Attitude, practice and perception of sexuality education among parents in Obio-Akpor local government area of Rivers State, Nigeria

Sexuality education (SE) has remained a controversial issue in Nigeria more than 3 decades after the first case of HIV/AIDS was discovered as many parents still have a wrong view about it. This study therefore assessed the attitude, practice and perception of SE among parents in Obio-Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State, Nigeria. A descriptive cross-sectional design was used among 330 consenting parents who were recruited through a multi-stage sampling method from 3 selected communities in Obio/Akpor LGA. The results of this study showed that majority of the respondents had a poor understanding of the concept of SE though almost all of them approved of the teaching of SE. However, a few practically engaged in teaching their children SE. This study showed that majority of our respondents had a poor understanding of the concept of sexuality education; there is therefore need for continuous enlightenment by the government on sexuality education targeting parents and using available media resources.Keywords: Parents, Sexuality education, Attitude, Practice, PerceptionAfr. J. Biomed. Res. Vol. 22 (January, 2019); 51- 5

Attitudes towards Human Papillomavirus vaccination among African parents in a city in the north of England: A qualitative study.

Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) is sexually transmitted and has been conclusively linked to cervical cancer and genital warts. Cervical cancer is attributed to approximately 1100 deaths annually in UK, and is the second most common female cancer globally. It has been suggested that black African women are more predisposed to HPV infection and cervical cancer. A vaccine has been developed to reduce HPV infection, and in the UK, has been offered to 12-13 year old adolescent girls through schools as part of their childhood immunization programme since 2008. Upon programme initiation, it was noted that vaccine uptake was lower in schools where girls from ethnic minority groups were proportionately higher. Objectives: The study’s objectives were to explore factors influencing UK based African parents’ acceptance or decline of the HPV vaccine, whether fathers and mothers share similar views pertaining to vaccination and any interfamily tensions resulting from differing views. Methodology: A qualitative study was conducted with five African couples residing in north England. Face to face semi-structured interviews were carried out. Participants were parents to at least one daughter aged between 8 and 14 years. Recruitment was done through purposive sampling using snowballing. Results: HPV and cervical cancer awareness was generally low, with awareness lower in fathers. HPV vaccination was generally unacceptable among the participants, with fear of promiscuity, infertility and concerns that it’s still a new vaccine with yet unknown side effects cited as reasons for vaccine decline. There was HPV risk denial 3 as religion and good cultural upbringing seemed to result in low risk perceptions, with HPV and cervical cancer generally perceived as a white person’s disease. Religious values and cultural norms influenced vaccine decision-making, with fathers acting as the ultimate decision makers. Current information about why the vaccine is necessary was generally misunderstood. Conclusion: Tailored information addressing religious and cultural concerns may improve vaccine acceptability in African parents

Microwave-assisted synthesis, structural characterization, DFT studies, antibacterial and antioxidant activity of 2-methyl-4-oxo-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinazoline-2-carboxylic acid

WOS: 000424717800065In the present study a new tetrahydroquinazoline-2-carboxylic, C10H10N2O3, 1', was synthesized and its structure was characterized by elemental analysis, IR, H-1 NMR, C-13 NMR data and high-resolution mass spectrometry. The spectral results are in line with the proposed structure. Single crystal X-ray structural analysis of the compound showed that the crystal structure adopts a monoclinic space group P2(1)/c, with the packing of the molecule stabilized by C=O... ...H-O, N-H....O=C-O-intermolecular hydrogen bonding. The theoretical geometrical parameters of the compound have been calculated using density functional (DFT) and time-dependent density functional (TD-DFT) theory methods and have been used to predict the thermodynamic one-electron redox potential and the electronic absorption property of the compound. The theoretical characterization matched the experimental measurements, showing a good correlation. The calculated HOMO-LUMO gap (4.79 eV) suggests that compound 1' could be a potential antioxidant The synthesized compound was screened for its in vitro antimicrobial activity against selected bacterial strains and antioxidant activity using the TAC, FRAP, NO and ABTS models. In vitro antioxidant activity of 1' showed a moderate activity, but weaker scavenging activity than the standards of ascorbic acid and trolox. Results of the antibacterial activity of the tested compound showed that it possesses a higher activity against Bacillus anthracis, Bacillus cereus, Bacillus polymyxa, Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus than the two standard drugs, streptomycin and tetracycline, and better activity than tetracycline against Escherichia doll. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Central Science Laboratory, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife; NSF-MRI programNational Science Foundation (NSF)NSF - Office of the Director (OD) [CHE-1039027]We would like to acknowledge the support of the Central Science Laboratory, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. JPJ acknowledges the NSF-MRI program (grant No. CHE-1039027) for funds to purchase the X-ray diffractometer