Prevalence and trends in breast cancer in Lagos state, Nigeria

The study examined the trends in the prevalence of breast cancer in Lagos State, Nigeria. A sample of 1000 subjects was taken from a population consisting of women between the ages of 15 and 60 years spread across the 20 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the State. Fifty questionnaires were distributed in each LGA. Employing statistical tools such as ANOVA, Chi-Square and that Duncan Multiple Range test, it was found that prevalence of breast cancer differs across age groups with the age range 26 to 45 having the highest prevalence. It was also observed that there is significant difference in prevalence across the years with 2007 recording the highest prevalence. Moreover, the study shows that women’s occupation or profession is important to whether they are diagnosed with breast cancer or not. The study shows steady growth in prevalence of breast cancer over years.Key Words: Psycho-Social, Breast, Cancer, Lagos, Awarenes

Marital Rape in Nigeria: Appraising the information so far

Marital union has the assumption of love, unity, conjugation, protection and approval by the society. Thus sexual relationships within the emblem of marriage are approved by law, society and God. Parties to marital union retain their basic human rights, however the assumption of unity in marriage makes it difficult to access human rights protection, in some countries, by women who are inherently vulnerable to harm and abuse. Marital union is viewed as the mechanism through which a husband gets licensed sexual satisfaction from his wife not minding the means it is obtained. This paper looks at the legality and morality of overlooking acts contravening human right laws, carried out within the ambit of marriage. It questions the legality of upholding marital unity while overlooking the abysmal mental and physical health issues carried out in marriage. This paper provides the conclusion that marital unity should be interpreted alongside with provisions of human right laws; while contradictory legal provisions should stand annulled by reason of its contradiction with human rights provisions.  It was recommended that Nigerian laws on exemption of marital rape be reviewed and extended, by so doing partners would be made responsible for their actions in marriage. Keywords: Marital Rape, Women Human Rights, Violence, DOI: 10.7176/JLPG/89-25 Publication date:September 30th 201

Crude childhood vaccination coverage in West Africa: Trends and predictors of completeness.

Background: Africa has the lowest childhood vaccination coverage worldwide. If the full benefits of childhood vaccination programmes are to be enjoyed in sub-Saharan Africa, all countries need to improve on vaccine delivery to achieve and sustain high coverage. In this paper, we review trends in vaccination coverage, dropouts between vaccine doses and explored the country-specific predictors of complete vaccination in West Africa.  Methods: We utilized datasets from the Demographic and Health Surveys Program, available for Benin, Burkina Faso, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Cote d'Ivoire, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo, to obtain coverage for Bacillus Calmette-Guerin, polio, measles, and diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus (DPT) vaccines in children aged 12 - 23 months. We also calculated the DPT1-to-DPT3 and DPT1-to-measles dropouts, and proportions of the fully immunised child (FIC). Factors predictive of FIC were explored using Chi-squared tests and multivariable logistic regression.  Results: Overall, there was a trend of increasing vaccination coverage. The proportion of FIC varied significantly by country (range 24.1-81.4%, mean 49%). DPT1-to-DPT3 dropout was high (range 5.1% -33.9%, mean 16.3%). Similarly, DPT1-measles dropout exceeded 10% in all but four countries. Although no single risk factor was consistently associated with FIC across these countries, maternal education, delivery in a health facility, possessing a vaccine card and a recent post delivery visit to a health facility were the key predictors of complete vaccination.  Conclusions: The low numbers of fully immunised children and high dropout between vaccine doses highlights weaknesses and the need to strengthen the healthcare and routine immunization delivery systems in this region. Country-specific correlates of complete vaccination should be explored further to identify interventions required to increase vaccination coverage. Despite the promise of an increasing trend in vaccination coverage in West African countries, more effort is required to attain and maintain global vaccination coverage targets

Investigating heat stress in gari frying

One of the greatest discomforts widely reported in gari frying is heat stress experienced by the processors.  The effects of this risk, among other inherent risks, on the workers call for detailed investigation into the cause and effects with a view to mitigating them.  When excessive, this can cause heat stroke, a condition that can either threaten our lives or cause dire consequences.  This study was carried out in 40 gari-frying workstations in Ifo Local Government area of Ogun State and its environs.  Data were collected with questionnaire and oral interview, together with the use of a heat stress assessment checklist.  Further qualitative analysis was done using Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT).  Statistical analysis was performed using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) to test hypothesis on the WBGT.  The mean value of WBGT index recorded was 35oC, which is above the permissible WBGT of 31oC, indicating the prevalence of heat stress.  The use of other low level but more effective source of heat has been recommended, such that workers would have less contact with heat during the frying task.   Keywords: heat stress, gari frying, wet bulb globe temperature index, check list, ergonomics

