Publications by authors named "Ugwu C"

Objectives: The study aimed to inactivate the FAdV isolate (UPM11142P5B1) produced in a bioreactor and assess the humoral and cellular immunity, efficacy, and virus shedding in broiler chickens.

Materials And Methods: The isolate was grown in a bioreactor, inactivated using binary ethyleneimine, adjuvanted with Montanide 71VG, and injected into day-old broiler chickens either with or without booster groups. The following parameters were measured: T lymphocyte profile in the liver, spleen, and thymus; FAdV antibody titer; clinical symptoms; gross and histological alterations in the liver, spleen, and thymus; virus copy number in the liver and cloacal shedding.

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Introduction: Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a progressive condition that results in decreased mobility, self-imposed restriction of activity, and impaired functions such as loss of self-efficacy, fear of falling, and balance impairments. This study assessed balance confidence and associated factors among patients with KOA.

Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 115 patients with KOA.

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Article Synopsis
  • Sickle cell cardiomyopathy is an often overlooked heart condition that significantly contributes to mortality among patients with sickle cell disease, particularly those with the HbSS genotype.
  • The study seeks to analyze the global longitudinal left ventricular strain in black patients with sickle cell disease in Nigeria and to find its relationship with various health measurements like ECG and clinical lab findings.
  • By examining 60 sickle cell patients alongside 60 healthy controls, researchers aim to track early heart changes across different ages, highlighting the importance of detecting cardiovascular issues in sickle cell disease beyond just lung-related complications.
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Background: Scabies is one of public health concerns among communicable disease in Ethiopia, especially among disadvantaged and the poor. This current study aims to detect the spatiotemporal patterns of scabies in Tigray from 2018 to 2023 using scabies data aggregated at the zonal level. The study also examined the persistent patterns in the spatial variation of scabies incidence across the administrative regions during the study period.

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  • Ebstein's anomaly (EA) is a rare heart condition where the tricuspid valve is improperly positioned, impacting blood flow from the heart from early development through adulthood.* -
  • A 28-year-old woman with EA experienced daily palpitations since childhood, leading to a diagnosis after examination and tests showed heart rhythm abnormalities and valve displacement.* -
  • Diagnosing EA in adults can take time, especially in low-resource areas; while medication can help manage symptoms, early detection often leads to better outcomes with surgical options.*
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  • * PM Programs aim to educate boys and men about harmful masculinity traits, encouraging them to adopt responsible SRHR behaviors, such as communicating effectively with partners and taking precautions against STIs.
  • * Despite challenges in implementation, the study suggests that these programs can positively influence men's health behaviors and support gender equality, particularly in disadvantaged urban areas.
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Implementing programmes on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in sub-Saharan Africa often involves promoting inclusive sexual identity/orientation. However, whether and how the programmes are changing gender norms in the target populations have not been established. This study was designed to determine whether participation in Positive Masculinity (PM) programmes can change attitudes associated with prevailing gender norms.

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Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death globally. As cardiovascular risk factors continuously rise to pandemic levels, there is intense pressure worldwide to improve cardiac care in preventive cardiology, cardio-diagnostics, therapeutics, and interventional cardiology. Artificial intelligence (AI), an advanced branch of computer science has ushered in the fourth industrial revolution with myriad opportunities in healthcare including cardiology.

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Epidemic outbreaks of infectious diseases in conflict zones are complex threats to public health and humanitarian activities that require creativity approaches of reducing their damage. This narrative review focuses on the technology intersection with infectious disease response in conflict zones, and complexity of healthcare infrastructure, population displacement, and security risks. This narrative review explores how conflict-related destruction is harmful towards healthcare systems and the impediments to disease surveillance and response activities.

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Background and aims Knowledge about the impact of race on non-variceal upper GI bleeding (NVUGIB) is limited. This study explored the racial differences in the etiology and outcome of NVUGIB. Methods We conducted a study from 2009 to 2014 using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) database.

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Background: Malaria prevention is important among HIV patients to mitigate its associated complications. This study explored the predictors of insecticide-treated net (ITN) usage among HIV patients attending an antiretroviral therapy (ART) clinic in Ebonyi state, Nigeria.

Methodology: It was a cross-sectional study that involved 297 patients who attended an ART clinic in Ebonyi State.

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Objective: This cross-sectional study aimed to assess the process of clinical practice guideline (CPG) development in pediatric emergency medicine departments (PEDs) across the United States, with a focus on identifying areas for improvement to enhance the quality of CPGs.

Methods: An electronic survey was distributed to PEDs with pediatric emergency medicine fellowship programs. Respondents were asked about their CPG development processes (ie, guideline committee composition, consideration of conflicts of interest, grading recommendations, guideline training opportunities) based on the Appraisal of Guidelines, Research, and Evaluation (AGREE II) tool as well as implementation and monitoring.

