ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE | July 21, 2026
Strategic Innovation and Financial Resilience of Agro Firms in Lagos State, Nigeria
Mobolaji Johnson, Omiete, V. Olulu-Briggs, Georgewill, Tekenar
Page no 243-252 |
https://doi.org/10.36348/sjbms.2026.v11i07.003
This study investigated the role of strategic innovation in enhancing the financial resilience of agro firms in Lagos State, Nigeria. The research adopts a structured questionnaire distributed to 345 firms, with 311 valid responses obtained (90% return rate), the research examined three dimensions of innovation—product, process, and business model—and their collective impact on resilience. Descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation analyses were employed to test four hypotheses. Findings revealed that all three innovation dimensions were positively and significantly correlated with financial resilience. Product innovation (r = 0.53, p < 0.01) contributed through diversification and responsiveness to consumer preferences, though export diversification showed weaker effects. Process innovation (r = 0.57, p < 0.01) emerged as the strongest driver, with efficiency improvements and logistics optimization reducing losses and strengthening resilience. Business model innovation (r = 0.49, p < 0.01) also played a meaningful role, particularly through digital platforms and cooperative financing, though subscription farming showed limited adoption. Importantly, the combined innovation index (r = 0.62, p < 0.01) demonstrated that integrated innovation strategies yield the highest resilience outcomes, outperforming isolated efforts. Also, the regression result of R2 = 0.789 indicate that strategic innovations collectively explains nearly 80% of financial resilience of agro firms in Lagos State Nigeria. The study concludes that strategic innovation is a critical pathway to financial resilience in volatile agro markets. Based on the conclusion, it was recommended among others that Agro firms strengthen process innovation through efficiency technologies and logistics systems; enhance product innovation by diversifying into value-added goods and adapting to consumer preferences.
ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE | July 21, 2026
Reliability-Based Optimisation of Cement-Replacing Steel Fibre Dosage in Concrete: A Mechanistic Model Linking Compressive Strength, Characteristic Strength and Structural Reliability
Rowland-Lato Eghosasere Oluwaseyi
Page no 77-83 |
https://doi.org/10.36348/sjce.2026.v10i07.001
Steel fibre-reinforced concrete (SFRC) is generally modelled for compressive strength; nevertheless, almost all published models assume fibres are added to a fixed mix and stop at predicting mean strength, neglecting both the cement-replacement scenario and reliability-based design. This study develops a mechanistic, interpretable model for SFRC in which steel fibres replace cement by mass, a composition that raises the effective water-to-cement ratio while incorporating crack-bridging benefit. Compressive strength is expressed as the sum of a paste-weakening term decaying with the surviving cement fraction and a Rayleigh-type bridging term that peaks before balling degrades dispersion. Across seven fibre dosages (0–12% of cement mass) at two curing ages (224 specimens), the model reproduced the non-monotonic strength response with R² = 0.887 at 28 days and independently recovered the bridging optimum near 6–7% fibre without that value being imposed, indicating that it demonstrates the governing physics rather than merely fitting the data. Hardened density showed no reliable dosage trend and stayed within the normal-weight band. Extending the study to characteristic strength and reliability indices, the model showed that only the control mix cleared the design target, every fibre mix falling below it. The framework links predictive accuracy to structural usability, with external validation identified as the priority next step.
REVIEW ARTICLE | July 21, 2026
Artificial Intelligence in Dental Radiographic Diagnosis: A Comprehensive Review
Malik Hina, Sulekha Beevi Jalal, Shabnam Shardimanaheji, Nameera Usmani, Sana Mohmedasif Shaikh, Shazia Zainab, Abhirami K, Khan Sara Akmal, Mohd Sadique Ali, Gurkanwal Kaur Aurora
Page no 290-300 |
https://doi.org/10.36348/sjodr.2026.v11i07.003
Background: Artificial intelligence (AI), particularly convolutional neural networks (CNNs) and vision transformers (ViTs), is transforming dental radiographic diagnosis across multiple clinical domains. Methods: A narrative review searched PubMed, PubMed Central, BMC Oral Health, and Google Scholar for systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and original studies published between 2019 and 2025, covering ten domains: caries detection, periapical lesion identification, alveolar bone loss, peri-implant assessment, tooth detection and segmentation, cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) analysis, vertical root fracture (VRF) detection, cephalometric landmark analysis, dental anomaly detection, and AI-versus-clinician comparison. Results: Pooled sensitivity was 0.94 and specificity 0.91 for caries detection on bitewing radiographs. Periapical AI sensitivity was 92.9% with specificity of only 58.6%, yielding a positive predictive value of 15.3%. Peri-implant bone loss assessment achieved AUC of 0.94. Vision transformers outperformed CNNs in 58% of dental imaging studies. VRF detection accuracy ranged from 75% to 97.8%. Cephalometric landmark detection rate reached 98.29%. AI diagnosed radiographs in 1.5 seconds versus 53.8 seconds for clinicians. ANSI/ADA Standard 1110-1:2025 provides the first formal dental AI validation framework. Conclusions: AI achieves substantial and reproducible diagnostic accuracy across dental radiographic tasks. High false-positive rates, demographic dataset bias, limited multi-centre external validation, and regulatory gaps must be resolved before broad clinical implementation.