Characterisation of Small Scale Feed Mills in a Developing Country

There are many cottage scale animal farms in Nigeria that are sustained by the existence of small scale feed mills. The growth of these small scale feed mills is affected by some problems. A study to investigate some of the technical problems in small scale feed mills was conducted using Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria as a case study. Ten feed mills were randomly selected and investigated while thirty workers were assessed. The characteristics of the feed mills were investigated in terms of capacity, number of workers, mill operations and equipment used and the problems were investigated by studying four different areas which include; power source; unit operations/equipment; energy utilization pattern and workplace safety/hygiene. A questionnaire was designed to elicit their operations and activities and to gather the necessary data required to ascertain problems being encountered while empirical formulas were used in energy analysis. The average capacity of the small scale feed mills is 2.87 tonnes/day with an average of 6 workers of which 4 are male. 12.3 litres of diesel, 120.19kWh of electricity from the national grid and 92.64 MJ of manual energy is consumed daily. The maximum amount of energy available is approximately 1620MJ/day. 80% of the workers questioned have suffered from some minor respiratory problems. Other problems identified include; high cost of power, high rodent infestation, dirty and dusty mill environs, etc. Good management and good equipment design are some of the specific interventions suggested to solve the problems identifie

A NEW PUNCHING SHEAR STRENGTHENING TECHNIQUE FOR REINFORCED CONCRETE SLABS AT INTERIOR SLAB-COLUMN CONNECTIONS

In certain situations the punching strength of a connection may become inadequate after construction due to changes of connection geometry from drilling or coring, or from changes of building use, or construction and design errors. The use of shear reinforcement in the form of Shear Bolts is a new approach to strengthening slab-column connections. Reported in this thesis are the results of research on the use of shear bolts for reinforced concrete interior slab-column connections without unbalanced moments. Six slab specimens were tested with different configurations of shear bolts and without shear reinforcement to verify the effectiveness of this method of reinforcement. The central idea is an externally applied shear reinforcing technique that provides strength in shear at par with other conventional reinforcement types on the one hand and offering the distinct advantage and flexibility of external application after construction. A shear bolt consists of an unhardened steel shaft threaded at one end and flared out to form a bearing/anchor surface on the other end. All six specimens were designed to fail in shear before reaching their flexural capacity, two of which were more critical than the others because of the presence of openings simulating utility ducts around the column perimeter. From the tests, comparisons of predicted loads with the failure loads indicated a higher ultimate load for slab reinforced with the bolt system. Similarly, strain measurements from strain gauges attached to the longitudinal steel and deflection profiles of the slab showed that the new method was efficient in increasing the shear capacity of the slabs. In summary, the test program showed that shear bolts are effective in transforming the behaviour of the slab-column connections from a brittle punching shear failure mode to a more ductile flexural one. Deflection profiles at different load stages, and particularly at failure, show increased deflections for specimens reinforced with bolt reinforcements. This indicates an increased ductility at the connection. Similarly, load and flexural reinforcement strain magnitudes show substantial improvements in the strength of the connections

A Scoping Review of Preterm Births in Sub-Saharan Africa: Burden, Risk Factors and Outcomes

Preterm births (PTB) are the leading cause of neonatal deaths, the majority of which occur in low- and middle-income countries, particularly those in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Understanding the epidemiology of prematurity is an essential step towards tackling the challenge of PTB in the sub-continent. We performed a scoping review of the burden, predictors and outcomes of PTB in SSA. We searched PubMed, Embase, and three other databases for articles published from the database inception to 10 July 2021. Studies reporting the prevalence of PTB, the associated risk factors, and/or its outcomes were eligible for inclusion in this review. Our literature search identified 4441 publications, but only 181 met the inclusion criteria. Last menstrual period (LMP) was the most commonly used method of estimating gestational age. The prevalence of PTB in SSA ranged from 3.4% to 49.4%. Several risk factors of PTB were identified in this review. The most frequently reported risk factors (i.e., reported in more than 10 studies) were previous history of PTB, underutilization of antenatal care (less than 4 visits) premature rupture of membrane, maternal age (less or equal to 20 or greater or equal to 35 years), inter-pregnancy interval, malaria, HIV and hypertension in pregnancy. Premature babies had high rates of hospital admissions, were at risk of poor growth and development, and were also at a high risk of morbidity and mortality. There is a high burden of PTB in SSA. The true burden of PTB is underestimated due to the widespread use of LMP, an unreliable and often inaccurate method for estimating gestational age. The associated risk factors for PTB are mostly modifiable and require an all-inclusive intervention to reduce the burden and improve outcomes in SSA

Expanded polyfunctional T cell response to mycobacterial antigens in TB disease and contraction post-treatment.

