Childhood and Adolescent Reproductive Tract Tumours in Zaria

Introduction/Context: Reproductive tract tumours are said to be rare in adolescents and children and the malignant variety are particularly rare. Their rarity however may lead to problems as the diagnosis may not be considered and individual clinicians may have insufficient experience to ensure appropriate treatment.Objective: To determine the incidence of reproductive tract tumours amongst adolescents and children in Zaria.Methods: The histopathology reports of all reproductive tract tumours in adolescents and children between January 1995 and December 2004 were retrieved. Information on age, presence of reproductive tract tumour,,and histological diagnosis were analyzed..Results: The total number of reproductive tract tumours seen in this period from all age groups was 527. Tumours from adolescents and children accounted for 7.6% (40). Benign tumours made up 55% (22) while malignant tumours accounted for 45% (18).The most common tumours were the teratomas (Mature 9, Immature 2) and hydatidiform mole, constituting 27.5% (11) each. Age groups incidence; 16 19yrs 62.5% (25), 11 15yrs 25.0% (10) 6 10yrs 10% (4), and 0 -5yrs 2.5% (1).Conclusion: Reproductive tract tumours among adolescents and children are not as rare as previously thought and with a high index of suspicion these tumours can be detected early and prompt treatment instituted

The Effect of Fake News on Nigeria's Democracy within The Premise of Freedom of Expression

The study was conducted to measure the effect of fake news on Nigeria’s democracy within the premise of freedom of expression. The study was anchored on four objectives to find out the rate of the spread of fake news among Nigerians on both social and conventional media; to examine the perception of media audience on fake news and abuse of freedom of expression; to find out the effect of fake news on Nigeria’s democracy; to determine measures that can be adopted in combating fake news The study selected purposive sampling and surveyed 60 social media user from Borno and Yobe (i.e, 30 from each of the two states) and administered questionnaire. The study found that majority of the respondents contributes in the information sharing system of media cycle. The study found that despite the awareness of fake news among the respondents, there is limited alertness with regard to sensitivity of verifying information before sharing. The study also found that politics and crisis suffer more fake news than any other nature. The study found that fake news is still crucial because there are rounds of perceptions that influence its nature and thus its spread. We also found that the respondents have negative perception about the extent to which fake news can affect democracy and democratic system of governance. The study recommends that awareness should be created so as to enlighten people who use the social media to avoid spreading unverified information and that other social media platform should copy from Twitter in restricting number of text user can post and identification of a verified account

Determination of radionuclides in soil samples taken from Gura Topp (Jos) using sodium iodide thallium detector Nai(Ti)

The activity concentrations of natural radionuclides 40K, 226Ra and 232Th in soil samples taken from the tin mining area in Gura top, Jos were measured by gamma spectrometry using Sodium Iodide detector. The average specific activity concentrations of 40K, 226Ra and 232Th determined in the soil sample ranged from 11.26±3.16Bq/Kg to 543.35±0.64Bq/Kg with mean activity concentration of 161.96±7.56Bq/Kg for 40K, that of 226Ra ranged from 7.19±1.23Bq/Kg to 144.20±10.18Bq/Kg with the mean activity of 46.47±5.19Bq/Kg while 232Th ranged from 76.08±3.38Bq/Kg to 1267.91±15.37Bq/Kg, with mean activity concentration of 396.17±7.69Bq/Kg. The results indicates that the activity concentration of 40K was found to be below the world average while that of 232Th and 226Ra were detected to be above the world average value. This suggests that t the study area has excess thorium and radium activities which pose significant health hazard and is considered radio-logically unsafe for human to cultivate on the land.Keywords: Activity concentration, Gamma spectrometry, Natural radionuclides and Sodium, Iodide detecto

Effect of health education on long lasting insecticidal nets utilization among mothers of under five children in yamaltu deba lga, Gombe state, Nigeria

Malaria remains a major global public health challenge. It is the leading cause ofdeath among children below the age of five years and constitutes 10% of the continent's disease burden. The objective of this study was to determine effect of health education on utilization of long lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) among mothers of under five children in Yamaltu Deba LGA of Gombe state: Objective: This study was aimed at determining the effect of health education on LLINs utilization among mothers of under five children in Yamaltu Deba LGA of Gombe State. Method: The study was a community-based quasi-experimental intervention where 240 mothers of under five children were selected from two communities using a multi stage sampling technique. Health education was given in the study community and withheld in the control community. Data was collected from both communities before and after the intervention using an interviewer administered structured questionnaire. Data was analyzed using EPI-INFO 3.7.1 and Micro soft Excel software. Result obtained was presented using proportion, Chi-square test was used to assess the relationship between categorical variables and decision taken at p<0.05. Results: The mean ages of respondents in study and control communities were 28.9±6.2 and 27.9±6.7 years respectively. At pre-intervention, LLIN ownership was found to be 86.6% and 76.3% while its utilization was 45.4% and 38.1% in both communities. After health education intervention, (LLINs) improved significantly in study community from 42.9% to 89.9% compared with control community which increased from 33.9% to 60.9% and the difference was statistically significant (P=0.0001). Conclusion: This study concludes that health education significantly improved utilization. We recommendedcontinuous health education on LLINs utilization in communities especially among mothers of under five children

Insecticidal activity of Wild Spikenard (Hyptis suaveolens L. Poit) on Adult Mortality and Female Oviposition of Groundnut Bruchid, Caryedon serratus Olivier on stored Groundnut Seeds and Tamarind pods

