Federated Learning on Knowledge Graphs via Contrastive Alignment

In traditional federated learning (FL) frameworks for knowledge graph embeddings (KGE), individual clients train their local KGE models independently, and a central server collects and aggregates (e.g., by averaging) these models to produce a global one. This process ensures data privacy throughout the FL training process, as the server does not require direct access to clients’ data. However, the performance of traditional FL global aggregation algorithms is significantly challenged by the non-identical distribution of data across clients’ knowledge graphs. To tackle this issue, we introduce AlignNet, a novel supervised contrastive learning (CL) approach that helps align both entity and relation embeddings across clients in federated settings. AlignNet works by pulling similar embeddings closer together while pushing dissimilar ones further apart, using only the existence of entities and relations without accessing the underlying data or detailed associations. This alignment process ensures robustness and better generalization across diverse clients, while still maintaining privacy. Our experiments on benchmark datasets, show that AlignNet consistently outperforms current FL methods, especially with more complex models and datasets. We found that AlignNet effectively reduces the variability and noise introduced by the FL process. While traditional FL setups tend to lose performance as more clients join the aggregation process, AlignNet improves as the number of clients increases. This makes AlignNet a strong choice for large-scale federated settings with many clients and diverse data. Overall, our results show that AlignNet is a scalable and reliable solution for federated KGE, making it an excellent fit for real-world applications like healthcare, finance, and distributed IoT networks, where handling data diversity and maintaining performance at scale are crucial

Supply chain resilience and risk management strategies and methods

Abstract. The changing global market due to Industry 4.0 and the recent pandemic effect has created a need for more responsiveness in an organization’s supply chain. Supply chain resilience offers the firm not only to avoid disruptions but also to withstand the losses due to a disruption. The objective of this research is to find out how resilience is defined so far in other literature and find out the strategies available to gain the resilience fit for an organization. First, in the literature review, the previous studies on resilience were studied to understand what supply chain resilience means. Then, the key results and findings are discussed and conclusions are presented. The research found some interesting strategies for gaining the resilience fit. The benefits and the stakeholders for each strategy are also pointed out. These strategies can be used according to the organization’s business strategy. These strategies aligned with the business strategy can make a huge difference to withstand potential disruption and gaining a competitive advantage against the market competitors

Improving Basic Schools through Continuous Professional Development: The Case of Amia-Ba Circuit of Ajumako Enyan Essiam District

The study employed the explanatory sequential design. The purposive and simple random sampling techniques were used to sample 10 head teachers and 70 teachers from 10 public basic schools in the Circuit. Questionnaires and semi-structured interview guide were used to collect data from the respondents. The study established that the head teachers and teachers understand continuous professional development as training organised by the school and the Ministry of Education and other opportunities used by teachers and head teachers to improve their professional competence.  CPD helps improve teachers’ knowledge in the subject area and teaching strategies and enhances teachers’ understanding of their students thinking and learning patterns and influence head teachers and teachers administrative and classroom practices. Well planned and executed workshops, seminars, and other short courses will offer structured opportunities for the head teachers and teachers to acquire knowledge and skills. Keywords: professional development, school improvement, head teacher, teacher, Ajumako Enyan-Essiam Distric

Emergency Contraceptive Use among Female Undergraduate Students at the University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria

About 42 million abortions take place annually worldwide with almost 20 million of them unsafe and responsible for 70,000 maternal deaths. Young undergraduate women are especially vulnerable with risky sexual behaviours which lead to unwanted pregnancies, abortions and sexually transmitted infections including HIV/AIDS. Cross River State of which Calabar is the capital, has one of the highest HIV prevalence (7.1%) in Nigeria. The purpose of this study was to determine the knowledge and practice of emergency contraception by female undergraduate students of the University of Calabar. A cross sectional descriptive survey design was used to study 400 full time fourth year female undergraduate students randomly selected from 30 departments at University of Calabar. A semi-structured self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. Data were analysed using statistical packages for the social sciences version 16.0. The research protocol was approved by the Ethical Review Committee of the Cross River State Ministry of Health. Most of the respondents (69.9%) knew what emergency contraceptive pills (ECPs) were used for, but specific knowledge on timing (51.7%) and dosage (39.1%) were lower. With almost 70% sexually active, single, young people, condom use was 59.8% and ECP use was very low (31%). The commonest reasons for ECP non-use were lack of awareness (42%) and fear of side effects (34.2%).  Reproductive health education including ECP awareness and HIV/AIDS prevention should be part of the general studies course. Peer-to-peer health education should be encouraged at the University Medical Center. Keywords: Emergency contraception, abortions, reproductive health, peer-to-peer communication, client-centere

