Evaluation of male reproductive hormones of Kalahari Red and Kalawad goat bucks as affected by age and season under tropical conditions.

Comprehensive understanding of reproductive hormones and environmental cues with their relationship is essential for efficient production in livestock sectors involving either assisted or natural reproductive methods. This study evaluated the effects of age and seasonal-associated changes in the blood concentrations of testosterone and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) of male Kalahari Red (KR) and Kalawad (KW)-crossbred goats. Based on a 2 × 3 × 4 factorial arrangement, a total of 42 bucks (KR n = 21 and KW n = 21) were allotted into three age groups (> 1 ≤ 2 years, > 2 ≤ 3 years and > 3 ≤ 4 years) with seven KR bucks and seven KW bucks each per age group; reared under different seasons (early rainy, late rainy, early dry and late dry).

Isolation of Pathogenic Cronobacter Species as Bacteriological Risks Indicator in Powdered Infant Formula Available to Deprived Infants in Lagos Metropolis, Nigeria.

Powdered infant formula (PIF) is rich in nutrients that support the survival and growth of bacteria that trigger food safety disorders in deprived infants through life-threatening illnesses. The study aims to examine and identify the incidence of pathogenic bacteria of concern in PIF upon reconstitution in lukewarm water. A total of 172 samples consisting of 38 brands of PIF available in the Lagos metropolis were sampled, suspended in water (10 g in 100 mL), and bacteria strains were isolated using combinational enrichment and selective culture techniques.

From Streets to Tables: Bottom-Up Co-creation Case Studies for Healthier Food Environments in Vietnam and Nigeria.

Current food systems fail to provide equity, sustainability, and positive health outcomes, thus underscoring the critical need for their transformation. Intervening in food environments holds substantial promise for contributing to this much-needed transformation. Despite scholars and practitioners often recognizing the necessity for bottom-up approaches, there is a dearth of empirical investigations evaluating the potential of these approaches to contribute to food system transformations in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Genetic engineering and genome editing technologies as catalyst for Africa's food security: the case of plant biotechnology in Nigeria.

Many African countries are unable to meet the food demands of their growing population and the situation is worsened by climate change and disease outbreaks. This issue of food insecurity may lead to a crisis of epic proportion if effective measures are not in place to make more food available. Thus, deploying biotechnology towards the improvement of existing crop varieties for tolerance or resistance to both biotic and abiotic stresses is crucial to increasing crop production.

Prostate Tissue Microbiome in Patients with Prostate Cancer: A Systematic Review.

Some researchers have speculated that the prostatic microbiome is involved in the development of prostate cancer (PCa) but there is no consensus on certain microbiota in the prostatic tissue of PCa vs. healthy controls. This systematic review aims to investigate and compare the microbiome of PCa and healthy tissue to determine the microbial association with the pathogenesis of PCa.

Safety perception and determinants of complementary and alternative medicine usage among surgery out-patients in LAUTECH Teaching hospital, ogbomoso, Nigeria.

Objectives: The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) stemmed from the search of humans for other means of relieving pain and managing diseases which has plagued its existence. CAM use is on the increase among the general population in both the developed and developing nations and also among surgical patients. There is therefore a need to ascertain the perceived adverse effects, the safety perception and the determinants of its use so as to improve the advocacy for adequate regulation.

Predictors of Comorbidity of Malaria and Septicemia in Children Living in Malaria-Endemic Communities in Nigeria.

Purpose: The study attempted to identify possible overlap between serum cell-reactive proteins (C-rp) and hematological indices as predictors of comorbidity of malaria and septicemia among children attending primary healthcare facilities in Ilorin, Nigeria.

Methods: One hundred and ninety-three children (aged: ≤ 1-15 years) presenting with symptoms suggestive of malaria were enrolled. Blood specimens were collected and screened for: Romanowsky, culture, serum C-RP and hematological indices.

Fruit and Vegetable Intake of Females Before, During, and After Introduction of 3 Bundled Food System Interventions in Urban Vietnam and Nigeria.

Background: Low fruit and vegetable (FV) intake in low- and middle-income countries, which is associated with noncommunicable diseases and micronutrient deficiencies, requires food system interventions addressing FV accessibility, affordability, and acceptability. Periodic FV intake monitoring during interventions informs progress toward achieving increased intakes and contributes to understanding the effectiveness of these interventions.

