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This research examines the association of physical development density, prevalence and types of microbes in colonized façade finishes of buildings in Enugu metropolis, Nigeria.

Survey and experimental research designs were adopted. A total of 383 buildings were investigated with samples collected from those with colonized façade finishes. The microbes were identified using the standard procedure for genomic sequencing with descriptive statistics, and the chi-square test used to analyse the data.

The results revealed a 64% prevalence of microbial colonization and a significant association between this and physical development density with 71.0% of the colonized buildings located in high-density neighbourhoods of the metropolis. The sequencing also showed 24 different microbes with Trichophyton tonsurans, Trichophyton mentagrophytes and Trichoderma harzianum species being the most common in the colonized façade finishes.

The research informs building professionals and owners of the specific microbes involved in the colonization of façade finishes of buildings in high-density urban areas. It also provides a clue about the nature of damages and defects associated with microbial colonization of building façades and the type of biocide additives required for the production of microbial-resistant façade finishes in the hot-humid tropical environment of Nigeria and beyond.

The study has shown that there is a significant relationship between the intensity of urban land use and microbial colonization of façade finishes of buildings. It also identified some new or less known microbes responsible for the biodeterioration of façade finishes and the effects this has on the buildings and public health in the hot-humid tropics of Enugu, Southeast Nigeria.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of social media, perception, readiness and usage on sustainable growth of micro and small enterprises (MSEs) in Uganda.

This study is cross-sectional and adopted a mixed method approach. Data was gathered through a questionnaire survey of 212 business owner–managers that are members of the Uganda Small Scale Industries Association (USSIA) and engaging 8 business managers in the in-depth interviews to support and strengthen the quantitative results. Data analysis was done using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS.24) and Atlas ti.8.

The study reveals that social media perception, readiness and usage positively influence sustainable growth of MSEs in Uganda. However, the insufficient soft and technical skills, lack of devices such as computers and smartphones and the high cost of Internet data undermine the usage of social media by business owner–managers for sustainable growth of their businesses.

The findings demonstrate what policymakers, social media operators and business owner–managers need to do to enhance integration of social media platforms and channels into the operations of MSEs in Uganda.

This study adds to existing literature on social media technology in MSEs with evidence from Uganda. The study results are likely to foster usage of social media as policymakers and social media providers will come up with appropriate strategies to unlock the social media potential of the business owner–managers for sustainable business growth in Uganda.

The purpose of this paper is to assess participants’ perception that tramadol enhances physical work performance and acts as a pain relief.

The participants were 30 (18 male and 12 female) tramadol-using emerging adults, aged 16–27 years, selected through respondent-driven sampling. The majority of the participants were university students, whereas others had completed senior secondary education. The study adopted a qualitative design. Qualitative data were analysed using thematic analyses.

In general, respondents perceived and used tramadol for pain relief and physical work performance enhancement. The result showed that sex, employment status and daily dosage were not associated with respondents’ perception of tramadol as a pain-relieving medication. In contrast, sex and employment status were associated with participants’ perception of tramadol as a physical work performance enhancement medication, but daily dosage was not.

Some users refused to participate because they were afraid of being exposed to law enforcement.

Male and female emerging adults are involved in non-medical use of tramadol. Prevention and intervention programs to reduce or stop this behaviour are needed, especially in the rural communities.

The result showed that users were mostly from poor homes, whose parents could not afford university education and who were not qualified to get good government paying jobs. So, the use of tramadol became necessary for them to make more money from the kind of jobs they did. Reduction of the cost of university education and provision of regular jobs for this population are some of the measures recommended to counter non-medical use of tramadol by this population.

This is the first study in South-eastern Nigeria that focused on the non-medical use of tramadol among emerging adults, using a qualitative design.

The purpose of this paper is to study the effect of chronic consumption of fresh palm oil (FPO) and thermoxidized palm oil (TPO) diet on gastric acid secretion, pepsin secretions, gastric mucus output and gastric cytoprotection.

Adult Wistar rats were randomly assigned into three groups, i.e. control, FPO and TPO groups (n = 10 in each). The control group was fed with normal rat chow only, the FPO group was fed on diet containing 15 per cent v/w FPO and the TPO group was fed with diet containing v/w of thermally oxidized palm oil. All animals had free access to feed and water, and the feeding lasted for 14 weeks. At the end of the feeding period, gastric acid secretion, pepsin secretion, mucus output and gastric ulceration were measured following standard methods.

There was increase in histamine-stimulated gastric acid output in the TPO diet-fed group (p < 0.01) compared with the control and FPO diet-fed groups. No significant change in the mucus output was observed across all the experimental groups; whereas, pepsin secretion was significantly higher (p < 0.05) in the TPO diet-fed group (0.46 ± 0.27) compared with the control (0.14 ± 0.05) and FPO diet-fed groups (0.25 ± 0.01). Ulcer scores in the TPO diet-fed group (15.5 ± 0.33) was significantly higher (p < 0.01) compared with the control (10.0 ± 0.05) and FPO diet-fed (5.0 ± 0.04) groups.

Chronic consumption of TPO increased gastric acid and pepsin secretion (gastric-aggressive factors) without a change in the mucus output. This can bring about gastric ulceration; therefore, the liberal use of TPO should be discouraged.