Godfrey Okoye University

Arthritis is a chronic inflammatory disorder that affects millions worldwide, leading to persistent joint pain, stiffness, swelling, and impaired mobility. Although conventional therapies are effective in symptom management, their long-term use is often limited by adverse effects and poor adherence. This study investigated the anti-arthritic potential of Curcuma longa leaf extract using in vivo arthritic rat models, liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and in silico molecular docking approaches. LC-MS analysis identified several bioactive compounds, including curcumin, turmerones, squalene, n-hexadecanoic acid, and 9-octadecenoic acid, which are known for their anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, immunomodulatory, and analgesic properties. FTIR spectroscopy confirmed the presence of functional groups such as hydroxyl (-OH), amide (-NH), alkane (-CH), and amine (-NH), supporting the bioactivity of the extract. Molecular docking studies revealed strong binding affinities of key compounds, including 1H-Indole, 1-methyl-2-phenyl, turmerone, and curcumin-toward major inflammatory targets, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6), with binding energies comparable to the standard anti-inflammatory drug indomethacin. In vivo evaluation demonstrated significant attenuation of arthritis-associated biomarkers, including reductions in pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α and IL-6), C-reactive protein, adenosine deaminase activity, oxidative stress markers, leukocyte counts, joint swelling, and pain-related behaviors, alongside normalization of bone mineral and uric acid levels. Collectively, these findings indicate that C. longa leaf extract exerts multi-targeted anti-arthritic effects through modulation of inflammatory, oxidative, immune, and pain pathways, supporting its potential as a complementary therapeutic agent for arthritis management and warranting further clinical investigation.

The National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in Nigeria aims to improve access to healthcare and reduce out-of-pocket payments, yet persistent dissatisfaction with NHIS-provided services threatens enrollee retention and scheme sustainability. This study assessed satisfaction and willingness to retain NHIS membership among enrollees at a tertiary hospital in Ebonyi State and explored implications for community-based health insurance policy and service-delivery reform. We conducted a convergent parallel mixed-methods study comprising a survey of 376 NHIS enrollees attending outpatient clinics at Alex Ekwueme University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki, and in-depth phenomenological interviews with with 20 enrollees (10 males, 10 females, aged 24-68years, NHIS enrolment 5-11years). Convenience sampling was used. Satisfaction with NHIS services was measured using a 4-point Likert scale, and associations with willingness to retain membership were examined using chi-square tests, Cramér's V and predictive Lambda at p<0.05. Qualitative data were analysed thematically with MAXQDA to contextualise service-delivery experiences and retention decisions. Respondents (n=376; age 21-65years) were predominantly middle-aged, female, married, tertiary educated and employed as civil servants, with most reporting access to healthcare. Overall, 61.8% of enrollees were satisfied with NHIS services, and satisfaction strongly predicted willingness to retain membership (Χ2=121.14, df=1; Cramér's V=0.57; p<0.0001); 74.4% of those willing to retain membership reported being satisfied. Predictive Lambda indicated that knowing satisfaction status substantially improved prediction of retention (λ[A from B]=0.83 vs. λ[B from A]=0.79). Qualitative findings highlighted long waiting times, drug stock-outs, bureaucratic inefficiencies and poor provider-patient interactions as major sources of dissatisfaction, particularly among rural and lower-income enrollees. This single-centre mixed-methods study shows that while nearly two-thirds of NHIS enrollees were satisfied with the quality and affordability of scheme-provided services, persistent service-delivery gaps and administrative bottlenecks undermine retention intentions. Policy adjustments that prioritise improving service delivery, addressing administrative inefficiencies and strengthening provider-patient relationships are likely to enhance satisfaction and retention within the NHIS. These findings also offer practical insights for the design and scaling of community-based health insurance and related service-delivery reforms in similar mixed urban-rural settings, and for advancing equity-focused progress towards universal health coverage and related Sustainable Development Goals.

