Knowledge of HIV/AIDS and use of mandatory premarital HIV testing as a prerequisite for marriages among religious leaders in Sokoto, North Western Nigeria

Background: In Sub-Saharan Africa, an estimated 1.8 million became infected with the HIV in 2009 and Nigeria currently has about 3.4 million people living with HIV. Measures put in place by religious organizations to combat HIV/AIDS in Nigeria include mandatory premarital HIV testing. The knowledge of HIV/AIDS amongst religious leaders in Nigeria has not been sufficiently explored . In this study, we assessed the knowledge of HIV/AIDS amongst religious leaders in Sokoto and if they routinely demand for mandatory premarital HIV testing for all intending couples. Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study involving 158 religious leaders (30 Christians and 128 Muslims) who officiate or assist during marriages. Data was collected using interviewer and self administered questionnaire which sought such information as biodata, knowledge of HIV/AIDS , speaking to congregation about AIDS and using Premarital HIV status as a pre-requisite for contracting marriages. Data was entered into and analysed using Epi-info computer soft ware program. Level of statistical significance was put at P=0.05. Results: The ages of the respondents ranged from 35 to 78 years with a mean age of 26.3 ± 20.3 years. Forty nine percent of the respondents had adequate knowledge of HIV/AIDS with more Christian clerics compared to Muslim Clerics having better knowledge of HIV/AIDS (P<0.0001). All the Christian clerics opined that they would insist on mandatory premarital HIV testing for their subjects before joining them in marriages. Conclusion: The results of the study have shown that most of the religious leaders lacked adequate knowledge of HIV/AIDS and the use of mandatory premarital HIV testing is yet to be adopted by the Muslim clerics. Awareness campaigns should be intensified for the religious leaders to improve their knowledge of HIV/AIDS

Out-of-pocket health expenditure for under-five illnesses in a semi-urban community in Northern Nigeria

Background: Household expenditure on health is increasingly becoming a major source of health care financing in Nigeria. Recognizing the limitations of this pattern of financing health care, the government has introduced a social health insurance scheme policy that has provided for government meeting the health care costs of children. However, there is a dearth of information on the pattern and costs of under-five illnesses at community level. This study therefore sought to determine the magnitude and causes of illnesses among under-fives, sources of healthcare and out of pocket expenditure among children under-five in Layin Zomo, a semi-urban area of Northern Nigeria Methodology: A cross-sectional community-based descriptive study design was used to study a population of under-fives in the settlement. A 50% sample of all under-fives in the settlement was drawn using systematic sampling method. Information was sought from the mothers/caregivers on illness episodes in the three months preceding the study, place and cost of treatment among the 324 sampled population. Result: The findings showed that 26. 9% of the children had been ill within three months of the study with fever; cough and diarrhoea being the leading causes of illness. Majority of respondents, 41.7% sought treatment from patent medicine vendors. The median out of pocket expenditure on treatment per illness episode was 171 Naira ($1.2) and the estimated annual per capita out of pocket treatment cost per child was 255 Naira ($1.8). Conclusion: While the study has provided some data for computation of the out of pocket health expenditure for treatment of under-five illnesses, the poverty context within which such expenditures are incurred limits the utilization of such information to determine the premium rate for the proposed children under five programme under the National Health Insurance Scheme. Key Words: Healthcare; Out-of-pocket expenditure; Under-fives; Zaria Journal of Community Medicine & Primary Health Care Vol.16(1) 2004: 29-3

Comparison of the duration and quality of epidural analgesia between plain bupivacaine alone and plain bupivacaine with tramadol in lower limb orthopaedic surgeries.

This study was aimed at comparing the duration and quality of epidural analgesia between plain bupivacaine alone with plain bupivacaine and tramadol in lower limb orthopaedic surgeries. Method: This was a prospective randomized double blinded control study involving 74 ASA I and II patients scheduled for elective lower limb orthopaedic surgeries. Group A (n=37) received 19mls of 0.5% epidural plain bupivacaine with 1 ml of water for injection, while group B received 19mls of 0.5% epidural plain bupivacaine with 1ml (50mg) of preservative freetramadol. The duration of analgesia was from the time of epidural block to the time of rescue analgesia. While, the quality of block was measured with Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and Bromage scale. Results: Thestudy ages were between 16-60years,consisting of 22(60%) male and 15(40%) female in group A, while in group B 20 (54%) were male and 17(46%) female. It showed the mean duration of analgesia were 189.05±21.92min and 254.19±32.78min in group A and B respectively with p <0.01.The intra-operative VAS scores between the two groups did not show any significant difference between study groups (P> 0.05).The differences of grades of motor block and maximum sensory block height were not statistically significant (P=0.26) among the study groups. Conclusion: The addition of 50mg (1ml) of tramadol to plain bupivacaine epidurally prolonged the duration of analgesia and improved the quality of analgesia when compared to the use of bupivacaine alone

