Bingham University

Tuberculosis (TB) continues to impose significant morbidity and mortality, with gender influencing access and outcomes within the TB care continuum. Despite international guidance and global commitments on gender-responsive TB care to improve the equity and effectiveness of the TB response, the extent to which gender is considered in TB strategies remains unclear. This scoping review aimed to collate and synthesize the evidence on gender-responsive TB interventions designed and implemented in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and high TB burden countries from 2000 to 2025. The review followed the Joanna Briggs Institute's scoping review guidelines, using the PRISMA-ScR framework for reporting. Studies were eligible if they described TB initiatives for adults aged ≥ 15years, addressed access to services across the TB care cascade, written in English and explicitly mentioned gender considerationsin their introduction, study aims and objectives, or methods sections, beyond sex-disaggregation of results. The search spanned multiple databases and included both peer-reviewed and grey literature. Quality assessment was done using the Crowe Critical Appraisal Tool(CCAT), and gender responsiveness was assessed using the WHO Gender Responsiveness Assessment Tool(GRAT). Although many TB initiatives reported sex-disaggregated results, most were not gender-responsive by design; thus, from 3878 identified studies, 15 met inclusion criteria. Gender responsiveness varied as two interventions did not consider gender differences, treating everyone the same (gender-blind), eleven indicated gender awareness but lacked proper remedial action (gender-sensitive), and two were designed to target and benefit a specific group of women or men (gender-specific). No studies were found to be gender unequal or gender transformative. Nine studies targeted their intervention towards both men and women, five towards women only, and one towards men only. CCAT scores ranged from 52.5% (moderate quality) to 95% (high quality). This scoping review found limited consideration of gender in TB interventions, with most studies addressing gender superficially by including female healthcare workers or sex-disaggregated results without rigorous design, analysis, or proposed recommendations relating to the influence of gender norms on access to TB care. There remains a significant gap in gender-transformative TB programming which risks perpetuating disparities in access and health outcomes across genderswhich will challenge global commitments to ending TB.

The idea that deficit spending can help promote advanced growth, enable higher tax revenues to be generated and thus reduce the fiscal deficit over time has been area of interest. This research provides an empirical analysis of how fiscal deficits influence economic expansion within the Nigerian context. Utilizing an ex-post facto research framework, the study examines secondary data spanning the years 1990 to 2024, gotten from Central Bank of Nigeria Statistical Bulletin. To investigate the relationship between fiscal deficit indicators and national economic performance, the Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS) estimation technique was employed. The analytical results indicate that the Government Budget Deficit (GBD) has a statistically significant and positive influence on Nigeria's economic output, based on probability results at a 5% significance level. Conversely, the findings suggest that Public Debt (PUD) does not exert a significant impact on the country's economic performance, with probability outcomes falling outside the 5% significance threshold. Based on these results, the paper recommends that the Federal Government implement strategic measures to refine budget deficit policies, ensuring more effective execution and resource utilization. Furthermore, it is advised that the government establish robust monitoring mechanisms to ensure public borrowing is strictly channelled toward productive economic activities. Such a shift would help protect and stimulate both private investment and the broader real sector of the Nigerian economy.

Hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) also known as nosocomial infections have been a persistent public health challenge particularly in developing countries. HAIs are also referred to as healthcare-associated infections. Often times, greater priority has been given to invasive diagnostic or therapeutic medical and surgical devices while the non-critical medical devices have been neglected by healthcare providers. This study aimed at evaluating the ability of non-critical medical devices such as clinical thermometers and sphygmomanometers (blood pressure cuffs) in HAI transmission at Bingham University Teaching Hospital (BhUTH), Jos, Plateau State, North-Central Nigeria. A total of 27 swabs from clinical thermometers and blood pressure (BP) cuffs were obtained from various hospital units and analyzed in the microbiology laboratory of the same hospital using standard microbiological techniques. Obtained results revealed bacterial contaminations of clinical thermometers and BP cuffs at 66.7% and 86.7% respectively. Alarmingly, 92.3% and 88.9% of the hospital units showed contamination of clinical thermometers and BP cuffs respectively. The major isolated bacteria were Staphylococcus aureus (84.2%), Escherichia coli (21.0%), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (5.2%). S. aureus and E. coli isolates were resistant to all the beta-lactam antibiotics such as amoxicillin and cefuroxime. However, all the isolates were susceptible to ciprofloxacin and streptomycin. Non-critical medical devices harbor pathogenic bacteria and can be transmitted to patients and healthcare workers. Therefore, there is an urgent need for quality control and contamination surveillance on non-critical medical devices. Frequent sanitization (in between patients), washing or replacement (at intervals) of the clinical thermometers and BP cuffs is also highly recommended.

