Natural Radioactivity and Hazards in Soil Samples in Alade Community, Southwestern Nigeria

The concentrations of natural radionuclides in Alade community, Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area were determined using gamma ray spectrometer comprising a 7.6 cm x 7.6 cm Nal(TI) detector coupled to a multichannel analyser for spectral analysis. A total of 20 soil samples were collected from different locations in Alade community, Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government, Ogun state, Nigeria. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics. The activity concentration obtained were in ranges of 45.62 ± 2.53 Bq/kg to 665.25 ± 35.11 Bq/kg with mean value of 352.34 ± 18.67 Bq/kg for 40K, 2.32 ± 0.47 to 54.56 ± 6.20 Bq/kg with mean value of 19.86 ± 2.56 Bq/kg for 238U and 4.34 ± 0.28 Bq/kg to 23.10 ± 1.40 Bq/kg with mean value of 14.22 ± 0.87 Bq/kg for 232Th. The study evaluated radiation hazard indices, the mean values obtained were, 64.55 ± 5.05 Bq/kg for Radium equivalent activity (Raeq), 32.86 ± 2.53 nGyh-1 for Absorbed Dose Rate (D), 40.30 ± 3.10 µSvy-1 for Annual Effective Dose Equivalent (AEDE), 0.18 ± 0.01 for External Hazard Index (Hex) and 0.22 ± 0.02 for Internal Hazard Index (Hin). These calculated hazard indices were well below their permissible limit. The results obtained for the mean activity concentrations values from 20 soil samples from Alade community, revealed that 40K, 238U and 232Th values were below the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation recommended international limits of 370Bq/kg and within the tolerance level indicating minimal radiological health burden on the Alade community and its environment

Assessing Impacts of the School Clinic on Academic Performance in Selected Secondary Schools in Oyo State

Background%253A School Clinic is a health care facility within school intended to provide basic health care for students and refer them to the specialist or primary health center, these appreciate efforts and consideration to protect the health of children and other children with whom they may come in contact. This study was to assessing the impacts of the school clinic on academic performance on selected secondary schools in Oyo state. Methods%253A The target populations of the study comprised only Senior Secondary School one to three (SSS 1-3) students within Ibadan metropolis, Oyo State. The study adopted non-experimental survey using quantitative approach. Purposive and simple random sampling techniques were used to select the sample. Assessing the Impacts of the School Clinic on Academic Performance on Selected Secondary Schools Questionnaire (AISCAPQ) was used to collect data for the study. Frequency and percentage scores of descriptive statistics were used to analyse research questions. Results%253A The findings showed that school clinic is very supportive to teaching and learning outcome of the students through ability to have access to a good source for health information (59%25), able to identify their health needs (57%25), stayed in good physical health (59%25) and mental health environments (41%25). More also, the students have access to obtain test (23%25), good medical treatment (28%25) and also have access to specialist (23%25). The study further showed that the impact of school clinic practices manifested in student academic performances through quick accessibility to drugs for immediate treatment which keeps them healthy for learning (71%25) and provisions of treated bed nets in the school hostel that prevented malaria parasites and also protected the students learning activities (64%25). The result further showed that there was a great relationship between the use of school clinic and student academic performance in the selected secondary schools which have manifested in reduction of students absenteeism (30%25), drop-outs (31%25) and also improved school performance (38%25). Conclusion%253A The study concluded that school clinic was very supportive to teaching and learning, has good impact and also contributed to the students academic performance. The study recommended that each school should have school clinic and psychological care should part of services deliver by health care personnel in the clinic. Government should ensure establishment of school clinic in all government school both in rural and urban area and government should ensure regulation standard of school clinic

UNDERGRADUATES' ACADEMIC ENGAGEMENT: THE PREDICTIVE POWER OF ACADEMIC STRESS, EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND RESILIENCE

This study investigated the predictive power of academic stress, emotional intelligence, and resilience on undergraduates' academic engagement. A cross-sectional survey design was adopted, and a multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 420 respondents, of which 398 (94.8%) were retrieved. Two hypotheses were formulated and tested using descriptive statistics, Pearson Product Moment Correlation, and multiple regression analysis at the 0.05 significance level. The findings of this study revealed that 45.1% of the total variance in the undergraduates' academic engagement is accounted for by academic stress, emotional intelligence, and resilience. Furthermore, there were significant and positive relationships between academic engagement, emotional intelligence, and resilience. However, a significant but negative relationship existed between academic stress and engagement. The study concluded that institutional policies and structures should be designed to cushion the negative effect of stress on learning. Therefore, it was recommended that emotional intelligence and resilience studies be incorporated into the school curriculum

Essential oils from the leaves of six medicinal plants of Nigeria.

