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This study reviews oil-price shocks and economic growth with the aim of providing an in-depth knowledge based on the existing literature. The study uses content analysis coupled with trends analysis from 1981-2020. Brent crude oil price which represents a uniform substitute for oil price at the international oil market is used. Six (6) theories that links oil price and economic growth are considered. Out of the theories, the study anchors its theoretical framework on Dutch Disease Theory because the neglect of other sectors especially the developing oil-exporting/producing countries due to the discovery of natural resources (crude oil) has affected their economic growth. Documented evidences show that shocks in oil price hinder economic growth. The trend analysis also indicates unexpected movements in oil price (increase/decrease) whenever there is a shock. Based on this, necessitates the need for most oil-producing developing countries to look beyond the oil sector to prevent their economies from being mono-culturally based by developing indigenous products and in this process reduce the importation of those goods that can be produced locally.

Research background: The traditional function ascribed to a modern financial institution is to mobilize resources among the two units (surplus and deficit) of the economy. This can be achieved when financial institutions wake up to this responsibility and act as the pillar upon which other institutions can rely on. Purpose: This study examined the impact of bond market development on the growth of the Nigerian economy from 1986–2018. Research methodology: Data were analysed using the co-integration bounds test approach while the robustness of the estimates was also checked. Results: Government bond exhibited an insignificant positive relationship; corporate bond and value of bond traded were positive and statistically significant (prob. Novelty: The study found that corporate bond and the value of bond traded were the major variables that increased the depth of bond market development in Nigeria. Therefore, policymakers in Nigeria should encourage the issuance of more corporate bonds to further enhance the efficiency of bond markets development.

This paper aims to estimate the prevalence of e-cigarette use before and after the COVID-19 pandemic declaration and to delineate disparities in use across subpopulations. Data were derived from the 2020 Health Information National Trends Survey (N = 3865) to conduct weighted multivariable logistic regression and marginal analyses. The overall prevalence of current e-cigarette use increased from 4.79% to 8.63% after the COVID-19 pandemic declaration. Furthermore, non-Hispanic Black people and Hispanic people had lower odds of current e-cigarette use than non-Hispanic White people, but no significant differences were observed between groups before the pandemic. Compared to heterosexual participants, sexual minority (SM) participants had higher odds of current e-cigarette use after the declaration, with insignificant differences before. People who had cardiovascular disease conditions, relative to those without, had higher odds of current e-cigarette use after the declaration, but no group differences were found before the declaration. The marginal analyses showed that before and after the pandemic declaration, SM individuals had a significantly higher probability of using e-cigarettes compared to heterosexual individuals. These findings suggest the importance of adopting a subpopulation approach to understand and develop initiatives to address substance use, such as e-cigarettes, during pandemics and other public health emergencies.

The coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) is transforming individuals, governments, and sectors globally. To mitigate the potential effects of COVID-19, various governments around the globe are implement...

In an attempt to examine the influence of inflation on the growth prospects of the Nigerian economy, the study employs the autoregressive distributed lag on the selected variables, i.e. real gross domestic product (GDP), inflation rate, interest rate, exchange rate, degree of economy`s openness, money supply, and government consumption expenditures for the period 1980–2018. The study findings indicate that inflation and real exchange rate exert a significant negative impact on economic growth, while interest rate and money supply indicate a positive and significant impact on economic growth. Other variables in the model depict no influence on the economic growth of Nigeria. The causality result shows the unidirectional relationships between interest rate, exchange rate, government consumption expenditures and gross domestic product. However, inflation and the degree of openness show no causal relationship with gross domestic product. As a result, the study recommends that a more pragmatic effort is needed by the monetary authorities to target the inflation vigorously to prevent its adverse effect by ensuring a tolerable rate that would stimulate the economic growth of Nigeria.

