A Sociolinguistic Consideration of Intermediation in Greeting Discourse among the Yo?ru?ba of South West Nigeria

Existing studies on Yoru?ba? greeting forms dwell on the appropriateness of their use, with respect to time of the year, event, condition, occupation, vocation, context, politeness and content. The studies portray greetings as discourse between two people or parties who are capable of exchanging pleasantries. None of the existing works has discussed intermediation in greeting discourse among the Yoru?ba? people such that greetings that are directed to the second person(s) such as toddlers, extremely sick persons, kings and the bereaved are answered on their behalf by a third party. This paper examines intermediation and the rationale in greeting discourse among the Yoru?ba? people. The data for this study were drawn from participant observation, Yoru?ba? literature texts, and Yoru?ba? home movies. The Mutual Contextual Beliefs Theory of Pragmatics as proposed by Bach and Harnish (1979) was adopted for the data analysis. The study established, among other things, that greetings are sacrosanct in Yoru?ba? culture and the answer/reply is obligatory, irrespective of the state, status, circumstance and condition of the person(s) being greeted. It is also shown that intermediation in greeting discourse could be for politeness, incapacitation, authority and educating the young ones

Physicochemical properties of Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea) starch annealed at different temperatures.

Bambara groundnut is a starchy grain that could serve as a starch source for the industry. In the native form, starches are generally unsuitable for most industrial applications and hence are modified. Physical modification methods including annealing are preferred for starch modification because they are environmentally friendly. Previous studies on the annealing of Bambara starch focused on single-temperature treatment. This study investigated the physicochemical properties of Bambara starch annealed at varying temperatures of 45, 50, 55, and 60°C for 24 h. The amylose contents of the starches varied between 27.18% and 28.53%. Annealed Bambara starches showed significantly lower swelling and solubility values than the native starch. Furthermore, except for the time to peak (4.05–4.44 min), pasting temperatures (81.95–84.00°C), gelatinization temperatures (70.47–77.23°C), and gelatinization enthalpies (3.95– 4.41 J/g) which increased the pasting properties of the annealed starches decreased. The result of this study should guide researchers on the specific annealing temperature to use for specific food and industrial application

Suicidal behaviour among patients with congestive cardiac failure in a Nigerian teaching hospital

Background: Suicidal behaviour is an established psychiatric complication of congestive cardiac failure (CCF), contributing significantly to morbidity and death by suicide. The magnitude and risk factors for suicidal behaviour among patients with CCF are yet to be unpacked, especially in developing nations such as Nigeria. Aim: To determine the prevalence of suicidal behaviour and the risk factors associated with suicidal behaviour, among patients with CCF in Nigeria. Setting: Cardiology outpatient clinic of Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Lagos, Nigeria. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 98 randomly selected patients with a diagnosis of CCF. Participants were assessed with a socio-demographic and clinical factors questionnaire and Beck Scale of Suicidal Ideation. Chi-square test, t-test and logistic regression were used to analyse data. Results: The prevalence of suicidal ideation and suicidal attempt among patients with CCF was 52% and 1%, respectively. No socio-demographic factor was significantly associated with suicidal ideation. Clinical factors associated with suicidal ideation were age at diagnosis (p = 0.042), aetiology of CCF (p = 0.001) and severity of CCF (p = 0.032). Only the severity of CCF (odds ratio [OR] = 20.557, p = 0.014) predicted suicidal ideation among patients with CCF. Conclusion: Suicidal behaviour constitutes a huge burden among the outpatient CCF population. The identification of clinical risk factors for suicidal ideation (age at diagnosis, aetiology and severity of CCF) further illuminates a pathway to mortality among patients with CCF. Contribution: The findings lend a voice to the need for screening for suicidal behaviour, suicide prevention programmes, surveillance systems and government policies that support mental health for patients with CCF

Intercultural beliefs and the practice of female genital mutilation in Kaduna and Ekiti States

Female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) is deeply rooted in a socio-cultural belief that forces women to undergo the live threatening practice of mutilating/cutting a females genital. Till today, virginity is perceived as an indicator of veneration for girls and parents, also culturally there is an erroneous dogma that female genital cutting can lessen promiscuity among females. This study examined intercultural beliefs and practices of FGM in Kaduna State and Ekiti State which is a representation of the Northern and South-western, Nigeria respectively. The study was carried out on 400 selected respondents in totality, 200 respondents in each of the study state. Data were collected through structured questionnaires More so, multistage sampling technique was used in selecting participants. The findings revealed that majority(87%) in Kaduna and 97% in Ekiti have heard of FGM. 75% believed that FGM practice is not against the law while in Kaduna the result shows a high level of confusion as to whether it was a gainst the law. Majority(91%) in Ekiti endorsed the practice of FGM while in Kaduna majority(74%) object to the practice. The main reason for supporting or not in both states were principally sexual and cultural. The practice of FGM in Ekiti is astronomical as 90.5% agreed to the circumcision of their girl child while majority(88%) in Kaduna disagreed. All socio-demographic variables shows a positive significant relationship to the practice of FGM in a chi-square test. In summary the finding shows a substantial level of subscription to the practice of FGM in southwest, Nigeria however the practice is infinitesimal in Northern, Nigeria. The study recommends a spontaneous advocacy programs coupled with pragmatic jingles in local dialects that would centre on educating the populace on the inherent dangers of FGM practice especially in the southwest and furthermore, to totally dissaude the trifling percentage that agree to FGM practice in North by demystifying all FGM cultural beliefs which would culminate to the extinction of the heinous practice