Exploring the Relationship Between Antenatal Care and Postnatal Care to Newborn Outcomes in Borno State, Northeastern Nigeria

Newborn outcomes (morbidity or mortality) have been on the increase in Borno State. This study explores the relationship between antenatal care (ANC) and postnatal care (PNC) and newborn outcomes among women in Mafa local government area, Borno State. Also examined were the relationships between transportation and newborn outcomes, women’s knowledge of illness during pregnancy and ANC attendance, availability of staff/health workers, availability of supplies/equipment relations with ANC and PNC attendance. The three delays model was used as theoretical framework. The research will be useful for government and program-implementing partners to guide quality reproductive maternal newborn child adolescent health and nutrition program design to address increasing newborn outcomes in Borno State. A cross-sectional study of data from the village health worker (VHW) project implemented in Mafa LGA, Borno State from December 2019 through November 2020 was conducted. Coverage data including sociocultural, quality of care, accessibility to health facility to access health care services for 1,641 women aged 15-49 who participated in the VHW intervention. Logistic regression was applied to data. The study found statistically significant result between ANC and PNC with newborn outcomes (p \u3c 0.05). Women who attended ANC while pregnant were 0.030 times less likely (OR = 0.030, 95% CI [0.020, 0.046], p \u3c 0.05) to experience newborn outcomes than pregnant women who did not attend ANC. Innovative and effective ANC and PNC intervention programs, together with education/health promotion interventions and policies have the potentials to address the rising newborn outcomes for people of Borno State

Application of HYPE in Norway

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Ecological status of hot springs in Eastern Amhara Region: Macroinvertebrates diversity

Springs are the places where ground water is discharged at specific locations. They vary dramatically as to the type of water they discharge. Hot springs are having the temperature of the water lies significantly above the mean of annual air temperature of that region. Temperature is one of the most important factors that govern species abundance and distribution. The objective of this study is to examine the relationship between biological parameters (macroinvertebrate diversity) with physicochemical water and habitat quality of hot springs in Easter Amhara Region. A cross-sectional study of physical, chemical and biological components of the hot springs were carried out to assess their ecological status. Samples were collected from March to May 2013. Biological samples were collected to provide a qualitative description of the community composition at each sampling site. Water samples were collected for analysis of selected physicochemical parameters following water quality assessment protocols. A total of 1095 macroinvertebrates classified into 10 orders and 31 families of macroinvertebrates were collected from the 12 sampling sites. The most abundant orders were Diptera 49.90%, Odonata 15.53%, Coleopteran 12.97%, and Ephmeropetra 9.5% represented by 14 families. Macroinvertebrate taxa were absent at B1 and H1 sites with the temperature of 72 0C and 70 0C respectively. However, in this study, the macroinvertebrate taxa (Chironomidae and Hydrobiidae) were found within a temperature of 52 oC at S1 and H1 sites. The results are also revealed that as the temperature gradient declines, the macroinvertebrate diversity flourished. Due to this fact, both macroinvertebrate diversity and family biotic index were negatively correlated with temperature and the correlations were significant. Human disturbance and habitant conditions varied considerably among sites in the study area. Although human disturbance and water pollution are among the factors influencing ecological quality, the strong correlations between water temperature and species diversity suggest that temperature is the major environmental gradient affecting aquatic biodiversity in hot springs

Mechanisms and prediction of climate variability in tropical North Africa

Submitted to the Faculty of Science in partial fulfillment of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Environmental Studies at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2003.One of the monsoon regions of the world is the tropical North Africa. The Sahara Desert lies in contrast with the cool South Atlantic. The monsoon systems control the mean circulation of this region. Superimposed on this basic state, large-scale variability dictates the life of the people and their socio-economic activities. The tropical North Africa climate exhibits a spectra! energy mainly in the ENSO and decadal temporal band as revealed by wavelet transform. The lowland Sahelian climate swing reveals low frequency signals. The mountainous regions of tropical Northeast Africa exhibit higher frequency variability. This variability has one common factor: a large-scale east-west overturning that connects the Pacific and Atlantic. An upper-level velocity dipole is established that induces convection polarity between tropical North Africa and South America. The strength and the sign of opposing poles are determined by the Atlantic and Walker Circulations. This is verified using correlation based on longer timeseries (1950-2000). ENSO signal modulates tropical North Africa climate by surpassing other tropical SST through these Circulations. Tropical Atlantic SST modes and Indian Ocean SST dipole influence tropical North Africa climate variability through the connection of Atlantic Circulation. The impacts of these SSTs are more pronounced during non-ENSO years as their influences are masked by global ENSO mode of variability. The modulation of transverse Monsoon Circulation (in Indian Ocean where Tropical Easterly Jet is the upper limb) on this part of Africa climate operates in phase with Atlantic Circulation. More than 80% of the variance of the Sahelian climate variability is associated to this circulation. It as well imparts equally the Brazilian rainfall following the sign of the Atlantic Circulation velocity potential. One of the aspects that the Indian Ocean differs from other east-west Circulations is that the Monsoon Circulation leads the global ENSO in coherent mode and it explains 60% of the indo-Pacific SST variation. Locally, the African Easteriy Jet determines the north-south moisture and convection between Sahel and Guinea through Hadley Circulation. To understand the ocean's role in the tropical North Africa and South America convection polarity, subsurface thermocline temperature and heat content are analysed using singular value decomposition, correlation and composite analyses. One of the main results that come from these analyses is that the convection over tropical North Africa and South America are closely tied to subsurface properties of the tropical oceans. The nnost important ocean signal that is sensitive to Atlantic Zonal Circulation convection is the east-west sea-saw of the equatorial thermocline. The east-west upper-ocean dipole is manifested in the leading EOF modes in thermocline temperature and in heat content anomaly (HCA) in the Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean. In the Atlantic however, the main climate signal is in the kinematic fields. In developing predictive equations for tropical North Africa climate variability, stable predictors were found: lower-level Atlantic and Pacific zonal wind. The key factor that leads to high hit rates in the prediction models is the 'memory' and stability of the equatorial ocean winds. The kinematic predictors outperfonn SST in hindcast fit by 33% with respect to Sahelian climate and river flow. The multi- decadal oscillation of angular momentum is shown to play a role in the predictability. The study therefore contributes to understanding of the climate variability and prediction of tropical North Africa climate by inclusion of the kinematic component of the climate system that is the means of ENSO transmission to Africa