CONTROL OF PARTICULATE MATTER (PM) EMISSIONS FROM INDUSTRIAL PLANT USING ANFIS BASED CONTROLLER

In recent times, the negative effect of air pollution such as particulate matter (PM) emitted from industrial plants has compelled researchers in finding efficient control system to control such pollutants in order to keep the environment safe. The aim of this study is to develop a reliable method of controlling the emissions of PM using wet scrubber system as a control device. The process of a wet scrubber is nonlinear in nature. Due to difficulty in selecting optimum scrubbing liquid droplet size in wet scrubbing process, the system becomes complex. Thus, Adaptive Neuro Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) based control technique is employed in this paper to handle the nonlinearities. ANFIS control technique has the advantage to integrate fuzzy logic systems and learning ability of neural network, thus able to handle nonlinear systems better. The controller is developed using data of PM emission from cement kiln. The system is simulated using triangular and trapezoidal membership function (MF) with 2 and 3 input MF in each case. The performance of the controller is evaluated based on settling time. The results indicated that the developed controller was able to maintain the PM emission below a set point of 20µg/m3 which is the maximum allowable PM emission limit recommended by world health organization (WHO). The controller with 2 input triangular membership functions indicated a better performance with a settling time of 5.2 seconds

Monosodium glutamate-induced changes on plasma markers of pancreatic function in adult male Wistar rats

Monosodium glutamate (MSG), one of the most widely used food additives worldwide, has been associated with harmful effects on different organs in animal models and human clinical volunteers. The present study evaluated the median lethal dose (LD50) and the effect of sub-chronic MSG consumption on plasma markers of pancreatic function in adult male Wistar rats. Seventy-six adult Wistar rats weighing 200 ± 50 g were randomly assigned into three groups viz: LD50, n=12, MSG-treated, n=32 and non-MSG-treated control, n=32. At weekly intervals, blood was collected from four randomly selected rats in each group for plasma markers (glucose, insulin, lipase and amylase) assays. Morbidity and mortality were not observed in the LD50 group. The glucose, insulin, lipase and amylase levels of MSG-treated group were significantly (P < 0.05) higher than those of non-MSG-treated control group. These findings suggest that MSG caused changes in the plasma activities of lipase and amylase, the absence of gross and microscopic lesions of congested blood vessel point to possible physiochemical alterations in the pancreatic acini with consequent enzyme leakage.Keywords: LD50, Monosodium glutamate, Pancreas, Plasma, Wistar rat

Comparison of the durations and complications of spinal anaesthesia between unilateral spinal anaesthesia and bilateral spinal anaesthesia for unilateral lower limb surgery

Despite the advantages of spinal anaesthesia when compared to general anaesthesia, it is associated with complications such as hypotension, bradycardia, shivering and nausea. Our study is set to compare the durations and complications between unilateral and bilateral spinal anaesthesia in patients undergoing unilateral lower limb surgeries. Method: Sixty four (64) American Society of Anesthesiology (ASA) 1 and 2 patients that were randomly assigned to two groups. Group U which is the unilateral spinal anaesthesia and group B which is the conventional bilateral spinal anaesthesia group to receive 2ml of 0.5% heavy bupivacaine plus 1ml of distilled water and 3ml of 0.5% heavy bupivacaine only respectively. The group U patients who had the procedure in the lateral decubitus position remained in that position for 20 minutes, while those in group B had the spinal injection in sitting position and immediately took the supine position after the injection. Results: The 64 adult patients who were randomly allocated into two groups with 32 patients each successfully had their surgeries done under the chosen technique. The mean duration of spinal anaesthesia was found to be 64±23.29 minutes and 100± 37.08 minutes in the group U and B respectively (p=0.001). There was no statistical differences in the general overall complications when the two groups were compared (p=0.03), however, on individual bases unilateral spinal anaesthesia has less complications compared to bilateral spinal anaesthesia for unilateral lower limb surgeries. Conclusion: The study showed that unilateral spinal anaesthesia with 2 ml of 0.5% bupivacaine had shorter duration of spinal anaesthesia with less complications compared to bilateral spinal anaesthesia for unilateral lower limb surgeries

Fuzzy logic based intelligent temperature controller for cassava post-harvest storage system

Significant amount of stored agricultural products are lost as a result of poor and inefficient storage systems in most developing countries, especially in tropical regions of the world. Improvements on the existing storage methods is important to guarantee food security. This study proposes the development of intelligent temperature control technique for fresh cassava roots crop post-harvest storage system using fuzzy logic controller (FLC). The intelligent controller which has two inputs (error in temperature and rate of change in the error) and one output (change in fan speed) was simulated with the developed storage system model for temperature control of fresh cassava roots crop. The results obtained shows that the controller can track appropriately the reference temperature and also gives good stability and robustness towards input disturbances. Faster response to maintain the storage temperature within acceptable limit close to reference point was also achieved successfully

