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Evaluation of the Impact of Tinnitus on Health-Related Quality of Life amid Sawmill Workforces
Full text linkBackground: Tinnitus is the phantom aural perception of sound lacking an
exterior stimulus, a sub-type of auditory hallucination and it is a common
sensation among noise-exposed employees. It is a symptom, not an illness.
Tinnitus can be extremely perplexing for its subjects and it may perhaps disturb
their health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) if exposed to extreme noises in
many ways. Objective: This study is intended to discover the effects and pattern
of tinnitus on health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) amid noise-exposed saw
mill workforces. Method: This study was a prospective and public-centered
cross-sectional study, including 510 sawmill personnel. 510 directorial staff
was used as the control. Health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) of all subjects
was assessed with the WHO Quality of Life brief questionnaire. Self-reported
tinnitus morbidity was assessed by means of the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory.
A correlation was established amid health-related quality of life scores
and tinnitus severity scores. Result: There were 510 sawmill employees enlisted
into the study, out of which 490 were men and 20 were women with control
of the same age and sex. The mean age was 36.85 ± 7.68 years for the sawmill
workers and 35.75 ± 8.65 years for the control group (t = 1.02, P = 0.275).
The mean tinnitus score for the sawmill workers was 20.80 ± 2.56. Out of the
510 sawmill workers, 52 (10.2%) had tinnitus and one of the controls had tinnitus.
The mean health-related quality of life scores were 62.20 ± 8.62 and
72.56 ± 5.98 for the sawmill workers and control group respectively. There
was a substantial and remarkable difference between the health-related quality
of life of the sawmill workers and the control group (P < 0.05). Also, it was
observed that there was a noteworthy drop in the overall physical and psy-chological domains of the health-related quality of life scores with an increase
in work environment noise level among sawmill employees and no major alteration
was observed in the social and environmental aspects of the quality
of life scores with change in occupational noise gains. Conclusion: The prevalence
of tinnitus from this study was found to be 10.20% and an upsurge in
tinnitus rigorousness was seen to be related with a substantial drop in physical,
psychological and social domains of the health related quality of life. We
highly endorse hearing conservation programmes and use of personal protective
equipments for sawmills workers which will aid to decrease the effects of
exposure to loud noise. Those sawmill labors already having tinnitus must attempt
to go for treatment
Paediatric Otorhinolaryngological, Head and Neck Procedures in a Nigerian Tertiary Health Care Centre
Full text linkBackground: There is wide spectrum of paediatric otorhinolaryngology surgical conditions affecting
children in developing countries. Paediatric otolaryngological surgical procedures represent a major
part of all otolaryngology surgeries in developing countries.
This study aimed at determining the prevalence, sociodemographic features, types of ear, nose,
throat, head and neck surgical procedures, outcomes and associated complications in our center.
Patients and Methods: This was a retrospective hospital based study of otorhinolaryngologic
paediatric procedures. The study was carried out from August 2013 to July 2018.
Data for this study was obtained from the medical record department, ENT clinic operation
booking register for both minor and major surgery and theatre operation register. Data obtained
were collated, documented and statistically analyzed using SPSS version 18.0.
Results: Prevalence of paediatric otorhinolaryngology, head and neck procedures was 20.1%.
Clinic and theatre procedures accounted for 86.7% and 13.3% respectively. Elective and emergency
procedures constituted 81.8% and 18.2% respectively. There were 57.2% males with male to
female ratio of 1.5:1. Otologic procedures accounted for 57.2% out of which otologic foreign
body removal occurred in 20.2%. Sinonasal procedures occurred in 24.8% from which sinonasal
foreign body removal occurred in 18.9%. Paediatric throat procedures occurred in 16.0% out of
which adenoidectomy was performed in 6.8%. Head and neck procedures accounted for 1.9% and
commonest of these was lymph nodes biopsy in 0.9%.