Physical fitness in childhood is important for supporting healthy growth, development, and general well-being. Evaluating physical fitness gives important insights into children’s growth, health, and ability to perform daily activities. Age-Specific physical fitness score allows each child to know their fitness status resulting in a fair and meaningful evaluation of physical fitness and these scores also assist in recognizing children who have low fitness and enable the progress of targeted interventions. However, there is a lack of age-specific percentile data for boys in India. The aim of the study was to develop Physical Fitness Percentile Norms for Primary Schools Boys of West Bengal. In this cross-sectional study, a total 435 boys of 6 – 10 years were selected primarily from three categories like less active, moderately active and vigorously active as participants from 20 primary schools from different districts in West Bengal. Physical fitness components included cardiorespiratory fitness, flexibility, speed, agility, strength, power which were evaluated through tests including the 20m shuttle run, sit-and-reach test, 50m dash, 10m×4 shuttle run, handgrip strength, and standing broad jump respectively. Age specific percentile scores were calculated for each test. Descriptive statistics were computed to summarize the data. The findings indicated an age-related impact on school boys between the ages of 6 and 10 years. The percentile scores for each component increased steadily as age increased. The study may conclude that the physical fitness components and the percentile norms may be applied for evaluation of physical fitness of primary school boys. Additionally, these norms may be useful for physical education teachers, coaches, and health professionals in monitoring growth, development, and fitness levels and at the same time planning of the appropriate exercise intervention. Further, the researchers in the field of physical education, sports science, exercise science, health management may use these physical fitness tests and their pertaining norms for research purposes.
ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE | July 21, 2026
Withaferin a Inhibits EGF and ERK Signaling to Induce Programmed Cell Death in Colon Cancer Cells
Neveen Abdelrahman, Tamer Roshdy, Amal Abd-Elaziz, Adel A. Guirgis, Hany Khalil
Page no 30-41 |
https://doi.org/10.36348/sijb.2026.v09i02.001
Withaferin A (WA), a bioactive compound derived from the Ashwagandha plant, has been recognized for its anticancer properties. We tested various concentrations of WA, Fluvastatin (FLU), and their combinations (ranging from 0 to 160 µM) for their potential regulatory effects on colon cancer cells (Caco-2 cell line) and non-tumorigenic colon cells (NCM-460). Our results showed that at lower concentrations (around10 µM), WA significantly impacted colon cancer cells, showing minimal toxicity to normal cells (NCM-460). However, at higher concentrations, FLU selectively inhibited cancer cell proliferation, with noticeable toxicity to both cancerous and normal cells. Additionally, WA treatment led to a time and dose-dependent decrease in the production of IL-1β and TNF-α. Along with these effects, the downregulation of ERK and EGF gene expression was observed across all treatments. Additionally, docking analysis revealed the potential regulatory role of WA and its interaction with aspartate aminotransferase, in comparison to the docking data for FLU, which serves as a standard inhibitor for aspartate aminotransferase. These findings suggest that WA can inhibit cell proliferation signaling by targeting ERK and EGF, thereby promoting programmed cell death (PCD) in treated cells. These data also demonstrate that WA, whether alone or in combination with other compounds, can regulate the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines in treated cells.
CASE REPORT | July 21, 2026
Innocent Sinus Node: Tachycardia-Bradycardia Syndrome Revealing a Compressing Esophageal Tumor
Amal Hsain, Khadija Dekkak, Jamal Kheyi, Hicham Bouzelmat, Aatif Benyass
Page no 281-288 |
https://doi.org/10.36348/sjm.2026.v11i07.003
Sinus node disease (SND) is a leading indication for permanent pacemaker implantation and is classically attributed to age-related degenerative changes. Nevertheless, functional conditions may result in similar clinical and electrocardiographic presentations, particularly in atypical cases. Extra-cardiac thoracic masses causing cardiac compression are rare and often underrecognized. We report the case of a patient presenting with a tachycardia-bradycardia syndrome initially suggestive of SND, in whom a comprehensive etiological evaluation revealed an esophageal tumor causing significant left atrial compression. This unusual presentation highlights the importance of considering extracardiac structural abnormalities in the differential diagnosis of apparent sinus node dysfunction.
This study examines the historical evolution of money in Hausa Society. It explores the transition from the traditional barter system to the use of modern currency, highlighting how money has transformed trade, agriculture, livestock rearing, crafts, and other economic activities among the Hausa people. The study also investigates the first money used in Hausa society. Using a qualitative research approach, data were obtained from books, journal articles, historical records, and other relevant documentary sources. The findings indicate that money plays a central role in promoting economic growth, improving living standards, and facilitating commercial activities within Hausa society. However, the study identifies the impact of globalization on traditional economic practices. The research concludes that strengthening financial education, encouraging entrepreneurship, and promoting ethical financial management in line with cultural values are essential for sustainable economic development in the Hausa society.