Sampling Procedure Research Articles

The health and economic dimensions of honey production in Imo state, Nigeria

A study was conducted on honey production in Imo state of Nigeria, with a focus on the health and economic dimensions of the industry. The research was carried out using a multi-stage sampling procedure, and a sample size of 80 honey-producer respondents was selected. Data was collected through a well-structured questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The study found that honey producers in the area had a mean age of 51 years, 11 years of education, 21 years of farming/bee-keeping experience, and a household size of 6 persons. The average annual household income was €709.10, with a farm size/number of hives kept of 72 hives per farmer and a quantity of honey produced per annum of 145 litres. The cost and returns analysis showed that the cost of production of honey per litre and profit per litre were €0.40 and €2.40, respectively. The study also determined the nutritional uses and health benefits of honey (e.g. healing wounds, treating ulcers, controlling sore throats and colds, boosting immunity, and as an antibacterial agent). Several factors, including uncontrolled bush burning, bee forage shortage, deforestation, theft of beehives, colony absconding, and poor agricultural practices which strongly constrain honey production has been observed. It is concluded that honey production is a very profitable venture with numerous uses and health benefits and venturing youths into honey production as a source of livelihood should be encouraged, and extension education should be tailored to technologies in beekeeping and the identification of genuine honey to minimize the success of adulteration, among others.

FACTORS INFLUENCING UTILIZATION OF AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGIES TRANSFER AMONG PARTICIPANTS OF ADOPTED VILLAGE EXTENSION PROJECT IN KADUNA AND NIGER STATE, NIGERIA

The study assessed the factors influencing utilization of agricultural technologies transfer among participants of Adopted Village Extension Project (AVEP) in Kaduna and Niger State, Nigeria. A Multi-stage sampling procedure was employed to select 246 participants of AVEP for the study comprising of 131 and 115 participants from Kaduna and Niger States, respectively. Primary data were collected with the aid of structured questionnaire complemented with an interview schedule. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Technology Adoption Index (TAI) and Tobit regression analysis. The results reveal that the mean age of the participants in Kaduna and Niger States were 38 and 31 years, with a mean household size of 7 and 5 people, and mean farming experience of 14 and 10 years, respectively. The various agricultural technologies transferred to participants in Kaduna State among crop production were storage techniques (83.5%), improved seeds (80.0%) and weed management techniques (78.3%) ranked 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively, while participants in Niger State indicated improved seed (90.1%), weed management techniques (83.2%) and planting techniques (78.6%) ranked 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively. More so, among the livestock production technologies transferred to participants in Kaduna State were improved animal breeds (8706%), hybrid broilers (80.0%) and improved feed formulation (80.0%) ranked 1st and 2nd, respectively, while participants in Niger State indicated improved animal breeds (92.4%), hybrid broilers (82.4%) and hybrid layers (74.1%) ranked 1st, 2nd and 3rd, respectively. Respondents’ age (-2.05; p<0.05), education (1.76; p<0.10), awareness of technology (2.16; p<0.05), compatibility (4.35; p<0.01), relative advantage (1.98; p<0.10) and cost (-3.22; p<0.01) influences participants’ utilization of agricultural technologies transferred through AVEP in Kaduna State, while age (-2.41; p<0.05), education (2.02; p<0.05), farm size (2.54; P<0.01), awareness of technology (2.09; p<0.05), compatibility (3.12; p<0.01), relative advantage (1.74; p<0.10) and cost (-2.97; p<0.01) influences participants’ utilization of agricultural technologies transferred through AVEP in Niger State. The study concluded that socio-economic and institutional factors highlighted above significantly influences utilization of agricultural technologies by the respondents in the study area. It was therefore recommended that, for efficient transfer of agricultural technologies, there is need for increased sensitization by the research institutes on relative advantages of technologies adoption and utilization for greater output and income.