Fuzzy Logic Controller (FLC) for the control of Particulate Matter (PM) emission in wet scrubber system

Air pollution such as particulate matter (PM) emitted from industries result in several thousands of deaths. In recognition of this global threat, a large number of abatement measures have been taken to minimize the emission of this pollutant. Wet scrubber system has been the most widely used control device for PM contaminants. Its operating variables (gas velocity, temperature profile, particle size, liquid droplet’s size, terminal settling velocity of liquid droplets, particle density and liquid to gas ratio) fluctuates randomly, thus resulting in a non-linear dynamic behavior of the system. This non-linearity generally limits the ability of the scrubber to control PM less than 5µm in diameter. Thus, in this study, intelligent control technique based on fuzzy logic controller (FLC) has been developed to solve the non-linearity in the system by selecting appropriate scrubbing liquid droplet size in order to improve system performance to control PM that are less than 5µm in diameter. The developed FLC has two inputs (error and change in error) and a single output. The results shows that within short settling time, the controller was able to effectively reduce the PM that are less than 5µm below the set-point (20µg/m3) which is the maximum allowable emission limit of PM contaminants by world health organization (WHO)

Water Quality Assessment of Some Selected Hand Dug Wells and a Borehole in North Eastern Parts of Bauchi Metropolis, Nigeria

Water samples were taken from six hand dug wells and a borehole for physico-chemical and microbial analysis to ascertain its quality, type and suitability for domestic, livestock and irrigation purposes. The ranges of results of the physico-chemical parameters are: temperature (28-31.5)oC, Conductivity (170-650)µs/cm, turbidity (1.0-90.8)NTU, and pH(7.0-8.5). Other chemical parameters include: cations -  Ca2+(25.6 – 72.0)mg/l , Na+(23.1 – 75.87)mg/l, K+(0.14 – 78.3)mg/l, Mg2+(1.46 – 20.75)mg/l, Fe2+(0.0 – 1.1)mg/l, Cu2+(0.0 – 0.49)mg/l, Zn2+(0.00 – 1.74)mg/l, Pb2+(0.00 – 0.001)mg/l, Cr6+(0.00 – 0.02)mg/l and anions – HCO3-(54.0 – 140.0)mg/l, Cl-(32.5 – 114.96)mg/l,  F-(0.23 – 0.77)mg/l,  CO32-(32.4 – 84.0)mg/l, SO42-(10.31 – 121.0)mg/l,  NO3-(1.08 – 75.7)mg/l, NO2-(0.013 – 0.69)mg/l. Data values analyzed from the results obtained indicate the water to be Ca-HCO3, K-HCO3, Mg-HCO3 and Na-Cl water type containing high concentrations of some major, minor and trace cations and anions which fall above the maximum permissible limits of the National Standard for Drinking Water Quality (NSDWQ) of Nigerian Industrial Standard (NIS), 2007. Physical and microbiological parameters indicate that the water is turbid and contain a high total coliform counts above the NIS set standards for maximum permissible limits. This may be attributed to proximities of soakaways and dumpsites to the wells which may need to be monitored from time to time. The water was also found to be suitable for irrigation. Keywords: Water Quality, Water Type, Irrigation Wate

Developing a Strategy for Sustainable Improved Soil Productivity in the Tropics - Efficient Management of Crop Residue/Farm Waste

Harvest index, which measures the economic harvest of a crop, often refers to that part of a crop representing that which can be eaten or sold to others for consumption; in smallholder farming. The remainder of the crop, referred to as crop residue; is either fed to livestock, used to build fences, used as mulch, ploughed in (where such equipments are available) or burnt in small-scale farming, causing environmental pollution. These crop residues are also rich in nutrients that were extracted from the soil, used in the building of the edible parts and contribute to soil mining if not returned to the soil. This is a major bottleneck among smallholders as harvesting could take place when the soil is too dry to turn easily or they may not have the labour to do so. If they are to continue to improve productivity, returning nutrients from crop residues back to the soil is a practice farmers must undertake to maintain the soil’s fertility without resort to chemicals that can have negative impacts on the soil and the environment. Many smallholder farmers do not own livestock that can be used to process residues, and so they resort to burning of the residues so that the ash will be available to apply as a form of fertilizer. Burning residues result in the loss of most nutrients through volatilization; and the pollution of the environment through production of green house gases, contributing to global warming. If fed to livestock in-situ, they may not reap the full benefit of the crop residue as animals will leave the field after feeding and thus the excrement produced subsequently is not available as manure. To overcome this bottleneck, a method of composting is advocated where crop residues can be chopped in smaller bits, mixed with contents from the rumen of ruminants obtained from abattoir and some water and ensilaged in a pit or containers for some days to decompose. The same process can also be used for non-consumable parts of products taken to the market or home, so that the decomposed product (compost) is then returned to the farm to improve the soil’s fertility. Application of compost will build up the soil’s organic N, the loss of which is implicated in the loss of the soil’s productivity