Minor procedures in 86.7% were commoner than major procedures in 7.2%. Commonest
complication from paediatric otorhinolaryngology procedures was wound infection 4.0%.
Conclusion: Paediatric otolaryngology, head and neck surgical procedures are common encountered
in our practice. The prevalence in this study was 20.1% with otological surgical procedures been the
commonest. There are associated complications as well as greater level of our patient’s satisfaction
Awareness and Utilization of Cervical Cancer Screening among Women in an Urban Area in Southwestern Nigeria
Full text linkIntroduction: Cancer of the cervix is the commonest cause of cancer death in women worldwide. This study assessed the awareness level and pattern of utilization of cervical cancer screening test among women of different professions in Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional design was used and respondents were selected from four different professions. Results: About 40% of respondents had heard of cervical cancer prior to the survey and only 40.5% were aware of cervical screening tests. Among those who were aware of the screening tests, 16% had ever utilized cervical cancer screening tests. Conclusion: This study established low cervical cancer awareness level and low utilization rate of cervical cancer screening among respondents. Therefore, there is need for sustained and concerted community health awareness most importantly at the grassroots in order to increase awareness and utilization rate of cervical cancer screening among the sampled populace
NONLINEAR RELATIVE STABILITY ANALYSIS OF SOME NIGERIAN GEOLOGICAL FORMATIONS AS RADIOACTIVE WASTES REPOSITORY
Full text linkThis work determines the relative capabilities of some geological formations in Nigeria as radioactive wastes repository. Reaction term of the advection-diffusion-reaction transport in porous media was reworked to address nonlinear radioactive decay and sorption. Lyapunov’s indirect method identified three critical points. A stable attractor at the origin, flanked by two symetric saddles. Phase Potraits show that Caesium and Strontium are well stabilized in sandstone, consolidated clay and limestone. In shale, the focus at the origin indicates weak stability for the two radionuclides. However, for Plutonium, the origin is consisitently a weak node. Hence, its dynamics/disappearance rate is very slow. At half-lifes, breakthrough curves in 200cm radius of host soils show that Strontium and Caesium are best contained in sandstone and consolidated clay. However, they deeply infilterate limestone. Similarly, a fifth of Plutonium’s reposed concentration completely infiltrated the simulation aperture. Hence, Plutonium should not be reposed in natural formations
MEASUREMENT AND ESTIMATION OF SOIL WATER CHARACTERISTIC CURVE FOR FOUR UNSATURATED TROPICAL SOILS
Full text linkInfrastructures are mostly built on unsaturated soil in the tropical region such as Nigeria, yet soil investigations and
designs are based on saturated soil mechanics owing to difficulties associated with soil suction measurements using direct
methods such as pressure plate extractor, triaxial testing equipment for testing unsaturated soil, etc. Soil water characteristic
curve is an important parameter for estimating unsaturated soil property function. This research considered an indirect method
(filter paper) of laboratory soil suction measurement (which is relatively simple, fast and inexpensive) and predictive correlation
equations for estimating soil water characteristic curve from index properties of soil for four unsaturated tropical soils of Nigeria,
three predictive correlation equations were used in this research namely; Navid et al model (2012), Zapata et al model (2000)
and Witczak model (2006), the soil water characteristic curve constant parameters computed from these models were fitted
through either Van Genuchten model (1980) or Fredlund & Xing model (1994). Results of air entry values of soils from
experimental work and predictive correlation equations were in close range which indicated that in spite of the difficulties
experienced in performing laboratory suction test, the predictive correlation equations such as the ones used in this research
were found to be proper for estimating soil water characteristic curve
Determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in blood plasma of neurology patients
