on the diazo coupling reaction between indomethacin and a highly reactive arenediazonium ion, 4-carboxyl-2,6-dinitrobenzene diazonium ion, with the consequent formation of an azo dye. The reaction is fast and gave an orange azo dye in ethylacetate. The assay was carried out at 470 nm and the azo adduct was stable for three hours. Beer’s law is obeyed in the concentration range of 3.3-11.55 µg/ml of indomethacin. Optimization studies established an optimum reaction time of 20 minutes at 30o C and the drug –to- reagent ratio of 1:2 for optimal detector response. The method developed has a low limit of detection of 0.90 µgmL-1 and is precise (RSD of 2.3%). The new method has been successfully applied to the determination of indomethacin in capsules and the method is of equivalent accuracy (p> 0.05) with the official (BP) spectrophotometric method. The new method could find application as a simple analytical method for the assay of indomethacin in capsules.Razvijena je jednostavna, osjetljiva i izravna kolorimetrijska metoda za određivanje čistog indometacina i indometacina u kapsulama. Metoda se temelji na reakciji diazo kopulacije između indometacina i vrlo reaktivnog arendiazonijevog iona, diazonijevog iona 4-karboksil-2,6-dinitrobenzena, pri čemu nastaje azo obojeni spoj. Reakcija je brza i daje azo spoj narančaste boje u etil acetatu, koji je stabilan tri sata. Određivanje se izvodi na 470 nm. Beerov zakon vrijedi u koncentracijskom području od 3,3 do 11 microg mL-1. Na temperaturi 30 C optimalno vrijeme reakcije je 20 minuta, a optimalni omjer analita i reagensa 1:2. Granica detekcije je niska (0,90 microg mL-1), a metoda precizna (RSD 2,3%). Metoda je uspješno primijenjena i za određivanje indometacina u kapsulama s jednakom točnošću kao i oficijalna spektrofotometrijska metoda (BP)

Comparative in-vitro studies on the efficacy of ivermectin against gastrointestinal sheep nematode

Purpose: This study was designed to evaluate the relative efficacy of various brands of ivermectin injection available for use in clinical veterinary practice in Nigeria. Method: Ivermectin injections were evaluated by a larval development assay (LDVA), using the larvae of Strongyles (predominantly Haemonchus contortus) of sheep. The effect of standard solutions of the drug from the various brands on the transformation of L1 to L3 and survival of L3 larvae was used to assess bioactivity. The 50% lethal concentration (LC50) was determined from regression line obtained by probit transformation of the biological data. The LC50 values for each of the brands were compared with that of the innovator brand (Ivomec Superâ) for any significant difference. Results: The LC50 values obtained for the five brands varied widely. It ranges from 1.1±0.17 ng/ml for the innovator brand to 2.3±0.3, 3.0±0.3, 8.0±0.2 and 17.0±0.3 ng/ml for the other four brands. The biological assays performed on each of the five brands were of comparable precision. LC50 for Ivomec superâ was significantly different from those of the other four brands (Student's t test, p < 0.01). Conclusion: The bioactivities of brands of ivermectin injections available in Nigeria are significantly different. This is a probable reason for the varied treatment response to various brands of ivermectin injection in veterinary practice in Nigeria. This justifies the need for drug regulatory bodies in Nigeria to ensure that ivermectin injections registered for use in Nigeria meets approved standards before the drugs are allowed to be imported into the country. Key words: Bioactivity, ivermectin, sheep nematode Trop J Pharm Res, December 2003; 2(2): 235-23

Engineering and validation of a novel lipid thin film for biomembrane modeling in lipophilicity determination of drugs and xenobiotics

