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PurposeDespite the growing unforeseen and catastrophic events that disrupt business operations, empirical studies on the impact of operational disruption (OD) on small and medium enterprises' (SMEs) performance dimensions are limited. The study aims to investigate the moderating effect of disruption orientation (DO) and government support (GS) on the relationship between coronavirus disease (COVID-19) OD and SMEs' performance.Design/methodology/approachQuantitative survey method was used to collect data from 170 SMEs in Nigeria, through hand-delivery questionnaires. Partial least square (PLS) structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to analyze the data.FindingsThe result shows no significant relationship between COVID-19 OD, DO and GS with SMEs' financial performance (FP). However, the relationship between COVID-19 OD and non-financial performance (NFP) is negatively significant. The relationship between DO and NFP is positively significant. DO and GS have insignificant relationship with FP. Finally, DO and GS does not moderate any of the relationships between COVID-19 OD and the dimensions of SMEs' performance.Practical implicationsThe result implies that health-related disruptions such as COVID-19 affect only the NFP of SMEs. However, supply chain managers and SMEs are encouraged to adopt DO to enhance NFP of firms.Originality/valueThe current study is the first to evaluate the impact of health-related disruptions on the two major dimensions of SMEs' performance (FP and NFP) by incorporating the moderating role of internal (DO) and external (GS) factors in to a single framework. However, the paper revealed new theoretical and practical knowledge by illuminating the absence of significant relationship between COVID-19 OD and SMEs' FP, implying that COVID-19 disruption does not significantly affect SMEs' FP.

The study Evaluated the Impact of Effective Management Practices in Mitigating the Toxicity Symptoms of Pesticides Preparation, Storage and Application in Kebbi State, Nigeria. Structured Questionnaires were used to obtained information from the respondents. Descriptive statistics comprising frequency distribution tables and percentages and were used for Data Analysis. Likert scale was used to determine farmer’s perception on the toxicity symptoms of pesticides of pesticides preparation, storage and application employed by farmers when handling pesticides. The result of the study showed that majority of the respondents (90%) were male while female formed the minority in pesticide usage with only (10%). The study also showed that all the respondents (100%) were married and engaged in agricultural activities. The study further revealed that all the respondents never had any formal training on the use of pesticide from either governmental or non -governmental organizations. The research study also found out that all (100%) of the respondents were not aware of the toxicity of pesticides during preparation, storage and application. Likert Scale Analysis showed a negative perception by farmers on awareness of pesticide toxicity during preparation, storage and application. On perception of the respondents on the toxicity of pesticides during preparation, storage and application, the study revealed that Nausea, Dizziness, Diarrhea, Respiratory Difficulty, Skin Irritation, Rashes, Fever, Peeling of the Skin, Vomiting, and Headache were the serious toxicity effects of pesticide. It is concluded that respondents had negative perception on pesticide management of toxicity of pesticides during preparation, storage and application. It is therefore recommended that appropriate authorities should enforce the use of protective clothing, appropriate equipment and correct handling practices when using pesticides. Existing pesticide regulations and monitoring policies should be enforced. Government should also intensify efforts at registering and controlling distribution of pesticides and banning hazardous ones. It should also enforce the making of less toxic pesticides available to farmers.

So essential and imperative is national development plans to the success of any nation. If any country desires to attain sustainable economic growth and development, be it developed or developing, it must make plans for its goals and objectives. Since colonial period and after, Nigeria has committed itself on series of national development plans in order to attain sustainable economic growth and development. It is not a denying fact that Nigeria efforts towards development plans have not been achieved and also improves its economic situation. Over time, this has been proved from economic indicators such as increase in rate of unemployment, short life expectancy ratio, lack of infrastructural facilities and absolute poverty as a result of the spillover effect of its development plans to instill results. The main objective of this research work is to overview some of the previous Nigerian development plans and pin-point out the militating factors that serve as deterrent to the achievement of development plans in the country. This research work sourced its materials through secondary sources of materials. However, competent development expert, corruption free society, political leadership, harmonization and efficient resource allocation are part of the remedies or motor for a successful and sustainable national development plans.

