Parental Knowledge and Attitude of Adolescent Sexuality Education in Rural and Urban Communities of Ekiti State, Nigeria

Background: Parents play a key role in shaping the attitudes and behaviour of adolescents, thereby reducing risky sexual behaviour and promoting healthy sexual development. This study assessed and compared parental knowledge and attitude towards adolescent sexuality education (ASE) in rural and urban communities of Ekiti State, Nigeria.Materials and Methods: A comparative cross-sectional study of 800 parents (or guardians) of adolescents in selected rural and urban communities, recruited through a multi-stage sampling technique. An interviewer-administered semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Data were analysed using SPSS version 20.Result: A significantly higher proportion of parents from the urban communities had a good knowledge of ASE (72.5% versus 66.0%, p-value 0.046). However, knowledge of safe sex and dating was low in both communities. About three-quarters of the respondents had a positive attitude towards ASE with no statistically significant difference in both rural and urban communities (p-value: 0.363).Conclusion: Parental knowledge of ASE is high in Ekiti State, and it is higher in the urban compared to the rural communities. Attitude towards ASE is high in both communities but not significantly different. However, the knowledge of the various components of ASE varies significantly amongst the communities. While it is recommended that government should create a supportive environment to assist parents in their roles as sexuality educators, parents should see sexuality education as their responsibility and also start the discussion early

Practical actions to strengthen capacity for deep-water research in Africa

While Africa's deep marine biodiversity offers economic prospects it also supports crucial ecosystem services and sustainable development is dependent on knowledge of these systems. Building understanding of deep-water ecosystems is key, but there are substantial discrepancies in countries' abilities to achieve this. Coinciding with the 2024 Ocean Decade Conference, the Challenger 150 African Network of Deep-water Researchers is pleased to release a report on “Practical Actions to Strengthen Capacity for Deep-water Research in Africa”. Through a series of online workshops, the ANDR brought together 98 individuals from 19 African nations to discuss challenges for deep-water research in Africa, identify solutions to overcome these and propose practical actions going forward

COVIDiSTRESS diverse dataset on psychological and behavioural outcomes one year into the COVID-19 pandemic

During the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the COVIDiSTRESS Consortium launched an open-access global survey to understand and improve individuals’ experiences related to the crisis. A year later, we extended this line of research by launching a new survey to address the dynamic landscape of the pandemic. This survey was released with the goal of addressing diversity, equity, and inclusion by working with over 150 researchers across the globe who collected data in 48 languages and dialects across 137 countries. The resulting cleaned dataset described here includes 15,740 of over 20,000 responses. The dataset allows cross-cultural study of psychological wellbeing and behaviours a year into the pandemic. It includes measures of stress, resilience, vaccine attitudes, trust in government and scientists, compliance, and information acquisition and misperceptions regarding COVID-19. Open-access raw and cleaned datasets with computed scores are available. Just as our initial COVIDiSTRESS dataset has facilitated government policy decisions regarding health crises, this dataset can be used by researchers and policy makers to inform research, decisions, and policy. © 2022, The Author(s).U.S. Department of Education, ED: P031S190304; Texas A and M International University, TAMIU; National Research University Higher School of Economics, ВШЭThe COVIDiSTRESS Consortium would like to acknowledge the contributions of friends and collaborators in translating and sharing the COVIDiSTRESS survey, as well as the study participants. Data analysis was supported by Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) Research Grant, TAMIU Act on Ideas, and the TAMIU Advancing Research and Curriculum Initiative (TAMIU ARC) awarded by the US Department of Education Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions Program (Award # P031S190304). Data collection by Dmitrii Dubrov was supported within the framework of the Basic Research Program at HSE University, RF

Advancing Through the Pandemic From the Perspective of Marine Graduate Researchers: Challenges, Solutions, and Opportunities

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has brought about a new social and academic reality to researchers worldwide. The field of marine science, our own topic of interest, has also been impacted in multiple ways, from cancelation of laboratory and field activities to postponement of onboard research. As graduate researchers, we have a time-sensitive academic path, and our current situation may constrain our academic future. At the same time, the pandemic demands revised strategies to deal with the ongoing difficulties and tackle similar future situations. In this perspective, we have gathered information on the challenges, solutions and opportunities for graduate researchers in the field of marine science by (1) discussing the relevant short-, long-term challenges caused by the pandemic, (2) providing feasible immediate and near-future solutions, (3) compiling opportunities (courses, scientific events, academic positions), and (4) creating a shared social media account to make the available information on new opportunities more accessible. With this, we hope to add to the efforts to advance the academic career of marine graduates during this harsh period.publishedVersio

