Suicide behaviour complicates human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Some of the risk factors attributed to this behavior include stigmatization, depression, cultural beliefs, deterioration in physical condition and overwhelming infections. The aim of this paper is to identify the risk factors of suicidal behaviour among HIV respondents in an antiretroviral treatment centre in Kaduna metropolis. This will also present opportunity for primary prevention of suicide among these respondents. The study was a cross sectional, descriptive study involving two hundred and fifty HIV positive respondents, selected through convenience sampling. Two selfadministered questionnaires (sociodemographic and Beck depression inventory) were given to the subjects to fill after receiving written consent. All the participating subjects were interviewed for suicidality using suicidality module of MINI and also clinically examined by the author. The statistical package for social science (SPSS), 15th edition was used for analysis. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to identify predictors of suicidility. Level of significance was set at p < 0.05. The prevalence of suicidality among these patients receiving antiretroviral care at AIDS Relief Centre of StGerard Catholic hospital was 16% while the prevalence of depression among the subjects was 26%. Factors significantly associated with suicidality in this study were depression (p = 0.000; x 2 = 37.645,df = 1), reaction to illness by friends, colleagues, and relation (p = 0.000; x 2 = 26.5,df = 2), past psychiatric history (p = 0.023; x 2 = 1,df = 1), physical state of the patient (p = 0.0016; x 2 = 5.787,df = 1), and previous suicidal attempt (p = 0.000; x 2 = 66.17,df = 1). On multiple regression analysis, depression (p = 0.000; odd ratio = 11.242 and 95% CI = 4.147 to 30.478) and reaction to illness by friends, relation and colleagues (p = 0.032; odd ratio = 0.193 and 95% CI = 0.043 to 0.866) were found to be predictors of suicidality. The more severe the depression, the higher the rate of suicide behaviour. Predictor (p = 0.000, odd ratio = 64.68 and 95% = 10.33 to 1388). The implication of this finding is that suicidality complicates HIV/AIDS disease among infected subjects in Nigeria. Therefore, there is need for prompt recognition of risk factors to suicidality and the need to prevent it among these subjects.

It was a major breakthrough for human medicine when Landsteiner discovered the ABO blood group system. But with the discovery of ABO and Rhesus systems, this major hindrance to safe blood transfusion- and by extension surgery- was effectively put behind humanity. Centuries after this, humanity is faced another kind of challenge to safe blood transfusion- transfusion transmitted infections (TTIs), particularly in developing nations of the world. Though lots of infections are transmissible through transfusion, the focus of this study was HIV, HBV, HCV and syphilis. This study aimed at determining the prevalence of these TTIs (HIV, HBV, HCV and syphilis) among intending blood donors at a tertiary health facility in Ekiti State, southwest, Nigeria. The data of 150 intending blood donors at the said tertiary health facility were retrospectively retrieved and analysed. One hundred and twenty (80%) of the subjects were males, while 30 (20%) were females. The age of the subjects ranged between 18 and 55 years. Thirty-four (22.7%) of the subjects had TTIs, while 116 (77.3%) were negative to all the TTIs of interest for this study (HIV, HBV, HCV and Syphilis). Out of the 34 subjects who had TTIs, 2 (1.3%) tested positive for HIV, 18 (12%) for HBV; 10 (6.7%) for HCV and 4 (2.7%) for syphilis. Twenty-nine (85.3%) of the subjects who had TTIs were males, while 5 (14.7%) were females. An overall TTI sero-prevalence of 2.7% is rather on the high side and should serve as a wake-up call to all concerned authorities in the State to design enlightenment programme that will reduce the sero-prevalence of TTIs.