In Zambia, poultry is a rapidly increasing sector contributing 4.8% of the Agricultural Gross Domestic Product (GDP), thus providing a significant income-generating activity. Worldwide, poultry is a major reservoir of Salmonella with an increasing incidence of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) producing strains. ESBLs are enzymes produced by bacteria and are capable of inactivating a wide range of beta-lactam antibiotics. Salmonella enterica serovars Enteritidis and Typhimurium are the most important foodborne serotypes in many countries, infecting both humans and animals and are transmitted to humans through the food supply chain. CTX-M ESBLs have been described in Salmonella Typhimurium isolates with resistant genes located on transferable plasmids. This study aimed to detect S. Typhimurium, their antimicrobial resistance, and CTX-M-type ESBL Producing strains in commercial poultry farms in Copperbelt Province, Zambia. Five districts were considered for this study, where one poultry farm per district was randomly selected for sampling. An overall number of 384 fecal samples were analyzed using microbiological and molecular methods. S. Typhimurium was detected at 17.7% (CI: 14.2%-21.8%) in commercial poultry farms in Copperbelt Province, of which 12.8% (CI: 9.8%-16.5%) were found harboring the CTX-M-Type ESBL genes. S. Typhimurium isolates showed 88.2% resistance to at least one antimicrobial compound. All the isolates showed 100% resistance to tetracycline, followed by ampicillin and amoxicillin at 91.2%. These isolates also showed 58.8% resistance to cefotaxime and 54.4% to ceftazidime. Detection of CTX-M ESBL producing Salmonella Typhimurium suggests the contamination of chicken food chain at farm level and calls for public health protection measures.

The present study focused on the development of a simple, reliable, cost-effective, precise, and stable quality by design (QbD) RP-HPLC method for estimation of Abiraterone Acetate in bulk, pharmac...

Aim: To identify reasons behind the patronization of private tertiary institutions in Nigeria, their challenges, and also to examine if their patronage was as a result of service quality matter or otherwise. Study Design: This article adopt both qualitative and quantitative research strategy in which questionnaire were administered and hypothesis were tested using chi-square. Place and Duration: The case study for this research paper is AL-HIKMA University, Ilorin, Nigeria, from 7th October, 2019. Findings: It was discovered that majority of student patronizing private tertiary Institutions in Nigeria was the result of issues such as admission stress, strikes, cultism’s, congestions and irregularities characterizing public tertiary Institutions in Nigeria, etc. and not actually service quality. The major challenges encountered by private’s tertiary Institutions are lack of funds, stringent government policies, shortage of staff and infrastructural deficits etc. Implications: This has lead to production of half-baked graduate, brain drain, religious disparity, widening social gap, exorbitant fees and decline in the educational sector among others. Conclusion: In other to curb the problems associated with the above raised questions, government should allocate more fund for the establishment and rehabilitation of universities, adequate learning materials should be provided, conducive atmosphere accompanied by good remuneration and lastly issue of licensing should be strict.

The Global Positioning System (GPS) permanent stations at the equatorial and southern sub-tropical hydrobelts of South America undergo the highest seasonality on the Earth due to hydrological loadings. Fortunately, there are products that account for such variations, although some of them have not been properly evaluated. For instance, global solutions of Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) are band-limited to lower frequencies; therefore, comparisons with GPS data must account for such spectral inconsistencies. It is proposed to spatially average 39 GPS sites by applying Gaussian smoothing, which allows comparisons with long-wavelength part of GRACE solutions by Center for Space Research (CSR), GeoForschungszentrum, and Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Comparisons are also carried out with loadings from Noah-driven Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS) and GRACE mass concentration (mascon) solution by Goddard Space Flight Center. Results show that CSR best reduces the variances of the radial displacements considering both spatially filtered (70%) and unfiltered (53%) GPS data covering the period from Jan 2010 to Dec 2015. However, GLDAS-Noah underestimates the amplitudes of vertical loadings, which might be due to unmodeled inland water and groundwater storages. While acknowledging that a denser distribution of GPS stations is needed, the findings still shed light on the quality of the global hydrological loading products based on GRACE and GLDAS datasets, which might be of interest to the respective science teams.

