Nonlinear Young integrals via fractional calculus

For H\"older continuous functions $W(t,x)$ and $\varphi_t$, we define nonlinear integral $\int_a^b W(dt, \varphi_t)$ via fractional calculus. This nonlinear integral arises naturally in the Feynman-Kac formula for stochastic heat equations with random coefficients. We also define iterated nonlinear integrals.Comment: arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1404.758

Protecting Two-Qubit Quantum States by π\pi-Phase Pulses

We study the state decay of two qubits interacted with a common harmonic oscillator reservoir. There are both decoherence error and the error caused by the amplitude change of the superradiant state. We show that frequent $\pi$-phase pulses can eliminate both typpes of errors therefore protect a two-qubit odd-parity state more effectively than the frequent measurement method. This shows that the the methods using dynamical decoupling and the quantum Zeno effects actually can give rather {\em different} results when the operation frequency is finite

Obstetric outcome of teenage pregnancies at a tertiary hospital in Enugu, Nigeria

Context: Maternal age, parity, and socioeconomic class are important determinants of obstetric outcome of pregnancy. Teenage pregnancy constitutes a high risk pregnancy with complications arising from a combination of physiological, anatomical, and socioeconomic factors.Objective: The objective was to determine the current incidence of all teenage pregnancies and their obstetric outcomes at UNTH, Enugu.Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective review of all teenage pregnancies at University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu over a 6-year period (2000--2005). A total of 74 teenage pregnancies were analyzed and compared with 105 controls (adult mothers).Results: Records of 74 teenage pregnancies were identified within the study period which constitutes 1.67% of 4422 deliveries within the period. Majority of the teenagers (78.3%) were nulliparous. There was statistically significant differences between the teenage mothers and older mothers in the rate of unemployment (75.7% vs. 24.8%, P = 0.000), booking status (41.9% vs. 100%, P = 0.000) anemia (32.4% vs. 24.8%, P = 0.001), unsure of last menstrual period (32.4% vs. 15.2%, P = 0.007), caesarean section (18.9% vs. 10.5%, P = 0.000), cephalopelvic disproportion as an indication for caesarean section (9.4% vs. 3.8%, P = 0.001), preterm delivery (18.9% vs. 11.4%, P = 0.001), low birth weight (23.0% vs. 10.5%, P = 0.005), episiotomy (61.7% vs. 28.7%, P = 0.001), instrumental delivery (6.8% vs. 2.9% P = 0.001), Apgar score at 1 minute (35.1% vs. 19.1% P = 0.005), and perinatal mortality (16.2% vs. 12.4%). There were no maternal deaths.Conclusion: Pregnant teenagers are at higher risk than their older counterparts. Female socioeducational development and proper use of contraceptive services will help reduce teenage pregnancy rate, while perinatal care will help to minimize it associated hazards

Fetal macrosomia: Obstetric outcome of 311 cases in UNTH, Enugu, Nigeria

Background: In modern obstetrics, fetal macrosomia is a major contributor to obstetric morbidity. It is an important cause of perinatal morbidity and mortality.Aim: This study aims to determine the maternal characteristics, fetal and neonatal complications associated with fetal macrosomia, and its contribution to obstetric morbidity in Enugu, Nigeria.Materials and Methods: This was a 3-year retrospective study carried out from 1st January 2005 to 31st December 2007.Results: There were a total of 434 cases of fetal macrosomia out of 5,365 deliveries. The incidence of fetal macrosomia was 8.1%. Only 311 case notes (71.6%) were available for analysis. Statistical analysis showed that mothers of macrosomic newborns were older (30.6 ± 5.6 vs. 27.4 ± 4.74; P = 0.001), higher parity (4.1 ± 2.7 vs. 2.5 ± 1.07; P = 0.001), and weighed more at term (89.13 ± 6.17 kg vs. 71.43 ± 5.27 kg; P = 0.002). The study group had more mothers with previous history of macrosomic babies (39.5% vs. 12.5%), diabetes (3.2% vs. 1%), significant higher cesarian section rate (27.3% vs. 11.9%, P = 0.001), and operative vaginal delivery (3.6% vs. 1%; P = 0.001) compared with the control. There was male dominance in the study group compared with the control (63% vs. 56.3%; P = 0.001), higher risk of fetal asphyxia (P = 0.001), and greater mean birth weight (3.6 ± 1.2 kg vs. 3.2 ± 0.6 kg; P = 0.002). There were 7 (2.3%) cases of shoulder dystocia in the macrosomic group and none in the non-macrosomic group. The stillbirth rate (3.2/1000) was the same in both study group and control. This was not statistically significant (P = 0.124).Conclusion: The precise determination of fetal weight is only done at delivery. Clinical and ultrasound determination of fetal weight are highly imprecise especially at the third trimester. The route of delivery should therefore be individualized

