Challenges in oral health practice in Somalia: a call for regulatory strengthening and inclusion into primary healthcare services.

Background: Oral diseases remain a significant public health problem worldwide despite being largely preventable. Oral disorders such as dental caries, periodontal diseases, and oral cancers are highly prevalent chronic conditions that negatively impact quality of life. The oral health practice in Somalia has been evolving over the years, we therefore explored the challenges of oral health practice in a security-constrained poorly regulated environment to guide policy development.

Lassa fever in Nigeria: epidemiology and risk perception.

Annual outbreaks of Lassa fever have resulted in a public health threat in Nigeria and other endemic countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. While the Lassa Virus (LASV) is endemic in rodent populations, zoonotic spillover to humans causes annual outbreaks. This study reviewed the burden of Lassa fever (LF) in Nigeria between 2020 and 2023 and conducted a cross-sectional survey of Nigerians to evaluate their risk perceptions of LF.

Exploring the intersection of digitalization and sustainability in oil palm production: challenges, opportunities, and future research agenda.

The increasing global demand for palm oil and its derivatives has led to significant environmental and social concerns, prompting the need for sustainable practices in oil palm production. In recent years, digital technologies have emerged as a potential solution to enhance sustainability in this sector. The objective of this review was to provide insights into the potential benefits and limitations of digital technologies in promoting sustainable practices in the oil palm industry, and to identify key challenges that must be addressed to ensure that digitalization contributes to sustainable development in this sector.

Behavioral, physiological, and hormonal responses during pre-slaughter handling in goats: a comparison between trained and untrained handlers.

Objective: The livestock handler attitude and their handling of animals is crucial for improving animal welfare standards, minimizing stress, improving productivity and meat quality. The present study was undertaken to assess the effect of training livestock handlers on behavioral, physiological, and hormonal responses during preslaughter handling in goats.

Methods: A total of 6 handlers were divided into trained (trained in basic animal handling practices, animal behavior, and animal welfare), contact trained (not trained directly but interacted and saw the working of trained handlers), and untrained groups (no formal training).

Acceptance of COVID-19 vaccine and associated factors among healthcare workers in Katsina state: a cross-sectional study in Northwest Nigeria.

Objectives: Healthcare workers were prioritised to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in Nigeria. Administration of COVID-19 vaccination in Nigeria was challenging because of a lack of trust in vaccine safety and vaccine effectiveness among healthcare workers, who are expected to provide reliable information about vaccines and vaccine-preventable diseases in the communities. Hence, their acceptance and attitudes towards COVID-19 preventive practices could influence the acceptance of the vaccine by the local population.

Cryptic Zika virus infections unmasked from suspected malaria cases in Northeastern Nigeria.

Introduction: Although environmental and human behavioral factors in countries with Zika virus (ZIKV) outbreaks are also common in Nigeria, such an outbreak has not yet been reported probably due to misdiagnosis. The atypical symptoms of malaria and ZIKV infections at the initial phase could leverage their misdiagnosis. This study randomly recruited 496 malaria-suspected patients who visited selected health institutions in Adamawa, Bauchi, and Borno states for malaria tests.

Prospects for dog rabies elimination in Nigeria by 2030.

The attainment of the global target of zero dog-mediated human rabies by 2030 depends on functional rabies programmes. Nigeria, a rabies-endemic country, and the most populous country in Africa has a very poor rabies control strategy with a score of 1.5 out of 5 based on the Stepwise Approach towards Rabies Elimination (SARE).

Importance of Knife Sharpness during Slaughter: Shariah and Kosher Perspective and Scientific Validation.

Halal and kosher slaughter have given the utmost importance to the sharpness of knives during the slaughter of animals. A sharp knife of appropriate dimension (blade length) makes slaughter less painful during neck severance and facilitates desirable bleeding. The role of knife sharpness has not been given due credit from an animal welfare perspective and is likely ignored by the people involved in slaughterhouses.

Ischiofemoral Impingement Due to an Undiagnosed Pelvic Avulsion Fracture.

Ischial tuberosity (IT) avulsion fractures are an uncommon cause of injuries in athletes. In this case, a 26-year-old female suffering from posterior right hip pain for over a decade presented with debility and a decrease in athletic function. Notable history included a hamstring strain while sprinting in elementary school.

Technological interventions in improving the functionality of proteins during processing of meat analogs.

Meat analogs have opened a new horizon of opportunities for developing a sustainable alternative for meat and meat products. Proteins are an integral part of meat analogs and their functionalities have been extensively studied to mimic meat-like appearance and texture. Proteins have a vital role in imparting texture, nutritive value, and organoleptic attributes to meat analogs.

Application of Electroencephalography in Preslaughter Management: A Review.

