Political Thuggery as a Blight to Nation Building and Democracy in Nigeria: Appraising the Role of Drama and Playwright

Political thuggery is a form of social violence that has posed a lot of problems to Nigeria. The problem is so much that it threatens the socio-economic and political fabric of the Nigerian society. Thugs are often used, especially during election periods, to intimidate, harass and in some cases kill political opponents. This paper critically examines the underlying factors responsible for thuggery as impediment to nation building and sustainable democratic system. The study is anchored on Frustration – Aggression Theory (FAT). The theory was propounded in an attempt to explain the occurrence of violence and crimes in a society. In their view, human beings have needs, ambitions, or expectations in life that are arranged in their order of priority. The paper revealed that unemployment, inadequate political education, poverty (among the citizenry) and inordinate ambition among the political elites are some of the factors responsible for political thuggery. The paper appraises the content of Alex Asigbo’s The Reign of Pascal Amusu and Tor Iorapuu’s April 1421 adopting the qualitative research methodology. The findings reveal that playwrights and dramatic works have beamed their searchlights on the issues of thuggery as a bane to nation building and sustainable democracy. To this end, the paper concludes that a synergy of efforts by all stake holders in the society can curb the trend if not out rightly eliminating it and recommends among others that both government and non-governmental organization should work hand in hand to provide employment opportunity for the citizens towards peaceful society and sustainable nation building.

Phytochemical screening and antibacterial activity of leaf and stem bark extracts of Adansonia digitata on E. coli, S. aureus and S. typhi

Background:  Adansonia digitata L (Baobab) contains different classes of bioactive compounds which were identified from various parts of the plant such as seed, leaves, and roots and also stem bark. The study was designed to determine the antibacterial activityof Adansonia digitata leaf and stem bark extracts. Methods: The plant material was extracted using aqueous, ethanol and methanol; and their activity against the three clinical isolates Escherichia coli (E. coli), Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Salmonella typhi (S. typhi) was ascertained using agar well diffusion method. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of the different extracts were also determined. One way analysis of variance was conducted using Stata/SE11.1 and t-test to determine the significant difference between the effects at p ≤ 0.05. Results: The extracts were found to be effective against the tested organisms. The methanolic extracts showed significantly higher activity against the test organisms compared to aqueous and ethanolic extracts (p = 0.000). The result also demonstrated that the leaf extract is more active than the stem bark extract with significant difference (p=0.000). The methanolic and ethanolic leaf extracts exhibited highest inhibitions zone of 19mm and 16mm against E. coli at concentration of 1000mg/mL respectively. The MIC result of the study showed that the methanolic and ethanolic extracts inhibited the growth of the organisms at 25 mg/ml. The methanolic and ethanolic extracts have MBC at 25 mg/mL. Conclusion: The methanolic and ethanolic leaf extracts have significant effect against the test organisms at all concentration tested

CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE AMONGST SICKLE CELL ANAEMIA PATIENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MAIDUGURI TEACHING HOSPITAL, NORTH EASTERN NIGERIA: A STUDY OF PREVALENCE AND RISK FACTORS

ABSTRACT Introduction: Involvement of the kidneys in patient with sickle cell anaemia is a well recognized chronic complication of this disorder. The index study seeks to determine the prevalence of chronic kidney disease in patients with homozygous sickle cell disease (HbSS) and to identify risk factors associated with its development. Methodology: The subjects consisted of adolescents and adults with HbSS recruited sequentially from the adult haematology outpatient clinic and Day care ward of the unit. Clinical variables including age of diagnosis of SCA, frequency of vaso-occlusive crisis and transfusion therapy, as well as laboratory data including haematological profile, renal function test were obtained from routine blood result. The glomerular filtration rate was estimated (eGFR) using the ‘modification of diet in renal disease’ (MDRD) formula.. Results: Two hundred and eighty-four HbSS patients were recruited. The prevalence of CKD amongst them was 38.9%.  Further stratification of the patients based on eGFR showed that sixty-nine (26.8%) had hyperfiltration; 35 (13.6%) stage 1 CKD; 53 (20.6%) stage 2 CKD; 61 (23.7%) stage 3 CKD; 30 (11.7%) stage 4 CKD and 9 (3.5%) had end stage renal disease. There was significant association between eGFR and clinical parameters such as age (r -0.353, p=0.000), SBP (r -0.148, p= 0.021), DBP (r -0.213, p=0.001) and total number of blood received (r -0.276, p=0.000); and laboratory parameters such as  PCV (r 0.371, p=0.000); urea ( r 0.527, p=000 ); creatinine (r 0.625, p=0.000) and uric acid  ( r -0.419, p=0.000). Conclusion The present study has revealed a high prevalence of CKD amongst patients with SCA in this region. Various clinical and laboratory predictors of eGFR were also identified. Monitoring and detection of early stages of these groups of patients may allow for interventions which may delay progression into advance stages and ESRD

Perception and beliefs about mental illness among adults in Karfi village, northern Nigeria

