Facebook use and online political participation among youth in Nigeria: the moderating role of political interest

The Facebook can increase political participation of the politically apathetic youth online. However, little evidence were shown from research on the use of Facebook for online political participation (OPP) among youth. The objectives of this study are to identify the level of online political participation among youth in Nigeria, to determine gender difference in the participation, to examine whether there is a significant relationship between their Facebook usage in terms of cognitive, social integrative usage, personal integrative usage, affective usage, escapist usage Facebook intensity, Facebook perception and OPP. It also analyses the moderating role of Political Interest (PI) in the relationships. A survey was conducted on 473 undergraduate youth in Kaduna State University (KASU), Nigeria. A validated questionnaire was used to collect data which was analyzed using Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). The result revealed that there is a significant level of online political participation among youth on Facebook. The Facebook cognitive usage, social integrative usage, affective usage, escapist usage and perception leads to OPP among youth, except for the relationship of personal integrative usage and Facebook intensity. Political interest (PI) moderates the relationship between Facebook cognitive usage, social integrative usage, perception and OPP. There is a significant difference between male and female youth in OPP. The study provides an empirical based knowledge on the Uses and Gratification Theory (UGT) and Civic Voluntarism Model (CVM) for exploring actual Facebook usage, intensity and perception for OPP. It also presents a model based on the UGT for understanding challenges to the Facebook use for online political participation. The acceptable validity and reliability values of the study instrument reinforce its suitability for its adaption or adoption in another context. The results on Facebook perception and Facebook usage by the youth for political participation might help political stake-holders to consider using Facebook in their activities

Acute cerebellitis successfully managed with temporary cerebrospinal fluid diversion using a long tunnel external ventricular drain: A long-term radiological follow-up of two cases

Acute cerebellitis (AC) is a rare inflammatory childhood disorder. Although there is no consensus on standard treatment for cerebellitis, its outcome is usually favourable. We report two cases of AC in the paediatric age group, successfully managed with long tunnel external ventricular drain (EVD). The first patient was an 8-year-old boy with a history of fever and headache. Sequential MRI showed diffuse cerebellar swelling with tonsillar herniation and resulting hydrocephalus. The second patient was a 6-month-old boy who presented with high-grade fever associated with chills. CT scan of the head showed triventricular hydrocephalus with obliteration of cerebrospinal fluid spaces and cisterns. Both patients underwent immediate emergency right-sided long tunnel EVD insertion. The EVD was removed on the 9th day in the first patient and the 10th day in the second patient; the patients showed no neurological deficits at a follow-up of 2 years and 1 year, respectively

Clinoidal meningioma associated with an internal carotid artery aneurysm

Coexistence of primary brain neoplasms with intracranial aneurysms is rare but presents a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge to healthcare providers. We describe the case of a 60-year-old woman who had a left internal carotid artery aneurysm with a small ipsilateral clinoidal meningioma. The meningioma was an unexpected finding encountered during the surgery for aneurysmal clipping. Both the lesions were dealt with simultaneously

Enteroenteric fistulae in ccute bowel ischemia

Gastrointestinal fistulae are classified as enteroenteric or enterocutaneous. Most gastrointestinal fistulae are formed after surgical procedures for inflammatory bowel disease or malignancy. For spontaneous enteroenteric fistulae, ischemia has been reported as a possible etiology. We report two cases of spontaneous enteroenteric fistulae arising after bowel ischemia; a 38-year male with a 10-day history of severe abdominal pain with fever and vomiting, and a 22-year female with a one-week history of abdominal pain and diarrhea. Arterial and venous thrombi in association with enteroenteric fistulae were identified on computed tomography. These cases point towards acute mesenteric ischemia as a rare cause of spontaneous enteroenteric fistulae. Surgical management of these fistulae can be effective in resolving this complication

Penerapan dan Urgensi Model Model Cash Waqaf (Studi pada Hasil Jurnal Penelitian di Indonesia)

Cash Waqf is an act of a Waqif who plans to donate and/or donate part of the money to a productive trust. The aim of the research is to find out the cash waqf models and their important role in Indonesia, seen from the results of the journal research. This research method is literature. The form of this research is descriptive with qualitative analysis using data sources (primary) and secondary data sources. The results of this study are the cash waqf model as a means of empowering people. This study found that cash funds were managed using a very productive waqf management model. This effort was continued with the assistance of four procurement transfer programs to the center through a virtual account. Cash Waqf Model Online Using a Modified Technology Acceptance Model. Based on the calculation results obtained, the image has a significant effect on the TAM variables, namely PEOU and PU. Cash Waqf Management Model for Housing Investment, Cash Waqf Model Using Secondary Project Pattern For side projects, funding supports the main project. Productive Cash Waqf Empowerment Model in Alleviating Poverty, The multiplier effect mechanism of cash waqf can be explained as follows, namely cash waqf funds managed by nazir to be invested generate returns with 10% paid to nazir as a management fee and 90% of the proceeds of the mauquf

Moderating effects of political interest on the relationship between facebook usage and online political participation: Data screening and measurement model

The ultimate objective of this article is only to carry out an initial and preliminary examination on a study data collected for empirical research on the moderating effect of political interest on the usage of Facebook for online political participation for the purpose of structural equation modelling. 600 questionnaires were distributed to various respondent in Nigeria, and only 473 questionnaires representing 79% response rate were used for this analysis. Non response bias test, the common method variance test, normality test and confirmatory factor analysis were all conducted to determine the fitness of the data for further multivariate analysis. Therefore, the findings revealed that the data is adequate and fit for conducting PLS structural equation modelling analysis

