Determinants of treatment seeking behaviour for sexually transmitted infections in Nigeria

About 376 million new cases of sexually transmitted infections (STI) are reported annually across the globe. Also, untreated STI result in increased risks of complications including HIV, infertility and congenital infections. In Nigeria, enabling factors for STI transmission has increased in recent times. Thus, good treatment seeking behaviour is critical for the management of STI among people with sexually transmitted infections in Nigeria. Secondary data from the 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey dataset were used. The survey was conducted across Nigeria following a-2 stage stratified cluster sampling design from a sample of 4,997 women and 653 men aged 15 – 49 years who reported an STI history. Only 46.1% of the men and 55.7% of the women sought treatment for STI. Men who reported having genital ulcer were 3 times more likely to seek treatment, and women with genital ulcers were 2 times more likely to seek treatment than those who did not have genital ulcers. There is the need to reinforce HIV/STI messaging and health education campaigns in order to sensitize more people on transmission, symptoms and treatment of STI. Also, equitable mechanisms for financing STI treatment should be incorporated into the Nigerian health system in order to increase access for people of poorer economic status.   Environ 376 millions de nouveaux cas d'infections sexuellement transmissibles (IST) sont signalés chaque année dans le monde. De plus, les IST non traitées entraînent des risques accrus de complications, notamment le VIH, l'infertilité et les infections congénitales. Au Nigeria, les facteurs favorables à la transmission des IST ont augmenté ces derniers temps. Ainsi, un bon comportement de recherche de traitement est essentiel pour la gestion des IST chez les personnes atteintes d'infections sexuellement transmissibles au Nigeria. Les données secondaires de l'ensemble de données de l'enquête démographique et de santé du Nigeria 2018 ont été utilisées. L'enquête a été menée à travers le Nigeria selon un plan d'échantillonnage en grappes stratifié à 2 degrés à partir d'un échantillon de 4 997 femmes et 653 hommes âgés de 15 à 49 ans qui ont signalé des antécédents d'IST. Seuls 46,1 % des hommes et 55,7 % des femmes ont demandé un traitement pour les IST. Les hommes ayant déclaré avoir des ulcères génitaux étaient 3 fois plus susceptibles de demander un traitement, et les femmes ayant des ulcères génitaux étaient 2 fois plus susceptibles de demander un traitement que celles qui n'avaient pas d'ulcères génitaux. Il est nécessaire de renforcer les messages VIH/IST et les campagnes d'éducation sanitaire afin de sensibiliser davantage de personnes à la transmission, aux symptômes et au traitement des IST. En outre, des mécanismes équitables de financement du traitement des IST devraient être intégrés dans le système de santé nigérian afin d'améliorer l'accès pour les personnes de statut économique plus pauvre. &nbsp

Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction in Nigeria: An Empirical Investigation

Economic growth is said to be pro-poor if the poverty measure adopted falls with increased growth rate. Poverty researchers have investigated this phenomenon mainly in the context of income poverty. The fact that poverty goes beyond income has received little attention. This study appreciates the multidimensional nature of poverty. It sees poverty in its non-income dimension, highlights the concept of pro-poor growth, and also empirically analyzes if economic growth in Nigeria is, or could be, pro-poor. In our empirical analysis a vector autoregressive model was formulated and estimated within an error correction framework. Within this framework, we have analyzed annual time series data to capture, quantitatively, the effects on human-capital poverty of economic growth and other control variables, both in the short- and long-term. Results showed that in the medium-to-long term, agricultural development raised human capital poverty, while developing the other sectors of the economy reduced it. In the short-term, public capital expenditure on social services, including credit to the agricultural sector, and agricultural development generally, showed a potential to reduce poverty. Public capital expenditure on economic services, growth in the non-agricultural sector of the economy, and increased urbanization intensified the incidence of human capital poverty. These results indicate that government expenditures on human capital development through the social services sector tend to reduce human-capital poverty. They underscore the desirability of adequate capital expenditures on education and health; and also suggest the need for enhancing the pace of rural transportation with a view to creating non-agricultural employment opportunities and minimize the rate of urban growth. Key words: Economic growth, Pro-poor growth, Human-capital poverty, Public expenditure, Urbanization