PROFITABILITY ANALYSIS OF RICE MILLING AND MARKETING IN BAUCHI STATE, NIGERIA

The study analysed the profitability of rice milling and marketing in Bauchi State, Nigeria. Multi-stage sampling procedure was used for the selection of respondents. The respondents comprised rice processors (millers) and marketers. Data were collected using questionnaire and analysed using descriptive statistics, farm budgeting techniques and multiple regression analysis. The findings revealed that majority (87.5%) of the millers and all (100%) of marketers were male and married with a mean age of 39 and 44 years respectively. However, 43.8% of the millers and 40% of the marketers had a family size of between 6-10 people per household with majority (62.5%) of the millers having tertiary education. The analysis also shows that half (50%) and more than half (53%) of the millers and marketers had a marketing and milling experience of between 11-20 years. The result of the budgeting model revealed that millers had a net income of N714 per bag with a return per naira of N1.46 and marketers had a net income of N1, 672 per bag with a return per naira of N 0.12. The results of the regression analysis revealed that years of milling experience and education level were the factors influencing rice milling while household size and membership of association were significant factors influencing rice marketers’ income. However, high cost of diesel (96.7%) and transportation cost (95%) were the major constraints faced by the millers and marketers in the study area. The study concluded that, milling and marketing of rice is a profitable ventures in the study area. It is therefore, recommended that government together with stakeholders should provide adequate infrastructure and introduce favorable policies to strengthen the rice value chain in the study area.

Analysis of wheat traits that determine female farmers’ preferences for wheat varieties: Gender insight from southern tigray, ethiopia

BackgroundWheat productivity has been constrained by changing agroecological and socio-economic conditions, coupled with a lower uptake of new farm technologies. Gender difference is one major social category that needs systematic estimation to distinguish the adoption of technology and the preference between male and female farmers. Hence, this study analyzes wheat traits that determine female farmers’ preferences for wheat varieties in southern Tigray, Ethiopia.MethodsThe primary data was collected by using semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, and key informant interviews from 169 female farmers who were selected by using a two-stage sampling procedure. This study used descriptive statistics and a multinomial logit model to estimate the wheat traits that determine the wheat variety preference of female farmers.ResultThe result obtained from descriptive statistics shows the existence of heterogeneity in trait preference of female farmers among bread wheat, durum wheat, and local wheat variety types. The result indicates that risk-averting traits were the most frequently selected traits for both wheat types. Furthermore, the result of multinomial logit model indicates that wheat variety traits such as yield difference, marketability, resistance to drought, and resistance to frost and disease significantly influenced female farmers’ choice of wheat variety to grow.ConclusionThis study aims to fill the current knowledge gaps and tackle the significant issues faced by wheat-growing female farmers by examining the wheat traits that influence the wheat variety choice of these farmers. The finding scrutinized that even though the female farmers’ choices of wheat variety traits were heterogeneous, the majority of their decisions on the choice of wheat variety were primarily guided by risk-averting and yield traits. This evidence provides significant insight for developing gender-sensitive variety traits in crop breeding programs. Moreover, the findings significantly help policymakers, input suppliers, breeding programs, and extension workers to become more gender-responsive, to increase the productivity of wheat-growing female farmers.

FARO-44 RICE PRODUCTION EFFICIENCY OF FADAMA III ADDITIONAL FINANCE II BENEFICIARIES IN TARABA STATE,

The study analysed the faro-44 rice production efficiency of fadama III additional finance II beneficiaries in Taraba State, Nigeria. A Multi-stage sampling procedure was used to select 250 respondents. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings of the study revealed that The result of maximum likelihood estimates of the stochastic frontier production Function of dry season faro-44 rice farmers reveal that farm size (P<0.01), fertilizer (P<0.05), quantity of seed (kg) (P<0.01), herbicide (liter) (P<0.05), were positive and significant increasing output of the farmers. Similarly, the age (P<0.01) level of education (P<0.01), farming experience (P<0.05) and household size (P<0.05 were the socio-economic characteristics influencing the increase in technical efficiency of the farmers. Furthermore, the technical efficiency of the farmers is glaringly below 1, an indication that the farmers are operating below their production efficiency frontier. A reasonable proportion (41.20%) of the respondents were within 0.60-0.69 technical efficiency index range with highest value of 0.91 for the most efficient farmers and minimum of 0.50 for the least efficient or worst farmer. Consequently, farmers obtained mean technical efficiency of 0.76 which will improve their technical efficiency by 24%. The result further revealed that, the farmers attained an estimated mean allocative efficiency of 0.88. It was concluded that most of the farmers were unable to obtain technical efficiency level above 76% and farmers were 88% allocative efficient. The study recommended that farmers level of technical efficiency can be increased by 27% by building farmers’ capacity through training, workshops and seminars on postharvest loss management, processing techniques, farm record keeping in order to avoid wastages and sustain efficiency.