We examine the impact of rural electrification on individuals and businesses within a community in order to test a resource-based theory of entrepreneurship. We show that access to electricity increases average households’ income and entrepreneurial activities. The impact of electricity on entrepreneurial activity has wide-ranging implications for development policy in countries where access to electricity is sparse. Results show a significant difference in entrepreneurial opportunities with respect to firm formation, with the electrified site reporting more new micro-enterprises (33) than the control site (20) after implementation. Electrification affects both households’ income, individuals’ perceptions of their social position, and opportunities for business development. Individuals’ future expectations and entrepreneurial activities are enhanced in the community that receives electricity. We also find evidence that women-led households benefit from electrification more than men-led ones, but this benefit does not eliminate the difference in income between women and men-led household. We discuss implications of the study for entrepreneurship and community social development interventions.

Background: The burden of drug abuse is becoming a public health concern in Nigeria. Preventive measures should include identifying the root causes of the burden for targeted intervention. We, therefore, aim to conduct a scoping review of the literature to summarize the findings of epidemiological studies on drug abuse and provisions of drug laws in Nigeria. The review also provides appropriate recommendations as interventions for prevention.Methods: We conducted a systematic search of the literature on PubMed to identify information on drug abuse and drug laws in Nigeria from the inception of the database to March 2020. Additional information was retrieved from Google Scholar, a manual search of included articles, discussion with experts on the subject matter, and gray literature. Study selection was performed using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statements. Information from gray literature was assessed for quality and accuracy using the AACODS checklist (authority, accuracy, coverage, objectively, date, significance).Results: The systematic search of the literature generated 253 studies. Nine articles were obtained from other sources. After the selection process, 23 eligible studies were included for review. A prevalence of 20–40% and 20.9% of drug abuse was reported among students and youths, respectively. Commonly abused drugs include cannabis, cocaine, amphetamine, heroin, diazepam, codeine, cough syrup and tramadol. Sources where abusers obtained drugs, were pharmacies/patent medicine shops, open drug markets, drug hawkers, fellow drug abusers, friends, and drug pushers. Drug abuse was common among undergraduates and secondary school students, youths, commercial bus drivers, farmers, and sex workers. Reason for use included to increase physical performance, stress and to derive pleasure. Poor socioeconomic factors and low educational background were the common risk factors associated with drug abuse. We identified several drug laws and policies that were established under government agencies such as the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), National Agency for Foods and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN) and a Presidential Advisory Committee.Conclusion: Findings from epidemiological studies on drug abuse in Nigeria has demonstrated that the burden of drug abuse is still high despite the existing drug laws, policies, and strategies for prevention. Measures to reduce the burden should involve the community, government, and religious bodies. Preventive measures should target the youths, the students, identified sources of the drugs, reasons and risk factors associated with drug abuse in Nigeria.

Background Multidrug resistance (MDR) is a major clinical problem in tertiary hospitals in Tanzania and jeopardizes the life of neonates in critical care units (CCUs). To better understand methods for prevention of MDR infections, this study aimed to determine, among other factors, the role of MDR-Gram-negative bacteria (GNB) contaminating neonatal cots and hands of mothers as possible role in transmission of bacteremia at Bugando Medical Centre (BMC), Mwanza, Tanzania. Methods This cross-sectional, hospital-based study was conducted among neonates and their mothers in a neonatal intensive care unit and a neonatology unit at BMC from December 2018 to April 2019. Blood specimens (n = 200) were sub-cultured on 5% sheep blood agar (SBA) and MacConkey agar (MCA) plates. Other specimens (200 neonatal rectal swabs, 200 maternal hand swabs and 200 neonatal cot swabs) were directly inoculated on MCA plates supplemented with 2 μg/ml cefotaxime (MCA-C) for screening of GNB resistant to third generation cephalosporins, r-3GCs. Conventional biochemical tests, Kirby-Bauer technique and resistance to cefoxitin 30 μg were used for identification of bacteria, antibiotic susceptibility testing and detection of MDR-GNB and screening of potential Amp-C beta lactamase producing GNB, respectively. Results The prevalence of culture confirmed bacteremia was 34.5% of which 85.5% were GNB. Fifty-five (93.2%) of GNB isolated from neonatal blood specimens were r-3GCs. On the other hand; 43% of neonates were colonized with GNB r-3GCs, 32% of cots were contaminated with GNB r-3GCs and 18.5% of hands of neonates’ mothers were contaminated with GNB r-3GCs. The prevalences of MDR-GNB isolated from blood culture and GNB r-3GCs isolated from neonatal colonization, cots and mothers’ hands were 96.6, 100, 100 and 94.6%, respectively. Significantly, cyanosis (OR[95%CI]: 3.13[1.51–6.51], p = 0.002), jaundice (OR[95%CI]: 2.10[1.07–4.14], p = 0.031), number of invasive devices (OR[95%CI]: 2.52[1.08–5.85], p = 0.031) and contaminated cot (OR[95%CI]: 2.39[1.26–4.55], p = 0.008) were associated with bacteremia due to GNB. Use of tap water only (OR[95%CI]: 2.12[0.88–5.09], p = 0.040) was protective for bacteremia due to GNB. Conclusion High prevalence of MDR-GNB bacteremia and intestinal colonization, and MDR-GNB contaminating cots and mothers’ hands was observed. Improved cots decontamination strategies is crucial to limit the spread of MDR-GNB. Further, clinical presentations and water use should be considered in administration of empirical therapy whilst awaiting culture results.

