Cross-sectional study on COVID-19 prevention and vaccination status of veterinary colleges in Southeast Nigeria

COVID-19 vaccination and compliance with the established prevention protocols are integral to curbing the spread of the COVID-19 virus; however, there is a paucity of information on compliance with these measures among veterinary schools within southeast Nigeria. To fill this gap, we evaluated the vaccination status and individual’s perception of the preventive measures against COVID-19 infections. A cross-sectional study using a self-reported internet-based questionnaire was employed to obtain responses from students and staff of the veterinary colleges in southeast Nigeria. Multivariate binary logistic regression analysis was used to identify significant factors associated with vaccination status and compliance with the COVID-19 prevention protocols by the respondents. A total of 183 individuals participated in the online survey. Although 75% (138/183) of the respondents revealed a willingness to take the COVID-19 vaccine, only 25.1% (46/183) of the respondents had received one or more doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. We observed that male respondents (28 ± 4.4% (95% CI 19–37)) had a higher percentage of vaccinated individuals than female respondents. Furthermore, the academic staff of the veterinary colleges were 39.70 (95% CI 2.50–630.65; ) times more likely to get vaccinated than undergraduate students. The educational status of the respondent greatly contributed to the willingness to get vaccinated, and individuals within the age bracket of 31 to 40 years were 10.2 ± 1.07 (95% CI 1.33–92.25; ) times less likely to comply with the COVID-19 prevention protocols. Although a high proportion of the respondents had a good perception of the COVID-19 prevention protocols, only 25.1% of the members of the veterinary colleges in southeast Nigeria had been vaccinated. Therefore, there is a need to create better awareness channels to improve the vaccination status of members of veterinary colleges in southeast Nigeria

Ethylene glycol and plantain peel fraction ripened with calcium carbide inhibit reproductive mediators in male rats

The application of artificial fruit ripeners has become a great burden to the public health clinicians. This study assessed the toxicity effect of ethylene glycol (EOGH) and plantain peel fraction ripened with calcium carbide (CaC2) on male reproductive functions. Forty male rats were divided into five groups (n = 8). Group 1 received distilled water only; group 2 received 200 mg/m3 ethylene glycol; group 3 received 1000 mg/kg of CaC2; group 4 received 200 mg/kg plantain peel extract (PPE) and group 5 received 200 mg/kg plantain-peel extract ripened with CaC2 (PPECC). The exposure via oral route lasted for 14 days. Sub-acute exposure of male rats to ethylene glycol, CaC2 and PPECC elicited spermatogenic lesions through significant (p < 0.05) depletion of testosterone level, daily sperm production, sperm motility, live sperm and sperm count with elevated sperm deformity and testicular 51-nucleotidase activity upon exposure to ethylene-glycol, CaC2 and PPECC in relation to PPE. Also, exposure to ethylene glycol, CaC2 and PPECC remarkably increased testicular MDA content and serum AST, ALT and ALP activities which predisposes to spermatogenic abnormalities. Altogether, application of PPECC is suggested as one of the risk factors of liver failure associated with reproductive disruption in rat model

Search for new resonances decaying to a WW or ZZ boson and a Higgs boson in the ℓ+ℓ−bbˉ\ell^+ \ell^- b\bar b, ℓνbbˉ\ell \nu b\bar b, and ννˉbbˉ\nu\bar{\nu} b\bar b channels with pppp collisions at s=13\sqrt s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

See paper for full list of authors, 18 pages (plus author list + cover pages: 36 pages total), 13 figures, 1 table. Submitted to PLB. All figures including auxiliary figures are available at https://atlas.web.cern.ch/Atlas/GROUPS/PHYSICS/PAPERS/EXOT-2015-18/International audienceA search is presented for new resonances decaying to a $W$ or $Z$ boson and a Higgs boson in the $\ell^+ \ell^- b\bar b$, $\ell\nu b\bar b$, and $\nu\bar{\nu} b\bar b$ channels in $pp$ collisions at $\sqrt s = 13$ TeV with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider using a total integrated luminosity of 3.2 fb$^{-1}$. The search is conducted by looking for a localized excess in the $WH$/$ZH$ invariant or transverse mass distribution. No significant excess is observed, and the results are interpreted in terms of constraints on a simplified model based on a phenomenological Lagrangian of heavy vector triplets