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Copyright of African Journal of Reproductive Health is the property of Women's Health & Action Research Centre and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of African Journal of Reproductive Health is the property of Women's Health & Action Research Centre and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of African Journal of Reproductive Health is the property of Women's Health & Action Research Centre and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of African Journal of Reproductive Health is the property of Women's Health & Action Research Centre and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Rice grows in all agroecological zones (AEZs) of Nigeria as the weather (rainfall, solar radiation, relative humidity) is optimum. Investigation was conducted in four AEZs to evaluate the effect of environment (soil) on the grain yields (GYs) of four new rice cultivars for Africa (NERICA) compared with farmers cultivars (i.e., Ofada and ITA 150). The experimental design was a randomized complete block design (RCBD) replicated 10 times. The treatments were four AEZs [the northern Guinea savanna (NGS), derived savanna (DS), southern Guinea savanna (SGS), and Sudan savanna (SS)], four NERICA rice cultivars [WAB 189-B-B-B-HB (or WAB 189), WbAB 450-1-P-38-HB (or P-38), WAB-450-11-1-P31-1-HB (or P-31), WAB-450-24-3-2-P18-HB (or P-18)], Ofada, and a control (ITA 150). Ten on-farm plots were used as replicates. All trials were farmer managed. Data were collected on the soil physicochemical characteristics before the experiment, while GYs were collected at harvest. Results of the GYs were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA). Soil properties that significantly related to the GYs of rice were isolated using stepwise multiple regression analysis (SMRA). The most stable rice cultivar across all AEZs was obtained from the slope of a regression equation from the cultivar means versus environmental means. Results of the soil chemical properties showed that across all AEZs, soil fertility status varied between low and medium. Furthermore, the GYs of rice cultivars ranged between 2.55 and 3.44 t ha-1 and were of the order ITA 150 > P 18 > P 31 > Ofada > P 38 > WAB 1, though not significantly different. However, across AEZs, the GYs of rice were of the order SS > SGS > NGS > DS. The SMRA showed that the only three soil properties (pH, available P, and clay) significantly related to the GY of three of the rice cultivars (Ofada, P31, and WAB 189) with R2 values of 36, 53, and 63% respectively. The slopes of regression equations were 0.50, 0.65, 0.69, 0.85, 0.89, and 0.98 respectively for rice cultivars P31, P38, P18, ITA 150, Ofada, and WAB 189. This suggested that the most stable rice cultivars were P31 and P38. However, observations across sites showed that majority of farmers still prefer to grow Ofada on their farms, suggesting most local farmers are not yet aware of these rice cultivars. Results further showed that with proper management of the soil pH and available P and soil moisture (i.e., clay content), the GYs of these rice varieties could be improved. Critical organic carbon, available phosphorus, exchangeable potassium, and clay contents required for a sustained and continuous cultivation of these rice cultivars were 7.0 g kg-1, 8 mg kg-1, 0.13 cmol kg-1, and 198 g clay kg-1, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and purpose: Stroke is a growing public health problem worldwide. Hospital workers are sources of knowledge on health issues including stroke. The present study aimed at assessing the knowledge and perception of a sample of Nigerian hospital workers about stroke. Methods: Hospital-based, cross-sectional survey. Respondents selected by systematic random sampling were interviewed using a 29-item pre-tested, structured, semi-closed questionnaire. Results: There were 370 respondents (63% female, mean age: 34.4 ± 7.5 years; 61% non-clinical workers). Twenty-nine per cent of respondents did not recognize the brain as the organ affected. Hypertension (88.6%) was the commonest risk factor identified; 13.8% identified evil spirit/witchcraft as a cause of stroke, whilst one-sided body weakness (61.9%) was most commonly identified as warning symptom. Hospital treatment was most preferred by 61.1% of respondents whilst spiritual healing was most preferred by 13.0%. In the bivariate analysis, higher level of education and being a clinical worker correlated with better stroke knowledge ( P < 0.001). Conclusion: This study demonstrates gaps in the knowledge of these hospital workers about stroke, and treatment choice influenced by cultural and religious beliefs. Health education is still important, even, amongst health workers and stroke awareness campaigns may need to involve faith-based organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]