Insecticide-treated nets usage and malaria episodes among boarding students in Zaria, Northern Nigeria

Background : Despite malaria being the largest public health problem in Africa South of Sahara with over one million associated deaths each year, there has been little progress in its prevention/control during the past decades. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the knowledge, attitude, use of insecticide-treated nets (ITNs), and the prevalence of malaria episodes among boarding secondary school pupils in Zaria, Nigeria. Methods : A multi-stage sampling technique was used to sample five (5) secondary schools within Zaria, from which six classes (JSS 1 - 3 and SS 1- 3) of respondents were then randomly selected. Structured, closed-ended self-administered questionnaires were used to collect information on demographic characteristics, knowledge, attitude, and use of ITNs, reasons for non-use and malaria episodes in last 12 months. Results : A total of 150 students from the five (5) boarding secondary schools were interviewed, majority were in the age group 15-17 (53.3%) with a mean (x) \ub1 SD of 16.8 \ub1 0.8 years. Males were 60% and females 40% of respondents. Majority of the respondents (87.3%) knew about and had actually seen an ITN; only 43.3% were current users. Most of the current users of ITN noticed a significant reduction in malaria episodes in the last 12 months. This was statistically significant (P=0.004). Cost and availability were reasons sited by non-ITN users. Conclusion : There is urgent need on the part of all the three tiers of Government for public health awareness campaigns through information, education and communication (IEC) to create positive ITN culture and usage. It is also suggested that ITN usage among boarding school pupils should be incorporated into school health service

Control of the Onset of Filamentation in Condensed Media

Propagation of intense, ultrashort laser pulses through condensed media like crystals of BaF$_2$ and sapphire results in the formation of filaments. We demonstrate that the onset of filamentation may be controlled by rotating the plane of polarization of incident light. We directly visualize filamentation in BaF_2 via six-photon absorption-induced fluorescence and, concomitantly, by probing the spectral and spatial properties of white light that is generated.Comment: To appear in Phys. Rev.

Prevalence of Psychoactive Substance Use among Commercial Motorcyclists and Its Health and Social Consequences in Zaria, Nigeria