Enteric cyst in the left posterior mediastinum mimicking a hydatid cyst on chest computed tomography scan

Abstract Mediastinal enteric cysts are a rare occurrence among adults and are usually asymptomatic. In most cases they are an incidental finding in the right hemi-mediastinum and are associated with vertebral anomalies. We report the unusual case of a 23 year old male who had a mediastinal mass on chest X-ray as an incidental finding. Chest Computed Tomography (CT) scan revealed no vertebral anomalies and a cystic mass in the left posterior mediastinum with features similar to those of a hydatid cyst.Posterolateral thoracotomy was done and the cyst was excised. Histopathology report revealed it to be an enteric cyst

Exploring the Impact of Preprocessing Techniques on Retinal Blood Vessel Segmentation Using a Study Group Learning Scheme

The segmentation of retinal vessels in retinal images is vital for automated diagnosis of retinal diseases. This is a challenging task because it requires accurate manual labeling of the vessels by expert clinicians and the detection of tiny vessels is difficult due to limited samples, low contrast, and noise. In this study, we explore the use of preprocessing techniques such as contrast-limited adaptive histogram equalization (CLAHE), grad-cam analysis and min-max contrast stretching to improve the performance of a study-group learning (SGL) segmentation model. We evaluate the impact of these preprocessing techniques on the accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, AUC, IoU, and Dice scores using four publicly available datasets, DRIVE, CHASE, HRF and IOSTAR. Our findings indicate that the utilization of the Min-Max technique resulted in a notable enhancement in the accuracy of both the DRIVE and CHASE datasets, with an approximate increase of 3% and 2% respectively. Conversely, the impact of the CLAHE method was discernible solely in the DRIVE dataset, demonstrating an improvement in accuracy of 1%. In addition, our results demonstrated superior accuracy performance for both the DRIVE and CHASE datasets compared to the findings of the reviewed studies. The GitHub repo for this project is available at Link

Bacterobilia in acute cholecystitis: bile cultures\u27 isolates, antibiotic sensitivities and antibiotic usage. a study on a Pakistani population.

Abstract Acute cholecystitis is one of the most common acute surgical conditions. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy remains the mainstay of treatment. In patients managed non-operatively, antibiotics play an important role in the treatment of cholecystitis. The current retrospective observational study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital in Karachi, and comprised medical records of patients admitted between 2008 and 2014with acute cholecystitis and in whom bile cultures were obtained. Of the 509 patients with a mean age of 51.15 ± 13.4years, early laparoscopic cholecystectomy (within 72hours) was performed on 473(92.9%) cases, while the rest underwent percutaneous cholecystostomy. Bile cultureswere positive in 171(33.6%) patients. Predominantly gram-negative organisms were isolated among a total of 137(27%), with E.coli 63(46%) being the most commonly isolated organism. Of the gram-positive organism, enterococcus 11(8%) was the most common. Antibiotic sensitivities were determined.Based on our findings gram-negative coverage alone should be sufficient in our segment of the population

Fly control to prevent diarrhoea in children

Background: Diarrhoeal disease accounts for millions of child deaths every year. Although the role of flies as vectors of infectious diarrhoea has been established, fly control is not often mentioned as an approach to decrease childhood diarrhoea. Theoretically, fly control for decreasing diarrhoea incidence can be achieved by intervening at four different levels: reduction or elimination of fly breeding sites; reduction of sources that attract houseflies; prevention of contact between flies and disease-causing organisms; and protection of people, food, and food utensils from contact with flies. Objectives: To assess the impact of various housefly control measures on the incidence of diarrhoea and its related morbidity and mortality in children under five years of age. Search methods: We searched electronic databases including the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) in the Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, and LILACS, from database inception to 24 May 2018. We also searched trial registries for relevant grey literature and ongoing trials. We checked the references of the identified studies and reviews. We did not apply any filters for language, publication status (published, unpublished, in press, and ongoing), or publication date. Selection criteria: We planned to include randomized controlled trials (RCTs), quasi-RCTs, and controlled before-and-after studies that studied the effect of fly control on diarrhoea in children under five years of age. Data collection and analysis: Two review authors extracted the data and independently assessed the risk of bias in the included study. We planned to contact study authors for additional information, where necessary. We assessed the certainty of the evidence using the GRADE approach. Main results: We included one cluster-RCT (491 participants) conducted in Pakistan that evaluated insecticide spraying in the first two years and baited fly traps in the third year. Insecticide spraying reduced the fly population (house index) in the intervention group during the four months of the year when both flies and cases of diarrhoea were more common, but not at other times. On average, this was associated with a reduction in the incidence of diarrhoea in the first year (illustrative mean episodes per child-year in the intervention group was 6.3 while in the control group was 7.1) and second year of the intervention (illustrative mean episodes per child year in the intervention group was 4.4 while in the control group was 6.5; rate ratio (RaR) 0.77, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.67 to 0.89, low-certainty evidence). In the third year of the intervention, the baited fly traps did not demonstrate an effect on the fly population or on diarrhoea incidence (RaR 1.15, 95% CI 0.90 to 1.47, low-certainty evidence). Authors’ conclusions: The trial, conducted in a setting where there were clear seasonal peaks in fly numbers and associated diarrhoea, shows insecticide spraying may reduce diarrhoea in children. Further research on whether this finding is applicable to other setting is required, as well as work on other fly control methods, their effects, feasibility, costs, and acceptability