Engineering geophysical correlation of foundation soils in a basement complex terrain; A case study of O.A.U campus, south western Nigeria

An extension to the existing Geology Department Building, Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife, Nigeria is under construction. The construction site which covers an area of about 3000 m2 is located west of the existing Building within the University Campus. A case study is presented here, in order to attempt a correlation between the near surface geology of the site for the extension and the existing Geology Department building. By this correlation, appropriate suggestion on the integrity of the structure beingbuilt on the new site can be predicted and recommendations made accordingly. The study was accomplished by the combined use of the vertical electrical resistivity sounding (VES) and the seismic refraction techniques. The subsurface layer delineated are the topsoil, clayey sand/laterite, weathered layer and the weathered/fractured/fresh basement with resistivity and thickness ranging from 103 - 155 Ohm-m and 0 - 1.3 m , 209 - 305 Ohm-m and 1.0 - 3.1 m, 96 - 208 Ohm-m and 3.3 - 14.4 m and 350 - ‡ Ohm-m respectively with depth to rock head between 4.0 - 15.0 m. The resistivity values of the layers, as well as velocities of seismic wave, showed great similarity and one could say that there is little risk attached to the site under construction. The only likely problem is that of water seepage into the foundation floor, as indicated by basement depression from VES and fractured layer from the seismicrefraction method, which could be mitigated by designing a channel way for water to flow out or sealing off the fracture and anticipated water flow path with grouted cement. The latter was eventually incorporated into the foundation design of the new building. The near surface geology of the study area is found to be favourable to the structure being put on it and there is practically no risk attached to the integrity of the building

Engineering Geophysical Correlation of Foundation Soils in a Basement Complex Terrain; A Case Study of O.A.U Campus, South Western Nigeria

An extension to the existing Geology Department Building, Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife, Nigeria is under construction. The construction site which covers an area of about 3000 m2 is located west of the existing Building within the University Campus. A case study is presented here, in order to attempt a correlation between the near surface geology of the site for the extension and the existing Geology Department building. By this correlation, appropriate suggestion on the integrity of the structure being built on the new site can be predicted and recommendations made accordingly. The study was accomplished by the combined use of the vertical electrical resistivity sounding (VES) and the seismic refraction techniques. The subsurface layer delineated are the topsoil, clayey sand/laterite, weathered layer and the weathered/fractured/fresh basement with resistivity and thickness ranging from 103 - 155 Ohm-m and 0 - 1.3 m , 209 - 305 Ohm-m and 1.0 - 3.1 m, 96 - 208 Ohm-m and 3.3 - 14.4 m and 350 - ∞ Ohm-m respectively with depth to rock head between 4.0 - 15.0 m. The resistivity values of the layers, as well as velocities of seismic wave, showed great similarity and one could say that there is little risk attached to the site under construction. The only likely problem is that of water seepage into the foundation floor, as indicated by basement depression from VES and fractured layer from the seismic refraction method, which could be mitigated by designing a channel way for water to flow out or sealing off the fracture and anticipated water flow path with grouted cement. The latter was eventually incorporated into the foundation design of the new building. The near surface geology of the study area is found to be favourable to the structure being put on it and there is practically no risk attached to the integrity of the building

Quality of Life and Associated Factors among Adults in a Community in South West Nigeria

Background: Quality of life (QoL) is an important measure in the assessment of population well being and health status. However despite locally validated measuring tools, little is known about the quality of life and associated factors in Nigerian adults. Objective: This study therefore aimed to assess QoL and contributory factors among adults residing in a sub urban Nigerian community.Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study of 527 adults, in Oru community was conducted. An interviewer-administered questionnaire adapted from the WHO quality of life (WHOQOLBREF) questionnaire was used to obtain information from respondents. Associations were explored with the chi square test; multivariate analysis was done with logistic regression at 5% level of significance.Results: Respondents mean age was 33.3 ±8.1 years. In all, 46.5 % were currently married or cohabiting. Christianity was the dominant religion, 72.7%. In all, 81.6% had good QoL. Predictors of good QoL were respondents less than 25 years [OR: 3.5 (1.264-9.508)], having educational level that is secondary and above [OR: 4.2 (1.810-9.762)]. Being Unemployed [OR: 1.9 (1.099- 3.351)], living in flats and other bigger apartments [OR: 1.8 (1.121- 3.04)], currently ill [OR: 3.7 (2.096- 6.509)], and lack of involvement in religious activities [OR: 3.1 (1.166- 8.045)] were also shown to be predictors of good QoL.Conclusion: The majority of those evaluated had good QoL. Further surveys involving larger samples sizes are required to explore the QoL in distinct sub-populations and in currently ill patients to strengthen the results of this study.Keywords: quality of life, Nigeria, health, well-being