Full text linkThe etiology of many neurological cases cannot be easily delineated, making the investigation, and treatment to be challenging.This study aimsto screen the blood of neurology patients presenting for the first time in the hospital for Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) using Flame Ionization Detector –Gas Chromatography. Fourteen PAHs were detected in the samples. The results showed that flourene and phenanthrene were common to all the patients in the range (1.37to8.08 and 1.66 to8.34 ng/mL respectively), but were not detected in the control samples. Pyrene, fluoranthene and acenaphthene were present in 80, 75 and 70% in the blood plasmaof the patients at the range of 2.96 to236.86 ng/mL, 1.96 to 11.55ng/mL and 1.08 to 1.81 ng/mL respectively. These were not found in the control samples. The body burden of these congeners wasmuch higher in neurology patients than controlsand literature values of similar study. The concentrations detected were statistically significant, and could be possible causative agents. This can also become one of the investigative tools for these disease
Awareness and Practice of Proper Health Seeking Behaviour and Determinant of Self-Medication among Physicians and Nurses in a Tertiary Hospital in Southwest Nigeria
Full text linkThere is generally a lack of good health-seeking practices
among health professionals due to a variety of factors, including the intensity
of the medical practice itself. Doctors and nurses are perceived to have a good
knowledge of ideal health-seeking behaviors and as such, it is important to
determine the level of their awareness and estimate whether this knowledge is
put into practice. This study, therefore, aimed to determine the level of
awareness and practices of proper health-seeking behavior and to identify the
factors responsible for self-medication among doctors and nurses in a tertiary
hospital in Nigeria. Methodology: A cross-sectional descriptive study was
conducted between April and may 2018 among 106 doctors and 164 nurses in
a tertiary health facility in Ido-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Southwestern Nigeria. A
simple random sampling technique by balloting was performed from the list
of doctors and nurses in the hospital to select doctors and nurses that participated
in the study. A pretested semi-structured self-administered questionnaire
was designed and used to collect data. The data were entered into the
computer software and analyzed using SPSS version 20. P ≤ 0.05 was taken as
significant. Result: Out of 106 doctors and 164 nurses recruited, only 102
doctors and 143 nurses filled the questionnaire completely and returned for
analysis. One hundred and four respondents (42.4%) fall within the ages of 31
- 40 years with a male to female ratio of 1:1.23. Awareness of proper health seeking behavior among both doctors and nurses was high among the two
groups with no statistically significant difference between them. Twenty-nine
(28.0%) doctors compared with thirty-four (23.8%) nurses go for a regular
medical check-up with no statistically significant difference between the two
groups (p = 0.411). Out of these, 5 (17.2%) doctors and 7 (23.8%) nurses visit
at an interval of less than 6 month (p = 0.736). There is a statistically significant
difference in the number of doctors (60.8%) compared with nurses
(41.3%) that have consulted a doctor in the last one year (p = 0.003). More
than half (51.6%) of this consultation among doctors was over the phone
whereas 64.4% of such among nurses were via clinic appointment (p = 0.008).
More doctors (90.2%) comply with their treatment prescription from physicians
compared with nurses (77.6%) (p = 0.010). More nurses compared with
doctors self-medicate when ill [Doctor 61.8% (63), Nurses 78.3% (112)] (p =
0.005) and had also self-medicated in the last one year [Doctor 34.3% (35),
Nurses 42.7% (61)] (p = 0.187). Decreasing age, decreasing years of experience,
increasing working hours, lack of health insurance, fear of confidentiality
and lack of satisfaction with health services are factors that significantly
increased the likelihood of self-medication among doctors and nurses within
the last one year. Conclusion: Awareness of proper health seeking behavior
was high but this did not translate into proper health-seeking practices
among doctors and nurses. There is apathy for regular medical check-up and
self-medication was also high among this group of health workers. Decreasing
age and years of experience, increasing working hours, lack of health insurance,
fear of confidentiality and lack of satisfaction with health services
were factors were identified to significantly increase the likelihood of
self-medication
Palm oil and ground nut oil supplementation effects on blood glucose and antioxidant status in alloxan-induced diabetic rats
Full text linkThis study investigated the effects of two common cooking oils (palm oil, PO) and (groundnut oil, GO)