The gender issue in entrepreneurship has been researched from different views and dimensions. Some of the studies have focused on distinguishing between male and female entrepreneurs in terms of their personal skills and socio-demographic characteristics and others have attempted to determine individual intention and behavior toward entrepreneurship. The study analyzes gender difference on the perception of motivational factors and barriers for business start- up among graduates. The study is conducted in Kano metropolitan using a cross sectional/survey design. The population of the study composes of graduates who are either unemployed or employed for not more than three years and have obtained a Bachelor degree or Higher National Diploma qualification as the basis for selection. Discriminant analysis (DA) is used to investigate gender difference on the basis of perception about the selected variables on business start-up. Discriminant analysis is useful in creating an equation that will minimize the possibility of misclassifying cases in their respective groups or categories. The result shows highly significant discriminant function (p < .000) and indicates that the proportion of the total variability not explained is about 37.7%. The Box?s M is 14.012 with F = 4.638, which is highly significant at p < 0.003. There is evidence to reject the null hypothesis, which states that the groups do not differ on their perception about motivation and barriers for business start-up. It is recommended for future studies to explore the moderating effect of religiosity and culture on business start-up.

International audience; This declaration, signed by an interdisciplinary task force of 234 experts from 83 different countries with different backgrounds, highlights the threat posed by antimicrobial resistance and the need for appropriate use of antibiotic agents and antifungal agents in hospitals worldwide especially focusing on surgical infections. As such, it is our intent to raise awareness among healthcare workers and improve antimicrobial prescribing. To facilitate its dissemination, the declaration was translated in different languages.

The temperament of captive common eland (Taurotragus oryx) during handling is crucial for their management, as they have been identified as an ideal antelope for game meat farming, and are well-represented in captive antelope populations world-wide. Generally speaking, common eland are considered undomesticated, and thus maintain their natural prey instincts, making it necessary to habituate them to routine handling. Immunocastration can be implemented as part of the herd management strategy in mixed or single-sex eland groups, and might reduce aggressive behaviour of males by blocking the production of testosterone, thereby improving docility for ease of handling. Within this study, data was collected to determine the influence of routine handling and immunocastration on the temperament of common eland during handling. Twenty-nine common eland were divided into two groups: sub-adults (n = 15; ca. 2 years old; 182.9 ± 59.37 kg) and juveniles (n = 14; ca. 6 months old; 94.18 ± 24.76 kg), and they were routinely handled every two weeks over a four-month period (10 handling events). Within each age group, females, males, and immunocastrated males were present. Immunocastration treatment was administered during the second and fourth handling events (2 mL Improvac®/ animal). During handling, animals were individually driven through the raceway and finally restrained in a squeeze chute, where routine biological samples and measurements were collected. Faecal androgen metabolite (fAM) concentrations were measured for each event, for males only. Each animal was focally sampled for specific behaviours during the handling. A temperament score was obtained by observing the general state of the animal from the point of entering the raceway, until its exit from the squeeze chute. Generalized linear mixed models tested the influence of immunocastration, week, group, fAM concentration, and body weight on the temperament score. Immunocastration did not affect the temperament score, the general state in the squeeze chute, the order of entering the handling system, and the chute exit. However, the temperament score and the state in the squeeze chute improved overtime (with animals being less nervous). Moreover, animals with low temperament scores (calmer) entered the system earlier, and exited the system calmly over the repeated handling period. The results show that routine handling through a raceway and squeeze chute system leads to habituation, and improves the ease of handling in common eland. However, immunocastration did not affect the temperament of the male common eland during handling.

