Sexual risk behavior and HIV infection among adolescents in secondary schools in Jos, Nigeria

Background: In adolescents sexual risk behaviours are believed to enhance the transmission of HIV infection. This study, therefore aims to examine prevalent sexual risk behaviours of adolescents in secondary schools in a town in northern Nigeria and its relation to HIV infection.Method: A total of 883 subjects drawn from 10 schools out of 37, were recruited for the study. Structured self administered questionnaire was given to each subject. Consenting subjects received group pretest counseling and had HIV screening using Determine HIV test kits. HIV positive subjects had confirmatory test using Unigold test kit.Result: Males accounted for 42.5% (374) out of the 883 students studied. Of this, 169 (19.2%) were sexually active. Mean age at sexual debut was 13.8±2.9 years; 13.3±2.7 years for males and 14.6±3.2 years for females, p=0.006. Males 101 (27%) were more sexually experienced as against 13.4% of the females, p<0.0001. Among the sexually active37.6% had two or more sex partners, and 63.9% of them never used condoms. In the sexually active, 54 (42.5%) had nonconsensual sex (NCS), with more of NCS occurring in younger subjects p<0.0001, more females p<0.0001, associated with less condom use (p=0.02). Nine (eight females and one male) of the 883 subjects tested HIV positive. among the sexually active subjects, only four tested HIV positive. Condom use among the sexually active, HIV positive subjects was 25%.Conclusion: Prevalent sexual risk behaviors noted were early sexual debut, nonconsensual sex, unprotected sex and multiple sex partners.Key words: Adolescents, Sexual risk behavior, HIV infection, Jo

Labour-Entrepreneurship Substitution Mechanism: Determining Growth, Employment and Wage in Nigeria

Finding a recipe that unlocks rapid growth and job creation should be the priority of emerging economies. Several theories of growth, employment and wage determination were efficient for certain economies at different periods, but not for other emerging economies like Nigeria. This study presents the Labour-Entrepreneurship Substitution mechanism as an idealistic model of growth, employment and wage determination. It is uniquely designed to accumulate capital, substitute labour for entrepreneurship as prospective supply of labour grows beyond its initial level, boost employment and output via new investments. Error correction mechanism of Autoregressive least square technique was used to measure the influence of labour-entrepreneurship substitution rate on the ‘new investment\u27, and the t-statistics, adopting Benferron\u27s multiple comparison adjusted probabilities was further used to measure the significance of the ‘new investment\u27 in determining gross domestic product in Nigeria. The labour-entrepreneurship substitution rate showed significant and positive impact on the new investment as the new investment also showed significant and positive impact on economic growth in Nigeria. Emerging and developed countries should develop the labour-entrepreneurship substitution as this will increase investment and output while creating full employment in the country

Proximate and Mineral Evaluation of Dried Composites of selected Leafy Vegetables

This study aimed at determining the chemical qualities of six selected green leafy vegetables (pumpkin, moringa, chaya, A. spinach, scent leaf and cocoyam). Proximate result showed that the composite sample was significantly higher in all parameters except for carbohydrate where it was significantly least. Mineral analysis result ranged between 8.24-1315.8; 243.7-536.3; 23.61-35.92; 1.21-29.91 for Ca, Mg, Fe and Zn respectively. The quantity recorded for the composite sample is adequate enough to furnish for the daily requirement

Aspects of Garcina kola Toxicity to a Wild Strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae from a Brewery Environment

Bitter cola (Garcinia kola) powder and its ethanolic extract were assessed for their ability to inhibit the growth of a wild strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae isolated from a brewery environment. The iso-alpha acid contents of the G. kola powder, G. kola extract and hop extract were determined as 5.85 mg/l, 6.34 mg/l and 7.65 mg/l, respectively, showing that the iso-alpha acid contents of G. kola extract and G. kola powder compared relatively well with that of hop extract. The antimicrobial activity of both agents, using Humulus lupulus ethanolic extract as control, showed a high dependence on the temperature of assay. At most of the temperatures evaluated (30 – 45 oC), the rates of antimicrobial activity differed. Garcinia kola ethanolic extract and hops extract displayed total inhibition of the wild yeast growth at temperature of 40 oC at concentrations of about 0.039 mg/ml and 0.078 mg/ml respectively. Humulus lupulus extract (hops) had the highest generation time at 450C at a concentration of 0.078 mg/ml. The complete inhibition of the yeast growth by G. kola extract at 40 oC indicated that it had higher antimicrobial activity against this yeast than hops extract. In all the temperatures evaluated both G. kola ethanolic extract and powder compared favourably with hops extract with respect to antimicrobial activity against a wild strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae at various concentrations. These results revealed that the antimicrobial activity of these hopping agents were temperature and concentration dependent

