Phytochemicals, Heavy Metal and Proximate Analysis of Parkia biglobosa and Three Varieties of Bouillon Cubes (Purchased From Iyana Iba Market, Ojo Local Government Area in Lagos, Nigeria

Despite the huge nutritional values and availability of local seasonings such as Parkia biglobosa, knorr chicken as food seasonings, some developing countries like Nigeria require more information on the needs for increasing their utilization. Analysis was done using standard analytical methods, to compare the nutritional and heavy metal composition of P. biglobosa seed and bouillon cubes (Knorr chicken, magi star and Tasty cubes). The specific focus was to find out the proximate analysis (carbohydrate, fat, protein and vitamin), heavy metals, Minerals and phytochemicals composition of P. biglobosa and bouillon cubes. Atomic absorption spectrometry was used in the determination of the levels of (Ca, Mg, K, Na, Mn, Fe, Cu and Zn). Phytochemicals, including phytic acid, tannins, carotenoids, phenols, saponins and hydrocyanic acid were also determined using method of Ola and Oboh [19]. The result shows that the seeds of P. biglobosa had significantly higher (p<0.05) Moisture (17.530±3.686) crude protein (25.722±3.524%), crude fat (27.536±2.273%) and Crude fiber (6.540±1.795%) contents compared to the bouillon cubes (Knorr chicken, Maggi Star, tasty cubes). The bouillon cubes had significantly higher (p>0.05) contents of ash (22.188±0.950, 24.092±0.911, 22.880±0.736) which is found to be low in P. biglobosa seed. Carbohydrate level in bouillon cubes were also found to have higher means values of (28.87±1.581, 46.785±2.243, 38.035±12.574). The minerals content of the analyzed samples shows that the P. biglobosa seeds have higher means value in Ca (126.285±16.393), Na (150.820±25.075), and K (1454.432±199.575) and bouillon cubes were also found to be high in (Ca, Na , K , Fe), respectively. While the values of (Mn, Zn, Cr Cb, Pb pH) were found to have low mean value which were higher than WHO permissible limits. For the ANFs, P. biglobosa seeds recorded higher levels of Phytic acid (31.171±8.369 mg/100g), saponins (15.767±4.663 mg/100g) and tannins (55.772±6.655 mg/100g), Total carotenoids (41.561±2.632), Total phenols (65.689±14.439), Hydrocyanic acid (7.618±1.922mg/100g) and Ascorbic acid (101.025±11.670 mg/100g) while it was not detected (ND) in bouillon cubes on analysis. T he heavy metal contents in P. biglobosa was found to be high in copper with mean value of (2.478±2.077) while it was found to be insignificant in (Cr, Cb, and pb) and are not within the recommended value by WHO. The overall results are suggestive of higher nutritional quality of the Parkia biglobosa seeds than the bouillon cubes. It was therefore recommended that information concerning the use of local seasonings should be made available through public awareness campaign.

Public fear of COVID-19 vaccines in Iraqi Kurdistan region: a cross-sectional study

Background Vaccines remain one of the most effective methods to control infectious diseases; however, COVID-19 vaccines are challenging and novel. Vaccine support is still substantial in general, although vaccination fear has increased dramatically in recent decades. This is the first study aimed to determine the fear of the COVID-19 vaccination and the role of factors and reasons associated with fear in the Iraqi Kurdistan region. Results A total of 1188 participants responded to the questionnaire about their fears of the COVID-19 vaccine. The majority of participants had a medium level of fear (56.7%). Fear was significantly (p < 0.001) associated with major demographic characteristics, social media use (51.8%), and losing family members, while other variables (previous seasonal influenza vaccine, previous infection, chronic medical diseases) show no relationship. Fear of side effects such as blood clotting was reported by the majority (45.03%) and indicated positive relation (p < 0.016). On the other hand, a high proportion, 39.9% and 34.01%, were afraid of AstraZeneca and Pfizer (p < 0.001), respectively; however, only about 4.63% had fear of Sinopharm. Conclusions The fear of COVID-19 vaccination was widespread in the Iraqi Kurdistan region. In this way, fear was related to significant variables. To reduce the fear of vaccines and increase public acceptance, authorities and the Ministry of Health should initiate a public awareness campaign. As a result, the public health crisis will significantly improve.

Forest Systems Services Provisioning in Africa: Case of Gambari Forest Reserve, Ibadan, Nigeria

This study, therefore, which is focused on forest systems services provisioning in Africa, case of Gambari Forest Reserve, Ibadan, Nigeria, provides policy makers, decision makers, ecologists, environmentalists, the academia, and other stakeholders with a document geared towards promoting national development through sustainable forest products utilization practices. In this study, a total of 200 key respondents participated in it, out of which 194 copies were returned and distributed among the seven main communities in the study area, namely, Ibusogbora, Oloowa, Daley north and south, Onipe, Mamu, Olubi, and Onipanu, respectively. The respondents stated that moringa 164 (84.5%), mint leaf (166 (85.6%), bitter kola 143 (73.7%), and shea tree accounts for 176 (90.7%), and the wood species utilized by producers in the study area include Leucaena leucocephala, Leucaena glauca, Gliricidia sepium, Tectona grandis, and Gmelina arborea, among others. The study recommends that there is need for African governments to restore public awareness campaign in the area of timber planting initiatives and sustainable forest resource management and increase allocation to fund forestry research in the African continent.

