Effective therapeutic dosage of antipsychotic medications in patients with psychotic symptoms: Is there a racial difference?

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Genetic make up had been known to influence pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of psychotropic medications. Time separation in evolutionary trend in Africans, Orientals and Caucasians had been thought a possible explanation for the observed racial variation in activities of Cytochrome P 450 (CYP 450) enzymes, which are responsible for metabolism of psychotropic and other medications in human. Past studies on pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of antipsychotic medications and socio-cultural factors influencing response to antipsychotic medications had consistently giving an inkling of possible racial difference in symptoms response to antipsychotic medications. Another growing body of evidence subscribing to possible racial difference in psychotic symptoms response to antipsychotic medications is the observed variation in antipsychotic medications prescription pattern and dosage across races and regions. Empirical observation had shown that dosage prescription pattern of antipsychotic medications in most Sub-Saharan African countries deviates from the standard prescription guidelines published for use in western parts of the world. Studies coming from the United States (U.S) had consistently reported a higher dosage of antipsychotic medications prescription for African-American patients compared to their Caucasian counterparts. Research on East Asia Psychotropic Prescription (REAP) study had also identified high dosage antipsychotic medications prescription pattern well above the recommended dose of 1,000 mg Chlorpromazine equivalent per day as common practices in some East Asian countries.</p> <p>Presentation of the Hypothesis</p> <p>The pertinent question is why the apparent differences in dosage prescription practices across races and regions? The possibility of racial differences in psychotic symptoms response to antipsychotic medications rather than clinicians' prescription attitudes was entertained.</p> <p>Testing the Hypothesis</p> <p>Future carefully controlled studies might be needed to test the proposed hypothesis of racial differences in psychotic symptoms response to antipsychotic medications.</p> <p>Implication of the Hypothesis</p> <p>There might be actual racial influence on psychotic symptoms response to antipsychotic medications. If future carefully controlled studies uphold the hypothesis of racial differences in psychotic symptoms response to antipsychotic medications, there might be need to draw up new treatment or prescription guidelines that would put into consideration variations in genetic make up and consequent racial differences in psychotic symptoms response to antipsychotic medications.</p

A pre-impoundment study of swamps in the Kainji Lake Basin

This paper gives an account of the wet season swamps in the River Niger valley within tbe area now submerged by the Kainji Lake. Their ecology was studied with respect to the soils, plant cover, water chemistry and plankton concentrations. Their value to the fishery in the river basin was discussed

CATTLE HANDLING, HYGIENE AND SLAUGHTERING TECHNIQUES IN SELECTED CATTLE MARKETS IN ABEOKUTA AND ENVIRONS, OGUN STATE, NIGERIA

The handling, hygiene and slaughtering techniques of cattle in selected cattle markets of Atokun, Randa and Odo-Eran in Abeokuta and environs, Ogun state, Nigeria were assessed. Questionnaires were administered with personal visits to cattle handlers to assess the handling practices and relevant information relating to cattle welfare and slaughtering. Data obtained from this study on the cattle handlers, showed that the literacy level of the rearers and butchers was low, with majority (48.90%) having primary education. The general sanitary conditions at the cattle markets in addition to hygienic practices by the butchers were generally poor. Handling of cattle from the lairage to slaughter slabs was unethical, with the employment of humane practices in the rearing, handling, transporting and slaughtering of cattle rarely observed across the cattle markets. High range of total bacteria count of 6.50 and 8.40 x 105cfu/g and coliform counts of 4.28 to 4.85 x 105cfu/g were observed in the thirty (30) beef samples collected across cattle markets with major isolated organisms being Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus spp. across the abattoirs under study. Results of this study suggest that the welfare of animals in the selected cattle markets is inadequate due to poor housing facilities, inadequate feeding, low medical attention and low literacy level of handlers as well as indiscriminate slaughtering resulting to contamination of beef cuts of the carcass from which they are derived

Python Coding amongst Undergraduate Student Teachers in a Nigeria Post-Secondary Institution: An Exploratory Study

