Work Impacts on Health: Their Implications and Management Techniques

Adverse conditions in workplaces that impact negatively on the health of workers are legion.  They include Biological, Chemical, Electrical and Mechanical Hazards; as well as Physical Hazards like noise; particulate emissions; thermal stress; poor illumination; pressure and vibration, among others.  These have a couple of fundamental implications. Several exposed workers suffer accidental injuries, occupational diseases, deformity or death.  Management suffers lost-work-time occasioned by absence of incapacitated workers; as well as avoidable financial losses through medical expenses, occasional litigations instituted by families of industrial accident victims, and through the payment of required compensations.  Further implications are that the above conditions make it mandatory that management must protect their employees from the consequences of these Occupational Health Hazards (OHH) by running a comprehensive Occupational Health Services (OHS) programme in their establishments.  The degree of effectiveness of such services rests principally on the flawless adherence of both employers and employees to all industrial legislations that deal with the protection of the health, safety and welfare of workers. Keywords Ergonomic-Stress-Vectors (ESV)   -              Monitoring Threshold-Limit-Values (TLVs)      -              Fixed Guard

Stimulation Modelling of the Effect of Internal Migration on Urbanization in Rivers State, Nigeria

Internal migration is defined as “a movement of people from one area of a country (especially one local government area) to another area of the same country for the purpose or with the effect of establishing a new residence” either temporarily or permanently, is a complex and multidimensional process. In this study we are expected to determine the impact of internal migration in Port Harcourt city and Bori town respectively and to show the effect of the variation of some parameters that affect the growth of Port Harcourt city, through Simplified Assumptions and Mathematical Formulations. The internal migration of effective working population from Port Harcourt city to Bori town is lesser than that of Bori town to Port Harcourt city due to lesser jobs and social infrastructural facilities in Bori than Port Harcourt. Method of Analysis used is a non-linear ordinary differential equation of order 45 which otherwise is called O.D.E 45(Matlab ODE 45). It is evident from the results of the study that the variation of the rate of internal migration can produce either a positive or a negative effect on the population growth patterns of the two interacting population predictions

Cancer (Squamous Cell Carcinoma), A Possible Climax of Poor Oral-Hygiene: Case Study of AVictim in Rural Nigeria

Abstract The objective of the study was to highlight the grave consequences of poor oral hygiene. The researcher himself, a primary health care campaigner, used the ordeals of an 18 year old victim of Dental plaque as a case study to drive home his point about the importance of preventive healthcare. The patient was an academically sound but unemployed secondary school leaver from a very poor family in the rural community of Obiaruku, Delta State, Nigeria. He suffered from dental plague which progressed to full blown dental decay. Failure to heed advice to obtain proper medical care from a dentist; his resort to self-medication; and his visits to native doctors to seek relief worsened his pathological condition. His case became cancerous and he suffered from Squamous Cell Carcinoma (SCC). His life was now on the line. It took a combination of surgery, chemo and radiotherapy; as well as financial support from organisations and individuals to save his life. The study underscores the importance of good dental care. Recommendations include proper brushing and washing of the teeth after every meal; as well as routine visits to a dentist for dental checkup, at least once in six months

Welfare spending and quality of growth in developing countries: A note on evidence from Hopefuls, Contenders and Best Performers

The transition from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has shifted the policy debate from growth to ‘quality of growth’ (QG). We explore a new dataset on QG by the IMF and classify 93 developing countries for the period 1990–2011 in terms of Hopefuls, Contenders and Best Performers. The aims are as follows: (i) to depict the contradiction between high-growth and poor social welfare and (ii) to assess the influence of education and health spending on the QG. We use quantile regressions to articulate least and best QG performers. Two key findings emerge. First, 31 of the 33 countries in the Hopefuls category are in SSA. Second, the effect of health is decreasingly positive from Hopefuls to Best Performers, while the impact of education is increasingly positive. As a main policy implication, it would benefit countries in SSA to invest more in health relative to education now, but decrease such health expenditure and increase education spending as the economies in the sub-region make the transition from Hopeful to Contenders and finally to Best Performers in terms of ‘quality of growth

Comparative Analysis of Poverty Status of Community Participation in Rural Development Projects of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