Intention to use alternative cooking energy among households of Northeastern Nigeria

Energy is one of the global challenges attracting more concern at both local and international levels due to its impact on health and the environment. Ensuring accessibility to sustainable, affordable, reliable and modern energy is one of the SDG goals intended to be achieved before 2030. The standard of living of a family is determined by the type of energy and pattern of its utilization by the households. However, many households in developing countries are not using alternative energy sources despite their abundance and potential. This study investigates the predominant energy sources and drivers of intention to use alternative ones as cooking energy among households in Northeastern Nigeria. Three hundred and thirty-nine (339) households were selected using a multi-stage sampling procedure for the study, and data were collected using a structured questionnaire. The result revealed that firewood and charcoal were the dominant energy sources used for cooking by households (63.13 % and 52.37 %, respectively) due to their relatively low cost and ease of access. Electricity, LPG, and solar are the cooking energy sources that over 90 % of households are willing to adopt as alternatives. The ease of using the alternative cooking energy sources their availability and accessing energy information via radio, NGOs and universities/research institutions affect the household's intention to use alternative cooking energy sources in a positive way. Ensuring a constant supply of electricity, subsidizing solar PV, making LPG available and affordable to households, provision of clean and modern stoves at a subsidized price and collaboration with universities, NGOs for awareness creation will help reduce deforestation and over-dependence on firewood, thereby protecting the health and the environment.

Development of a Method for the Determination of Rifaximin and Rifampicin Residues in Foods of Animal Origin.

Rifaximin and rifampicin are good broad-spectrum antimicrobials. The irrational use of antimicrobial drugs in veterinary clinics could threaten public health and food safety. It is necessary to develop a reliable detection method of the residue for enhancing the rational supervision of the use of such drugs, reducing and slowing down the generation of bacterial resistance, and promoting animal food safety and human health. So, this study developed an LC-MS/MS method for the detection of rifaximin and rifampicin residues in animal-origin foods. The residual rifaximin and rifampicin of homogenized test materials were extracted with acetonitrile-dichloromethane solution or acetonitrile in the presence of anhydrous sodium sulfate and vitamin C, purified by dispersible solid phase extraction, determined by LC-MS/MS, and quantified by the internal standard method. The specificity, sensitivity, matrix effect, accuracy, and precision of the method were investigated in the edible tissues of cattle, swine, or chicken. In addition, the stability of the standard stock solution and the standard working solution was also investigated. The method was suitable for the muscle, liver, kidney, fat, milk, and eggs of cattle, swine, or chicken, as well as fish and shrimp. The specificity of the method was good, and the detection of the analytes was not affected by different matrices. Both the LOD and LOQ of the two analytes were 5 μg/kg and 10 μg/kg, respectively. The results of matrix effects in each tissue were in the range of 80-120%; there were no significant matrix effects. The average accuracy of rifaximin and rifampicin in different foodstuffs of animal origin was between 80% and 120%, and the method precision was below 20% (RSD). The proposed method showed good performance for determination, which could be employed for the extraction, purification, and detection of residual rifaximin and rifampicin in edible animal tissues. The pretreatment procedure of tissue samples was simple and feasible. The method was highly specific, stable, reliable, and with high sensitivity, accuracy, and precision, which met the requirements of quantitative detection of veterinary drug residues.

Reexamining gender inequality in accessing resources and education stance in reducing masculine gender hegemony in Nigeria

