Dissemination of Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria Technology Through Inclusion of Cocoa Pod Husk in Poultry Feed to Substitute for Some Quantity of Maize in Adopted School

One of the major objectives of Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN) is to investigate the effective utilization of the crops, by-products and the feasibility of small- scale production of such end-use product. Based on this objective, CPH is one of the major by-products of cocoa and has been utilized effectively by CRIN in the inclusion of poultry feeds. The adopted school’s concept was a collaboration between Agriculture Research Council of Nigeria (ARCN)/West Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAPP) and CRIN. The poultry project in the school is to encourage secondary school students to develop interest in agriculture and encourage teachers to practice agriculture before and after retirement. This technology was disseminated to CRIN adopted school in feeding the birds. The inclusion of CPH in layers mash has reduced the quantity of maize by 20%. This was demonstrated by feeding equal numbers of birds with the conventional feed (controlled) and CPH fortified for 16 months (experimental). The result revealed that about N460 was saved on every 25kg of feed fortified with CPH compared to conventional feed with almost the same production result. This has brought a significant drop in amount spent on CPH fortified feed compared to the conventional feed thereby increasing the farmers profit

Demographic attributes of COVID-19 patients in an Infectious Disease Center of Nigeria

Background: As part of our contribution to the growing pool of knowledge on the prevention and control of the COVID-19 pandemic, this study describes the demographic features of patients with COVID-19 hospitalized at Infectious Disease Center (IDC), Olodo, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria.Methodology: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study of COVID-19 patients whose data were collected during admission between April 27, 2020 and June 20, 2020. SARS-CoV-2 infection was diagnosed on nasopharyngeal specimen using a real-time reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) assay. Data were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS Inc., USA) version 20.0Results: Among 131 patients, 58% were between age 18 and 35 years, 48.1% were employees of private establishments, and 64.1% were males. High proportion (84.3%) of the patients spent less than 14 days on admission. As at June 20, 2020, the overall COVID-19 mortality in the IDC was 0.0%.Conclusion: This study concluded that COVID-19 was common among male Nigerians, those working in private establishments, and those aged 18-35 years. Future researches on COVID-19 in Nigeria must put gender and age into consideration. Keywords: SARS-COV2; COVID-19; age; gender; occupation French Title: Attributs démographiques des patients atteints de COVID-19dans un centre de maladies infectieuses du Nigéria Contexte: Dans le cadre de notre contribution au pool croissant de connaissances sur la prévention et le contrôle de la pandémie COVID-19, cette étude décrit les caractéristiques démographiques des patients atteints de COVID19 hospitalisés au Centre des maladies infectieuses (IDC), Olodo, Ibadan, État d'Oyo, Nigéria. Méthodologie: Il s'agissait d'une étude transversale descriptive de patients atteints de COVID-19 dont lesdonnées ont été collectées lors de l'admission entre le 27 avril 2020 et le 20 juin 2020. L'infection par le  SRASCoV-2 a été diagnostiquée sur un échantillon nasopharyngé à l'aide d'une transcription inverse en temps réel–Test de réaction en chaîne par polymérase (rRT-PCR). Les données ont été analysées à l'aide du StatisticalPackage for Social Sciences (SPSS Inc., USA) version 20.0 Résultats: Parmi 131 patients, 58% avaient entre 18 et 35 ans, 48,1% étaient des employés d'établissementsprivés et 64,1% étaient des hommes. Une forte proportion (84,3%) des patients ont passé moins de 14 jours àl'admission. Au 20 juin 2020, la mortalité globale par COVID-19 dans l'IDC était de 0,0%. Conclusion: Cette étude a conclu que le COVID-19 était courant chez les hommes Nigérians, ceux travaillantdans des établissements privés et ceux âgés de 18 à 35 ans. Les futures recherches sur le COVID-19 au Nigériadoivent prendre en compte le sexe et l'âge. Mots clés: SRAS-COV2; COVID-19; âge; le sexe; occupatio

