Related Party Transactions, Off Balance Sheet Items and Earnings Quality of Listed Deposit Money Banks in Nigeria

This paper examines the impact of related party transactions, off balance sheet items on earnings quality of listed deposit money banks in Nigeria over the period of 4 years (2011 to 2014). Data were collected from annual reports of the sampled banks. Descriptive statistics and correlation analysis were employed and also Ordinary least square (OLS) robust regression technique was used as a tool of analysis using panel data. The study reveals that related party transactions are positively and significantly related to earnings quality. On the contrary, off balance sheet items were found to be negatively and insignificantly related to earnings quality. Based on the findings, the study concluded that related party transactions have significant impact on the earnings quality of the Nigeria deposit money bank. The study recommends that Management of the Nigeria money deposit banks should be more aggressive towards the number of genuine related party transactions that can add value to their firms when making financial decision because it is likely to have positive effects on the quality of their earnings

Foreign Exchange Rate and Economic Growth Nexus: New Evidence from Nigeria (1981 to 2017)

The paper estimates the impact of foreign exchange rate on economic growth of Nigeria. The study makes used of Autoregressive Distributed Lag model (ARDL) on time series Data, for the period 1981-2017. The data set on real effective exchange rate, inflation rate, money supply, lending interest rate, real GDP and foreign direct investment, oil revenue and trade openness (% of GDP) were tested for stationary using ADF and PP tests and established stationarity at I (1) for five variables and I (0) for two variables. The correlation test result shows that the highest correlation is between money supply and oil revenue while the lowest correlation is between inflation rate and foreign direct investment. The ARDL Co-integration test revealed the existence of long-run relationship among the variables. ARDL test results reveal that real effective exchange rate is negatively and significant in explaining economic growth in Nigeria in the long-run. In the short-run, the lag value of real effective exchange rate is insignificant in explaining the changes in the current rate of economic growth. in the same period, the lag value of money supply is negative and significant in explaining GDP. But in the long run it is positive and significant in explaining economic growth in Nigeria. The rate of inflation both in the short run and long run is negatively and significant in explaining GDP. The Error Correction Term value of 20.7% shows the speed of adjustment toward long-run equilibrium The findings of the study imply that interest rate in Nigeria is inflationary. Meaning that increase in the rate of interest rate will lead to an increase inflation rate. Therefore, the research study concludes that the impact of foreign exchange rate on the economic growth of Nigeria is negative and significant and that the monetary authorities should adopt flexible exchange rate in Nigeria. Keywords: ARDL, foreign exchange rate, Economic growth, monetary authorities. DOI: 10.7176/JESD/10-18-18 Publication date:September 30th 2019

Knowledge and attitude of men towards risk factors influencing maternal mortality in magume community, Zaria

Most studies related to maternal mortality have focused mainly on direct clinical causes. However, it is imperative to look at the importance of tackling background predisposing factors in a bid to reducing deaths occurring in this vulnerable group. Innovative and effective options towards preventing as well as reducing maternal deaths must include active participation of men, who more often than not are not knowledgeable about these risk factors. Aims: To assess the knowledge and attitude of men towards risk factors influencing maternal mortality in Magume Community, in Zaria LGA. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in 2016 using a pretested semi-structured interviewer-administered questionnaire. A total of 170 respondents were sampled using a multistage sampling technique. Data were analysed based on descriptive statistics, chi-square and Fisher's exact test using SPSS version 21. The level of statistical significance was set at p<0.05. The results were presented using tables and charts. Results: The mean age of the respondents was 38(±11.2) years. Knowledge scores show that approximately 46% of the respondents had good knowledge, while 40% had poor knowledge and 14% had fair knowledge. Lack of ANC services during pregnancy was the most commonly identified (93.1%) maternal mortality risk factor and lack of family planning was the least identified (34.3%). Attitude to maternal mortality risk factors was negative in half (50.9%) of the respondents. There was a statistically significant relationship between educational level; occupation with both knowledge and attitude scores. Conclusion: This cross-sectional study has highlighted the need for increased male involvement and participation in maternal health issues. Interventions such as health education and community mobilization that aims to educate men on risk factors and danger signs associated with poor maternal health outcomes should be carried out in this area

Impact of Population Growth on Unemployment in Nigeria: Dynamic OLS Approach

This empirical research examined the impact of population growth on unemployment in Nigeria. The study applied annual time series data from 1991 to 2017. The data on population, unemployment, consumer price index, exchange rate and foreign direct investment were tested for unit root using ADF, PP and KPSS unit root tests. The results from the ADF and PP tests revealed that all the variables were stationary at first difference except CPI that is stationary at level. While the KPSS units root test result shows that all the variables are stationary at level. The variables were co-integrated as shown by the Johansen Juselius test for co-integration. The Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares (DOLS) were used in the process of estimating the model. The main results disclosed that population and exchange rate impacted positively with unemployment. Whereas consumer price index, GDP per capita and foreign direct investment impacted negatively thereby reducing the rate of unemployment in the long-run. Government should focus more on attracting foreign direct investment, increasing GDP per capita and the desired rate of consumer price index in order to control the rate of unemployment in the country. Keywords: Population Growth, Unemployment, Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares, Co-integration test, GDP per capita, Consumer Price Index, Foreign Direct Investment. DOI: 10.7176/JESD/10-22-09 Publication date: November 30th 2019

