Predictors of COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake in a Tertiary Hospital Community, North Central, Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 vaccine uptake is cardinal in the control of COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 vaccine uptake is hindered by misinformation, conspiracy theory, and religious beliefs globally. This has posed a threat in curbing the spread of this highly infectious virus. Hence, knowledge of COVID-19 vaccine uptake predictors would help mitigate the burden of COVID-19 disease. OBJECTIVE: To determine the predictors of COVID-19 vaccine uptake at the Federal Medical Centre, Makurdi. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was a descriptive crosssectional study over 3 months from January to March 2022. The sample size was 384 at 50% prevalence. A self-administered questionnaire was employed using convenience sampling. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 23. The level of statistical significance was set at p<0.05. RESULTS: The mean age of the participants was 39.97±5.56. The majority were aged 21-40 (52.9%, n=203). There were more males (57.6%, n=221). The proportion of COVID-19 uptake was 21.6%. There was a statistically significant relationship between taking the COVID-19 vaccine and age, marital status, education, occupation, job discipline, monthly income, type of family, place of residence, childhood vaccination, immunization as an adult, and family members/close contact with COVID-19. In addition, COVID-19 vaccine uptake was also significantly associated with the belief that the COVID-19 vaccine has not been thoroughly tested, that they could rely on the vaccine to stop severe disease and that pharmaceutical companies use COVID-19 to make money. The predictors of COVID-19 vaccine uptake were marital status (p-value= 0.001, aoR=0.286, 95% CI= 0.146-0.563), family type (p-value= 0.001, AoR=6.346, 95% CI= 2.700-14.912), those residing in an urban area (p-value= 0.024, AoR= 3.130, 95% CI= 1.164-8.416) and those who believe COVID 19 vaccine could stop the severe form of the disease (p-value= 0.001, AoR= 2.448, 95% CI= 1.560-3.841). CONCLUSION: The COVID-19 vaccine uptake rate was low. The predictors of COVID-19 vaccine uptake were married respondents in a nuclear setting, residing in urban areas and believing that COVID 19 vaccine could stop the severe form of the disease.

CONTEXTE: L'adoption du vaccin COVID-19 est essentielle pour contrôler la pandémie de COVID-19. L'adoption du vaccin COVID-19 est entravée par la désinformation, les théories du complot et les croyances religieuses dans le monde entier. Cela constitue une menace pour endiguer la propagation de ce virus hautement infectieux. Par conséquent, la connaissance des prédicteurs de l'adoption du vaccin COVID-19 aiderait à réduire le fardeau de la maladie COVID-19. OBJECTIF: Déterminer les prédicteurs de l'adoption du vaccin COVID-19 au Centre Médical Fédéral de Makurdi. MÉTHODES: L'étude était une étude descriptive transversale sur une période de 3 mois, réalisée de janvier à mars 2022. La taille de l'échantillon était de 384 avec une prévalence de 50 %. Un questionnaire auto-administré a été utilisé en utilisant un échantillonnage de commodité. L'analyse des données a été effectuée à l'aide de SPSS version 23. Le niveau de signification statistique a été fixé à p<0.05. RÉSULTATS: L'âge moyen des participants était de 39,97±5,56 ans. La majorité avait entre 21 et 40 ans (52,9 %, n=203). Il y avait plus d'hommes (57,6 %, n=221). La proportion d'adoption du vaccin COVID-19 était de 21,6%. Il existait une relation statistiquement significative entre la prise du vaccin COVID-19 et l'âge, l'état matrimonial, le niveau d'éducation, l'occupation, la discipline professionnelle, le revenu mensuel, le type de famille, le lieu de résidence, la vaccination infantile, la vaccination à l'âge adulte, les membres de la famille ou les contacts proches ayant contracté le COVID-19. De plus, l'adoption du vaccin COVID-19 était également significativement associée à la croyance que le vaccin COVID-19 n'a pas été suffisamment testé, qu'ils pouvaient compter sur le vaccin pour éviter une forme grave de la maladie et que les compagnies pharmaceutiques utilisaient le COVID-19 pour gagner de l'argent. Les prédicteurs de l'adoption du vaccin COVID-19 étaient l'état matrimonial (p-value=0,001, aoR=0,286, IC à 95 %=0,146-0,563), le type de famille (p-value=0,001, AoR=6,346, IC à 95 %=2,700-14,912), ceux résidant en zones urbaines (p-value=0,024, AoR=3,130, IC à 95 %=1,164-8,416) et ceux croyant que le vaccin COVID-19 pouvait éviter les formes graves de la maladie (p-value=0,001, AoR=2,448, IC à 95 %=1,560-3,841). CONCLUSION: Le taux d'adoption du vaccin COVID-19 était faible. Les prédicteurs de l'adoption du vaccin COVID-19 étaient les répondants mariés vivant dans un cadre nucléaire, résidant en zones urbaines et croyant que le vaccin COVID-19 pouvait éviter les formes graves de la maladie. MOTS CLÉS: COVID-19, Prédicteurs, Hôpital tertiaire, Adoption du vaccin.

