Inflation Targeting, Economic Stability and Monetary Policy:The Nigeria Experience

Since the late 1990s, a good numbers of emerging-market countries have adopted inflation targeting (IT) as a monetary policy framework. The hallmarks of this approach are an explicit commitment by the central bank to keep an inflation index close to a Periodically-adjusted target, and the use of an inflation forecast as the intermediate target for policy. In view of this, the study examined how likely inflation targeting will respond to monetary policy in Nigeria. To achieve the objective we used time series data that span from 1985 to 2015 on inflation, exchange rate, prime lending rate, Income (GDP) and money supply to estimate an Autoregressive Distributed Lag Model of inflation. The finding shows that monetary variables are good explanatory variables in explaining the changes in inflation on Nigerian economy and also the first and second lagged of Money supply exert a very high significant influence on the growth of inflation in Nigeria. We recommend the consideration of effective management of money supply, interest rate and exchange rate to ensure stability as a precondition for the achievement of inflation targeting. Keywords: Inflation targeting, economic stability, monetary policy, Nigeri

Massive Pleural Fluid Collection in Adult Nigerians

Background. There are no available literatures on massive pleural effusions (MPE) in our country. Aim. To determine the aetiology of MPE and compare the mortality rate between malignant and nonmalignant MPE in adult Nigerians. Methods. A prospective study of all the patients diagnosed with nontraumatic pleural fluid collections for one year in two tertiary federal hospitals in Southern Nigeria. A total of 101 consecutive patients with pleural fluid collections were studied. Diagnoses were made by clinical features and laboratory and radiological investigations. Results. Forty-eight patients (47.5%) had MPE with a mean age of 43 years ± 14.04 and 35 were females. Thirty patients (62.5%) were diagnosed with nonmalignant conditions (21 from pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) and 9 from other causes). Haemorrhagic pleural collections were from malignancy in 12 (30.8%) and from PTB in 6 (15.4%). Straw-coloured collections were from malignancy in 9 (23.1%), from PTB in 8 (20.1%), and from posttraumatic exudative effusion in 3 (7.7%). Compared with nonmalignant MPE, patients with malignant collections had higher mortality within 6 months (8/18 versus 0/30 with a P value of 0.000). Conclusion. The presentation of patients with nontraumatic haemorrhagic or straw-coloured MPE narrows the diagnosis to PTB and malignancy with MPE cases being a marker for short survival rate

Effect of Garcinia Kola (Heckel) on Pharmacokinetic Parameters of Rifampicin

Most herbal products are used with prescription drugs and have been found to affect the pharmacokinetics of these prescription drugs. The effect of concurrent administration of Garcinia kola on the pharmacokinetic parameters and penetration profile of rifampicin into the lung tissues were investigated using animal model. Albino rats in group A received rifampicin 10 mg/kg alone orally; Group B and C received 100 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg of Garcinia kola extract respectively for 10 days and on day 11, rifampicin 10 mg/kg was given. Blood samples were withdrawn from each group at 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 8, 12 and 24 h time intervals respectively. Blood samples were also withdrawn from the lungs in each group after 24 h and assayed to determine the concentration of rifampicin in the lungs. Both 100 and 200 mg/kg of Garcinia kola showed reduction in the maximum concentration (Cmax), area under concentration (AUC), clearance time (ClT), and time for plasma concentration to decrease by half (t1/2) of rifampicin. Garcinia kola significantly (P = 0.01) decreased concentration of rifampicin in the lungs by 32% and 39 % respectively. Our results show that the co-administration of Garcinia kola and rifampicin impairs the bioavailability of rifampicin and its penetration into the lungs

Parents’ Knowledge, Attitudes and Use of Antibiotics in Upper Respiratory Infections in Nigerian Children

Parental knowledge of antibiotic use in upper respiratory tract infections (URTI) impacts significantly in the preservation of antibiotic efficacy, yet has not been adequately studied in Nigerian settings. This present study evaluated the knowledge, attitudes and self-medicating practices of caregivers towards the use of antibiotics in URTI among children. The study was a cross-sectional and prospective survey. Parents visiting two hospitals (Nsukka General Hospital - rural and Enugu State University of Technology Teaching Hospital- urban) with their sick children (12 years and under) were approached to complete a 24-item questionnaire. The items assessed parental knowledge of, attitudes and self-medicating practices towards antibiotics in cases of URTI. Frequencies, means and inferential multivariate (chi-square, t-tests and regression) data analysis were conducted. The parents exhibited poor knowledge in most of the knowledge items. Younger parents, those visiting the urban hospital and those with higher educational status exhibited significantly better knowledge of antibiotics and URTI (p<0.05). The parents indicated marginally accepting attitudes towards antibiotics use and misuse and this was influenced largely by better antibiotic knowledge and better educational qualifications (p<0.001). However parents from both hospitals frequently self-medicated (88.6%) and acknowledged poor practices towards antibiotics such as the use of left over antibiotics. Majority (85%) of the parents also said they received antibiotics after they demanded it from their physicians. Parents in these study settings in Nigeria, possessed poor knowledge and positive attitudes of antibiotic use in their children, and exhibited poor practices when utilizing them