Phytochemistry, antibacterial and anticoagulase activities of Sida acuta against clinical isolates of Staphylococcus aureus

oai:journals.ansfoundation.org:article/20The phytochemical, antibacterial and anticoagulase activities of Sida acuta against clinical isolates of Staphylococcus aureus were investigated. The phytochemistry of the plant leaves revealed that S. acuta is laden with antioxidative compounds with remarkable concentrations of saponins (0.772 mg/100g), flavonoids (0.112 mg/100g), alkaloids (0.076 mg/100g) and tannins (0.0541mg/100g). Their presence conferred a strong bactericidal effect on Staphylococcus aureus SS-1VC, Staph. aureus SS-2VM, Staph. aureus SS-3SW, Staph aureus SS-4OM, Staph. aureus SS-5BC Staph. aureus SS-6AF and Staph. aureus SS-7DS isolated from vaginal candidiosis, vaginal mycosis, septic wound, otitis media, buccal cavity, athletes foot and diarrheic stool respectively. Majority of the bacterium strains screened were sensitive to aqueous and methanol extracts of S. acuta leaves. All the strains were inhibited by the aqueous extract, but more susceptible were strains SS-2VM isolated from vaginal mycoses and SS-3SW from septic wound, which recorded 25mm and 24mm diameter of inhibition zones respectively, after treatment with 8.0mg/ml of the extract. However, much lower concentration (0.5mg/ml) of the extract was required to halt coagulase activity in both strains. The methanol leaf extract exhibited similar but stronger antibacterial and anticoagulase activities against the clinical isolates of Staph. aureus. Marked antibacterial inhibitory effects were observed against most strains tested but SS-6AF and SS-7DS (which exhibited comparatively lower susceptibility), with majority of the strains losing theiranticoagulase producing potential at concentrations as low as 0.5mg/ml of alcoholic extract. The strong anticoagulase activity of S.acuta, and it’s efficacy in inhibiting coagulase elaboration by Staph aureus especially Staph. aureus SS3SW isolated from septic wound forms the basis of it’s use in folk medicine for wound treatment

Isolation of a pentacyclic triterpenoid from the antiplasmodial bioactive fraction of Nauclea latifolia (Sm) roots

Purpose: To research the antiplasmodial property of aqueous extract, fractions, and residue of Nauclea latifolia roots and to isolate the components responsible for the antiplasmodial activity.Methods: Roots of N. latifolia were macerated with distilled water; the extract was obtained, successively partitioned with ethyl acetate and butanol. The extract, fractions, and the residue obtained were evaluated for their in vivo antiplasmodial activity and compared with amodiaquine and artesunate. The residue (which exhibited the best therapeutic index) was subjected to column and thin layer chromatography to isolate its components. Purification led to the isolation of betulinic acid, which was characterized with the aid of spectroscopic techniques (1H, 13C NMR, and EI-MS).Results: The residue significantly inhibited parasite growth from 42.8 % (D2) to 77.6 % (D5). Therefore, residue exhibited the highest therapeutic index against Plasmodium berghei in the three in vivo antiplasmodial (prophylactic, suppressive, and curative) models and it compared favourably with amodiaquine (80.5 %) and artesunate (85.9 %). The major component of the residue was betulinic acid.Conclusion: The results validate the antiplasmodial claims of the roots of N. latifolia in folkloric medicine, and demonstrated that the isolate has a high therapeutic index in this regard. Further investigations, however, are required to determine the clinical efficacy and safety of the compound/isolate

Ecological niche modelling of Hemipteran insects in Cameroon ; the paradox of a vector-borne transmission for Mycobacterium ulcerans, the causative agent of Buruli ulcer

