Benefit Incidence Analysis of Government Spending on Education in Anambra State, Nigeria.

Education services have been identified as one of the most important services the poor need to escape from poverty. Governments generally devote significant portion of her budget to provision of education services in developing countries. This study employed the non-behavioural method of benefit incidence analysis to assess how equitably government expenditure in education has been well targeted across households and gender in Anambra state, Nigeria. The study found that primary and secondary education were absolutely progressive across households, absolute progressive for female and just progressive for male primary education spending, while secondary education spending is just progressive across both sexes. Among other policies, strict implementation of the compulsory free basic education as stated in the National Policy on Education was recommended. Keywords: Benefit incidence analysis, progressivity, concentration curve, public expenditure, education

Rehabilitation Services, Self-Advocacy and Psychosocial Adaptation as Determinants of Employment among Persons with Spinal Cord Injury

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors that determine employment in adults with Spinal Cord Injury (SCI). Methods: Participants were community-dwelling adults with SCI from three states of the United States. Participants included 101 adults who have lived with SCI for at least one year before the onset of the study. Cross-sectional design through the use of questionnaire was used in this research. Participants were recruited through purposive sampling. Descriptive analysis, correlation analysis, regression analysis, and path analysis were used to analysis the study data. Results: The results of this study suggest that age, education, and psychosocial adaptation are the predictors of employment in this sample of persons with SCI

Outcome of instrumental vaginal delivery in university of Abuja teaching hospital: a five-year review

Background: Most women will achieve spontaneous vaginal delivery; however, a few will need assistance in form of Instrumental vaginal delivery (IVD). These are employed to shorten the second stage on labour and to minimize the incidence of cesarean section. The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence and outcomes of instrumental vaginal delivery at the University of Abuja teaching hospital.Methods: This was a retrospective study of women who had instrumental vaginal delivery over a 5-year period at the University of Abuja teaching hospital. Data on socio-demographic variables, type of instrumental delivery performed, Apgar scores of neonates delivered, indications and complication were obtained from the labour ward registers and case notes of patients and entered into a proforma and analysed using SPSS software for Windows version 23.Results: Instrumental vaginal delivery (IVD) rate performed for both Vacuum or Forceps) was 0.99%, Forceps delivery was 0.30% and vacuum accounted for 0.69% of all deliveries. The mean maternal age was 27.53±5.5 years and 51 (54.8%) of the parturient were primigravidae, 55 (59.1%) were booked patients.  Delayed second stage of labour (38.7%) was the most common indications for IVD. Maternal complications noted were genital tract laceration 17 (18.3%) and primary post-partum haemorrhage 10 (10.8%). The mean APGAR scores was 6 and 8 in the first and fifth minutes respectively, live births were 85 (91.4%), stillbirths were 7 (7.5%) and one early neonatal death was recorded (1.1%) due to asphyxia as a result of difficult forceps delivery.Conclusions: The IVD rate at UATH is low with good maternal and fetal outcome and preference for vacuum delivery

A resurgence and re-emergence of diphtheria in Nigeria, 2023

[Extract] Diphtheria is a highly contagious vaccine-preventable bacterial infection caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae that primarily infects the throat (pharynx and tonsils) and nose. The bacterium has an estimated basic reproduction number of 1.7–4.3. Although diphtheria is treatable if detected early, it can lead to severe complications such as respiratory failure, heart problems and even deaths (case-fatality ratio among untreated, never vaccinated cases 28.8–29.2%). It remains a health problem in low-resource countries, particularly where vaccination uptake and coverage are low and where sanitation conditions remain poor

Stroke prevalence amongst sickle cell disease patients in Nigeria: a multi-centre study

Background: Stroke is a life-changing, debilitating complication of sickle cell disease (SCD). Previous studies had recorded high stroke prevalence amongst this group of patients. Nigeria has a large population of people affected by this condition and this study aims to assess the stroke prevalence in this large population.Methodology: Stroke prevalence data from 14 physicians working in 11 tertiary health centres across the country was collated by doctors using the sickle cell registers and patient case notes. This data was then collated and used to obtain the overall stroke prevalence in adult and children.Results: The stroke prevalence in sickle cell disease patients in Nigeria was observed to be 12.4 per 1000 patients. Prevalence in the adult patients was 17.7 per 1000 patients and 7.4 per 1000 patients in children. Twenty three percent of the affected patients had more than stroke episode.Conclusion: The stroke prevalence in Nigeria is lower than previously recorded rates and further studies will be required to investigate other factors which may play a role.Keywords: sickle cell, stroke, Nigeria, prevalenc

