Knowledge of modern contraceptives among undergraduate students of College of Health Sciences of Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto, Nigeria

Background: Many undergraduate students in Nigerian Universities are at increased risk of sexually transmitted infections, unwanted pregnancies with resultant illegal abortions. The aim of this study is to assess the undergraduate students’ knowledge of contraceptives. Understanding the knowledge of contraception among students is essential in tackling unwanted pregnancies among youths.Methods: The researchers use cross-sectional survey, a quantitative approach to the stated objective. About fifty five (55) female students aged 18 to 21 years were enrolled in the study using purposive sampling technique. The instrument for data collection was a structured questionnaire. The fifty five (55) completed questionnaires were retrieved and data analyzed using SPSS version 20.Results: The result showed that current overall contraception knowledge was low, while general contraceptive knowledge is high among the student. However, the knowledge of both short-term and long term acting contraceptive methods were very low as reported by the respondents.Conclusions: This study has implication for health education especially on the use of modern contraceptives. Thus, recommendations were highlighted to improve students’ knowledge of the various contraceptive methods

Prevalence of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Enterobacteriaceae on hands of workers in Halal cattle Abattoirs in Peninsular Malaysia

Background: Several occupational diseases of multiple origins are encountered among abattoir workers. Presence of indicator microorganisms (coliforms) on hands of workers can be used a gauge for hygienic practices. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed to assess the prevalence of E.coli and enterobacteriaceae among Halal abattoir workers in some government halal abattoirs of Malaysia. A total of one hundred and sixty-five hand swab samples were collected from workers of Halal abattoirs in Malaysia. The samples were subjected to microbiological analysis for characterisation and serotyping. Results: The results have shown that no Escherichia coli O157:H7 was isolated on the hands of abattoir workers before and after work. However, a total prevalence of 9.7% was recorded for all samples during work. For non-O157:H7, total prevalence of 33.3% during work and 13% after work were obtained. High prevalence was recorded in sample taken during work from Tampin, Jasin and Kemaman (100% each) while low prevalence where observed in Shah Alam, Banting and Ipoh (20% each). Conclusions: Based on the findings the hygienic practices of hand washing among the workers in few locations was found to be low especially after work

Evaluation of potential public health risk associated with waste water treatment in some Halal abattoirs of Malaysia

Background: Abattoir waste can be detrimental to humans and the environment if proper precautions are put in place. In general, the major environmental problem is linked to abattoir liquid wastes which serve as vehicle for dissemination of pathogenic microorganisms. Epidemiological investigations have implicated food and water as most common vehicle for infections cause by pathogens such as E.coli O157: H7. Method: A cross-sectional study was performed to assess potential health risk of liquid waste disposal from some selected Halal abattoirs in Malaysia. A total of 120 waste water samples were collected. Total coliform count was performed to determine the levels of pollution before and after filtration. Cultural, Biochemical and serological tests were used for identification and characterization of the isolates. Results: Results showed that the abattoir located in Dungun in Terranganu region had the highest cfu/ml before (2200) and after waste water filtration while Senawang abattoir in Negeri Sembilan had the lowest. Highest occurrence rate of E.coli were recorded in Shah Alam, Banting and Tampin(40% each). Non-O157: H7 Escherichia coli were found to be present in almost all the abattoirs before waste water filtration. Samples collected after discharge revealed that five of the abattoirs had 100%. Other pathogenic bacteria isolated from the abattoirs include Salmonella entritidis and Citrobacter freundii. Findings: Occurrence of pathogenic bacteria coupled with increased total bacteria count have indicated alarming risk of dissemination of harmful bacterial into the environment. Conclusion: Effectiveness of waste water treatment was found to be very low in most of the abattoirs from the assessment

GIS-Based Underground Water Quality Risk Mapping of Kaltungo L.G.A, Gombe State, Nigeria

The research aimed at identification and risk mapping of the concentration of physiochemical properties of some metal ions in the underground water in Kaltungo LGA of Gombe State with the aid of Geospatial Techniques. Water samples used comprises of all of the 40 wells and boreholes were sampled and two control points and out of that, wells constitute about 25 and 15 boreholes respectively. Also, ten metals ions which includes;  Alkalinity of the water, B.O.D, C.O.D, D.O, Chloride, Electric Conductivity, Fluoride,Nitrate, phosphate, Sulphate, T.Hard, were selected and analyzed in laboratory. DEM, Curvature, Watershed, Aspect, Slope and Hillshed were also used. The methods employed were both Laboratory and Geospatial techniques.  The result obtained from the lab was compared with WHO standards, imported in to ArcGIS 10.3 environment and interpolated and subsequent analysis were done using kringing methods and query. Based on the query from the geodatabase of the underground water, it was found that 60% out of the metal ions used in this study were not in conformity with the WHO standards for drinking water. Amongst these metals are; Electric Conductivity, Fluoride, Nitrate, Sulphate, T.Hard and T.Hard. It was also found that 97.5% of the wells and boreholes have higher concentration of Fluoride, 85% Sulphate, 75% Electric Conductivity and 55% Nitrate while 32.5% and 30% have lower concentration of T.Hard and Turbidity respectively. Again reveal that those metals with higher concentrations of physiochemical properties are found to be within lower elevation, moderately water table due to down slope movement of water.Moreover, it was revealed that due to the convex profile curvature and watershed nature of the study area physiochemical of the water was accelerating to the lower slope towards the Northeast and Eastern part of the study area. Furthermore, it was found from the risk map that the vulnerability underground water risk area was the Northeast, central and Eastern part of Kaltungo. It was recommended that GIS techniques should be of paramount used in examine water related issues so as the results will served as a basis for decision support for WHO and others related organizations

