Prevalence and determinants of HIV infection among maritime workers in a Nigerian seaport

Background: In the global maritime industry, seafarers, fishing, seaport and other land-based personnel face a rising risk of infection of sexually transmitted diseases, including Human Immuno Virus (HIV). The close proximity of brothels and large sex-worker populations, as well as the fact that many seafarers are young, mobile and sexually active compounds the problem and increases the danger of HIV infection. In spite of this, no official statistics on prevalence of HIV among this high risk occupational group in Nigeria have been documented.Objective: To assess the prevalence and determinants of HIV infection among seaport workers in one of the ports in NigeriaMethods: The study utilized a descriptive cross-sectional design. Respondents were selected using a stratified random sampling technique and employee status formed the basis of each stratum. A pre-tested structured intervieweradministered questionnaire was used for the study. Voluntary Counseling and Testing using Elisa test kit according to the WHO guidelines was done and Polymerase Chain Reaction was used to confirm positive samples. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 20.0 software and level of significance was set at p < 0.05.Results: A total of 420 respondents with mean age (SD) of 39.0 ± 1.1 years participated in the study. A higher proportion, 259 (62.8%) and 256 (60.1%) were males and married respectively. Of the 381 (90.0%) respondents who were aware of HIV, majority 345 (90.6%) had good knowledge of HIV. Knowledge increased with increasing age (p=0.005). Prevalence of HIV in the studied population was 4.8%. Factors associated with HIV status among the port workers included gender (p=0.005), marital status (p=0.005), educational status (p=0.05), number of sexual partners (p = 0.021) and lack of condom use (p = 0.05).Conclusion: Prevalence of HIV in the studied population was high. Determinants of HIV included marital status, educational status, multiple sexual partners and lack of condom use. Port Health Department should ensure special 'behavioural change' programmes are put in place to curb the risk factors for HIV, thereby reducing the high prevalence of this disease among this special group.Keywords: Prevalence, Determinants, HIV/AIDS, Port Workers, Nigeri

Effect of valproic acid administration during pregnancy on postnatal development of cerebellar cortex and the possible protective role of folic acid

Background: Valproic acid (VPA), one of the most important antiepileptic drugs, proved to be inevitable for epileptic pregnant women to limit the hazards of convulsions on the foetuses and mothers. Periconceptional folic acid supple­mentation was investigated to protect against several birth defects. However, its role against VPA cerebellar toxicity was not properly investigated. The present study was conducted to evaluate the protective effect of folic acid against VPA cerebellar neurotoxicity. Materials and methods: Twenty-four pregnant female albino rats were divided into three groups; group I (control group, did not receive any drugs), group II (given VPA at a dose of 50 mg/kg body weight once daily) and group III (given the same dose of VPA and 400 μg/kg of body weight folic acid once daily). Ten male offspring from each group were sacrificed at two ages: at 2 and 12 weeks after birth. Samples of cerebellar cortex were taken and prepared for light, electron microscopic examination, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) immunohistochemical study and histomorphometric analysis. Results: The present study confirmed the neurotoxic effect of prenatal VPA on the cerebellar cortex, especially on Purkinje cells. The cells appeared shrunken, reduced in density, disorganised and surrounded by empty haloes. Nuclear damage and axon degeneration in the form of vacuolation, loss of organelles and absence of neurofilaments with myelin sheath depletion were detected. Concomitant supply of folic acid was shown to retain the normal architecture of Purkinje cells with their axons and nuclei. In many animals receiving folic acid, the thickness of all layers of the cortex increased up to that of the control groups, after being markedly reduced in VPA-treated groups. GFAP immunoreaction was also improved against the strong positive gliosis detected in VPA-treated groups. Conclusions: The present study confirmed the protective role of folic acid against the cerebellar neurotoxic effects of VPA prenatal exposure. It is recommended that folic acid supplements should be given to every epileptic pregnant mother treated with VPA. (Folia Morphol 2018; 77, 2: 201–209

Stationary Cylindrical Anisotropic Fluid

We present the whole set of equations with regularity and matching conditions required for the description of physically meaningful stationary cylindrically symmmetric distributions of matter, smoothly matched to Lewis vacuum spacetime. A specific example is given. The electric and magnetic parts of the Weyl tensor are calculated, and it is shown that purely electric solutions are necessarily static. Then, it is shown that no conformally flat stationary cylindrical fluid exits, satisfying regularity and matching conditions.Comment: 17 pages Latex. To appear in Gen.Rel.Gra