Musculoskeletal symptoms and non-prescribed treatments are common in an urban African population of people living with HIV.

There are no data from West Africa reporting musculoskeletal (MSK) disease in people living with HIV (PLWH). Our primary outcome was to measure the prevalence of MSK symptoms in PLWH in urban West Africa. Our secondary outcomes were to describe the disability, impact on work and treatment use associated with the presence of MSK pain. We conducted an e-questionnaire-based point prevalence study of musculoskeletal symptoms, associated disability and treatment in 292 PLWH attending routine follow-up in Lagos, Nigeria. Seventy-three (25%) patients reported MSK pain; 28 (38%) reported chronic symptoms (> 3 months). HIV suppression rates were high in this population (n = 240, 82%) and comparable between individuals with and without chronic pain. MSK pain was associated with female gender and higher body mass index (BMI). Mechanical pain was the most common pain syndrome identified (n = 34, 47%). Lumbar spine and knee were the most common sites. Chronic pain was associated with increased disability compared with the presence of any MSK pain. High rates of treatment-seeking behaviour were seen in those individuals reporting MSK pain (n = 62, 85%). The majority of these individuals sought traditional treatments (n = 48, 66%). Chronic MSK pain and non-prescribed treatments are common in PLWH established on ART in urban West Africa. Studies are required to measure the long-term impact of these symptoms and medicines on retention in HIV care and ART adherence, besides other long-term health outcomes

Lattice dynamics, elastic, magnetic, thermodynamic and thermoelectric properties of the two-dimensional semiconductors MPSe3 (M = Cd, Fe and NI): a first-principles study

Adopting Density Functional Theory (DFT) with Hubbard U correction implemented in Quantum Espresso, we have performed a comprehensive first-principles study of MPSe _3 (M = Cd. Fe and Ni) monolayers. The computed electronic properties revealed the semi-conductive nature of the monolayers with small indirect bandgaps. A free-standing single layer of MPSe _3 can be exfoliated from the parent compound by virtue of its structural stability and high in-plane stiffness. Hence, the elastic and dynamical properties were computed to establish the mechanical and dynamical stability. The results showed that CdPSe _3 and NiPSe _3 are stable in the trigonal structure while a single negative frequency observed in the phonon dispersion of FePSe _3 indicates the possibility to relax to another, less symmetric structure. In addition, these 2D systems showed relatively good response when subjected to strain hence, they can be said to be mechanically stable. The thermodynamic properties, such as internal energies, vibrational free energies, entropies and constant-volume heat capacities have been computed within the harmonic approximations using the phonon density of states. The computed thermoelectric properties show that CdPSe _3 and FePSe _3 have the peak figure of merit at low temperature of 50 K. This work predicts a thermoelectric performance with an electronic figure of merit of 0.28 for p-doped CdPSe _3 . Moreover, the DFT+U method predicts an electronic figure of merit of 0.39 and 0.2 for p-doped FePSe _3 and NiPSe _3 , respectively

Predicting the elastic, phonon and thermodynamic properties of cubic HfNiX (X = Ge and Sn) Half Heulser alloys: a DFT study

In this work, details density functional theory calculations were performed to obtain the electronic, elastic, phonon and thermodynamic properties of half-Heusler alloys HfNiX (X = Ge and Sn). The PBE functional as implemented in Projector augmented-wave (PAW) pseudopotentials was used for all the calculations. From our results, we reported the energy gap of 0.38 eV for HfNiSn and 0.61 eV for HfNiGe indicating the semiconductor property of these compounds. Also, the mechanical and elastical stabilities of these compounds were confirmed from the comparison of the elastic constants of these compounds with conditions for stabilities. Although the phonon dispersion curves for HfNiGe and HfNiSn are similar with splitting at the Γ point, the shift in their frequency was as a result of the mass different in Ge and Sn. The phonon dispersion curve predicts the dynamically stabilities of these half-Heusler alloys. From the thermodynamic properties of these compounds, it was revealed that these compounds are soft at low temperature, but at a high temperature they tend to be hard materials. Our calculations showed that these two compounds are mechanically, elastically and dynamically stable as cubic half-Heusler alloys

Ab initio study of phonon dispersion and thermodynamic properties of pure and doped pyrites

Pyrites (FeS2) are solid minerals that are found abundantly in Nigeria and are easy to prepare in laboratories. In this work, FeS2 is studied extensively in its pure state as well as when iron is substitutionally doped with zinc and calcium at concentrations of 0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75 and 1. Using density functional theory, the eectronic, dynamic and thermodynamic properties were calculated. The results revealed that the lattice parameters and bulk modulus increases with increasing concentration and the obtained values are in agreement with available experimental and theoretical values. Though pyrite, when doped with zinc, obeys Vegard’s law, doping with calcium revealed pronounced deviation from this law. The calculated band structures showed that FeS2 has an indirect band gap whose size decreases after introducing zinc while doping with calcium increases the band gap. The phonon dispersion of the end members FeS2 and ZnS2 indicate that the systems are dynamically stable while CaS2 is dynamically unstate. Also, the thermodynamic properties of the pure and doped pyrites were calculated and the ranges of temperature at which the lattice and electronic degrees of freedom contribute to the specific heat capacity are presented

A multicentre observational study of HIV, TB and risk of chronic lung disease in urban west Africa

OBJECTIVE: HIV and TB are risk factors for non-communicable chronic lung disease (CLD). Despite the high prevalence of these infections in west Africa, there are no studies that compare CLD between people living with HIV (PLWH) and HIV-negative populations in this setting. This study sought to quantify the contribution of HIV and TB infection in addition to conventional CLD risk factors, such as tobacco and biofuel exposure, to CLD in urban west Africa. DESIGN: A multi-centre cross-sectional study was conducted in three community clinics in Lagos, Nigeria between 2018 and 2019. METHODS: Spirometry, questionnaires and clinical records were used to estimate prevalence of CLD and association with risk factors. RESULTS: 148 HIV-negative individuals and 170 HIV-positive individuals completed the study. Current cigarette (11/318, 3.5%) and lifetime domestic biofuel (6/318, 1.8%) exposures were low. Airway obstruction (33/170, 19.4% vs 12/148, 8.1%, p = 0.004) and CLD (73/170, 42.9% vs 34/148, 23%, p < 0.0001) were more prevalent in PLWH compared to the HIV-negative group. HIV infection (OR 2.35 (1.33, 4.17), p = 0.003) and history of TB (OR 2.09 (1.04, 4.20), p = 0.038) were independently associated with increased risk of CLD. CONCLUSIONS: HIV and TB far outweigh conventional risk factors, including tobacco and domestic biofuel exposure, as drivers of non-communicable CLD in urban west Africa. Current global policy for CLD may have limited impact on CLD in this setting. Enhanced prevention, diagnosis and management strategies for incident HIV and TB infections are likely to have a significant impact on long-term lung health in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)

The land of black gold, corruption, poverty and sabotage:Overcoming the Niger Delta’s problems through the establishment of a Nigerian Non-Renewable Revenue Special Fund (NNRSF)

Through statistics published by the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), the paper explores why oilfield sabotage from 2009 to 2015 remains a problem in the Niger Delta, despite the 2009 amnesty programme. It explains why some of these incidents are a direct result of the failure to implement socio-economic development in successive state agencies due to corruption, a consequence of the natural resource curse. The article then explores why and how a Nigerian Non-Renewable Revenue Special Fund overseen by the United Nations Development Programme should be established which would not only manage a portion of oil revenue funds from the Niger Delta but also initiate valid social and economic projects in order to help reduce the prevalence of sabotage and instability in the region