Characteristics of COVID-19 cases and factors associated with their mortality in Katsina State, Nigeria, April-July 2020

Introduction: COVID-19 was first detected in Daura, Katsina State, Nigeria on 4 April 2020. We characterized the cases and outlined factors associated with mortality. Methods: We analysed the COVID-19 data downloaded from Surveillance Outbreak Response, Management and Analysis System between 4 April and 31 July 2020. We defined a case as any person with a positive SARS-CoV-2 test within that period. We described the cases in time, person, and place; calculated the crude and adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for factors associated with mortality. Results: We analysed 744 confirmed cases (median age 35, range 1-90), 73% males and 24 deaths (Case fatality rate 3.2%, Attack rate 8.5/100,000). The outbreak affected 31 districts, started in week 14, peaked in week 26, and is ongoing. Highest proportion of cases in the age groups were 26.7% (184) in 30-39, 21.7% (153) in 20-29 years, and 18.3% (129) in 40-49 years. While the highest case fatality rates in the age groups were 35.7% in 70-79, 33.3% in 80-89 years, and 19.4% in 60-69 years. Factors associated with death were cough (AOR: 9.88, 95% CI: 1.29-75.79), age ≥60 years (AOR: 18.42, 95% CI: 7.48-45.38), and male sex (AOR: 4.4, 95% CI: 0.98-20.12). Conclusion: Male contacts below 40 years carried the burden of COVID-19. Also, persons 60 years and above, with cough have an increased risk of dying from COVID-19. Risk communication should advocate for use of preventive measures, protection of persons 60 years and above, and consideration of cough as a red-flag sign

Mapping geographical inequalities in access to drinking water and sanitation facilities in low-income and middle-income countries, 2000-17

Background: Universal access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities is an essential human right, recognised in the Sustainable Development Goals as crucial for preventing disease and improving human wellbeing. Comprehensive, high-resolution estimates are important to inform progress towards achieving this goal. We aimed to produce high-resolution geospatial estimates of access to drinking water and sanitation facilities. Methods: We used a Bayesian geostatistical model and data from 600 sources across more than 88 low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) to estimate access to drinking water and sanitation facilities on continuous continent-wide surfaces from 2000 to 2017, and aggregated results to policy-relevant administrative units. We estimated mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive subcategories of facilities for drinking water (piped water on or off premises, other improved facilities, unimproved, and surface water) and sanitation facilities (septic or sewer sanitation, other improved, unimproved, and open defecation) with use of ordinal regression. We also estimated the number of diarrhoeal deaths in children younger than 5 years attributed to unsafe facilities and estimated deaths that were averted by increased access to safe facilities in 2017, and analysed geographical inequality in access within LMICs. Findings: Across LMICs, access to both piped water and improved water overall increased between 2000 and 2017, with progress varying spatially. For piped water, the safest water facility type, access increased from 40·0% (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 39·4–40·7) to 50·3% (50·0–50·5), but was lowest in sub-Saharan Africa, where access to piped water was mostly concentrated in urban centres. Access to both sewer or septic sanitation and improved sanitation overall also increased across all LMICs during the study period. For sewer or septic sanitation, access was 46·3% (95% UI 46·1–46·5) in 2017, compared with 28·7% (28·5–29·0) in 2000. Although some units improved access to the safest drinking water or sanitation facilities since 2000, a large absolute number of people continued to not have access in several units with high access to such facilities (>80%) in 2017. More than 253 000 people did not have access to sewer or septic sanitation facilities in the city of Harare, Zimbabwe, despite 88·6% (95% UI 87·2–89·7) access overall. Many units were able to transition from the least safe facilities in 2000 to safe facilities by 2017; for units in which populations primarily practised open defecation in 2000, 686 (95% UI 664–711) of the 1830 (1797–1863) units transitioned to the use of improved sanitation. Geographical disparities in access to improved water across units decreased in 76·1% (95% UI 71·6–80·7) of countries from 2000 to 2017, and in 53·9% (50·6–59·6) of countries for access to improved sanitation, but remained evident subnationally in most countries in 2017. Interpretation: Our estimates, combined with geospatial trends in diarrhoeal burden, identify where efforts to increase access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities are most needed. By highlighting areas with successful approaches or in need of targeted interventions, our estimates can enable precision public health to effectively progress towards universal access to safe water and sanitation

