Influence of familial characteristics on the psychosocial development of adolescents in Lagos State, Nigeria

The study examined the influence of familial characteristics on the psychosocial development of adolescent in selected secondary schools within Somolu Local Government area of Lagos State. In carrying out the study six null hypotheses were tested. The sample for the study comprises two hundred (200) adolescents randomly selected from four public senior secondary schools in Somolu Local Government Area of Lagos State. A self-designed instrument with extraction from the modified Erickson Psychosocial Stage Inventory and Student Problem Inventory (SPI) were used for the study. The overall instrument for this study consisted of 30 items with 0.80 reliability score. The data collected were analysed with Pearson Product Moment Correlation and One-way Anova statistics at 0.05 levels of significance. For the six hypotheses postulated, the following statistical results: r-cals=0.64, 0.25 and F-cals of 0.35, 0.181, 0.827, and 11.84 were respectively obtained. The study revealed that: There is significant influence of family type on self-esteem of adolescents. There is significant influence of family type on anxiety of adolescents. There is no significant influence of parental socio-economic status of adolescent on self-esteem of adolescents. There is no significant influence of parental socio-economic status on moral values of adolescents. There is no significant influence of parenting style on self-esteem of adolescents and there is significant influence of each parenting style on anxiety in adolescents. In the light of the study, it was recommended among others that good parenting style should be adopted by every parent; such as authoritative type of parenting. There should be familial capacity building, creating awareness for parents on the issue of adolescent psychosocial well-being which is a crucial factor for societal stability. Such programme could be organized by school counsellors through the auspices of the Parent-Teacher’s Association. There is need for personal social, group and individual counselling in schools where students will be guided.Keywords: Adolescents, family characteristics, self-esteem and anxiet

Molecular techniques: An overview of methods for the detection of bacteria

Several DNA molecular markers are now available for use in surveillance and investigation of food-borne outbreaks that were previously difficult to detect. The results from several sources of literature indicate substantially different degrees of sensitivities between conventional detection methods and molecular-based methods. The new technology is noted for increased sensitivity over the traditional culture methods which they complement. Key words: molecular techniques, fingerprinting, microorganism. African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 2 (12), pp. 710-713, December 200

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Pectinolytic and Cellulolytic Enzymes Enhance Fusarium compactum Virulence on Tubercles Infection of Egyptian Broomrape

The use of enzyme could facilitate pathogen penetration into plant host. Here the combination of cellulase and pectinase was ascertained on the pathogenicity of F. compactum (1.4 × 106  propagules ml−1) on broomrape tubercles. F. compactum alone infected all the inoculated tubercles but did not kill any significant number. Infested tomato roots that were inoculated with mycelia plus pectinase (20 U ml−1) had over 50% tubercles dead one week after treatment. Those inoculated with mycelia plus cellulase (20 U ml−1) had above 60% mortality. Mixtures of mycelial plus the two enzymes (10 U ml−1 of each enzyme) showed synergy. The activity catalyzed by an enzyme is a measure of the amount of enzyme present. It was shown that, in a 1 mg (10 U mg−1) cellulase used, 0.055 mg pectinase (1.1 U mg−1) is present. This explains why mycelial plus cellulase mix contends with mycelial plus the two enzymes

Routine antenatal syphilis screening in South West Nigeria - a questionable practice

Background: Untreated maternal syphilis is strongly associated with adverse birth outcomes, especially in women with high titre syphilis. The WHO recommends routine serological screening in pregnancy. Some workers have advised a reappraisal of this practice, having demonstratedlow sero-prevalence in their antenatal population. In view of this, the aim of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of syphilis in the antenatal population presenting at a major hospital in south-west Nigeria.Methods: This was a cross sectional study of healthy pregnant Nigerian women attending Adeoyo Maternity Hospital in the capital of Oyo State. The case record of every pregnant woman presenting for their first antenatal clinic visit over a 4-month period (September 1st to December 31st 2006) was reviewed.Results: During the study period, two thousand six hundred and seventy-eight women sought antenatal care. Three hundred and sixty-nine women (369; 13.4%) had incomplete records and were excluded from analysis. The records of the 2,318(86.6%) women with adequate records were subsequently reviewed. The mean age of the women was 27.4years (± 5.34) and the mean gestational age 26.4 weeks (±6.36). The modal parity was 0. Only three patients were found to be reactive for syphilis giving a prevalence of 0.13%. Conclusion: The sero- prevalence value in this study is quite low and may justify the call to discontinue routine antenatal syphilis screening. However, a more rigorous screeningprogram using diagnostic tests with higher sensitivity maybe necessary before jettisoning this traditional aspect of antenatal care.Keywords - Pregnancy; syphilis; prevalence; serology; screenin

Vaccination and anesthesia: more questions than answers

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Influence of Gender Differences on Usage Patterns of Electronic Information Sources among Undergraduates of Selected Universities in Southwest, Nigeria

