Use of Transformation-Based Learning in Annotation Pipeline of Igbo, an African Language

The accuracy of an annotated corpus can be increased through evaluation and re- vision of the annotation scheme, and through adjudication of the disagreements found. In this paper, we describe a novel process that has been applied to improve a part-of-speech (POS) tagged corpus for the African language Igbo. An inter-annotation agreement (IAA) exercise was undertaken to iteratively revise the tagset used in the creation of the initial tagged corpus, with the aim of refining the tagset and maximizing annotator performance. The tagset revisions and other corrections were efficiently propagated to the overall corpus in a semi-automated manner using transformation-based learning (TBL) to identify candidates for cor- rection and to propose possible tag corrections. The affected word-tag pairs in the corpus were inspected to ensure a high quality end-product with an accuracy that would not be achieved through a purely automated process. The results show that the tagging accuracy increases from 88% to 94%. The tagged corpus is potentially re-usable for other dialects of the language

Reduced serum tetanus antibody titre in HIV infected subjects with malaria co-infection in a malaria endemic area of Nigeria

Tetanus infection is widespread and difficult to completely eradicate. Thus the present study was designed to assess the tetanus antibody titre in HIV infected subjects in relation to the presence or absence of malaria parasitaemia. 107 subjects consisting of asymptomatic group (asymptomatic HIV, n=17 and asymptomatic HIV-Malaria co-infection, n=17), symptomatic group (symptomatic HIV, n=18 and symptomatic HIV-Malaria co-infection, n=17), and control group (control without malaria, n=19 and control with malaria, n=19) participated in the study. Blood sample collected from the participants were used for the determination of packed cell volume, CD4+ T cell count, malaria parasite, HIV seropositivity and tetanus antibody titre using standard laboratory methods. The tetanus antibody titre was significantly reduced in symptomatic HIV infected subjects with malaria co-infection compared with symptomatic HIV infected subjects without malaria (

Multi-task projected embedding for Igbo

NLP research on low resource African languages is often impeded by the unavailability of basic resources: tools, techniques, annotated corpora, and datasets. Besides the lack of funding for the manual development of these resources, building from scratch will amount to the reinvention of the wheel. Therefore, adapting existing techniques and models from well-resourced languages is often an attractive option. One of the most generally applied NLP models is word embeddings. Embedding models often require large amounts of data to train which are not available for most African languages. In this work, we adopt an alignment based projection method to transfer trained English embeddings to the Igbo language. Various English embedding models were projected and evaluated on the odd-word, analogy and word-similarity tasks intrinsically, and also on the diacritic restoration task. Our results show that the projected embeddings performed very well across these tasks

Use of absolute lymphocyte count or neutrophil ingestion rate of nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) as alternative index to CD4+T-cell count to initiate ART in the management of HIV/AIDS disease

The present study was designed to evaluate absolute lymphocyte count or neutrophil ingestion rate of NBT as alternative indices to CD4+ T cell count in the management of HIV/AIDS subjects. 158 adult participants (male = 70, female = 88) were recruited for the study and grouped as: (i) Symptomatic HIV subjects with or without malaria (ii) Asymptomatic HIV subjects (iii) HIV seronegative subjects with or without malaria. Blood samples taken from these participants were analyzed using standard procedures for absolute lymphocyte count, neutrophil ingestion rate of NBT and CD4+ T cell count. The result showed that the mean absolute lymphocyte and neutrophil ingestion rate of NBT were significantly reduced in both symptomatic and asymptomatic HIV subjects with or without malaria infection when compared to the control group. The CD4+ T cell count was significantly reduced in the two groups and positively correlated with the absolute lymphocyte count (r = 0.301, P<0.05, r = 0.403, P<0.05) and neutrophil ingestion rate of NBT (r = 0.116, P = 0.01, r = 0.359, P<0.01) with or without malaria infection respectively. This finding suggests that in resource limited settings, absolute lymphocyte count or neutrophil ingestion rate of NBT could be used as alternative to CD4 count to monitor or initiate ART where the later is not easily accessible especially in a malaria endemic area.Keywords: Absolute lymphocyte count, NBT, ART, CD4+ T-cell count, HI

