El món funerari medieval a la Plana de Vic: El cas de Sant Andreu del Castell de Tona

Aquest article és fruit d’un treball de recerca de 2n de batxillerat que ha dut a terme l’estudiant Ot Ordeig, que el 2010 va participar en les excavacions al Camp de les Lloses. Es tracta d’un estudi de les restes òssies localitzades a les necròpolis de l’Esquerda (Roda de Ter) i l’església de Sant Andreu del Castell. Aquí es presenten els resultats pel que fa a Tona, a partir de l’anàlisi del material que havia estat localitzat en diverses campanyes dins l’església i al solar de la Rectoria Vella o cal Campaner, al costat del temple

Barriers to pneumococcal conjugate 13 vaccination recommendations among physicians in Lagos

Objective: Vaccination rates among risk groups vary between different countries. There are gaps in the implementation of the acceptable recommended guidelines on adult pneumococcal immunization in Nigeria. This study aims to evaluate the barriers for physicians in recommending pneumococcal vaccines. Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional survey involving 97 physicians. Self-administered questionnaires were sent electronically to the physicians to understand the barriers to adult pneumococcal vaccine recommendations among adult physicians in Lagos. The sample size was based on estimation using the Cochrane formula. Results: Ninety-seven (97) physicians completed the questionnaire with a male to female ratio of 1:1.3. The mean age of the responders was 39.54±6.2 years. About 73(81.1%) of physicians recommended the pneumococcal vaccine and most physicians recommended the vaccine for patients with chronic lung diseases.  The common barriers for vaccine recommendation include: unavailability (53; 54.6%), poor reminder systems (43; 44.3%), inadequate insurance coverage (33; 34%), and Vaccine shortage (31; 32%). Conclusions: This study suggests that the majority of physicians recommend pneumococcal conjugate vaccines. The major barriers to vaccination include poor access, availability, and cost. There is a need to increase access, cost, and availability of pneumococcal vaccine if the narrative must change

Teachers' Continuing Professional Development as Correlates of Sustainable Universal Basic Education in Bayelsa State, Nigeria

The study examined the correlates of teachers' continuing professionaldevelopment on universal basic education in Bayelsa State, Nigeria. Using descriptive survey, a sample of 500 teachers was randomly selected from twenty (20) Basic Junior Secondary Schools and Primary Schools used for the study. The instrument used for data collection was a questionnaire titled "Correlates of Teachers Continuing Professional Development Questionnaire (CCPDO) (r=.67)) four research questions were raised for study. Data collected were analyzed using frequency distribution and percentages. Findings revealed that the level of teacher preparation for the universal basic education was relatively low. It was also established that teachers were not adequately prepared for the universal basic education scheme. It was concluded that Bayelsa State, has not been fully prepared for the sustenance of universal basic education., It was recommended that the state government should recruit more qualified teachers into the primary and junior secondary schools in the state. Teachers should also be given equal opportunity to attend regular seminars, workshops and service training to enable them to acquire more skills and competence in their job performance

Adaptation of bacteriophage to variable environments

Because a virus is an obligate cellular parasite, the host is a key part of its environment. Viruses may expand their ecological niche by switching host. Successful host switching can be influenced by ecological and evolutionary factors, genetic constraints and fitness within new hosts. An outcome of host switching is reduced fitness exhibited by viruses, a phenomenon observed in the evolution of viral disease emergence and resistance. To understand the genetic basis of this cost, investigations are required at the genotypic and phenotypic level. A host switching paradigm was developed using the model bacteriophage φX174 which was propagated with its laboratory bacterial host Escherichia coli C and with the novel host Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, LT2 strain IJ750 or Escherichia coli K-12 mutant strain JWO196-2 designated as E. coli K-12gmhB-mut. A chemostat was used to achieve steady-state conditions for propagation of φX174 and bacterial cells. Two experiments were performed using this approach. In the first, φX174 was cultured on E. coli K-12gmhB-mut for 3 days (~206 generations). In the second experiment, φX174 was cultured on E. coli C and S. Typhimurium for four consecutive periods of 10 days (~720 generations), alternating between the two hosts. For the second chemostat experiment, the fitness and attachment rates of each viral population were measured using qPCR in liquid culture in order to identify and characterise fitness costs associated with host-switching. Deep sequencing of chemostat samples was also carried out to identify allelic changes occurring before and after host switches. Viral samples were chosen to capture substitutions associated with each host across the experiment (which might explain observed changes in fitness) and time series were picked to identify the dynamics of adaptation on a new host. Bacterial host strains were not sampled in this study. The phenotype measures indicated the pleiotropic costs of host switching, that is a reduction in phage fitness was observed when this was tested on the host used prior to switching, and this may be explained by changes in the attachment rate. The genotype data revealed sets of changes that could be identified as signatures of adaptation to each host, although control data indicate that these may arise during DNA preparation, implicating synthesis of replicative form DNA in the host as a source of selective constraint. Some host-specific alleles and some shared alleles were identified and their fitness effects were examined in isolation after reconstruction of these alleles in the ancestor via targeted mutagenesis. The fitness effects observed for reconstructed mutants were in the direction expected although they do not fully account for the observed costs of host switching. By analysing different phenotypes and genotypes produced during evolution, a detailed view of φX174’s adaptation to different hosts was obtained. The results support the idea that costs associated with pathogen-host adaptation may be host-specific, associated with specific mutations, acquired early and persist. Examining these is relevant for understanding emerging infectious diseases

