Studies of behavioural and analgesic properties of Treculia africana in mice

Treculia africana was claimed to be useful in the treatment of mental illness. The present work was carried out to evaluate the neurobiology and analgesic properties of Treculia africana in mice. The neurobiology and analgesic properties of Treculia africana was investigated by using head dip, elevated plus maze, Y-maze, tail immersion and acetic acid-induced abdominal constriction tests in mice. The results showed that Treculia africana reduced head dips, produced anxiogenic effect, reduced locomotor activity without effect on learning and memory and produced analgesic effect peripherally. It was concluded that Treculia africana possessed sedative and strong analgesic properties. © 2010 International Formulae Group. All rights reserved.Keywords: Head dip, elevated plus maze, Y-Maze, tail immersion, abdominal constrictio

Central Nervous System Depressant Properties of Treculia africana Decne

The study was carried out to investigate the central nervous system activity of Treculia africana. The central nervous system depressant properties of Treculia africana were determined using: Novelty –Induced Rearing and Grooming, Locomotor activity, Ketamine-induced sleeping time and effect on rectal body temperature. The crude extract produced decrease in rearing, grooming and locomotor activity. It also potentiated ketamineinduced sleeping time and produced hypothermic effect in mice. The crude extract possessed sedative effect, which may be through increase in the activity of GABA in the brain

CHILDREN LITERATURE: BEDROCK OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMEN

Education is the bedrock of any nation, and Nigeria is no exception. It is a critical pillar of sustainable human development without which we stagnate, flounder, and become inert. Education can also be referred to as the bedrock of social, economic and political development. It is important for creating enabling conditions for sustaining change. A well educated populace (which begins with a child) is necessary to bring about technological innovations and to adapt and modify it in the context of local conditions and realities. Only education can equip children with the confidence to make the most of their abilities. Quality education and basic literacy will open doors to information technology and the “new economyâ€. According to Jegede (2006), effective national development depends on education whose bedrock is the acquisition of knowledge. A learning society is a knowledgeable and wise society. What a person imbibes from childhood forms the basis of his attitude in life hence in Yoruba culture, a child is taught the norms and values of the society right from childhood through diverse means, one of which is children poems. These poems are didactic and they cover a wide range of themes. The language is very simple and they are easy to remember. They mould children’s attitude as they journey through life. This paper discussed educating children through poems. The poems of Olatubosun and Odunjo were used as case study

QUALITY ATTRIBUTES OF PANCAKES FROM PEELED AND UNPEELED SWEETPOTATO FLOURS WITH CASSAVA STARCH

This study evaluated some quality attributes of pancakes from peeled and unpeeled sweetpotato flours and cassava starch. Cassava starch was substituted up to 30% of the total composite flour. The proximate composition, colour, carotenoid and functional properties of the different flour blends were determined. The flour blends were processed into pancakes and the proximate composition and sensory acceptability of the pancakes were determined. Data obtained were subjected to analysis of variance. The result showed that they were significant differences (p<0.05) in the functional properties of the flour blends. Bulk density, Water absorption capacity, Oil absorption capacity, swelling capacity ranged from 0.70 to 0.78 g/ml, 1.87 to 2.30 g/ml, 1.02 to 1.40 g/ml and 5.18% to 6.66%  respectively. There were significant differences (p<0.05) in the proximate composition of the pancake samples. The values ranged from 42.76 to 45.53%, 2.13 to 3.98%, 9.06 to 10.34%, 5.01 to 7.18%, 3.75 to 6.01% and 29.19 to 35.33% for moisture, ash, fat, protein, crude fibre and carbohydrate contents, respectively. Pancake produced from 100:0 peeled and unpeeled sweetpotato flour had the highest score for overall acceptability which can compare favorably, with pancakes from wheat flour which is the control sample. In conclusion, sweetpotato flour blended with cassava starch at different ratio gave good proximate and functional properties which resulted in pancakes of good quality attributes.   &nbsp

Determining the binding site of ORG27569 within the CB1 receptor

Computational studies to determine the binding site of ORG27569, a negative allosteric modulator, within the cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1) reveal an intracellular binding domain as the most favorable binding site for ORG27569.https://egrove.olemiss.edu/pharm_facpost/1000/thumbnail.jp

Data mining approach for predicting the daily Internet data traffic of a smart university

Internet traffic measurement and analysis generate dataset that are indicators of usage trends, and such dataset can be used for traffic prediction via various statistical analyses. In this study, an extensive analysis was carried out on the daily internet traffic data generated from January to December, 2017 in a smart university in Nigeria. The dataset analysed contains seven key features: the month, the week, the day of the week, the daily IP traffic for the previous day, the average daily IP traffic for the two previous days,the traffic status classification (TSC) for the download and the TSC for the upload internet traffic data. The data mining analysis was performed using four learning algorithms: the Decision Tree, the Tree Ensemble, the Random Forest, and the Naïve Bayes Algorithm on KNIME (Konstanz Information Miner) data mining application and kNN, Neural Network, Random Forest, Naïve Bayes and CN2 Rule Inducer algorithms on the Orange platform. A comparative performance analysis for the models is presented using the confusion matrix, Cohen’s Kappa value, the accuracy of each model, Area under ROC Curve, etc. A minimum accuracy of 55.66% was observed for both the upload and the download IP data on the KNIME platform while minimum accuracies of 57.3% and 51.4% respectively were observed on the Orange platform