Background: The mode of transmission of the emerging neglected disease Buruli ulcer is unknown. Several potential transmission pathways have been proposed, such as amoebae, or transmission through food webs. Several lines of evidence have suggested that biting aquatic insects, Naucoridae and Belostomatidae, may act as vectors, however this proposal remains controversial. Materials and methods: Herein, based on sampling in Cameroon, we construct an ecological niche model of these insects to describe their spatial distribution. We predict their distribution across West Africa, describe important environmental drivers of their abundance, and examine the correlation between their abundance and Buruli ulcer prevalence in the context of the Bradford-Hill guidelines. Results: We find a significant positive correlation between the abundance of the insects and the prevalence of Buruli ulcer. This correlation changes in space and time, it is significant in one Camerounese study region in (Akonolinga) and not other (Bankim). We discuss notable environmental differences between these regions. Conclusion: We interpret the presence of, and change in, this correlation as evidence (though not proof) that these insects may be locally important in the environmental persistence, or transmission, of Mycobacterium. ulcerans. This is consistent with the idea of M. ulcerans as a pathogen transmitted by multiple modes of infection, the importance of any one pathway changing from region to region, depending on the local environmental conditions

Isolation and characterization of antioxidant constituents of the fruit of Telfairia occidentalis Hook F (Cucurbitaceae)

Purpose: To evaluate the antioxidant property of the fruit of Telfairia occidentalis and isolate the components responsible for the antioxidant activity.Methods: The fruit pericarp was macerated with methanol and the extract obtained successively partitioned with n-hexane, dichloromethane and ethyl acetate. The in vitro antioxidant activity of the extract and fractions was evaluated using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging, reducing power, nitric oxide scavenging, total antioxidant and hydrogen peroxide scavenging assays. The n-hexane fraction, which had the highest DPPH scavenging and total antioxidant activities, was subjected to column and thin layer chromatography to isolate the components. The isolated compounds were identified by ultraviolet-visible (UV), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and mass spectrometry.Results: Among the fractions tested, n-hexane had the best total antioxidant activity of 99.44 % at 20 mg/ml (p < 0.05) compared to ascorbic acid at 99.71 % of 20 mg/ml. This fraction also had the highest DPPH radical scavenging activity of all the fractions (p < 0.05) at all test concentrations. For nitric oxide scavenging activity, the whole extract, and the chloroform and aqueous fractions exhibited activity ranging from 92.29 to 97.66 % compared to 98.93 % for ascorbic acid. The hydrogen peroxide scavenging activity of the extract and fractions ranged from 92.60 to 96.23 % compared with of the standard, ascorbic acid (101.68 %). The major components of the n-hexane fractions were α- amyrin and β-amyrin.Conclusion: The fruit pericarp of Telfairia occidentalis possesses good DPPH radical scavenging activity. This is the first time the antioxidant activity of the fruit (pericarp) and the presence of α- and β- amyrins in Telfairia occidentalis have been reported.Keywords: Telfairia occidentalis, Fluted pumpkin, Amyrin, Antioxidant

Rapid Thermal Technologies for High Efficiency Silicon Solar Cells

Presented at the 12th International Photovoltaic Science and Engineering Conference; Jeju Island, Korea; June 11-15, 2001.This paper shows that rapidly formed emitters (≤ 6 min) in a conveyor belt furnace or 3 minutes in an RTP system, in conjunction with a screen-printed (SP) RTP Al-BSF and passivating oxide formed simultaneously in 2 minutes can produce high efficiency cells with no surface texturing, point contacts, or selective emitter. It is shown for the first time that an 80 Ω/ emitter and SP Al-BSF formed in a high throughput belt furnace can produce 19% FZ cells, 18.4% MCZ cells and greater than 17% CZ cells with photolithography (PL) contacts. Using PL contacts, we also achieved 19% efficient cells on FZ, >18% on MCZ, and ~17% boron-doped CZ by emitter and SP Al-BSF formation in less than 10 minutes in a single wafer RTP system. Finally, a manufacturable process with 45 Ω/ emitter and screen-printed (SP) Al-BSF and Ag contacts formed in the conveyor belt furnace gave 17% efficient cells on FZ silicon. Compared to the photolithography cells, the SP cell gave ∼2% lower efficiency along with a decrease in Jsc and fill factor (FF). This loss in performance is attributed to a combination of the poor blue response, higher series resistance and higher contact shading in the SP devices