Localised Skin Hyperpigmentation as a Presenting Symptom of Vitamin B12 Deficiency Complicating Chronic Atrophic Gastritis

Vitamin B12 deficiency is common in developing countries and should be suspected in patients with unexplained anaemia or neurological symptoms. Dermatological manifestations associated with this deficiency include skin hyper- or hypopigmentation, angular stomatitis and hair changes. We report a case of a 28-year-old man who presented to the Sultan Qaboos University Hospital in Muscat, Oman, in November 2013 with localised hyperpigmentation of the palmar and dorsal aspects of both hands of two months’ duration. Other symptoms included numbness of the hands, anorexia, weight loss, dizziness, fatigability and a sore mouth and tongue. There was no evidence of hypocortisolaemia and a literature search revealed a possible B12 deficiency. The patient had low serum B12 levels and megaloblastic anaemia. An intrinsic factor antibody test was negative. A gastric biopsy revealed chronic gastritis. After B12 supplementation, the patient’s symptoms resolved. Family physicians should familiarise themselves with atypical presentations of B12 deficiency. Many symptoms of this deficiency are reversible if detected and treated early

Personalized mechanical ventilation guided by ultrasound in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (PEGASUS): study protocol for an international randomized clinical trial

background acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a frequent cause of hypoxemic respiratory failure with a mortality rate of approximately 30%. Identifying ARDS subphenotypes based on "focal" or "non-focal" lung morphology has the potential to better target mechanical ventilation strategies of individual patients. however, classifying morphology through chest radiography or computed tomography is either inaccurate or impractical. Lung ultrasound (LUS) is a non-invasive bedside tool that can accurately distinguish "focal" from "non-focal" lung morphology. We hypothesize that LUS-guided personalized mechanical ventilation in ARDS patients leads to a reduction in 90-day mortality compared to conventional mechanical ventilation. methods the personalized mechanical ventilation guided by ultrasound in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (PEGASUS) study is an investigator-initiated, international, randomized clinical trial (RCT) that plans to enroll 538 invasively ventilated adult intensive care unit (ICU) patients with moderate to severe ARDS. eligible patients will receive a LUS exam to classify lung morphology as "focal" or "non-focal". thereafter, patients will be randomized within 12 h after ARDS diagnosis to receive standard care or personalized ventilation where the ventilation strategy is adjusted to the morphology subphenotype, i.e., higher positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) and recruitment maneuvers for "non-focal" ARDS and lower PEEP and prone positioning for "focal" ARDS. the primary endpoint is all-cause mortality at day 90. secondary outcomes are mortality at day 28, ventilator-free days at day 28, ICU length of stay, ICU mortality, hospital length of stay, hospital mortality, and number of complications (ventilator-associated pneumonia, pneumothorax, and need for rescue therapy). after a pilot phase of 80 patients, the correct interpretation of LUS images and correct application of the intervention within the safe limits of mechanical ventilation will be evaluated. discussion PEGASUS is the first RCT that compares LUS-guided personalized mechanical ventilation with conventional ventilation in invasively ventilated patients with moderate and severe ARDS. If this study demonstrates that personalized ventilation guided by LUS can improve the outcomes of ARDS patients, it has the potential to shift the existing one-size-fits-all ventilation strategy towards a more individualized approach. trial registration the PEGASUS trial was registered before the inclusion of the first patient, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ (ID: NCT05492344)

Impact of Foreign and Domestic Investments on Economic Growth in Nigeria: An Application of ARDL Approach

This paper investigates the relationship between economic growth, domestic and foreign investments in Nigeria for the 1981-2018 periods. The properties of time series variables were examined through the application of Augmented Dickey-Fuller technique and Autoregressive Distributed Lag approach in testing the long-and-short runs relationship. The results of unit root suggest that four variables in the model were stationary at first difference while one is stationary at level. The results of the main model revealed that foreign investment has positive impact on economic growth in the long-and-short runs, domestic investment has negative impact on economic growth in both long-and-short runs and trade openness impacted positively on economic growth in Nigeria. Therefore, this paper recommends that concerted effort should be made by government, policy makers and relevant authorities to formulate policies aim at creating a conducive investment environment so that Nigerians and non-Nigerian investors will be encourage to increase their propensity to invest in the country. Policy makers should also take step to ensure foreign exchange stability and improve trade openness so as to achieve meaningful economic growth

Related Party Transactions, Off Balance Sheet Items and Earnings Quality of Listed Deposit Money Banks in Nigeria

This paper examines the impact of related party transactions, off balance sheet items on earnings quality of listed deposit money banks in Nigeria over the period of 4 years (2011 to 2014). Data were collected from annual reports of the sampled banks. Descriptive statistics and correlation analysis were employed and also Ordinary least square (OLS) robust regression technique was used as a tool of analysis using panel data. The study reveals that related party transactions are positively and significantly related to earnings quality. On the contrary, off balance sheet items were found to be negatively and insignificantly related to earnings quality. Based on the findings, the study concluded that related party transactions have significant impact on the earnings quality of the Nigeria deposit money bank. The study recommends that Management of the Nigeria money deposit banks should be more aggressive towards the number of genuine related party transactions that can add value to their firms when making financial decision because it is likely to have positive effects on the quality of their earnings.