Familial drinking habit, emotional stability and alcohol use in a sample of male and female adolescents in Ibadan, Nigeria

This study examined demographic variables, familial drinking habit and emotional stability as predictors of alcohol use among adolescents in Ibadan, Nigeria. This is across sectional study that used ex-post facto research design. Data were collected from 220 (118 males & 102 females) adolescents using structured questionnaires comprising of demographic characteristics and scales measuring variables of interest in the study. Three-stage hierarchical multiple regression analyses were used in the study. Parents’ SES (β = .13; p<.05) and parents’ educational level (β = .16; p<.05) independently predicted alcohol use; and along with age, they accounted for 7% of the explained variance in alcohol use. Inclusion of familial drinking habit along with other variables accounted for 40% of the explained variance in alcohol use. Male reported more alcohol use than female adolescents. Findings were discussed in accordance with previous studies. The relevance of the influence of familial drinking habits was emphasized in alcohol reduction intervention programmes for adolescents.Keywords: Alcohol use, familial drinking habits, emotional stability, adolescents, Nigeri

Terror-Globalisation and the Rise of Modern Terrorism

The modern world has been ravaged by persistence violence and acts of terrorism and this has grown from national to global due to the development in information technology and liberalisation of trade which has also made national borders insignificant and terrorism globalised. Although there are controversies on the contributory role of globalisation on terrorism this work therefore seeks to draw the lines to identify if globalisation has fed or crippled global terrorism. Terrorism is present in every parts of the world and can spread to any part of the world within a short period and it is rather a challenge that terrorist organisations now use social media which ordinarily was developed for better communication of people to spread their gospel of terrorism and also recruit terrorist across border and even give directives on where next an act of terror should be felt

Parental safety concerns and active school commute: correlates across multiple domains in the home-to-school journey

Abiodun O. Oluyomi, Eileen Nehme, and Deanna M. Hoelscher are with The Michael and Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living, UT School of Public Health, Austin Regional Campus, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Austin, TX USA -- Chanam Lee is with the Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning, College of Architecture, Texas AM University, College Station, TX USA -- Diane Dowdy and Marci G. Ory are with the School of Rural Public Health, Texas AM HeaBackground: Empirical evidence of the relationship between safety concerns and walking to school (WTS) is growing. However, current research offers limited understanding of the multiple domains of parental safety concerns and the specific mechanisms through which parents articulate safety concerns about WTS. A more detailed understanding is needed to inform environmental and policy interventions. This study examined the relationships between both traffic safety and personal safety concerns and WTS in the U.S. Methods: This cross-sectional analysis examined data from the Texas Childhood Obesity Prevention Policy Evaluation (T-COPPE) project, an evaluation of state-wide obesity prevention policy interventions. All study data were from the survey (n = 830) of parents with 4th grade students attending 81 elementary schools across Texas, and living within two miles from their children's schools. Traffic safety and personal safety concerns were captured for the home neighborhood, en-route to school, and school environments. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to assess the odds of WTS controlling for significant covariates. Results: Overall, 18% of parents reported that their child walked to school on most days of the week. For traffic safety, students were more likely to walk to school if their parent reported favorable perceptions about the following items in the home neighborhood environment: higher sidewalk availability, well maintained sidewalks and safe road crossings. For the route to school, the odds of WTS were higher for those who reported "no problem" with each one of the following: traffic speed, amount of traffic, sidewalks/pathways, intersection/crossing safety, and crossing guards, when compared to those that reported "always a problem". For personal safety in the en-route to school environment, the odds of WTS were lower when parents reported concerns about: stray or dangerous animals and availability of others with whom to walk. Conclusions: Findings offered insights into the specific issues that drive safety concerns for elementary school children’s WTS behaviors. The observed associations between more favorable perceptions of safety and WTS provide further justification for practical intervention strategies to reduce WTS barriers that can potentially bring long-term physical activity and health benefits to school-aged children.Public [email protected]

Diagnosis and clinical management of teeth with vertical root fractures: a literature review