The utilization of plant materials as alternative therapies to control pathogenic bacteria has recently attracted. The effect of the fresh seed, freeze-dried seed, fresh leaf and freeze-dried leaf of using ethanol and aqueous extracts was tested on some organisms using standard laboratory procedures. The bacteria used were Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhi, Klebsella pneumonia and oryzae, while the fungi used were Trichoderma harzionium, Fusconium oxysporium, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus and Penicillium notatum. The results showed that the ethanol extracts of B. coriacea fresh seed showed inhibitory zones ranging from 2–12 mm, while the aqueous extract showed inhibitory zones ranging from 2-10 mm. The ethanol extracts of B. coriacea freeze dried seed showed inhibitory zones ranging from 5–38 mm, while the aqueous extract showed inhibitory zones ranging from 4-36 mm. The ethanol extracts of B. coriacea fresh leaf showed inhibitory zones ranging from 2–26 mm, while the aqueous extract showed inhibitory zones ranging from 2-24 mm. The aqueous and ethanol extracts of B. coriacea freeze dried leaf showed inhibitory zones ranging from 3-40mm respectively. The study conclude that the aqueous and ethanol extract of freeze dried seed of B. coriacea showed better antifungal and antibacterial activity against the test organisms compared with the aqueous and ethanol extract of fresh seed of B. coriacea. Similarly, the aqueous and ethanol extract of freeze dried leaf of B. coriacea showed better antifungal and antibacterial activity against the test organisms compared with the aqueous and ethanol extract of fresh leaf of B. coriacea. The ethanol extract showed better antifungal and antibacterial activity than aqueous extract.

The construction industry has become more digital and the traditional methods of construction activities are gradually becoming outdated. In this era of digital construction, various information and communication technologies have been developed and deployed to the site for the management and control of construction activities including cost management. Irrespective of the benefits of adopting these technologies, most of them are still not readily accepted for use for construction management. This study articulated Seven (7) recent technologies driving the industry and evaluated their acceptance for cost management of construction projects. The technologies include mobile technology, Augmented/Virtual Reality (AR/VR), Building Information Modeling (BIM), Internet of Things (IoT), Autonomous Equipment (Drones and Robotics), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Predictive Analytics (PA). Data was gathered using a restructured questionnaire and technology acceptance model analysis was performed to identify which of the technologies have higher acceptance for cost management based on the criteria of availability, affordability, frequency of use, usefulness for cost management, and acceptance in the industry. Test statistics using Spearman’s correlations and Kendall’s correlations for each of the technologies and Spearman’s Correlations of Technology acceptance with other variables in the TAM Model were performed. The results showed that mobile technology has higher correlation values than other technologies, and therefore has a higher acceptance for cost management. Kendall’s coefficient of concordance values and Spearman’s correlation values for Mobile technology were all above 0.6 which indicates a high level of agreement among the raters and strong relationships between the compared TAM variables.

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Viral hepatitis is a serious disease of the liver that can have grim prognosis in the absence of early and appropriate medical intervention. Globally, an estimated two billion people are reported to have been infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV) and out of this, more than 350 million are said to have chronic(long term) liver infection. The likelihood that Hepatitis B Virus infection will become chronic depends upon the age at which a person becomes infected. Young children who become infected with HBV are most likely to develop chronic infection. About 25% of adults who become chronically infected during childhood die from HBV related liver cancer or cirrhosis. According to WHO ranking of hepatitis prevalence, ≤ 1.9%, 2-7.9% and ≥ 8% are low, moderate and high prevalence respectively. Hepatitis is endemic in Ekiti State, there is therefore the need to know its prevalence in the major cities of Ekiti State. Since Ikere-Ekiti is the second major city of Ekiti State, therefore this study set out to know the prevalence of HBV-caused hepatitis in Ikere-Ekiti and its associated factors,. One hundred participants were enrolled- at the State specialist Hospital, Ikere-Ekiti- into the study after obtaining their informed consent. Consecutive sampling was used. Thirty-three (33%) of the subjects were males while 67 (67%) were females. Thirty-seven (37%) , 30 (30%) and 33 (33%) respectively fell were in the ≤26 years, 27-36 and ≥37 age-brackets. Fifty-two (52 %) were singles while 48 (48%) were married. Ninety-three (93%) were Christians while 7 (%) were Muslims. Structured self-administered questionnaires were served on the subjects. Five millilitres of blood were collected from each subject using venepuncture method. The samples were screened for the presence or otherwise of antibodies to HBsAg using a rapid test kit that worked on the principle of immunochromatography. An overall prevalence of 8% was discovered. Five (5%) of the positive subjects were males while 3 (%) were females (p=0.064). Half (50%) of the positive subjects were within the ≤26 years age-bracket, the 27-36 age-bracket had the least number of positive subjects (p=0.512).  Two out of the positive subjects had a history of blood transfusion (p=0.748), one had history of surgery (p=0.580). The imports and implications of these are here discussed. Since viral hepatitis is vaccine-preventable and herd immunity can only be achieved when the vast majority of a society acquires immunity against a particular infectious disease, the government is advised to strive to vaccinate at least 70% of the populace against viral hepatitis- a disease which is endemic, not only in Ekiti State, but in many parts of Nigeria.