Objectives: This study evaluates the trend in FV intake before, during, and after implementation of a set of nutrition-sensitive food system interventions addressing accessibility, affordability, and acceptability to increase FV consumption over a 1-y period in Vietnamese and Nigerian low-income urban and periurban females.

Can Clean Delivery Kits Prevent Infections? Lessons from Traditional Birth Attendants in Nigeria.

Background: In resource-poor settings, perinatal infections contribute significantly to maternal and neonatal deaths, and the use of clean delivery kits (CDKs) has been proposed as a tool to reduce the risk of infection-related deaths. This study aims to assess the acceptability and effectiveness of CDKs in preventing infections in deliveries attended by traditional birth attendants (TBAs) in Abeokuta, Nigeria.

Methods: The study was a cluster-randomized trial with 67 birth centres/clusters, 453 births/mothers, and 457 babies randomized to intervention or control arms; intervention involved supplementation of delivery with JANMA CDKs.

Heterogeneous genetic architectures and evolutionary genomics of prostate cancer in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Men of African descent have the highest prostate cancer (CaP) incidence and mortality rates, yet the genetic basis of CaP in African men has been understudied. We used genomic data from 3,963 CaP cases and 3,509 controls recruited in Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, and Uganda, to infer ancestry-specific genetic architectures and fine-mapped disease associations. Fifteen independent associations at 8q24.

Circulating platelets and malaria severity: two sides of the same coin among inhabitants of a tropical savannah region, Nigeria.

Changes in circulating platelets during different grades of malaria are of major concerns, and its etiology is poorly understood. We appraised and evaluated the role of circulating platelets in the determination of the severity of malaria among a cohort of outpatients living in Ilorin, Nigeria. A hospital-based case-control study of outpatients visiting public health facilities within the locality voluntarily enrolled for this study.

Antimicrobial resistance and virulence genes of invasive from children with bacteremia in north-central Nigeria.

Objectives: Bacteremia due to invasive has been reported earlier in children in Nigeria. This study aimed to detect the virulence and antibiotic resistance genes of invasive from children with bacteremia in north-central Nigeria.

Method: From June 2015 to June 2018, 4163 blood cultures yielded 83 isolates.

Effect of increasing levels of Leucaena leucocephala seeds to grass pellets on performance of grower rabbits.

The study was carried out to determine the chemical composition of composite pellets of Megathyrsus maximus containing Leucaena leucocephala seed meal at the varying level and growth responses, as well as haematological and serum biochemical of rabbits, fed the pellets for 60 days. The treatment consists of M. maximus and L.

A simple fruit and vegetable score is a valid tool to assess actual fruit and vegetable intake.

With the recent growing interest in improving fruit and vegetable intake for better health and limited research resources in many settings, simple-to-administer and low-priced indicators are essential tools for monitoring fruit and vegetable intake at the population level. A potential candidate indicator is the fruit and vegetable component of the Global Dietary Recommendation score (FV-GDR) based on data collected using the Diet Quality Questionnaire (DQQ). We investigated the relative validity of FV-GDR collected with the DQQ to measure fruit and vegetable intake by comparison with a 24-h recall (24hR) as a reference collected from 620 Vietnamese and 630 Nigerian adults in 2021.

Functional iron status of chronic kidney disease patients at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Ilorin, Nigeria.

Background: Functional iron deficiency has been found to be a common cause of poor response to erythropoiesis stimulating agents in anaemic patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Objectives: Assess the functional iron status of patients with chronic kidney disease.

Methods: This was a hospital based cross sectional study.

Potential New Approaches for Prostate Cancer Management in Resource-Limited Countries in Africa.

Prostate cancer is a major male malignancy in many sub-Saharan countries in Africa. Because of resource limitations, screening, early detection, diagnosis, and curative treatments are not available for many men on the subcontinent, and there are even barriers to the treatment of advanced-stage metastatic prostate cancer. We are making the case for new approaches to the detection, diagnosis, and treatment of this malignancy in sub-Saharan Africa and other low-resource regions-approaches that differ from the ones available and used in high-income countries.