Background: In recent years commercial motorcyclists (Okada riders) have come to bridge the huge public transport gap in most cities across the country. However, this is not without the dangers they pose to themselves, passengers and to other road users. It is claimed that some of these Okada riders operate under the influence of drugs and other substances. But there are few community-based studies that have investigated the problem in this part of Nigeria. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the prevalence, health and social consequences of psychoactive substance use among commercial motorcyclists (Okada) in Zaria, northern Nigeria. Method: Multi-stage sampling technique was used to sample commercial motorcyclists registered with commercial motorcyclists union in Zaria city, Kaduna state, Nigeria. Structured, closed ended and interviewer administered questionnaires were used to collect information on socio-demographic characteristics, factors influencing psychoactive substance use, impact on health status, motor cycle riding experience and work performance. Results: Two hundred commercial motor cyclists were interviewed, majority of them were in the age group 21-25 years (55.5%) with a mean age of 25.4\u2009\ub1\u20093.9 years. All the motorcyclists were male, (60.5%), had no formal education, (79.5%) are of Hausa extraction and (69%) worked for more than 10 hours per day. A high prevalence of 59.5% of road traffic accident that was associated with the use of psychoactive drugs was found among the motorcyclists. Commonly identified psychoactive substance/drugs used were: marijuana [Indian hemp] 25.8%, solution 24.5%, caffeine (Kola) 15.8%, and coffee 4.8%. Keeping awake, suppression of fatigue, and peer group effect were the identified factors influencing psychoactive substance use. The commonest types of injuries sustained were bruises and lacerations (62.5%) and fractures of upper and lower limbs (10.5%). Conclusion: Road traffic accidents among commercial motorcyclists are a frequent occurrence in this part of the country. There is need for public awareness campaigns on road safety education and health consequences of psychoactive substance use among commercial motorcyclists. It is further recommended that law enforcement agencies (NAFDAC, NDLEA and FRSC) need to work in tandem so as to curb the problem of substance abuse in our society and reduce the rate of accidents on Nigerian roads.Culture g\ue9n\ue9rale: de nos jours, les motocyclistes utilitaires sont les sauveurs de nos jours en ce qui concerne la transportation publique ; pourtant, a cause de leurs activit\ue9s, ils se livrent aux dangers ; ils mettent aussi les passagers et les autres v\ue9hicules en danger il se peut que certains de ces motocyclistes soient toujours sous l\u2019influence de la drogue. A travers les \ue9tudes de certaines communaut\ue9s, on a pu d\ue9terminer la pr\ue9valence de cette facteur et les cons\ue9quences sociales et sanitaires de la prise de cette drogue psycho active parmi les motocyclistes utilitaires dans la cite de Zaria au du Nigeria. Modalit\ue9: On a fait le sondage sur les motocyclistes utilitaires, ceux qui sont inscrits chez le syndicat des motocyclistes \ue0 Zaria. Ensuite, on a distribu\ue9 les questionnaires pour tirer information sur les characteristiques sociod\ue9mographiques, l\u2019influence par la prise de drogue psycho active et leur impact sur la sant\ue9. On avait \ue9galement enqu\ueat\ue9 sur l\u2019exp\ue9rience d\u2019un motocycliste au volant et sa performance au travail. R\ue9sultat: On a interview\ue9 deux cents motocyclistes utilitaires. La plupart d\u2019entre eux avaient entre (21-25) ans (55.5%). L\u2019age moyen \ue9tait 25.4+3.9 ans. Tous les motocyclistes surtout les hommes, \ue9taient non scolarises, parmi eux, il y avait des haoussas qui repr\ue9sentent 79.5%. Et 69% d\u2019eux travaillent dix heures par jour. Les motocyclistes repr\ue9sentent 59.5% de tous les accidents de circulation li\ue9s directement a la prise de drogue psycho active. Les drogues les plus fr\ue9quemment prises sont: marijuana (indien hemp) 25.8%, solution 24.5%, caf\ue9ine (kola) 15.8% et coffee 4.8%. Les plus dominants facteurs qui influencent l\u2019abus de cette drogue psycho active sont: la veille de nuit, suppression de fatigue, et l\u2019effet des pairs. Les blessures les plus connus qu\u2019on \ue9preuve sont: des \ue9gratignures et des lac\ue9rations 62.5% et des fractures des membres inf\ue9rieure et superieure10%. Conclusion: les accidents routiers parmi les motocyclistes se produisent souvent dans cette partie du pays ; il faudrait donc sensibiliser le publique sur la s\ue9curit\ue9 routi\ue8re, sur les cons\ue9quences sanitaires de la prise de drogue psycho active parmi les motocyclistes utilitaires. En plus, nous recommandons a l\u2019organisme charg\ue9 de faire respecter la loi comme: (NAFDAC NDLEA FRSC) de travailler ensemble pour pouvoir \ue9radiquer le probl\ue8me de l\u2019abus de drogue dans notre soci\ue9t\ue9 et par cons\ue9quent, r\ue9duire le taux des accidents routiers sur les routes nig\ue9rianes

Influence of cold pre-fermentation maceration on the volatilomic pattern and aroma of white wines

Aroma compounds play a key role in wine quality due to their importance in wine aroma. The aim of the present study is to investigate the influence of cold pre-fermentative maceration (CPM) treatment on aromatic and sensory properties of white wines from four grape varieties (Tempranillo Blanco, Maturana Blanca, Viura and Garnacha Blanca) during two consecutive years (2019 and 2020). A total of 62 aroma compounds belonging to different chemical families were identified using headspace solid-phase microextraction combined with gas chromatography mass spectrometry (HS-SPME/GC-MS). CPM treatment enhanced the total relative concentration of alcohols, esters and acids compared to control wines. Regarding sensorial properties, esters made the greatest contribution to the studied white wines, mainly through the development of floral and fruity notes. On the other hand, CPM treatment did not significantly influence the total relative concentration of terpenoids, and different trends were observed according to grape variety and vintage. The obtained results showed differences in the wine’s aromatic complexity according to the grape variety, the vintage and the treatment applied and suggested that CPM treatment could represent a suitable approach to manipulate the aromatic profile and enhance the aromatic quality and complexity of wine.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Development of paleoseismic trench logging and dating techniques: a case study on the Central North Anatolian Fault