The resurgence and popularity of entrepreneurship among policy makers in the 21st century is accentuated by the perceived importance and its efficacy in promoting country’s economic prosperity, reducing poverty and unemployment amongst others. Many believed that the slow face of entrepreneurship development could be linked to Nigeria educational policies. Therefore, the objectives of this paper are two, first to qualitatively review the role of educational policies in promoting entrepreneurship. Secondly, highlight the implications of entrepreneurship amidst poverty and unemployment in Nigeria. The Nigeria educational policy during the colonial period was geared toward preparing able men and women for effective administration of Nigeria colony and protectorates. Nigeria, despite its vast material and human resources fails to provide required job for teaming job seekers and increase the general income level of people over the last two or three decades. It is believe that the high poverty and unemployment rate in Nigeria are clear indications that the country has a good cause for fighting poverty and unemployment. It was argued that pursuing entrepreneurship might have serious implications in addressing the country’s economic developmental issues. Similarly, entrepreneurship practice in an economy such as Nigeria could reveal many exciting information. It is interesting to find whether the businesses created by the poor and unemployed translate into economic growth or not. On the one hand, it was argued that business created by this group of people can have indirect effect to the economy. The successful ones can create jobs for others and stimulate innovations which will subsequently contribute to the overall productivity and competitiveness of the economy. It is expected that entrepreneurship could make serious impact especially in Nigeria.

Introduction: The prevention of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV/AIDS) among health-care workers (HCWs) has remained a major topical issue worldwide. Accidental transmission of HIV infection to HCWs during occupational exposure is a real threat today. The study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of postexposure prophylaxis (PEP) among HCWs in a tertiary health institution in Sokoto, Northwestern Nigeria. Methodology: The study was carried out at Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto, through a cross-sectional descriptive study design; a total of 156 participants were recruited using a stratified sampling technique. Data were collected using a semi-structured, self-administered questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS computer software after obtaining ethical clearance from the Health Ethics and Research Committee of the teaching hospital. Results: A total of 87.2% (136) of the respondents had heard of PEP and 71.8% (112) thought that HIV/AIDs could be prevented through PEP. A total of 71.2% (111) had good knowledge about PEP, whereas 86.8% (118) had a positive attitude toward PEP. Conclusion: Although the study demonstrated high knowledge and positive attitude toward PEP, the observance of safety measures against needlestick injuries that could result in HIV infections was abysmally low. There is the need to create more awareness and strengthen the use of PEP protocol by all cadres of health workers as this will go a long way in minimizing blood-borne infections.

Few studies have used crustal displacements sensed by the Global Positioning System (GPS) to assess the terrestrial water storage (TWS), which causes loadings. Furthermore, no study has investigated the feasibility of using GPS to image TWS over South America (SA), which contains the world’s driest (Atacama Desert) and wettest (Amazon Basin) regions. This work presents a resolution analysis of an inversion of GPS data over SA. Firstly, synthetic experiments were used to verify the spatial resolutions of GPS-imaged TWS and examine the resolving accuracies of the inversion based on checkerboard tests and closed-loop simulations using “TWS„ from the Noah-driven Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS-Noah). Secondly, observed radial displacements were used to image daily TWS. The inverted results of TWS at a resolution of 300 km present negligible errors, as shown by synthetic experiments involving 397 GPS stations across SA. However, as a result of missing daily observations, the actual daily number of available stations varied from 60–353, and only 6% of the daily GPS-imaged TWS agree with GLDAS-Noah TWS, which indicates a root-mean-squared error (RMSE) of less than 100 kg/m 2 . Nevertheless, the inversion shows agreement that is better than 0.50 and 61.58 kg/m 2 in terms of the correlation coefficient (Pearson) and RMSE, respectively, albeit at each GPS site.

The evaluation of students' admission exercise in Kaduna State University (KASU) considered the number of students admitted into the various programmes of the University. An analysis of students' admission exercises was carried out from the inception of the University in 2005/2006 session to 2010/2011 session. The study aims to evaluate the compliance of the admission exercise with the National Policy on Education (NPC), and equal regional spread based on the existing senatorial zones in Kaduna State. Thus, the objective is to determine the suitability of graduate employee skills to the skills required for better performance in the State. The study went further to evaluate the admission exercises statistically in order to determine strict adherence to the guidelines set out for the exercise, and compliance with the enrolment policy. The trend analysis conducted shows that the graduate employee skills produced by KASU matches more to the skills not required for modern workplace in the state.