Asymptomatic bacteriuria in an apparently healthy population and its relation to hypertension

Background: Hypertension is a major health problem in sub-Sahara Africa. Several studies have suggested a role of asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB) in the aetiology of hypertension, but there is a dearth of information on this association in Africa where the burden of hypertension is high. We investigated the prevalence of asymptomatic bacteriuria, its association with hypertension and determined the antibiotic resistance patterns of implicated bacterial isolates in an urban community of Ile-Ife.Methods: One hundred and seventy-four apparently healthy individuals were investigated for ASB. Relevant information was obtained from them with standard proforma. Their Blood pressure was measured with a standard mercury sphygmomanometer. All samples were processed on cysteine lactose electrolyte deficient medium and chocolate agar. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was done using Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion technique.Results:Fifty (28.7%) individuals were positive for ASB. ASB was commonly detected among the female subjects (X2=5.619; p-value = 0.01777), and among individuals in the age group of 50 59 years. Those that were hypertensive were two and a half times more likely to have ASB (Odd ratio=2.5; p-value=0.01369; CI=1.19-5.35). The highest percentage of hypertensive female participants with ASB was found in the age group of 30-39 years (33.3%) while among the male participants, the highest percentage was found in the age group of 60-69 years (9.5%). Escherichia coli (n=13; 26%) and Staphylococcus aureus (n=13; 26%) were the commonest organisms implicated in ASB. The majority of the isolates (>90%) were multidrug resistant. Isolates of Escherichia coli were commonly resistant to ampicillin (83.3%), ceftriaxone (72.7%) and cefepime (66.7%). Isolates of Staphylococcus aureus were all (100%) resistant to erythromycin, cloxacillin and streptomycin. All isolates were least resistant to cotrimoxazole (<8%).Conclusion: Women as well as men in the age group of 50-59 years were more likely to develop ASB. ASB could be contributing to the rising incidence of hypertension in this environment. Co-occurrence of hypertension and ASB portends a grave problem for apparently healthy individuals in this environment.Keywords: Asymptomatic bacteriuria, Hypertension, Escherichia coli, healthy individuals, urban communit

Impact of Operational Definitions on the Predictors and Prevalence of Asthma Estimates: Experience from a University Students’ Survey and Implications for Interpretation of Disease Burden

BACKGROUND: Inconsistent operational definitions during asthma surveillance can lead to inaccurate estimation of disease burden and formulation of health policy. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of different definitions on the prevalence estimates and predictors of asthma among university students in Ilorin, Nigeria. The secondary aim was to compare level of agreement of the different definitions.METHODS: This cross-sectional study was carried out from June to August 2015. The European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS) questionnaire was self administered by 1485 students. Asthma diagnosis was based on five definitions used in previous studies in the country. These were ECRHS, International Study of Asthma, Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC), Probable, Modified ECRHS and Modified Probable asthma definitions.RESULTS: The prevalence rates varied from 10.4 to 24.1% depending on the definition. Prevalence obtained by using ECRHS definition significantly differed from estimates by other definitions (Z score ≥ 1.96 p<0.0001) except modified probable asthma. Identified predictors of asthma varied from five to six depending on the definition, and their strength also differed by definition. Regardless of the definition, reported nasal allergy, skin allergy, family history of nasal allergy, asthma and parental smoking were the predictors of asthma. The Kappa statistics demonstrated a fair to almost perfect association between the ECRHS and other asthma definitions (Kappa = 0.334-0.841, p < 0.001).CONCLUSION: The prevalence rates and predictors of asthma are affected by operational definitions. Researchers need to adopt a uniform definition for accurate estimation of disease burden, international comparison of result and formulation of prevention policy.

Implementation of E-Voting System for Student Union Government Elections

Several records of violence during student body elections in higher institutions of learning can be found dating back to the 1988 Abu crisis. The causal factors are multifaceted, involving both internal factors within the institution and external factors, and interest parties like main stream politicians. Suspicion of the possibility of rigging during a planned election can trigger pre-election violence, while alleged rigging during the election or the vote counting process is the major cause of election unrest during student government elections. The voting process is typically manual, and it is done through the use of ballot boxes and papers. This is error prone, inefficient and susceptible to rigging. Preventing mistrust-induced election violence requires the deployment of a trustworthy alternative to the paper ballot system. In this study, an electronic voting system is developed using Visual Basic and Microsoft Access Database. The application performs voter authentication by verifying a pre-issued pin which is unique for each voter. The system is accurate and engages the participation and login of agents who are representatives of the candidates’ contesting for various offices thereby building trust in the process