The role of education in abolishing cultural practices that encourage gender inequality needs consistent evaluation for inclusive, responsive policy development and implementation in a dynamic society. Eliminating masculine gender hegemony may result in attainment of international commitments like gender equality and poverty eradication. Reexamining the role of education in reducing gender inequality in patriarchal societies can highlight critical issues needing policy actions for attainment of sustainable development goals. The objectives of the study were to examine effects of education on marital and family life, income and access to land resources by male and female, as well as the effects of education on girl child education. The hypotheses that guided the study were: parents' education attainment increases girl child education opportunity; education attainment reduces male-female income gap and education attainment increases women access to land. The study was conducted in Southwest Nigeria. Multi-stage sampling procedure was used to collect primary data from 720 households using a well-structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Chi-square and Pearson Correlation tests. Results showed significant disparity among men, women, girls and boys education attainments. Significantly, male have more access to land and other resources than female. The work discussed implications of the existing gender disparity despite efforts to bridge the gap and noted effects of education in reducing the gaps and ensuring gender equality. The paper is optimistic that terminating gender inequality as education policy can significantly improve girl child education, reduce girls' marriages, improve marital life, increase females’ income and access to information as well as land resources.

Economic burden of patients with leading cancers in China: a cost-of-illness study

BackgroundChina accounts for 24% of newly diagnosed cancer cases and 30% of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Comprehensive analyses of the economic burden on patients across different cancer treatment phases, based on empirical data, are lacking. This study aims to estimate the financial burden borne by patients and analyze the cost compositions of the leading cancers with the highest number of new cases in China.MethodsThis cross-sectional cost-of-illness study analyzed patients diagnosed with lung, breast, colorectal, esophageal, liver, or gastric cancer, identified through electronic health records (EHRs) from 84 hospitals across 17 provinces in China. Patients completed any one of the initial treatment phase, follow-up phase, and relapse/metastasis phase were recruited by trained attending physicians through a stratified sampling procedure to ensure enough cases for each cancer progression stage and cancer treatment phase. Direct and indirect costs by treatment phase were collected from the EHRs and self-reported surveys. We estimated per case cost for each type of cancer, and employed subgroup analyses and multiple linear regression models to explore cost drivers.ResultsWe recruited a total of 13,745 cancer patients across three treatment phases. The relapse/metastasis phase incurred the highest per case costs, varying from $8,890 to $14,572, while the follow-up phase was the least costly, ranging from $1,840 to $4,431. Being in the relapse/metastasis phase and having an advanced clinical stage of cancer at diagnosis were associated with significantly higher cost, while patients with low socioeconomic status borne lower costs.ConclusionsThere were substantial financial burden on patients with six leading cancers in China. Health policymakers should emphasize comprehensive healthcare coverage for marginalized populations such as the uninsured, less educated, and those living in underdeveloped regions.

Momentary savoring in daily life in an adult life-span sample.

Savoring moments can foster well-being. Older adults are theorized to prioritize emotional well-being in daily life, which directs their attention to positive aspects of life. In this study, with data collected from 2018 to 2021, 285 adults aged 25-85 completed an experience sampling procedure (six times a day for 10 days) where they reported their experienced emotions, whether they were savoring the moment, and how close they felt to their most recent social partner. They also completed a trait-level questionnaire on psychological well-being. Across the age range, individuals were more likely to savor moments when they were with close social partners. Older people were more likely than younger people to report savoring when experiencing high levels of positive affect. The tendency to savor was also tied to psychological well-being among individuals independent of their age. Findings highlight the relational aspect of savoring in daily contexts and suggest that savoring may contribute to well-being, helping to account for age advantages in well-being. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Demographic Factors and Truancy Behaviour among Secondary School Students in Ilorin Metropolis, Kwara State

Background: Contemporary secondary school students exhibit a wide range of social maladjustment behaviours, especially truancy. Given this, the present study looked into the Demographic Factors Influencing Truancy Behaviour among Secondary School Students in Ilorin Metropolis, Kwara State. Method: The study used descriptive survey design with a multi-stage sampling procedure which involved purposive, stratified, and simple random methods. The research involved a total of 400 participants. The "Truancy Behaviour Scale (TBS)", was adapted to gather pertinent data. The instrument underwent validation by five seasoned lecturers specializing in Guidance and Counseling Educational Management and Test and Measurement. To assess the instrument's reliability, the researcher utilised the test Split-half method, yielding a reliability coefficient of 0.74. Demographic data was analyzed with frequency counts and percentages, and the four hypotheses formulated were tested using t-test and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) at a significance level of 0.05. The findings show that demographic variables of student, family and school contributed significantly to truancy behaviour. The four null hypotheses tested in this study indicate that there was a significant difference in the demographic factors contributing to truancy behaviour among secondary school students in Ilorin metropolis, Kwara State, based on gender and family type (t = 2.88, p <0.05); (t = 2.56, p <0.05). Nonetheless, no significant differences were found based on the respondents' age and religion.