The chemical content of electronic cigarette liquids (e-liquids) was determined by NMR spectroscopy. The study aimed to quantify the abundance of propylene glycol, glycerol and nicotine and reconcile the functional types of non-exchangeable hydrogen of flavorings in e-liquids. Propylene glycol, glycerol, nicotine, menthol, vanillin and benzaldehyde were detected in e-liquids by 1D and 2D-NMR spectroscopy. Short- and long-range coupling of carbonyl, aryl and alkyl hydrogen was also observed by 2D 1H–1H and 1H–13C NMR. Propylene glycol and glycerol (from 30 : 70 to 65 : 35) accounted for more than 97% of e-liquids by mass with nicotine levels comparable to those reported by the manufacturer. E-liquids were classified into five clusters based on the relative distribution of non-exchangeable hydrogen types in flavorings. The mean relative abundance of flavorings ranged from 2.4 to 4.7% for the five clusters. Alkyl hydrogen was dominant in clusters II–V, representing 35–55% of non-exchangeable hydrogen, followed by saturated oxygenated hydrogen (32–33%). In cluster I, saturated oxygenated hydrogen was predominant. The highest abundance of aryl hydrogen was estimated for clusters I and IV, while carbonyls accounted for up to 1.5% of non-exchangeable hydrogen. Tobacco-flavored e-liquids had an average flavoring molar ratio of 1.8% with saturated oxygenated hydrogen being the predominant group with considerable quantities of aryl (6.8%) and carbonyl (1.5%) hydrogen atoms. Overall, this analysis allowed for the qualitative and quantitative determination of flavorings in e-liquids. This is needed to improve protocols aiming to determine the chemical composition of e-liquids and the feasibility of toxicological investigations.

OBJECTIVE: Health care professionals and governmental agencies are in consensus regarding contact and droplet transmission of infectious diseases. However, personal protective equipment (PPE) efficacy is not considered for aerosol or airborne transmission of infectious diseases. This review discusses the inhalation of virus-laden aerosols as a viable mechanism of transmission of various respiratory infectious diseases and PPE efficacy. METHODS: The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews, and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines was used. RESULTS: The transmission of infectious disease is of concern for all respirable diseases discussed (SARS-CoV-1, SARS-CoV-2, MERS, influenza, and tuberculosis), and the effectiveness of facemasks is dependent on the efficiency of the filter, fit, and proper use. CONCLUSION: PPE should be the last resort in preventing the spread of infectious disease and should only be used for protection and not to control the transmission.

Objective: A group of faculty from nursing, exercise science, nutrition, psychology, and occupational safety and health has been working on a four-part research project that investigates healthy lifestyles of centenarians in the world's Blue Zones. The project's aim is to educate people about concepts of centenarian lifestyles and compare and contrast with habits of Americans.Methods: This four-part study includes resource website development, interviews with elderly people in the local community about lifestyles and habits, administration to local adults of a survey about barriers to healthy lifestyles, and education on findings in local elementary schools. The goal of this portion of the four-part study was to develop a website that provides easily accessible information for community members to learn about the Community Vitality project. In addition, community members can access resources related to movement (physical activity), rest (reducing stress, sleeping, and identifying life objectives), nutrition (eating a plant-based diet, intuitive eating, and drinking red wine), and connection (time with family and social groups). The website was created using multiple areas of expertise and includes resources in and around the local community that relate to these four major concepts. Ultimately, the researchers’ goal is for community members to access and utilize the resources to learn about and practice healthy living.Results: The website went live in January, 2022. The website URL has recently been shared with people of all ages in the community via social media and other outlets so that they have access to one location with recommendations for healthy living related to movement, rest, nutrition, and connections. The researchers plan to utilize student research involvement to keep the website and links current on a monthly basis as well as monitor number of views.Conclusions: Blue Zones are areas of the world where there are more centenarians per capita than the rest of the world. In addition, they tend to be healthier than the elderly in the United States. This project aims to identify habits of local people and barriers to healthy living, and then educate people about healthy living and potential changes that can be made.

