Infant Feeding Options among HIV Positive Mothers Attending Selected General Hospitals in Lagos

Background: Mother-to-child transmission of HIV is the primary cause of pediatric HIV infections. The global burden of HIV lies in sub- Saharan Africa, including Nigeria. This study is on assessment of the feeding options among HIV positive mothers attending selected general hospitals in Lagos. Methods: Quantitative study that utilized a multistage sampling method to select 214 respondents from two General Hospitals in Lagos. The reliability r = 0.75. Descriptive and inferential statistics were presented at a 5% level of significance. Results: Revealed that 94% of the respondents were married, 77.2% were working, 88.1% have good knowledge on mother-to-child transmission of HIV and 96.0% have good practice of breastfeeding. The Association between knowledge of breastfeeding and practice was significant X2 =5.22; p < 0.05 (0.02). Association between exclusive breastfeeding practice and factors affecting exclusive breastfeeding X2 = 14.19; p < 0.05 (0.00); X2 = 9.89; p < 0.05 (0.000 while some factors have no significant association with X2 =; 0.10 p > 0.05 (0. 77); X2 1-28; p > 0.05 (0. 27); X2 = 0.00; p > 0.05 (0.99). Conclusion: The use of expressed breast milk for infant`s feeding was still very low among the respondents. There is a need to educate HIV mothers on feeding options for their infants during antenatal clinics. Keywords: Infant Feeding Options; HIV Positive Mother

A reconstruction of Africa’s political culture in the purview of Fulani herdsmen current mode of operations in Nigeria

It is an established fact that Nigeria is the most populous nation in Africa. It is equally a common understanding that the internal political dynamics in Nigeria invariably, little or more, have their effects on the general well-being of Africa as a continent. In mind of this strategic position of Nigeria in relation to the majority of African nations, and in the light of the current mode of operation by the Fulani herdsmen in Nigeria; this study argues that a reconstruction of Nigeria’s Political Culture, and by extension, that of Africa as a whole is imperative. This is because, just like Nigeria, almost all African nations have the challenges associated with immigration. With the concept of communistic Culture as a proposed solution, it is believed in this study that a cue from it will to a greater extent solve the problems of immigration, that is, majority culture versus minority culture challenges in African nations’ corporate existence.Keywords: Reconstruction, Political Culture, Fulani, Herdsmen, Communistic Cultur

Effects of Single Bout and Short Term Aerobic Exercise on C-Reactive Protein in Type-2 Diabetes Patients: A Pilot Study

Type-2 diabetes is a leading risk for cardiovascular diseases and events due to ease of develop­ment of atherosclerosis in people with type-diabetes. Chronic inflammation is a major driver of atherosclerosis in type-2 diabetes and it has been linked to elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) level. The objective of this study was to determine whether CRP is amenable to aerobic exercise. A total of 40 adults diagnosed with type-2 diabetes patients were sampled randomly, and later, conveniently allocated into exercise and control groups. All the subjects were on the diabetes exchange diet as recommended by their Dieticians. Results show that the glucose level of the subjects of this study was fairly under control ((glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) = 0.80±0.11% for each of the group)). A weak negative correlation was found between ex­ercise-induced reductions in CRP and HbA1c (r = -0.345; p = 0.029). Significant (p < 0.05) difference in CRP was found between study and control groups following single bout (30 min) aerobic exercise, however, no significant (p > 0.05) difference in CRP was found between study and control groups after 8-weeks. Single bout or short-term aerobic exercises does not reduce CRP in people with fairly controlled type-2 diabetes mellitus

Job-related Stress and Job Performance among Librarians in University Libraries in Nigeria

