Utilization of insecticide treated nets during pregnancy among postpartum women in Ibadan, Nigeria: a cross-sectional study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Pregnant women are susceptible to symptomatic malaria due to invasion of the placenta by plasmodium. Malaria increases the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes for mothers, the foetuses and newborns. The effective use of Insecticide Treated Nets (ITNs) would be of benefit to these vulnerable women. Previous studies have focused on prenatal-women but this study sought to explore the actual trend of utilization of the proven strategy across all the pregnancy stages among postpartum women in Ibadan.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This cross-sectional survey utilized a validated structured questionnaire for data collection. A calculated sample of 335 postpartum women was proportionately recruited from three fee-paying facilities within Ibadan, Nigeria using a simple random sampling technique. These hospitals have high client flow for maternity cases and are known for provision of care under traditional ANC model. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics by means of Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS) version 15. The level of significance was set at = 0.05.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The women's age ranged between 18 and 47 years, mean age was 29.4 ± 0.8 years. Various irregularities marked the traditional model of ANC provided at the settings and no exposure to preconception care. Also, 276 (82.4%) had heard of ITNs. Antenatal clinics formed the major source of information. Low utilization and compliance rates were observed. One hundred and twenty-seven (37.9%) of the women had high knowledge of Malaria in Pregnancy (MIP) but only 70 (20.9%) demonstrated positive attitude towards the use of ITNs. Participants' educational status, family types, employment and residential areas significantly influenced ITNs utilization.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The women knew and learned about ITNs from ANC visits. Majority of the women did not own ITNs because of lack of access to free distribution. The existing traditional model of ANC was marked by irregularities and none of the women was exposed to preconception care. In addition, negative attitude in spite of increased knowledge of MIP was observed among the women. Therefore, evaluation of free distribution of ITNs is recommended. Integration of focused ANC and preconception care are advocated to promote early access to health information.</p

Manpower capacity and reasons for staff shortage in primary health care maternity centres in Nigeria: A mixed-methods study

The heart-breaking maternal and neonatal health indicators in Nigeria are not improving despite previous interventions, such as ‘Health for all’ and ‘Millennium Development Goals. The unattained health-related goals/targets of previous interventions put the success of the new Sustainable Development Goals in doubt if the existing paradigm remains unchanged. Thus, mere branding of health policies without improving what constitutes the health system such as manpower capacity and quality as well as staff-patients ratio will be wasteful efforts. This issue of global public health concern provided an indication for describing the capacity of manpower and reasons for staff shortage in primary level of health that are providing maternity services to women and their new-borns in Nigeria

Single Feature Polymorphism Discovery in Rice

The discovery of nucleotide diversity captured as single feature polymorphism (SFP) by using the expression array is a high-throughput and effective method in detecting genome-wide polymorphism. The efficacy of such method was tested in rice, and the results presented in the paper indicate high sensitivity in predicting SFP. The sensitivity of polymorphism detection was further demonstrated by the fact that no biasness was observed in detecting SFP with either single or multiple nucleotide polymorphisms. The high density SFP data that can be generated quite effectively by the current method has promise for high resolution genetic mapping studies, as physical location of features are well-defined on rice genome

Unlocking the biological potential of proteins from edible insects through enzymatic hydrolysis: a review

peer-reviewedThis review, focusing on studies published between 2005 and 2017, analysed the literature on the generation of bioactive peptides (BAPs) from edible insect proteins following enzymatic hydrolysis. The protein extraction and quantification methodologies used for edible insects varied considerably. While several edible insects have been evaluated for their ability to release BAPs, silkworm (Bombyx mori) is currently the most studied. Specifically, the angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory, antioxidant and antidiabetic properties of edible insect protein enzymatic hydrolysates have been studied. Potent in vitro ACE inhibitory and antioxidant hydrolysates/peptides have been reported. In certain instances, these properties were validated in small animal studies (i.e. hypotensive effects). Enzymatic hydrolysis of edible insect proteins may also enhance technofunctional properties (i.e. solubility). The wider application of enzymatic hydrolysis protocols to edible insect proteins may ultimately allow for the increased discovery and utilisation of novel BAPs as sustainable protein/peptide sources for human nutrition.ACCEPTEDpeer-reviewe

Awareness Of Breast Cancer Screening Among Female Undergraduate Students Of University Of Ibadan, Nigeria

