A Survey of Passiflora foetida L. and Associated Weed Species on Arable Crops in Ballah, Southern Guinea Savanna Zone of Nigeria.

A survey was conducted in the research field of the Institute of Agricultural Research and Training, Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife, Ballah sub-station in southern Guinea savanna of Nigeria during 2010 to 2011 cropping season with an objective to determine the relative abundance of Passiflora foetida L. and predict the potential of the weed species dominating arable fields. Passiflora foetida L. was found to be with a high percentage frequency of occurrence (16.99 %) and relative abundance ranging from 27.05 to 62.29 % at crop vegetative stage and 17.49 to 74.75 % during harvesting of arable crops. The fields of cowpea and soyabean had higher frequencies of occurrence of the alien weed compare with sole cassava and  maize plots and theirintercrops with lower frequencies of occurrence. This study advocated periodic observation of weed flora by farmers to ascertain cases of invasion of farmlands by alien  weed species to facilitate early management strategy that could limit spread of such weed species.Keywords : Passiflora foetida, arable crop fields, associated weed species, Balla

Major urogenital malformations in Nigerian children

Background:There is scanty data on the pattern of childhoodurogenital malformations in many resource-poorcountries, including Nigeria.Objective:To describe the pattern of occurrence of majorurogenital malformations in children presenting in atertiary health care centre in sub Saharan Africa.Design:Retrospective case review.Patients:All children with major urogenital malformationspresented at the Department of Paediatrics of theUniversity College Hospital, Ibadan, a large tertiaryhealth care institution in South West Nigeria. In theperiod from July 1985 to December 1995.Main results:A total number of 125 cases of major urogenitalmalformations were seen during the study period.The commonest of these malformations were posterior urethral valves (40.0%), hypospedias(18.4%), ambiguous external genitalia (12.8%) andectopia vesicae (11.2%).Prenatal diagnosis was rare and most patientspresented late. Mortality during first admission was14.4% (18/125), mostly accounted for by cases ofposterior urethral valves.Conclusion: Posterior urethral valves accounted for the majority of major urogenital malformations seen in the setting studied. The high mortality probably reflected the severity of the lesions and late presentation of patients (which was related to the rarity of prenatal diagnosis). Increased awareness of these lesions among physicians practising in developing countries and greater use of ultrasonography in the third trimester of pregnancy may improve the prognosis by early detection and management

Bone fractures among adult Nigerians with hyperthyroidism: risk factors, pattern and frequency

Background: Hyperthyroidism is a common endocrine disorder with multi-systemic effects, the least reported of which is bone loss and fractures.Objective: The aim was to evaluate the risk factors, pattern and frequency of bone fractures among Nigerians with hyperthyroidism.Methodology: An analytical study was undertaken of 40 patients with hyperthyroidism aged between 21 and 50 years. They were seen at the outpatient Endocrine, Diabetic and Metabolism (EDM) clinic of Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH). Using an interviewer-administered questionnaire, information on sociodemographics, medical history, clinical and biochemical parameters and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scan was obtained. Risk of fracture was assessed using WHO and ISCD risk calculators. During statistical analysis, quantitative and qualitative data were expressed as mean (SD) and percentages.Results: In all, 40 patients with hyperthyroidism were studied with a mean age of 36.16 (8.43) years. There were 32 females (80%, female:male ratio 4:1) and mean body mass index was 24.14 (4.3) kg/m. Hyperthyroidism was defined by Waynes’ scoring index greater than 19 and confirmed by elevated thyroid hormones (FT4 39.44 (24.11) (pmol/l), FT3 12.13 (7.83) (pmol/l)) and suppressed TSH 0.26 (0.03) (u/U/ml). Increased bone turnover was documented by elevated bone formation markers (osteocalcin 45.7 (19.9) ng/ml and alkaline phosphatase 221.1 (143.46 IU/l)), bone resorption markers (24-hour calcium excretion 590.95 (506.1) mg/day). The mean BMD T- and Z-scores were reduced –2.0 (1.2). Bone loss was observed in 31 (72.5%) hyperthyroid subjects, but only three (7.5%) had fractures due to minor trauma.Conclusion: Bone fractures may not be uncommon in hyperthyroidism. Early screening for bone diseases should be encouraged to improve treatment outcome