This study investigated the incidence of job-related stress and how it affects job performance of librarians and library officers. Three universities in Lagos State, Nigeria were selected for the study. The study adopted a survey method and questionnaire was used to gather data from 86 librarians and library officers from the university libraries. The study revealed that jobrelated stress is prevalent among the librarians and library officers. It identified lack of opportunity for career development, low salary/compensation, work interference with family time, the absence of training, lack of motivation, lack of co-operation and lack of conducive working environment as factors responsible for job stress. The study further identified low productivity, increased absenteeism, hypertension, job dissatisfaction, frustration, depression and negative job attitude as effects of stress on the job performance of librarians and library officers as consequences of stress. The study concluded that librarians and library officers in Lagos state experienced the stress of exhaustion and burnout resulting from too many routines leading to tiredness and lack of enthusiasm, lack of motivation and frustration. They also experience time-related stresses which include a shortage of time to attend to students with different information needs almost at the same time and time to meet up with publications, The study recommends efficient and effective service delivery in the nation's university libraries, parent institutions should help in reducing sources of stress among library staff in university libraries, among others

Influence of Post-Stroke Depression on Functional Independence in Activities of Daily Living

BACKGROUND: Little attention has been paid to screening of depression among stroke survivors in outpatient physiotherapy clinics. Post-stroke depression is reported to have a negative impact on functional recovery. However, the exact influence on the outcome of rehabilitation such as level of functional independence remains controversial. This study aims at ascertaining the influence of post-stroke depression on functional independence in activities of daily living.METHODS: The study is a cross sectional survey of stroke survivors attending outpatient physiotherapy clinics of the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH) Enugu, and the Enugu State University Teaching Hospital (ESUTH). Participants were evaluated for socio demographic characteristics. Post-stroke depression and level of functional recovery in Activities of Daily Living were assessed using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale and the Barthel Index respectively. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 23, with α set at 0.01.RESULTS: A total of 66 participants, 42 females and 24 males, were purposively recruited into the study. Over 80% (56) of the participant had depression, with over 50% (32) being severely depressed. Post-stroke depression was associated with less functional independence in activities of daily living (p=0.000). A significant difference was found in the level of functional independence between participants with and without depression (p=0.00).CONCLUSION: Participants with post-stroke depression have less independence in activities of daily living. A longitudinal study with a larger sample size is, however, recommended so as to improve the external validity. In the mean time, outpatient rehabilitation of depressed stroke survivors should include pharmacological and psychological components.

Challenges in Nigeria’s education sector and the migration of Nigerian postgraduate students to South African universities

Education remains the weapon for upward stratification, social and economic development of any nation but the Nigerian government has not shown enough commitment to the educational sector. The manifestation could be seen in the shrinking government funding on education, decaying and lack of infrastructure in Nigeria’s universities which have led to demoralization of the academia. A major consequence of this is the frustration experienced by postgraduate students who are pursuing higher education and having to spend longer period than expected record time. This frustration in pursuing higher educational qualification often leads to stunted career progression. This has led to an alternative decision to migrate in search of higher education abroad. Consequently, in recent times, Nigerian postgraduate students have migrated more than ever before to South African Universities that are believed to have modern facilities for training and ensuring completion of programmes in record time. This study employed the use of structured questionnaire to investigate the determinants of this form of migration. Among other findings, this study found that the decision to migrate and pursue postgraduate student abroad is informed by the demoralization and frustration suffered in attaining postgraduate education in Nigeria. The study also found that many Nigerian postgraduate migrant students that desired to stay back in South Africa after the programme were discouraged from doing so because of the frequent hostilities between the bulging South African youths. Their hostility is associated with the shrinking capacity of the host government (South Africa) to create new jobs for them. In addition, the belief of the agitating South African youth that the migrant postgraduates are responsible for their unemployed status, by taking up their jobs especially in those areas where required skills among the South African are lacking further gingers hostilities. This study, therefore, suggests among others that the home country should increase budgetary allocation to improve the education sector as well as monitor such allocation to ensure that it is prudently utilized. It is also recommended that institutional processes and procedures to monitor and evaluate postgraduate studies in Nigerian universities be institutionalized

Meta-analysis of factors affecting prevalence estimates of HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder in sub-Saharan Africa