Early surgical outcomes of children with mechanical intestinal obstruction at Moi teaching and referral hospital, Kenya

Background: Intestinal obstruction constitutes the largest proportion of abdominal surgical emergencies in the paediatric and adult patients in Sub-Saharan Africa, including Kenya. It is associated with high postoperative surgical complication and mortality rate in low resource healthcare systems. Methods: A prospective mixed methods study with consecutive sampling procedure was carried out from September 2021 to June 2023. Pediatric patients from birth to 14 years, with mechanical intestinal obstruction were included in the study. Categorical data was analyzed in frequencies and percentages and continuous data was analyzed using measures of central tendency and measures of dispersion. Bivariate and multivariate associations between the dependent and independent variables were assessed with a p value of less than 0.05 being statistically significant. Results: The final study population was 318 participants. Majority of participants were male with neonates comprising almost one third of participants. Classical symptoms were present in a majority of patients at initial presentation. Intussusception (34.6%) was the leading acquired aetiology of paediatric mechanical intestinal obstruction. Operative surgical management was in 94.6% of participants. Surgical complications were present in 61.1% of participants. The commonest surgical complication was surgical site infection in 16.9%. Overall mortality rate was 10.2% with 23.3% among neonates and 4.9% in older children. Referral status was statistically associated with mortality (p<0.001). Intestinal atresia had the highest case-specific mortality rate. Age, presence of comorbidity were factors associated to postoperative complications and mortality (p<0.05). Conclusions: The overall mortality rate was 10.2%. A higher mortality was seen among neonates compared to older children.

Teacher’s Attitude towards the Use of Digital Technologies for Capturing Students’ Data in Secondary Schools in Imo State, Nigeria

In Imo State, the researchers observed that teachers still use inventory book, admission register and continuous assessment record booklets to capture students’ data in secondary schools. This is surprising given the current wave of digitalization. Thus, the study examined teachers' attitude towards the use of digital technologies for students’ data capturing in secondary schools in Orlu education zone of Imo State, Nigeria. One research question guided the study and two hypotheses were tested. Descriptive survey design was adopted. The population of this study comprised 1209 teachers in the 105 public secondary schools in Orlu education zone of Imo State. 240 public secondary school teachers were used as the sample for the study using multi stage sampling procedure. The instrument for data collection was a validated self-administered questionnaire. Cronbach alpha formula was used to determine the internal consistency of the questionnaire and co-efficient of 0.83 was obtained. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research question and determine the homogeneity or otherwise of the respondents while t-test was used for testing the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. Findings revealed that teachers’ have a positive attitude towards the use of digital technologies for capturing students' data in secondary schools in Orlu education zone. There was no significant difference in the mean ratings of teachers on their positive attitude towards the use of digital technologies for capturing students’ data in secondary schools irrespective of their years of teaching experience and location. It was recommended among others that, management of secondary schools should be organizing ICT-related seminars for teachers to improve their ICT skills in order to increase their attitude towards the utilization of digital technologies for capturing students' data.

Expanding Automated Multiconformer Ligand Modeling to Macrocycles and Fragments.

Small molecule ligands exhibit a diverse range of conformations in solution. Upon binding to a target protein, this conformational diversity is generally reduced. However, ligands can retain some degree of conformational flexibility even when bound to a receptor. In the Protein Data Bank (PDB), a small number of ligands have been modeled with distinct alternative conformations that are supported by X-ray crystallography density maps. However, the vast majority of structural models are fit to a single ligand conformation, potentially ignoring the underlying conformational heterogeneity present in the sample. We previously developed qFit-ligand to sample diverse ligand conformations and to select a parsimonious ensemble consistent with the density. While this approach indicated that many ligands populate alternative conformations, limitations in our sampling procedures often resulted in non-physical conformations and could not model complex ligands like macrocycles. Here, we introduce several improvements to qFit-ligand, including the use of routines within RDKit for stochastic conformational sampling. This new sampling method greatly enriches low energy conformations of small molecules and macrocycles. We further extended qFit-ligand to identify alternative conformations in PanDDA-modified density maps from high throughput X-ray fragment screening experiments. The new version of qFit-ligand improves fit to electron density and reduces torsional strain relative to deposited single conformer models and our previous version of qFit-ligand. These advances enhance the analysis of residual conformational heterogeneity present in ligand-bound structures, which can provide important insights for the rational design of therapeutic agents.