Visual Impairment and Blindness among Patients at Nigeria Army Eye Centre, Bonny Cantonment Lagos, Nigeria.

Background: Visual impairment (VI) is a public health problem that can affect an individual’s social wellbeing. The study aims to determine the distribution and causes of vision impairment (VI) and blindness among patients at Nigerian Army Eye Centre Lagos, Nigeria. Method: An institutional cross-sectional study was conducted, and a systematic random sampling technique was used to enrol study participants from their medical records.

Testing the generalizability of ancestry-specific polygenic risk scores to predict prostate cancer in sub-Saharan Africa.

Background: Genome-wide association studies do not always replicate well across populations, limiting the generalizability of polygenic risk scores (PRS). Despite higher incidence and mortality rates of prostate cancer in men of African descent, much of what is known about cancer genetics comes from populations of European descent. To understand how well genetic predictions perform in different populations, we evaluated test characteristics of PRS from three previous studies using data from the UK Biobank and a novel dataset of 1298 prostate cancer cases and 1333 controls from Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, and South Africa.

Building a national framework for multicentre research and clinical trials: experience from the Nigeria Implementation Science Alliance.

There is limited capacity and infrastructure in sub-Saharan Africa to conduct clinical trials for the identification of efficient and effective new prevention, diagnostic and treatment modalities to address the disproportionate burden of disease. This paper reports on the process to establish locally driven infrastructure for multicentre research and trials in Nigeria known as the Nigeria Implementation Science Alliance Model Innovation and Research Centres (NISA-MIRCs). We used a participatory approach to establish a research network of 21 high-volume health facilities selected from all 6 geopolitical zones in Nigeria capable of conducting clinical trials, implementation research using effectiveness-implementation hybrid designs and health system research.

Water safety, antifungal-resistant aflatoxigenic aspergillus flavus and other pathogenic fungi in a community hand-dug wells.

Aim: To investigate hand-dug well water used for drinking and domestic purposes in a rural community in Southwest Nigeria for water safety and fungal presence as well as to determine the antifungal resistance and aflatoxigenic potentials of isolated fungi.

Methods And Results: Water samples were analysed for risk of contamination, bacteriological and mycological parameters using a standard sanitary survey checklist and microbiological culturing. Isolates were identified and subjected to antifungal resistance profiling using the diffusion method for susceptibility testing of filamentous fungi.

EFFICACY AND SAFETY OF LOW-INTENSITY EXTRACORPOREAL SHOCKWAVE THERAPY FOR TREATMENT OF VASCULAR ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION IN NIGERIAN MEN: REPORT OF A STUDY IN IBADAN, SOUTH-WEST NIGERIA.

Background: Low Intensity Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy (LI-SWT) has been found to be effective in men with vascular erectile dysfunction (ED) but its efficacy and safety has not been investigated in a predominantly black population so we sought to study this.

Materials And Methods: Men with vascular erectile dysfunction (ED) were assessed using the five-item International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) score after which they were treated with 12 sessions of LI-SWT. Treatment efficacy was evaluated immediately after treatment, at 1 month and 6 months after using the IIEF questionnaire.

Antimicrobial resistance and virulence genes in Salmonella enterica serovars isolated from droppings of layer chicken in two farms in Nigeria.

Aim: This study aimed to investigate the isolation rate, antibiotic resistance and virulence genes of Salmonella enterica serovar from two commercial farms in Nigeria.

Methods And Results: Salmonella isolation was performed according to the United States Food and Drug Agency (USFDA) method. Serotyping, antimicrobial susceptibility testing, detection of resistance and virulence genes were done using the Kauffman-White Scheme, disc diffusion, minimum inhibitory concentration and real-time polymerase chain reaction techniques.

Cosmetic Appeal, HRQoL, and Effectiveness of Simple and Pseudotesticular Techniques of Orchidectomy in Prostate Cancer.

Introduction: Orchidectomy is the most cost-effective means of hormonal therapy for locally advanced or metastatic prostate cancer (LAMP). However, cost-effectiveness should not detract from health-related quality of life (HRQoL) considerations. Bilateral simple orchidectomy (BSO) has been linked to negative psychometric deficits from an empty scrotum.