BACKGROUND: This study was designed to examine the knowledge, attitude and beliefs about causes, manifestations and treatment of mental illness among adults in a rural community in northern Nigeria. METHODS: A cross sectional study design was used. A pre-tested, semi-structured questionnaire was administered to 250 adults residing in Karfi village, northern Nigeria. RESULTS: The most common symptoms proffered by respondents as manifestations of mental illness included aggression/destructiveness (22.0%), loquaciousness (21.2%), eccentric behavior (16.1%) and wandering (13.3%). Drug misuse including alcohol, cannabis, and other street drugs was identified in 34.3% of the responses as a major cause of mental illness, followed by divine wrath/ God's will (19%), and magic/spirit possession (18.0%). About 46% of respondents preferred orthodox medical care for the mentally sick while 34% were more inclined to spiritual healing. Almost half of the respondents harbored negative feelings towards the mentally ill. Literate respondents were seven times more likely to exhibit positive feelings towards the mentally ill as compared to non-literate subjects (OR = 7.6, 95% confidence interval = 3.8–15.1). CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrates the need for community educational programs in Nigeria aimed at demystifying mental illness. A better understanding of mental disorders among the public would allay fear and mistrust about mentally ill persons in the community as well as lessen stigmatization towards such persons

Decellularized and genipin crosslinked human umbilical cord artery and vein for potential use as peripheral nerve conduit

Critical gap peripheral nerve injury, commonly caused by motor vehicle accidents, results in dysfunctional nerve and impaired body function. Our study aims to develop a conduit from decellularized and genipin crosslinked human umbilical cord artery and vein for future use in critical nerve gap injury treatments. Human umbilical cord arteries (HUCA) and veins (HUCV) were divided into native (nHUCA and nHUCV), decellularized (dHUCA and dHUCV) and genipin-crosslinked (clHUCA and clHUCV) groups. Both the decellularized and crosslinked groups were decellularized, and subsequently, the clHUCA and clHUCV groups were crosslinked with 0.1%, 0.4% and 0.7% (w/v) genipin. The HUCA and HUCV were then studied for decellularization efficiency, crosslinking index, biodegradation, swelling ratio, ultrastructure analysis, flexibility and mechanical strength. In addition, mesenchymal stem cells isolated from Wharton’s jelly were seeded into HUCA and HUCV for biocompatibility studies. The degradation test showed that nHUCV and dHUCV degraded at day 7 compared to other groups that did not show any degradation even after 21 days. Biocompatibility studies showed that the conduits crosslinked with 0.4% (w/v) genipin were successfully seeded and was having the most amount of seeded cells. In conclusion, the decellularization and genipin crosslinking of human umbilical cord artery and vein enabled successful in fabrication of conduit with suitable properties such as reduced swelling, flexibility, porosity and mechanical strength, with potential in tissue engineering applications

Reaction Chemistry and Kinetics of Corn Stalk Pyrolysis without and with Ga/HZSM-5

The bifunctional Ga/HZSM-5 catalyst has been proven having the capability to increase the selectivity of aromatics production during catalytic pyrolysis of furan and woody biomass. However, the reaction chemistry and kinetics of pyrolysis of herbaceous biomass promoted by Ga/HZSM-5 is rarely reported. Pyrolysis–gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py–GC/MS) analysis and non-isothermal thermogravimetric analysis at four heating rates were carried out to investigate the decomposition behavior and pyrolysis kinetics of corn stalk without and with Ga/HZSM-5. The effective activation energies for corn stalk pyrolysis were calculated by using the Friedman isoconversional method. The Py–GC/MS analysis results indicated that the Ga/HZSM-5 catalyst had a high selectivity toward producing the aromatic chemicals of xylene, toluene and benzene, whereas the major products from non-catalytic pyrolysis of corn stalk were oxygenated compounds. The presence of Ga/HZSM-5 could significantly reduce the effective activation energies of corn stalk pyrolysis from 159.9–352.4 kJ mol−1 to 41.6–99.8 kJ mol−1 in the conversion range of 0.10–0.85

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P < 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely

A new fuzzy granular technique for the condition monitoring of electrical hotspots based on infrared thermography

In Malaysia, more than 46% of the total causes of fires in buildings are because of the failure of electrical distribution (Ref: http://www.bomba.gov.my). Infrared thermography technology is currently being used in various applications, including fault diagnosis in electrical equipment. Thermal abnormalities are diagnosed by identifying and classifying the hotspot conditions of electrical components. The proposed intelligent system is applied to automatically realize and formulate the conditions of the thermal abnormalities. On the basis of the priority level, the hotspot conditions are categorized as normal, warning, and critical

The Role of Men in Contraceptive Decision-Making in Fanshekara Village, Northern Nigeria

Context: Until recently, the role of men in family planning and other reproductive health programmes has been neglected. Reports from other places indicate an increase in the role played by men in these activities. In rural northern Nigeria, the culture and religion are different from what obtains elsewhere and it is important to investigate men's role in reproductive choices. The outcome may be of use in planning reproductive services in similar communities. Objective: To investigate the role men played in contraceptive decision making in a rural northern Nigerian community. Study Design/Setting and Subjects: A cross-sectional community-based study was conducted in Fanshekara village near Kano. Using systematic sampling, 120 married men in a rural area of Northern Nigeria were selected and interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire. Results: Among the respondents, 65% disapproved of the very concept of contraception. Disapproval was higher among those with low educational attainment. Reasons for the men's disapproval were mainly based on religious and cultural factors. More than two-thirds (68%) of the men felt that family size determination and contraceptive decision-making was entirely their responsibility, while 73% had never discussed these issues with their wives. A positive attitude in the husband was significantly associated with current use of contraception (χ2 = 5.32; df = 1,