The Stabilization of Weathered Dolerite Aggregates with Cement, Lime, and Lime Fly Ash for Pavement Construction

An experimental program was performed on weathered dolerite specimens stabilized by adding varying percentages of cement (4, 8, 12, and 16) % and lime (6 and 12) % and a combination of lime and fly ash (6% lime + 12% Fly ash and 12% lime + 12% Fly ash) % by dry weight of soil. The strength was examined under three different curing methods, namely, membrane curing (MBC), alternate moist-air curing (MAC), and water curing (WAC), by conducting unconfined compressive strength (UCS) tests. Simple polynomial and linear functions (regression models) were used to define the relationships between the variables investigated. Membrane curing (MBC) gave results close enough to the water curing (WAC) to indicate that it can be confidently used on the field during pavement construction. From the results obtained, for class B (interurban collector and major rural roads) pavement construction, addition of 8% cement was recommended for road base construction with stabilized WDA. Also the addition of 12 + 12% Lime and Fly Ash was recommended for road subbase construction with stabilized WDA. Stabilized WDA against the prejudiced myths would perform satisfactorily for base and subbase construction in both heavily trafficked and low volume roads with economic quantities of cement, lime, and fly ash in South Africa

Effects of palm kernel cake supplement on fatty acid profile and milk composition of lactating wad goats fed grass silage

The scarcity of quality feed and cost-effective supplements necessitates verifiable concentrate as a supplement for goat milk production. Palm Kernel Cake (PKC), an oil palm by-product rich in protein and energy, gradually replaced Prepared Concentrate (PC) in this study. This replacement's impact on milk composition and fatty acid profile in lactating WAD goats fed grass silage basal diet was assessed. Five supplement concentrates with varying PC: PKC ratios (100:0, 75:25, 50:50, 25:75, 0:100) were fed to 25 lactating WAD goats in a randomized setting of 5 animals per group. The replacement significantly affected (p<0.05) milk fat, protein, specific gravity, ash, and fat-corrected milk. The highest milk fat (2.17%) came from 100% PKC supplementation, while the lowest (0.77%) came from 25% PKC. Total solid fat values were not significantly affected. Fat Corrected Milk results mirrored the milk fat trend. The 100% PKC group had the highest crude protein (8.22%), while 25% and 75%PKC were not different (p<0.05). Fatty acid profile, expressed as total Fatty Acid Methyl Esters (FAMEs) g/kg, showed increased medium and long-chain fatty acids as PC was replaced. In conclusion, 100% PKC supplementation enhanced milk fat, while 50% PC replacement increased long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in goat mil

Clients' reasons for prenatal ultrasonography in Ibadan, South West of Nigeria

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Prenatal ultrasonography has remained a universal tool but little is known especially from developing countries on clients' reasons for desiring it. Then aim was to determine the reasons why pregnant women will desire a prenatal ultrasound.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>It was a cross-sectional survey of consecutive 222 women at 2 different ultrasonography facilities in Ibadan, South-west Nigeria.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The mean age of the respondents was 30.1 ± 4.5 years. The commonest reason for requesting for prenatal ultrasound scans was to check for fetal viability in 144 women (64.7%) of the respondents, followed by fetal gender determination in 50 women (22.6%. Other reasons were to check for number of fetuses, fetal age and placental location. Factors such as younger age, artisans profession and low level of education significantly influenced the decision to check for fetal viability on bivariate analysis but all were not significant on multivariate analysis. Concerning fetal gender determination, older age, Christianity, occupation and gravidity were significant on bivariate analysis, however, only gravidity and occupation remained significant independent predictor on logistic regression model. Women with less than 3 previous pregnancies were about 4 times more likely to request for fetal sex determination than women with more than 3 previous pregnancies, (OR 3.8 95%CI 1.52 – 9.44). The professionals were 7 times more likely than the artisans to request to find out about their fetal sex, (OR 7.0 95%CI 1.47 – 333.20).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study shows that Nigerian pregnant women desired prenatal ultrasonography mostly for fetal viability, followed by fetal gender determination. These preferences were influenced by their biosocial variables.</p

Society of obstetrics and gynecology of Nigeria – Clinical practice guidelines: Guidelines for the prevention of cervical cancer

Clinical practice guidelines have been developed by professional societies globally. Each guideline although based on published scientific evidence reflected each country’s socioeconomic peculiarities and unique medical environment. The Society of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of Nigerian has published guidelines in other clinical areas; however, this is the first edition of practice guidelines for the prevention of cervical cancer. The Guidelines Committee was established in 2015 and decided to develop the first edition of this guideline following Delphi pool conducted among members which selected cervical cancer prevention as the subject that guideline is urgently needed. These guidelines cover strategies for cervical cancer prevention, screening, and management of test results. The committee developed the draft guideline during a 2‑day workshop with technical input from Cochrane Nigeria and Dr. Chris Maske, Lancet Laboratories, South Africa. The recommendations for each specific area were developed by the consensus, and they are summarized here, along with the details. The objective of these practice guidelines is to establish standard policies on issues in clinical practice related to the prevention of cervical cancer.Keywords: Cervical cancer; guideline; management; prevention; screening; Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology of Nigeria