Morphological classification of genetic diversity in cultivated okra, Abelmoschus esculentus (L) Moench using principal component analysis (PCA) and single linkage cluster analysis (SLCA)

29 okra accessions sourced from different agro-ecological regions in Nigeria and grown during the rainy season of 2007 at Abeokuta (derived savannah) were evaluated for genetic diversity using principal component analysis (PCA) and single linkage cluster analysis (SLCA). The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with five replications. The accessions were classified into six and five cluster groups by PCA and SLCA respectively. The mean contributions of plant height, days to flowering, branches per plant, fresh pod width, mature pod width, fresh pod length, pod weight per plant, pod per plant, seeds per pod, and seed weight per plant were relatively high in the principal axes confirming the major contributions of these traits to seed yield in okra. The first four principal axes accounted for over 60% of the total variation among the 18 characters describing the accessions. Accessions 29, 9 and 14, which appears to be the most diverse may be useful as source for variable characters in okra improvement among the accessions studied been the most distant.Key words: Derived savannah, principal axes, accessions, variation, cluster analysis, okra

Geo-behavioural predictors of diagnosed hypertension in Igbo Ora Area, Oyo State, Nigeria

\ua9 The Author(s) 2025.Diagnosed hypertension stands out as a prominent global cause of mortality, prompting recent efforts to understand not only treatment options but also determinants across diverse age and occupational groups. However, the literature on the impact of environmental factors on diagnosed hypertension is limited, especially in rural areas with restricted access to health infrastructure. Geographical determinants research has often focused on spatial variations across different units, potentially masking individual environmental contributions. Data on diagnosed hypertension patients and their behaviours were gathered during the ARISE project, complemented by geographical data (elevation, vegetation, road network, population density, and nighttime light exposure) from secondary sources. Spatial patterns were analyzed using the Nearest Neighbour Statistic, Ripley K Function, and Kernel Density Estimation, while Binomial logistic regression identified predictors. Diagnosed hypertension patients exhibit spatial clustering, and are mainly comprised of elderly individuals, residing closer to roads, at higher elevations, in areas with higher population distribution, and with little or no green vegetation. Socio-economic, health-related, behavioural, and environmental factors collectively drive diagnosed hypertension. Spatial clustering of diagnosed hypertension in the Igbo Ora community is localized, indicating potential spatial factors influencing its prevalence. Beyond identified behavioural and medical history factors, geographical elements like nighttime light exposure and normalized vegetation index contribute to the observed clustering. Understanding these dynamics is crucial for targeted interventions in the community

Geo-demographic and socioeconomic determinants of diagnosed hypertension among urban dwellers in Ibadan, Nigeria: a community-based study

\ua9 The Author(s) 2024. Background: The relationship between diagnosed high blood pressure (HBP) and proximity to health facilities and noise sources is poorly understood. We investigated the associations between the number of persons diagnosed with HBP at different distance corridors of noise-generating sources (churches, mosques, bus stops, and road networks), and blood pressure monitoring outlets (healthcare facilities and pharmaceutical shops) in Ibadan, Nigeria. In addition, we investigated the likelihood of being diagnosed with HBP using distance from noise-generating sources, distance to blood pressure monitoring outlets, socio-demographic and clinical status of the participants. Methods: We investigated 13,531 adults from the African Rigorous Innovative Stroke Epidemiological Surveillance (ARISES) study in Ibadan. Using a Geographic Information System (GIS), the locations of healthcare facilities, pharmaceutical shops, bus stops, churches, and mosques were buffered at 100 m intervals, and coordinates of persons diagnosed with HBP were overlaid on the buffered features. The number of persons with diagnosed HBP living at every 100 m interval was estimated. Gender, occupation, marital status, educational status, type of housing, age, and income were used as predictor variables. Analysis was conducted using Spearman rank correlation and binary logistic regression at p < 0.05. Results: There was a significant inverse relationship between the number of persons diagnosed with HBP and distance from pharmaceutical shops (r=-0.818), churches (r=-0.818), mosques (r=-0.893) and major roads (r= -0.667). The odds of HBP were higher among the unemployed (AOR = 1.58, 95% CI: 1.11–2.24), currently married (AOR = 1.45, CI: 1.11–1.89), and previously married (1.75, CI: 1.29–2.38). The odds of diagnosed HBP increased with educational level and age group. Conclusion: Proximity to noise sources, being unemployed and educational level were associated with diagnosed HBP. Reduction in noise generation, transmission, and exposure could reduce the burden of hypertension in urban settings

Travel burden and clinical presentation of retinoblastoma: analysis of 1024 patients from 43 African countries and 518 patients from 40 European countries

