Introduction: Cervical cancer is a major public health issue, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) is simple and affordable, but a positive result cannot confirm cervical precancerous lesions, requiring further diagnostics. This study compared colposcopy and cytology among VIA-positive women, using histopathology as the standard. Aim of this study: To compare the sensitivity, specificity, predictive values, and overall diagnostic accuracy of colposcopy and Pap smear for detecting cervical pre-invasive lesions in VIA-positive women. Methods & Materials: A cross-sectional study was conducted at Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital (SSMCH), Dhaka, Bangladesh, from July 14, 2019, to January 15, 2020. It included 150 VIA-positive women selected by purposive sampling. Participants underwent Pap smear, colposcopy with 3% acetic acid, Lugol’s iodine, and Swede Score. Colposcopy-guided biopsy was performed when needed, with histopathology as the reference. Diagnostic performance was measured by sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and accuracy. Results: The mean age of the participants was 36.4 ± 11.5 years. Pap smear detected epithelial abnormalities in 69 (46.0%) women, whereas colposcopy identified suspected premalignant lesions in 58 (38.6%). Histopathology confirmed premalignant lesions in 51 (34.0%) women. The sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and accuracy of Pap smear were 78.4%, 70.7%, 58.0%, 86.4%, and 73.3%, respectively. For colposcopy, the corresponding values were 94.1%, 89.9%, 82.8%, 96.7%, and 91.3%. Conclusion: Colposcopy outperformed conventional cytology in VIA-positive women, showing higher sensitivity, specificity, predictive values, and accuracy. It can help evaluate women with positive VIA, but histopathology is still essential for a definitive diagnosis.

Social wasps select nesting environments that must simultaneously support attachment, brood protection, colony growth and access to resources. This study compares documented nest-site use and nest architecture of the paper wasp Polistes flavus and the Oriental hornet Vespa orientalis in four localities of District Mardan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan: Lund Khwar, Katlang, Shergarh and Takht Bhai. Field observations combined non-destructive photographic documentation with selective colony collection after gentle smoking, followed by laboratory examination of nests and specimens. The source manuscript reports 16 colonies; however, the supplied row-level field table contains 16 individually documented colonies, eight per species, and quantitative frequencies in this revision are therefore calculated from those 16 records. Polistes flavus was recorded primarily on trees (6/8 colonies), with the remaining colonies on buildings (2/8), whereas Vespa orientalis occurred mainly in underground cavities (4/8) and buildings (3/8), with one colony on a tree. Correspondingly, six of eight P. flavus records were coded as natural sites, while six of eight V. orientalis records were coded as man-made. The reported lower-bound colony counts were substantially higher for V. orientalis (median 215; range 150-350) than for P. flavus (median 45; range 25-90), although these values are approximate because the field log used '+' notation. Nest architecture also differed: P. flavus was described as producing open, non-enveloped, usually single-comb nests 9-20 cm long, while V. orientalis produced larger, enveloped, multi-comb nests 20-30 cm long. Both species used paper-like material and hexagonal brood cells. The observations support clear species-level differences in documented nest-site use and architecture, However, habitat preference could not be confirmed because the availability of alternative nesting substrates was not assessed. Future studies should evaluate nest-site availability, microclimate, nest dimensions, and seasonal occupancy.

Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase (G-6-PD) deficiency is the most important disorder of the pentose phosphate pathway in erythrocyte metabolism resulting in decreased activity of the enzyme. G-6-PD deficiency has been reported to be common in populations living in malaria endemic areas. Certain drugs that are used in the treatment of malaria and other conditions are known to induce hemolysis in G-6-PD deficient individuals. This study was carried out to determine the prevalence of G-6-PD deficiency in individuals with malaria infection. One hundred subjects were recruited in the study with 50 individuals positive for malaria infection as test subjects and 50 negatives for malaria infection serving as controls. A G-6-PD deficiency prevalence of 14% was found in the study, 86% of the G-6-PD deficient individuals were from the control group while 14% were from the malaria positive group. A significant difference (p≤0.01) in G-6-PD deficiency was found between the malaria group and the control group. Among the G-6-PD deficient individuals 93% were males. There was a significant (p≤0.05) difference in Packed Cell Volume and hemoglobin levels between the G-6-PD deficient group and the G-6-PD normal group. The lower prevalence of G-6-PD deficiency among the malaria group compared to the control group validates studies linking G-6-PD deficiency with malaria. Also, the higher prevalence seen in control group and males, suggests that gender plays an important role in this enzyme deficiency hence the need for G-6-PD screening in our community given the overuse of agents that may predispose a G-6-PD deficient individual to oxidative stress which could cause some hematological complications such as hemolytic anemia.

