Correlation between body mass index, gender, age, family history and the prevalence of diabetes mellitus in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

Objective: To study the relationship between body mass index (BMI), gender, age, family history and incidence of diabetes mellitus. Methods: A total of 445 human subjects volunteered to participate in this study. They were divided into two groups, the test group (diabetics) containing 224 subjects and the control (nondiabetics) containing 221 subjects. Samples (blood and urine) were collected from the subjects on their normal diabetic clinic visit for check-up. The family history and other related data of subjects were obtained from their hospital case note and through the research questionnaire. Analysis was done to determine the blood sugar concentration in both groups. Their weight, height, waist circumference, mid-arm circumference and hip circumference were measured to determine their BMI. Results: The mean age was significant (P 40 kg/m2. The diabetics had a higher BMI than the control subjects in all the BMI ranges used (P < 0.01 and P < 0.001) except those in the 30–39 kg/m2 BMI range. The diabetics had significantly higher fasting and random blood sugar concentration (P < 0.01) than the nondiabetics. The result on family history showed that 42.5% of the diabetics had no idea of the history of diabetes in their family, 32.14% had first degree relatives with diabetes, and 25% of them had no family history of diabetics. Conclusions: BMI, female gender, advancing age and positive family history were all directly correlated with the incidence of diabetes mellitus. Keywords: Body mass index, Gender, Age, Family history, Diabetes mellitus prevalenc

Assessing Professionalism in Teaching: The Secondary Education Perspective in Cross River State, Nigeria

The study examined whether or not teaching is a full profession. It also determined the relationship between professionalism in teaching and teaching effectiveness at the secondary education level in Cross River State, Nigeria. A sample of 850 educators (844 teachers, 3 staff of Teachers’ Registration Council of Nigeria and 3 heads of inspectors of schools) was selected through stratified random sampling, judgemental and wholistic techniques respectively. A 20-item researcher-made questionnaire was used to collect data from respondents. Survey design was adopted. Test statistics adopted for data analysis were frequency, weighted mean and standard deviation. A mean score of 2.00 and above formed the significant/acceptance level. It was found that teaching is a profession but not in its fullest sense, and that there is a strong and positive relationship between professionalism in teaching and teaching effectiveness in the study area. It was recommended that licensing should be an essential pre-requisite for entry into teaching; a uniform and lengthy training period should be maintained in all teacher training institutions and be followed by inductive training. There should be strict enforcement of Education Act 31 of 1993; and more awareness be created among teachers that professionalism in teaching is essential in their career and depends partly on them

In-Vitro Effect of some Commonly Found Botanicals on the Growth and Sporulation of Choanephora Cucurbitarum (Berkeley and Ravenel)

A soft rot infection of Abelmoschus esculentus, Amaranthus hybridus and Vigna unguiculata was observed in home gardens and Government farms in the 2010 cropping season. This disease caused remarkable yield loss in these crops. Due to residual effects of synthetic chemical control, it became necessary to test the potency of some botanicals on the growth and  sporulation of the fungus as a control measure.  The  procedures involved isolation and identification of the fungus and potency trials of aqueous and ethanolic extracts of the  botanicals on the assay fungus. The isolated fungus was confirmed  as Choanephora cucurbitarum. The extracts were obtained from Zingiber officinale Roscoe, Gmelina arborea Roxb, Chromolaena odorata Linnaeus and Azadirachta indica A. Juss. Different concentrations of the extracts (0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40% and 50%) were used. With ethanol extract, there was complete inhibition of growth by all plant extracts and at all concentrations;  and a little growth in aqueous extracts with Azadirachta indica showing the highest inhibitory effect, while C. odorata showed the lowest inhibitory effect on the first day, (A. indica, 0.1 ± 0.0 ≥ G. arborea, 0.1 ± 0.0 ˃ Z. officinale, 0.2 ± 0.0 ˃ C. odorata, 0.3 ± 0.0). On the last day, the level of inhibition was as follows A. indica, 0.4 ± 0.0 ˃ G. arborea, 0.6 ± 0.0 ˃ Z. officinale, 0.7 ± 0.0 ≥ C. odorata 0.7 ± 0.0. The inhibitory effect increased with increase in the percentage concentration of the extracts. The  potency  was also due in part to the phytochemical constituents of the plant extracts which was observed from the screening test that Saponins, Tannins, Alkaloids, Cardiac glycosides, Flavonoids, Reducing Compounds, Polyphenol, Phlobatannins, Anthraquinones and Hydroxymethyl anthraquinones were either present or absent. Ke words: Botanicals, Cross-River, Phytochemicals, Extract, Susceptibility.