ABSTRACT: The study was designed to comparatively analyze the poverty status of community participation in selected rural development projects of Ini and Abak Local Government Areas (LGA's) of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. It was as a result of the observation that systematic research aimed at understanding factors influencing poverty status through community participation in the two L.G.A's seemed to be lacking despite the presence of many development projects in these communities. The selected development projects included-electricity, pipe borne water, school blocks, and road rehabilitation. The multi-stage sampling technique was adopted. Ini and Abak LGA's were purposively selected on the basis of their proximity to the state capital, Uyo. A total of 200 community members were randomly sampled from ten households in five villages, in two wards, within two autonomous communities of the study areas. However, only 161 respondents who completed all the questionnaire items were actually used for data analysis. Descriptive statistics and the Maximum Likelihood Probit Regression Analysis were used in the analyses. Results revealed that more males (78.6%) than females participated in Ini LGA, while in Abak, more females (57.14%) participated in the development projects. In comparison, the maximum probit analysis revealed that communities in Ini L.G.A, participated more in self-help project than Abak Communities. Perhaps, this could be explained by the proximity of Ini to the state capital. The L.G.A was almost neglected in development projects resulting from its location which is about 66km from the state capital. The communities in Ini L.G.A, struggled on their own to provide the needed infrastructure for development purposes. On the other hand, Abak L.G.A is closely located to the state capital, and the communities thereof expected the state government to provide most of the needed infrastructures. There were low level of education in the study areas. Other obstacles to participation included: lack of economic power, high cost of living, inadequate monitoring of projects, and embezzlement of funds. Based on the above findings, the following were recommended: formal and informal education should be emphasized to create awareness of development projects. Governments should improve road networks to enable farmers sell their farm produce to other communities and beyond, profitable time management strategy is equally necessary for those employed in formal occupation in order to participate in the development of their communities. Wealthy individuals and groups in these communities should assist in the rehabilitation of projects in their communities. [New York Science Journal. 2009;2(6):68-75]. (ISSN: 1554-0200)

Sample preservation and plant sex prediction in white guinea yam (Dioscorea rotundata Poir.)

Open Access Article; Published online: 11 Jul 2020Introduction: Yam (Dioscorea spp.) is an economically important staple food in tropical regions, especially for people in West Africa. Understanding of the flowering behavior of the crop to determine potential manipulation available to accomplish crop improvement at early stage remain key challenge in the yam breeding. The methods that reliably yield quality DNA and distinguishing sex type at the early stage of growth have been a challenge in yam genetics and breeding studies. This study assessed the effect of sample preservation methods on DNA quantity and quality during extraction and potential of DNA marker to diagnose plant sex at the early seedling stage in white Guinea yam. Materials and Methods: Five sample preservation methods were assessed for quality DNA extraction during field leaf tissue collection, namely liquid nitrogen, dry ice, silica gel, 95% ethanol, and oven drying. The predicted sex at the seedling stage using the molecular marker was further validated with the visual score for the sex phenotype at the flowering stage. Results: According to the findings of the present study, the DNA extracted from leaf samples preserved in liquid nitrogen, silica gel, dry ice, and oven drying methods were higher in molecular weights than samples stored in ethanol solution. Yam plant sex diagnosis with the DNA marker (sp16) identified a higher proportion of ZW genotypes (female or monoecious phenotypes) than the ZZ genotypes (male phenotypes) in the studied materials with 74% prediction accuracy. Conclusions: The results from this study provided valuable insights on suitable sample preservation methods for quality DNA extraction and the potential of DNA marker sp16 to predict sex in white Guinea yam

Assessment of peripheral arterial disease in diabetic adults with foot ulcers in an African population

Background: Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is a recognized risk factor for diabetic foot ulceration. It was thought that PAD is not common in Sub-Saharan Africa. Studies show otherwise. It becomes necessary to assess the prevalence of PAD among diabetic adults with foot ulcers in Nigeria. The objective of the study was to assess the prevalence of PAD in diabetic subjects with foot ulcers in Nigeria.Methods: Diagnosis of PAD was made with the ankle-brachial index (ABI). Edinburgh claudication questionnaire was administered to the patients. An ABI of <0.9 is diagnostic of PAD. Risk factors for PAD were assessed. A control group of non-diabetic adults was used.Results: Sixty-seven per cent (67%) of the test group has PAD as compared to 18% of the control group. Smoking, duration of diabetes and systemic hypertension were strongly associated with PAD.Conclusions: Diabetic adults with foot ulcers in Nigeria have a high prevalence of PAD

Effects of Household Waste Generation, Disposal and Management on Farmers’ Health in Owerri Metropolis of IMO State, Nigeria

The study investigated the effects of household waste generation, disposal and management on farmers' health in Owerri metropolis. It specifically ascertained the socio-economic characteristics of the farmers, identified the types and sources of waste in the study area, examined the waste disposal and management methods in the study area examined the effects of inappropriate waste disposal and ascertained the appropriate waste disposal methods used in the study area. A multi stage sampling technique was used to select one hundred and eight farmers from the three Local Government Area in Owerri metropolis. Data were collected using a validated questionnaire and were analyzed using descriptive statistics tool such as mean, frequency, percentage, and mean scores. Results show that waste is majorly generated from markets and residential homes. Waste disposal methods were mainly burning, landfills and open dumping. Its effects includes destroys the beauty of the environment, blocks gutters and drainage system, pollutes the environment among others. Subsequently, appropriate waste disposal methods in the study area includes burning of waste (29.17%), placing of bins at appropriate places (16.07%). The study recommends amongst others that waste management environmental agency should make waste dumps or receptacles accessible to residents, public campaigns should be embarked upon to educate the citizens on ills of dirty environment