URINARY SCHISTOSOMIASIS AND CONCOMITANT BACTERIURIA IN THE FEDERAL CAPITAL TERRITORY ABUJA NIGERIA

ABSTRACT: Urinary schistosomiasis and concomitant bacteriuria was investigated in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja. Single urine samples collected from subjects aged 5 years and above between 1000 hours and 1400hours were examined for the presence of S.haematobium eggs using centrifugation technique and for bacteriuria by standard bacteriological methods. A total of 1,150 subjects comprised of 667 males and 483 females were studied from the 6 Area Councils of the FCT. Overall, 360 (31.3%) had the eggs of S. haematobium in their urine while 289 (80.3%) of the 360 who had eggs of S. haematobium in their urine, had bacterial growth. Prevalence of bacteriuria in urinary schistosomiasis ranged from 74-86% with no significant difference in the distribution of the prevalence of the co-infection in the 6 area councils surveyed (P=0.125). The distribution of bacteria colony count in relation to different ova intensity was significantly different (P<0.001) and assumed a weak positive linear relationship (r=0.2). There was no significant difference in the results of the methods used to investigate for bacteriuria (P=0.05). The bacteria isolated included: klebsiella species, Escherichia coli, Enterococci species, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus saprophyticus, Salmonella species, Proteus species, and Pseudomonas species. Eshericha coli occurred more frequently (70%) than the rest of the bacteria species isolated. The antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of isolates revealed varying percentage susceptibilities by all isolates. This study clearly suggests that bacteriuria is a potent complication in the management of urinary schistosomiasis. Therefore the complimentary incorporation o

Imagining the Lives of Others: Empathy in Public Relations

This paper asks how we might theorise empathy in public relations (PR) in the light of a widespread ‘turn’ towards emotion in the academy, as well as in popular discourse. Two distinct notions of empathy are explored: ‘true’empathy as discussed in intercultural communication, is driven by a human concern for the other in order to understand experiences, feelings and situations that may be different from our own; whereas ‘instrumental’ empathy, reflecting a self orientation, is said to characterise much neoliberal market discourse in which corporations are urged to understand their customers better. Thus, while empathy may seem highly desirable as a means to enter into dialogue with an organisation’s publics, particularly during times of social upheaval and crisis, it is important to pay attention to empathy in public relations discourses including whose goals are served by empathetic engagement; and the type(s) of empathy called upon within a PR context. A literature review identified a socio-cultural definition of empathy as ‘imaginary effort’. A review of the public relations literature, however, found that while empathy is considered an important principle and personal attribute, notions of empathy, with a few exceptions, are under-explored. Nonfunctionalist, socio-cultural research which examines the meanings that practitioners associate with empathy is distinctly lacking; therefore in order to gain further insight into empathy, two sources of data were explored. The analysis of a popular online practitioner blog showed that other-centred empathic skill is discursively framed as instrumental in achieving clients’ business objectives. The analysis of three empathy statements drawn from 12 in-depth interviews with practitioners revealed complex empathic discourse in practitioner-client relationships. While the findings are limited to illustrative analyses only, this paper challenges researchers to develop conceptualisations and perspectives of empathy as imaginary effort in public relations

Kinetic Solution of the Structure of a Shock Wave in a Non-Reactive Gas Mixture

The multispecies Boltzmann equation is numerically integrated to characterize the internal structure of a Mach 3 shock wave in a hard sphere gas. The collision integral is evaluated by the conservative discrete ordinate method [F. G. Tcheremissine, Comput. Math. Math. Phys. 46, 315 (2006)]. There was excellent agreement of macroscopic variables [Kosuge et al., Eur. J. Mech. B/Fluids 20, 87 (2001)]. The effect of species concentration and mass ratio on the behavior of macroscopic variables and distribution functions in the structure of the shock wave is considered for both two- and three-species gas mixtures. In a binary mixture of gases with different masses and varying concentrations, the temperature overshoot of the parallel component of temperature near the center of the shock wave is highest for the heavy component when the concentration of the heavy component is the smallest. The rise in the parallel component of temperature is revealed by the behavior of the distribution function