Use of information and communication technology among dental students and registrars at the faculty of dental sciences, university of Lagos

The aim of this study was to investigate the use of information technology amongst dental students, dental nursing students and resident doctors in training at the faculty of dental Surgery University of Lagos. A structured questionnaire was distributed to 58 clinical dental students in 4th and 5th years of training in the 2010/2011 academic year, 36 dental nursing students and 63 resident doctors undergoing specialist training. All participants have access to the computers, 2.5% within the University and 31% at home and internet cafes and about 50% have the basic skills required. A significant difference was observed between the resident doctors and clinical dental students (P = 0.003), between resident doctors and dental nursing students (P = 0.0001) when the use of computer for study was compared. Over 95% of participants have access to internet and about 50% of them use the internet for their studies. A significant difference (P = 0.005) was observed between clinical dental students and dental nursing students that use the internet and word processing. The resident doctors used the computers for multimedia and MedLine search tools more than clinical dental students (P = 0.004) and dental nursing students (0.0006). The findings of the study show that dental students and resident doctors in training have the requisite knowledge to operate the computer for use in their study and personal activities

Cytomegalovirus antibodies among healthy blood donors at Lagos University Teaching Hospital

Objectives. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is found worldwide in all geographical locations and socio-economic groups and is the virus most frequently transmitted to a developing child before birth. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and risk factors for CMV antibodies among healthy blood donors at Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH).Methods. A cross-sectional study was carried out among consecutively recruited replacement blood donors attending the blood donor clinic at LUTH. A 5 ml blood sample was collected from each consenting participant and serum-assayed for CMV IgG/IgM using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)-based kit.Results. A total of 122 healthy donors were recruited; 96% of the donors were IgG anti-CMV positive while 19.5% were IgM anti-CMV positive. Previous history of blood transfusion was not significantly related to CMV positivity.Conclusion. The seroprevalence of CMV appears to be very high in this environment among healthy blood donors. Based on previous studies that showed a decrease in the incidence of CMV disease when blood is screened for CMV (IgM), the incidence of the disease can be decreased in Lagos if blood is screened for CMV

Genome scan linkage analysis comparing microsatellites and single-nucleotide polymorphisms markers for two measures of alcoholism in chromosomes 1, 4, and 7

BACKGROUND: We analyzed 143 pedigrees (364 nuclear families) in the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA) data provided to the participants in the Genetic Analysis Workshop 14 (GAW14) with the goal of comparing results obtained from genome linkage analysis using microsatellite and with results obtained using SNP markers for two measures of alcoholism (maximum number of drinks -MAXDRINK and an electrophysiological measure from EEG -TTTH1). First, we constructed haplotype blocks by using the entire set of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in chromosomes 1, 4, and 7. These chromosomes have shown linkage signals for MAXDRINK or EEG-TTTH1 in previous reports. Second, we randomly selected one, two, three, four, and five SNPs from each block (referred to as Rep1 – Rep5, respectively) to conduct linkage analysis using variance component approach. Finally, results of all SNP analyses were compared with those obtained using microsatellite markers. RESULTS: The LOD scores obtained from SNPs were slightly higher but the curves were not radically different from those obtained from microsatellite analyses. The peaks of linkage regions from SNP sets were slightly shifted to the left when compared to those from microsatellite markers. The reduced sets of SNPs provide signals in the same linkage regions but with a smaller LOD score suggesting a significant impact of the decrease in information content on linkage results. The widths of 1 LOD support interval of linkage regions from SNP sets were smaller when compared to those of microsatellite markers. However, two linkage regions obtained from the microsatellite linkage analysis on chromosome 7 for LOG of TTTH1 were not detected in the SNP based analyses. CONCLUSION: The linkage results from SNPs showed narrower linkage regions and slightly higher LOD scores when compared to those of microsatellite markers. The different builds of the genetic maps used in microsatellite and SNPs markers or/and errors in genotyping may account for the microsatellite linkage signals on chromosome 7 that were not identified using SNPs. Also, unresolved map issues between SNPs and microsatellite markers may be partly responsible for the shifted linkage peaks when comparing the two types of markers