Malaria in Pregnancy in Nigeria: A Literature Review

Malaria is caused by the parasite plasmodium which can be spread to humans through the bite of an infected mosquito. Of the five types of plasmodium (P. Falciparium, P.Ovale, P. Malaria, P. Vivax and P. Knowlesi), the plasmodium falciparium is the deadliest and affects the lives of almost  40 per cent of the world’s population with pregnant women and children  under-five years of age being the most affected. This mini-review involved the collation of findings from recent studies in regards to the prevalence of malaria infection among pregnant women and infants. A systematic analysis of recent literature on the  prevalence of malaria in pregnancy from many authors was carried out and the facts synthesized to make an easy read. From the analysis of literature, Ten Thousand women and 200,000 babies were reported to be dying annually from complications of malaria in pregnancy which recorded a prevalence of 85 per cent in sub-Saharan Africa. More so, Fifty per cent of pregnant women  were discovered to be carrying plasmodium falciparium in their placenta without even experiencing malaria signs/ symptoms, and this development was reported to have been responsible for Twenty per cent of stillbirths and 11 per cent of all maternal deaths. Malaria infection is considered a major threat to the lives and well-being of pregnant women and infants. Therefore, stakeholders should ensure that every clinical diagnosis of malaria in pregnancy is confirmed with a laboratory plasmodium falciparium-based diagnosis before the administration of antimalarial drugs. Furthermore there should be a  stepping –up on the distribution of insecticide treated nets alongside enlightenment of pregnant women on ways of preventing mosquito bite. Instituting the aforementioned approaches is key to improving the health- seeking behaviour of pregnant women in particular and the wider population in general thus enabling them to stay malaria free throughout the period of pregnancy and infancy

Geospatial clustering of newly diagnosed HIV infected adults in Cross River State helps define new “hotspots”

Introduction: A hotspot is a geographical location having evidence of high STIs/HIV prevalence, and/or behaviors that put people at high risk of becoming infected. Therefore, Nigeria, with almost two million people living with HIV, could be considered a giant “hotspot.” The main aim was to describe how the geospatial clustering of newly diagnosed HIV-infected adults in Cross River State helps define new “hotspots.”Methods: Secondary data collected between January 2020 and March 2020, identified and mapped around a presumed hotspot’s radius of influence (ROI), were analyzed using a “Hotspot Analysis” plugin in QGIS software. With a sample size of 3019, both seropositive and seronegative results were geo-referenced and the resultant map was analyzed to determine HIV-positive clusters.Results: From the 3019 spatial locations mapped, 720 (23.9%) were positive cases. Of these, 328 (45.6%) were thus estimated as being associated with the presumed hotspots. The remaining 392 (54.4%) were positive cases identified outside of the ROI of the originally presumed hotspots. The total number of mapped HIV testing services (HTS) points (both negative and positive cases) within the hotspot ROI was 1319, while those outside of the hotspot ROI were 1700.Conclusion: Unique hotspots where social gatherings occur tended to have a wider ROI. Targeted testing in these hard-to-reach communities is recommended

Work-Overload and Work-place Stress on Hospital Staff in Ugep-Urban of Yakurr Local Government Area, Cross River State, Nigeria

Work-overload in hospital settings has contributed to poor work performance and poor job satisfaction. Selye’s Theory of Systematic Stress and Person-Environment Fit Theoretical Model were used to design a cross sectional descriptive study to determine the relationship between work-overload and work-place stress among hospital staff. A semi-structured self-administered questionnaire and an interview guide were used to collect data from 198 staff in 11 hospitals in Yakurr. Data were coded and analyzed using SPSS version 20 and results were presented using descriptive statistics. Results show 151 (76.3%) female and 47 (23.7%) male staff. However, 34 (72.3%) males and 119 (78.8%) females affirmed that they ‘very often’ feel stressed resulting from work-overload. Women are also more likely to be vocal about stress than men and better at applying coping strategies that work (55.6%) when compared to males (19.1%). The Chi-square (X2) analysis, testing the relation between work-overload and work-place stress among hospital staff, was significant at 0.05 with calculated X2=8.505. There was a significant relationship between work-overload and work-place stress at critical X2=7.82.  Result of hypothesis tested showed that there is a statistically significant difference between work-overload and increase in work stress on hospital staff. Following the results and findings of the study, it is recommended that work-place stress among hospital staff can be reduced and managed by considering and maintaining a balance between the following variables: (i) the task requirement (patient influx, proportion of ailments, etc) and staff ability (technical-no-how, skills, etc), and (ii) staff ability (technical-no-how, skills, etc), needs, expectations and satisfaction with resources provided (both human and material). Keywords: Work-overload, work stress, hospital staff, Presenteeism, Key Informant Interview

