Background: Mental health care in Nigeria relies heavily on out-of-pocket payments, creating financial barriers that hinder access. A pilot scheme linked to the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) Group, the Individual and Family Social Health Insurance Program (GIFSHIP) was initiated to alleviate these challenges.
Objective: The study sought to assess the NHIA scheme's effectiveness in reducing costs, enhancing clinical outcomes, and improving patient satisfaction relative to traditional payment methods in mental health care, while also evaluating the feasibility of a pilot individual GIFSHIP.
Oleaginous organisms accrue more than twenty percent of their biomass as lipids and hence are promising feedstocks for biodiesel production. In this study, lipid accumulating bacteria were isolated from diesel-contaminated soils and screened with Sudan black B stain. The most oleaginous was done using 16s rRNA gene sequencing.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the frontline healthcare providers faced significant mental health stressors. Previous pandemics have revealed the need for psychosocial support and healthy coping mechanisms to mitigate mental health risks.
Aim: The study aimed to assess psychological impact and supportive mechanisms experienced by frontline healthcare workers treating COVID-19 patients in Kaduna State.
(VA) is popularly consumed as food and as medicine due to its nutritional and bioactive constituents. This study assessed the -genotoxic effect of aqueous leaf extract of VA against monosodium (MSG) -induced genotoxicity. Crude extraction and phytochemical analysis were done using standard methods.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSinapoyl malate, naturally present in plants, has proved to be an exceptional UV filter and molecular heater for plants. Although there are nowadays industrially relevant sustainable synthetic routes to sinapoyl malate, its incorporation into certain cosmetic formulations, as well as its adsorption on plant leaves, is limited by its hydrophilicity. To overcome these obstacles, it is important to find a way to effectively control the hydrophilic-lipophilic balance of sinapoyl malate to make it readily compatible with the cosmetic formulations and stick on the waxy cuticle of leaves.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA novel red-pigmented bacterium was isolated from a water sample collected at Osun River, Ede. Morphological and 16 S rRNA gene sequencing revealed that the bacterium is a strain of Brevundimonas olei, while its red pigment was identified using UV-visible, FTIR and GCMS as a derivative of propylprodigiosin. The maximum absorbance of 534 nm, the FTIR's 1344 cm peak of prodigiosin's methoxyl C-O interaction, and the molecular ions from GCMS confirmed the pigment's identity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe development of future quantum devices such as the maser, i.e., the microwave analog of the laser, could be well-served by the exploration of chemically tunable organic materials.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSinapate esters have been extensively studied for their potential application in 'nature-inspired' photoprotection. There is general consensus that the relaxation mechanism of sinapate esters following photoexcitation with ultraviolet radiation is mediated by geometric isomerization. This has been largely inferred through indirect studies involving transient electronic absorption spectroscopy in conjunction with steady-state spectroscopies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSolar exposure of avobenzone, one of the most widely used commercial UVA filters on the market, is known to cause significant degradation. This finding has fueled research into developing photostabilizer molecules. In an effort to provide insight into their stand-alone photoprotection properties, the excited state dynamics of the photostabilizer, 3-(3,4,5-trimethoxybenzylidene) pentane-2,4-dione (TMBP), and its phenolic derivative, 3-(4-hydroxy-3,5-dimethoxybenzylidene) pentane-2,4-dione (DMBP), were studied with ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTigernut, also known as , is said to be high in nutritional and medicinal value. The purpose of this study was to determine the 's antimutagenic activity. The ethanolic and aqueous extracts of the nut were analyzed for chemical constituents, antioxidants, ultraviolet-visible, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry using standard procedures.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: In order to reduce COVID-19 transmission and protect healthcare workers, the outpatient departments (OPDs) in many hospitals worldwide were closed down in the early days of the pandemic. Patients being managed for chronic medical illnesses who subsequently suffered reduced access to healthcare have been described as "the patients left behind".
Aim: The study aimed at assessing the impact of the closure of the Medical OPD in University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH) on the health and perceived well-being of patients with chronic medical illnesses.
