This article presents a mathematical model designed to simulate the impact of targeted interventions aimed at preventing HIV transmission among female sex workers (FSWs) and their clients, while also analyzing their effects on the health of the general population. The compartmental model distinguishes between high-risk populations (FSWs and their clients) and low-risk populations (sexually active men and women in the general population), and links prevention efforts in high-risk groups to the evolution of the epidemic in the low-risk population. The fundamental properties of the model, such as the positivity of solutions and the boundedness of the system, have been verified, and the basic reproduction number R₀ has been calculated. Finally, the stability of the model was studied using Varga’s theorem and the Lyapunov method. Simulation results show that targeted prevention among FSWs and their clients reduces HIV incidence in the general population. This framework provides a valuable tool for guiding policymakers in the design of effective strategies to combat the epidemic, especially relevant in the context of suspension of USAID funding.

Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill., commonly known as prickly pear, is a versatile plant widely used for food, medicinal, and cosmetic purposes in various regions of the Mediterranean and North Africa. This study provides a comparative ethnobotanical review of prickly pear uses in Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, and Italy. In total, 74 articles were selected from ethnobotanical uses in Italy, Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. In the Maghreb, the plant is used for fruit production and processed products, such as jams, oils, and flours, as well as for traditional medicinal purposes. In Algeria and Morocco, the fruits and cladodes are used to treat digestive disorders, diabetes, and skin diseases. In Tunisia, products derived from O. ficus-indica are also applied in the cosmetic industry and for erosion control. In Italy, particularly in Sicily and Calabria, the prickly pear is a vital resource, used for both food consumption and for medicinal purposes. The cladodes, rich in mucilage, are applied as topical remedies for skin problems, while the fruits are a key ingredient in the preparation of traditional desserts. Furthermore, O. ficus-indica has historically been used as forage and to produce natural dyes. Results indicate that the versatility of this species, combined with its ability to adapt to extreme climates, makes it a valuable resource for the development of new nutraceutical and cosmetic products. However, further scientific research is necessary to explore the bio-functional potential of this plant and to promote its broader and more sustainable use, especially in arid and semi-arid regions.

A regular menstrual cycle is important to maintain a woman’s fertility. This cycle has been linked to optimal function of the thyroid gland in the production of its hormones. Disturbance of thyroid gland functions could result to female infertility due to changes in menstrual patterns. Aim of this research was to determine the correlation between thyroid gland functions and menstrual patterns amongst infertile and fertile women attending a tertiary care hospital in North-Central Nigeria. This comparative, cross-sectional study recruited 106 women who visited the hospital's Gynecology Clinic and Family Planning Clinic. 53 of the 106 patients were women with a history suggestive of either primary or secondary infertility and the remaining 53 women with no history of infertility served as the control. A well-structured questionnaire was used to obtain data on the patients’ menstrual patterns. Anthropometric data were measured and obtained. Collected blood samples were analyzed using Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) technique to determine the serum levels of thyroid hormones. All obtained data was analyzed, and the level of significance was set at p<0.05, at a 95% confidence interval. 33 patients had menstrual anomalies (78.8% infertile women; 21.2% fertile women who served as control, p=0.012). The incidence of menstrual anomalies in the infertile women group and control group was 7.5% versus 0.0% for amenorrhea; 20.8% versus 5.7% for menorrhagia; 9.4% versus 7.5% for oligomenorrhea; 7.5% versus 0.0% for hypomenorrhea; nil polymenorrhea for both groups; and 50.9% versus 86.8% for normal menstrual patterns. Ten (9.43%) patients were diagnosed with thyroid dysfunctions (80% in infertile group; 20% in control group, p=0.046). Six (18.2%) out of 33 women with menstrual anomalies were diagnosed with thyroid dysfunction. Five (83.3%) out of these 6 women with both menstrual anomalies and diagnosed thyroid dysfunction were infertile while only one (16.7%) was fertile. Thyroid gland dysfunction correlates strongly with abnormal menstrual patterns, which implies that it is vital to evaluate thyroid hormone levels in blood serum in the course of treating menstrual irregularities and female infertility. Early detection of thyroid dysfunction is important in achieving a positive treatment outcome for female infertility.

