Evaluation of Newspaper Reading Habits of Youths in Anambra State, Nigeria

This article examines newspaper reading habits of youths in Anambra State, Nigeria.  The study aims at ascertaining the newspapers that youths in Anambra State read most, the frequency of their readership of newspapers, the type of stories they mostly read and the ways through which they obtain the newspapers they read.  The study uses quantitative research technique.  It adopts a sample size of 300 youths, purposively drawn from Awka, Onitsha and Nnewi.  The survey is anchored on the Uses and Gratification theory of the mass media.  The paper employs the simple percentage method and frequency tables as analytical tools.  Findings of the study show that youths in Anambra State read newspapers a lot and that The Sun, The Guardian, Complete Sports and The Vanguard are the newspapers they mostly read.  Findings also reveal that sports, political and economic news are the major stories the youths read and that they obtain the newspapers  they read mainly by going to newspaper stands (to read without paying) browsing newspapers with their cell phones, borrowing from friends and neighbours and by visiting the public library.  The paper concludes that most youths in Anambra State do not buy newspapers they read and recommends massive empowerment of youths by the government through provision of employment and other poverty alleviation strategies to enable them buy newspapers. Key words: Newspaper, Reading, Habits, Evaluation, Youths, Anambra Stat

Corporate Social Responsibility as a Critical Tool in achieving Harmony with Host Communities: The Case of SEPLAT

Sustainability is not just important for people and the planet but also for business success. Business experts will cite everything from strong loyalty programme to a personalised, mobile friendly shopping experience as keys to business success. These offerings are certainly important, but one thing that may tilt the scale in your favour is using your profits to do good in the world. This is where Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) comes in. CSR refers to a business practice that involves participating in initiatives that benefit society. This study therefore appraises the use of cooperate social responsibility in achieving harmonious coexistence with host communities with its ripple effect on the economy and corporate image of an organisation. The study adopts the qualitative analytical technique in evaluating the very essence of corporate social responsibility practice by corporate organisations as an off-shoot of public relations practice vis-à-vis its salient contributions to the health of any organisation. It goes without saying that CSR determines to a large extent the existence, profitability and sustainability of an organisation. The foregoing underscores the particular mention of SEPLAT Petroleum Development Company Plc and its CSR model as an acme of good corporate citizen. The study concludes among others that without CSR, an organisation may find it difficult to operate in a safe environment and may even go into extinction. It recommends among others that organisations operating in Nigeria should take a cue from SEPLAT Petroleum Company Plc in developing a CSR model in tandem with the needs and aspirations of their host communities with an aim to promoting mutual and harmonious relationship with them. Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility, Critical tool, Harmony, Host Communities, SEPLAT Plc

Access to lifesaving medical resources for African countries: COVID-19 testing and response, ethics, and politics

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has revealed how strikingly unprepared the world is for a pandemic and how easily viruses spread in our interconnected world. A governance crisis is unfolding alongside the pandemic as health officials around the world compete for access to scarce medical supplies. As governments of African countries, and those in low-income and middle-income countries around the world, seek to avoid potentially catastrophic epidemics and learn from what has worked in other countries, testing and other medical resources are of concern. With accelerating spread, funding is urgently needed. Yet even where there is enough money, many African health authorities are unable to obtain the supplies needed as geopolitically powerful countries mobilise economic, political, and strategic power to procure stocks for their populations. We have seen this before. In the AIDS pandemic lifesaving diagnostics and drugs came to many African countries long after they were available in Europe and North America. In 2020, this situation can be avoided. Although health system weakness remains acute in many places, investments by national governments, the African Union, and international initiatives to tackle AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, polio, and post-Ebola global health security have built important public health capacities. Global leaders have an ethical obligation to avoid needless loss of life due to the foreseeable prospect of slow and inadequate access to supplies in Africa

Pf7: an open dataset of Plasmodium falciparum genome variation in 20,000 worldwide samples

We describe the MalariaGEN Pf7 data resource, the seventh release of Plasmodium falciparum genome variation data from the MalariaGEN network. It comprises over 20,000 samples from 82 partner studies in 33 countries, including several malaria endemic regions that were previously underrepresented. For the first time we include dried blood spot samples that were sequenced after selective whole genome amplification, necessitating new methods to genotype copy number variations. We identify a large number of newly emerging crt mutations in parts of Southeast Asia, and show examples of heterogeneities in patterns of drug resistance within Africa and within the Indian subcontinent. We describe the profile of variations in the C-terminal of the csp gene and relate this to the sequence used in the RTS,S and R21 malaria vaccines. Pf7 provides high-quality data on genotype calls for 6 million SNPs and short indels, analysis of large deletions that cause failure of rapid diagnostic tests, and systematic characterisation of six major drug resistance loci, all of which can be freely downloaded from the MalariaGEN website