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Determination of lipophilicity as a tool for predicting pharmacokinetic molecular behavior is limited by the predictive power of available experimental models of the biomembrane. There is current interest, therefore, in models that accurately simulate the biomembrane structure and function. A novel bio-device; a lipid thin film, was engineered as an alternative approach to the previous use of hydrocarbon thin films in biomembrane modeling.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Retention behavior of four structurally diverse model compounds; 4-amino-3,5-dinitrobenzoic acid (ADBA), naproxen (NPX), nabumetone (NBT) and halofantrine (HF), representing 4 broad classes of varying molecular polarities and aqueous solubility behavior, was investigated on the lipid film, liquid paraffin, and octadecylsilane layers. Computational, thermodynamic and image analysis confirms the peculiar amphiphilic configuration of the lipid film. Effect of solute-type, layer-type and variables interactions on retention behavior was delineated by 2-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and quantitative structure property relationships (QSPR). Validation of the lipid film was implemented by statistical correlation of a unique chromatographic metric with Log P (octanol/water) and several calculated molecular descriptors of bulk and solubility properties.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The lipid film signifies a biomimetic artificial biological interface capable of both hydrophobic and specific electrostatic interactions. It captures the hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) in the determination of lipophilicity of molecules unlike the pure hydrocarbon film of the prior art. The potentials and performance of the bio-device gives the promise of its utility as a predictive analytic tool for early-stage drug discovery science.</p

Gender and the Performance of Informal Sector Enterprises

The objective of the study was to examine whether female and maleled informal businesses differ in terms of performance. Using a simple random sampling, 250 paper questionnaires were distributed by hand to small and micro enterprises, out of which 90 responses were gathered from owners and managers of informal enterprises. The Upper Echelon Theory (UET) serves as the main theory that underpins this study. Mann-Whitney test was employed to test the study's hypotheses. The findings of the study revealed that there was a significantly equal relationship between gender and profit. Sales and gender performance however indicated a non-significant relationship. Female-led enterprises had a significantly higher employees' growth than male-led enterprises. Overall, female outperformed male in the informal sector based on employees' growth which is an indication of female's lenient, empathetic and good leadership style than male

Determining Factors for the Choice of Medical Career among the Final Year Medical Students of a Private University in Nigeria

Background: Medical education worldwide is more expensive compared to other university courses due to the structure of the training into two phases: basic medical sciences and clinical sciences, each with extensive syllabuses and involves an array of professionals in various specialties. The burden of medical education was largely borne by the government in Nigeria until recently when the private sector forayed into the provision of tertiary education including medical education. Methods: The study was a cross‑sectional survey study. All 94 final year medical students of Afe Babalola University, Ado‑Ekiti, a private sector‑owned university in South Western Nigeria, were invited to participate in the study. The institutional ethical approval was sought and obtained (ERC/2020/04/07/364A). Structured self‑administered questionnaires were used to collect relevant data. Participation in the study was voluntary and confidential. The data obtained were analyzed using SPSS version 20.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). Results: Eighty‑three (88%) final year medical students participated and returned completed questionnaires out of 94 students. Further analyses&nbsp; were on the number of the respondents (n = 83). Fifty‑seven (68.7%) of the respondents were female, whereas 26 (31.3%) of the respondents were male. The mean standard deviation age was 23 (1.6) years, and the age ranges between 20 and 30 years. Parental influence and personal interest were the two most important factors that influenced the decisions for medical education. Fifty‑seven (68.7%) of the respondents prefer to practice outside Nigeria, 25 (30.1%) respondents will like to practice in Nigeria but in urban areas, whereas only 1 (1.2%) of the respondents will prefer to practice in a rural area. Conclusion: The choice of medical education and future specialty is multifactorial but the most important factors are personal interest and parental influence. The choice of where to practice is mostly determined during the undergraduate program, and it tends toward continuous emigration of doctors to developed countries. Keywords: Medical education, medical students, Nigeria, postgraduate specialty, private universit

Surgical Outreach as a Tertiary Hospital’s Corporate Social Responsibility: Shall we do more?