Influence of a montmorency cherry juice blend on indices of exercise-induced stress and upper respiratory tract symptoms following marathon running—a pilot investigation

Background: Prolonged exercise, such as marathon running, has been associated with an increase in respiratory mucosal inflammation. The aim of this pilot study was to examine the effects of Montmorency cherry juice on markers of stress, immunity and inflammation following a Marathon. Methods: Twenty recreational Marathon runners consumed either cherry juice (CJ) or placebo (PL) before and after a Marathon race. Markers of mucosal immunity secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA), immunoglobulin G (IgG), salivary cortisol, inflammation (CRP) and self-reported incidence and severity of upper respiratory tract symptoms (URTS) were measured before and following the race. Results: All variables except secretory IgA and IgG concentrations in saliva showed a significant time effect (P < 0.01). Serum CRP showed a significant interaction and treatment effect (P < 0.01). The CRP increase at 24 and 48 h post-Marathon was lower (P < 0.01) in the CJ group compared to PL group. Mucosal immunity and salivary cortisol showed no interaction effect or treatment effect. The incidence and severity of URTS was significantly greater than baseline at 24 h and 48 h following the race in the PL group and was also greater than the CJ group (P < 0.05). No URTS were reported in the CJ group whereas 50 % of runners in the PL group reported URTS at 24 h and 48 h post-Marathon. Conclusions: This is the first study that provides encouraging evidence of the potential role of Montmorency cherries in reducing the development of URTS post-Marathon possibly caused by exercise-induced hyperventilation trauma, and/or other infectious and non-infectious factors

Scheduling trains on a network of busy complex stations

Many countries have busy rail networks with highly complex patterns of train services that require careful scheduling to fit these to the existing infrastructure, while avoiding conflicts between large numbers of trains moving at different speeds within and between multi-platform stations on conflicting lines, while satisfying other constraints and objectives. However, the construction and coordination of train schedules and plans for many rail networks is a rather slow process in which conflicts of proposed train times, lines and platforms are found and resolved \u27by hand\u27. Even for a medium size rail network, this requires a large numbers of train schedulers or planners many months to complete, and makes it difficult or impossible to explore alternative schedules, plans, operating rules, objectives, etc. As a contribution towards more automated methods, we have developed heuristic algorithms to assist in the task of finding and resolving the conflicts in draft train schedules. We start from algorithms that schedule trains at a single train station, and extend these to handle a series of complex stations linked by multiple one-way lines in each direction, traversed by trains of differing types and speeds. To test the algorithms we applied them to scheduling trains for a busy system of 25 interconnected stations, with each station having up to 30 sub-platforms and several hundred train movements per day. We here report on the results from many hundreds of test runs. To make the tests more challenging, the algorithms start from initial draft timetables that we constructed so as to contain very large numbers of conflicts to be resolved. The algorithms, implemented in C code and run on a Pentium PC, found and resolved all conflicts very quickly. A further purpose of the algorithms is that they can be used to simulate and explore the effects of alternative draft timetable, operating policies, station layouts, and random delays or failures. (A) Reprinted with permission from Elsevier

Recent incremental health care reforms in the US: A way forward or false promise?

SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Hazard Characterization of Modified Vaccinia Virus Ankara Vector: What Are the Knowledge Gaps?

Modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA) is the vector of choice for human and veterinary applications due to its strong safety profile and immunogenicity in vivo. The use of MVA and MVA-vectored vaccines against human and animal diseases must comply with regulatory requirements as they pertain to environmental risk assessment, particularly the characterization of potential adverse effects to humans, animals and the environment. MVA and recombinant MVA are widely believed to pose low or negligible risk to ecosystem health. However, key aspects of MVA biology require further research in order to provide data needed to evaluate the potential risks that may occur due to the use of MVA and MVA-vectored vaccines. The purpose of this paper is to identify knowledge gaps in the biology of MVA and recombinant MVA that are of relevance to its hazard characterization and discuss ongoing and future experiments aimed at providing data necessary to fill in the knowledge gaps. In addition, we presented arguments for the inclusion of uncertainty analysis and experimental investigation of verifiable worst-case scenarios in the environmental risk assessment of MVA and recombinant MVA. These will contribute to improved risk assessment of MVA and recombinant MVA vaccines