Oral Health Knowledge, Practices, and Dental Complaints among Pregnant Women Attending Antenatal Clinic at a Tertiary Health Institution, North Central, Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: Oral health is of great importance during pregnancy because the hormonal changes during pregnancy affect oral and dental health. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate participants' oral health knowledge and practices during pregnancy in order to provide appropriate oral health practice recommendations at the Federal Medical Centre, Makurdi. METHODS: The study employed a cross-sectional descriptive method to collect data from 96 women who attended ANC on World Oral Health Day. Data was analysed using SPSS version 20. RESULTS: The age range of the participants was 18-43 years, and the mean age was 29.1 ±5.5. Most participants (95.80%) brushed daily; 32.61% brushed for about two minutes, while 39.13% brushed twice a day. More than half of the participants (56.52%) were aware that they should change their brush every three months, and 36.96% brushed from top to bottom. Less than half of the participants (16.70%) had seen a dentist in the past, and the reason was mostly because they had a dental complaint (75%). Thirty-three percent (33.30%) reported having a dental complaint at the current visit, of which only 37.0% sought proper dental care. Fifty-two percent (52.08%) of the participants had a good level of oral healthcare knowledge and practices. Participants' educational level, occupation, religion, monthly income, and visits to the dentist significantly affected their level of oral health knowledge and practices. CONCLUSION: From this study, more than half of the participants had a good level of oral healthcare knowledge and practices. However, the study observed that the participants showed poor compliance with the recommended protocol.

CONTEXTE: La santé bucco-dentaire revêt une grande importance pendant la grossesse car les changements hormonaux qui s'opèrent pendant la grossesse affectent la santé bucco-dentaire. OBJECTIFS: Évaluer les connaissances et les pratiques en matière de santé bucco-dentaire des participantes pendant la grossesse afin de fournir des recommandations appropriées en matière de santé buccodentaire au Centre médical fédéral de Makurdi. MÉTHODES: L'étude a utilisé une méthode descriptive transversale pour collecter des données auprès de 96 femmes qui ont participé à la Journée mondiale de la santé bucco-dentaire. Les données ont été analysées à l'aide de SPSS version 20. RÉSULTATS: L'âge des participantes était compris entre 18 et 43 ans, avec une moyenne de 29,1 ± 5,5 ans. La plupart des participantes (95,80 %) se brossaient les dents quotidiennement ; 32,61 % se brossaient les dents pendant environ deux minutes, tandis que 39,13 % se brossaient les dents deux fois par jour. Plus de la moitié des participantes (56,52 %) savaient qu'elles devaient changer de brosse tous les trois mois, et 36,96 % se brossaient les dents de haut en bas. Moins de la moitié des participantes (16,70 %) avaient consulté un dentiste par le passé, et la raison en était principalement une plainte dentaire (75 %). Trente-trois pour cent (33,30 %) ont déclaré avoir une plainte dentaire lors de la visite actuelle, dont seulement 37,0 % ont consulté un dentiste. Cinquante-deux pour cent (52,08 %) des participantes avaient un bon niveau de connaissances et de pratiques en matière de santé bucco-dentaire. Le niveau d'éducation, la profession, la religion, le revenu mensuel et les visites chez le dentiste des participantes ont eu un impact significatif sur leur niveau de connaissances et de pratiques en matière de santé bucco-dentaire. CONCLUSION: D'après cette étude, plus de la moitié des participantes avaient de bonnes connaissances et pratiques en matière de santé bucco-dentaire. Cependant, l'étude a montré que les participantes présentaient un faible respect du protocole recommandé. MOTS-CLÉS: Soins prénataux, Plaintes dentaires, Connaissances, santé bucco-dentaire, Pratiques.

Room-temperature quantum nanoplasmonic coherent perfect absorption.

Light-matter superposition states obtained via strong coupling play a decisive role in quantum information processing, but the deleterious effects of material dissipation and environment-induced decoherence inevitably destroy coherent light-matter polaritons over time. Here, we propose the use of coherent perfect absorption under near-field driving to prepare and protect the polaritonic states of a single quantum emitter interacting with a plasmonic nanocavity at room temperature. Our scheme of quantum nanoplasmonic coherent perfect absorption leverages an inherent frequency specificity to selectively initialize the coupled system in a chosen plasmon-emitter dressed state, while the coherent, unidirectional and non-perturbing near-field energy transfer from a proximal plasmonic waveguide can in principle render the dressed state robust against dynamic dissipation under ambient conditions. Our study establishes a previously unexplored paradigm for quantum state preparation and coherence preservation in plasmonic cavity quantum electrodynamics, offering compelling prospects for elevating quantum nanophotonic technologies to ambient temperatures.