The mortality and morbidity rate of carcinoma of the breast among Nigerian women is alarming and is a serious health issue to health professionals especially nurses. The high rate of mortality and morbidity associated with breast cancer can be reduced through early detection measures which include mammography, clinical breast examination (CBE) and breast self examination (BSE). The aim of this study therefore is to determine the level of awareness of breast cancer screening methods among the female undergraduate students of University of Ibadan who are future mothers. This is a non-experimental descriptive study that utilised a self-structured questionnaire for collection of data. Three hundred willing female undergraduate students drawn proportionately from the three halls of residence participated in the study. Only 286 out of the 300 questionnaires distributed, were correctly filled, and fit for analysis. The Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS) was utilised for analysis of data. The age of the respondents ranged from 16 to 40 years. Majority (92.6%) were single. Those who have heard about BSE, CBE and mammography were 82.7%, 59.8% and 46% respectively. The mass media top the list of sources of information. However, only 33.8% demonstrated good knowledge of appropriate time BSE should be carried out. Larger proportion; 81.2% had never accessed CBE at any particular time in life. There is a significant association between the respondents\' level of awareness of mammography and the respondent mothers\' level of education, (P ? 0.05). The findings of the study revealed high level of awareness of BSE but low level of knowledge. Similarly, the number of respondents who had benefited from CBE was very low. Therefore, nurses, midwives and doctors are encouraged to teach their clients BSE and incorporate CBE into the routine physical examination of their clients. Keywords: Awareness, Breast cancer, Screening, Undergraduate students.African Journal for the Psychological Study of Social Issues Vol. 11 (1&2) 2008: pp. 161-17

Characteristics of the flesh and carcass weight of diploid and triploid Heterobranchus longifilis

No Abstract.Nigerian Journal of Genetics Vol. 15 2000: pp. 54-6

Studies on seed yield potential of some selected kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.) genotypes

Kenaf seed yield depends on morpho-physiological traits between varieties, and the interaction between genotype and the environment. Studies were conducted in Ibadan, Ilora and Kisi stations of the Institute of Agricultural Research and Training (IAR&amp;T), Obafemi Awolowo University, Moor Plantation, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria during 2009 and 2010 cropping seasons to determine the influence of location and genotypes on seed yield potentials in 20 kenaf genotypes. The experiment was carried out using Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD). Result shows that, kenaf plants had tallest average capsule height in Ilora in both years, while higher numbers of capsule/plant and seed number/capsule were recorded in Kishi. There were no significant differences among all the genotypes planted irrespective of the location on seed weight/plant, 100 seed weight and seed yield/ha. Average highest capsule height was recorded in 2009 across genotypes. However, average number of capsule/plant, seed number/capsule, seed weight/plant and seed yield/ha were higher in 2010. Local kenaf had highest number of capsules (55.04) with about the least seeds per capsule (9.45) and least weight of seed per plant (3.30 g). While BS-1 had the least capsule number (18.86) and highest seeds per capsule (15.74) was recorded in SF-549. AU-75 recorded the highest seed weight/plant. The 100 seed weight ranged from 3.37 to 2.19 g. Seed yield/ha across genotypes ranged from 660 kg/ha in Local line 36 to 1454.3 kg/ha in AU-75.Keywords: Kenaf, capsule height, capsule number, seed number, seed weight/capsule, 100 seed weight and seed yield/ha.African Journal of Biotechnology, Vol 13(24) 2420-242

Knowledge And Utilization Of Cervical Cancer Vaccine Among Female Undergraduates In University Of Ibadan, Ibadan

Cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality among women in developing countries. An estimated 529,409 new cases and approximately 274,883 deaths are recorded annually. Vaccination has been identified as the surest way of preventing cervical cancer. Cervical cancer vaccines were licensed and introduced in Nigeria in 2009, but they are being utilized by only a few privileged population. Although cervical cancer is known to be preventable, poor knowledge of the disease and the possible preventive measures are responsible for late presentation of cases and consequently high cases of mortality in Nigeria. This study identified the knowledge and utilization of such vaccines available for cervical cancer prevention.This Study adopted a descriptive cross-sectional survey to assess the level of knowledge and utilization of cervical cancer vaccine. The instrument for the study was a semi-structured questionnaire. Data obtained was coded and entered into spread sheet, and analysis was done using SPSS (version 20.0). Chi-square test and independent sample t- test was used to determine whether the relationships between the variables are statistically significant at P &lt; 0.05.A very low level of knowledge and awareness, 45.6% was seen among the female undergraduates. This also amounted to a low utilization; as 99.5% had never utilized the services. Different factors were also identified as barriers to utilization of screening services such as affordability, accessibility, fear of procedure among many others.The menace cervical cancer is very high in Nigeria. There is urgent great need to establish adequate measures to ensure that services are available, knowledge about the disease is adequate and that available services are being utilized.Key words: Cervical Cancer, Knowledge, Utilization, Vaccine, Female Undergraduate