Academic stress and coping strategies for information seeking among undergraduate students in faculty libraries of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria

This paper discussed academic stress and coping strategies for information seeking among undergraduate students in Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. The research questions used sought to find out the causes of academic stress of the students that come to the libraries, information seeking styles the students exhibit during stressful situation in the libraries and the coping strategies the undergraduate students use during information seeking in the libraries. Cross-sectional survey method was used. Questionnaire was used as instrument for data collection. The data collected for the study were presented and analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequency and percentage. The study found out that excessive workload is the cause of academic stress, the information seeking style used by the undergraduate students during stressful situation was by reading the textbook in the faculty’s libraries and relaxation was the coping strategy used by the undergraduate students during stressful condition in the faculties libraries. It was concluded that academic stress has influence on information seeking among undergraduate students of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria that come to the faculties libraries. The study recommended that the work load for undergraduate students of Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, should be reduced in order to enable them perform well in their study, Apart from reading textbooks by undergraduate students in Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria that come to the faculties libraries with academic stress, other information resources such as websites, databases among others should be used because, through these resources information that can help the students in understanding their field of studies are sought and the undergraduate students in Ahmadu Bello University Zaria should use other stress coping strategies such as seeking professional support, among others in order to reduce the stress face during the use of the library

Canagliflozin and renal outcomes in type 2 diabetes and nephropathy

BACKGROUND Type 2 diabetes mellitus is the leading cause of kidney failure worldwide, but few effective long-term treatments are available. In cardiovascular trials of inhibitors of sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2), exploratory results have suggested that such drugs may improve renal outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes. METHODS In this double-blind, randomized trial, we assigned patients with type 2 diabetes and albuminuric chronic kidney disease to receive canagliflozin, an oral SGLT2 inhibitor, at a dose of 100 mg daily or placebo. All the patients had an estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) of 30 to <90 ml per minute per 1.73 m2 of body-surface area and albuminuria (ratio of albumin [mg] to creatinine [g], >300 to 5000) and were treated with renin–angiotensin system blockade. The primary outcome was a composite of end-stage kidney disease (dialysis, transplantation, or a sustained estimated GFR of <15 ml per minute per 1.73 m2), a doubling of the serum creatinine level, or death from renal or cardiovascular causes. Prespecified secondary outcomes were tested hierarchically. RESULTS The trial was stopped early after a planned interim analysis on the recommendation of the data and safety monitoring committee. At that time, 4401 patients had undergone randomization, with a median follow-up of 2.62 years. The relative risk of the primary outcome was 30% lower in the canagliflozin group than in the placebo group, with event rates of 43.2 and 61.2 per 1000 patient-years, respectively (hazard ratio, 0.70; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.59 to 0.82; P=0.00001). The relative risk of the renal-specific composite of end-stage kidney disease, a doubling of the creatinine level, or death from renal causes was lower by 34% (hazard ratio, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.53 to 0.81; P<0.001), and the relative risk of end-stage kidney disease was lower by 32% (hazard ratio, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.54 to 0.86; P=0.002). The canagliflozin group also had a lower risk of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or stroke (hazard ratio, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.67 to 0.95; P=0.01) and hospitalization for heart failure (hazard ratio, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.47 to 0.80; P<0.001). There were no significant differences in rates of amputation or fracture. CONCLUSIONS In patients with type 2 diabetes and kidney disease, the risk of kidney failure and cardiovascular events was lower in the canagliflozin group than in the placebo group at a median follow-up of 2.62 years

Impact of primary kidney disease on the effects of empagliflozin in patients with chronic kidney disease: secondary analyses of the EMPA-KIDNEY trial

