Validity assessment of the Breast Cancer Risk Reduction Health Belief scale.

BACKGROUND: : Women at increased risk of breast cancer (BC) are not widely accepting of chemopreventive interventions, and ethnic minorities are underrepresented in related trials. Furthermore, there is no validated instrument to assess the health-seeking behavior of these women with respect to these interventions. METHODS: : By using constructs from the Health Belief Model, the authors developed and refined, based on pilot data, the Breast Cancer Risk Reduction Health Belief (BCRRHB) scale using a population of 265 women at increased risk of BC who were largely medically underserved, of low socioeconomic status (SES), and ethnic minorities. Construct validity was assessed using principal components analysis with oblique rotation to extract factors, and generate and interpret summary scales. Internal consistency was determined using Cronbach alpha coefficients. RESULTS: : Test-retest reliability for the pilot and final data was calculated to be r = 0.85. Principal components analysis yielded 16 components that explained 64% of the total variance, with communalities ranging from 0.50-0.75. Cronbach alpha coefficients for the extracted factors ranged from 0.45-0.77. CONCLUSIONS: : Evidence suggests that the BCRRHB yields reliable and valid data that allows for the identification of barriers and enhancing factors associated with use of breast cancer chemoprevention in the study population. These findings allow for tailoring treatment plans and intervention strategies to the individual. Future research is needed to validate the scale for use in other female populations. Cancer 2009. (c) 2009 American Cancer Society

Cognitive Ontology based Framework for Networking Women in Sciences

In order to increase the percentage of women in academics or researchers, there is need for a functioning research networking through which women can exchange ideas; ask questions and more importantly, mentorship, in Nigeria. In order to make for this, several recommendations have been suggested but are not scientific. Therefore, to bridge this gap scientifically, this paper is presenting an overview of a question and answering system framework that hybridize semantic search methodology and cognitive reasoning. The hybridization will enhance the question and answering accuracy especially due to the introduction of domain ontology for the semantic process. This paper also presents the output of the first phase of the implementation which is the development of the domain ontology for the question and answering syste

Effect of Combined Leaf Extracts of Vernonia amygdalina (Bitter Leaf) and Gongronema latifolium (Utazi) on the Pancreatic beta-Cells of Streptozotocin- Induced Diabetic Rats

The study evaluated the effect of combined extracts of Vernonia amygdalina (VA) and Gongronema latifolium (GL) on the pancreas of streptozotocin (STZ) induced diabetic Wistar rats. Thirty-two (32) albino rats were divided equally into 4 groups. Groups A and B which served as normal (NC) and diabetic (DC) controls respectively, received placebo treatment. The diabetic test groups C and D were respectively treated with combined extracts of VA and GL (200mg/kg b. w., p. o.) and insulin, (humulin 5 IU/kg, s.c.) for 28 days. Thereafter, the animals were sacrificed and blood and pancreas were collected for serum glucose and histological evaluation, respectively. Changes in animal weight were also measured within the period. From the results it was revealed that both the combined extracts and humulin significantly increased the animals’ body weight (p<0.05) from -10.5% reduction in the DC, to 7.6% and 8.9% respectively. In the same order, serum glucose significantly decreased (p<0.05) by 12.49% and 14.96% after the 28-day treatment compared to DC. The extent of reversal of hyperglycemia in the extract treated animals compared well with the insulin treated group. The biochemical results were corroborated with results of histological evaluations: The pancreatic β-cells of DC animals which were distorted and degenerated with shrunken cell mass as against prominent islet cells with normal exocrine pancreas of NC animals became rapidly proliferated upon intervention with the combined extracts, suggesting a possible regeneration of the islet cells. On the otherhand, intervention with humulin did not produce observable differences in the cyto-architecture of the pancreatic islets compared to the diabetic control, confirming an extra-pancreatic mechanism of insulin