Electrochemically Switchable Multimode Strong Coupling in Plasmonic Nanocavities.

The strong-coupling interaction between quantum emitters and cavities provides the archetypical platform for fundamental quantum electrodynamics. Here we show that methylene blue (MB) molecules interact coherently with subwavelength plasmonic nanocavity modes at room temperature. Experimental results show that the strong coupling can be switched on and off reversibly when MB molecules undergo redox reactions which transform them to leuco-methylene blue molecules. In simulations we demonstrate the strong coupling between the second excited plasmonic cavity mode and resonant emitters. However, we also show that other detuned modes simultaneously couple efficiently to the molecular transitions, creating unusual cascades of mode spectral shifts and polariton formation. This is possible due to the relatively large plasmonic particle size resulting in reduced mode splittings. The results open significant potential for device applications utilizing active control of strong coupling.

Nanoscale Gap-Plasmon-Enhanced Superconducting Photon Detectors at Single-Photon Level.

With a growing demand for detecting light at the single-photon level in various fields, researchers are focused on optimizing the performance of superconducting single-photon detectors (SSPDs) by using multiple approaches. However, input light coupling for visible light has remained a challenge in the development of efficient SSPDs. To overcome these limitations, we developed a novel system that integrates NbN superconducting microwire photon detectors (SMPDs) with gap-plasmon resonators to improve the photon detection efficiency to 98% while preserving all detector performance features, such as polarization insensitivity. The plasmonic SMPDs exhibit a hot-belt effect that generates a nonlinear photoresponse in the visible range operated at 9 K (∼0.64Tc), resulting in a 233-fold increase in phonon-electron interaction factor (γ) compared to pristine SMPDs at resonance under CW illumination. These findings open up new opportunities for ultrasensitive single-photon detection in areas like quantum information processing, quantum optics, imaging, and sensing at visible wavelengths.

Microplastic burden in invasive signal crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus) increases along a stream urbanization gradient.

Microplastics are a globally pervasive pollutant with the potential to directly impact species and accumulate in ecosystems. However, there remains a relative paucity of research addressing their accumulation in freshwater ecosystems and a near absence of work in crayfish, despite their high ecological and economic importance. This study investigated the presence of microplastics in the invasive signal crayfish Pacifastacus leniusculus along a stream urbanization gradient. The results demonstrate a ubiquitous presence of microplastics in crayfish digestive tracts at all sites and provide the first evidence of microplastic accumulation in tail tissue. Evidence of a positive linear trend was demonstrated between microplastic concentration in crayfish and upstream urban area size in generalized linear models. Evidence for a positive effect of the upstream urban area and a negative effect of crayfish length on microplastic concentrations in crayfish was demonstrated in multiple generalized linear regression models. Our results extend the current understanding of microplastics presence in freshwater ecosystems and demonstrate their presence in crayfish in the wild for the first time.

Prevalence of non-communicable diseases among HIV positive patients on antiretroviral therapy at a tertiary health facility in Makurdi, north-central, Nigeria

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) treatment program has grown exponentially in Nigeria largely due to improved Antiretroviral therapy (ART) regimen which has changed the course of HIV/AIDs by enabling patients to live longer, raising concern of the co-existence of HIV with other chronic illnesses, notably non communicable diseases (NCDs). This study determined the prevalence of hypertension and diabetes mellitus among HIV positive patients in a tertiary institution in Makurdi, North-central Nigeria.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at the ART clinic among clients ≥ aged 21 years old living with HIV /or enrolled between October 2022, and March 30, 2023. The clients' information was extracted from the register using a Proforma and all the clients who had attended their follow up clinic visit within the study period were included in the study. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 21.0. Categorical data were presented as frequencies and percentages. Results: Among the 491 patients, 404 (82.3%) had HIV only and 87 (17.7%) had HIV and at least one comorbidity, namely DM and/or HTN. Hypertension was the most prevalent comorbidity affecting 15.5% of the patients while 1.0% of them were diabetic. The middle aged (30-49) patients, females (63.2%) had the highest prevalence of comorbidities and some of those with normal weight (35.6%) also had the highest prevalence of NCDs.Conclusion: Non-communicable diseases are common among people living with HIV. There is need to encourage early diagnosis and treatment of non-communicable diseases in HIV positive patients in Nigeria.

Sexual minority service user perspectives on mental health treatment barriers to care and service improvements.

