An Estimate of the Incidence of Prostate Cancer in Africa: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Prostate cancer (PCa) is rated the second most common cancer and sixth leading cause of cancer deaths among men globally. Reports show that African men suffer disproportionately from PCa compared to men from other parts of the world. It is still quite difficult to accurately describe the burden of PCa in Africa due to poor cancer registration systems.We systematically reviewed the literature on prostate cancer in Africa and provided a continentwide incidence rate of PCa based on available data in the regio

Omics-based molecular techniques in oral pathology centred cancer: Prospect and challenges in Africa

: The completion of the human genome project and the accomplished milestones in the human proteome project; as well as the progress made so far in computational bioinformatics and “big data” processing have contributed immensely to individualized/personalized medicine in the developed world.At the dawn of precision medicine, various omics-based therapies and bioengineering can now be applied accurately for the diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, and risk stratifcation of cancer in a manner that was hitherto not thought possible. The widespread introduction of genomics and other omics-based approaches into the postgraduate training curriculum of diverse medical and dental specialties, including pathology has improved the profciency of practitioners in the use of novel molecular signatures in patient management. In addition, intricate details about disease disparity among diferent human populations are beginning to emerge. This would facilitate the use of tailor-made novel theranostic methods based on emerging molecular evidences

Reducing Small Scale Farmers Poverty through Credit access in Kwara State Nigeria

This is a study of credit access by small scale farmers and its impact on poverty reduction in Kwara state. The study made use of survey research design and adapted the Cobb-Douglas production function which measured the productivity of small scale farmers using ordinary least square method. The study also measured profitability, Net farm income and poverty status of borrowers and non-borrowers. It was found that though credit users had higher productivity, profitability and Net farm income compared to non-credit users, the difference was insignificant. Also, it was found that the poverty level of the famers who had access to credit was lower than that of farmers who did not have access to credit. Hence, the study concludes that credit can guarantee poverty reduction and also assist to include small scale farmers in the growth process if it is made available in sufficient quantities. The study therefore recommends an increase in credit available to small scale farmers through collaborative efforts between formal financial institutions and government since credit can positively impact on poverty reduction. Keywords: Credit, Small Scale Farmers, Poverty reduction

ABNORMAL BODY WEIGHT AND ITS SOCIOECONOMIC DETERMINANTS: EVIDENCE FROM NIGERIA

Obesity and overweight are among the major contributors to the global burden of diseases as measured by Disability-Adjusted Life Years due to its capability of increasing the risks of health related diseases. Strand of literature has focused on the biological factor with less emphasis on socioeconomic factors. Using dataset from the 2013 National Population for Demographic and Health Survey (DHS), this study applies binary probit regression model to examine the socioeconomic determinants of overweight and obesity in Nigeria. The study came up with the following broad stylized facts for overweight and obesity. The socioeconomic determinants of probability of overweight were age, gender, marital status, household size, education years, rural locality, wealth index (if poor), ethnicities and educated female. More so, age, female gender, marital status, household size, education years and educated female influence the probability of overweight among households positively; while age, rural locality, poverty and ethnicities influence the probability of overweight among households negatively. Also, the socioeconomic determinants of probability of obesity are age, female gender, marital status, household size, education years, rural locality, wealth index (if poor), ethnicities, poor female, educated female and educated poor. Finally, the study recommends public health education, cultural and value reorientation among others as solution to the problem of overweight and obesity in Nigeria. JE

Does Foreign Direct Investments Impact Agricultural Output in Nigeria? An Error Correction Modelling Approach

This study measures the impact of foreign direct investment on agricultural output in Nigeria. It opines that foreign direct investment is one of the viable techniques of financing development in developing countries. To achieve our objective, the study used times series data spanning a period of 34 years for several variables from credible sources. The method of analysis used was Error correction model. The study found an insignificantly positive effect of foreign direct investment on agricultural output in the short-run but found a significant effect on agricultural output in the long-run. Furthermore, the study found a significant effect of employment, exchange rate, and interest rates on agricultural output in the long-run. It is recommended that deliberate polices must be quickly enacted to reduce interest rates for farm purposes, encourage labour availability in agriculture and stabilize exchange rates within the Nigerian economy. These way foreign investors will be encouraged to import their capital for agricultural production activities now which will be a guarantee for a significant impact of foreign direct investment on agricultural output in the long run

Production function analysis of cassava sole cropping systems in Akwa Ibrm state, Nigeria

No Abstract. Global Journal of Pure and Applied Physics Vol. 14 (1) 2008 pp. 13-1

Prevalence of Lassa virus among rodents trapped in three South-South States of Nigeria

Background & objectives: Lassa fever has been endemic in Nigeria since 1969. The rodent Mastomys natalensis has been widely claimed to be the reservoir host of the Lassa virus. This study was designed to investigate the dis- tribution of species of rodents in three states (Edo, Delta and Bayelsa) of Nigeria and to determine the prevalence of Lassa virus amongst trapped rodents in the selected states. Methods: Rodents were trapped during November 2015 to October 2016 from the three states in South-South re- gion of Nigeria. Total RNA was extracted from the blood collected from the trapped rodents. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to confirm the presence of Lassa virus in the rodents. Results: The results revealed that six species of rodents were predominantly present in these geographical locations. Mus musculus (39.4%) had the highest prevalence, closely followed by Rattus rattus (36.1%), R. fuscipus (20.3%), M. natalensis (2%), Myosoricinae soricidae (1.2%) and R. norvegicus (1%). The overall positivity (carrier rate) of Lassa virus was 1.6% amongst the 1500 rodents caught in the three states. In Edo and Delta States, the RT-PCR results showed presence of Lassa virus in R. rattus, M. musculus and M. natalensis. On the other hand, only M. na- talensis was detected with the virus, amongst the species of rodents caught in Bayelsa State. M. natalensis recorded the highest Lassa virus among rodents trapped in Edo (87%), Delta (50%) and Bayelsa (11%) States respectively. Interpretation & conclusion: The rather low Lassa virus positive among rodents in Bayelsa State of Nigeria may explain the absence of reports of outbreak of Lassa fever over the past 48 yr in the state. The results also confirmed that apart from Mastomys natalensis, other rodents such as Rattus rattus and Mus musculus may also serve as res- ervoirs for Lassa virus. From the findings of this cross-sectional study, it was concluded that a more comprehensive study on rodents as reservoir host, need to be undertaken across the entire states of Nigeria, for better understanding of the epidemiology and endemicity of Lassa fever