Data_Sheet_1_Assessing young Kenyan women's willingness to engage in a peer-delivered HIV self-testing and referral model for PrEP initiation: A qualitative formative research study.docx

BackgroundPre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is highly effective for HIV prevention, but uptake remains low, especially among adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in Kenya. A model in which trained AGYW using PrEP deliver HIV self-tests to their close friends and refer them to PrEP may help increase PrEP uptake in this population. To understand AGYW's potential willingness to engage in such a model, we conducted a qualitative formative study in Kenya.MethodWe conducted semi-structured in-depth interviews (IDIs) with AGYW (16 to 24 years) in Kiambu County who were determined at risk of HIV acquisition. We purposively recruited “PrEP-naïve” (no prior PrEP use) and “PrEP-experienced” AGYW who used PrEP for at least 1 month within the previous year. We solicited perspectives on initiating/engaging in conversations about HIV risk and PrEP, distributing/receiving HIV self-test kits, and referring/following through on a referral to clinic-based HIV services. We analyzed verbatim transcripts using rapid qualitative analysis and a combination of inductive and deductive approaches, with the latter informed by the Integrated Behavior Model (IBM).ResultsFrom August to December 2020, we conducted 30 IDIs: 15 with PrEP-experienced and 15 with PrEP-naïve AGYW. Participants' median age was 20 [interquartile range (IQR): 20–22]. Overall, most participants anticipated that they would be willing to engage in this model. PrEP-experienced AGYW emphasized the salience of their concerns about friends' HIV risk behaviors, with several noting that they are already in the habit of discussing PrEP with friends. Many additionally expressed positive attitudes toward the proposed target behaviors, perceived these to be normative among AGYW, and expressed confidence in their ability to carry out the behaviors with proper support. Although few participants had HIVST experience, nearly all anticipated they would be able to use an HIV self-test kit correctly if provided instruction.ConclusionThe Kenyan AGYW who participated in this study generally anticipated that they would be willing to engage in a formal peer PrEP referral model enhanced with peer-delivered HIV self-tests. Future research is needed to pilot test this model to determine its acceptability, feasibility, and effect on HIVST and PrEP uptake within this population.</p

Incidence and Predictors of Mortality Among Newborns With Perinatal Asphyxia: A 4-Year Prospective Study of Newborns Delivered in Health Care Facilities in Enugu, South-East Nigeria

Fatalities from perinatal asphyxia remain high in developing countries, and continually assessing its risk factors will help improve outcomes in these settings. We explored how some identified risk factors predict mortality in asphyxiated newborns, to assist clinicians in prioritizing interventions. This was a 4-year prospective study conducted at the Enugu State University Teaching Hospital, Enugu, Nigeria. All newborns who met the study criteria that were admitted to this facility in this period were enrolled and monitored. Data collected were analysed with SPSS Version 18. A total of 161 newborns with perinatal asphyxia were enrolled into the study with an in-hospital incidence rate of 12.81 per 1000 birth and a case fatality rate of 18%. Overall, the APGAR scores were severe in 10%, moderate in 22%, mild to normal in 68%, whereas the SARNAT stages were III in 24%, II in 52%, and I in 25%. In terms of mortality, 66.7%, 22.2%, and 11.1% mortalities were, respectively, observed with SARNAT scores III, II, and I ( P  = .003), whereas the findings with APGAR were 31.2% (severe), 25.0% (moderate), 25.0% (mild), and 18.8% (normal) ( P  = .030). Fatality outcome was more correlated with SARNAT ( R  = .280; P  = .000) than APGAR ( R  = −.247; P  = .0125). The SARNAT score significantly differentiated between the degrees of asphyxia in newborns based on gestational age at delivery ( P  = .010), place of delivery ( P  = .032), and mode of delivery ( P  = .042). Finally, it was noted that newborns that were female ( P  = .007), or born outside the hospital ( P  = .010), or with oxygen saturations <60% ( P  = .001), or with heart rate <120 ( P  = .000), and those with respiratory rate <30 ( P  = .003), all have significantly higher likelihood of deaths from asphyxia. Therefore, predictors of neonatal mortality from perinatal asphyxia in our centre include being female and being born outside the hospital, as well as low oxygen saturations, heart rates, and respiratory rates at presentation