Techno-economic packaging of palm wine preservation and bottling technology for entrepreneurs

The study was carried out to investigate the economic viability of setting up a small scale palm wine bottling factory with a view to providing investment data to guide entrepreneurs in making investment decisions. The economic evaluation was based on a factory capacity of 750,000 bottles (60cl) per annum with production commencing in year one at 75% capacity utilization. Production cost estimate varies between N37.85/bottle (60cl) in the first year and N35.37/bottle (60cl) in the fifth year. The annual netprofits are N8, 460,430.00 and N12, 025,710.00 in years one and five respectively. Projected cash flow is positive in year one i.e. N5,329,960.00 while the projected balance sheet shows that the net worth of theproject is N19,904,010.00 in year one and N41,887,370.00 in year five. Payback period, discounted payback period and profitability index are 1.4 years, 3.3 years and 1.5 respectively. The breakeven point in year one is 48.1% or a breakeven sales volume of N16, 236,312.35.00.  The Return on Investment (ROI) and Return on Equity (ROE) in year one are 57.5% and 86.1% respectively. Capital Turnover Ratio (CTR) varies between 2.3 and 2.9 within the first five years. Internal Rate of Return (IRR) is above 45%. The Net Present Value (NPV) at 25% is estimated at N3, 143,100.00. The Debt Service Coverage Ratio (DSCR) increases gradually from 1.33 to 2.75 between the first and the fifth year

Genome-wide association study of prevalent and persistent cervical high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) infection

Background: Genetic factors may influence the susceptibility to high-risk (hr) human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and persistence. We conducted the first genome-wide association study (GWAS) to identify variants associated with cervical hrHPV infection and persistence. Methods: Participants were 517 Nigerian women evaluated at baseline and 6 months follow-up visits for HPV. HPV was characterized using SPF10/LiPA25. hrHPV infection was positive if at least one carcinogenic HPV genotype was detected in a sample provided at the baseline visit and persistent if at least one carcinogenic HPV genotype was detected in each of the samples provided at the baseline and follow-up visits. Genotyping was done using the Illumina Multi-Ethnic Genotyping Array (MEGA) and imputation was done using the African Genome Resources Haplotype Reference Panel. Association analysis was done for hrHPV infection (125 cases/392 controls) and for persistent hrHPV infection (51 cases/355 controls) under additive genetic models adjusted for age, HIV status and the first principal component (PC) of the genotypes. Results: The mean (±SD) age of the study participants was 38 (±8) years, 48% were HIV negative, 24% were hrHPV positive and 10% had persistent hrHPV infections. No single variant reached genome-wide significance (p < 5 X 10− 8). The top three variants associated with hrHPV infections were intronic variants clustered in KLF12 (all OR: 7.06, p = 1.43 × 10− 6). The top variants associated with cervical hrHPV persistence were in DAP (OR: 6.86, p = 7.15 × 10− 8), NR5A2 (OR: 3.65, p = 2.03 × 10− 7) and MIR365–2 (OR: 7.71, p = 2.63 × 10− 7) gene regions. Conclusions: This exploratory GWAS yielded suggestive candidate risk loci for cervical hrHPV infection and persistence. The identified loci have biological annotation and functional data supporting their role in hrHPV infection and persistence. Given our limited sample size, larger discovery and replication studies are warranted to further characterize the reported associations

Development of an Alumni Feedback System for Curriculum Improvement in Building Technology Courses

In this fast-paced world, the needs of the world of work and the global market is changing at an unprecedented speed. Therefore, institutions of higher learning need to constantly adjust their programs to fit into these needs. The study aimed to develop an alumni feedback system for curriculum improvement in Building Technology courses. The study highlighted the benefits of an alumni feedback system compared to a manual questionnaire method or other methods of curriculum improvement. The web-based system was designed through use case and system block diagrams. Thereafter, the webbased system was programmed using HTML, CSS, MySQL and PHP. Screenshots of the web-based system was presented. The alumni feedback system comprises of background information of the alumni, perception test on the impact of the course content and a review of the course content for curriculum improvement. Since this is a preliminary study, future studies would be based on analyzing data obtained in the database in terms of the numerical and text data. This study can be adapted for other programmes for the purpose of curriculum improvement