Indigenous knowledge management: a catalyst for food security among Ghanaian yam farmers during COVID-19

ABSTRACT The research examined the influence of indigenous knowledge management on the food security of Ghanaian subsistence yam farmers amid the COVID-19 pandemic, utilising a descriptive correlation survey approach. The study encompassed 384 yam farmers selected using a multistage sampling procedure. Descriptive and inferential statistics were employed in the study. A statistically significant relationship was found between food security and various elements that support knowledge management processes. These factors, along with knowledge distribution (i.e. dissemination of indigenous knowledge) and knowledge conversion (i.e. adapting indigenous knowledge into community activities), jointly explained 74.0% of food security variation among peasant farmers during the pandemic. Indigenous knowledge management positively impacted food security in this context. Integrating indigenous knowledge with modern agricultural practices could enhance productivity and sustainability. The study underscores the importance of involving local communities in designing food security interventions for lasting positive impacts on livelihoods. It recommends the active participation of local people in shaping such interventions.

Autonomous Planetary Liquid Sampler (APLS) for In Situ Sample Acquisition and Handling from Liquid Environments.

Many natural and artificial liquid environments, such as rivers, oceans, lakes, water storage tanks, aquariums, and urban water distribution systems, are difficult to access. As a result, technology is needed to enable autonomous liquid sampling to monitor water quality and ecosystems. Existing in situ sample acquisition and handling systems for liquid environments are currently limited to a single use and are semi-autonomous, relying on an operator. Liquid sampling systems should be robust and light and withstand long-term operation in remote locations. The system components involved in liquid sampling should be sterilisable to ensure reusability. Here, we introduce a prototype of a liquid sampler that can be used in various liquid environments and may be valuable for the scientific characterisation of different natural, remote, and planetary settings. The Autonomous Planetary Liquid Sampler (APLS) is equipped with pre-programmed, fully autonomous extraction, cleaning, and sterilisation functionalities. It can operate in temperatures between -10 °C and 60 °C and pressure of up to 0.24 MPa (~24 m depth below mean sea level on Earth). As part of the control experiment, we demonstrate its safe and robust autonomous operation in a laboratory environment using a liquid media with Bacillus subtilis. A typical sampling procedure required 28 s to extract 250 mL of liquid, 5 s to fill the MilliQ water, 25 s for circulation within the system for cleaning and disposal, and 200 s to raise the system temperature from ~30 °C ambient laboratory temperature to 150 °C. The temperature is then maintained for another 3.2 h to sterilise the critical parts, allowing a setup reset for a new experiment. In the future, the liquid sampler will be combined with various existing analytical instruments to characterise the liquid solution and enable the autonomous, systematic monitoring of liquid environments on Earth.

The association between weight loss behaviors and body weight perception in Chinese adolescents: 2007–2022

BackgroundWeight misperceptions are common in children and adolescents, which is related to the engagement of weight loss behaviors. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between body weight perception and weight loss behaviors of lower-calorie diets and increased levels of physical activity (PA).MethodsThe Ningbo Youth Risk Behavior Survey was conducted from 2007 to 2022. A multistage, stratified cluster sampling procedure was utilized to draw target adolescents aged 12 to 18 years participating in each survey wave (2007, 2012, 2017, 2022). Data of anthropometry, weight perception, and weight loss behaviors were collected through self-administered questionnaires. A binary generalized linear model was used to examine associations between body weight perception and weight loss behaviors of lower calorie diets and increased levels of PA.ResultsThe sample sizes for each survey wave were 777, 885, 1588 and 2638. The prevalence of overweight (OW)/obesity (OB), self-perception of OW/OB and overestimated perception increased from 7.6%, 27.0% and 29.1% in 2007 to 16.3%, 39.9% and 41.4% in 2022, respectively. Adolescents that perceived themselves as OW/OB had higher odds of lower-calorie diets (OR: 4.2, 3.3–5.4) and increased level of PA (OR: 3.8, 2.9-5.0), whereas adolescents that perceived themselves as underweight had lower odds of lower-calorie diets (OR: 0.371, 0.253–0.542) and increased levels of PA (OR: 0.381, 0.295–0.559).ConclusionOW, self-perception of OW/OB and overestimated perception were prevalent in Chinese adolescents. Self-perception of OW/OB was positively associated with lower-calorie diets and increased levels of PA. The results can support public health specialists to promote health education of body perception and improve self-esteem in Chinese children and adolescents.

