Spacial analysis of foreclosure and neighborhood characteristics in Miami metropolitan area, Florida

In 2013, the State of Florida had 13 of the top 20 metropolitan statistical areas (MSA) with the highest foreclosure rate in the country. Despite the high ranking, extensive research on foreclosure has yet to be carried out within the Miami-Fort LauderdalePompano Beach MSA. This research is a foray into an uncharted territory to understand the relationship between foreclosure and neighborhood characteristics in the Miami metropolitan area (MMA) within Miami-Dade County. The study was conducted in two phases: The first phase was to identify the foreclosure pattern in the MMA from 2010- 2013 by implementing the use of spatial analysis such as nearest neighbor analysis, spatial autocorrelation, and cluster and outlier analysis. The statistical analysis used also included correlation analysis, principal component analysis, and regression analysis. The dataset used contained foreclosure count from 2010-2013 and the 2010 census tract level data on neighborhood characteristics such as ethnicity and racial compositions, socioeconomic, demographic, and housing. The spatial and statistical analysis carried out was used to identify the relationship between foreclosure and the neighborhood characteristics. The second phase studied the effect of foreclosure on crime in the city of Miami. Crime data from 2011-2012 was used to study the relationship between crime, foreclosure, and the above mentioned neighborhood characteristics. The statistical analysis carried out in this phase included correlation analysis and regression analysis. Results of the study showed that in MMA, the relationship between foreclosure and other neighborhood characteristics was insignificant. However, the result for the spatial pattern of foreclosure in MMA showed that houses of similar market values were clustered in the northeastern, southeastern and central areas. Additionally, areas dominated by the African American population showed low economic activity and high foreclosure concentration compared to other areas, which could be an influence of subprime lending. Finally, foreclosure alone had no impact on crime whatsoever, but vacancy rate was statistically significant to property crime in the city of Miami. These findings are important in understanding foreclosure distribution and clustering patterns in MM

Seroprevalence of hepatitis B virus infection among pregnant women attending antenatal clinic in Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital, Lafia, Nasarawa State

Context: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a cause of chronic liver disease, causing cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, and pregnant women are not spared. Perinatal transmission is a significant way that the disease is spread from mother to children who will eventually become adults and chronic carriers. This study sought to determine the burden of the disease among pregnant women.Aims: To estimate the prevalence and investigate possible factors associated with HBV infection among pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in DASH, Lafia.Settings and Design: A hospital‑based descriptive cross‑sectional survey conducted at the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department of DASH, Lafia, NasarawaMethods and Material: Around 200 pregnant women who attended the ANC clinic were consecutively enrolled, their venous blood samples collected, and hepatitis B profile was carried out using commercially available rapid chromatographic kits Statistical Analysis Used: Data were collected by trained data collectors using a proforma, then entered into a predesigned program in the Epi‑info version 3.5.4 (CDC, Atlanta, Georgia, USA) and analyzed.Results: The seroprevalence of HBV infection was high (8%) and there were no statistically significant associations between the infection and the investigated sociodemographic and other risk factors.Conclusions: The study showed that HBV is hyperendemic in this region, and antenatal screening for this virus is desirable to avert its sequelae in both mothers and their newborn babies. Key words: Antenatal; hepatitis B virus; Lafia

Evaluation of changes in sexual response and factors influencing sexuality during pregnancy among Nigerian women in Jos, Nigeria