Contents: Foreword Preface Developmental perspective of CSR: an introduction, Samuel O. Idowu and Asli Yuksel Mermod. Part I Multinational Corporations and CSR: Multinational corporations and CSR in the Nigerian oil and gas sector, Taiwo Olufemi Asaolu and Tajudeen John Ayoola CSR and the enterprise culture of multinational corporations in developing countries, Olatunde Julius Otusanya CSR of foreign multinational corporations in China, Maria Lai-Ling Lam The economic and social impact of multinational corporations in Romania, Matthias S. Fifka and Ioana Teodoreanu A comparative study of CSR practices by multinational corporations in their operations in developed and developing economies, Abubakar Sadiq Kasum and Asli Yuksel Mermod CSR of multinational and indigenous corporations in Romania, Rodica Milena Zaharia. Part II CSR and Socio-Economic Progress: The diamond-shaped socio-economic development of Botswana, Zororo Muranda Towards a political economy perspective on CSR in a developing country context: a case study of Tanzania, Sarah Lauwo and Olatunde Julius Otusanya CSR and energy investments in Turkey, Sibel Yilmaz Turkmen and Gulcan CaAYil. Part III CSR in the General Environment: Corporate social responsibility to small and medium-sized enterprises: extending sustainable development in society, Mia Mahmudur Rahim The effectiveness of CSR initiatives and their impact upon stakeholders, Maria Aluchna Livelihood assets financing as a CSR initiative of microfinance banks in Nigeria, Adewale Abideen Adeyemi Environmental management accounting: an overview, Siriyama Kanthi Herath and Laksitha Maheshi Herath CSR: global perspective, competitiveness, social entrepreneurship and innovation, Manoj Joshi, S.P. Tiwari and Vindhyalaya Joshi CSR: a modern tool for building social capital, Samuel O. Idowu. Index.

Background: The role of nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) in tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis is well documented in many developing settings. However, this has not been the case in many resource poor settings like Tanzania. This study aimed at understanding the role of NTM in the diagnosis and management of TB in resource poor settings of Tanzania. Methods: A cross‑sectional study was conducted in Tanga, Tanzania. Patients with symptoms suggestive of TB self-referred to health care facilities were recruited. Two sputum samples were collected for standard direct smear microscopy. Culture was performed using BacT/Alert 3D system, Lowenstein-Jensen and Gottsacker slopes. Identification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and NTM was done by using GenoType ® MTBC and GenoType ® CM/AS, respectively. Results: A total of 372 patients were involved in the study. Eighty-one (21.8%) patients were diagnosed as having M. tuberculosis by the isolation of the organism from cultures of sputum. Further analysis of culture showed that 8.1% (30/372) were NTM with 7/372 (1.9%) cases of NTM classified as pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) patients. Ziehl Neelsen stain had a sensitivity of 68.8% and produced 10 false negative results. On the other hand, Fluorescence stain had a sensitivity of 85.7% and gave seven false negative samples when compared with culture results. Weight loss (p = 0.0001), fatigue (p = 0.003), fever (p = 0.038) and night sweats (p = 0.004), young population (18-40 years) (p = 0.0352), males (p = 0.0025) were important risk factors for TB. Four out of 30 NTM diagnosed by culture received first line anti‑TB treatment suggesting that a good proportion of patients (4/65, 6.2%) were mistreated as TB patients. Conclusion: Inefficient screening of TB patients in resource poor settings and prevalent increase of NTM may contribute to over diagnosis of TB cases. The need to integrate NTM diagnosis in the routine management of TB is urgently needed for designing effective tuberculosis prevention and control strategies in the country.