Introduction: It is generally believed that the environment plays some role in the development of prostate cancer, but the extent of that role is not understood. The objective of this study is to perform a systematic review of the literature to bring together the best available evidence on the suspected relationship between the environment and prostate cancer. Methods: PubMed, Web of Science, CINAHL, CancerLit, and the Cochrane Library were searched. We examined peer-reviewed English language studies examining the association between the environment and prostate cancer risk between 1990 and May 31, 2019. We further included studies if they met all of the following criteria: (1) considered at least one chemical or biological agents; (2) reported risk for incidence, mortality, serious adverse events, or hospital admissions. We extracted data from each study, including location, health outcome, and risk estimates. Results of the studies were combined using a qualitative synthesis due to the variation across and within outcomes in reported results. Results: We assessed 198 studies, of which we selected 51 for an in-depth review. Thirty-four articles fulfilled our predetermined inclusion criteria and were included in the qualitative synthesis. Of the 34 articles, 16 were prospective cohort studies, and 9 were case-control studies. These 34 articles explored a number of environmental agents including chemicals, ionizing radiation, electromagnetic fields, and infectious agents. Chemical exposures included second-hand exposure to industrial chemicals and to environmental carcinogens. Several of the studies (n=21) were based on ecological comparisons and did not provide a quantitative risk estimate. Exposure to ionizing radiation and electromagnetic fields showed no association with risk of prostate cancer. There is an inconsequential link between pesticides and an increased risk of prostate cancer through a potential endocrine-disrupting mechanism based on androgen imbalance. In most cases the overall evidence was inadequate in number, reported outcomes, quality of study to establish a relationship between a specific environmental agent and risk of prostate cancer; the evidence from chemical exposure studies was not sufficient to draw an inference. Conclusions: Overall, the reviewed epidemiologic evidence provides a weak level of evidence supporting the hypothesis that there is a causal relationship between environmental exposures and increased risk of prostate cancer. Because a large number of individuals are exposed to suspected environmental carcinogens, investigation of the association between prostate cancer and environmental chemical and biological agents deserves to be a high priority. Such investigations do not only have health implications but can also provide a fundamental understanding of the process of prostate carcinogenesis. Citation Format: Oluwabunmi Dada, Hadiza Galadima, John Cyrus, Georges Adunlin. Can exposure to environmental chemical and biologic agents increase the risk of prostate cancer and its outcomes? [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Twelfth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2019 Sep 20-23; San Francisco, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2020;29(6 Suppl_2):Abstract nr D090.

Users of electronic cigarettes (e-cigs) are exposed to particles and other gaseous pollutants. However, major knowledge gaps on the physico-chemical properties of such exposures and contradictory data in published literature prohibit health risk assessment. Here, the effects of product brand, type, e-liquid flavoring additives, operational voltage, and user puffing patterns on emissions were systematically assessed using a recently developed, versatile, e-cig exposure generation platform and state-of-the-art analytical methods. Parameters of interest in this systematic evaluation included two brands (A and B), three flavors (tobacco, menthol, and fruit), three types of e-cigs (disposable, pre-filled, and refillable tanks), two puffing protocols (4 s and 2 s/puff), and four operational voltages (2.2 V to 5.7 V). Particles were generated at a high number concentration (10(6) to 10(7) particles/cm(3)). The particle size distribution was bi-modal (~200 nm and 1 μm). Furthermore, organic species (humectants propylene glycol and glycerin, nicotine) that were present in e-liquid and trace metals (potassium and sodium) that were present on e-cig heating coil were also released into the emission. In addition, combustion-related byproducts, such as benzene and toluene, were also detected in the range of 100 – 38,000 ppbv/puff. Parametric analyses performed in this study show the importance of e-cig brand, type, flavor additives, user puffing pattern (duration and frequency), and voltage on physico-chemical properties of emissions. This observed influence is indicative of the complexity associated with the toxicological screening of emissions from e-cigs and needs to be taken into consideration.