Knowledge and Determinants of Emergency Contraception use Among Students in Tertiary Institution in Osun State, Nigeria

Background: Emergency contraception (EC) or postcoital contraception has the potential to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies and thus the abortion rate. Tertiary institutions’ students are a unique group with very high social interaction, but by virtue of their level of education, probably forms a group in any community, which should have an overall higher level of awareness and use of available methods of contraception, including that of EC.Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge and attitude toward EC, and as well to determine the prevalence of emergency contraceptive use among the students of tertiary institutions in Osun State, Nigeria.Subjects and Methods: A cross‑sectional study using the self‑administered structured questionnaire on questions relating to the socio‑demographic characteristics of the students, sexual relations, knowledge of contraception in general and EC, use and determinants of EC use.Results: A total of 384 of the 400 questionnaire were returned of which male respondents were178/384 (46.4%) while the females were 206/384 (53.6%). Two hundred and seven respondents 207/384 (53.9%) were university students, while 177/384 (46.1%) were polytechnic students. Most respondent 142/376 (37.8%) derived knowledge of EC from friends and family life education from school 186/373 (49.9%). More than half of respondents are in sexual relationships, with only 71/384 (18.5%) showing good knowledge of EC. However, use of EC was 106/384 (27.6%).Conclusion: Most tertiary institutions’ students are involved in a sexual relationship, have poor knowledge of EC and use of EC also. Formal family life education, partner approval, and previous use of EC encourage further use. There is a need for carefully designed education programs and promotion of family life education with deliberate awareness on safe sex practices, including EC in existing students’ health enlightenment programs on campuses. Keywords: Emergency contraception, family life education, Nigeria, students, tertiary institutio

Comprehensive and Integrated Genomic Characterization of Adult Soft Tissue Sarcomas

Summary Sarcomas are a broad family of mesenchymal malignancies exhibiting remarkable histologic diversity. We describe the multi-platform molecular landscape of 206 adult soft tissue sarcomas representing 6 major types. Along with novel insights into the biology of individual sarcoma types, we report three overarching findings: (1) unlike most epithelial malignancies, these sarcomas (excepting synovial sarcoma) are characterized predominantly by copy-number changes, with low mutational loads and only a few genes (TP53, ATRX, RB1) highly recurrently mutated across sarcoma types; (2) within sarcoma types, genomic and regulomic diversity of driver pathways defines molecular subtypes associated with patient outcome; and (3) the immune microenvironment, inferred from DNA methylation and mRNA profiles, associates with outcome and may inform clinical trials of immune checkpoint inhibitors. Overall, this large-scale analysis reveals previously unappreciated sarcoma-type-specific changes in copy number, methylation, RNA, and protein, providing insights into refining sarcoma therapy and relationships to other cancer types

Integrated genomic characterization of oesophageal carcinoma

Oesophageal cancers are prominent worldwide; however, there are few targeted therapies and survival rates for these cancers remain dismal. Here we performed a comprehensive molecular analysis of 164 carcinomas of the oesophagus derived from Western and Eastern populations. Beyond known histopathological and epidemiologic distinctions, molecular features differentiated oesophageal squamous cell carcinomas from oesophageal adenocarcinomas. Oesophageal squamous cell carcinomas resembled squamous carcinomas of other organs more than they did oesophageal adenocarcinomas. Our analyses identified three molecular subclasses of oesophageal squamous cell carcinomas, but none showed evidence for an aetiological role of human papillomavirus. Squamous cell carcinomas showed frequent genomic amplifications of CCND1 and SOX2 and/or TP63, whereas ERBB2, VEGFA and GATA4 and GATA6 were more commonly amplified in adenocarcinomas. Oesophageal adenocarcinomas strongly resembled the chromosomally unstable variant of gastric adenocarcinoma, suggesting that these cancers could be considered a single disease entity. However, some molecular features, including DNA hypermethylation, occurred disproportionally in oesophageal adenocarcinomas. These data provide a framework to facilitate more rational categorization of these tumours and a foundation for new therapies.ope