SETTING: A national tuberculosis (TB) drug resistance survey in Tanzania. OBJECTIVE: To compare the performance of the Genotype ® MTBDRplus line-probe assay (LPA) on smear-positive sputum specimens with conventional culture and isoniazid (INH) plus rifampicin (RMP) drug susceptibility testing (DST). DESIGN: Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates tested at the Tanzanian Central TB Reference Laboratory (CTRL) were submitted for quality assurance of phenotypic DST to its supranational reference laboratory (SRL), together with ethanol-preserved sputum specimens for LPA DST. RESULTS: Only 321 samples could be tested using LPA; of these, three were identified as being non-tuberculous mycobacteria using CTRL DST. Both tests had 269 sets with interpretable results. CTRL DST yielded almost the same number of interpretable results as LPA, with 90% concordance (κ = 0.612, P < 0.001). Five (1.9%) multidrug-resistant (MDR) strains, 46 (17.1%) resistant to INH only and 0 RMP only, were found by CTRL DST. For the LPA, these results were respectively 5 (1.9%), 26 (9.7%) and 2 (0.7%). With SRL DST as the gold standard, LPA was more accurate than CTRL DST for RMP, but missed almost half the INH-resistant samples. CONCLUSION: LPA applied directly on ethanol-preserved sputum specimens was similar to phenotypic DST in terms of yield of interpretable results. Although probably more accurate for RMP and MDR-TB, it appears to seriously underestimate INH resistance. Considering speed, easy and safe specimen transportation and low infrastructure requirements, LPA DST from sputum can be recommended for surveys in resource-poor settings.

Epilepsy is one of the world’s oldest recognized conditions. Fear, discrimination and social stigma have surrounded epilepsy for centuries. Various drug treatments available are not readily accessible, affordable and may have associated side effects. This research focuses on the anticonvulsant and sedative effects of ethanol whole plant extract of Viscum album L in mice commonly used in herbal medicine to treat insomnia and convulsion. The fresh whole plant extract of Viscum album collected was air-dried for one week in the herbarium away from sunlight, and then grounded into powder form using a clean pestle and mortar. About 300 g of the powdered sample were extracted using 95% ethanol. Phytochemical screening and acute toxicity study was carried out using standard method. The extract was evaluated for anticonvulsant activity in pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) induced convulsion and sedative effect in pentobarbital induced sleeping time in mice. The phytochemical screening of the plant extract of Viscum album revealed the presence of alkaloids, carbohydrates, glycosides, flavonoids, saponins, triterpenes and tannins. However, Dragendorffʼs test for alkaloid gave a negative result. The LD 50 obtained was greater than 2900mg/kg intraperitoneally in mice. The plant extract of Viscum album produced a dose dependent inhibition of PTZ induced convulsion and death. The extract significantly (p

Objective To determine the prevalence and risk factors associated with drug resistance tuberculosis (TB) at facility-base level in Tanga, Tanzania. Methods A total of 79 Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) isolates included in the study were collected from among 372 (312 new and 60 previously treated) TB suspects self-referred to four TB clinics during a prospective study conducted from November 2012 to January 2013. Culture and drug susceptibility test of the isolates was performed at the institute of medical microbiology and epidemiology of infectious diseases, University hospital, Leipzig, Germany. Data on the patient's characteristics were obtained from structured questionnaire administered to the patients who gave informed verbal consent. Unadjusted bivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the risk factors for drug resistant-TB. The significance level was determined at P 0.05 . Results The overall proportions of any drug resistance and MDR-TB were 12.7% and 6.3% respectively. The prevalence of any drug resistance and MDR-TB among new cases were 11.4% and 4.3% respectively, whereas among previously treated cases was 22.2% respectively. Previously treated patients were more likely to develop anti-TB drug resistance. There was no association between anti-TB drug resistances (including MDR-TB) with the risk factors analysed. Conclusions High proportions of anti-TB drug resistance among new and previously treated cases observed in this study suggest that, additional efforts still need to be done in identifying individual cases at facility-base level for improved TB control programmes and drug resistance survey should continuously be monitored in the country.

This study determines the prevalence of tobacco use among graduating Public Health students at the College of Public Health, University of the Philippines Manila. It also describes the exposure to environmental tobacco smoke, attitudes, behaviors and smoking cessation training of students. This study used a descriptive cross-sectional study design, adapting a standard questionnaire, pretested and administered to 52 Bachelor of Science in Public Health (BSPH) students at the College of Public Health, University of the Philippines Manila. Data generated from the survey were encoded using Epi Info version 3.5.4 and analyzed using Stata version 12. The prevalence of smoking among 4th year BSPH students was 5.8 % (current smokers). In the past 7 days, respondents have been exposed to secondhand smoke (44 % where they live; 79 % in places other than where they live). Majority were aware of the official policy on smoking ban in school, however, 80 % said that the policy is not enforced. Majority had favorable attitudes in terms of banning tobacco sales to adolescents, banning advertising of tobacco products, banning smoking in restaurants, discos/bars/pubs and enclosed public places. Majority of the respondents also believed that health professionals should get specific training on cessation techniques, that they do serve as role models, and that they have a role in giving advice about smoking cessation. More than three-quarters (76.9 %) of students said that health professionals who smoke are less likely to advise patients to quit. Most of the graduating students learned about the dangers of smoking, importance of obtaining tobacco use history, and providing educational support materials in their public health education but only a few received formal training about smoking cessation approaches. The implementation of the no-smoking policy of the university must be revisited. Smoking cessation approaches should be incorporated in the public health curriculum and the role of public health students in advocating a smoke-free lifestyle should be emphasized.

