Affordable 3D Orientation Visualization Solution for Working Class Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV).

ROV operators often encounter challenges with orientation awareness while operating underwater, primarily due to relying solely on 2D camera feeds to manually control the ROV robot arm. This limitation in underwater visibility and orientation awareness, as observed among Malaysian ROV operators, can compromise the accuracy of arm placement, and pose a risk of tool damage if not handle with care. To address this, a 3D orientation monitoring system for ROVs has been developed, leveraging measurement sensors with nine degrees of freedom (DOF).

Assessment of site suitability for centralized photovoltaic power stations in Northwest China's six provinces.

Northwest China has abundant solar energy resources and extensive land, making it a pivotal site for solar energy development. However, restrictions on site selection and severe weather conditions have hindered the establishment and operation of photovoltaic (PV) power stations. Previous studies have not considered meteorological factors when evaluating site suitability, leading to research gaps in identifying suitable areas and establishing indicator systems.

Assessing desertification vulnerability and mitigation strategies in northern Nigeria: A comprehensive approach.

Desertification constitutes a grave threat to the environmental and socio-economic stability of desertification frontline states in Northern Nigeria. From 2003 to 2020, this research comprehensively analyzes desertification vulnerability, integrating parameters such as NDVI, LST, TVDI, MSAVI, and Albedo. Key factors contributing to land degradation are identified, along with the spatial patterns and trends of desertification over the two-decade period.

Determinants of obstructed labour and associated outcomes in referral hospitals in Nigeria.

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of obstructed labour, associated risk factors and outcomes across a network of referral hospitals in Nigeria.

Design: Retrospective observational study.

Setting: A total of 54 referral-level hospitals across the six geopolitical regions of Nigeria.

Central laboratory and point-of-care cardiac marker testing capacity of tertiary hospitals in Nigeria - a multicenter study.

Background: Cardiovascular diseases are major contributors to morbidity and mortality. It is generally recognized that cardiac markers are of particular benefit in the evaluation of patients with suspected Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS). Tertiary hospitals, mainly teaching hospitals, are expected to be optimally equipped to offer these services.

Secondhand smoke exposure is independently associated with stroke among non-smoking adults in West Africa.

Background: Stroke is a leading cause of disability and mortality worldwide, but little is known about the contribution of secondhand smoke exposure (SHSE) to stroke epidemiology among indigenous Africans.

Objective: To evaluate the association of SHSE with stroke among indigenous Africans.

Methods: We analyzed the relationship of SHSE with stroke among 2990 case-control pairs of adults who had never smoked (identified in the SIREN study) using conditional logistic regression at a two-sided P < 0.

Prevalence of osteoarthritis in lower middle- and low-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Evidence from the Global Burden of Disease studies suggests that osteoarthritis (OA) is a significant cause of disability globally; however, it is less clear how much of this burden exists in low-income and lower middle-income countries. This study aims to determine the prevalence of OA in people living in low-income and lower middle-income countries. Four electronic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL and Web of Science) were systematically searched from inception to October 2018 for population-based studies.

Factors associated with hypertension among stroke-free indigenous Africans: Findings from the SIREN study.

Hypertension is one of the most important risk factors for stroke and cardiovascular diseases (CVD) globally. Understanding risk factors for hypertension among individuals with matching characteristics with stroke patients may inform primordial/primary prevention of hypertension and stroke among them. This study identified the risk factors for hypertension among community-dwelling stroke-free population in Ghana and Nigeria.

Meprin-β activity modulates the β-catalytic subunit of protein kinase A in ischemia-reperfusion-induced acute kidney injury.

Meprin metalloproteases have been implicated in the progression of kidney injury. Previous work from our group has shown that meprins proteolytically process the catalytic subunit of protein kinase A (PKA-C), resulting in decreased PKA-C kinase activity. The goal of the present study was to determine the PKA-C isoforms impacted by meprin-β and whether meprin-β expression affects downstream mediators of the PKA signaling pathway in ischemia-reperfusion (IR)-induced kidney injury.

Correction to: Mothers screening for malnutrition by mid-upper arm circumference is non-inferior to community health workers: results from a large-scale pragmatic trial in rural Niger.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1186/s13690-016-0149-5.].

Perception of problem based learning versus conventional teaching methods by clinical medical students in Nigeria.

Introduction: Problem-based learning (PBL) method which was introduced about 50 years ago in Canada is beginning to gain acceptance over conventional teaching method (CTM) worldwide in medical education but still remains unpopular in Nigeria. This study aims to determine the perception of clinical medical students to the use of both learning methods in pathology courses.

Methods: A cross-sectional quantitative survey was conducted in four Nigerian universities drawn from four regions of the country.

Knowledge, attitudes and practices of West Africans on genetic studies of stroke: Evidence from the SIREN Study.

Background: It is crucial to assess genomic literacy related to stroke among Africans in preparation for the ethical, legal and societal implications of the genetic revolution which has begun in Africa.

Objective: To assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of West Africans about stroke genetic studies.

Methods: A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted among stroke patients and stroke-free controls recruited across 15 sites in Ghana and Nigeria.

