Epidemiology of Urinary Schistosomiasis Among Secondary School Students in Lafia, Nasarawa State, Nigeria

Schistosoma haematobium infection is one of the parasitic diseases of public health importance affecting 100 million people worldwide; more than 75% live in sub-Sahara Africa. This study sought to determine the prevalence of urinary schistosomiasis among secondary school students in Lafia and the risk factors associated to it. One hundred and sixty (160) urine samples were obtained from students from both private and public schools in Lafia, Nasarawa State. Urine samples were analyzed in the Laboratory using sedimentation/centrifugation technique. The results indicate that 26(16.3%) of the urine samples collected were positive for S. haematobium eggs. The highest prevalence of 25% was recorded among students from Government Secondary School Shabu. Students between the age group 11- 15 had the highest prevalence of the infection. Infections were found to be high in males 23 (18.70%) than female 3(8.1%) students. Students using stream as their major water source had a high prevalence rate of 22.6%. Among those positive for the infection, 70% had haematuria alone, 14% had proteinuria alone and 50% had a combination of proteinuria and haematuria whereas 8.2% had none. The problems of lack of pure and portable water supply in schools and homes in Lafia makes the Children at high risk of exposure to schistosomiasis and the implications of this disease in the children affects socioeconomic development of the country. Health awareness education and massive chemotherapy as well as environmental measures that may reduce population density of snail; the intermediate host of S. haematobium will be useful in the control of urinary schistosomiasis. Keywords: Schistosomiasis, infection, Secondary School Students, public health and ova

The burden of Hepatitis B and C virus infections in patients with sickle cell anaemia in Jos – Nigeria

Background: Sickle cell anaemia (SCA) is an important public health problem in Nigeria associated with frequent blood transfusion. Patients with this disease are at increased risk of contracting hepatitis B and C virus through blood transfusions.Objective: The study aimed at determining the burden of hepatitis B and C virus infections in patients with sickle cell anaemia and the role of blood transfusion in these infections acquisition in Jos.Materials and methods: This was an observational cross-sectional study conducted on patients with SCA attending the Haematology Out-patient Clinic of Jos University Teaching Hospital,between November 2014 and August 2015.Consenting patients with SCA had their blood screened for anti- HBV and HCV antibodies using fourth generation Elisa techniques after completing a questionnaire.Results: One hundred and eleven patients with SCA participated. Antibodies to Hepatitis B virus (HBV) was detected in 21 (18.9%) while that to Hepatitis C virus (HCV) was found in 16 (14.7%). Seventy six (68.5%) of the participants had history of blood transfusion while 35 (31.5%) were never transfused. 22.4% and 15.8% of those transfused were positive for HBV and HCV antibodies respectively. There was no significant difference in the proportion of those positive for anti HBV or HCV with respect to their transfusion status (p=0.24 and 0.81 respectively).Conclusion: The proportion of our patients with SCA that were anti HBV and anti-HCV positive was high. Blood transfusion did not significantly influence their positive status. Strategies aimed at controlling these viral infections in these patients and the general population should be enforced after public awareness campaigns and advocacy are instituted.Keywords: Sickle Cell Anaemia, burden, Hepatitis B Virus, Hepatitis CVirus, infection, Blood Transfusio

Antimicrobial resistance pattern of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolated from sheep and humans in Veterinary Hospital Maiduguri, Nigeria