Awareness and practice of safety measures against occupational hazards among aluminium foundry workers in Jos, Nigeria

Background: Founding predisposes the worker to hazards (extreme heat, dust, fumes, sharp objects), which if unchecked, can cause health problems (burns, respiratory problems, cuts). This study aimed to assess the awareness and practice of safety measures against occupational hazards among aluminium foundry workers in Jos-North LGA.Methods: This was a descriptive, cross-sectional study, which involved 125 aluminium foundry workers in Laranto-Katako area of Jos-North LGA. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. Analysis of data was done using EPI-Info® version 3.5.4 statistical software package. A probability value of p≤0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results: All 125 (100%) respondents were males with a mean age of 24.8±9.7 years and 52 (41.2%) were less than 20 years of age. The study revealed that 118 (94.4%) of them were aware of occupational hazards associated with foundries; The hazards most known were fires with 116 (92.8%) mentions, extreme heat, 85 (68.0) and sharp objects, 85 (68.0%), and with the least being, long working hours, 25 (20.0%). A majority, 118 (94.4%) were aware of hand gloves, 114 (91.2%) nose masks with overalls having the least awareness, 13 (10.4%). The most frequently used safety measures were nose masks, 73 (58.4%), then hand gloves, 57 (45.6%). A statistically significant relationship, with p value of 0.0321, was found between the level of education and the practice of safety measures.Conclusions: The study showed that most of the foundry workers had good knowledge of the hazards, safety measures; however, there was low use of safety measures. An educational campaign on the hazards and use of safety measures, accompanied by the efforts of the government, should be instituted for the foundry workers regularly to help safeguard their health

Serum adiponectin and metabolic profile in women with polycystic ovarian syndrome in relation to body mass index

Background: Polycystic ovarian syndrome is a common endocrine disorder which affects approximately 5-10% of women in reproductive age. It is both a reproductive endocrinopathy and a metabolic disorder.Methods: 160 women aged 18 to 40 years attending obstetrics and gynaecology clinic at Federal medical centre, Owerri, Imo State Nigeria were recruited and divided into 2 groups (women diagnosed with PCOS using Rotterdam criteria and control) of 80 participants each. Anthropometric data were collected, and participants categorized into 3 based on BMI. Fasting blood samples was collected for biochemical analyses. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences SPSS version 23.0, and level of significance set at p<0.05.Results: The mean serum levels of adiponectin and high density lipoprotein (HDL-C) were significantly lower while fasting plasma glucose, serum insulin, homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance, total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein (LDL-C), very low density lipoprotein (VLDL-C) and triglyceride were significantly higher in women with PCOS when compared with the control (p<0.05) as well as in obese when compared with normal weight women with PCOS (p<0.05). BMI negatively correlated with serum adiponectin and HDL-C, but positively correlated with FPG, insulin, HOMA-IR, TC, TG, LDL-C and VLDL-C in women with PCOS (p<0.05).Conclusions: This study highlights the prevalent biochemical and metabolic derangements in PCOS patients and was more evident in the obese and overweight patients. Early detection with subsequent application of preemptive measures including lifestyle modifications are therefore essential in the management of PCOS patients

Packed cell volume and serum iron in subjects with HIV-malaria co-infection in Nnewi, South-Eastern Nigeria

The present study was designed to assess the PCV and serum iron in HIV-malaria co-infected subjects in Nnewi, South Eastern Nigeria. 207 participants aged between 16-72 (44 ± 28) years were recruited andclassified as follows based on standard screening and WHO criteria: (i) Asymptomatic HIV stage I subjects with or without malaria. (ii) Symptomatic HIV stage II subjects with or without malaria and not on (ART). (iii) HIV/AIDS subjects with or without malaria and on ART. (vi) HIV seronegative control subjects with or without malaria. Blood sample from these participants were analyzed for HIV seroreactivity, Plasmodium falciparum antigen, parasite density, serum iron concentrations and PCV using Standard Laboratory methods. The result showed that serum iron and PCV were significantly reduced amongst all the groups studied when compared with the control (

