Perception and risk factors for cervical cancer among women in northern Ghana

Objective: This study assessed the perception of risk of cervical cancer and existence of risk factors for cervical cancer based on five known risk factors among women attending the Tamale Teaching Hospital in Tamale, Ghana.Methods: A consecutive sample of 300 women was interviewed using a semi structured questionnaire to inquire about risk factors and perception of risk of cervical cancer. Specific risk factors that were explored included early coitarche, multiple sexual partners, polygamous relationships, history of smoking, and having a current partner who had multiple sexual partners.Results: Sixty-one per cent of women reported that they had no personal risk for cervical cancer. 27% of respondents were in polygamous relationships, and of those, more than half didn’t think they were at an increased risk of cervical cancer. 2 women had a total of ≥ 5 sexual partners in their lifetime and neither believed they were at any risk for cervical cancer. 23% said their current partner had had at least 2 sexual partners in his lifetime, and of those, (61%) thought they were at no risk for cervical cancer. 46% of respondents reported not having any of the risk factors listed in the study. 23% of respondents reported having one risk factor while 21% had two risk factors and 11% had three or more risk factors.Conclusion: Women’s perception of personal risk for cervical cancer is lower than their actual risk based on the five behavioural risk factors assessed and a lack of knowledge of the personal factors for the diseaseFunding: This project was supported by NIH Research Training Grant #R25 TW009345 funded by the Fogarty International Centre, in partnership with several NIH Institutes (NIMH, NIGMS, NHLBI, OAR and OWH)Keywords: Cervical Cancer, Risk, Perceptions, Northern Ghan

Establishing the First Geriatric Medicine Fellowship Program in Ghana

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/151282/1/jgs16014.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/151282/2/jgs16014_am.pd

Depression and risk factors for depression among mothers of sick infants in Kumasi, Ghana

ObjectiveTo describe the prevalence of and risk factors for depression in a high‐risk population of mothers of ill newborns in Ghana.MethodsSemi‐structured interviews were conducted with women who had a hospitalized newborn at a tertiary teaching hospital in Kumasi, Ghana. Surveys included information on maternal demographics, pregnancy and delivery, interpersonal violence, and social support. Postpartum depression was measured with the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)‐9. Bivariable analysis was conducted using analysis of variance, χ2, and Fisher exact tests; multivariable analysis was performed using multinomial logistic regression.ResultsIn total, 153 women completed the survey. Fifty (32.7%) had PHQ‐9 scores of 5–9, indicating mild depression; 42 (27.4%) had PHQ‐9 scores of 10–14, indicating moderate depression; and 15 (9.8%) had scores of 15 or higher, indicative of moderate/severe depression. History of interpersonal violence with current partner predicted depression.ConclusionMothers of sick infants in Ghana are at high risk for symptoms of clinical depression. This is of critical importance because maternal depression affects infant health outcomes and may be particularly important for mothers of sick infants.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/135602/1/ijgo228.pd

Volume 02

Introduction from Dean Dr. Charles Ross Mike\u27s Nite: New Jazz for an Old Instrument by Joseph A. Mann Investigation of the use of Cucumis Sativus for Remediation Of Chromium from Contaminated Environmental Matrices: An Interdisciplinary Instrumental Analysis Project by Kathryn J. Greenly, Scott E. Jenkins, and Andrew E. Puckette Development of GC-MS and Chemometric Methods for the Analysis of Accelerants in Arson Cases by Scott Jenkins Building and Measuring Scalable Computing Systems by Daniel M. Honey and Jeffery P. Ravenhorst Nomini Hall: A Case Study in the Use of Archival Resources as Guides for Excavation at An Archaeological Site by Jamie Elizabeth Mesrobian Two Stories: In Ohio and How to Stay Out of the Brazilian Army by Thomas Scott Forgerson des Hommes/Stealing the Steel in Zola\u27s Men by Jay Crowell Paul Gauguin\u27s Escape into Primitivism by Sarah Spangenberg Lee Krasner, Abstract Expressionist by Amy S. Eason Artist Book “Paris” by Kenny Wolfe Artist Book “Sequence of Every Day” by Liz Hale Artist Book “Apple Tree” by Rachel Bouchard Artist Book “Not so Pretty in Pink” by Will Semonco Artist Book “Look into the Moon” by Carley York Artist Books “Extra” and “Green” by Ryan Higgenbothom Artist Book “Re-growing Appalachia” by Adrienne Heinbaugh Artist Books “Cheeziest”, “Uh-oh” and “The Girl with the Glasses” by Melissa Dorton “Self-Reflection” by Madeline Hunter Artist Book “The Princess and the Frog” by June Ashmore “Hunter’s Niche” and “The Wild” by Clark Barkley “To Thine Own Self be True” by Jay Haley “Not Funny” Ten-Minute Play Festiva

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements

Ten new insights in climate science 2020 – a horizon scan

Non-technical summary We summarize some of the past year's most important findings within climate change-related research. New research has improved our understanding of Earth's sensitivity to carbon dioxide, finds that permafrost thaw could release more carbon emissions than expected and that the uptake of carbon in tropical ecosystems is weakening. Adverse impacts on human society include increasing water shortages and impacts on mental health. Options for solutions emerge from rethinking economic models, rights-based litigation, strengthened governance systems and a new social contract. The disruption caused by COVID-19 could be seized as an opportunity for positive change, directing economic stimulus towards sustainable investments. Technical summary A synthesis is made of ten fields within climate science where there have been significant advances since mid-2019, through an expert elicitation process with broad disciplinary scope. Findings include: (1) a better understanding of equilibrium climate sensitivity; (2) abrupt thaw as an accelerator of carbon release from permafrost; (3) changes to global and regional land carbon sinks; (4) impacts of climate change on water crises, including equity perspectives; (5) adverse effects on mental health from climate change; (6) immediate effects on climate of the COVID-19 pandemic and requirements for recovery packages to deliver on the Paris Agreement; (7) suggested long-term changes to governance and a social contract to address climate change, learning from the current pandemic, (8) updated positive cost–benefit ratio and new perspectives on the potential for green growth in the short- and long-term perspective; (9) urban electrification as a strategy to move towards low-carbon energy systems and (10) rights-based litigation as an increasingly important method to address climate change, with recent clarifications on the legal standing and representation of future generations. Social media summary Stronger permafrost thaw, COVID-19 effects and growing mental health impacts among highlights of latest climate science