Background: The EMPA KIDNEY trial showed that empagliflozin reduced the risk of the primary composite outcome of kidney disease progression or cardiovascular death in patients with chronic kidney disease mainly through slowing progression. We aimed to assess how effects of empagliflozin might differ by primary kidney disease across its broad population. Methods: EMPA-KIDNEY, a randomised, controlled, phase 3 trial, was conducted at 241 centres in eight countries (Canada, China, Germany, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, the UK, and the USA). Patients were eligible if their estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was 20 to less than 45 mL/min per 1·73 m2, or 45 to less than 90 mL/min per 1·73 m2 with a urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (uACR) of 200 mg/g or higher at screening. They were randomly assigned (1:1) to 10 mg oral empagliflozin once daily or matching placebo. Effects on kidney disease progression (defined as a sustained ≥40% eGFR decline from randomisation, end-stage kidney disease, a sustained eGFR below 10 mL/min per 1·73 m2, or death from kidney failure) were assessed using prespecified Cox models, and eGFR slope analyses used shared parameter models. Subgroup comparisons were performed by including relevant interaction terms in models. EMPA-KIDNEY is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03594110. Findings: Between May 15, 2019, and April 16, 2021, 6609 participants were randomly assigned and followed up for a median of 2·0 years (IQR 1·5–2·4). Prespecified subgroupings by primary kidney disease included 2057 (31·1%) participants with diabetic kidney disease, 1669 (25·3%) with glomerular disease, 1445 (21·9%) with hypertensive or renovascular disease, and 1438 (21·8%) with other or unknown causes. Kidney disease progression occurred in 384 (11·6%) of 3304 patients in the empagliflozin group and 504 (15·2%) of 3305 patients in the placebo group (hazard ratio 0·71 [95% CI 0·62–0·81]), with no evidence that the relative effect size varied significantly by primary kidney disease (pheterogeneity=0·62). The between-group difference in chronic eGFR slopes (ie, from 2 months to final follow-up) was 1·37 mL/min per 1·73 m2 per year (95% CI 1·16–1·59), representing a 50% (42–58) reduction in the rate of chronic eGFR decline. This relative effect of empagliflozin on chronic eGFR slope was similar in analyses by different primary kidney diseases, including in explorations by type of glomerular disease and diabetes (p values for heterogeneity all >0·1). Interpretation: In a broad range of patients with chronic kidney disease at risk of progression, including a wide range of non-diabetic causes of chronic kidney disease, empagliflozin reduced risk of kidney disease progression. Relative effect sizes were broadly similar irrespective of the cause of primary kidney disease, suggesting that SGLT2 inhibitors should be part of a standard of care to minimise risk of kidney failure in chronic kidney disease. Funding: Boehringer Ingelheim, Eli Lilly, and UK Medical Research Council

Comparing loneliness and mental health status of college students in Nigeria and Japan

Empirical evidence indicates that loneliness is a common experience of the youth, and mental health problems are prevalent among this group. The present study set out to examine differences in the prevalence of loneliness and its association with mental distress among a sample of undergraduate students in Nigeria and Japan. The participants were 1192 students (703 Nigerians and 489 Japanese), comprised of 503 men and 609 women drawn from eight colleges in both countries. The average age of all participants was 22.90 years. A self report measure incorporating the UCLA Loneliness Scale, the General Health Questionnaire-12 and some socio-demographic items was utilized to collect data. Findings from a two-way MANOVA revealed that Nigerian students were lonelier than their Japanese counterparts, while the Japanese students rated higher in mental distress including depression and social dysfunction. Also, gender differences in loneliness were found across and within countries, whilst differences in mental health was shown only in Japan: Japanese women recorded significantly more distress than Japanese men. Furthermore, the results of a multiple group mediation analysis demonstrated that path coefficients between Nigeria and Japan differed significantly on the relationship between loneliness and social dysfunction, and when this association was mediated by depression. The implication of these findings for the mental health of college students in both societies was discussed.Keywords: loneliness, mental health, college students, Nigeria, Japa

Analysis of H19 methylation in control and abnormal human embryos, sperm and oocytes

International audienceART is suspected to generate increased imprinting errors in the lineage. Following an ICSI (Intra Cytoplamic Sperm Injection) procedure, a certain number of embryos fail to develop normally and imprinting disorders may be associated to the developmental failure. To evaluate this hypothesis, we analysed the methylation profile of H19DMR, a paternally imprinting control region, in high graded blastocysts, in embryos showing developmental anomalies, in the matching sperm and in oocytes of the concerned couples when they were available. Significant hypomethylation of the paternal allele was observed in half the embryos, independently of the stage at which they were arrested (morula, compacted morula, pre blastocyst or BC graded blastocysts). Conversely, some embryos showed significant methylation on the maternal allele, whereas few others showed both, hypomethylation of the paternal allele and abnormal methylation of the maternal allele. The matching sperm at the origin of the embryos exhibited normal methylated H19 patterns. Thus, hypomethylation of the paternal allele in the embryos does not appear inherited from the sperm but likely reflects instability of the imprint during the demethylating process which occurred in the early embryo. Analysis of a few oocytes suggests that the defect in erasure of the paternal imprint in the maternal germ line may be responsible for the residual methylation of the maternal allele in some embryos. None of these imprinting alterations could be related to a particular stage of developmental arrest; compared to high grade blastocysts, embryos with developmental failure are more likely to have abnormal imprinting at H19 (p<0.05)