WHAT FACTORS AND HOW THEY AFFECT STRESS: EVIDENCE FROM UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

The study primarily attempted to determine the stress level of university students and identify the factors causing stress.Convenience sampling was used to collect data and Perceived Stress Scale was used to determine the stress level and the factors that affecting stress level were determined by using multiple linear regression model. Findings from the study show that most of the students (58.06%) feel medium stress. But only 16.06% students feel low stress and 26.80% students feel high stress. Some factors were identified in the study which affects the stress level such as unnecessary writing of practical notebooksand overloaded academic study (p=0.0489), uncertain job opportunities (p=.01) and ongoing education life(p=0.02)

Determinants and Differentials of Maternal Reproductive Health Outcomes in Nigeria: A Review of National Demographic Health Survey Data from 1999 to 2013

Women in Sub-Saharan Africa face significant clinical and socio-demographic challenges that translate to poor health outcomes including high maternal morbidity and mortality. Nigeria being the most populous nation in Africa bears a significant burden of both communicable and non-communicable diseases. This study aimed to determine the trends and differentials in indices fuelling poor health outcomes in Nigeria. The study was a review and trend analysis of maternal reproductive health indicators obtained from the Nigeria National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) data from 1990 to 2013 including secondary data from WHO, UNICEF and the World Bank. The life expectancy at birth was 54.5 years with an estimated infant mortality rate of 75 per 1000 live births, child mortality rate of 88 per 1,000 live births, under-5 mortality rate of 157 per 1,000 live births and a maternal mortality ratio (MMR) of 545 per 100,000 live births. Contraceptive prevalence was 22% among women in the wealthiest quintile and 3% among those in the poorest quintile.  Only 3% of women with no education used modern contraception as compared to 24% of women with tertiary education. Most of the maternal deaths were due to preventable causes which were largely related to poverty, inimical socio-cultural beliefs and practices as well as clinical factors like haemorrage, hypertension, and indirect causes like inadequate human resource for health, user charges, cultural pregnancy/childbirth beliefs and myths. A community-based participatory research using both qualitative and quantitative methods may shed more light on the non-clinical factors fueling high MMR in Nigeria. Keywords: Maternal and Child Health, maternal mortality, contraceptio

Comparative Analysis of Satisfaction with the Use of Ready-Made Spectacles and Custom-Made Spectacles among School Children in Nigeria: A Randomised Controlled Trial

Refractive error is an important cause of visual impairment in Cross River State (CRS), Nigeria. Optical services and spectacles are not readily available to school children for the treatment. The aim of this study was to compare satisfaction with the use of ready-made spectacles and custom-made spectacles in the treatment of refractive error for school eye health programme. A one month double-blinded randomised controlled trial was used to evaluate satisfaction, symptoms, vision and planned continued use of ready-made and custom-made spectacles in school children 6 -17 years with ≥ 1 diopter of uncorrected refractive error. The sample size for each arm was 63. This research was funded by African Vision Research Institute (AVRI). Full ethical approval was obtained from the ethics committee CRS Ministry of Health, Nigeria. Data was analysed using SPSS and EPI info. Out of the 2110 children refracted with non-cycloplegic method, 243 (11.5%) has significant refractive error and only 104(82.5% response rate) met the inclusion criteria for the intervention study. There was no difference (p >0.05) in satisfaction (96.2% vs 96.2%) and  symptoms ( headache 5.8% vs7.7%; eye strain 3.8% vs 1.9%  ) in the use of ready-made vs custom-made spectacles to the 1 month follow up. Ready-made spectacles are recommended for eye health programmes in schools because it is a cost effective strategy for treatment of refractive errors. The ready-made spectacles should be available in different frame pupillary distance for various powers to reduce discomfort associated with frame induced prismatic effect. Keywords: Eye health, vision care, school-aged children, ready-made spectacles, custom-made spectacle