Zimbabwean diabetics' beliefs about health and illness: an interview study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Diabetes mellitus (DM) is increasing globally, with the greatest increase in Africa and Asia. In Zimbabwe a threefold increase was shown in the 1990s. Health-related behaviour is important in maintaining health and is determined by individual beliefs about health and illness but has seen little study. The purpose of the study was to explore beliefs about health and illness that might affect self-care practice and health care seeking behaviour in persons diagnosed with DM, living in Zimbabwe.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Exploratory study. Consecutive sample from a diabetes clinic at a central hospital. Semi-structured interviews were held with 21 persons aged 19-65 years. Data were analysed using qualitative content analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Health was described as freedom from disease and well-being, and individual factors such as compliance with advice received and drugs were considered important to promote health. A mixture of causes of DM, predominantly individual factors such as heredity, overweight and wrong diet in combination with supernatural factors such as fate, punishment from God and witchcraft were mentioned. Most respondents did not recognize the symptoms of DM when falling ill but related the problems to other diseases, e.g. HIV, malaria etc. Limited knowledge about DM and the body was indicated. Poor economy was mentioned as harmful to health and a consequence of DM because the need to buy expensive drugs, food and attend check-ups. Self-care was used to a limited extent but if used, a combination of individual measures, household remedies or herbs and religious acts such as prayers and holy water were frequently used, and in some cases health care professionals were consulted.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Limited knowledge about DM, based on beliefs about health and illness including biomedical and traditional explanations related to the influence of supernatural forces, e.g. fate, God etc., were found, which affected patients' self-care and care-seeking behaviour. Strained economy was stated to be a factor of the utmost importance affecting the management of DM and thus health. To develop cost-effective and optimal diabetes care in a country with limited resources, not only educational efforts based on individual beliefs are needed but also considering systemic and structural conditions in order to promote health and to prevent costly consequences of DM.</p

Quality of Type 2 Diabetes Management in the States of The Co-Operation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf: A Systematic Review

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a growing, worldwide public health concern. Recent growth has been particularly dramatic in the states of The Co-operation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC), and these and other developing economies are at particular risk. We aimed to systematically review the quality of control of type 2 diabetes in the GCC, and the nature and efficacy of interventions. We identified 27 published studies for review. Studies were identified by systematic database searches. Medline and Embase were searched separately (via Dialog and Ovid, respectively; 1950 to July 2010 (Medline), and 1947 to July 2010 (Embase)) on 15/07/2009. The search was updated on 08/07/2010. Terms such as diabetes mellitus, non-insulin-dependent, hyperglycemia, hypertension, hyperlipidemia and Gulf States were used. Our search also included scanning reference lists, contacting experts and hand-searching key journals. Studies were judged against pre-determined inclusion/exclusion criteria, and where suitable for inclusion, data extraction/quality assessment was achieved using a specifically-designed tool. All studies wherein glycaemic-, blood pressure- and/or lipid- control were investigated (clinical and/or process outcomes) were eligible for inclusion. No limitations on publication type, publication status, study design or language of publication were imposed. We found the extent of control to be sub-optimal and relatively poor. Assessment of the efficacy of interventions was difficult due to lack of data, but suggestive that more widespread and controlled trial of secondary prevention strategies may have beneficial outcomes. We found no record of audited implementation of primary preventative strategies and anticipate that controlled trial of such strategies would also be useful

A View from the Past Into our Collective Future: The Oncofertility Consortium Vision Statement

Today, male and female adult and pediatric cancer patients, individuals transitioning between gender identities, and other individuals facing health extending but fertility limiting treatments can look forward to a fertile future. This is, in part, due to the work of members associated with the Oncofertility Consortium. The Oncofertility Consortium is an international, interdisciplinary initiative originally designed to explore the urgent unmet need associated with the reproductive future of cancer survivors. As the strategies for fertility management were invented, developed or applied, the individuals for who the program offered hope, similarly expanded. As a community of practice, Consortium participants share information in an open and rapid manner to addresses the complex health care and quality-of-life issues of cancer, transgender and other patients. To ensure that the organization remains contemporary to the needs of the community, the field designed a fully inclusive mechanism for strategic planning and here present the findings of this process. This interprofessional network of medical specialists, scientists, and scholars in the law, medical ethics, religious studies and other disciplines associated with human interventions, explore the relationships between health, disease, survivorship, treatment, gender and reproductive longevity. The goals are to continually integrate the best science in the service of the needs of patients and build a community of care that is ready for the challenges of the field in the future

Optimization Of An Identity Access control System Using Biometric Techniques

Access control systems are widely deployed on campuses as a means to provide security. This paper proposed a biometric access control system for restricted areas based on individual facial recognition. The verification system, identification system are implemented to aid the Registration system, during the registration process necessary data’s are collected and updated to the database to help the administrator to update required information. Based on that processing, an integrated secure system for biometric access control is developed for restricted area with acceptable security level. This paper develop an access control system that is efficient, and can properly identify individuals and its cost- effective. A new authentication system has been created that can verify who and what enters through the pass gate, also the security operative of the school system can have a complete log record of who accessed the school premises/labs and at what time. There is concern that some campuses are not using such protective systems, hence this paper attempts to resolve this weaknesses in such institutions’ by developing a system using Facial recognition and smart card technologies