Hypothetico-deductive Thinking Model: Candidate Theory and Mechanism for Didactic Transposition and Teaching of the Experimental Sciences

The aim of this study was to construct and investigate the statistical and psychometric properties of the theorized model of the hypothetico-deductive thinking theory as candidate theory for didactic transposition, teaching and learning of thinking and reasoning. The survey involved 150 students of the Upper Sixth Science and Terminale D classes of both subsystems of education in Cameroon. A five point Likert scale questionnaire type was used to obtain data on students’ spontaneous views about the instructional, educational and life skills aspects of the thoracic and vertebral column of the human skeleton and their applicability to problem-solving. Data collected was used to specify a Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Model (PLS-SEM) for the theory. Its statistical and psychometric robustness was investigated using SmartPLS V.2 M3.Assessment of the measurement model revealed very significant relationships and very high cross loading regression weights between indicators and their corresponding latent constructs. Also, path model assessment revealed very strong discriminant validity, reliability and Cronbach’s alpha statistics. Association between latent constructs were also strongly significant with very adequate predictive relevance and effect sizes. However, the data showed that the model was inadequate in accounting for the variances observed in the dependent constructs judging from the very low variance explained statistic. Within limits of this study, the model furnished convincing statistic and psychometric evidence for further specifications in view of proclaiming the candidate theory as theory for didactic transposition and teaching how to think and reason

Ethno-medico-botanical survey of medicinal plants used in the treatment of asthma in the Nkongsamba Region, Cameroon

491-495 The paper provides a brief account of 29 plants from 24 families used by the Mbo community of Nkongsamba, Cameroon, as traditional herbal medicines, in the treatment of asthma. Many of the plant species claimed to be remedies against asthma by the population are highly effective when compared with the published literature on ethnomedicine or on pharmacology in different regions of Africa. Two plants (Cannabis sativa and Datura metel) are dangerous in the case of overdose and one (Persea americana) contra-indicated in pregnancy. </smarttagtype

Treating fibromyoma with herbal medicines in South Cameroon

736-741The study presents the conclusions of a survey, carried out to determine how, by means of plant recipes, the traditional healers of the South Cameroon treat uterine fibromyoma. Fibromyoma causes primary or secondary level infertility, but not sterility. The population concerned was those of the Ambam Division, South Cameroon. The study listed and studied 46 plant species belonging to 32 families, all used as traditional herbal medicines in the treatment of fibromyoma. And before that, the local traditional healers and the women treated or under treatment were submitted to questionnaires to be filled. During laboratory work, many of the plant species identified in the field, and their therapeutic uses, were compared with the published works on ethnomedicine in Cameroon and may proved to be new. It was also acknowledged that many others, whose effectiveness in the treatment of fibromyoma was being well recognised, were also used for the same purpose in others regions of Cameroon. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In the sample retained within the framework of the study, 16.5% of the women were effectively healed

Association semi-aquatique à Cyclosorus striatus (Schum.) Ching (Thelipteridaceae) dans la région de Yaoundé (Cameroun)

RÉSUMÉ:- Une formation herbeuse semi-aquatique à Cyclosorus striatus (Schum.) Ching (Thelipteridaceae) est décrite dans la région de Yaoundé, comme une nouvelle association. Un tableau phytosociologique est présenté et interprété à l'aide de différents spectres écologiques (types biologiques, types de distribution phytogéographique, types de dimension foliaire, types de dissémination et groupes écosociologiques). L'association est pauvre en espèces et comprend principalement les géophytes et des espèces largement répandues. La moitié des espèces sont distribuées par le vent. ABSTRACT:- The herbaceous semi-aquatic Cyclosorus striatus (Schum.) Ching (Thelipteridaceae) vegetation is described as a new association in the Yaounde region. A phytosociological table is presented and interpreted using various ecological spectra (biological, phytogeographical distribution, leaf size and dissemination types, as well as eco-sociological groups). Poor in species, the association comprises mainly geophytes and widely distributed species ; half of the species are wind-disseminated. African Journal of Science and Technology Vol.4(2) 2003: 29-3

Abortifacient plants of the Buea region, their participation in the sexuality of adolescent girls

502-507A survey carried out on 297 teenage girls from four different high schools show that 43.7% cases of abortion were done using some of 24 plant species belongings to 16 families. Within 1996 and 1998, 85 cases of provoked abortion were registered in the surgical service of the district hospital in Buea. With 63.2% cases of plant elements diversified side effects resulting from these abortion were equally registered

The Value of the Freshwater Snail Dip Scoop Sampling Method in Macroinvertebrates Bioassessment of Sugar Mill Wastewater Pollution in Mbandjock, Cameroon

Macroinvertebrates identification and enumeration may be used as a simple and affordable alternative to chemical analysis in water pollution monitoring. However, the ecological responses of various taxa to pollution are poorly known in resources-limited tropical countries. While freshwater macroinvertebrates have been used in the assessment of water quality in Europe and the Americas, investigations in Africa have mainly focused on snail hosts of human parasites. There is a need for sampling methods that can be used to assess both snails and other macroinvertebrates. The present study was designed to evaluate the usefulness of the freshwater snail dip scoop method in the study of macroinvertebrates for the assessment of the SOSUCAM sugar mill effluents pollution. Standard snail dip scoop samples were collected upstream and downstream of the factory effluent inputs, on the Mokona and Mengoala rivers. The analysis of the macroinvertebrate communities revealed the absence of Ephemeroptera and Trichoptera, and the thriving of Syrphidae in the sections of the rivers under high effluent load. The Shannon and Weaver diversity index was lower in these areas. The dip scoop sampling protocol was found to be a useful method for macroinvertebrates collection. Hence, this method is recommended as a simple, cost-effective and efficient tool for the bio-assessment of freshwater pollution in developing countries with limited research resources