5‑year retrospective review of instrumental vaginal deliveries in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

Context: Instrumental vaginal deliveries are deliveries conducted using obstetric forceps or vacuum extractor and are an essential component of basic emergency obstetric care.Objective: To determine the rate of instrumental deliveries and their outcome over a 5‑year period (2013–2017) at the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital.Study Design and Methods: A 5‑year retrospective review of maternity delivery records. A survey of 16 resident doctors of the department was also done to determine their views on the rate of instrumental deliveries in the hospital.Results: During the study period, there were 6,754 deliveries; of these 109 (1.61%) were instrumental deliveries. Vacuum extractions accounted for 97 (88.99%) of the instrumental deliveries and there were only 12 (11.01%) forceps deliveries. The majority of the instrumental deliveries were carried out on booked women (78; 82.98%), with low parity (Para 1; 73.83%), term mothers (59.4%), and normal birth weight babies. There were only five stillbirths (4.59%), all of which were vacuum extractions and were comparable to 4.5% among spontaneous vertex deliveries and less than 6.2% among caesarean sections and 45.5% among breech deliveries. This was statistically significant, χ2 = 114.03, P < 0.001. Most of the resident doctors cited lack of proper training as responsible for low rate of instrumental deliveries.Conclusion: The rate of instrumental vaginal deliveries in the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital is low with adverse consequences on the training of resident doctors. There is thus need to prioritize training on this life‑saving skills.Keywords: Instrumental vaginal deliveries; neonatal outcome; trends; Uy

Palynological studies of the genus Combretum Loefl. from Akwa-Ibom State, Nigeria

Variations in pollen morphology were investigated in nine (9) common species of Combretum found in Uyo metropolis, Akwa-Ibom State, Nigeria. The species included Combretum bracteatum, C. calobotrys, C. dolichopetalum, C. hispidum, C. mannii, C. mooreanum, C. platypterum, C. racemosum and C. zenkeri. The pollen samples were acetolysed and examined under light microscope. The investigation showed that the pollen grains were all heterocolpate and circular in shape. Sculpturing was psilate or scabrate and pollen shape class was either sub-prolate, oblate-spheroidal or prolate spheroidal. Among the 9 species of Combretum, maximum polar dimension (34.41-44.40 μm) was found in C. platypterum whereas minimum polar dimension (21.09-38.85 μm) was noted in C. racemosum and C. zenkeri. The equatorial dimensions were highest (29.97-34.12μm) in C. mooreanum while the lowest equatorial dimension (17.76-31.08 μm) was observed in C. zenkeri. Pore diameters were highest (8.88-15.54) in C. calobotrys and C. platypterum and least (5.55-13.32) in C. bracteatum, C. racemosum and C. zenkeri. There was no significant difference in exine thickness among the species

Prevalence and intensity of urinary schistosomiasis among primary school pupils in minjibir local government area ofKano state

Urine samples were collected from 493 pupils (5-16 years) at Wasai and Dingim wards in Minjibir Local Government Area of Kano State. The samples were examined for urinary Schistosomiasis infection. 218 (44.2%) of the pupils were infected. The prevalence rate was higher in Dingim (52.5%) than in Wasai (41.55%) .The rate of infection among males in Wasai was (56.28%) and 2.7% among females and no female was infected in Dingim. Haematuria was found in more than half (52.75%) of the infected pupils .The prevalence of infection are as follows (71.88%) ,(51.83%), (35.46%) for the age range 14-16,11-13, and 5-16 years respectively. This study gives the latest information on the rate of Schistosoma haematobium infection in the area and the need for an urgent intervention. Key words: Urinary Schistosomiasis ,pupils, Minjibir Local Govt Area , Kan

Becoming a teacher: conceptual and practice development in the learning and skills sector

Drawing on a mixed-methods study of in-service learning and skills sector (LSS) trainees, comprising beginning- and end-of-year surveys and six longitudinal case studies together with literature on trainees’ development in the LSS, schools and higher education sectors, conceptual and practice development continua are proposed. Conceptions become more multi-dimensional and increasingly link teaching and learning whilst initial concern with the practicalities of teaching is followed by recognition of learners’ needs. Next, greater emphasis is placed on learner autonomy and catering for individuals’ needs and finally assessment and evaluation is used systematically to shape practice. The continua offer an understanding of the subtleties and complexities of trainee development allowing for different starting and end points and accommodating varied work contexts. I argue that this provides a more adequate basis for the development of initial teacher education (ITE) than the prescriptive approach embedded within recent LSS ITE policy reforms

