Assessing implementation fidelity of community based integrated mass drug administration for neglected tropical disease control in Kano State, Nigeria

A research report submitted to faculty of health sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Science in Epidemiology in the field of implementation science University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. November, 2017.Background There is a dearth of information about how well this intervention is conducted in communities (implementation fidelity) as fidelity data are not included in routine program data. Therefore, this study measured the implementation fidelity of mass drug administration for onchocerciasis, lymphatic filariasis, and soil transmitted helminthiasis control, described factors affecting it, and determined the relationship between identified factors and implementation fidelity. Methodology A cross sectional survey was conducted in Nassarawa and Gezawa local government areas of Kano State, Nigeria, where a total 348 community directed distributors were interviewed. Scores were calculated by linearly combining responses obtained using Likert scales. Mean and median of implementation fidelity score were computed. Also, the mean of key determinants were calculated. Adjusted and unadjusted general linear regression models were then fitted to determine the relationship between implementation fidelity and identified determinants. Results The mean(SD) implementation fidelity score was 55.39(8.10) and median(IQR) was 56(60 - 49). Minimum implementation fidelity score obtained was 36 and maximum score was 72. The mean(SD) quality of delivery score, intervention complexity score, facilitation strategy score and participant responsiveness score were 16.77(2.74), 11.03(3.04), 8.83(0.99) and 4.62(0.52) respectively. Evidence of association between some factors and implementation fidelity score were found at p < 0.05. They include: intervention complexity (Adj Coef: -0.62(-0.93 to -0.30), iv facilitation strategies (Adj Coef:-1.68(-3.05 to -0.32), participants responsiveness (Adj Coef: 2.99(1.58 to 4.39), knowledge of NTD (Adj Coef: 0.75(0.36 to 1.13), CDD selection by local government staff (Adj Coef: 7.48(2.85 to 12.11), CDD who volunteered (Adj Coef: 8.38(4.59 to 12.16) CDD with formal training in a health-related field (Adj Coef: 7.34(2.61 to 12.07), and CDD participation in other public health activities (Adj Coef: -6.16(-9.49 to -2.83). Conclusion This study demonstrated the feasibility of measuring implementation fidelity of mass drug administration. In addition, key determinants such as intervention complexity and participant responsiveness were found to be important factors affecting implementation fidelity and could be the target of future implementation strategies.LG201

Application of Principal Component Analysis & Multiple Regression Models in Surface Water Quality Assessment

Principal component analysis (PCA) and multiple linear regressions were applied on the surface water quality data with the aim of identifying the pollution sources and their contribution toward water quality variation. Surface water samples were collected from four different sampling points along Jakara River. Fifteen physico-chemical water quality parameters were selected for analysis: dissolved oxygen (DO), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), chemical oxygen demand (COD), suspended solids (SS), pH, conductivity, salinity, temperature, nitrogen in the form of ammonia (NH3), turbidity, dissolved solids (DS), total solids (TS), nitrates (NO3), chloride (Cl) and phosphates (PO43-). PCA was used to investigate the origin of each water quality parameters and yielded five varimax factors with 83.1% total variance and in addition PCA identified five latent pollution sources namely: ionic, erosion, domestic, dilution effect and agricultural run-off. Multiple linear regressions identified the contribution of each variable with significant value (r 0.970, R2 0.942, p &lt; 0.01). Keywords: River, Stepwise regression, Varimax factor, Varimax rotation, Water pollutio

Foreign Direct Investment - Growth Nexus: The Case of Nigeria

The quest by developing countries for increased FDI stems from the assumption that FDI leads to economic benefits within the host country. The study examined the paradigm ‘FDI led growth’ using dataset for Nigeria obtained from Central Bank of Nigeria span between 1970 and 2014. Modern econometric tools of Vector error correction model and Granger Wald test were employed. The econometric analysis reveals that there is steady long run relationship between FDI and output in Nigeria. Additionally, the causality result indicates that there is unidirectional causality between trade openness and per capita income, running from trade openness to per capita income proxy for economic growth. On the other hand, there is absence of short-run causality between FDI and economic growth in Nigeria. The policy implication is that FDI can be considered as an engine of growth and development. In the case of Nigeria, FDI can be used as a tool for structuring the economy and achieving inclusive growth. This can be done by attracting more FDI through creating conducive business environment, development of infrastructures and strengthening security especially in north-eastern part of the country

In vitro antimicrobial and radical scavenging activities of Adenanthera pavonina stem bark fractions

