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Background: Evidence from a nursing conference convened in Nigeria in 1973 amongst other things implied that Nigerian nurses are not adequately educated and ill-equipped with prerequisite research skills. Four decades after the first and only initiative that examined the capacity and contribution of Nigerian Nurses to health care research, it is therefore pertinent to revisit the state of nursing research in the country.Aim: To review the academic and research preparedness of Nigerian nurses in conducting research and utilizing research results in healthcare practices. Methods: Literature review of seven published articles on nursing education and research in Nigeria, identified through online data bases; Google Scholar, CINAHL and PubMed. Findings: The findings revealed that majority of nurses in Nigeria had only diploma degree in nursing education. Also, nurses’ involvement and utilization of research was limited and poor even though nursing research was perceived as very important in nursing practice by majority of the nurses. Conclusion: Most nurses are not academically equipped with research skills in Nigeria due to minimal educational qualifications not sufficient for conducting nursing research. There is a compelling need to reassess nursing education and research policies in Nigeria.Key words: Nurses, nursing education, nursing practices, nursing research, research utilization, research skil

Revisiting Nursing Research in Nigeria

Background: Evidence from a nursing conference convened in Nigeria in 1973 amongst other things implied that Nigerian nurses are not adequately educated and ill-equipped with prerequisite research skills. Four decades after the first and only initiative that examined the capacity and contribution of Nigerian Nurses to health care research, it is therefore pertinent to revisit the state of nursing research in the country. Aim: To review the academic and research preparedness of Nigerian nurses in conducting research and utilizing research results in healthcare practices. Methods: Literature review of seven published articles on nursing education and research in Nigeria, identified through online data bases; Google Scholar, CINAHL and PubMed. Findings: The findings revealed that majority of nurses in Nigeria had only diploma degree in nursing education. Also, nurses’ involvement and utilization of research was limited and poor even though nursing research was perceived as very important in nursing practice by majority of the nurses. Conclusion: Most nurses are not academically equipped with research skills in Nigeria due to minimal educational qualifications not sufficient for conducting nursing research. There is a compelling need to reassess nursing education and research policies in Nigeria

Spousal Presence as a Nonpharmacological Pain Management during Childbirth: A Pilot Study.

Background. Measures of spousal effect during parturient pain should take a tripartite approach involving the parturients, spouses, and midwives. Aim. To develop and validate three questionnaires measuring spousal presence in management of parturient pain in Nigeria. Methods. There are two phases: (1) development of questionnaires, Abuja Instrument for Midwives (AIM), Abuja Instrument for Parturient Pain (AIPP), and Abuja Instrument for Parturient Spouses (AIPS), utilizing literatures, Kuopio instrument for fathers (KIF) and expertise of health professionals, and (2) pilot study to validate the questionnaires which were administered in two hospitals in Nigeria: midwives (n = 10), parturients (n = 10), and spouses (n = 10).  Results. Internal consistency for the three questionnaires indicated Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.789 (AIM), 0.802 (AIPP), and 0.860 (AIPS), while test-retest reliability was r = 0.99 (AIM), r = 0.99 (AIPP), and r = 0.90 (AIPS). Conclusions. AIM, AIPP, and AIPS provide a means of investigating the effectiveness of spousal presence in management of parturient pain in Nigeria. However, further testing of each instrument is needed in a larger population to replicate the beneficial findings of AIMS, AIPP, and AIPS which can contribute rigor to future studies

Spouses’ Perspective of their Participation and Role in Childbirth Pain Relief

Background: Childbirth is a period characterized by severe pain, and most women desire to ameliorate their pain among other things by having their spouses present and involved in the birthing process. In developing countries like Nigeria, spousal involvement is still anemerging concept in childbirth. Aim: To investigate and provide an insight into spousal perceptions toward their participation and role in labor pain relief during childbirth in Nigeria.Subjects and Methods: A cross‑sectional descriptive study of 142 spouses was conducted in the maternity units of four hospitals in Abuja, Nigeria, from June to December 2014. Data were collected through a pretested interview‑administered 24 item questionnaire, the Abuja Instrument for Parturient Spouse. The data were analyzed statistically using Chi‑square test for association between the variables and content analysis for open‑ended questions.Results: Most (94.4%, 134/142) of the spouses had a positive perception toward labor pain relief. They believed that their presence and activities contributed to labor pain relief and are willing to be present at subsequent births. Conclusion: Findings in this study have revealed a positive trend in spousal perception and involvement during childbirth and pain relief, as contrast to the prevailing assumption that childbirth is an exclusive woman affair. Spousal presence during childbirth can be beneficial not only to the woman but also to the spouse and family.Keywords: Childbirth, Pain Relief, Perception, SpousesBackground: Childbirth is a period characterized by severe pain, and most women desireto ameliorate their pain among other things by having their spouses present and involvedin the birthing process. In developing countries like Nigeria, spousal involvement is still anemerging concept in childbirth. Aim: To investigate and provide an insight into spousalperceptions toward their participation and role in labor pain relief during childbirth in Nigeria.Subjects and Methods: A cross‑sectional descriptive study of 142 spouses was conductedin the maternity units of four hospitals in Abuja, Nigeria, from June to December 2014. Datawere collected through a pretested interview‑administered 24 item questionnaire, the AbujaInstrument for Parturient Spouse. The data were analyzed statistically using Chi‑squaretest for association between the variables and content analysis for open‑ended questions.Results: Most (94.4%, 134/142) of the spouses had a positive perception toward labor painrelief. They believed that their presence and activities contributed to labor pain relief and arewilling to be present at subsequent births. Conclusion: Findings in this study have revealeda positive trend in spousal perception and involvement during childbirth and pain relief, ascontrast to the prevailing assumption that childbirth is an exclusive woman affair. Spousalpresence during childbirth can be beneficial not only to the woman but also to the spouseand family.Keywords: Childbirth, Pain Relief, Perception, Spouse

Focus prediction in digital holographic microscopy using deep convolutional neural networks

Abstract Deep artificial neural network learning is an emerging tool in image analysis. We demonstrate its potential in the field of digital holographic microscopy by addressing the challenging problem of determining the in-focus reconstruction depth of Madin–Darby canine kidney cell clusters encoded in digital holograms. A deep convolutional neural network learns the in-focus depths from half a million hologram amplitude images. The trained network correctly determines the in-focus depth of new holograms with high probability, without performing numerical propagation. This paper reports on extensions to preliminary work published earlier as one of the first applications of deep learning in the field of digital holographic microscopy

Focus classification in digital holographic microscopy using deep convolutional neural networks

Abstract In digital holographic microscopy, one often obtains an in-focus image of the sample by applying a focus metric to a stack of numerical reconstructions. We present an alternative approach using a deep convolutional neural network