THE NEXUS BETWEEN LOGIC AND GENERAL STUDIES

Logic, a branch of philosophy, is essentially concerned with one’s ability to reason well. It provides structured rules and principles that act as guides for effective reasoning. As such the correctness or incorrectness of any kind of reasoning can easily be verified by subjecting them to logical techniques and methods. The paper conceptualises general studies as a set of prescribed courses available in a Nigerian tertiary institution, outside a student’s area of specialisation that must be registered for and passed, usually, in the first and second years of study. The essence is to ensure that students experience balanced, rounded education and to ensure that scholarship is made relevant to the pressing needs of the society. The paper locates the bond between logic and general studies based on the fact that logic permeates all the courses taught as General Studies and, indeed, all the courses taught in the university be it medicine, geography, architecture. In a knowledge-based environment, the need for effective communication is critical and inevitable. This means that both in the delivery of knowledge as well as its acquisition, care should be taken to avoid fallacious reasoning and deception by the slippery nature and use of words. It is for this reason that a rudimentary knowledge of logic is a prerequisite for every discipline. The paper adopts an analytical and comparative method. Philosophical analysis and reflection are applied in order to evaluate and highlight the importance of logic to other disciplines. Its comparative character helps to demonstrate why logic, and no any other discipline, is most suited to act as the foundation for all other disciplines. In all, the paper demonstrates that for effective teaching and learning to take place in other disciplines, logic is essential. It also underscores the strong nexus between logic and general studies. Finally, it shows how logic can help in enriching other disciplines.   &nbsp

Awareness of the benefits of breastfeeding among mothers and its influence on the breastfeeding practices in Jos

Background: Breastfeeding is an effective intervention to reduce child morbidity and mortality. The third of ten steps to successful breastfeeding is to inform all pregnant mothers about the benefits of breastfeeding. This awareness of the benefits of breastfeeding bybreastfeeding/Nursing mothers may serve as a motivation for good breastfeeding practices. The aim of this study therefore was to determine awareness of breastfeeding benefits among nursing mothers in Jos and its relationship with selected breastfeeding practicesMethods: The cross-sectional study was carried out among 482 breastfeeding mothers in 6 immunization clinics in Jos. Information on sociodemographics, breastfeeding practices and Mothers' level of awareness of the benefits of breastfeeding. The awareness level was then graded good, fair and no awareness. Bivariate analysis was done using SPSS 21Results: Of the 482 nursing mothers interviewed, 77.6% were assessed to have good knowledge, 8% had fair, while 14.5% had no knowledge of the benefits of breastfeeding. Significantly more women of younger ages, lower socioeconomic status, lower education and unskilled had No awareness of the benefits of breastfeeding.Good breastfeeding practices and intention to breastfeed for more than a year were associated with good level of awareness.Keywords: Awareness, Benefits, Breastfeeding, Mothers, Influence, Practice

Exclusive breastfeeding and its relevance to infant teething

Objective: To determine the relevance of exclusive breast-feeding practice, in the development of healthy oral tissue among teething infants. Method: A cross sectional study design of children aged 6-36 months was carried out in 14 wards of Jos North Local Government Area. A multistage sampling technique was adopted in selecting 1081 mothers who qualified and were interviewed using structured interviewer questionnaire on their knowledge and perception on common complaints during teething in children. The index children were examined for number and type of teeth erupted using mouth mirror under natural light. Result: One thousand and eighty-one mothers and their babies were interviewed and examined; out these 16.5%, 38.7% and 44.8% babies were of age groups 6-12, 13-24 and 25-36 months respectively; 50.2% were female and 49.8% were male. Of the babies examined 62.4% were exclusively breast-fed. There was a significant association between maternal educational status and knowledge of teething complaints. Three hundred and twenty-six (30.1%) babies had cough during their teething period, 349 (32.3%) experienced drooling of saliva, and 352 (32.6%) were observed to bite objects during teething. The high percentage of babies that were exclusively breast-fed but did not experience these symptoms were found to be statistically significant (p = 0.00). Seven hundred and forty-two (68.6%) babies had diarrhoea during teething; out of these 459(42.5%) were exclusively breast-fed and it was however not found to be statistically significant (p = 0.55). Conclusion: This study draws attention to the relatively poor anecdotal evidence related to symptoms associated with the teething process. The result has also demonstrated that exclusive breast-feeding is not only able to reduce the symptoms ascribed to teething, but also promote the development of a healthy oral tissue. Key words: Breastfeeding, teething, development, oral tissue

Comparative Analysis of Custard Produced from Selected Cereals (Guinea Corn, Maize, Rice and Millet)

This study looked at the proximate and organolleptic qualities of custard powder produced from four different cereals (guinea corn, maize, rice and millet). Proximate result ranged between 9.95-14.05%, 1.20-2.78%, 1.10-2.31%, 4.75-5.50%, 7.96-12.88% and 66.49-70.58% for moisture, ash, crude fiber, fat, protein and carbohydrate content respectively. There was significant difference in all the parameters evaluated. Product from guinea corn and Millet compared favourably with the product produced from the conventional cereal (maize). Also, sensory result revealed the preference of consumers for guinea corn and Millet based custard to the conventional primary raw material. The study established the superiority of custard from guinea corn and millet to that produced from maize. Keywords Custard, Maize, Guinea corn, Rice, Mille

Tensile properties of epoxy/1 wt% graphene nanocomposites prepared with ethanol.

In this research, solution casting technique was applied to produce four types of nanocomposites. Different ethanol dosages; 0g, 1g, 3g, and 5g were used to disperse graphene in the epoxy matrix. It was observed that 1g dosage of ethanol was the most effective concentration to disperse 1wt% graphene in the epoxy matrix. At 1 g dosage of ethanol used, the Young's modulus, tensile strength, and toughness were increased by 130%, 76%, and 187% respectively. SEM images illustrated that the graphene was able to inhibit the advancing cracks and detoured cracks propagation. It is observed that the ethanol needs to be removed completely during processing to ensure its effectiveness, otherwise, the remaining ethanol can cause porosity which is undesirable to the tensile properties of the nanocomposites