Exposure of Petrol Station Attendants and Auto Mechanics to Premium Motor Sprit Fumes in Calabar, Nigeria

A population-based-cross-sectional survey was carried out to investigate the potential risk of exposure to premium motor spirit (PMS) fumes in Calabar, Nigeria, among Automobile Mechanics (AM), Petrol Station Attendants (PSA) and the general population. Structured questionnaire was administered on the randomly chosen subjects to elicit information on their exposure to PMS. Duration of exposure was taken as the length of work in their various occupations. Venous blood was taken for methaemoglobin (MetHb) and packed cells volume (PCV). Mean MetHb value was higher in AM (7.3%) and PSA (5.8%) than in the subjects from the general population (2.7%). PCV was lower in PSA (30.8%), than AM (33.3%) and the subjects from the general population (40.8%). MetHb level was directly proportional, and PCV inversely related, to the duration of exposure. The study suggested increased exposure to petrol fumes among AM, PSA, and MetHb as a useful biomarker in determining the level of exposure to benzene in petrol vapour

Epidemiological and diagnostic aspects of spontaneous miscarriage in the department of gynecology-obstetric of the university hospital of Treichville in Abidjan

Background: Describe the epidemiological and diagnostic of spontaneous aspects of early miscarriage in the department of the Gynecology Obsteric of Treichville University Teaching Hospital of   Treichville in Abidjan.Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed from January 2016 to March 2017 on patients received for an early miscarriage (gestational age less than 14 weeks of amenorrhea).Results: We recorded 337 cases of miscarriage and it shows that miscarriage was frequently estimated at 58 percent. Our patients had a average age of 32.9 years, 60.4 percent of them with primary education and 48 percent are housewives. The patients were paucigestes in 46 percent and the majority of them were nulliparous (62 percent). 6 percent with history of high blood pressure; diabetes (3 percent) and 31 percent of patients were HIV positive. Patients had pelvic pain at the admission in (55 percent). A miscarriage appears before 10 weeks of amenorrhea (76.1 percent) of cases. Ultrasound showed ovular debris (47 percent) of patients and (55.4 percent) were chromosomal abnormalities on anatomy-pathological examination.Conclusions: Spontaneous abortions are common and pathological examination is essential for diagnosis

Quantum flux effects on the energy spectra and thermo-magnetic properties in 2D Schrodinger equation with Mobius square potential

A 2D Schrodinger equation with interacting Mobius square potential model is solved using Nikiforov-Uvarov Functional Analysis (NUFA) formalism. The energy spectra and the corresponding wave function for the linearly and exponentially varying quantum magnetic flux are obtained analytically in a closed form. The evaluated energy spectra are used to obtain an expression for the partition functions for the two cases comprises of the linearly and exponentially varying quantum magnetic flux and vis-a-vis is use to evaluate other thermodynamic and magnetic properties for the system. The results are used to study the free energy, mean energy, the entropy, specific heat, magnetization, magnetic susceptibility and the persistent current of the system. The numerical bound state energies are computed.Comment: 39 Pages, 64 figure