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Heavy metal (HM) contamination above permissible limits poses a risk to human health. The study evaluated the health risk (cancer and non-cancer) of exposure to copper (Cu) and steel factory wastes on water samples near the factory based on the hazard quotient (HQ) derived from the HM concentrations. Triplicate water samples were collected by purposive sampling and their concentrations of selected HMs [Pb, Zn, Cu, Mn, Mg, Fe, Cd] were analyzed by Atomic Absorption Spectrometry.

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Optical nonreciprocity is manifested as a difference in the transmission of light for the opposite directions of excitation. Nonreciprocal optics is traditionally realized with relatively bulky components such as optical isolators based on the Faraday rotation, hindering the miniaturization and integration of optical systems. Here we demonstrate free-space nonreciprocal transmission through a metasurface comprised of a two-dimensional array of nanoresonators made of silicon hybridized with vanadium dioxide (VO).

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Background And Aim: Live-attenuated vaccines are the most successful type of vaccine and could be useful in controlling fowl adenovirus (FAdV) 8b infection. This study aimed to attenuate, molecularly characterize, and determine the immunogenicity, efficacy, and challenge virus shedding in broiler chickens.

Materials And Methods: The FAdV 8b isolate (UPM08136) was passaged onto chicken embryo liver (CEL) cells until attenuation.

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Background And Objectives: The population of older individuals in Africa is increasing, and at a rapid rate. Although the numbers of these individuals increase, many African countries, including Nigeria, are devoid of state-sponsored welfare systems that address their well-being. This situation has placed the bulk of support on the family members including spouses.

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Background: Fowl adenovirus (FAdV) 8b causes huge economic losses in the poultry industry worldwide. Attenuated FAdV 8b could be useful in preventing FAdV infections globally and scale-up obstacles could be solved by bioreactor technology.

Aim: This study was carried out to attenuate the FAdV 8b isolate, propagate it in a bioreactor, molecularly characterize the passage isolates, and determine the immunogenicity, efficacy, and shedding of the virus of chickens.

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Artificial intelligence (AI) is a fast-paced technological advancement in terms of its application to various fields of science and technology. In particular, AI has the potential to play various roles in veterinary clinical practice, enhancing the way veterinary care is delivered, improving outcomes for animals and ultimately humans. Also, in recent years, the emergence of AI has led to a new direction in biomedical research, especially in translational research with great potential, promising to revolutionize science.

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Introduction: One of the unexpected outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic was the relatively low levels of morbidity and mortality in Africa compared to the rest of the world. Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation, accounted for less than 0.01% of the global COVID-19 fatalities.

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Introduction: Lymphadenopathy is usually due to benign or malignant conditions. It can also be local or systemic in distribution and can involve peripheral or deep-seated lymph nodes. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of lymphoma and the distribution pattern of lymph node pathologies among adult patients who presented with lymphadenopathy and its relationship with age and sex.

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Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) treatment is challenging and frequently characterized by an aggressive phenotype and low prognosis in comparison to other subtypes. This paper presents fabricated implantable drug-loaded microporous poly-di-methyl-siloxane (PDMS) devices for the delivery of targeted therapeutic agents [Luteinizing Hormone-Releasing Hormone conjugated paclitaxel (PTX-LHRH) and Luteinizing Hormone-Releasing Hormone conjugated prodigiosin (PG-LHRH)] for the treatment and possible prevention of triple-negative cancer recurrence. In vitro assessment using the Alamar blue assay demonstrated a significant reduction (p < 0.

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The recent 78th United Natiions General Assembly (UNGA) declaration relaunched a new health priority and political commitment in accelerating Universal Health Coverage (UHC), adopted by the United Nations (UN) in 2015 and are intended to be met by 2030. At mid-way point of UHC implementation, we advocate for the much needed programmatic implementation research, evidence-based interventions (EBIs) policies and strategies leadership and management capacity building to enable robust, resilient and sustainable multi-sectoral partnerships, integrated coordination and governance mechanisms capabilities in accelerating UHC package mainly infectious diseases of poverty elimination and eradication agenda.

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Background: We describe diverse clinical characteristics and course of confirmed mpox cases managed in a Nigerian tertiary health facility.

Methods: Clinical and epidemiologic data were analyzed, highlighting the unusual presentations of polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-confirmed mpox cases observed during the 2022 outbreak.

Results: Out of 17 suspected cases, 13 (76.

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Research presented at conferences may increase context-specific evidence in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where global childhood disease burden is greatest and where massive relative deficits in research persist. Publication of studies presented at conferences is necessary for complete results dissemination. Our objective was to determine the frequency of publication of pediatric global health conference abstracts and to identify factors associated with publication.

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