Union College (formerly Union County College) is a public community college in Union County, New Jersey. It was founded in 1933 as the first of New Jersey's public community colleges. The college has four campuses: Cranford, Elizabeth, Plainfield, and Scotch Plains. It is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. The college offers more than 80 programs leading to Associate in Arts, Associate in Science, and Associate in Applied Science degrees and certificate programs provided by the Continuing Education program. It also offers distance education classes.
Intermittent preventive therapy during pregnancy with Sulphadoxine Pyrimethamine (IPTp-SP) is one of the potent strategies for preventing malaria in pregnancy (MiP). Factors such as the pregnant woman’s knowledge and very importantly perception or belief about IPTp-SP remains key determinant of IPTp-SP uptake. This study assessed the knowledge and perception of nursing mothers and their uptake of IPTp-SP during pregnancy in the Ho Teaching Hospital. We administered a close-ended questionnaire to 303 nursing mothers and obtained their sociodemographic details as well as information on their knowledge and perception of IPTp-SP utilization. We also reviewed the nursing mothers’ antenatal care (ANC) booklets to ascertain the number of times IPTp-SP was taken during pregnancy. Pearson chi-square was used to determine the association between the sociodemographic variable and the categories of knowledge, perception, and uptake of IPTp-SP. Analysis, was done using SPSS, and the p-value of less than 5% was considered statistically significant. Of the 303 nursing mothers sampled in this study, 265(87.5%) had heard about IPTp-SP of which 138(52.1%) had average knowledge of IPTp-SP. A total of 168(63.4%) had poor perception, and 168(64.6%) had adequate uptake (3–4 doses) of IPTp. Education was significantly associated with perception and uptake, with the majority of women who demonstrated excellent perception were those who had tertiary education (7, 6.35%, p = 0.05), and the majority who demonstrated excellent uptake (5 completed doses) were women who had tertiary education (47, 37.9%, p = 0.01). While knowledge was average, perception of IPTp-SP was poor for the majority of the nursing mothers which might have hampered their uptake of IPTp-SP during pregnancy. It is important that continuous assessment of the individual factors affecting the uptake of IPTp-SP be done regularly to curb the negative influences on the uptake of IPTp-SP.
There have been numerous concerns about the disease and how it affects the human body since the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic began in December 2019. The impact of SARS-CoV-2 on the liver is being carefully investigated due to an increase in individuals with hepatitis and other liver illnesses, such as alcoholic liver disease. Additionally, the liver is involved in the metabolism of numerous drugs used to treat comorbidities and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Determining how SARS-CoV-2 affects the liver and what factors place individuals with COVID-19 at a higher risk of developing liver problems are the two main objectives of this study. This evaluation of the literature included research from three major scientific databases. To provide an update on the current impact of COVID-19 on the liver, data was collected and relevant information was incorporated into the review. With more knowledge about the effect of the disease on the liver, better management and therapeutics can be developed, and education can ultimately save lives and reduce the long-term impact of the pandemic on our population.
Incorporating mathematics in computing has been a subject of ongoing deliberation within computing curriculum recommendations spanning several decades. Depending on the specific computing area or program, there is a variation in the advocated number of math contact hours. For instance, two-year programs like community colleges require many math hours due to curriculum alignment and agreements with four-year colleges. In other cases, the regional workforce and the career opportunities provided by local industry partners influence a degree program’s math courses/topics. The debate surrounding the appropriate number of math contact hours in computing programs has persisted over the years and has yet to be a definitive solution. Curricular guidelines such as ACM/IEEE-CS/AAAI CS 2023 and Information Technology 2017 have proposed math education based on competencies and workforce perspectives. Specifically, the former now recommends a tailored math background based on the knowledge area within computer science. This approach allows for a more flexible structure of knowledge units, encompassing specific topics, learning outcomes, and competencies. This paper explores various approaches and solutions proposed in the first two years of computing education programs to address challenges and gaps in computing education. It also highlights the short-term and long-term challenges computing programs and educators face.