This study presents a novel three-dimensional global model of atmospheric temperature developed using Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) trained on radio occultation (RO) data from the COSMIC I and COSMIC II satellite missions. Over 14.7 million quality-controlled profiles were used, providing approximately 9.5 billion data points that capture temperature variability across latitude, longitude, altitude (0-60 km), and time (2006-2025). The global domain was divided into 1,296 spatial grid cells (10° × 5°) to enable localized ANN training and ensure efficient handling of regional atmospheric dynamics. Model performance was evaluated through cross-validation and independent testing against radiosonde measurements from 684 stations worldwide. Results show mean absolute errors (MAE) of 1.5-4.5°C and root-mean-square errors (RMSE) of 2.5-6.5°C, with best performance in the tropical troposphere and increasing errors toward high latitudes. The model successfully reproduces key climatological structures (including the tropospheric lapse rate, stratospheric inversion, and seasonal hemispheric asymmetries), and accurately captures diurnal and annual thermal cycles. Long-term simulations (2006-2025) reveal a distinct tropospheric warming trend (∼ +0.07°C per year at 11 km) and a corresponding stratospheric cooling (∼ -0.03°C per year near 32 km), consistent with established satellite and reanalysis records. These results demonstrate that ANN-based frameworks can effectively model global atmospheric thermal structure and evolution, providing a scalable approach for future climate monitoring and forecasting applications.

Issues of faith and theodicy which hinges on why the wicked prosper over the righteous dominate Habakkuk's theology and spirituality (Habakkuk 2:1-4). This includes, his expression of faith experience in relation to God, self and others. Habakkuk laments, prays and confronts the holy, majestic and mysterious God (1:2–2:5), who convinces him that in moments of trials and travails, the just (tsaddiq) shall live only because of their faith (’ěmûnāh 2:4). In the Light of Christian Spirituality, this essay, theologically and pastorally, addresses Habakkuk's prophetic perspectives on justification by faith as the foundation of Christian spirituality. This is to encourage, empower and bring hope to believers in Africa and beyond, where poverty, violence, corruption, threats and threats of war and other forms of injustices are normative. Habakkuk's prophetic perspective on justification by faith is critically important to Christian spirituality because it offers believers a theological bridge as it where, between the Old and New Testaments, showing continuity in God's plan for human salvation. St. Paul teaches us in Romans 1:17, "The righteous shall live by his faith" which is essential from (Habakkuk 2:4) and this is a vital cornerstone in Christian theology. It adds much depth to Christian spirituality by grounding it firmly in biblical history and covenantal faithfulness. Habbakuk models spiritual resilience and placing one’s full trust in God's justice.

This paper examines the administration and financial downfall in post-colonial Zimbabwe, focusing on the period between 1980 and 2008, with specific attention to how political volatility influenced national development. The main objective is to investigate the extent to which administrative mismanagement, authoritarian governance and inconsistent economic policies contributed to Zimbabwe’s prolonged developmental crisis. Employing a qualitative historical methodology, the research draws upon archival government records, economic reports, academic literature and international financial data to assess the dynamics between governance and economic collapse. The paper highlights key events such as the Gukurahundi massacres, the centralization of executive power under ZANU-PF and the Fast-Track Land Reform Programme, revealing how political decisions aimed at regime survival undermined institutional integrity, agricultural production and investor confidence. Findings indicate that poor fiscal discipline, patronage-driven policy choices and the militarization of public administration catalyzed hyperinflation, unemployment and the decline of both public services and national currency. The analysis further identifies how global sanctions and diplomatic isolation exacerbated internal dysfunction, pushing Zimbabwe into economic freefall by 2008. The paper concludes that Zimbabwe’s post-independence trajectory offers critical lessons for understanding the link between governance quality and development outcomes in post-colonial African states. It emphasizes the need for transparent administration, institutional reform and inclusive policymaking to reverse long-term decline.

Plant diseases pose significant threats to agriculture, adversely affecting both crop yield and quality. This study offers a comprehensive overview of plant pathology, examining various types of diseases, their causative agents, and the intricate interactions between plants and pathogens. This study explored the integration of advanced deep learning and machine learning techniques. A dataset of plant leaf diseases, sourced from an online repository, was augmented with additional data featuring 11 West African plant species. The dataset underwent rigorous preprocessing to ensure compatibility with machine learning models. This study employed the ResNet50 Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) for feature extraction and XGBoost for classification, achieving a remarkable accuracy of 98.81% in differentiating between healthy and diseased plant leaves. The performance of the developed model was evaluated using key metrics, including accuracy, precision, recall, F1-score, confusion matrix, and ROC curve, and was found to outperform existing models in terms of accuracy. Furthermore, the model was successfully integrated into a mobile application, demonstrating efficient performance. This approach presents a scalable solution for precision agriculture, enhancing crop health management and boosting agricultural productivity.