Background: Nine out of every 10 of the world’s 1.8 billion adolescents and young people (AYP) live in developing nations, Nigeria inclusive. In Nigeria as in the rest of sub-Saharan Africa, 1 out of every 3 persons is an adolescent or a young person. As at 2016, there were about 240, 000 AY) aged 10-19 years in Nigeria, which roughly makes 7% of the total number of people living with HIV (PLWH) in Nigeria. According to 2017 national survey, about 70% of the country’s AYP lack knowledge of how HIV is transmitted or how it can be prevented. Since AYP, aged 10-19 years, constitute a significant proportion of the nation’s burgeoning population, it is very important and critical to fully understand the dynamics of the HIV epidemic among AYP. This study aimed at determining the prevalence of HIV among AYP at a tertiary health facility in Ekiti State, Southwest Nigeria and comparing it with national and regional prevalence among same group. Methodology: The study was a retrospective study of AYP, aged 13-20 years at Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Southwest Nigeria. Convenience and consecutive sampling method was used in retrieving subjects’ data. One hundred subjects whose ages were between 13 and 20 years were consecutively sampled over a period of six months, July to December, 2018. Results: Out of the one hundred subjects retrospectively sampled, 46 (46%) were males, while 54 (54%) were females. Four (4%) of the subjects were 13 years of age, while 6(6%), 5(5%), 8(8%), 27(27%), 17(17%), 12(12%) and 21(21%) respectively were aged 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20 years. Three (3%) of the subjects were positive to HIV, 1 (%) was male, while 2 (20%) were female, thus giving a sero-prevalence rate of 3%. Disaggregation of the positive subjects reveals that 33.3% were male, while 66.7% were females. Conclusion: Though the general prevalence of HIV in Ekiti State ranks among the lowest in Nigeria, group-specific interventions targeting the AYP should be put in place in the State to address the disproportionately high prevalence among the AYP in the State.

Introduction: Tuberculosis and Human Immunodeficiency Virus are overlapping monsters presenting an enormous economic burden, suffering, pain and grief globally. They have high mortality rates and most international efforts to control infectious diseases focus on these diseases yet they still pose a great threat. Methods: This study was conducted at the Chest Clinic of University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH) Enugu. It involved a retrospective appraisal of treatment outcomes of cohort of smear- Original Research Articlepositive patients with Tuberculosis (TB) alone and TB-HIV co-infected on Directly Observed Treatment Short-course (DOTS) who were initiated on TB treatment and completed treatment in the period 2008 to 2011. A proforma was used in collecting data. Chi-square test and Binary Logistic regression to establish associations and identify predictors of treatment outcomes Results: Most patients 322(73.7%) were declared cured at end of treatment [TB alone 281(75.7%) and TB/HIV coinfection 41(65.1%)]. Treatment outcome were associated with disease status (p =0.022) and distance to the clinic (p =0.017). Those that had TB alone were about 0.6 times (AOR 0.56; 95% CI 0.33-1.63) likely not to be cured than those with TB/HIV. Those that travel 0-20 km to the clinic were about 0.5 times (AOR 0.50; 95% CI 0.28-0.91) likely not to be cured than those that travel more than 80 km. Conclusion:Even with the moderately high cure rate among these patients, effort are needed by stakeholders and all populace in curbing this ravaging menace. Equally the identified predictors of treatment outcome were TB/HIV co-infection and distance from residence to the clinic which should be addressed.