Sexual minorities (individuals with a lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, or other non-heterosexual identity) are at elevated risk of developing common mental health disorders relative to heterosexual people, yet have less favourable mental health service experiences and poorer treatment outcomes. We investigated the experiences of sexual minority service users accessing mental health services for common mental health problems (e.g. depression or anxiety) in the UK. We recruited 26 sexual minority adults with experiences of being referred to Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) or primary care counselling services. Semi-structured interviews explored participants' experiences of service use and views on service development. Interviews were analysed using thematic analysis. Barriers to effective relationships with practitioners included service users' fears surrounding disclosure, and practitioners' lack of understanding and/or neglect of discussions around sexuality. Regarding service development, participants highlighted the value of seeing practitioners with shared identities and experiences, visible signs of inclusivity, sexual minority training, tailored supports, and technological adjuncts. Our findings offer insights into possible contributory factors to treatment inequalities, and highlight potential methods for improving service provision for sexual minorities.

Atomic partial wave meter by attosecond coincidence metrology.

Attosecond chronoscopy is central to the understanding of ultrafast electron dynamics in matter from gas to the condensed phase with attosecond temporal resolution. It has, however, not yet been possible to determine the timing of individual partial waves, and steering their contribution has been a substantial challenge. Here, we develop a polarization-skewed attosecond chronoscopy serving as a partial wave meter to reveal the role of each partial wave from the angle-resolved photoionization phase shifts in rare gas atoms. We steer the relative ratio between different partial waves and realize a magnetic-sublevel-resolved atomic phase shift measurement. Our experimental observations are well supported by time-dependent R-matrix numerical simulations and analytical soft-photon approximation analysis. The symmetry-resolved, partial-wave analysis identifies the transition rate and phase shift property in the attosecond photoelectron emission dynamics. Our findings provide critical insights into the ubiquitous attosecond optical timer and the underlying attosecond photoionization dynamics.

Resolving Ultrafast Spin-Orbit Dynamics in Heavy Many-Electron Atoms.

We use R-matrix with time-dependence theory, with spin-orbit effects included, to study krypton irradiated by two time-delayed extreme ultraviolet ultrashort pulses. The first pulse excites the atom to 4s^{2}4p^{5}5s. The second pulse then excites 4s4p^{6}5s autoionizing levels, whose population can be observed through their subsequent decay. By varying the time delay between the two pulses, we are able to control the excitation pathway to the autoionizing states. The use of cross-polarized light pulses allows us to isolate the two-photon pathway, with one photon taken from each pulse.

Dual role for 14-3-3 proteins and ABF transcription factors in gibberellic acid and abscisic acid signalling in barley (Hordeum vulgare) aleurone cells.

The balance of gibberellins [gibberellic acid (GA)] and abscisic acid (ABA) is a determining factor during transition of embryogenesis and seed germination. Recently, we showed that 14-3-3 proteins are important in ABA signalling in barley aleurone cells. Using 14-3-3 RNAi constructs in the barley aleurone transient expression system, we demonstrate here that silencing of each 14-3-3 isoform suppresses GA induction of the alpha-amylase gene. 14-3-3 Proteins interact with ABA-responsive element (ABRE) binding factors HvABF1, 2 and 3, and here we show that these transcription factors also interact with the ABA-responsive kinase PKABA1, a kinase that mediates cross-talk between the GA and ABA pathway. ABF1 and ABF2 have a function in both signalling pathways as: (1) ectopic expression of wild-type ABF1 and mutant ABF2, lacking the 14-3-3 interaction domain, transactivates the ABA inducible HVA1 gene; and (2) GA induction of the alpha-amylase gene is repressed by ectopic expression of wild-type ABF1 and 2. Mutant ABF1 and 2 were still effective repressors of GA signalling. In summary, our data provide evidence that 14-3-3 proteins and members of the ABF transcription factor family have a regulatory function in the GA pathway and suggest that PKABA1 and ABF transcription factors are cross-talk intermediates in ABA and GA signalling.

[Glutaric aciduria type 1: phenotypic variability. Report of 6 patients]. / Acidúria glutárica tipo 1. Variabilidade fenotípica. Estudo de seis pacientes.

We report six patients with glutaric aciduria type 1 in four families. The patients had marked clinical variability, even within families. Three of the patients studied were normal until the onset of neurologic abnormalities, that presented as an encephalitis-like illness in the first year of age. One patient had an early and important developmental delay, but never suffered an encephalopathic crisis. Two patients have intellectual preservation; one of them has a mild tremor and choreoathetosis since the first year of age, and the other had only two afebrile seizures in infancy and no other neurologic signs. Three patients are severely handicapped, with a severe dystonic-dyskinetic disorder and unable to even sit. All the six patients have macrocephaly and in all the computed tomography showed enlarged CSF spaces and sulcal separation over the frontal and temporal lobes. Urine organic acids study of all patients showed large quantities of glutaric acid.