Tinea Cruris Resurgence in Male Genitalia: A Case Report

Tinea infection is a very common disease, but that of the male genitalia is said to be rare. We present a 45 year old male patient suffering from tinea cruris, with lesions extremely chronic and progressive. The patients gave history of empirical treatment and under dosage of antifungal agents with resurgence of the infection. Culture of scrapings from the lesion yielded Epidermophyton floccosum. The case resolved completely with topical tioconazole and oral administration of 50mg fluconazole 3 times a week for six weeks. Patient’s treatment should therefore be guided by laboratory diagnosis and patients should comply with prescribed dosage for better results.Keywords: Tinea cruris, Resurgence, Epidermophyton floccosum, Treatment

Relative signal strength coverage optimization in indoor and outdoor wireless LAN environments

Fading and obstacles constitute major threats to effective quality of service (QoS) delivery in wireless local area network (WLAN) environments. In this contribution, we investigate the signal quality of indoor and outdoor WLANs over a defined coverage area. We present experimental analysis of case studies that will be useful for further research and validate the system’s performance in practice. Using an optimized form of the pathloss models, a simulation of the system is carried out over short and extended coverage. Simulation results show that signal quality could be effectively managed to improve the system’s performance for both indoor and outdoor environments in the presence of fading and other environmental factors.Facultad de Informátic

Evaluation of Public-Health Risk of Heavy Metals Contaminants and Physicochemical Parameters in Adulteration Palm Oil Commonly Consumed in Calabar, Nigeria

Edible palm oil has been the parity of the human diet from generation to generation and has contributed both to nutrition and health. These studies investigated some selected heavy metals and physicochemical parameters in palm oil. Eleven (11) samples of ready-consumed edible palm oil were bought randomly from the selected market in calabar metropolis. The samples were digested with 25ml of concentrated H2SO4, for heavy metals analysis using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS). The physiochemical parameters in selected markets include the following FFA, IV, PV, and protein content were also analyzed using standard methods. The results showed that FFA value range from 9.26 to 12%, Iodine value range from 45.78 to 21.40 MgKOH/g, Peroxide value range from 3.60 to 0.03 Meq/kg, and protein content ranges from 0.06 to 0.2 mg were significantly (p<0.05) higher in some markets in comparison to the control. The results of heavy metals showed that Zn 8.06±0.06, Cd 1.01±0.05, N 1.00±0.00, C 125.91±0.09, Pb 9.30±0.07 Cobalt, Lead zinc were above the detectable limit of the WHO standard while Cd and Ni were within the permissibility limit. The results obtained from this study indicate that the palm oil sold in calabar metropolis may cause a public health risk if proper monitoring is not maintained by regulatory agencies. Thus, there is a need for improved screening of our local processed palm oil from the time of production to the time of consumption

The Development of Healthcare Jobs in the COVID-Pandemic-A New Economic Market

BACKGROUND The COVID-19 pandemic commenced in China and has caused the death of numerous people globally. Despite the adverse effects, the outbreak has created room for job opportunities in healthcare, particularly the pharmaceutical domain. The main goal of this study is to examine how the current pandemic has triggered job creation in the healthcare domain and created a new economic market. METHODS The study used the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic and Meta-analyses for Scoping Review (PRISMA-ScR) to structure the manuscript and the subheadings to use. The source used to gather data is the PubMed database. RESULTS The study exclusively included fourteen articles, five of which focused on the pharmaceutical sector, three focused on vaccine sales, three on vaccination centers, and three on testing centers. CONCLUSION The COVID-19 pandemic has created job opportunities in the healthcare sector. Most jobs are in the pharmaceutical sector, vaccination, and testing centers. However, more comprehensive research on the topic is necessary to gather conclusive outcomes on whether these jobs will be relevant after the pandemic

An MBA Capstone Consulting Experience in the Midst of COVID-19

In alignment with Molloy College’s commitment to civic engagement, the MBA program requires prospective graduates to complete its Capstone course, which entails providing consulting services to a not-for-profit organization. The course requires students to apply their cross-disciplinary knowledge and skills to solve real problems for their clients. In one short semester, students must form working relationships with fellow project members, develop an understanding of their client’s mission and objectives, and propose solutions that address their client’s challenging problems. The semester culminates with the delivery of a written proposal, a formal presentation to the client, and a final reflection. This paper describes the consulting problems faced by a class of Spring 2020 MBA students and the additional challenges they encountered due to the COVID-19 epidemic. It also describes the local organization the students worked with (the I’m Not Done Yet Foundation) and the solutions the students designed to increase awareness of the organization, improve its financial position, and streamline its internal operations