Successful treatment of HIV with anti-retroviral therapy (ART) is resulting in more people living with HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND). In sub-Saharan Africa, this calls for strategic planning and judicious allocation of scarce resources, which requires an accurate estimate of the prevalence of HAND. Estimates of the prevalence of HAND in sub-Saharan Africa vary greatly, between 18.8% and 88.3%. This variability may be explained by factors such as different diagnostic approach, neuromedical examination, ART status, sampling method, substance abuse, assessors’ qualification, depression and outcome measure. Different methods of diagnosing HAND, different outcome measures and non-random sampling techniques make it almost impossible to accurately estimate the prevalence of HAND in subSaharan Africa, often resulting in overestimation of the burden of disease. Consumers of health research should consider certain study characteristics and exercise appropriate caution when interpreting burden of disease in sub-Saharan Africa, especially when pursuing policy shift. Underestimating the prevalence of HAND will certainly affect the capacity and speed of containment, while overestimating will draw unnecessary attention and result in the misallocation of scarce resources. Significance: • The high prevalence of HAND in sub-Saharan Africa as estimated in this review calls for further research on the impact of HAND on activities of daily living and putative therapeutic modalities. • We highlight which study characteristics should be critically checked when using prevalence estimates for the purpose of health policy and distribution of scarce resources in sub-Saharan Africa. • By favouring certain factors, this review will guide HIV health researchers in which techniques should be used to estimate the burden of HAND. These factors may also apply to estimating the burden of other diseases in sub-Saharan Africa.University of Pretoria.https://sajs.co.zaPhysiotherap

From cassava to gari: Mapping of quality characteristics and end-user preferences in Cameroon and Nigeria

User's preferences of cassava and cassava products along the value chain are supported by specific root quality characteristics that can be linked to root traits. Therefore, providing an evidence base of user preferred characteristics along the value chain, can help in the functional choice of cassava varieties. In this respect, the present paper presents the results from focus group discussions and individual interviews on user preferred quality characteristics of raw cassava roots and the derived product, gari, ‐ one of the major cassava products in Sub Saharan Africa ‐ in major production and consumption areas of Cameroon and Nigeria. Choice of cassava varieties for farming is mainly determined by the multiple end‐uses of the roots, their agricultural yield and the processing determinants of roots that support their major high‐quality characteristics: size, density, low water content, maturity, colour and safety. Processing of cassava roots into gari goes through different technological variants leading to a gari whose high‐quality characteristics are: dryness, colour, shiny/attractive appearance, uniform granules and taste. Eba, the major consumption form of gari in Cameroon and Nigeria is mainly characterized by its textural properties: smoothness, firmness, stickiness, elasticity, mouldability. Recommendations are made, suggesting that breeding will have to start evaluating cassava clones for brightness/shininess, as well as textural properties such as mouldability and elasticity of cassava food products, for the purpose of supporting decision‐making by breeders and the development of high‐throughput selection methods of cassava varieties. Women are identified as important beneficiaries of such initiatives giving their disadvantaged position and their prominent role in cassava processing and marketing of gari

Globally, songs and instrumental melodies are slower and higher and use more stable pitches than speech: A Registered Report

Both music and language are found in all known human societies, yet no studies have compared similarities and differences between song, speech, and instrumental music on a global scale. In this Registered Report, we analyzed two global datasets: (i) 300 annotated audio recordings representing matched sets of traditional songs, recited lyrics, conversational speech, and instrumental melodies from our 75 coauthors speaking 55 languages; and (ii) 418 previously published adult-directed song and speech recordings from 209 individuals speaking 16 languages. Of our six preregistered predictions, five were strongly supported: Relative to speech, songs use (i) higher pitch, (ii) slower temporal rate, and (iii) more stable pitches, while both songs and speech used similar (iv) pitch interval size and (v) timbral brightness. Exploratory analyses suggest that features vary along a “musi-linguistic” continuum when including instrumental melodies and recited lyrics. Our study provides strong empirical evidence of cross-cultural regularities in music and speech