Electroencephalography (EEG) can be reliable for assessing the brain's electrical activity of preslaughter stress and pain. The duration between the ventral neck cut and induction of a state of unconsciousness/insensibility is crucial in the slaughtering of animals, reducing pain, fear, and distress. Various EEG variables, such as median frequency (F50), the total power of EEG spectrum (Ptot), waves patterns (amplitude and frequencies), epileptiform EEG, index of consciousness, and isoelectric EEG, are used to identify a valid indicator of the state of unconsciousness.

Perception of canine rabies among pupils under 15 years in Kwara State, North Central Nigeria.

Rabies is an endemic, highly fatal, and vaccine-preventable disease with severe socio-economic implications. Most (99%) human rabies cases are transmitted through dog bites. Children under 15 years account for 40% of all dog bite victims and 35-50% of all rabies deaths.

Community engagement; the master key to preventing Nigeria's obvious pandemic fatigue and the next COVID-19 wave.

The index case of COVID-19 in Nigeria was in February 2020. The pandemic has resulted in severe social, economic, and public health challenge in Nigeria. Nigeria has experienced pandemic fatigue (PF) characterized by its low testing capacity, poor public adherence to COVID-19 preventive measures, and the urge to return to normal.

Strategies to Improve Women's Leadership Preparation for Early Career Global Health Professionals: Suggestions from Two Working Groups.

Background: Despite advances in gender equality, women still experience inequitable gaps in global health leadership, and barriers to women's advancement as leaders in global health have been well described in the literature. In 2021, the Johns Hopkins Center for Global Health conducted two virtual working groups for emerging women leaders to share challenges and suggest solutions to advance women's leadership in global health. In this paper, we present emerging themes from the working groups, provide a framework for the results, and discuss strategies for advancing women's leadership in global health.

Isolation, characterisation and complement fixation activity of acidic polysaccharides from used as antimalarials in Mali.

Context: Global studies on L. (Papaveraceae) traditionally used against malaria in Mali are limited to its low-mass compounds activities, and little information on its bioactive polysaccharides is available.

Objective: This study determines the structure and the immunomodulatory activity of polysaccharides from aerial parts of .

A national survey of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance in Nigeria.

Introduction: The COVID-19 vaccine is essential to reduce the global impact of the pandemic. Understanding its acceptance is key to Nigeria's national COVID-19 control strategies.

Methods: Between the 6th and 22nd of January 2021, we conducted a non-probability convenience sampling of 3076 respondents using online and in-person interviews to assess the prevalence and predictors of the COVID-19 vaccine acceptance in Nigeria.

Antitrypanosomal properties of extracts and their inhibitory effect on trypanosome alternative oxidase.

Background: African trypanosomiasis is a protozoan disease with huge socio-economic burden to sub-Saharan African exceeding US$4.6 annual loss. To mitigate the incidence of trypanosomal drug resistance, efforts are geared towards discovery of molecules, especially from natural products, with potential to inhibit important molecular target (trypanosome alternative oxidase, TAO) in trypanosomes that are critical to their survival.

Supporting business educators and students against COVID-19 trauma using trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy.

Background: The outbreak of COVID-19 manifests in peoples' mental health and psychological dispositions and may also result to acute distress, depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on victims. The objective of this study was to support business educators' and students' mental health against coronavirus trauma using trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT).

Methods: The participants (n = 74 - educators and students) who indicated PTSD symptoms based on the self-reporting questionnaire they filled, were randomly assigned to treatment and waitlist control groups.

Pollution of heavy metal threat posed by e-waste burning and its assessment of human health risk.

Improper treatment during recycling of e-waste materials by means of open burning is on the rise which has led to an increase in air pollution. This study looked at heavy metal concentrations, concentrations in relation to threshold values, and assessments of risk for noncarcinogenic and cancer risk threat. The Microwave Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectrometry (MP-AES 4210) series instrument of Agilent Technology, United States of America (USA), was used in analyzing heavy metal (Cd, Cu, and Pb) concentrations.

Nexus between climate change and oil palm production in Malaysia: a review.

Climate change is believed to be caused by natural processes such as volcanic eruptions, which release ash into the atmosphere, and anthropogenic activities that increase the concentration of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere, such as carbon dioxide (CO), which trap energy and cause intense warming. This article conducts a comprehensive review of existing literature relating to climate change and its impact on oil palm production in Malaysia. To enable analysis, articles were arranged, sorted, and categorized into various themes and associations based on the title of the article, abstract, and later the content.

Physiological and electroencephalogram responses in goats subjected to pre-and during slaughter stress.

A comprehensive stress assessment is vital in understanding the impact of the pre-slaughter procedure on animal welfare. The transportation and handling process was commonly reported to cause stress in animals. This research utilises electroencephalography (EEG) as an alternative stress indicator to non-painful acute stress measurement.