This study explored coding errors, determined how preservice teachers in Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) debugged coding error and investigated reasons for the errors. This was with an intention to assess preservice teachers learning and understanding of python programming in OAU. The study adopted exploratory research design with the population of all undergraduate students in Faculty of Education in OAU. Out of the population, 10 preservice teachers were interviewed to understand the nature of the study. The interviews were audio recorded, transcribed and thematically analysed. The study findings revealed four major errors committed in python programming by student teachers in the university. The finding further categorized approaches adopted by the students in debugging python programming errors into seven. Amongst these seven, ‘help from friends and internet’ were predominant while the least was ‘doing it again’. The undergraduate students’ teachers advanced six reasons for the errors often faced while learning programming. The paper concluded that undergraduate student teachers confront errors while learning python programming. It was strongly recommended that the pedagogy of computer programming should be taught inhouse to improve programming learning among undergraduate student teachers

PARENTS’ PERCEPTION OF MEDIA REPORTS ON CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE A STUDY OF OTA, OGUN STATE

Child Sexual Abuse is on the increase in Nigeria as six out of ten children in Nigeria according to UNICEF experience sexual assault before the age of eighteen. Evidently, parents are the first contact of socialization for a child. Therefore, this study which is carried out in Ota in Ogun state seeks to find out the perception of parents to media reports on child sexual abuse. It examines parents’ source of information about CSA, the level of knowledge about CSA among parents, the attitude of parents to information about CSA in the media and the perception of parents on the adequacy of media information on CSA. The survey method of research was used to obtain data using the instrument of the questionnaire. The researcher used the multi- stage sampling method to determine the study area and population of respondents to represent the total population of parents in Ota Area. Results obtained were presented and interpreted using tables showing percentage. Findings revealed that parents in Ota have a good knowledge of child sexual abuse through media reports. The result also shows that parents believe that child sexual abuse is a social problem involving children of both sexes. The result also shows that parents do not agree with the myth of ‘strangers only sexually abuse children’, indicating that sexual abuse of a child also happens among family members. However, the knowledge of the Child Rights Act is still lacking. In conclusion, the lack of Child Rights knowledge may be the reason for the ineffectiveness in finding a solution to CSA; therefore there is a need to make for the awareness of Child Rights Act by the media

Investigation Of The Suitability Of Polyphosphoric Acid In Reducing The Degree Of Thermal Aging Of Agabu Natural Bitumen

Bitumen otherwise known as asphalt is a complex mixture of hydrocarbons which are naturally occurring or obtained from crude oil distillation. Bitumen when used as a binder in road pavement deteriorates with time as result of traffic load and contact of the pavement with environmental factors. The degradation of bitumen causes a rapid aging of the asphalt based pavement leading to road problems such as rutting, potholes etc. This deterioration is attributed to oxidative degradation of molecules of bitumen by factors such as heat, moisture and sunlight. This study investigates the viability of using polyphosphoric acid (PPA) to reduce the oxidative degradation effect of heat (at 60oC) on constituents of Agbabu Natural Bitumen (ANB) with a view to making it more durable when used for road pavement. Modification of ANB with PPA was carried out at 160oC using melt blend technique. Thereafter, the PPA modified and neat ANB samples were thermally aged in a hot air oven at 60oC. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy was used to validate the changes in the structure of ANB and aging indexes of neat and PPA modified samples of ANB calculated. The result showed that aging indexes of PPA modified samples of ANB were lower compared with that of the neat or unmodified samples of ANB. This implies that the rate of aging (at 60oC) of the unmodified ANB was faster than that of PPA modified ANB. Thus, a good potential for reducing thermal aging in ANB was found in PPA

Fast food consumption pattern and body weight status among students of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria

The study assessed fast food consumption pattern (FFCP) and body weight status among the undergraduates of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria, living in different halls of residence on the university campus during the Rain semester of 2011/2012 session. The study employed survey research design to give an insight into the pattern of fast food consumption and its consequent risk of obesity among undergraduates. The campus has thirteen faculties which have their pivots in science, technology, arts and social science, and nine undergraduate halls of residence. A simple random sampling technique was employed to select 40 students from each hall of nine kinds. The sum total of respondents was 360.The specific objectives were to: investigate the body weight of undergraduates using Body Mass Index (BMI), determine the gender of undergraduates who indulge most in fast food consumption, and examine the influence of fast food consumption pattern on body weight of undergraduates in Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. The study relied on primary data which was collected through personally administered questionnaires. The respondents’ weight and height were taken using a weighing scale and meter rule, respectively to determine the Body Mass Index (BMI) which was used to assess students’ body weight status among the respondents. Data collected were summarized and presented using means and percentages. The hypotheses were tested using t-test to determine the significant difference in the Fast Food Consumption Pattern (FFCP) between male and female undergraduates while correlation was employed to test the significant relationship between fast food consumption (FFC) and body weight status. The findings revealed that there was a significant difference (t = 7.14; df = 1; p&lt;0.05) between the FFC of male and female undergraduates. The study further showed from the correlation coefficient analysis that there was a significant relationship between FFC and Obesity (r= 0.47, p&lt;0.05). Based on the findings, the study recommended that the university commission should postulate a compulsory general elective course on physical health and nutrition education across board to give fitness to students and teach them nutrition information and knowledge.Key words: Overweight, Students, Obesity, Fast-food, Food consumption, Binge, BMI, Universit