Experimental design and construction of an enhanced solar battery charger

A Solar Battery Charger circuit is designed, built and tested. It acts as a control circuit to monitor and regulate the process of charging several batteries ranging from 4 volts to 12 volts, using a photovoltaic (PV) solar panel as the input source for the battery charging process. The circuit is economical and can be easily constructed from discrete electronic components. The circuit operation is based on matching the solar panel terminal load voltage to the input terminal of the charging circuit and the appropriate number of battery cell units to be charged to the output circuit through the use of a current limited voltage regulator, allowing fast charging while limiting heat build-up and gassing and a rotary switch for easy selection of the appropriate voltage depending on the solar light intensity. Experimental results indicate that there is an increase of the overall charging current when fully charging an empty: mobile phone battery and a 6v rechargeable lamp for 4 hours using direct charging between 10.00am to 4.00pm. The success of this device will bridge the gap of power failure that often occur within the hours of the day between 10.00am to 4.00pm, especially in rural communities

Leadership in the African Immigrant Community: Conflict and Coalition

Whenever African immigrants gather, most assuredly the conversation of their plight to the United States, will be a heated topic. Most of the discussion laments the apparent apathy in the African community and the lack of collective leadership to mobilize it. According to the 1990 census, there are over 350,000 African in the United States and that number is increasing every year. The State Department\u27s Information on Immigration reports about 20,000 Africans won the immigration lottery to emigrate to the United States last year. This year, about 20,000 slots are allotted to the African continent. This program is a part of the diversity immigrant visas given to countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. Nevertheless, all 20,000 of the lottery winners may not be able to emigrate to the United States because of stringent requirements by the State Department. It is therefore timely and important to examine the leadership development in the evolving and ever-changing African immigrant community already living here, as citizens of the United States. Community leadership infers the ability to have a vision, interpret that vision, and carry it to fruition. Surely, there are outstanding and successful individuals, organizations, and even businesses in the African immigrant community, which although confronted with serious obstacles, have managed to build strong coalitions that address issues affecting most African-born groups in the U.S. Through personal leadership African-born groups have combined individual efforts to mobilize their community or groups to achieve given goals. Unfortunately, there are also many obstacles to overcome in order to achieve those goals

Have We Reached AGI? Comparing ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini to Human Literacy and Education Benchmarks

Recent advancements in AI, particularly in large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini, have prompted questions about their proximity to Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). This study compares LLM performance on educational benchmarks with Americans' average educational attainment and literacy levels, using data from the U.S. Census Bureau and technical reports. Results show that LLMs significantly outperform human benchmarks in tasks such as undergraduate knowledge and advanced reading comprehension, indicating substantial progress toward AGI. However, true AGI requires broader cognitive assessments. The study highlights the implications for AI development, education, and societal impact, emphasizing the need for ongoing research and ethical considerations

AN EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION INTO THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PREMIUMS AND CLAIMS PAID IN THE NIGERIAN INSURANCE INDUSTRY: A 2000-2017 ANALYSIS

This study is an investigation into the relationship between premiums received and claims paid in the Nigerian insurance industry over the period 2000-2017. Data on gross premiums received and gross claims paid over the period were gotten from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) statistical bulletin, National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) and the Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) annual reports. Stationarity test carried out on the data reveal that data is stationary at the 1%, 5% and 10% levels of significance. The cointegration test reveals that no cointegration exists among the variables which imply that there is no long run equilibrium relationship between the variables. Using the ordinary least squares regression, the calculated probability value of 0.167 is higher than the 0.05 significant value, hence we accept the null hypothesis that there is no significant relationship between claims paid and premiums received in the Nigerian insurance industry. The coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.91157 indicates that gross premiums contribute 91.2 percent to variations in gross claims while the remaining 8.6 percent is owing to factors outside the regression model. We therefore conclude that claims paid by insurers is not a function of premiums received and recommend that insurers should endeavour to settle claims promptly and equitably to increase client satisfaction