Yoghurt made from cow milk is popular due to its delicious taste and nutritional benefits. However, concerns about animal-based proteins have led to the evaluation of alternative options. This study examines the physiochemical, microbial and sensory characteristics of yoghurt made from tiger nut (Cyperus esculentus L.) milk compared to various forms of cow milk. Yoghurt was produced from tiger nut milk, full cream, fat-filled, and skim milk by fermenting the milk samples at 42 °C for 8 hours, using a starter culture. A commercial brand was used as a control. The samples were analyzed for physicochemical properties, microbial content and sensory attributes using a 9-point hedonic scale. The pH values ranged from 3.97 to 4.65 for tiger nut and skim milk yoghurts, respectively, while titratable acid ranged from 0.088 to 0.095 %. The control sample had the lowest total plate and lactic acid bacteria count values of 1.361x105 and 1.063 x105 CFU/ml, while full cream milk had the highest values of 2.123x105 and 1.853x105 CFU/ml, respectively. The identified microorganisms were Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus. Overall acceptability scores ranged from 6.88 to 7.63 for skim and full-cream yoghurt, with tiger nut yoghurt scoring 7.23. Therefore, tiger nut milk shows promise as a plant-based alternative for sustainable yoghurt production.

Aim: The aim of this study is to isolate and identify bacteria contaminants present in the honey samples sold in Ogbete market and detect the presence of imipenem resistance genes in the isolates. Place and Duration of Study: A total of four samples were collected from Ogbete market at Zenith bank, Peace mass, Wheelbarrow and Peace park stations between the early hours of the morning (8-9am) within the month of April, 2023. Methodology: Microbiological analysis was carried out on the samples, including antimicrobial susceptibility test using disc diffusion method., after which Molecular analysis involving DNA extraction, PCR and Plasmid Profiling, were carried out. Results: The total mean heterotrophic bacterial count ranged from 0.03±2.5×103cfu/ml to 22.1±25.5×103cfu/ml. The highest total mean heterotrophic bacterial count was recorded in Zenith bank while the lowest was in Peace mass. The bacteria isolated and characterized through morphological and biochemical tests include Escherichia coli (45%) Klebsiella spp. (41%), Staphylococcus spp. (9%) and Streptococcus spp. (5%). Escherichia coli had the highest frequency of occurrence at 45% while Streptococcus spp. had the lowest at 5%. The sensitivity test showed that the isolates with the highest frequency of occurrence, Escherichia coli and Klebsiella spp. posed a high resistance to Imipenem and Nalidixic at 80% while the least resistance was in Levofloxacin at 10% from these two isolates. The gene of interest, BlaIMP was found after PCR assay. Plasmid DNA was further carried out using the alkaline lysis method using the Zymo research kit. All isolates possessed a single plasmid with molecular weight of 23.1kbp. Conclusion: These isolates may undergo horizontal gene transfer and confer resistance to other microorganisms. Thus, there is need for the development of proper measures to counter bacterial contamination of locally produced honey as this poses a threat to public health.

This study examines the role of international law and diplomacy in interstate relations, with implications for American-Afghanistan relations. Specifically, the study sets out to interrogate whether US war relations on terror in Afghanistan has reduced terrorism in the country; ascertain how US counter-terrorism strategic relations in Afghanistan undermined jus in bello principles of proportionality and discrimination; and determine how US strategy failure in its Afghanistan’s relations undermined its reconstruction and peace-building efforts. By adopting the Just War Theory (JWT), the paper analysed the dynamic nature of US-Afghanistan relations, following the 9/11 attacks, with findings revealing that the US had an incoherent strategy in its war relations in Afghanistan, which ultimately led to its failure to restore peace, promote democracy and human rights.