Does the quality of voluntary disclosure constrain earnings management in emerging economies? Evidence from Middle Eastern and North African banks

Purpose This study aims to examine the influence of the quality of voluntary disclosure (QVD) on earnings management (EM) amongst a sample of commercial banks in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Design/methodology/approach Using a sample of 1,060 bank-year observations for the period 2006–2015, this paper developed a three-dimensional framework to measure the QVD, which considers the quantity, spread and usefulness of the information. Furthermore, this study examines the QVD-EM nexus using an ordinary least squares regression model. This technique is supplemented with conducting an instrumental variable regression model and a two-stage least squares model to overcome the potential occurrence of endogeneity problems. Findings The findings suggest that QVD is negatively attributed to EM in the context of MENA banks. The findings also confirm that the quality of financial reporting is enhanced by QVD dimensions that were considered in the framework, leading banks to less engagement in EM practices. In contrast, the influence of the quantity dimension (level) of the disclosed information has an insignificant impact on EM, while the spread and usefulness dimensions of VD are negatively and significantly associated with EM in the region. Research limitations/implications Although the results are robust to various measurements and to the possible occurrence of endogeneity problems, there are a few limitations should be acknowledged, which provides opportunities for future research. For example, the sample size is relatively small due to data accessibility issues. Likewise, the findings of the research might not be appropriate for non-financial sectors. These limitations provide a good opportunity for future studies to expand on the research by covering other developing economies and, thereby, enriching the understanding offered by this study. Practical implications This study offers several implications for bank managers, academics and policymakers. Firstly, it may help managers to appreciate the function and the importance of QVD in mitigating EM. Secondly, for academics, the study provides suggestive evidence on the impact of QVD on EM; however, future research may need to consider the role of morality and ethical behaviour across different environments in reducing excessive risk-taking and constraining earnings manipulation. Finally, it provides insights for policymakers and regulators to develop a framework or guidance that can help banks in providing high-QVD in the context of developing economies. Originality/value The study distinctively develops an innovative measurement for QVD using a new multi-dimensional model. This paper also bring new evidence on QVD complexity and its impact on EM practice from an under-researched developing context, namely, the MENA region

Effect of coffee consumption on liver enzymes (alanine transaminase, aspartate transaminase and alkaline phosphatase), total and conjugated bilirubin levels among students in Nnewi

Background: Coffee has a number of bioactive compounds that have beneficial effects on human health in general and more importantly is the fact that coffee consumption has positive impact on the liver function. The present study investigated the effect of coffee consumption on liver enzymes: alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP), total bilirubin (TB) and conjugated bilirubin (CB) levels among student in Nnewi.Methods: A total of twenty-five (25) apparently healthy participants aged between 18 and 30 years which were randomly recruited from College of Health Sciences’ students to serve as both test and control group. Each participant was advised to abstain from coffee and similar beverages for a period of three weeks prior to the commencement of the study. Subsequently, in addition to their normal diet, each of the subjects was given 2 gm of coffee dissolved in 150 ml of hot water in which 50 mg of non-dairy creamer was added before breakfast daily for 28 consecutive days. 6 ml each of baseline and test samples (after an overnight fast) were collected at day 0 and 29 respectively from each participant. Liver enzymes such as ALT, AST, and ALP activity as well as TB and CB levels was determined using standard laboratory methods.Results: This showed significant reductions in the mean serum AST and ALT activity, TB and unconjugated bilirubin (UB) levels with no significant alterations in the mean ALP activity and CB level in participants studied after short-term coffee consumption.Conclusions: This study revealed the hepatoprotective effect of coffee intake at short term basis