An investigation was conducted to estimate the insecticidal deterrence of wild Spikenard (Hyptis suaveolens L. Poit) on adult mortality and female oviposition of groundnut bruchid, Caryedon serratus Olivier on stored groundnut seeds and tamarind pods. Data were taken on mean percentage mortality and mean number of eggs laid (female oviposition). The highest mean percentage mortality for both stored produces were reported in actellic dust and 12.00g levels of H. suaveolens whole powders (93.50; 91.75 and 92.25; 91.25) while the least were obtained in the controls (4.75; 3.25). Moreover, 12.00g levels of H. suaveolens whole powder and actellic dust recorded the least mean number of eggs laid (female oviposition)  (18.00; 17.00 and 19.25; 18.00) while the highest was reported in the controls (318.25; 305.50) respectively. There was no significant difference between the effects of rates of synthetic insecticides and 12.00g level of H. suaveolens whole powder in all the parameters measured

Investigating the Role of Diversification on Economic Growth in Nigeria; New Evidence from SVARs

Fluctuations in oil prices have caused economic contractions and challenges to oil-exporting economies. In particular, Nigeria suffers both the previous and current global oil price shocks and this has raised concerns among policymakers, governments, and economic analysts because of the impact of oil and oil prices in Nigeria’s macroeconomic development. However, this paper investigates the role of diversification on economic growth in Nigeria using annual data from 1986 to 2018. The techniques applied showed that only remittances and official development assistance have affected economic growth in the short run. However, the coefficients of one period lagged indicated that the system is capable of adjusting to its long-run equilibrium condition after some shocks in the system.  The findings from variance decomposition indicated that diversification plays a positive role on economic growth in both the short and long-run horizons. By overall implication, the study concludes that diversification has a positive role on Nigeria’s economic growth. Therefore, the study recommends the need for the government to provide active and inclusive policies such as soft loans and commercial agricultural programs to improve its export of agricultural output competitiveness, improve supervisory and regulatory frameworks in the financial sector to ease remittances inflow. For these reasons, diversifying the economy from oil revenue is the ultimate goal for achieving sustainable economic growth and development goals or targets by the year 2030

Modulatory role of vitamins A and E on memory and motor functions of cyanide induced neurotoxicity in adult swiss mice

Summary: Cyanide is a potent neurotoxic substance that can initiate series of intracellular reactions leading to oxidative stress. To evaluate effect of sublethal administration of potassium cyanide (KCN) on sensorimotor functions and long term visuo-spatial learning and memory in adult Swiss mice and possible ameliorative role of vitamins A and E. These vitamins A and E (dietary) are antioxidants that have scavenging properties against free radicals and reactive oxygen species as a result of oxidative stress induced by cyanide. Thirty-five mice weighing between 18-22 g were used for the study. The animals were randomly divided into five groups (n = 7) and exposed to sublethal concentration of potassium cyanide (10% LD50; 1.5 mg/kg). KCN was administered orally while vitamin A (25 mg/kg) and vitamin E (50 mg/kg) were administered intra-peritoneal (IP) once daily for 28 days. Potassium cyanide (KCN) was first administered and after 10 minutes intervals, followed by vitamin A and then E after 5 minutes, vitamin E were administered across the different treatment groups. Mice were examined for signs of toxicity. Vitamins pre-treatment ameliorated toxic signs. In the dynamics of wire grid, coat hanger and stationary beam test, the latency to fall in weeks 2 and 4 were statistically significant. In acquisition and retention, using elevated plus maze (EPM), KCN treated group recorded high transfer latencies in seconds (50.40±1.72 secs) and (57.60±0.93 secs) as compared to group IV (29.40±0.68 secs; 5.60±0.60 secs). Cyanide is a neurotoxin that affects motor functions with progressive decline in motor strength and coordination. KCN affects acquisition and retention memory while pre-treatment with antioxidant vitamins A and E ameliorated these deficits.Keywords: Cyanide; Neurotoxicity; Memory; Motor functionNiger. J. Physiol. Sci. 33(December 2018) 183-18

Microwave assisted biodiesel production from Lagenaria vulgaris seed oil using amberlyst 15 ion exchange resin and eggshell as catalysts

The study involves the extraction of oil from the seeds of lagenaria vulgaris (Calabash) using soxhlet apparatus. The physicochemical properties of the calabash seeds oil analyzed were; crude oil yield (37.8%), density of oil (0.925g/cm3), acid value of oil (5.6mgKOH/g) and saponification value (190.1mgKOH/g).Catalytic transesterification was carried out using the oil produced in a microwave to yield biodiesel. A comparative analysis of the biodiesel produced from the extracted oil using two different catalysts; Amberlyst 15 ion exchange resin and calcium oxide (waste eggshell) was carried out. The biodiesel production was conducted under different catalyst concentrations, different temperature range and different time (minutes). The best yield of 95.07% was achieved with treated waste eggshell at 600C, 5% catalyst to oil ratio and 40% methanol to oil volume ratio after 40 minutes. Biodiesel characterization showed; specific gravity (0.890g/cm3), acid value (0.7mgKOH/g), API gravity (27.5g/cm3), kinematic viscosity (5.6mm2/s), cloud point (3.50C), pour point (-30C), copper strip corrosion test (1b), flash point (1380C), cetane/diesel index (35.1). The result shows that the biodiesel quality parameters were within the acceptable limits set by ASTM, although blends and additives maybe needed to improve performance.Keywords: Biodiesel, Transesterification, Amberlyst 15, Eggshel