Prevalence and Risk Factors Associated with Precancerous Cervical Cancer Lesions among HIV-Infected Women in Resource-Limited Settings

Objective. To assess the prevalence and identified associated risk factors for precancerous cervical cancer lesions among HIV-infected women in resource-limited settings in Kenya. Methods. HIV-infected women attending the ART clinic at the Nazareth Hospital ART clinic between June 2009 and September 2010. Multivariate logistic regression model with odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated after controlling for important covariates. Result. A total of 715 women were screened for cervical cancer. The median age of the participants was 40 years (range 18–69 years). The prevalence of precancerous lesions (CINI, CINII, CIN III, ICC) was 191 (26.7%). After controlling for other variables in logistic regression analysis, cervical precancerous lesions were associated with not being on ART therapy; whereby non-ART were 2.21 times more likely to have precancerous lesions than ART patients [(aOR) = 2.21, 95% CI (1.28–3.83)]. Conclusion. The prevalence of precancerous cervical lesions was lower than other similar settings. It is recommended that cancer screening of HIV-infected women should be an established practice. Availability and accessibility of these services can be done through their integration into HIV. Prompt initiation of HAART through an early enrollment into care has an impact on reducing the prevalence and progression of cervical precancerous lesions

Effects of Angstrom-Prescott and Hargreaves-Samani Coefficients on Climate Forcing and Solar PV Technology Selection in West Africa

We evaluated and compared the performance of simulated Angström-Prescott (AP) and Hargreaves-Samani (HS) models on monthly and annual timescales using generalized datasets covering the entire West African region. The fitted AP model yielded more efficient parameters of a = 0.366 and b = 0.459, whereas the HS model produced a 0.216 coefficient based on an annual timescale, which is more suitable in the region compared to coefficients recommended by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) (a = 0.25 and b = 0.5) and HS (0.17), respectively. Employing the FAO and HS recommended coefficients will introduce a relative percentage error (RPE) of 18.388% and 27.19% compared to the RPEs of 0.0014% and 0.1036% obtained in this study, respectively. When considering time and resource availability in the absence of ground-measured datasets, the coefficients obtained in this study can be used for predicting global solar radiation within the region. According to the AP and HS coefficients, the polycrystalline module (p-Si) is more reliable than the monocrystalline module (m-Si) because the p-Si module has a higher tendency to withstand the high temperatures projected to affect the region due to its higher intrinsic properties based on the AP and HS coefficients assessment in the region.Citation: Agbor, M. E., Udo, S. O., Ewona, I. O., Nwokolo, S. C., Ogbulezie, J. C., Amadi, S. O., and Billy, U. A. (2023). Effects of Angstrom-Prescott and Hargreaves-Samani Coefficients on Climate Forcing and Solar PV Technology Selection in West Africa. Trends in Renewable Energy, 9, 78-106. DOI: 10.17737/tre.2023.9.1.0015

Points to consider in cardiovascular disease risk management among patients with rheumatoid arthritis living in South Africa, an unequal middle income country

ABSTRACT: Background: It is plausible that optimal cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk management differs in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) from low or middle income compared to high income populations. This study aimed at producing evidence-based points to consider for CVD prevention in South African RA patients. Methods: Five rheumatologists, one cardiologist and one epidemiologist with experience in CVD risk management in RA patients, as well as two patient representatives, two health professionals and one radiologist, one rheumatology fellow and 11 rheumatologists that treat RA patients regularly contributed. Systematic literature searches were performed and the level of evidence was determined according to standard guidelines. Results: Eighteen points to consider were formulated. These were grouped into 6 categories that comprised overall CVD risk assessment and management (n=4), and specific interventions aimed at reducing CVD risk including RA control with disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs, glucocorticoids and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (n=3), lipid lowering agents (n=8), antihypertensive drugs (n=1), low dose aspirin (n=1) and lifestyle modification (n=1). Each point to consider differs partially or completely from recommendations previously reported for CVD risk management in RA patients from high income populations. Currently recommended CVD risk calculators do not reliably identify South African black RA patients with very high-risk atherosclerosis as represented by carotid artery plaque presence on ultrasound. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that optimal cardiovascular risk management likely differs substantially in RA patients from low or middle income compared to high income populations. There is an urgent need for future multicentre longitudinal studies on CVD risk in black African patients with RA.The first meeting held amongst local Rheumatologists was funded by the South African Arthritis and Rheumatology Association. The studies by Professor González-Gay have been supported by grants from “Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias” PI06/0024, PS09/00748, PI12/00060, PI15/00525, PI18/00043, and RD12/0009/0013 and RD16/0012 (RIER) from “Instituto de Salud Carlos III” (ISCIII) (Spain), co-funded by FEDER funds