Assessment of Safety Practices in Filling Stations in Ile-Ife, South Western Nigeria

Back ground: In many countries, urban growth has outpaced the ability of governments to build essential infrastructures; enact and enforce the legislation needed to make life in cities safe, rewarding, and healthy. This growth has increased use of automobiles, need for fuelling services and consequently, proliferation of filling stations most of which lack the minimum requirements for operation. The aim of the study was to determine the level of awareness of hazards and safety measures among filling station attendants and assess the prevailing safety practices in filling stations in Ile-Ife. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted. Data was collected using an interviewer-administered questionnaire and an observational checklist. Data was analyzed using the SPSS version 16 software. Discrete variables were presented using tables and charts, Fisher's exact test was used to test association and level of significance was set at 5%. Results: The median (range) age of respondents was 24 (18 57) years and 94% were aware of safety measures with fire extinguisher being the most common safety measure known (54%). Fire hazard was the most common hazard known (94%). Set backs from the road and residential areas were less than 30 metres in 90% and 48% of the filling stations respectively. Stations owned by conglomerates had better safety measures compared to those owned by independent private marketers.Journal of Community Medicine and Primary Health care VOL. 23, NOS 1&2, MAR/SEPT. 201

Integrated Factors Correlating Undergraduate Academic Achievement in Bayelsa State, Nigeria

The consistent poor academic performance of students in public secondary schools can be regarded as a serious social problem because a number of scholars, stakeholders in education, school administrator, and public commentators have concluded that students‘ academic performance in public secondary schools falls short of the desired standard. Thus, it is study investigated the integrated factors determining academic performance of students in public secondary schools in Bayelsa State, Nigeria. The descriptive survey research design was adopted and purposive sampling technique was used to select Sagbama educational zone with a population of over 2506 students and 800 teachers. 80 teachers and 242 students were randomly selected from eight public secondary schools to participate in the study. A peer validated questionnaire tagged ―Integrated Factors and Students‘ Academic Achievement (EFSAP)‖ r =.92 was used for data collection. Four research questions were raised and data collected were analyzed with the use of simple percentage counts. Results revealed that integrated factors had positive impact on students‘ academic performance. The following integrated factors were found to have contributed relatively to the academic achievement of students in an order of magnitudes; teachers, societal, economic, government, parental, peer group, and individual students factors. It was recommended that teachers and the civil society at large play their role in contributing positively to the academic performance of students‘ in public secondary schools in Bayelsa State, Nigeria

Buchi Emecheta: Beyond the Task and the Mask

Critical gender theorizing in Africa is vast and deep with a tempo that forms a contour reflecting the divergence of views in its discourse. From the liberal to the radical feminist, arguments abound as to which gender theory best would suit the African environment without it serving as “a red rag to the bull of the African male”. Of the Afro- feminists worthy of mention, Buchi Emecheta occupies the front row. She claims not to be a radical feminist. However, a critical examination of her literary engagement confirms the contrary. This paper therefore is a critique of Emecheta. Consequently, it concludes that what Emecheta preaches as a feminist is not what she practices as a woman outside the lecture theatres. This is the contradistinction in Emecheta’s polemics