Be Media Smart

This paper presents Ireland’s public awareness campaign –‘Be Media Smart’-which was launched in Spring 2019 to combat misinformation and fake news and encourage people of all ages to stop, think, and check that information they see, read or hear across any media platform is reliable. Be Media Smart is an initiative of Media Literacy Ireland (MLI), an independent group facilitated by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) to enhance Irish people’s understanding of, and engagement with, media. Group members include large media and social media companies, Government bodies, libraries, academia and voluntary sector organisations. The paper will provide an overview of this national campaign particularly in terms of how a range of organisations includingall library sectors worked together to help empower Irish citizens to make informed media choices about the media content and services that they consume, create, and disseminate across all platforms.Some of the key observations and findings of the Be Media Smart campaign will be presented including the role of libraries and the value of the cross-sector collaborative approach. Challenges, lessons learned and future development plans will also be outlined. ‘Be Media Smart’ provides a best practice exampleof how a unique Irish initiative has helped to advance media and information literacy at national level.

Effects of a Public Awareness Campaign on Time to and Way of Hospital Admission After Stroke

Public education campaigns are recommended to increase awareness for stroke. The effect of a public advertising and education campaign in an urban region in Germany was assessed and compared with a control region. We hypothesized that such a campaign would increase the number of patients being admitted by emergency medical services (EMS). A multimedia campaign and targeted education of health care professionals and the public was employed in Berlin during six consecutive months to disseminate knowledge about stroke symptoms and appropriate actions to take. Data on time to hospital admission and details on transport were retrieved from registries for the episode before, during, and after the campaign. To test the effect of the campaign, it was compared with another urban region in Germany (Ruhr-Area), where no campaign had been conducted. Between January 2010 and February 2011, 9,166 patients with stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) were documented in Berlin and 9,994 in the Ruhr-Area. In both regions, following the campaign period, patients were more often admitted to hospital within the first 2 hr after onset (Berlin: odds ratio [OR] = 1.16, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [1.02, 1.32]; Ruhr-Area: OR = 1.18, 95% CI = [1.05, 1.34]). Patients were more likely being admitted via EMS after the campaign (Berlin: OR = 1.71, 95% CI = [1.50, 1.94]; Ruhr-Area: OR = 1.34, 95% CI = [1.17, 1.53]). The results suggest that an increased uptake of EMS triggered shorter time to hospital admission. A reduction in delay to hospitalization and an increased uptake of EMS were observed over the study period for both regions. No effect of the campaign was identified.

Community Policing: An approach for Countering Youth Radicalization in Eastleigh Area of Nairobi County

Community policing approaches have been used successfully to prevent crime, reduce the fear of crime, and improve public safety. A raging debate, however, is emerging as to whether this approach can be used with equal effectiveness in the prevention of terrorism. Over the last sixteen years, Kenya has tried several approaches to “the war against terrorism.” However, none of the approaches has succeeded in stamping out terrorism. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to find out ways in which the philosophy of community policing could be modelled to fit a citizen based-counter terrorism strategy. The study established that community policing principles can be used to create sustainable partnerships between law enforcement agencies and residents, thus facilitating the identification of root causes of youth radicalization. Training of police officers on community policing principles and trends in youth radicalization was strongly recommended. Further, police officers should invest more in trust-building initiatives in establishing a joint early warning system with the local communities they serve. The study further recommends an intensive public awareness campaign on the nature, indicators, and symptoms of youth radicalization within Eastleigh and the country at large.

The national strategy for suicide prevention in the Netherlands: on the road to zero suicides

Background In the Netherlands, 1829 persons (11.6/100.000) ended their life by suicide in 2018. Two out of three suicides concern men, most of them in the age group of 50-55. Suicide amongst youth is rising, especially amongst youngsters between 10-25. Around 40 persons a day, predominantly young and female, are treated in Dutch hospitals after having attempted suicide. Only 40% of those who die by suicide have been in touch with healthcare professionals. These figures made the Dutch government to put in place a national strategy for suicide prevention. Methods This strategy follows the WHO's guidance and covers a range of measures in public health as well as in the health care sector. Its implementation is coordinated by “113 Suicide prevention”, the national centre of expertise on suicide prevention in the Netherlands. Results A broad package of measures is being implemented simultaneously, targeting the entire population as well as specific vulnerable groups, such as youngsters, persons with LGBT related issues and persons with mental health needs. We initiated several collective preventive measures, such as media guidelines for safe reporting, a public awareness campaign against stigma, reduction of access to deadly means or places; selective prevention initiatives, e.g. training over 3400 of gatekeepers to detect and address suicidal thoughts with desperate persons; and indicated suicide prevention strategies including screening, treatment and follow up of patients with suicidal behaviour in general practice or mental health hospitals. In this presentation the different components of the Dutch strategy for suicide prevention will be described more in detail, and experiences and first results of the different components will be addressed. Conclusions The relevance of the Dutch national strategy is related to the broad package of measures implemented simultaneously in many domains of society, but closely monitoring and evaluating the effect stays challenging.

Be Media Smart

‘Be Media Smart’ is an Irish public awareness campaign calling on people of all ages to ‘Be Media Smart’ and ‘Stop, Think, and Check’ that information they see, read or hear across any media platform is accurate and reliable. This national media literacy campaign was aimed at enhancing people’s understanding of, and engagement with, media, while also empowering them with the skills to evaluate content across all platforms.