Introduction: The underserved populations of the rural and suburban communities of developing countries are challenged by the twin hurdles of low-income earning and out-of-pocket payment for surgical care services. This study aims at appraising the process, outcome, and impact of a free surgical outreach programme carried out by a Federal Teaching Hospital in South-western Nigeria. Methods: A free day-case surgical outreach programme was announced through a popular radio jingle for a period of 1 week to attract would‐be beneficiaries of the programme. A 2-day screening exercise was conducted by the concerted efforts of various specialists in the department of surgery and ophthalmology to select those who are suitable for day-case surgery. Across-sectional survey of patients who participated in the 5-day surgical outreach programme was carried out. A structured questionnaire was used to obtain information on biodata, diagnosis, surgical operations, complications, and level of satisfaction. A 3‐point bipolar satisfaction outcome scale was used to assess the level of satisfaction. The data obtained were analyzed using the SPSS software version 20.0. Results: One hundred and fifty‐eight patients were screened, but only 124 participated. Ophthalmic cases constituted 60.5%, whereas the rest (39.5%) were non-ophthalmic cases. Patients with cataract were 73 (58.9%) of all the surgical lesions operated during the outreach programme. Two (1.6%) patients with pterygium were the other ophthalmic cases, whereas the non-ophthalmic cases were mainly hernias. A total of 129 surgical operations were performed in the 124 patients, with 5 (0.4%) of them having bilateral cases. One hundred and seventeen patients (94.4%) expressed satisfaction with their experience of the programme. Conclusions: Optimal corporate social responsibility of tertiary hospitals can be performed effectively and satisfactorily through a properly organized surgical outreach

Shortened versus standard post-partum maintenance therapy of magnesium sulphate in severe pre-eclampsia: a randomised control trial

Background: Pre-eclampsia is a pregnancy-associated multi-organ disorder caused by altered trophoblastic invasion and endothelial cell dysfunction. It is associated with significant maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality, especially in developing countries. Magnesium sulphate (MgSO4) is effective in the management of severe pre-eclampsia/eclampsia. Objective of this study was to compare the effectiveness of a shortened course of MgSO4 to the Pritchard regimen in patients with severe pre-eclampsiaMethods: This study was carried out at the obstetrics and gynecology department of the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital, Ile-Ife. It was a randomised control study of 116 patients, 58 in each group. Group A received the standard Pritchard regimen: a loading dose of MgSO4 4g slow IV bolus plus 10 g IM (5 g in each buttock), followed by maintenance dose of 5g MgSO4 IM 4-hourly into alternate buttocks until 24 hours after delivery. Group B received same loading dose, but the maintenance dose was limited to three doses of 5g MgSO4 IM four hours apart after delivery. In both regimens, 2g MgSO4 was given IV for breakthrough fit. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20.Results: This study revealed that twelve-hour postpartum MgSO4 was as effective as the Pritchard regime with no statistically difference in occurrence of seizures (X2 = 0.341, df = 1, p = 0.514). The average total dose of magnesium sulphate used was lower in the study Group B.Conclusions: Twelve-hour postpartum MgSO4 is as effective as the standard 24-hour Pritchard regime

Posterior Cerebral Artery Ischemic Stroke in a Patient with Hypoplastic P1 Segment of the Posterior Cerebral Artery

Posterior circulation stroke usually presents with clinical challenges, and symptoms may include blindness. Hypoplastic or atretic cerebral artery may be a risk factor for future ischemic stroke. We present a 75‑year‑old male patient with posterior cerebral artery ischemic stroke who presented with sudden visual deterioration, and brain magnetic resonance angiography showed hypoplastic right P1. Keywords: Hypoplastic artery, ischemic stroke, posterior circulation, visual impairmen

Effect of dietary feed additives on haematological and serum biochemical parameters of broiler chickens

This study was amid to evaluate the effect of supplementation of oxytetracylin (OTC), probiotic (Pro.), and citric acid (CA) separately on growth rate hematological, intestinal microflora and morphology of broiler chickens. A total of 270 one- day old male broiler chickens (Ross 308), were randomly kept into six groups floor pens consisting 3 replicates of 15 birds each. Treatment were as following: T1 (control diet without supplement), T2 supplementing with OTC (0.5 g/ kg); T3 and T4 supplementing with CA (1.0 or 1.5 g/ kg diet respectively), T5 and T6 supplementing with CA (1.0 or 1.5 g/ kg diet respectively). The results showed, there were significant increase in weight gain in broilers fed T3 and T4 dietary treatments, and no significant difference between the other treatments. Significant decrease in RBC, PCV and Hb, while increased in WBC, Lymphocytes, ALT and AST in birds supplemented with T2 dietary treatment. The diet containing OTC T2 and CA T6 caused reduced in micoflora count in jejunum area. There was significant increase in villi height and crypt depth for T6 while there was significant decrease in T2. In conclusion, probiotic and citric acid are good alternative to antibiotics in promoting growth, and beneficial modulation of intestinal micoflora and improve intestinal morphology