The present investigation deals with the in vitro antimicrobial and radical scavenging activities of four different fractions obtained from the stem bark of Adenanthera pavonina. Phytochemical screening of the fractions revealed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, glycosides, phenol, protein, saponins, steroids, tannins, and terpenoids. Evaluation of the extracts against three different bacterial strains (Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium and Staphylococcus aureus) showed that the ethyl acetate fraction (F4) possess the best antimicrobial activity with good zones of inhibition. While antifungal activity against (Aspagillus flavus, Candida albican and Mucor) further indicate F4 has the best activity. Lastly, the radical scavenging activity revealed that the F1 (ethanol extract) and F4 (ethyl acetate fraction) demonstrated promising antiradical power on diphenylpicrylhydraxyl (DPPH) with an excellent percentage scavenging effect. At 1000 μg/mL and 10 μg/mL the DPPH activity of the ethyl acetate fraction was 97.9 and 71.3% respectively. While it was observed to be 94.9 and 69.6% for ethanol at 1000 and 10 μg/mL respectively. These values are found to be higher than that of the standard reference (ascorbic acid) which was 96.4 and 58.4 % at 1000 and 10 μg/mL respectively. This shows that the assay for DPPH free radical scavenging activity is concentration dependent. This strengthens part of the ethnomedicinal claims on the plant, Adenanthera Pavonina as a curative agent of different diseases of clinical concern.Keywords: Adenanthera pavonina, Alkaloid, Antimicrobial, Ethyl acetate, Phytochemical, Radica

Socio-Demographic Determinants of Poverty in Nigeria and its Gender Differentials

Poverty reduction is one of the greatest challenges facing international community and it is an invaluable requirement for sustainable development. This study was conducted to empirically examine the influence of socioeconomic as well as demographic variables on households’ vulnerability to social exclusion or deprivation with more emphasis on gender inequality. The study employed binary probit regression analysis of poverty as well as Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition to examine factors responsible for inequality with respect to socio-economic fortunes among Nigerian households. Evidence from the study revealed that socio-demographic variables as well as labor characteristics are strong determinants of poverty in the country, and the findings confirmed to the theoretical propositions on causes of poverty. However, empirical results from the Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition show that female headed households are more disadvantaged in terms of socioeconomic deprivation than the male headed households. The study concluded by presenting concluding remarks and policy implications for policymakers toward poverty reduction in Nigeria

Effect of Dialogue-Analysis and Fishbowl Instructions on Retention Ability of Business Education Students in Principles of Marketing in North-Eastern Nigeria

The study investigated the Effect of Fishbowl and Dialogue-Analysis on retention ability of business education students in Principles of Marketing. The study had four objectives, four research questions and four null hypotheses. An intact three classes of 370 were used for the study. The instrument used for data collection was Diagnostic Marketing Achievement Test and Marketing Retention Achievement Test. The instruments were pilot tested and the result of the pilot study established the reliability coefficient of .809. The students were tested using DMAT after the treatment. The DMAT was reshuffled and called Marketing Retention achievement Test (MRAT). The MRAT was administered two weeks after post-test. The scripts of the test were marked and subjected to statistical analysis using SPSS to compute mean and mean difference which was used to answer the research questions. Paired Sample t-test was employed in testing hypotheses one and two while ANOVA was employed to test null hypotheses four. Effect size was also calculated to further affirmed the results of research questions and hypotheses. All the hypotheses were tested at the 0.05 level of significance. The result revealed among others that Fishbowl and Dialogue-analysis has effect on the retention ability of students in principles of marketing. It was therefore concluded that the adoption of these instructional strategies will help reduce the rate of students’ failure in Principles of Marketing. Based on the findings, it was recommended that lecturers should be using fishbowl and dialogue analysis instructional strategies in teaching Principles of Marketing. Key words: Dialogue-Analysis, Fishbowl, Retention, Principles of Marketing DOI: 10.7176/JEP/11-5-14 Publication date: February 29th 2020

DFT computations of the lattice constant, stable atomic structure and the ground state energy per atom of fullerenes (C60)

This paper presents the most stable atomic structure and lattice constant of Fullerenes (C60). FHI-aims DFT code was used to predict the stable structure and the computational lattice constant of C60. These were compared with known experimental structures and lattice constants of C60. The results obtained showed that the most stable crystalline structure of C60 is the face-centred cubic (fcc) structure, this is in complete agreement with experiment. However, the computed lattice constant of the stable structure is 13.87 Å. This value differs from the experimental value of 14.17Å by 0.3Å.Keywords: Fullerenes, Density Functional Theory (DFT), Atomic Structure, Lattice Constant, Total Energ

SOCIO - ECONOMIC DETERMINANTS OF HOUSEHOLDS FUEL CONSUMPTION IN NIGERIA

Attainment of universal access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy is one of the goals for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Existing data and statistic suggest that high proportion of households in less developed countries heavily rely on solid fuels for domestic requirements. Also, recent data revealed that in Nigeria over 70 percent of households depend on fuel wood for cooking which indicate the task ahead of policy makers in the country for ensuring access to efficient sources of energy before the expiration of sustainable development goals. In this study we empirically examined socio-economic factors that influence households’ likelihood of energy consumption in Nigeria. In order to achieve our specific objectives, we adopt 2013 demographic health survey dataset for Nigeria and multinomial logistic regression was conducted in analyzing the factors affecting households’ decision for energy demand. Evidence from the study revealed that demographic characteristics, economic status, public awareness and social variables are strong determinants of households’ energy choice in the country and conformed to the propositions of “Energy Ladder Hypothesis”. We concluded by presenting concluding remarks and policy implications for decision making toward ensuring access to affordable, sustainable and efficient energy in Nigeria