SOME ASPECTS OF BIOLOGY AND DIGESTIVE ENZYMES ASSAY IN THE GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT OF CHRYSICHTHYS SPECIES IN LOWER OGUN RIVER, OGUN STATE, NIGERIA

Fish and other aquatic foods represent an important source of food to man, highly rich in most essential nutrients such as protein and vitamins. Aspects of the biology and digestive enzymes assay in the gastrointestinal tract of two congeneric Chrysichthys species were analyzed from July to December 2019 in the lower Ogun river, Akomoje, Ogun State, Nigeria. A total of fifty-three each of Chrysichthys nigrodigitatus and Chrysichthys auratus caught with traps were used during the study. Data were statistically analyzed. Mean standard length, body weight, stomach girth and gape width for Chrysichthys nigrodigitatus and Chrysichthys auratus were 18.39±4.46cm and 15.07±2.36cm; 174.29±102.71g and 88.16±37.62g; 11.9±2.94cm and 10.22±1.75cm; and 1.89±1.09cm and 1.68±0.29cm, respectively. Mean sex ratio in favour of the males were 1:0.36 and 1:0.33, respectively which were significantly (p< 0.05) different from the hypothesized ratio of 1:1. C. nigrodigitatus and C. auratus both exhibited a negative allometric growth pattern during the study period with a b-value of 2.97 and 2.32; mean condition factors were 1.33 and 0.92 for C. nigrodigitatus and C. auratus, respectively. The prey items found in the stomach of these congeneric species were similar and comprised thirty-three species which can be categorised into seven groups: Algae (8.5% and 11.8%,), Protozoans (22.1% and 18.9%), Desmids (5.3% and 6.3%), Diatoms (13.5% and 11.9%), Rotifers (4.8% and 6.7%), Invertebrates (8.4% and 0.8%) and Crustaceans (21.2% and 26.3%) respectively. Other prey items include detritus, mud/sand, fish parts and other unidentified items. Protozoans (22.1%) and Crustaceans (21.2%) dominated the food items for C. nigrodigitatus and C. auratus while detritus (2.13%) and invertebrates (0.84%) constituted the least component of food items for the two fish species, respectively. The specific activities of some enzymes (proteases, carbohydrase, and lipase) along the gut region (stomach, mid-gut and hind-gut) of these two Chrysichthys species were also studied; the mean values of population of these enzymes were significantly (P<0.05) different across the alimentary tract. The distribution pattern of the enzymes showed that both C. nigrodigitatus and C. auratus were capable of digesting protein, carbohydrate, and lipid components of their food. These findings further corroborate their trophic niche as indicated in their feeding habits. Further studies are recommended on the seasonal distribution of enzyme activities to ascertain the nutritional physiology of these economically important fish species in the study area.   &nbsp

Advancing Through the Pandemic From the Perspective of Marine Graduate Researchers: Challenges, Solutions, and Opportunities

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has brought about a new social and academic reality to researchers worldwide. The field of marine science, our own topic of interest, has also been impacted in multiple ways, from cancelation of laboratory and field activities to postponement of onboard research. As graduate researchers, we have a time-sensitive academic path, and our current situation may constrain our academic future. At the same time, the pandemic demands revised strategies to deal with the ongoing difficulties and tackle similar future situations. In this perspective, we have gathered information on the challenges, solutions and opportunities for graduate researchers in the field of marine science by (1) discussing the relevant short-, long-term challenges caused by the pandemic, (2) providing feasible immediate and near-future solutions, (3) compiling opportunities (courses, scientific events, academic positions), and (4) creating a shared social media account to make the available information on new opportunities more accessible. With this, we hope to add to the efforts to advance the academic career of marine graduates during this harsh period

Advancing Through the Pandemic From the Perspective of Marine Graduate Researchers: Challenges, Solutions, and Opportunities

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has brought about a new social and academic reality to researchers worldwide. The field of marine science, our own topic of interest, has also been impacted in multiple ways, from cancelation of laboratory and field activities to postponement of onboard research. As graduate researchers, we have a time-sensitive academic path, and our current situation may constrain our academic future. At the same time, the pandemic demands revised strategies to deal with the ongoing difficulties and tackle similar future situations. In this perspective, we have gathered information on the challenges, solutions and opportunities for graduate researchers in the field of marine science by (1) discussing the relevant short-, long-term challenges caused by the pandemic, (2) providing feasible immediate and near-future solutions, (3) compiling opportunities (courses, scientific events, academic positions), and (4) creating a shared social media account to make the available information on new opportunities more accessible. With this, we hope to add to the efforts to advance the academic career of marine graduates during this harsh period