BACKGROUND AND AIM : Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), an important opportunistic pathogen, is a Gram-positive coccus known to be resistant to β-lactam antibiotics. Its virulence depends on a large range of factors, mainly extracellular proteins, such as enzymes and exotoxins, that contribute to causing a wide range of diseases in human and animal species. The major reasons for the success of this pathogen are its great variability, which enables it to occur and thrive at different periods and places with diverse clonal types and antibiotic resistance patterns within regions and countries. Infections caused by antibiotic-resistant S. aureus bring about serious problems in the general population (humans and animals). Infections with these pathogens can be devastating, particularly for the very young, adults and immunocompromised patients in both humans and animals. This study aimed to determine the presence of MRSA in both apparently healthy and sick sheep brought to the veterinary hospital as well as veterinary staff and students on clinical attachment in the hospital. MATERIALS AND METHODS : A total of 200 nasal swab samples were collected aseptically from sheep and humans (100 each) for the isolation of MRSA. The samples were processed by appropriately transporting them to the laboratory, then propagated in nutrient broth at 37°C for 24 h followed by subculturing on mannitol salt agar at 37°C for 24 h, to identify S. aureus. This was followed by biochemical tests (catalase and coagulase tests) and Gram staining. MRSA was isolated using Clinical Laboratory Standard Institute (CLSI) guideline and confirmed by plating onto Oxacillin (OX) Resistance Screening Agar Base agar. The antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of the MRSA isolates was determined using the disk diffusion method against 12 commonly used antimicrobial agents. RESULTS : The total rate of nasal carriage of S. aureus and MRSA was found to be 51% and 43% in sheep and humans, respectively. The MRSA prevalence in male and female sheep was 18% and 8%, while 9% and 8% were for male and female human samples, respectively. The antimicrobial susceptibility test showed 100% resistance to OX, cefoxitin, oxytetracycline, cephazolin, and penicillin-G (Pen) by MRSA isolates from humans. Conversely, there was 100% susceptibility to ciprofloxacin, imipenem, and gentamicin; for linezolid (LZD), it was 87.5%, norfloxacin (NOR) (71%), and erythromycin (ERY) (50%) susceptibility was recorded. The MRSA isolates from sheep recorded 100% resistance to the same set of drugs used for human MRSA isolates and were equally 100% susceptible to gentamicin, imipenem, LZD, ciprofloxacin, NOR (92%), and ERY (50%). CONCLUSION : This study determined the presence of MRSA in sheep and humans from the Veterinary Hospital, Maiduguri. It appears that certain drugs such as ciprofloxacin, imipenem, and gentamicin will continue to remain effective against MRSA associated with humans and sheep. Reasons for the observed patterns of resistance must be explored to reduce the burdens of MRSA resistance. Furthermore, the present study did not confirm the MRSA resistance genes such as mecA and spa typing to ascertain the polymorphism in the X-region using appropriate molecular techniques. Hence more studies need to be conducted to elucidate these findings using robust techniques.http://www.veterinaryworld.orgam2023Production Animal StudiesVeterinary Tropical Disease

Gender Gap in Parental Leave Intentions: Evidence from 37 Countries

Despite global commitments and efforts, a gender-based division of paid and unpaid work persists. To identify how psychological factors, national policies, and the broader sociocultural context contribute to this inequality, we assessed parental-leave intentions in young adults (18–30 years old) planning to have children (N = 13,942; 8,880 identified as women; 5,062 identified as men) across 37 countries that varied in parental-leave policies and societal gender equality. In all countries, women intended to take longer leave than men. National parental-leave policies and women’s political representation partially explained cross-national variations in the gender gap. Gender gaps in leave intentions were paradoxically larger in countries with more gender-egalitarian parental-leave policies (i.e., longer leave available to both fathers and mothers). Interestingly, this cross-national variation in the gender gap was driven by cross-national variations in women’s (rather than men’s) leave intentions. Financially generous leave and gender-egalitarian policies (linked to men’s higher uptake in prior research) were not associated with leave intentions in men. Rather, men’s leave intentions were related to their individual gender attitudes. Leave intentions were inversely related to career ambitions. The potential for existing policies to foster gender equality in paid and unpaid work is discussed.Gender Gap in Parental Leave Intentions: Evidence from 37 CountriespublishedVersio

Gender Gap in Parental Leave Intentions: Evidence from 37 Countries

Despite global commitments and efforts, a gender-based division of paid and unpaid work persists. To identify how psychological factors, national policies, and the broader sociocultural context contribute to this inequality, we assessed parental-leave intentions in young adults (18–30 years old) planning to have children (N = 13,942; 8,880 identified as women; 5,062 identified as men) across 37 countries that varied in parental-leave policies and societal gender equality. In all countries, women intended to take longer leave than men. National parental-leave policies and women’s political representation partially explained cross-national variations in the gender gap. Gender gaps in leave intentions were paradoxically larger in countries with more gender-egalitarian parental-leave policies (i.e., longer leave available to both fathers and mothers). Interestingly, this cross-national variation in the gender gap was driven by cross-national variations in women’s (rather than men’s) leave intentions. Financially generous leave and gender-egalitarian policies (linked to men’s higher uptake in prior research) were not associated with leave intentions in men. Rather, men’s leave intentions were related to their individual gender attitudes. Leave intentions were inversely related to career ambitions. The potential for existing policies to foster gender equality in paid and unpaid work is discussed