Nigeria's significant role in regional and global climate dynamics underscores the importance of understanding its emission trends across key sectors. Despite the country’s commitment to climate action, uncertainties remain regarding the actual effectiveness of its mitigation efforts, particularly following the adoption of its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs). Therefore, this study evaluates the effectiveness of Nigeria's climate policies by analyzing sectoral greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions trends before (2011-2015) and after (2016-2020) the implementation of its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs). National-level emissions data sourced from the Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research (EDGAR), sector-specific emissions were analyzed using descriptive statistics and paired t-tests to assess changes pre- and post-INDCs. Results indicate varied sectoral responses: while emissions from the buildings sector decreased post-INDCs, reflecting potential policy impacts on energy efficiency, the transport sector exhibited fluctuating patterns. Statistical analyses revealed significant emission reductions in the buildings and power industry sectors post-INDCs, highlighting policy effectiveness in these areas. However, other sectors showed stable emissions, indicating persistent challenges in achieving comprehensive reductions. These findings underscore the necessity for tailored climate policies addressing sector-specific dynamics to enhance Nigeria's contributions to global climate goals under the Paris Agreement. It is advocated that continuous monitoring and evaluation of sectoral emissions are essential for informing targeted policy interventions and sustainable development strategies. Keywords: Environmental footprints, greenhouse gas emissions, Intended Nationally Determined Contributions, Nigeria

One of the critical challenges affecting the market value of firms in Nigeria is the intricate relationship between corporate governance mechanisms, particularly ownership structures and executive compensation frameworks. This study explores the moderating role of executive compensation in the relationship between employee and Chief Executive Officer ownership and the market value of listed consumer and industrial goods firms in Nigeria. The study population comprises thirty-four (34) consumer and industrial goods firms listed on the Nigerian Exchange Group as of December 31, 2024. A purposive sampling method was employed to select twenty-six (26) firms with consistent disclosures over fifteen years (2010–2024). Utilizing a longitudinal panel research design, the study applied panel least squares and panel EGLS (random effects) regression analysis using E-Views 12 software. The results indicate that while employee and CEO ownership alone do not have a statistically significant effect on firm market value, their interaction with executive compensation has a positive and significant effect. The study concludes that executive compensation serves as an essential strategic moderator, aligning managerial incentives with shareholder interests, thus enhancing firm market value. The study recommends that boards of listed firms should adopt performance-based compensation schemes and that regulatory bodies enforce stricter disclosure of ownership-incentive alignments to improve market valuations and promote sustainable governance practices in Nigeria's consumer and industrial goods sectors.

This research focuses on the synthesis and application of novel blood-sucking insect-repellent reactive dyes based on permethrin derivatives. Insect-borne diseases are a great concern for human health, and an increment in urbanization causes a rise in the population of mosquitoes and other related insects. The efficient methods and products for countering insect bites are the urgent need of the hour. To protect against insect causing diseases, repellent textiles are an attractive substrates. Permethrin was first condensed with cyanuric chloride to obtain a reactive intermediate, which was then coupled with diazotized H-acid to form functional dyes, H1AC, and H1AB2. The dyes were characterized using UV–Visible spectroscopy, FTIR, and GC–MS, confirming the successful incorporation of permethrin and triazine-based reactive groups. The dyes were applied to polyamide (Nylon 6.6) and cellulosic fabrics respectively, and their fastness properties were evaluated. Wash fastness ranged from 3 to 4–5, indicating moderate to good stability, while light fastness varied from 3 to 7, demonstrating fair to excellent photo stability depending on dye structure. Insect repellency was assessed using the WHO cone bioassay, where H1AC and H1AB2 exhibited the highest knockdown rates (100% at 60 - 90 minutes). The dyed polyamide fabrics performed significantly than the control. Overall, the dyes produced durable coloration and strong, long-lasting mosquito-repellent activity, demonstrating their potential for protective clothing, outdoor textiles, and public-health applications.

Women’s writings have increasingly focused more on equality, intersectionality, sexual violence and reproductive rights. Women, hegemony and the survival strategies that they deploy amidst hegemonic institutions have not been given significant attention in contemporary African literature. While previous studies have written on hegemony, there is still a dearth of research on the various forms of hegemony and the survival strategies they deploy in combating such structures. This research used a qualitative content analysis to investigate how selected African female writers depict their female characters as victims of hegemony, and demonstrates how the characters eventually overcome the hegemonic structures that dominate them. Three novels were selected owing to their thematic relevance: Panashe Chigumadzi’s Sweet Medicine, Abi Dare’s, The Girl with the Louding Voice, and Chika Unigwe’s on Black Sisters’s Street. The various survival strategies that the female characters adopt made it necessary for the research to adopt an eclectic theoretical framework which comprises: radical feminism, snail-sense, feminism, and nego-feminism. The textual analysis reveals that the economy, patriarchy, western hegemony, culture, and family were the hegemonic institutions that the female characters battled with. Women were also found to dominate other women. In Chigumadzi’s Sweet Medicine, Tsitsi’s survival strategies are sexual compromise and syncretism. In Dare’s The Girl with the Louding Voice, Adunni adopts resilience, defiance, escape and violence as her survival strategies. Unigwe’s On Black Sisters’ Street presents four major female characters who are Efe, Ama, Alek and Sisi, who deploy various survival strategies. Efe’s strategy is hard work followed by Ama who deploy soliloquy. Sisi’s strategy, as well as the others, culminated into emigration to Europe. However, Sisi fails to adopt loyalty as a strategy, which leads to her death. The others eventually succeed because they were loyal. Overall, the study demonstrates that despite the pervasive and multifaceted nature of hegemonic structures, African female characters develop diverse, context-specific strategies that enable them to reclaim agency, assert identity, and navigate oppressive socio-economic and cultural systems