Demulsification of Crude Oil Emulsion in Well X in a Niger Delta Field

Crude oil emulsion is an inevitable phenomenon in hydrocarbon production. Treatment of crude oil emulsion is challenging when the emulsion is stabilized. As crude oil is brought to the surface and pumped to the production facilities, the formation of emulsion increases operating cost. There is a wide array of demulsifiers that are available in the oil and gas industry for the treatment of crude oil emulsion, but one major concern has always been the efficiency of the treatment. No single universal demulsifier can effectively remove emulsion and a combination of two or more is usually expensive. In this study, crude samples were collected from the inlet manifold of a Niger Delta field and bottle tests were conducted with several demulsifiers to select the best chemical demulsifier for use in treating the emulsions as well as the optimum combination. To achieve this objective, twelve different industrial-based demulsifiers were considered which were EXP50, Separol NF-36, Baker-Basf V13-312, Servo CC-8271, Tretolite RP6275, NACCO-Exxon 006-1442, DMO87005, EXP30, AnticorQIT007, AnticorBE027, DMO86634 and DMO81656. It was observed that DMO87005 and AnticorQIT007 produced better results based on separated water volume than other demulsifiers. Hence, the decision to use these demulsifiers to assess their combined potential and the demulsifier factors, namely, concentration, temperature and time effects on the separated water volume using design of experiments (DOE) approach. The results obtained shows that the selected demulsifiers DMO87005 and AnticorQIT007 in a combined form separate more water volume from the crude oil emulsion. Also, the performance of the combined demulsifier is dependent on the combination ratio of the selected demulsifiers. Furthermore, the results depict that the selected (non-combined) demulsifiers and the combined demulsifier factors’ main effects on the separated water volume are concentration, while concentration-time and temperature-time are the factors’ interaction effects for selected and combined demulsifiers, respectively. Again, the magnitude of the main and interaction effects of the combined demulsifier’s factors on the separated water volume is affected by the selected demulsifiers combination ratio. Thus, the combined demulsifier at 0.45mL concentration at a temperature of 90°C for 60 minutes gave a good potential that would necessitate its use for crude oil emulsion treatment in the Niger Delta

The effectiveness of the anti-CD11d treatment is reduced in rat models of spinal cord injury that produce significant levels of intraspinal hemorrhage

We have previously reported that administration of a CD11d monoclonal antibody (mAb) improves recovery in a clip-compression model of SCI. In this model the CD11d mAb reduces the infiltration of activated leukocytes into the injured spinal cord (as indicated by reduced intraspinal MPO). However not all anti-inflammatory strategies have reported beneficial results, suggesting that success of the CD11d mAb treatment may depend on the type or severity of the injury. We therefore tested the CD11d mAb treatment in a rat hemi-contusion model of cervical SCI. In contrast to its effects in the clip-compression model, the CD11d mAb treatment did not improve forelimb function nor did it significantly reduce MPO levels in the hemi-contused cord. To determine if the disparate results using the CD11d mAb were due to the biomechanical nature of the cord injury (compression SCI versus contusion SCI) or to the spinal level of the injury (12th thoracic level versus cervical) we further evaluated the CD11d mAb treatment after a T12 contusion SCI. In contrast to the T12 clip compression SCI, the CD11d mAb treatment did not improve locomotor recovery or significantly reduce MPO levels after T12 contusion SCI. Lesion analyses revealed increased levels of hemorrhage after contusion SCI compared to clip-compression SCI. SCI that is accompanied by increased intraspinal hemorrhage would be predicted to be refractory to the CD11d mAb therapy as this approach targets leukocyte diapedesis through the intact vasculature. These results suggest that the disparate results of the anti-CD11d treatment in contusion and clip-compression models of SCI are due to the different pathophysiological mechanisms that dominate these two types of spinal cord injuries

The attention-emotion interaction in healthy female participants on oral contraceptives during 1-week escitalopram intake

Previous findings in healthy humans suggest that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) modulate emotional processing via earlier changes in attention. However, many previous studies have provided inconsistent findings. One possible reason for such inconsistencies is that these studies did not control for the influence of either sex or sex hormone fluctuations. To address this inconsistency, we administered 20 mg escitalopram or placebo for seven consecutive days in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled design to sixty healthy female participants with a minimum of 3 months oral contraceptive (OC) intake. Participants performed a modified version of an emotional flanker task before drug administration, after a single dose, after 1 week of SSRI intake, and after a 1-month wash-out period. Supported by Bayesian analyses, our results do not suggest a modulatory effect of escitalopram on behavioral measures of early attentional-emotional interaction in female individuals with regular OC use. While the specific conditions of our task may be a contributing factor, it is also possible that a practice effect in a healthy sample may mask the effects of escitalopram on the attentional-emotional interplay. Consequently, 1 week of escitalopram administration may not modulate attention toward negative emotional distractors outside the focus of attention in healthy female participants taking OCs. While further research in naturally cycling females and patient samples is needed, our results represent a valuable contribution toward the preclinical investigation of antidepressant treatment