Thirty-five years (1986–2021) of HIV/AIDS in Nigeria: bibliometric and scoping analysis

Background Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is an acquired defect of the cellular immunity associated with the infection by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The disease has reached pandemic proportion and has been considered a public health concern. This study is aimed at analyzing the trend of HIV/AIDS research in Nigeria. Method We used the PUBMED database to a conduct bibliometric analysis of HIV/AIDS-related research in Nigeria from 1986 to 2021 employing “HIV”, “AIDS”, “acquired immunodeficiency syndrome”, “Human immunodeficiency virus”, and “Nigeria” as search description. The most common bibliometric indicators were applied for the selected publications. Result The number of scientific research articles retrieved for HIV/AIDS-related research in Nigeria was 2796. Original research was the predominant article type. Articles authored by 4 authors consisted majority of the papers. The University of Ibadan was found to be the most productive institution. Institutions in the United States dominated external production with the University of Maryland at the top. The most utilized journal was PLoS ONE. While Iliyasu Z. was the most productive principal author, Crowel TA. was the overall most productive author with the highest collaborative strength. The keyword analysis using overlay visualization showed a gradual shift from disease characteristics to diagnosis, treatment and prevention. Trend in HIV/AIDS research in Nigeria is increasing yet evolving. Four articles were retracted while two had an expression of concern. Conclusion The growth of scientific literature in HIV/AIDS-related research in Nigeria was found to be high and increasing. However, the hotspot analysis still shows more unexplored grey areas in future

Pf7: an open dataset of Plasmodium falciparum genome variation in 20,000 worldwide samples

We describe the MalariaGEN Pf7 data resource, the seventh release of Plasmodium falciparum genome variation data from the MalariaGEN network.  It comprises over 20,000 samples from 82 partner studies in 33 countries, including several malaria endemic regions that were previously underrepresented.  For the first time we include dried blood spot samples that were sequenced after selective whole genome amplification, necessitating new methods to genotype copy number variations.  We identify a large number of newly emerging crt mutations in parts of Southeast Asia, and show examples of heterogeneities in patterns of drug resistance within Africa and within the Indian subcontinent.  We describe the profile of variations in the C-terminal of the csp gene and relate this to the sequence used in the RTS,S and R21 malaria vaccines.  Pf7 provides high-quality data on genotype calls for 6 million SNPs and short indels, analysis of large deletions that cause failure of rapid diagnostic tests, and systematic characterisation of six major drug resistance loci, all of which can be freely downloaded from the MalariaGEN website

Etiology and prevalence of urinary tract infection in primary school children in Port Harcourt metropolis, Nigeria

A total of two hundred urine samples were collected from pupils aged 4-14 years from four different primary schools in Port Harcourt Metropolis. The urine samples were cultured on Cystine Lactose Electrolyte Deficient (CLED) medium using standardized wire-loop technique and incubated aerobically at 370C for 24h. Twenty-nine (14.5%) samples were found to have significant bacterial growth (>105 organisms). Twenty-two (75.86%) of which were from females and seven (24.14%) from males. Sixteen (55.17%) of the bacteriuric pupils belong to the 10-12 age group. Eschericia coli (48.28%) was the most frequently isolated organism. Others were Klebsiella aerogenes (34.48%) Streptococcus faecalis (10.34%), Proteus mirabilis (3.45%) and Staphylococcus aureus (3.45%). Gentamycin was found to be the most effective anti-microbial. . International Journal of Natural and Applied Sciences Vol. 2 (4) 2006: pp. 362-36

Isolation and Identification of Candida albicans and Staphylococcus aureus from Oral Swabs among Primary School Pupils in Uzuakoli, Abia State, Nigeria

ABSTRACT: Candida albicans and Staphylococcus aureus were isolated from oral swabs of one hundred pupils, (aged 8 -11 years) of Ngwu/ Amankwo Community Primary School, Uzuakoli, Abia -State. Sterile swab sticks were used for the collection of the specimens. Out of the 100 specimens collected, Staphylococcus aureus was isolated from (61.0%) samples, (65.0%) samples contained yeast -like organisms and (30.0%) samples had both Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans, forty of the yeast -like isolates were identified as Candida albicans