Profound Chemopreventative Effects of a Hydrogen Sulfide-Releasing NSAID in the APC(Min/+) Mouse Model of Intestinal Tumorigenesis

Canadian Institutes of Health Research grant to JL

33-36Perceived Psychosocial Determinants of Female Criminality in South East Nigeria

Abstract The study investigated perceived psychosocial determinants of female criminality. 150 respondents comprising 82 females and 68 males selected from the three (3) Metropolitan Local Governments in Enugu State were used as sample. The participants were within the age bracket of 25-55 years with a mean age of 35 years. A 15 item questionnaire designed to measure perceived psychosocial determinants of female criminality was used for data collection. Survey research design was adopted while Chi-square statistics was used for data analysis. Findings revealed that broken home was perceived as a determinant of female criminality X2= 126.84 P<.001. A significant outcome was also observed on poor parental monitoring as a perceived determinant of female criminality X2= 161.6 P<.001. Findings were discussed in relation with the literature reviewed and recommendations were also made

Potential impacts of climate change on global solar radiation and PV output using the CMIP6 model in West Africa

In this study, six different PV power technology models from similar climatic environments in West Africa were used to estimate the potential of PV generation and apply the model to evaluate the effects of climate change on PV output in the region. This was achieved by using historical and projected satellite datasets obtained from the ECMWF database. It was found that, compared to other technologies, poly-crystalline silicon (p-Si) technology yielded the highest increase in solar PV output compared to other modules in both best-case and moderate-case scenarios. However, in the worst-case scenario, amorphous silicon (a-Si) technology produces less than a 1% increase in solar PV production, while other technologies produce less than a 1% decrease in solar PV output. The CMIP6 climate model was also used to assess the effects of climate change on the region's global solar radiation. With the exception of the near- and far-future Boreal winter seasons (DJF), as the impact of climate change intensifies, there may be a corresponding decrease in solar radiation in the moderate- and worst-case scenarios in different seasons between 2015-2050 and 2051–2100, as well as in the annual resolution implying that solar energy should be the main contributor to renewable energy and low-carbon economic planning in the region. In addition, the authors used historical datasets to develop and test 171 theoretical models to estimate West Africa's solar radiation potential. According to the error metrics, the CARIMA-LG hybrid surpassed other models developed in this study as well as those obtained from the literature

The Effect of Depressive Symptoms and CD4 Count on Adherence to Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy in Sub-Saharan Africa

Background: Studies have identified several programmatic and nonprogrammatic indicators that affect adherence to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Depression has been shown to impact adherence to HAART. This cross-sectional analysis of data collected from Nigeria, Uganda, Zambia, and Tanzania in 2008 examined the relationship between levels of depressive symptoms, clinical progression, and adherence to HAART. Methods: A multinational, multicenter, observational, retrospective cross-sectional evaluation of a population of focus comprised randomly selected patients on HAART. The dependent variable was adherence to HAART. The primary variable of interest to be assessed was patients’ level of depressive symptom score. A multivariable logistic regression model was used to examine the relationship between explanatory variables and adherence to HAART. Results: A total of 2344 patients were recruited for adherence survey. About 70% of the study sample reported having some level of depression. Logistic regression results show that patients who reported, respectively, low, moderate, and high levels of depressive symptoms are 35% ( P 200 cells/mm 3 , Truvada (tenofovir [TDF]/emtricitabine [FTC])-based regimens, good knowledge about HAART, and longer period on therapy. Conclusions: These results indicate that mental health and clinical parameters are significant factors in determining patients’ adherence to their HAART, which need to be more aggressively addressed as a critical component of care and treatment support