This research work investigated the influence of gender differences on usage patterns of electronic information sources among undergraduates in Nigeria. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. The population was made up of randomly selected undergraduate students of Ekiti State University (EKSU) and University of Ibadan (UI). Data were generated through the use of questionnaire designed to elicit responses from respondents and analysed using descriptive statistics method of frequency counts and percentages. However, out of five hundred (500) copies of questionnaire administered, four hundred and twenty one (421) were returned which represents 84.2% response rate for the study. Findings revealed that there is no basis for gender differentiation in the use of electronic information sources as gender gap in electronic resources usage appeared negligible. However, it was recommended that university libraries in Nigeria should continue to give equal opportunities to both sexes in term of training and orientation on the use of e-resources among other recommendations

A-21 Day Safety Evaluation Of Methanol Extract Of Stem Bark of Artocarpus Altilis (Parkinson) Fosberg (Moraceae) in Wistar Rats

Background: Medicinal plants have been used as therapeutic agents since prehistoric era. Artocarpus altilis (Breadfruit) is used in African traditional medicine to treat hypertension with scanty information on its safety profile in animals.Objectives: This study was designed to evaluate the toxicological effects of oral administration of methanol extract of Artocarpus altilis (MEAA) in rats.Materials and Methods: Thirty male Wistar rats were divided into 6 groups of 5 animals each and were treated orally with corn oil (control), 100, 250, 500, 1000 and 2000 mg/kg of MEAA for twenty one days.Results: MEAA caused insignificant (p>0.05) changes in the activities of serum alanine and aspartate aminotransferases (ALT and AST) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) relative to the control. Cardiac and hepatic AST (114.8±4.8 and (111.0±1.0) serum urea (1.1±0.2), creatinine (0.3±0.1), lactate dehydrogenase (17.3±5.8) and creatinine kinase (15.5±4.4) were significantly decreased (p<0.05) in rats treated with 2000 mg/kg of MEAA when compared to control [(134.8±5.8 and 129.7±5.0), 2.94±0.3, 0.4±0.1, 38.5±13.3 and 41.3±2.9]. The MEAA significantly decreased (p<0.05) serum total cholesterol and triglyceride while high density lipoprotein- cholesterol (HDL-c) level was increased. Histopathological examination of liver, kidney and aorta slides from MEAA- treated rats showed little alteration from the control.Conclusions: The MEAA could be safe when used over a long period for therapeutic purposes.Keywords: Artocarpus altilis, biochemical indices, lipid parameters, toxicity profile

Profiling of Bacillus cereus enterotoxigenic genes from retailed foods and detection of the nhe and hbl toxins with immunological assay

Bacillus cereus produces pore-forming toxins responsible for diarrhoea; therefore, rapidly detecting these toxins in food retailed for consumption is needed. The genomic DNA of 100 B. cereus isolates recovered from some retailed foods was extracted and used as a template for enterotoxin detection. The detection of genes of non-haemolyticnonhemolytic enterotoxin (nheA, nheB, nheC), hemolysin BL (hblA, hblC, hblD), entFM, cytK and bceT by the isolates was carried out with PCR  using primers specific for the targeted genes, while the production of Nhe and Hbl enterotoxins in fifty of the randomly chosen isolates was detected with a Duopath Cereus Enterotoxin kit. Ninety-five percent of the isolates carried one or more components of the NHE complex, while 56% had one or more components of HBL. Sixteen out of the 100 isolates carried all the genes for NHE and HBL complex genes. The entFM, cytK and bceT genes were detected in 85%, 74% and 60% of B. cereus isolates, respectively. Starchy foods had the highest incidence of the HBL complex, while nheA and nheC occurred mostly in protein foods with 90% and 87% incidence, respectively. The immunological kit was able to detect the production of  nonhemolytic enterotoxin (Nhe) in all the B. cereus isolates, while 28 B. cereus isolates produced hemolysin (hbl). Nineteen isolates that carried one or more genes encoding  hbl did not produce the toxin. This study clearly showed that retailed foods sold in Ogun State, Nigeria, harbor B. cereus  enterotoxigenic genes responsible for diarrhoea. These toxins can be rapidly detected in foods using both molecular and immunological methods

Contamination Of Sachet Water Produced Within Industrial Area Of Ikeja, Lagos Nigeria.

Industries produce a lot of pollutants and effluent which have effects on the quality of earth water. The effect of these pollutants and industrial effluent in sachet water produced in industrial area of Ikeja was studied. This was done by assessing the physical parameters and inorganic constituents. Six samples of sachet water produced within Ikeja were randomly purchased from the open market and were examined in the course of the study. Results obtained showed that the samples were odorless and tasteless. The turbidity varied between 0.11 to 0.91NTU. The conductivity ranged from 309 to 642?s, while pH ranged from 4.96 to 6.5. It was observed that the sachet water samples were acidic and high in calcium and magnesium ions probably due to the discharged from the industries. Keywords: Effluent, Industry, Pollutants, Sachet water