Comprehensive molecular characterization of the hippo signaling pathway in cancer

Hippo signaling has been recognized as a key tumor suppressor pathway. Here, we perform a comprehensive molecular characterization of 19 Hippo core genes in 9,125 tumor samples across 33 cancer types using multidimensional “omic” data from The Cancer Genome Atlas. We identify somatic drivers among Hippo genes and the related microRNA (miRNA) regulators, and using functional genomic approaches, we experimentally characterize YAP and TAZ mutation effects and miR-590 and miR-200a regulation for TAZ. Hippo pathway activity is best characterized by a YAP/TAZ transcriptional target signature of 22 genes, which shows robust prognostic power across cancer types. Our elastic-net integrated modeling further reveals cancer-type-specific pathway regulators and associated cancer drivers. Our results highlight the importance of Hippo signaling in squamous cell cancers, characterized by frequent amplification of YAP/TAZ, high expression heterogeneity, and significant prognostic patterns. This study represents a systems-biology approach to characterizing key cancer signaling pathways in the post-genomic era

Case Report: Uterus bicornis unicollis; Occurrence of consecutive viable pregnancies in separate horns.

A case of two-consecutive viable pregnancies in separate horns of bicornuate unicollis uterus of a Nigerian is presented. The problem of misdiagnosis associated with the anomaly is noted. This case further demonstrates that women with such anomaly may not have unhindered reproductive carrier and antenatal care will improve their chance.Keywords: Congenital abnormalities, bicornuate uterus, Mullerian duct abnormalities

Characteristic pattern of pap smears

Seven hundred and two cervical smears were performed at the Cytology Clinic of the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria on females aged 50 years and above over a 10 year period. Overall, a total of 5,905 smears were performed within this period. The patients were referred from the Gynaecology Outpatient Clinics, the Family Planning and the Sexually Transmitted Diseases Clinics, or they were self referrals. Overall, 401 (57.1%) of the smears were in asymptomatic women. A total of 265 (37.7%) of the smears were reported as inflammatory changes, while 232 (33.0%) of the smears were normal. The prevalence of CIN was 13.0 per cent in the elderly patients aged 50 years and above and this is higher than the 11.8 per cent reported in the general population in the same centre. One per cent of the patients had invasive carcinoma of the cervix. The need for continued coverage of the vulnerable older female in screening for CIN the precursor of invasive carcinoma of the cervix is highlighted. Nigerian Medical Practitioner Vol. 54 (3-4) 2008: pp. 56-6

Discontinuation pattern of Norplant among implant acceptors at the family planning clinic, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria

No Abstract.Keywords: family planning; Norplant; discontinuation patternAnnals of Ibadan Postgraduate Medicine Vol. 4 (1) 2006: pp. 33-3

Menstrual Health of In-School Adolescents in Ibadan: Knowledge, Attitudes and Consequences.

We evaluated the knowledge, attitudes to and consequences of menstrual morbidities among in –school adolescents in Ibadan and determined their effect on school attendance. The pattern of drug use for menstrual symptoms was also assessed. Self-administered questionnaires were given to 1194 respondents in secondary schools chosen by randomization. The mean age of respondents was 15.7+ years while 86.1% were aged between 10-17 years. The most prevalent menstrual disorder was dysmenorrhea (87.3%). The commonest source of information about the menstrual cycle was from mothers (71%) while 0.5% of adolescents obtained information from health care givers. Menstrual symptoms were treated with non-pharmacological means in 53.1%. Of girls using pharmacologic agents 44% of them obtaining over the counter medications (OTC). Forty four percent of respondents missed school for 6-7 weeks per session following dysmenorrhea while 19% of them required hospital admission. It was concluded that there is insufficient knowledge of the menstrual cycle and its abnormalities among adolescents.Menstrual health should be introduced as part of reproductive health programs in school curricula in Nigeria