COMPUTATIONAL STUDIES OF SOME BISCOUMARIN AND BISCOUMARIN THIOUREA DERIVATIVES AS ⍺-GLUCOSIDASE INHIBITORS

Quantitative structure-activity relationship and molecular docking studies of 35 compounds of Biscoumarins and Biscoumarins thiourea derivatives as ⍺-glucosidase inhibitors was performed. Density Functional Theory (DFT) method was employed for complete geometry optimization of the ⍺-glucosidase inhibitors. Genetic Function Algorithm (GFA) of the material studio was utilized to develop four models. Model 1 was found to be the best model with R2 = 0.914362, R2 adj = 0.892953, Q2cv = 0.858197 and R2 pred = 0.614745. The proposed model is robustness and predicted with good internal and external validation. The descriptors should be considered when improving the inhibitory activities of biscoumarin derivatives against ⍺-glucosidase. The docking results showed that ligands having Ortho substituted phenyl ring have good interactions with active site residues and good inhibitory activities as compared to ligands having either Para or Meta substituted phenyl ring except ligand 16 which has the highest docking scores of -12.5 kcal/mol but undergoes para substitution on the phenyl ring and formed hydrogen bond, hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions with the active residues of the enzyme. The QSAR model and molecular docking results agree with each other and give way to the designing of new inhibitors with better activity against ⍺-glucosidase

Virtual molecular docking study of some novel carboxamide series as new anti-tubercular agents

A virtual docking simulation study was performed on thirty-five newly discovered compounds of N-(2-phenoxy) ethyl imidazo[1,2-a] pyridine-3-carboxamide (IPA), to explore their theoretical binding energy and pose with the active sites of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis target (DNA gyrase). The chemical structures of the compounds were drawn correctly with ChemDraw Ultra software, and then geometrically optimized at DFT level of theory with Spartan 14 software package. Consequently, the docking analysis was carried out using Molegro Virtual Docker (MVD). Five complexes (Complex 5, 24, 25, 33 and 35) with high binding energy were selected to examine their binding pose with the active sites of the protein. The docking results suggested a good MolDock score (≥ -90 kcal/mol) and Protein-Ligand ANT System (PLANTS) score (≥ -60 kcal/mol) which depicted that the compounds can efficiently bind with the active sites of the target. However, compound 5 has the best binding pose with the MolDock score of -140.476 kcal/mol which formed three hydrogen bond interactions with the Gln 538, Ala 531, and Ala 533 amino acid residues. This research gives a firsthand theoretical knowledge to improve the binding efficiency of these compounds with the target

Knowledge of modern contraceptives among undergraduate students of College of Health Sciences of Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto, Nigeria

Background: Many undergraduate students in Nigerian Universities are at increased risk of sexually transmitted infections, unwanted pregnancies with resultant illegal abortions. The aim of this study is to assess the undergraduate students’ knowledge of contraceptives. Understanding the knowledge of contraception among students is essential in tackling unwanted pregnancies among youths.Methods: The researchers use cross-sectional survey, a quantitative approach to the stated objective. About fifty five (55) female students aged 18 to 21 years were enrolled in the study using purposive sampling technique. The instrument for data collection was a structured questionnaire. The fifty five (55) completed questionnaires were retrieved and data analyzed using SPSS version 20.Results: The result showed that current overall contraception knowledge was low, while general contraceptive knowledge is high among the student. However, the knowledge of both short-term and long term acting contraceptive methods were very low as reported by the respondents.Conclusions: This study has implication for health education especially on the use of modern contraceptives. Thus, recommendations were highlighted to improve students’ knowledge of the various contraceptive methods

Chemical bioinformatics study of Nonadec-7-ene-4-carboxylic acid derivatives via molecular docking, and molecular dynamic simulations to identify novel lead inhibitors of hepatitis c virus NS3/4a protease

One of the most common viruses in the world today is the hepatitis C virus (HCV). It is a virus with a wide range of characteristics, and it reproduces and evolves quickly. The nonstructural proteins (NS3/4a), are responsible for swift multiplication that causes genome variability. Voxilaprevir is a standard drug for the cure of HCV but unfortunately, it receives a lot of attention for its pricing problems. As a result, it is crucial to consider alternative HCV treatments that are both cost-effective and free of side effects. An in-silicon methodology was applied in the current research to virtually search the PubChem database for compounds that are effective against HCV NS3/4a. Molecule 45 (PubChem68792528) was selected based on its lowest binding energy of -44.55 kcal/mol in contrast to the Voxilaprevir with a binding energy of -40.68 kcal/mol. Also Using Voxilaprevir as a guide, the results of MD simulation showed potentially viable lead compounds that could be built into conventional drugs having a high binding energy of -113.724 kj/mol, stable complex, and mechanisms different from the reference compound with a binding energy of -108.132 kj/mol. For the first 10 ns, compound 45′s average RMSD value increased to 0.28 nm, and it stayed there for the remaining 100 ns of the trajectory, fluctuating between 0.26 and 0.28 nm. Comparing these values to the RMSD values of the reference complex over the course of the simulation, compound 45′s structural modeling is shown to be more stable