BACKGROUND: T cells producing multiple factors have been shown to be required for protection from disease progression in HIV but we have recently shown this not to be the case in TB. Subjects with active disease had a greater proportion of polyfunctional cells responding to ESAT-6/CFP-10 stimulation than their infected but non-diseased household contacts (HHC). We therefore wanted to assess this profile in subjects who had successfully completed standard TB chemotherapy. METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional study using PBMC from TB cases (pre- and post-treatment) and HHC. Samples were stimulated overnight with TB antigens (ESAT-6/CFP-10 and PPD) and their CD4+ and CD8+ T cells were assessed for production of CD107a, IFN-gamma, IL-2 and TNF-alpha and the complexity of the responses was determined using SPICE and PESTLE software. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: We found that an increase in complexity (i.e., production of more than 1 factor simultaneously) of the T cell profile was associated with TB disease and that this was significantly reduced following TB treatment. This implies that T cells are able to respond adequately to TB antigens with active disease (at least initially) but the ability of this response to protect the host from disease progression is hampered, presumably due to immune evasion strategies by the bacteria. These findings have implications for the development of new diagnostics and vaccine strategies

Entrepreneurial Well-Being of Small and Medium Scale Business Owners: Role of Gender and Emotional Strategies

Entrepreneurial well-being has been associated with different emotional strategies but, the exact impact of cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression together with gender difference on entrepreneurial well-being has not been adequately studied among Nigerian small-scale enterprises. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the role of emotional strategies and gender on entrepreneurial well-being among small and medium scale business owners in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. An ex-post facto research design was adopted to collect data from three hundred and ten (310) small and medium scale business owners at Bodija market area of Ibadan, Oyo State. The questionnaire comprised demographic variables and two standardized psychological scales used to assess relevant information from the respondents: emotional strategies scale and entrepreneurial well-being scale. Multiple regression and t-test for independent samples were used to test the three hypotheses formulated in the study. Findings reveal that cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression jointly predicted entrepreneurial well-being among small and medium business owners (R = .458 and a multiple R2 of .210). Further analysis showed that only cognitive reappraisal independently predicted entrepreneurial well-being (β = .405, p<.05). Again, t-test analysis revealed a statistically significant mean difference in entrepreneurial well-being (t(308) = 5.060, p < .05) between high and low emotional strategy. The findings further revealed no gender difference in entrepreneurial well-being of small and medium scale business owners. Therefore, this study concludes that entrepreneurial well-being is largely dependent on the individual level of cognitive reappraisal, while gender difference does not constitute any barrier for both existing and potential entrepreneurs. Based on the findings, it was recommended that entrepreneurs, existing as well as intending, should endeavour to embark on periodical psychologically structured training with focus on emotional management/regulation

Serological Surveys for complementing assessments of vaccination coverage in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review

Background: Serosurveys of biomarkers of infection/vaccination are widely used for evaluating vaccine-induced immunity and monitoring the effectiveness of immunisation programmes in developed countries. In sub-Saharan Africa (sSA) where vaccination coverage (VC) estimates are often incomplete, inaccurate and overestimate effective population immunity, the use of serosurveys is limited. Methods: We conducted a review of the use of serosurveys to assess/complement assessments of VC in sSA by searching electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Popline, Ovid and Africa Wide Information) for English language articles published from 1 January 1940 to 31 January 2017. We also searched the references of retrieved articles. SSA was defined as all of Africa excluding the countries in North Africa. We included only articles that measured VC and assessed the quality of these studies using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Results: We found 1056 unique records, reviewed 20 eligible studies of which just 12 met our inclusion criteria. These 12 studies were serosurveys of measles, tetanus, polio and yellow fever. Antibodies induced by natural infection confounded serological test results and there was significant discordance between vaccination history and the presence of antibodies in all except for tetanus vaccine. No study looked at Hepatitis B. Conclusions: Serosurveys for tetanus or tetanus containing vaccines may be directly useful for ascertainment of vaccination exposure or reliably complement current survey methods that measure VC. Given the limited experience in using serosurveys for this purpose in sSA, well-designed serosurveys of tetanus and possibly hepatitis B are required to further validate/evaluate their performance