Given the negative impacts of overexposure to ultraviolet radiation (UVR) on humans, sunscreens have become a widely used product. Certain ingredients within sunscreens are responsible for photoprotection and these are known, collectively herein, as ultraviolet (UV) filters. Generally speaking, organic UV filters work by absorbing the potentially harmful UVR and dissipating this energy as harmless heat.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLight-to-heat conversion materials generate great interest due to their widespread applications, notable exemplars being solar energy harvesting and photoprotection. Another more recently identified potential application for such materials is in molecular heaters for agriculture, whose function is to protect crops from extreme cold weather and extend both the growing season and the geographic areas capable of supporting growth, all of which could help reduce food security challenges. To address this demand, a new series of phenolic-based barbituric absorbers of ultraviolet (UV) radiation has been designed and synthesised in a sustainable manner.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPlants, as with humans, require photoprotection against the potentially damaging effects of overexposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Previously, sinapoyl malate (SM) was identified as the photoprotective agent in thale cress. Here, we seek to identify the photoprotective agent in a similar plant, garden cress, which is currently used in the skincare product Detoxophane nc.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF-hydroxy methylcinnamate is part of the cinnamate family of molecules. Experimental and computational studies have suggested conflicting non-radiative decay routes after photoexcitation to its S(ππ*) state. One non-radiative decay route involves intersystem crossing mediated by an optically dark singlet state, whilst the other involves direct intersystem crossing to a triplet state.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe sparsity of efficient commercial ultraviolet-A (UV-A) filters is a major challenge toward developing effective broadband sunscreens with minimal human- and eco-toxicity. To combat this, we have designed a new class of Meldrum-based phenolic UV-A filters. We explore the ultrafast photodynamics of coumaryl Meldrum, CMe, and sinapyl Meldrum (SMe), both in an industry-standard emollient and on a synthetic skin mimic, using femtosecond transient electronic and vibrational absorption spectroscopies and computational simulations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThere are several drawbacks with the current commercially available ultraviolet (UV) filters used in sunscreen formulations, namely deleterious human and ecotoxic effects. As a result of the drawbacks, a current research interest is in identifying and designing new UV filters. One approach that has been explored in recent years is to use nature as inspiration, which is the focus of this review.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: HIV diagnosis comes with a lot of worry and distress. Ability to objectively estimate this distress by non-psychiatrist will enhance early detection of psychological distress for intervention.
Objectives: To investigate the validity of the Distress Thermometer (DT) and its problem checklist in achieving early detection of mental distress among ART-naïve HIV infected patient.
Background: HIV is a chronic disease with inflammatory reactions involving numerous elements of the immune system, resulting in an increased risk for other physical and psychiatric morbidities. Micronutrients, some of which possess anti-inflammatory properties, may help prevent the development of psychological disorders such as anxiety and depression in people living with HIV disease.
Objectives: This study examined the profile of viral load, CD4 cell count, C-reactive protein, anxiety, and depression among highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART)-naive HIV-positive patients receiving micronutrient supplementation over a 6-month period.
Background: The mental health burden from fear of future terrorism has not been given much research attention compared to the immediate mental distress such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Such neglected ongoing mental health morbidity associated with threats of terrorism had been described as pre-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSS).
Objective: The study highlighted this phenomenon (PTSS) in Nigeria by examining the catastrophic burden of the fear of future terrorism and associated psychiatric burden among adult population in Kaduna city.
Studies on psychoactive substance use in Nigeria had focused on prevalence and rarely on treatment implication(s) of large rates reported. Further challenge was to find suitable instruments to monitor change readiness as well as predict treatment outcomes along motivation continuum and according to resilience characteristics. Such ability will not only help to match treatment strategy with stage of change but also come with a more satisfactory outcome.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Underdetection of TB is a major problem in sub-Saharan Africa. WHO recommends countries should have at least 1 laboratory per 100,000 population. However, this recommendation is not evidence based.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFContext: Gastric ulcer is one of the most prevalent gastrointestinal disorders. A number of studies have been carried out to determine the efficacy of herbal medicines in the treatment of gastric ulcer.
Objectives: The present study was undertaken to evaluate the anti-ulcerogenic activity of methanol extract of Gomphrena celosioides (GC) in male Wistar rats.
Background Information. Monitoring outcome of tuberculosis treatment and understanding the specific reasons for unsuccessful treatment outcome are important in evaluating the effectiveness of tuberculosis control program. This study investigated tuberculosis treatment outcomes and predictors for unsuccessful treatment outcome in Ogbomoso town, Southwestern Nigeria.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNiger J Clin Pract
April 2014
Background And Objectives: Attitude and orientation of doctors to the doctor-patient relationship has a direct influence on delivery of high quality health- care. No study to the knowledge of these researchers has so far examined the practice orientation of doctors in Nigeria to this phenomenon. The aims of this study were to determine the orientation of Kano doctors to the practice of doctor-patient relationship and physicians' related-factors.
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