supplementation on the antioxidant status and diabetic indices in Alloxan (100mg/kg) induced diabetic Wistar rats. A
total of forty-eight Wistar rats of both sexes were used for this study. They were divided into four groups of 12 animals
each as: control, diabetic non-supplemented, diabetic supplemented with PO (200mg/kg/day)and diabetic supplemented
with GO (200mg/kg/day) rats. Blood glucose, plasma vitamin E,SOD, Total Protein and Albumin levels were measured
using standard laboratory procedures. After three weeks of supplementation there was a significant (p<0.05) reduction in
blood glucose of supplemented groups compared with the diabetic non-supplemented group. Plasma Vitamins C and E,
SOD, and Albumin levels were significantly (p<0.05) increased in the supplemented groups when compared with the
diabetic non-supplemented group. However, the plasma levels of these parameters were found to be significantly
(p<0.05) higher in the GO supplemented rats compared with the PO supplemented group. The plasma vitamin C levels in
the diabetic groups were lower than in other groups while increased levels in the plasma total protein were not
significant. There was no significant difference in the measured parameters in reference to the gender of the animals. It
was concluded from this study that GO exhibited superior antioxidant activities and that the supplementation of red palm
oil and ground nut oil as a source of antioxidant was beneficialin diabetic state as it reduced blood glucose and enhance
antioxidant status
Effectiveness of Palm Kernel Shell Ash Concrete Reinforced with Steel Fibres
Full text linkThe steadily increasing cost of cement has made construction very expensive in many countries of the world, coupled with the adverse effect of cement production on the environment. To solve these problems, studies have been made on various materials like Pozzolans which could be used as partial replacement for cement in concrete production. Palm kernel shell ash (PKSA) is the ash produced from burning of palm kernel shell thus, PKSA is used as partial replacement of cement in this study. This study investigated the effect of palm kernel shell ash (PKSA) as a partial replacement with ordinary Portland cement in high strength palm kernel shell ash concrete reinforced with steel fibres. The properties studied includes workability of fresh concrete, compressive strength, flexural tensile strength, and water absorption for hardened concrete. PKSA contents in mixes ranged between 0% and 50% by weight of cement and Steel fibre of 0.75% by volume of concrete was maintained in all mixes containing steel fibre. The use of palm kernel shell ash (PKSA) has advantages like; reduction in cost of concrete, solving environmental pollution problems as well as reduced the number of landfill areas required for disposing the PKSA. The results indicate that the inclusion of steel fibre into concrete contained ordinary Portland cement concrete or PKSA, improved the tensile strength properties. Further, it was observed that increase in percentage of PKSA led to a corresponding reduction in both flexural and compressive strength when compared with control concrete. Since the strength reduced with further addition of PKSA from 25%, it is recommended that optimum replacement level of ordinary Portland cement by Palm kernel shell ash is 25% for good compressive and tensile properties
PATTERN OF DEPRESSION AMONG TYPE 2 DIABETIC PATIENTS ATTENDING FAMILY MEDICINE CLINIC FEDERAL TEACHING HOSPITAL IDO-EKITI
Full text linkPeople with Diabetes Mellitus are almost twice as likely to suffer from Depression as the general population, but this often remains un-recognized and thus untreated. This was a cross sectional study. Based on the calculated sample size, one hundred and fifty consecutive and consenting type 2 diabetic patients were screened for depression using patient Health Questionaire-9 (PHQ-9). The age of the studied respondents ranged between 44years and 78years with a mean age of 58± 8.4years. Fifty one of the one hundred and fifty respondents (34%) were found to have mild to moderate depression. In this study, the presence of other comorbidity or complications and poor glycaemic control were identified as factors associated with depression among diabetic patients. It is advised that physicians should investigate for depression among diabetic patients who have been on medication for a long time since depression has been associated with poor adherence to medication with resultant poor glycaemic control. Control of depression in diabetic patient, is an important and cost-effective strategy to reduce major diabetic complications