The North Anatolian Fault (NAF) is a dextral strike slip fault zone extending ~1400km in an arc across northern Turkey. This study seeks to further constrain the timing of ground rupturing earthquakes of the NAF while developing the techniques used in paleoseismology. A paleoseismic trench was opened ~2.7km NW of Destek on a segment which ruptured (for ~280km) in the 1943 Tosya Earthquake (Mw:7.7). The trench site comprises a pop-up structure formed by a small releasing step-over at a restraining bend which has caused progressive growth of an upslope facing scarp. The trench is situated across the main fault trace and a trapped sedimentary sequence that includes several paleosoils. The stratigraphy is expected to be Late Holocene and historic in age due to the high level of activity on the NAF, although this has yet to be confirmed by radiometric dating. Preliminary interpretation of the trench stratigraphy indicates a record of up to 6 paleoearthquake events, the presence of an angular unconformity suggests the record may be incomplete beyond the 3 most recent events on this strand.Subtle contrasts in stratigraphy made conventional face logging difficult and was therefore augmented by mapping the magnetic susceptibility (MS) of the west wall. Approximately 6000 measurements were made using a Bartington MS2 Magnetic Susceptibility Meter with a MS2E (point) Sensor with a 5cm vertical spacing and a 20cm horizontal spacing predominantly on one side of the trench. A pilot test led to development of a strategy of moving the sensor to the nearest exposure of coarse sand or finer grained material where possible to minimize the noise generated by individual clasts. To negate the sensitivity of the MS logging method to variations in temperature the survey was conducted at night. Plotted data clearly shows the contact between rock units, the rock-soil interface (reflecting fault juxtaposition), anthropogenic influence and some soil stratigraphy. Other paleoseismic investigations on this section of the NAF (Hartleb R. et al 2003 and Yoshioka T. et al 2000) have encountered out-of-stratigraphic-order ranges in 14C ages. They attributed this to reworking, in addition to which the effects of long term human occupation are likely to be similar. The trench yielded a large amount of datable material including 158 charcoal and 140 minute gastropod samples, and some ceramic, bone and slag samples. Unlike charcoal and bone fragments, fragile minute gastropods are unlikely to have been transported, reworked or used by humans, ultimately providing improved accuracy of temporal constraints on paleoearthquakes. Using both charcoal and gastropod samples, the trench chronology can be established and the use of minute gastropods for dating paleoearthquakes can be critiqued

Regional Disparities and Investment-Cash Flow Sensitivity: Evidence from Chinese Listed Firms

In China, regional disparities are important. We examine the difference in the sensitivity of investment to cash flow between firms in inland regions and those in coastal regions. By using the financial data of Chinese listed firms, we found that firms in inland regions rely more on their internal funds in terms of their investment activities than those in coastal regions and that the sensitivity gap between inland and coastal firms widened in the recent contractionary monetary policy period. This suggests that firms in inland regions are harder to obtain outside funds due to unfavorable social and economic environments for inland firms. Our findings suggest that capital markets in China respond rationally to the potential impact of regional disparities on a firm’s performance

The XXL Survey: XXV. Cosmological analysis of the C1 cluster number counts

Context. We present an estimation of cosmological parameters with clusters of galaxies. Aims. We constrain the Ωm, σ8, and w parameters from a stand-alone sample of X-ray clusters detected in the 50 deg2 XMM-XXL survey with a well-defined selection function. Methods. We analyse the redshift distribution of a sample comprising 178 high signal-to-noise ratio clusters out to a redshift of unity. The cluster sample scaling relations are determined in a self-consistent manner. Results. In a lambda cold dark matter (ΛCDM) model, the cosmology favoured by the XXL clusters compares well with results derived from the Planck Sunyaev-Zel\u27dovich clusters for a totally different sample (mass/redshift range, selection biases, and scaling relations). However, with this preliminary sample and current mass calibration uncertainty, we find no inconsistency with the Planck CMB cosmology. If we relax the w parameter, the Planck CMB uncertainties increase by a factor of ~10 and become comparable with those from XXL clusters. Combining the two probes allows us to put constraints on Ωm = 0.316 \ub1 0.060, σ8 = 0.814 \ub1 0.054, and w = -1.02 \ub1 0.20. Conclusions. This first self-consistent cosmological analysis of a sample of serendipitous XMM clusters already provides interesting insights into the constraining power of the XXL survey. Subsequent analysis will use a larger sample extending to lower confidence detections and include additional observable information, potentially improving posterior uncertainties by roughly a factor of 3