Biobanking in a Challenging African Environment: Unique Experience from the SIREN Project.

Africa was previously insufficiently represented in the emerging discipline of biobanking despite commendable early efforts. However, with the Human, Heredity, and Health in Africa (H3Africa) initiative, biorepository science has been bolstered, regional biobanks are springing up, and awareness about biobanks is growing on the continent. The Stroke Investigative Research and Educational Network (SIREN) project is a transnational, multicenter, hospital and community-based study involving over 3000 cases and 3000 controls recruited from 16 sites in Ghana and Nigeria.

Assessment of biochemical liver function tests in relation to age among steady state sickle cell anemia patients.

Background And Objective: Multiorgan failure including liver dysfunction is a common finding in sickle cell anemia (SCA) patients, the cause of which is multifactorial with advancing age said to be a major determinant. There is a paucity of data on liver function among SCA patients in relation to age in northern Nigerian hospitals, including Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital (ABUTH), Zaria. This study was to assess the biochemical liver function tests (LFTs) as they relate to age among SCA patients in steady state, with a view to improving the overall monitoring of these patients.

Conservation Agriculture Improves Soil Quality, Crop Yield, and Incomes of Smallholder Farmers in North Western Ghana.

Conservation agriculture (CA) practices are being widely promoted in many areas in sub-Saharan Africa to recuperate degraded soils and improve ecosystem services. This study examined the effects of three tillage practices [conventional moldboard plowing (CT), hand hoeing (MT) and no-tillage (NT)], and three cropping systems (continuous maize, soybean-maize annual rotation, and soybean/maize intercropping) on soil quality, crop productivity, and profitability in researcher and farmer managed on-farm trials from 2010 to 2013 in northwestern Ghana. In the researcher managed mother trial, the CA practices of NT, residue retention and crop rotation/intercropping maintained higher soil organic carbon, and total soil N compared to conventional tillage practices after 4 years.

Mothers screening for malnutrition by mid-upper arm circumference is non-inferior to community health workers: results from a large-scale pragmatic trial in rural Niger.

Background: Community health workers (CHWs) are recommended to screen for acute malnutrition in the community by assessing mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) on children between 6 and 59 months of age. MUAC is a simple screening tool that has been shown to be a better predictor of mortality in acutely malnourished children than other practicable anthropometric indicators. This study compared, under program conditions, mothers and CHWs in screening for severe acute malnutrition (SAM) by color-banded MUAC tapes.

Serum selenium and ceruloplasmin in nigerians with peripartum cardiomyopathy.

The study aimed to determine if selenium deficiency, serum ceruloplasmin and traditional birth practices are risk factors for peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM), in Kano, Nigeria. This is a case-control study carried out in three hospitals, and PPCM patients were followed up for six months. Critically low serum selenium concentration was defined as <70 µg/L.

Persistent microalbuminuria in human immunodeficiency virus infected children in kano, Nigeria.

Microalbuminuria has been reported to be a precursor of HIV related renal disease, which if detected early and coupled with appropriate intervention may slow or retard the progress of the disease. One hundred and seventy-eight HIV infected children aged 15 years and below were recruited from the Paediatric Infectious Disease Clinic of Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH), Kano, to determine the prevalence of persistent microalbuminuria using the albumin creatinine ratio (ACR). Early morning urine samples and spot urine samples were analyzed using a dipstick specific for microalbumin.

Prevalence, clinical characteristics and outcome of pulmonary hypertension among admitted heart failure patients.

Background: There is paucity of data in Africa on the prevalence of pulmonary hypertension (PHT) and its impact on morbidity and short-term mortality in heart failure (HF) patients. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of PHT, its clinical characteristics and in-hospital mortality among HF patients admitted to a referral hospital in Nigeria.

Methods: The study was carried out on serially-admitted HF patients who satisfied the inclusion criteria, in a Nigerian tertiary health center.

Social disorganization and history of child sexual abuse against girls in sub-Saharan Africa: a multilevel analysis.

Background: Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a considerable public health problem. Less focus has been paid to the role of community level factors associated with CSA. The aim of this study was to examine the association between neighbourhood-level measures of social disorganization and CSA.

Individual and community-level socioeconomic position and its association with adolescents experience of childhood sexual abuse: a multilevel analysis of six countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Background: Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is a substantial global health and human rights problem and consequently a growing concern in sub-Saharan Africa. We examined the association between individual and community-level socioeconomic status (SES) and the likelihood of reporting CSA.

Methods: We applied multiple multilevel logistic regression analysis on Demographic and Health Survey data for 6,351 female adolescents between the ages of 15 and 18 years from six countries in sub-Saharan Africa, between 2006 and 2008.

Interventions for the prevention of mycobacterium avium complex in adults and children with HIV.

Background: Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) infection is a common complication of advanced acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) disease and is an independent predictor of mortality and shortened survival.

Objectives: To determine the effectiveness and safety of interventions aimed at preventing MAC infection in adults and children with HIV infection.

Search Methods: We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, and The Cochrane Library (search date December 2012).