Studies on the use of pesticides in southwest Nigeria have revealed a substantial rise in a variety of pesticide-related illnesses, including mental impairment and reproductive problems. Those who work in agriculture and are regularly exposed to pesticides are the most impacted. The World Health Organization (WHO) predicts that three million severe pesticide poisoning episodes occur globally each year, with at least 300.000 deaths and 99% of cases occurring in low- and middle-income nations. The effects of longer-term exposure to pesticides on health are not yet precisely estimated. Objectives: To this end, the objective of this study is to assess the knowledge of pesticide residues and common pesticides in grain-based food (brown and white beans, yellow and white maize, brown millet and rice) about pesticide use in selected markets of Southwest Nigeria. Methods: A total of 240 respondents were selected from four states (Ado-Ekiti, Ibadan, Osun and Ondo) with the aid of structured questionnaire and interview guide using purposive sampling technique. The markets were Oja-titun (market) Ile-Ife, Osun; Alesinloye Market Ibadan, Oyo; Oja Oba, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti; and Oja Oba, Akure Ondo State. The identification and quantification of pesticide residues was done using a Varian 3800/4000 gas chromatograph mass spectrometer while 60 structured questionnaires were administered to respondents including food merchants, buyers/consumers as well as food vendors. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics. Results: The experiment was conducted from November 2020 to November 2021. Up to 50.4% never read instructions on pesticide application while a shared 24.8% read them always and occasionally. The number of respondents who never read the instructions were particularly high in Ekiti and Ondo, up to 52.5% of the respondents in Ekiti do not know whether or not they are exposed to pesticides during application. Also, majority of the respondents never attended any professional training on pesticide application, this amounted to 79.3%. Most people were not aware that unsafe pesticide application is harmful to human health. Similarly, a wide variety of symptoms were reported by respondents following pesticide application or consumption of grains, these included headaches and dizziness, itching and redness of the eyes, skin allergy, diarrhea, and stomach disorder, vomiting and loss of appetite, weakness of the body, asthma, permanent skin patches, shortness of breath, excessive sweating. Millet recorded the highest number of OCP residues while maize had the lowest. On the contrary, maize had the highest number of OPP and carbamate residues while millet had the lowest number of OPP residues. Meanwhile, maize, rice and beans had only one carbamate pesticide residue. Conclusions: According to the study's conclusions, farmers who can only get information from agricultural extension officials should receive urgent and immediate attention for raising awareness. Additionally, extensive IPM training programs must be created with the intention of disseminating precautions for protecting human health and a healthy agro-ecosystem. In order to find more effective pest management methods that utilize less pesticides, it is crucial to reevaluate the pesticide residues and common pesticides found in grains in the targeted markets. To reduce farmers' exposure to pesticides, it is also required to establish personal protective measures, special educational initiatives, and legislation promoting the use of safer pesticides. Significance and novelty: This study gives policymakers a comprehensive understanding of the ways that may be utilized to close the significant knowledge gap on pesticide residues in grains and provides an insight into the knowledge of pesticide residues and common pesticides in grains.

Background: Shiga toxin producing Escherichia coli (STEC) inducing hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) with multiple organ involvement is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. The treatment has mostly been focused on kidney, respiratory and cardiovascular supports and not against the bacteria that cause STEC-HUS. The use of bactericidal therapy has been shown to be antibiotic dependent and certain antibiotics inhibit the production and release of Shiga toxin, eradicate STEC without harmful effects, and improve outcome. Methods: A previously healthy 18-months-old girl with STEC causing severe colitis, kidney failure and multi-organ dysfunction was treated with antibiotics that were known to inhibit the release of Shiga toxin as a supplement to supportive care. Results: The antibiotic regime stopped the pathophysiological process with prompt clinical improvement in association with the disappearance of the Shiga toxins. Conclusions: The present case report fortifies and recommends appropriate antibiotic treatment during STEC-HUS, suggesting clinicians to consider the use of these in severe STEC-HUS as early as possible.