Gender gap in parental leave intentions: Evidence from 37 countries

This is the final version. Available from Wiley via the DOI in this record. Despite global commitments and efforts, a gender-based division of paid and unpaid work persists. To identify how psychological factors, national policies, and the broader sociocultural context contribute to this inequality, we assessed parental-leave intentions in young adults (18–30years old) planning to have children (N = 13,942; 8,880 identified as women; 5,062 identified as men) across 37 countries that varied in parental-leave policies and societal gender equality. In all countries, women intended to take longer leave than men. National parental-leave policies and women’s political representation partially explained cross-national variations in the gender gap. Gender gaps in leave intentions were paradoxically larger in countries with more gender-egalitarian parental-leave policies (i.e., longer leave available to both fathers and mothers). Interestingly, this cross-national variation in the gender gap was driven by cross-national variations in women’s (rather than men’s) leave intentions. Financially generous leave and gender-egalitarian policies (linked to men’s higher uptake in prior research) were not associated with leave intentions in men. Rather, men’s leave intentions were related to their individual gender attitudes. Leave intentions were inversely related to career ambitions. The potential for existing policies to foster gender equality in paid and unpaid work is discussed.SSHRC Insight Development GrantSSHRC Insight GrantEconomic and Social Research CouncilState Research AgencyGuangdong 13th-five Philosophy and Social Science Planning ProjectNational Natural Science Foundation of ChinaSwiss National Science FoundationSwiss National Science FoundationCenter for Social Conflict and Cohesion StudiesCenter for Intercultural and Indigenous ResearchSSHRC Postdoctoral FellowshipSlovak Research and Development AgencySwiss National Science FoundationCanada Research ChairsSocial Sciences and Humanities Research Council of CanadaOntario Ministry of Research and InnovationHSE University, RFFaculty of Arts, Masaryk Universit

Fitting in emotionally: The relation between emotional acculturation in immigrant minority youth and their engagement in the majority culture

Emotional acculturation is the process throughout which immigrants' emotional experiences come to fit with the typical emotional experience of majority members. Previous research has shown that immigrants' emotional fit with the majority culture is associated with their degree of cultural exposure and social contact with majority members of the culture (De Leersnyder, Mesquita, & Kim, 2011). In my doctoral dissertation, I focus on better understanding (a) the ways exposure and social engagement in the majority culture bring about emotional fit in immigrant minorities, and (b) the role of emotional fit for their social engagement in the majority culture. Adopting a cultural-psychology perspective on emotional acculturation, I put forward that immigrant minorities' emotional experiences come to fit the majority norm through repeated (emotional) interactions with people from the majority culture, in which emotional fit is modeled and rewarded, and misfit is reflected by disfluency of interaction, which itself may over time build up to negative outcomes. In my research, I study the process of emotional acculturation in immigrant minority youth in the school context. Due to the increasing ethnic diversity in schools in Belgium, the school provides an important context for emotional acculturation; one in which cross-cultural interactions may naturally take place. In my dissertation, I aim to: (1) test systematic links between minorities' emotional fit with the majority culture and their exposure to and engagement in the majority culture; (2) identify these links both for distal fit (with the normative emotions of the majority at large) and proximal fit (with majority peers in the class room); (3) examine emotional acculturation over time by examining the links between emotional fit and cross-cultural contact longitudinally; (4) examine the way emotional acculturation is contingent on immigrant minorities' close friendships with majority members; and (5) examine minorities' emotional fit as a process of situational adjustment in response to the quality of everyday interactions with majority. The research aims in my dissertation have been addressed, using a variety of research procedures, methods and analytical approaches, and include data from cross-sectional and longitudinal multilevel study designs, social networks, and experience sampling methodologies. Many, though not all, of the studies make use of a large nationwide sample of middle school student.status: publishe