Background: Pregnancy is characterized by physical, hormonal and psychological changes that could influence women’s sexuality. The study aimed at ascertaining changes in the women’s sexual domains as well as factors affecting their sexual responses.Methods: A total of 177 healthy heterosexual pregnant Nigerian women at term and in stable marital relationships were included in the study. Authors’ designed structured questionnaire featuring socio-demographic and obstetric characteristics as well as assessment of their sexual desire, arousal, orgasm, sexual satisfaction and pain compared to the pre-pregnancy period was used to collect the information. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 16 for windows.Results: Mean age of the women was 30.9 ± 4.7 years. Majority of them reported decline in sexual desire, arousal, frequency of orgasm and sexual satisfaction compared to the pre-pregnancy period. Reduce sexual desire was marked in the first trimester but sexual desire peaked in second trimester. Women aged ≥31 years were four times more likely to experience increase frequency of orgasm (OR 4.0, 95% CI 1.9 – 8.7, P = 0.02) while those with tertiary education (OR 2.2, 95% CI 1.1 – 4.2, P = 0.02) and unplanned pregnancy (OR 2.4, 95% CI 1.8 – 5.0, P = 0.04) were more likely to experience decreased sexual satisfaction compared to the pre-pregnancy period.Conclusions: Pregnancy is associated with decline in all domains of female sexual response cycle among the women. Older maternal age positively impacts on frequency of attainment of orgasm while tertiary educational level and unplanned pregnancy negatively affect their sexual satisfaction during pregnancy

Optimal PMU Placement Using Genetic Algorithm for 330kV 52-Bus Nigerian Network

The phasor Measurement Unit is a modern tracking tool mounted on a network to track and manage power systems. PMU is accurate and time-synchronized device that gives voltage phasor measurements in nodes and current phasor measurements connected to those nodes where the PMU is installed. This study introduces the Genetic Algorithm for optimization of allocation of PMUs to enable maximum observation of the power network. The optimal PMU placement (OPP) problem is developed to minimize the quantity of PMU to be placed. The set and optimized model can efficiently position PMU in any network, considering the regular operation and zero injection (ZIN). Thus, the allocation algorithm implemented on IEEE 14-bus systems, the result was compared to that of existing works which achieved the same system of redundancy index. As a further study, the proposed approach is applied to the Nigerian 330kV new 52-bus systems, under operational arrangements for maximum observability of the network system. The technique formulated to handle normal operation and zero injection node succeeded in producing comparable results with other available techniques

A Review of hysteroscopy in a private hospital in Jos, Nigeria

Background: Examination of the uterine cavity is an imperative gynaecology for the detection and treatment of intrauterine abnormalities. Hysteroscopy is considered to be the gold standard for this purpose Identification and subsequent treatment of intrauterine leisons may improve pregnancy rates in Invitro fertilization(IVF).Methods: Medical records of patients who had hysteroscopy between May 2016 and April 2017 at Kauna Specialist Hospital were analysed. Indications for hysteroscopy, findings and complications were noted.Results: A total of 82 hysteroscopies were performed during the period under review. The commonest indication was preparation for IVF in infertile patients (58.1%). Other indications included infertility (27.2%), menorrhagia (9.9%) and hypomenorrhoea (2.4%). Intrauterine abnormalities were detected in 59.3% Patients. Intrauterine adhesions were found in 30.9% of the patients . Endometrial polyps (13.7%), fibroids(4.9%) and irregular endometrial lining(4.9%) were also observed. A large proportion (42.7%) of patients who had recurrent IVF failure had intrauterine abnormalities.Conclusion: Hysteroscopy is an invaluable tool in the detection and treatment of intrauterine leisons. Its wider use is advocated in gynaecological practice in Nigeria.Key words: Hysteroscopy; Infertility; In Vitro fertilization, intrauterine abnormalitie

Healthful School Environment in Primary Schools: A Cross-Sectional Study of Gwagwalada Area Council, Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria

Background: Children spend long hours of the daytime in schools where they are exposed to the various components of the school environment which may affect their health status. There is, therefore, a need to constantly evaluate the status of the school environment. This study sought to assess the school environment in primary schools in Gwagwalada Area Council in the Nigerian Federal Capital. Materials and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among 146 public and private primary schools using the school environment component of the school health programme evaluation scale. The key variables in the evaluation scale included the methods of sewage and refuse disposals, infrastructural features of the classrooms, sitting comfort for pupils and teachers, health hazards and safety measures in the schools, healthful living in the schools as well as evidence of maintenance of the school environment. Results: A borehole was the source of water supply in 76(52.1%) schools. Of the 118(80.8%) schools with water closet toilets, 103(97.3%) were private while 15(37.5%) were public schools. In 127(87%) schools, the refuse disposal method was open dumping/ burning. Ventilation was adequate in 38(95%) public and 55(51.9%) private schools (p< 0.001). School fence was present in 102 (69.9%) schools. Overall, only 6 (5.7%) out of  the 106 private schools scored up to the acceptable minimum score of 57; no public school attained such a score (Fischer’s exact 2.361, p-value =  0.124). Conclusion: The environments of primary schools in Gwagwalada Area Council, lack the basic requirement to make them healthful. A mechanism should be put in place to ensure compliance with a standard environment

Optimization of biofuel production from corn stover under supply uncertainty in Ontario

In this paper, a biofuel production supply chain optimization framework is developed that can supply the fuel demand for 10% of Ontario. Different biomass conversion technologies are considered, such as pyrolysis and gasification and subsequent hydro processing and the Fischer-Tropsch process. A supply chain network approach is used for the modeling, which enables the optimization of both the biorefinery locations and the associated transportation networks. Gasification of corn stover is examined to convert waste biomass into valuable fuel. Biomass-derived fuel has several advantages over traditional fuels including substantial greenhouse gas reduction, generating higher quality synthetic fuels, providing a use for biomass waste, and potential for use without much change to existing infrastructure. The objective of this work is to show the feasibility of the use of corn stover as a biomass feedstock to a hydrocarbon biofuel supply chain in Ontario using a mixed-integer linear programming model while accounting for the uncertainty in the availability of corn stover. In the case study, the exact number of biorefineries is left as a policy decision and the optimization is carried out over a range of the possible numbers of facilities. The results obtained from the case study suggests implementing gasification technology followed by Fischer-Tropsch at two different sites in Ontario. The optimal solution satisfied 10% of the yearly fuel demand of Ontario with two production plants (14.8 billion L of fuel) and requires an investment of $42.9 billion, with a payback period of about 3 years

Evaluation of changes in sexual response and factors influencing sexuality during pregnancy among Nigerian women in Jos, Nigeria

Background: Pregnancy is characterized by physical, hormonal and psychological changes that could influence women’s sexuality. The study aimed at ascertaining changes in the women’s sexual domains as well as factors affecting their sexual responses.Methods: A total of 177 healthy heterosexual pregnant Nigerian women at term and in stable marital relationships were included in the study. Authors’ designed structured questionnaire featuring socio-demographic and obstetric characteristics as well as assessment of their sexual desire, arousal, orgasm, sexual satisfaction and pain compared to the pre-pregnancy period was used to collect the information. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 16 for windows.Results: Mean age of the women was 30.9 ± 4.7 years. Majority of them reported decline in sexual desire, arousal, frequency of orgasm and sexual satisfaction compared to the pre-pregnancy period. Reduce sexual desire was marked in the first trimester but sexual desire peaked in second trimester. Women aged ≥31 years were four times more likely to experience increase frequency of orgasm (OR 4.0, 95% CI 1.9 – 8.7, P = 0.02) while those with tertiary education (OR 2.2, 95% CI 1.1 – 4.2, P = 0.02) and unplanned pregnancy (OR 2.4, 95% CI 1.8 – 5.0, P = 0.04) were more likely to experience decreased sexual satisfaction compared to the pre-pregnancy period.Conclusions: Pregnancy is associated with decline in all domains of female sexual response cycle among the women. Older maternal age positively impacts on frequency of attainment of orgasm while tertiary educational level and unplanned pregnancy negatively affect their sexual satisfaction during pregnancy

Kidney disease and cardiovascular risk factors in parents of children with chronic kidney disease: A preliminary study

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