The diagnosis of vertical root fracture (VRF) is at times complicated for lack of specific signs, symptoms and/or radiographic features. It constitutes an important threat to the tooth’s prognosis during and after root canal therapy and may result in root or tooth extraction. Early detection and management of VRF remain a vexing issue that has caused needless stress for both the dentist and the patient. This paper presents an overview of the prevalence and multifactorial aetiology of VRF, the clinical and radiographic features of this disorder, the importance of correct diagnosis and treatment options available for both anterior and posterior teeth. An exhaustive review of literature was done using Medline to bring out various etiologic factors, clinical presentations, radiographic features and treatment alternatives available for VRF. There are, however, many specific clinical and radiological signs which when present, can alert clinicians to the existence of a fracture. Even though VRF are commoner in endodontically treated teeth, its occurrence in non-restored teeth has been described. Clinical signs and symptoms vary according to the position of the fracture, tooth type, duration after fracture, periodontal condition of the tooth and architecture of the bone adjacent to the fracture. The radiographic appearance of teeth with VRF is variable depending on the angulation of X-ray beam in relation to the plane of the fracture, the time after fracture and the degree of separation of the root fragments. It is important to recognize the sometimes subtle findings in VRF so that patient can be properly informed about the prognosis and the potential for successful treatment in affected tooth\teeth

Public Participation in Local Government Planning and Development: Evidence from Lagos State, Nigeria

When members of the public are given the opportunity to participate in local governance, the benefits are immeasurable. Unfortunately, the structure and mechanisms for promoting public participation, especially in the context of a developing country, is underexplored. In this paper, we examine the structure and mechanisms for public participation in two randomly selected communities within Lagos Mainland Area of Lagos State, Nigeria. Specifically, we measure public participation in terms of the quality of interaction among the members of the community, as well as the interaction between the community and the Local Government Council. Selected Heads of Traditional Councils in these communities were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. The findings show that “face-toface” relationship is a dominant strategy for promoting public participation within t he Makoko/Iwaya communities. Consequently, we established that the potential of ICT in the promoting of public participation is far from being explored in these communities. The corresponding policy implications are discussed and recommendations to enhancethe use of ICT for promoting public participation are suggested

DETERMINANTS OF TEACHERS’ PSYCHOLOGICAL ABUSE AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN NIGERIA

Teachers are employed in schools to perform specific roles that will support students’ crave for academic excellence. For students to realize this, the academic environment must be devoid of psychological disturbances and intimidation. Disappointedly, studies have shown that emotional abuse existed in schools and perpetrators included teachers. Researches in this area have shown variables such as parental education, family type and size, socio-economic status as correlates of teachers’ psychological abuse. Apart from the fact that some predicting variables are yet to be tested via researches, the joint and separate effects of some variables are yet to be empirically determined. Therefore, the current study examines the extent to which the separate and combination of gender, age, class and school type of students would impact on teachers’ psychological abuse. The sample for the study consists of 500 students randomly selected from ten secondary schools in Ado-Odo Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State, Nigeria. ‘Teachers’ Psychological Abuse Rating Scale’’ with a 4-point rating scale is employed to generate data. The results of the two hypotheses analyzed with stepwise multiple regression analysis show that the combination of gender, age class, and school type could only account for 16.2% of the variance in teachers’ psychological abuse with the class of the participants (junior and secondary schools) as the most potent predictor. It is recommended that multi-dimensional research efforts should be adopted to isolate all contributing variables of psychological abuse by teachers and psychologists should cooperatively develop psycho-educational interventions on relational skills development

Pyogenic liver abscess mimicking pleural effusion

Pyogenic liver abscess is a major visceral abscess that may pose a diagnostic dilemma in a febrile child with prominent extra-abdominal symptoms. We present a case of a well-nourished, immunocompetent  four-year-old girl who had none of the common predispositions to a liver abscess. Hence, in this unusual setting, pyogenic liver abscess was not considered at the initial assessment, until closer evaluation and futile efforts to drain a seemingly large “pleural effusion” eventually revealed the diagnosis, which was confirmed by imaging. She underwent ultrasound-guided percutaneous drainage of the pyogenic liver abscess to avert the sequelae of this potentially fatal disorder. This underscores the need to think laterally when considering differential diagnoses for the sick child.S Afr Fam Pract 2012;54(5):459-46