Efficacy of Polyphosphoric Acid in Reducing the Degree of Thermal Aging of Agbabu Natural Bitumen

Bitumen is a complex mixture of hydrocarbons which occurred naturally or obtained from crude oil distillation. The degradation of bitumen causes its rapid aging leading to deterioration of asphalt based pavement readily induced by cracking, rutting, potholes etc. Aging in bitumen is attributed to chemical oxidation of its molecules and exposure to environmental factors, such as heat, moisture and sunlight. This study therefore investigates the viability of using polyphosphoric acid (PPA) to reduce the oxidative degradation effect of heat (60 o C) on constituents of Agbabu natural bitumen (ANB) with a view to making it more durable when used for road pavement. Modification of ANB with PPA was carried out at 150-55 o C using melt blend technique. Thereafter, the PPA modified and neat (unmodified) ANB samples were thermally aged in a hot air oven at 60 o C. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy was used to evaluate the changes in the structure of ANB and aging indexes of neat and PPA modified samples of ANB were calculated. The neat and PPA modified ANB samples aged as a result of their exposure to temperature at 60 o C. However, the aging indexes of PPA modified samples of ANB were found to be lower compared with that of the neat sample of ANB. This implies that the rate of aging (60 o C) of the neat ANB was faster than that of PPA modified ANB samples. Thus, a good potential for reducing thermal aging in ANB was found in PPA

Characterisation of Agbabu Natural Bitumen and Its Fractions Using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometry

Physico-chemical characterization of bitumen is very germane to its applications. There have been many physico-chemical investigations on Agbabu natural bitumen (ANB), but there appears to be some discrepancies in the results of some of the findings. Thus, the need to re-examine some of the physico-chemical parameters of the ANB. Raw sample of ANB was obtained from one of the observatory wells in Agbabu, Ondo State, Nigeria. The sample was dehydrated, purified and asphaltene component precipitated through addition of n-pentane to the sample. The maltene component was fractionated into saturate, aromatics and resin using column chromatographic method. The purified ANB sample and its fractions were each subjected to infrared analysis. In addition, the elemental composition and trace metals in the whole purified ANB were quantified using CHNS-O Analyzer (FlashEA® 1112) and Atomic Absorption Spectrometer (AAS) respectively. Infrared spectral features obtained for the whole bitumen and its fractions bear a good degree of resemblance to the results of earlier workers on the subject with some minor differences. The values obtained for structural indexes from Infrared (IR) spectra showed that all the fractions contained branch and straight chain hydrocarbons. The structural indexes also showed that asphaltenes and resin fractions are strongly polar, both of which contain hetero–atomic compounds. Results of compositional analysis are: C (86.62%), H(10.98%), S (0.92%) N (0.48%), O (0.83%), Maltene (78.34%) aand Asphaltene (21.67%). The concentrations of the trace metals are: Mg (792.00 ppm), Mn (28.40 ppm), Fe (3633.10 ppm), Ca (1082.10 ppm), Zn (17.50 ppm), Cu (17.90 ppm), Cr (153.90 ppm), Pb (93.78 ppm), Ni (103.65 ppm), V (156.53 ppm) and Na (3740.00 ppm). Results of compositional and trace metals analyses of this study are at variance with the earlier results on characterization of ANB in the literatures. The differences in the results might be attributed to variation in the method of sample preparation especially the inclusion of dehydration of the raw ANB in the purification step prior to characterization as introduced in this study. Keywords: Aromatics, Asphaltenes, Agbabu Natural Bitumen, IR, Resins, Saturate