Trend in the use of Intra-uterine Contraceptive Device (IUCD ,TCU 380A) ,in Enugu, Nigeria

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the acceptance rate and trend of Intrauterine Contraceptive Device (IUCD) use in Enugu,NigeriaPATIENTS AND METHODS: A review of all new acceptors of intrauterine contraceptive device (IUCD) over a nine year period(1999-2007) .RESULTS: A total of 133,375 clients were seen at the UNTH family planning clinic between 1999 and 2007. Out of 6,947 users of IUCD, during the period, 1,659 were new acceptors. The IUCD acceptance rate was 5.21%. Majority of the clients (29.7%) were aged 40 years and above. Eight hundred and forty seven (51.4%) had attained post secondary education . Majority of the clients (99.4%) were married . Twenty-six percent(26.0%) had completed their desired family size. Majority 1,359 (82.4%) did not use any method of contraception prior to IUCD insertion. The commonest complication was menorrhagia (5.8%) and this was responsible for removal in 3.0% of cases. Eight (0.5%) and nine(0.6%) requested for removal forfear of causing cancer and migration to the brain or heart respectively. Two (0.1%) became pregnant while having the IUCD in-situ. Majority of the clients (50.5%) had the knowledge of IUCD through friends.Conclusion: This study has shown that IUCD (TCU 380A) is both safe and effective in Enugu, Nigeria. Its use is for both child spacing and limiting family size.KEYWORDS: Intrauterine contraceptive device, acceptance rate,complications

Seroprevalence of Human Immunodeficiency Virus, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, syphilis, and co infections among antenatal women in a tertiary institution in south east, Nigeria

Background: Sexually transmitted infections and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/AIDS are a major public health concern owing to both their prevalence and propensity to affect offspring through vertical transmission. Aim: The aim was to determine the seroprevalence of HIV, hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), syphilis, and co‑infections among antenatal women in Enugu, South‑East Nigeria. Materials and Methods: A retrospective study of antenatal women at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu, South‑East Nigeria from 1st May 2006 to 30th April 2008. A pretested data extraction form was used to obtain data on sociodemographic variables and screening test results from the antenatal records. The analysis was done with SPSS version 17 (Chicago, IL, USA). Results: A total of 1239 antenatal records was used for the study. The seroprevalence of HIV, HBV, HCV, and syphilis among the antenatal women were 12.4% (154/1239), 3.4% (42/1239) 2.6 (32/1239) 0.08% (1/1239), respectively. The HIV/HBV and HIV/HCV co‑infection prevalence rates were 0.24% (3/1239), 0.16% (2/1239), respectively. There was no HBC and HCV co‑infection among both HIV positive and negative antenatal women. There was no statistically significant difference in HBV and HCV infection between the HIV positive and negative antenatal women. The only woman that was seropositive for syphilis was also positive to HIV. Conclusion: The seroprevalence of HIV, HBV, HCV, and syphilis is still a challenge in Enugu. Community health education is necessary to reduce the prevalence of this infection among the most productive and economically viable age bracket.Keywords: Antenatal women, Co‑infection, Human immunodeficiency virus, Hepatitis C virus, Hepatitis B virus, Seroprevalence, Syphili

Seroprevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis in Enugu, Nigeria

Background: Chlamydia infections in women cause pelvic inflammatory disease, which often results in devastating consequences of infertility, ectopic pregnancy, or chronic pelvic pain. The infection is largely asymptomatic.Objective: To determine the seroprevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis in Enugu, South Eastern Nigeria.Materials and Methods: A population-based prospective study comprising female residents of Enugu, South Eastern Nigeria. Indirect solid phase enzyme immunoassay of Chlamydia antibodies was done using ImmunoComb C. Trachomatis IgG Kit (Orgenics).Results: The population comprised 136 female undergraduate students and 150 non-student women. The overall prevalence of C. trachomatis in the population studied was 29.4%. The percentage of subjects who admitted to be having multiple sexual partners was higher among the student population (71.2%) compared to those from the nonstudent population (28.8%). The highest percentage of seroprevalence was 28 (33.3%) in the age group of 20-24 years for the student population and 18 (21.4%) in the age group of 25-29 years for the non-student population. The highest seroprevalence of C. trachomatis antibodies (69.0%) in both populations was observed in females without any history of infection. Females that had pelvic inflammatory disease, sexually transmitted infection, and secondary infertility assayed for C. trachomatis had seroprevalence levels of 19%, 9.5%, and 2.4%, respectively. There was a positive correlation between positive Chlamydia assay and the type of subject population (student or non-student) with r2 value of 1.55 at P < 0.01.Conclusions: C. trachomatis infection is largely underdiagnosed and remains a silent disease in the apparently healthy population of Enugu, South eastern Nigeria

L\'evy-areas of Ornstein-Uhlenbeck processes in Hilbert-spaces

In this paper we investigate the existence and some useful properties of the L\'evy areas of Ornstein-Uhlenbeck processes associated to Hilbert-space-valued fractional Brownian-motions with Hurst parameter $H\in (1/3,1/2]$. We prove that this stochastic area has a H\"older-continuous version with sufficiently large H\"older-exponent and that can be approximated by smooth areas. In addition, we prove the stationarity of this area.Comment: 18 page

Loss of APD1 in Yeast Confers Hydroxyurea Sensitivity Suppressed by Yap1p Transcription Factor

Ferredoxins are iron-sulfur proteins that play important roles in electron transport and redox homeostasis. Yeast Apd1p is a novel member of the family of thioredoxin-like ferredoxins. In this study, we characterized the hydroxyurea (HU)-hypersensitive phenotype of apd1Δ cells. HU is an inhibitor of DNA synthesis, a cellular stressor and an anticancer agent. Although the loss of APD1 did not influence cell proliferation or cell cycle progression, it resulted in HU sensitivity. This sensitivity was reverted in the presence of antioxidant N-acetyl-cysteine, implicating a role for intracellular redox. Mutation of the iron-binding motifs in Apd1p abrogated its ability to rescue HU sensitivity in apd1Δ cells. The iron-binding activity of Apd1p was verified by a color assay. By mass spectrometry two irons were found to be incorporated into one Apd1p protein molecule. Surprisingly, ribonucleotide reductase genes were not induced in apd1Δ cells and the HU sensitivity was unaffected when dNTP production was boosted. A suppressor screen was performed and the expression of stress-regulated transcription factor Yap1p was found to effectively rescue the HU sensitivity in apd1Δ cells. Taken together, our work identified Apd1p as a new ferredoxin which serves critical roles in cellular defense against HU.published_or_final_versio

Wong-Zakai approximation of solutions to reflecting stochastic differential equations on domains in Euclidean spaces II

The strong convergence of Wong-Zakai approximations of the solution to the reflecting stochastic differential equations was studied in [2]. We continue the study and prove the strong convergence under weaker assumptions on the domain.Comment: To appear in "Stochastic Analysis and Applications 2014-In Honour of Terry Lyons", Springer Proceedings in Mathematics and Statistic