BACKGROUND: The travel distance from home to a treatment centre, which may impact the stage at diagnosis, has not been investigated for retinoblastoma, the most common childhood eye cancer. We aimed to investigate the travel burden and its impact on clinical presentation in a large sample of patients with retinoblastoma from Africa and Europe. METHODS: A cross-sectional analysis including 518 treatment-naïve patients with retinoblastoma residing in 40 European countries and 1024 treatment-naïve patients with retinoblastoma residing in 43 African countries. RESULTS: Capture rate was 42.2% of expected patients from Africa and 108.8% from Europe. African patients were older (95% CI -12.4 to -5.4, p<0.001), had fewer cases of familial retinoblastoma (95% CI 2.0 to 5.3, p<0.001) and presented with more advanced disease (95% CI 6.0 to 9.8, p<0.001); 43.4% and 15.4% of Africans had extraocular retinoblastoma and distant metastasis at the time of diagnosis, respectively, compared to 2.9% and 1.0% of the Europeans. To reach a retinoblastoma centre, European patients travelled 421.8 km compared to Africans who travelled 185.7 km (p<0.001). On regression analysis, lower-national income level, African residence and older age (p<0.001), but not travel distance (p=0.19), were risk factors for advanced disease. CONCLUSIONS: Fewer than half the expected number of patients with retinoblastoma presented to African referral centres in 2017, suggesting poor awareness or other barriers to access. Despite the relatively shorter distance travelled by African patients, they presented with later-stage disease. Health education about retinoblastoma is needed for carers and health workers in Africa in order to increase capture rate and promote early referral

Twelve-month observational study of children with cancer in 41 countries during the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction Childhood cancer is a leading cause of death. It is unclear whether the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted childhood cancer mortality. In this study, we aimed to establish all-cause mortality rates for childhood cancers during the COVID-19 pandemic and determine the factors associated with mortality. Methods Prospective cohort study in 109 institutions in 41 countries. Inclusion criteria: children &lt;18 years who were newly diagnosed with or undergoing active treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma, retinoblastoma, Wilms tumour, glioma, osteosarcoma, Ewing sarcoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, medulloblastoma and neuroblastoma. Of 2327 cases, 2118 patients were included in the study. The primary outcome measure was all-cause mortality at 30 days, 90 days and 12 months. Results All-cause mortality was 3.4% (n=71/2084) at 30-day follow-up, 5.7% (n=113/1969) at 90-day follow-up and 13.0% (n=206/1581) at 12-month follow-up. The median time from diagnosis to multidisciplinary team (MDT) plan was longest in low-income countries (7 days, IQR 3-11). Multivariable analysis revealed several factors associated with 12-month mortality, including low-income (OR 6.99 (95% CI 2.49 to 19.68); p&lt;0.001), lower middle income (OR 3.32 (95% CI 1.96 to 5.61); p&lt;0.001) and upper middle income (OR 3.49 (95% CI 2.02 to 6.03); p&lt;0.001) country status and chemotherapy (OR 0.55 (95% CI 0.36 to 0.86); p=0.008) and immunotherapy (OR 0.27 (95% CI 0.08 to 0.91); p=0.035) within 30 days from MDT plan. Multivariable analysis revealed laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection (OR 5.33 (95% CI 1.19 to 23.84); p=0.029) was associated with 30-day mortality. Conclusions Children with cancer are more likely to die within 30 days if infected with SARS-CoV-2. However, timely treatment reduced odds of death. This report provides crucial information to balance the benefits of providing anticancer therapy against the risks of SARS-CoV-2 infection in children with cancer

Large expert-curated database for benchmarking document similarity detection in biomedical literature search

Document recommendation systems for locating relevant literature have mostly relied on methods developed a decade ago. This is largely due to the lack of a large offline gold-standard benchmark of relevant documents that cover a variety of research fields such that newly developed literature search techniques can be compared, improved and translated into practice. To overcome this bottleneck, we have established the RElevant LIterature SearcH consortium consisting of more than 1500 scientists from 84 countries, who have collectively annotated the relevance of over 180 000 PubMed-listed articles with regard to their respective seed (input) article/s. The majority of annotations were contributed by highly experienced, original authors of the seed articles. The collected data cover 76% of all unique PubMed Medical Subject Headings descriptors. No systematic biases were observed across different experience levels, research fields or time spent on annotations. More importantly, annotations of the same document pairs contributed by different scientists were highly concordant. We further show that the three representative baseline methods used to generate recommended articles for evaluation (Okapi Best Matching 25, Term Frequency–Inverse Document Frequency and PubMed Related Articles) had similar overall performances. Additionally, we found that these methods each tend to produce distinct collections of recommended articles, suggesting that a hybrid method may be required to completely capture all relevant articles. The established database server located at https://relishdb.ict.griffith.edu.au is freely available for the downloading of annotation data and the blind testing of new methods. We expect that this benchmark will be useful for stimulating the development of new powerful techniques for title and title/abstract-based search engines for relevant articles in biomedical research