Interest Rate Channel of Monetary Policy Transmission Mechanism and Commercial Banks Earnings in Nigeria

This study examined the interest rates channel of the monetary policy transmission mechanism and the earnings of commercial banks in Nigeria. The objective was to investigate the extent to which the interest rates channel of the monetary policy transmission mechanism affects the earnings capacity of the quoted commercial banks. Time series data were sourced from annual financial reports of the commercial banks and the Central Bank of Nigeria statistical bulletin’s various issues. Earnings measures such as earnings per share and earnings before interest and tax were modeled as the function of Monetary Policy Rate, Prime Lending Rate, Short-term Savings Rate, Long-term Saving Rate and Maximum Lending Rate. The Ordinary Least Square method of Regression Analysis was used to estimate the relationship between the dependent and the independent variables. Augmented Dickey Fuller Test, Johansen Cointegration Test, Granger Causality Test and Vector Error Correction Test were used to determine the dynamic relationship among the variables. Findings showed that short-term and long-term savings rates have negative effects while monetary policy rate, maximum lending rate and prime lending rate have positive effects on the earnings capacity of Nigerian commercial banks. Therefore, we recommend that interest rate policies should be integrated with the earning objectives of the commercial banks.

Research on the Possibility of Lowering the Manufacturing Accuracy of Cycloid Transmission Wheels with Intermediate Rolling Elements and a Free Cage

Purpose: In the present work, different combinations of fits and accuracies, in relation to the profiles of mating parts, have been analysed in order to assess the degree of the engagement of transmissions that contain intermediate rolling elements. The aim of this work is to determine which fits have decreased accuracy, but nevertheless provide a minimum manufacturing clearance for the transmission engagement in order to reduce the cost of parts production. Methods and materials: Considering the normal probabilistic distribution law in relation to the obtained dimensions of the manufacturing equipment, a combination of fits were selected using the incomplete interchangeability method, taking into account the peculiarities of the cycloid engagement in transmissions with intermediate rolling elements (IRE). Results: Having studied various combinations of fits of parts that are engaged in transmissions with intermediate rolling elements and a free cage (IREFC), a combination of fits for a “ring, rolling-element cam” were determined, in which a technological clearance of 3 µm is formed in the engagement. At the same time, cycloid disk profiles are manufactured according to the 9th tolerance grade, which reduces the laboriousness and cost of the production. Discussion. When reducing the manufacturing accuracy of cycloid disks, it is possible to obtain both very ample clearances and significant negative allowances. For example, having manufactured a ring with the H9 fit, rolling elements with h6 and a cam with js9, the maximum manufacturing clearance can reach 0.086 mm, while the clearance limits vary from 0.025 mm to 0.061 mm. Additionally, if mating parts are manufactured using a combination of K9-h6-js9 fits, a negative allowance varying from 0.014 mm to 0.026 mm will emerge in the engagement. Both described cases are unacceptable because both ample clearances and large negative allowances will negatively influence the working capacity of the mechanism. However, it is possible to select a combination of fits using the 9th tolerance grade of the basic parts, by which the parts will contact in the range from a small negative allowance of 1 µm to a clearance of 3–4 µm. Furthermore, if this is considered, taking into account the machine settings, it is possible to obtain parts according to the 9th accuracy tolerance grade and, at the same time, provide a clearance in the engagement that is almost equal to zero. Moreover, such a combination of fits is relevant for any transmission with IRE. This is a positive result because it reduces the laboriousness when manufacturing parts and, at the same time, provides high accuracy of the mechanism. Conclusions: It has been established that when lowering the accuracy of manufacturing transmission parts with IRE, both clearances and negative allowances may occur in the engagement, depending on the combination of fits. At the same time, it is possible to select such a combination of fits, by which the parts manufactured according to the 9th tolerance grade, will provide almost zero clearance of the engagement of the transmission. In this way, it is possible to reduce the cost of manufacturing the parts for gears with intermediate rolling elements and, at the same time, maintain a high accuracy of the transmission mechanism.