The study investigates the use of Recycled Polystyrene (RP) in the production of particleboard. Boards of 6mm thickness with dimension of 350 mm x 350 mm were produced from mixture of Cocos nucifera stem particles and RP. The boards were made at varying mixing ratio of 1:1, 2:1, and 3:1 and board densities of 1000 kg/m3 1100 kg/m3 and 1200 kg/m3. Thickness swelling (TS), Water Absorption (WA), Modulus of Rupture, and Modulus of Elasticity of the boards were evaluated in accordance to ASTM D-1037 standard. Data obtained were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) at 5% probability level. TS and WA decreases as the mixing ratio increases from 1:1 to 3:1 and board density increases from 1000 kg/m3 to 1200 kg/m3. Also, MOR and MOE of boards increase as the board density was increased from 1000 kg/m3 to 1200 kg/m3. However, MOR and MOE of boards initially increase as mixing ratio increases from 1:1 to 2:1 and later decreases with further increase in mixing ratio. The strongest and most dimensionally stable board was produced at board 1200 kg/m3 and mixing ratio 2:1. This study proves that RP is a good substitute for formaldehyde based resin commonly used in particle boards industries.

In order to evaluate the effect of Azospirillum brasilense and mycorrhizal fungi in the soil on the nutrition of the yacon crop (Smallanthus sonchifolius [(Poeppig & Endlicher) H. Robinson]), determinations of agronomic parameters and the health status of the plants were carried out, under greenhouse conditions. The tests were carried out at the time of the implantation of the culture: the propagules were inoculated with A. brasilense and with native mycorrhizal fungi, generating four treatments, including the control and the co-inoculation of the consortium of the microorganisms under study (T0: control or control without inoculation; T1: inoculation with native A. brasilense; T2: inoculation with native mycorrhizal fungi and T3: joint inoculation with A. brasilense and native mycorrhizal fungi. The results indicate that co-inoculation with A. brasilense and native mycorrhizal fungi increased plant growth in height, leaf area, biomass, dry matter and yields significantly in greenhouse production. It was determined that the application of the selected microorganisms has a plant growth promoting effect, increasing growth and productivity, greenhouse grown yacón.

Any history of science has its own geography as well. Geographers of science have tried to put science in its place. They study the socio-spatial settings in which scientific knowledge was generated, displayed and legitimated. For them, science is socially constructed in spatialities and temporalities. The main question should to be “how” spatialities are constructing scientific knowledge via its “causalities”. Geography of science is not just about special places, locations, and regions in which scientific knowledge is unequally produced/consumed and circulated or how the use of scientific knowledge can lead to the production and reproduction of unique places and spaces. Geography of science is also about a variety set of spatial causalities through which scientific knowledge can be formed and transformed. This also means that the innovative knowledge or ideas development takes place not only in the spatial contexts but because of the spatial causalities which rise from the myriad interlinkages and interdependencies among places. These imperatives of spatial significance operate across many spatial scales from the body to the global. Hence, in our increasingly glocalized world, we must seek knowledge in spatial encounters and betweenness of places, not merely within spaces and places.

This study addresses the critical challenge of material scarcity within Ghana’s creative industries by pioneering the synthesis of professional-grade stage blood from indigenous, locally-sourced materials. In the context of Ghanaian theatre and film, practitioners face significant barriers due to the high cost and limited availability of imported special effects products, often resulting in the use of inadequate substitutes that compromise aesthetic realism, safety, and narrative authenticity. This paper responds by exploring the potential of cassava starch, tapioca, kenkey dough, and fufu wax. Grounded in Schumacher’s theory of Appropriate Technology, the paper reframes indigenous resources not as inferior alternatives but as technologically and contextually appropriate solutions that align with Ghana’s economic, environmental, and social realities. The study provides detailed, reproducible recipes for both flowing and clotted blood variants, validated through practical application in simulated special effects such as gunshot wounds and deep-tissue scars. These formulations meet key performance criteria: visual fidelity under theatrical and cinematic conditions, controlled viscosity, ease of application and removal, and performer safety. Beyond technical innovation, this research contributes to shifting academic and professional discourse from dependency and scarcity toward resourcefulness, sustainability, and artistic self-reliance. It offers a practical framework for reducing production costs, enhancing the quality of visual storytelling, and fostering local value chains within Ghana’s growing creative economy.