The chemistry of Cassia siamea L., C. occidentalis L. (Fabaceae), Cnestis ferruginea Vahl ex DC (Connaraceae), Anthocleista djalonensis A. Chev (Loganiaceae), Solanum torvum Swartz and S. erianthum G. Don (Solanaceae) volatiles grown in Nigeria have been studied. The essential oils were obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by GC and GC-MS. The main compounds of C. siamea were (E)-geranyl acetone (5.8%), 1-octen-3-ol (5.8%), linalool (7.8%), iso-italicene (15.4%) and (E)-β-damascenone (11.0%). On the other hand, C. occidentalis consisted mainly of (E)-geranyl acetone (8.0%), hexahydrofarnesylacetone (24.0%) and (E)-phytol acetate (40.7%). The oil of C. ferruginea was comprised mainly of (E)-geranyl acetone (13.7%), (E)-α-ionone (9.5%), phytol (5.8%), pentadecanal (6.1%) and 1-octen-3-ol (5.5%). The main compounds of A. djalonensis were α-humulene (31.9%), β-caryophyllene (17.8%), humulene epoxide II (12.7%) and caryophyllene oxide (5.9%). The main volatiles of S. torvum were (E)-phytol acetate (38.7%), pentadecanal (25.3%) and (E)-geranyl acetone (5.0%). Apart from methyl salicylate (4.5%), tetradecanal (2.2%), 2-pentyl furan (1.8%), hexahydrofarnesylacetone (1.6%) and hexadecanal (1.1%), all other compounds were either present in trace quantity or in amounts less than 1%. On the other hand, α-humulene (46.6%) and β-caryophyllene (20.6%) were the compounds occurring in higher quantities in S. erianthum. The volatile oil contents of Cassia siamea, Cnestis ferruginea, Anthocleista djalonensis and Solanum torvum are being reported for the first time

Patient satisfaction at accredited antiretroviral treatment sites in the Gert Sibande District

Background: Patient satisfaction has been used as a significant indicator of quality services provided by healthcare personnel. With the largest antiretroviral therapy (ART) programme in the world, the healthcare industry is struggling increasingly with challenges of meeting patients’ requirements and expectations for quality ART service provision. This study was conducted in order to identify the importance of factors contributing to satisfaction or dissatisfaction. Aim: This study sought to explore and describe the general satisfaction or dissatisfaction of patients with accredited ART hospital sites at public health facilities in the Gert Sibande District, Mpumalanga and to identify factors contributing to either satisfaction or dissatisfaction. Setting: Six hospitals that initiated ART in the district, participated in the study. Method: The study was conducted using a sample of 300 patients. Proportional random sampling was used in selecting the number of patients from each facility. A structured interview with each participating patient was conducted using a standardised structured questionnaire. The first available required number of patients that complied with requirements from each of the six hospitals was selected for the interview. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse data and data with qualitative aspects were captured and categorised manually. Results: The major factors contributing to satisfaction included the availability of medicines and knowledge regarding how to take medication. Factors contributing to dissatisfaction on the part of the patients included confidentiality issues, long waiting periods, shortage of staff and dirty toilets. Conclusion: This study indicated general satisfaction with the ART-related services at the accredited ART hospital sites in the Gert Sibande District. Regular monitoring and evaluation are recommended

Highlights of extranodal lymphomas in Ibadan, Nigeria

No Abstract. Central African Journal of Medicine Vol. 45 (7) 1999: pp. 173-17

Medicinal use, spatial distribution, DBH, ethnobotanical importance, trees

A study was conducted to survey trees ofethnobotanical importance in theUniversity of Ibadan Campus, Nigeria.Total enumeration of trees with diameter≥10cm at breast height (DBH) was done.DBH and total height of the trees weremeasured while GPS was used to recordthe location of the trees to map theirdistribution. Nearest neighbour analysiswas used to determine the spatialdistribution pattern of the trees. Treeidentification was done by a taxonomistwhile the medicinal values of the plantswere acquired through oral interview ofindigenous respondents and herbalpractitioners within and outside theUniversity community and ethnobotanists.Results showed that there was atotal of 54 species belonging to 25families. Mangifera indica was the most(21.60%) recorded while Terminaliasuperba had the highest mean tree heightof 29.8 m. The largest mean DBH (133.3cm) was observed in Adansonia digitata.The spatial distribution pattern of trees ofethnobotanical importance was clustered(Z=-26.25; p<0.05). The study revealsthat leaves and barks were the parts of theplants that are mostly used to cureailments. The study recommended that thetrees should be domesticated