This paper researches on cloud computing based-on authentication for the security verification using Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA). The study structure simply focuses on the communication interaction of the Cloud providing communities and a pictured Smartphone user. The Elliptic Curve Cryptosystem is envisioned as the basic framework for data transmission security in the paper that proffers solution. We reviewed various literatures on the elliptic curves and applied the cyclic elliptic curve group based-on finite field modulo q. With the theory established, we applied the Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm as developed by ElGamal to carry out some exemplified computational sequences. The detail of the computational algorithm was done in Mathematica as given by (Jouko, 2011) with no modifications except in its translational interpretation to fit into cloud computing security environment as maybe applied by the cloud providing communities to accelerate and meeting the needs of the users on-demand as a service with embedding security consideration. Our contribution to the cloud computing environment is brought about through computational experimental activities as exemplified in this field for interactive security awareness through digital signature authenticating mechanism.

The aim of study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Kanefron with uncomplicated cystitis in women in clinical practice. Patients and methods. In our work was attended by 22 women with a diagnosis of acute uncomplicated cystitis. The mean age was 29,0 ± 1,8 years (from 19 to 51 years. The criteria of effectiveness were changes in symptoms and laboratory parameters according to the urinary tests at Kanefron monotherapy. Results. After treating by Kanefron there were observed significant improvement in symptoms of acute cystitis. Before treatment the average symptom score was 8,05 ± 0,7 points, on the 3rd day of treatment it significantly decreased to 5,1 ± 1,0 points (p < 0,05) on day 7 of treatment it was up to 2, 9 ± 1,0 points, in the phase of observation of 37 days after initiation of therapy by Kanefron othe average score of symptoms was 0,1 ± 0,3 points. Frequency leukocyturia on the 7 day of treatment according to a study by urine microscopy was 83.3%, and by the 37 th day after the start of Kanefron (phase monitoring) significantly decreased to 37,5% (p < 0,05). Kanefron showed statistically significant antibacterial activity in acute cystitis. Prior to initiating therapy the growth of microorganisms at a titer of more than 100 000 units was detected in 72.7% of patients after 2 weeks of treatment (on day 37 of observation) - in 28,6% of patients (p < 0,05). Conclusions. Our results suggest that Kanefron can be an effective and well-tolerated alternative treatment of uncomplicated infections of the lower urinary tract in women, allowing to reduce the use of antibiotics. Appointment of the drug as a monotherapy Kanefron acute cystitis and duration of treatment requires further study and discussion.

Background: Although progress has been made in reducing the magnitude of female genital mutilation/ cutting (FGM/C), however, its practice is still prevalent in some parts of Africa and Asia. More disturbing is

Background Non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are increasingly reported worldwide associated with human disease. Defining the significance of NTM in settings with endemic tuberculosis (TB) requires the discrimination of NTM from TB in suspect patients. Correct and timely identification of NTM will impact both therapy and epidemiology of TB and TB-like diseases. The present study aimed at determining the frequency and diversity of NTM among TB suspects in northeastern Tanzania. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted between November 2012 through January 2013. Seven hundred and forty-four sputum samples were collected from 372 TB suspects. Detection was done by using phenotypic, GenoType® Mycobacterium CM/AS kits, 16S rRNA and hsp65 gene sequencing for identification of isolates not identified by Hain kits. Binary regression model was used to analyse the predictors of NTM detection. Results The prevalence of NTM was 9.7 % of the mycobacterial isolates. Out of 36 patients with confirmed NTM infection, 12 were HIV infected with HIV being a significant predictor of NTM detection (P