Background: Saudi Arabia’s health sector is undergoing substantial reform under Vision 2030, including expansion of insurance-based financing and private-sector participation. Evidence on the factors that shape patients’ choice between public and private hospitals in Jeddah remains limited. Objective: To identify demographic, socioeconomic, service, efficiency, and treatment-cost factors associated with patients’ choice of public versus private hospitals in Jeddah. Methods: A quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted among adults aged 18 years or older who had used a public or private hospital in Jeddah within the preceding 12 months. Data were collected using a structured online questionnaire adapted from a prior Saudi study. Of 429 respondents, 400 complete responses were analyzed. The final multi-item scales showed acceptable internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha: services/facilities 0.878; efficiency/staff performance 0.823; treatment cost 0.729). Chi-square tests, independent-samples t tests, and binary logistic regression were performed in SPSS version 27. Results: Private hospitals were used by 69.0% of respondents. Hospital choice was associated in bivariate analysis with age, gender, nationality, employment status, health insurance, and family size. Public-hospital users reported higher mean service/facility and efficiency scores, whereas private-hospital users reported higher treatment-cost scores. In the adjusted model, these perception scales were not independent predictors. Health insurance strongly increased the likelihood of private-hospital use (OR=6.269, 95% CI 3.140-12.517; p<0.001). Income of at least SR 20,000 was also associated with private-hospital use (OR=6.722, 95% CI 1.072-42.140; p=0.042), while government employment (OR=0.147; p=0.002) and family size of 12 or more (OR=0.103; p=0.004) reduced the likelihood. Conclusion: Hospital choice in Jeddah appears to be driven more by structural enabling resources particularly insurance, income, employment-related access, and household size than by subjective perceptions of service quality, efficiency, or treatment cost after adjustment.

This study examined how the external sector affects the performance of the manufacturing sector in Nigeria from 1981 and 2023. The investigator used data on how much the manufacturing sector contributes to the country's total economic output, the exchange rate, foreign direct investments, the country's debt to other countries, how open the country is to international trade, official development aid, and money sent back by people living abroad – migrant remittances inflow. All these data came from reports by Nigeria’s central bank and the World Bank's World Development Indicators. The study used a specific method called Autoregressive Distributed Lag Bounds testing to analyze the data. The results showed that there is a long-term link between the different factors studied. In the long run, the exchange rate and trade openness have a negative and strong effect on manufacturing sector performance. On the other hand, foreign direct investments, the country's external debt, development aid from other countries, and money sent back by migrants all have a positive and strong effect on the manufacturing sector. In the short term, foreign direct investments, development aid, and migrant remittances inflow have a negative and strong effect on manufacturing sector. Meanwhile, the exchange rate, external debt, and trade openness have a positive and strong effect in the short term. Based on these results, the study concluded that opening up the economy, managing the exchange rate carefully, using external debt and aid in a productive way, and effectively using remittances inflow can help improve the performance of the manufacturing sector in Nigeria. The study also suggested that the government should create a clear policy that balances openness with building local capabilities and ensures that external resources are used well for developing manufacturing sector in Nigeria.

The purpose of this study was to examine methods used to document and protect indigenous health knowledge among traditional medical health practitioners (TMHPs) in Kenya and to strengthen its sustainable management. The objectives were to: determine methods used by TMHPs to protect and document traditional indigenous health knowledge; assess the effectiveness of existing protocols in protecting and documenting traditional health knowledge; examine challenges faced by TMHPs in protecting and documenting traditional health knowledge and suggest effective strategies for protecting and documenting traditional health knowledge. Guided by the SECI model and Social Exchange Theory, this qualitative case study involved 30 traditional medical registered practitioners and 7 key informants. Data was collected through interviews and observations and analyzed thematically. The findings reveal that documentation is largely informal, oral and practitioner-controlled, while protection relies on secrecy and restricted sharing within trusted networks due to fears of exploitation and loss of ownership. Documentation remained largely informal, oral, and practitioner-controlled, while protection relied on secrecy, custodianship, and restricted sharing owing to concerns about misuse, loss of ownership and livelihood security. Existing documentation and protection mechanisms were perceived as ineffective because formal documentation and protection systems remained poorly aligned with indigenous practices and were weakly implemented. The study concludes that the protection of indigenous health knowledge is severely hindered by this systemic misalignment between formal frameworks and traditional practices. To address these gaps, the study recommends developing hybrid documentation systems that integrate formal protection mechanisms with indigenous knowledge structures to ensure both preservation and livelihood security.

Background: Extremes of weight could have an effect on the mother and her newborn. Obesity is no longer a problem of only Caucasian women, as it is also now a public health concern in women of African descent. Maternal underweight appears to also affect pregnancy and perinatal outcomes. The aim of this study was therefore to examine the effect of overweight and obesity on maternal and perinatal outcomes. Methods: This is a retrospective descriptive study among women who delivered at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), Benin City, Nigeria, from January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022. Results: The mean age of the women was 30.7 years (standard deviation 5.1). Most of the low-birth-weight babies were born to overweight women, and the relationship was statistically significant (p = < 0.001). Among the eight neonates who died, seven were born to normal-weight and overweight mothers. Many of the neonates admitted into SCBU were born to overweight mothers, and the test of association was statistically significant (p = < 0.001). A significantly large proportion of those who had complications during the antenatal and postpartum period were obese women (p = 0.053). Conclusion: The odds of low birth weight were significantly higher among overweight mothers compared to mothers who had healthy weight. Obese women were significantly more likely to have antenatal and postpartum complications relative to normal healthy weight women.