Replication is the key barrier during the dual-host adaption of mosquito-borne flaviviruses

Mosquito-borne flaviviruses (MBFs) adapt to a dual-host transmission circle between mosquitoes and vertebrates. Dual-host affiliated insect-specific flaviviruses (dISFs), discovered from mosquitoes, are phylogenetically similar to MBFs but do not infect vertebrates. Thus, dISF-MBF chimeras could be an ideal model to study the dual-host adaption of MBFs. Using the pseudo-infectious reporter virus particle and reverse genetics systems, we found dISFs entered vertebrate cells as efficiently as the MBFs, but failed to initiate replication. Exchange of the un-translational regions (UTRs) of Donggang virus (DONV), an dISF, with those from Zika virus (ZIKV) rescued DONV replication in vertebrate cells and critical secondary RNA structures were further mapped. Essential UTR-binding host factors were screened for ZIKV replication in vertebrate cells, displaying different binding patterns. Therefore, our data demonstrate a post-entry cross-species transmission mechanism of MBFs, while UTR-host interaction is critical for dual-host adaption.

Research on the psychological root and transmission mechanism of rumours in major epidemics based on the perspective of psychoanalysis

Since the Covid-19 epidemic, many rumours have been generated under the main theme of a whole people fighting the epidemic together. From the standpoint of depth psychology, a psychoanalytic perspective has its own advantages and unique research value on the psychological roots of rumours in major epidemics and their mechanisms of transmission, which this article discusses, along with the anxiety and fear created by the life instinct, the elements of attack and projection under the death instinct, and conjectures how the role of Lacan’s postulation that the unconscious is constituted like language all play a role as main causes of a current epidemic of rumours. The transmission mechanisms of epidemic rumours are the following: the spreading of panic caused by the interruption of emotional connection, aggressive spreading of rumours caused by hostility in processes of identification, and problems in mechanisms of projective identification, and the combined effect of audiovisual media. Furthermore, the authors make specific suggestions on how to deal with rumours in major epidemics, so as to improve understanding and response to these in cases of major epidemics.

Transmission dynamics and optimal control of H7N9 in China

H7N9 avian influenza is a highly pathogenic zoonotic disease. In order to control the disease, many strategies have been adopted in China such as poultry culling, the closure of live poultry markets (LPMs), the vaccination of poultry, and the treatment for humans. Due to the limited resource, it is of paramount significance to achieve the optimal control. In this paper, an epidemic model incorporating the selective culling rate is formulated to investigate the transmission mechanism of H7N9. The threshold dynamics and bifurcation analyses of the model are well investigated. Furthermore, the problem of optimal control is explored in line with Pontryagin’s Maximum Principle, with consideration given to the comprehensive measures. The numerical simulations suggest that the vaccination of poultry and the closure of LPMs are the two most economical and effective measures.

MANIFESTATIONS OF ACUTE APPENDICITIS IN A CHILD WITH MULTISYSTEMIC INFLAMMATORY SYNDROME ASSOCIATED WITH SARS-COV-2: A CLINICAL CASE

The pandemic of the coronavirus disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, continues. The airborne way stays the main one in transmission of coronavirus infection. However, the fecal-oral transmission mechanism plays a significant role. Gastrointestinal symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 infection include loss of appetite, diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pain, which can often mask other conditions and require diagnostic search and differential diagnosis.The presence of multisystem inflammatory syndrome, according to the international classification, indicates a critical course of infection caused by SaRS-CoV-2, and can develop in children a few weeks after infection. The acute symptoms from the digestive tract side are one of the criteria of the multisystem inflammatory syndrome.The article presents a clinical case of acute appendicitis in a child with multisystem inflammatory disease associated with SARS-COV-2 infection, evaluates the dynamics of the main manifestations following the treatment, and analyzes the literature on such cases, emphasizing the features and difficulties of diagnostic search.

Dynamic analysis of a ten-link tooth-lever differential transmission

This article discusses the dynamics of a ten-link tooth-lever differential transmission mechanism. The force analysis of the transmission mechanism is given in order to find the dependence for determining the reaction in kinematic pairs and the balancing moment of the pair of forces and to show some features of the tooth-lever transmission mechanism. The force calculation was carried out taking into account the accelerated movement of links since their acceleration in modern high-speed machines is very significant. To obtain a more accurate concept of the external forces and moments loading the transmission mechanism in the accelerated movement of the links, the dynamics of the transient process of roller technological machines was considered. Cases of feeding the processed material were considered both from the side of the intermediate gears and from the side opposite to the parasitic gears. Dependencies were obtained to determine the force characteristics of this mechanism. Cases of pressure unloading and overloading on the processed material from the side of the free shaft, depending on the location of the transmission mechanism are shown. The dependence of the reaction force of intermediate gears on their own axes of rotation on the angle between the levers is shown. With an increase in the angle between the levers, the reaction of the intermediate gears on the axis of rotation increases.