Except-Extremes Ranked Set Sampling for Estimating the Population Variance with Two Applications of Real Data Sets

The ranked set sampling (RSS) procedure was initially established by McIntyre (1952) for estimating the mean of forage and pasture yield as more precise than simple random sampling (SRS). Recently, Aldrabseh and Ismail (2023) suggested the except extreme RSS (EERSS) approach as a modification to RSS for estimating the population mean. In this paper, a new estimator of the population variance is proposed using the EERSS method. The mean squared error and bias equations of the new estimator are derived. When the underlying distribution is non-symmetric, a simulation study is conducted to evaluate the suggested estimator relative to SRS and RSS, based on the same number of measured units, in terms of the relative precision and bias values for several sample sizes. For symmetric distributions, the exact values of the bias and relative precision of the EERSS variance estimator are evaluated. Two real datasets are utilized to illustrate the performance of the suggested variance estimator. It is found that the EERSS variance estimator is more efficient than the SRS estimator and more precise than RSS in most cases, especially for small set sizes.

The Efficacy of Video-Assisted Instruction in Preventing Lipohypertrophy in Patients Diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes

A thick fatty tissue called lipohypertrophy develops in the insulin site as a result of repeated injections at the same location. Patients with diabetes mellitus who use regular insulin are more likely to experience it. The absorption of insulin is impacted in these adipose-rich regions. The purpose of this study was to evaluate how well individuals with diabetes mellitus responded to video- assisted instruction on lipohypertrophy prevention. The aim of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of video- assisted instruction in preventing lipohypertrophy and investigate the relationship between lipohypertrophy preventive pretest knowledge and certain socio- demographic factors. Thirty patients with diabetes mellitus receiving insulin injections made up the total sample size. To choose the samples, a convenient sampling procedure was applied. Using a self-administered questionnaire, the investigators evaluated the participants' degree of knowledge regarding lipohypertrophy prevention during the pretest. A half-hour of video- assisted instruction on lipohypertrophy prevention was conducted on the same day. A posttest using the same instrument was carried out five days later. 10.4% of the samples had strong knowledge during the pretest, 43% had average knowledge, and 46.6% had poor knowledge. Following video-assisted instruction, 71.2% of samples possessed excellent knowledge, 25.5% had average knowledge, and 3.3% had inadequate knowledge regarding lipohypertrophy avoidance. A paired "t"test was employed, and the results indicated a statistically significant increase in knowledge ('t'=9.25, p <0.05). Pretest knowledge scores and a few chosen demographic factors do not correlate. The study came to the conclusion that patients with diabetes mellitus can effectively prevent lipohypertrophy by learning more through video assisted education.

Impact of Compulsory Land Acquisition for Public Infrastructure on Project Communities’ Livelihoods and Environment in Delta State, Nigeria

Land acquisition for the construction of road infrastructure in Delta State always faces resistance from the affected communities, especially related to the results of the assessment of compensation. This protest from project communities is an indication of a gap on the impact on the quality of life of the affected claimants. This paper examines the impact of land acquisition on the livelihood and environment of people whose lands were acquired as a consequence of accelerating road infrastructural development policy in Delta. The study uses data collected from secondary sources and questionnaires administered on 180 affected claimants in Delta State selected from nine (9) communities across the state using a multistage sampling procedure. The study found that acquisition has a negative effect on affected people’s livelihood such as landlessness, joblessness, homelessness, marginalization, increased morbidity, food insecurity, loss of access to common property, and social disarticulation. The study recommended that the government should ensure that some of these vexed issues on compulsory land acquisition related to landlessness, joblessness, homelessness, marginalization, increased morbidity, food insecurity, etc. are addressed.