Neonatal jaundice: assessing the knowledge and intending practice of clinical medical students of Bingham University Teaching Hospital, Jos Nigeria

Background: Neonatal jaundice is one of the major causes of neonatal morbidity and mortality in Nigeria. There is the need therefore to equip our young upcoming doctors about the disease. Aim of this study was to assess the knowledge of clinical medical students of Bingham University Teaching hospital on Neonatal Jaundice (NNJ).Methods: This was a cross-sectional study carried on clinical medical students of Bingham University Teaching Hospital, Jos. Ethical approval was obtained from the Ethical committee of the Hospital. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to obtain data from 400-600L students using convenience sampling method for all those that consented to the study.Results: A total of 181 students were assessed with a M: F ratio of 1:1.2, age ranged of 18-30 years. About 98% of the students got the definition of jaundice correctly. There was no significant correlation between the definition of NNJ with age, sex educational level and tribe of the students. The major source of information was from their lectures and seminars accounting for 80% of sources. The assessment of the knowledge on the cause of NNJ was good with 145(80%) knowing that hematological/hereditary disease is a cause, 4(2.2%) did not know the cause of NNJ. The highest score for danger signs of NNJ was 98(54%) which was high pitch cry. About 60% of the students knew that blue light is the best colour of light for effective phototherapy, while 42(23%) did not know the answer. There was correlation between the intending practice and the educational level of the students p=0.016.Conclusions: The knowledge of some of the causes and the treatment of NNJ among the BHUTH was good and others were poor, therefore, more teachings and exposures need to be done

A Geometric Approach to Quantum State Separation

Probabilistic quantum state transformations can be characterized by the degree of state separation they provide. This, in turn, sets limits on the success rate of these transformations. We consider optimum state separation of two known pure states in the general case where the known states have arbitrary a priori probabilities. The problem is formulated from a geometric perspective and shown to be equivalent to the problem of finding tangent curves within two families of conics that represent the unitarity constraints and the objective functions to be optimized, respectively. We present the corresponding analytical solutions in various forms. In the limit of perfect state separation, which is equivalent to unambiguous state discrimination, the solution exhibits a phenomenon analogous to a second order symmetry breaking phase transition. We also propose a linear optics implementation of separation which is based on the dual rail representation of qubits and single-photon multiport interferometry

Influence of malting on the composition of millet (Pennisetum typhoideum) grains and the growth of Rhodotorula rubra and Torulopsis candida

A comparative study on the influence of malting on the composition of Pennisetum typhoideum grains and the growth of Rhodotorula rubra and Torulopsis candida was investigated. Result of proximate analysis indicated high crude protein content of 11.04% in three day malted grains (3DMG) which decreased with decrease in malting period. The contents of sodium, potassium, manganese and iron were equally higher in 3DMG. The unmalted grains had high ascorbic acid content of 7.50 mg/g which decreased markedly to 5.00 mg/g in all the malted grains. The cellular masses attained after culturing the yeast for 15 days was insignificant (P> 0.05). The biomass of R. rubra and T. candida in 3DMG was 369 and 357 mg respectively. Comparatively, the biomass obtained in yeast dextrose peptone media (YDPM) was comparatively lower with 367 and 349 mg in R. rubra and T. candida. The result of this study suggest that malted P. typhoideum grains media could be used as an alternative medium for culturing R. rubra and T. candida in the laboratory against conventional expensive YDPM  and 3DMG  proved to be  promising

Evaluation of antiulcer activity of aqueous ethanol extract of Thesium viride on ethanol and aspirin induced models in rats

Thesiumviride Hill (Santalaceae) is a sub-shrub hemiparasite that grows up to 45cm tall and widely distributed in Europe, Asia and Africa. It is used in treatment of ulcer and jaundice. Phytochemical screening was carried out on the aqueous ethanol extract of the whole plant by using standard phytochemical methods. Acute oral toxicity test was carried out and antiulcer activity was conducted using absolute ethanol and aspirin as the ulcerogenic agents on rats where the ulcer index was the parameter and percentage preventive index was determined. The aqueous ethanol extract of the plant was found to contain flavonoids,  anthraquinones, glycosidesand alkaloids. Acute toxicity test showed an oral LD50 greater than 5000 mg/kg. In ethanol model, aqueous ethanol extract at doses of 250 and 500 mg/kg exhibited significant (P<0.0001) protection against ulcer with mean ulcer indices of 4.40 ± 0.60 and 1.80 ± 0.37 respectively as compared with negative (12.80 ± 0.97) and positive (4.00 ± 0.71)control mean ulcer indices. In aspirin model, aqueous ethanol extract at doses of 250 and 500 mg/kg demonstrated  significant (P<0.05) protection against ulcer with mean ulcer indices of 3.20 ± 0.80 and 2.60 ± 0.24 respectively ascompared with negative (5.60 ± 0.97) and positive (1.00 ± 0.44) controlmean ulcer indices. The higher dose of the extract demonstrated greater protective ability with percentage preventive index 85.94% in ethanol induced model and 53.57% in aspirin induced model. The aqueous ethanol extract of the plant was found to be non-toxic and contains some phytochemicals that could be responsible for its antiulcer activity.Keywords: Thesiumviride, Phytochemical, LD50, Ulcer index, Aqueous ethanol extrac

Suspension of Justice Isa Ayo Salami: Implications for Rule of Law, Judicial Independence and Constitutionalism

The suspension of Justice Ayo Salami, President of the Court of Appeal (PCA) opened a new dimension in the Nigerian judiciary; it is the first of its kind at that level. The National Judicial Council (NJC) initiated the suspension and the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria endorsed it. The paper is concerned with implications of the suspension for the rule of law, constitutionalism and judicial independence. The paper argues that the suspension was unconstitutional for procedural irregularity and further reveals that the mechanisms provided by the constitution to guarantee judicial independence are inadequate and ineffective. It also shows that the much-needed independence of judiciary from the political branches in particular, to a greater extent, depends on internal independence which again largely depends on the leadership of the judiciary and the National Judicial Council. This invariably suggests that for there to be independence from the political branches and internal interference there must be a courageous, just, fearless and pro-active leadership of the judiciary and a more independent Judicial Council, and calls for an amendment to the constitution in that direction

Efficiency of Extraction of Trace metals from Blood samples using Wet Digestion and Microwave Digestion Techniques

The efficiency of extraction of trace metals using conventional wet acid digestion method (CDM) and microwave induced acid digestion method (MWD) was determined by recovery experiments. The high percentage recoveries obtained from microwave induced acid digestion method make it to be a more efficient method than the conventional wet acid method. The conventional wet acid digestion method is time consuming while the MWD method saves time, less than four minutes are required to complete the digestion of the biological samples in this study

Acceptance of Aerial Yam (Dioscorea bulbifera L.) for Food in Biu Emirate Council, Borno State, Nigeria

Aerial yam is a semi-wild food that grows on vines climbing onto poles and trees. The bulb is eaten on peeling off the hard back after cooking. Questionnaire was administered to investigate its acceptance for food in Biu environ as well as its taste. Proximate analysis was carried out to determine its nutritive value. About 85% of the respondents eat aerial yam as a supplement to their major food or meals. The result shows that elderly people of 36 years and above (58.83% of respondents) eat aerial yam being a common resource and cheap in the dry season. The taste varied with individuals as 58.82% stated that it is tasteless; 17.66%, bitter and 11.76%, indefinite. The samples analysed gave an average of 32% DM; 3.61%, CP; 3.06%, EE or fat; 8.65%, CF; 1.33%, ash and 83.56%, NFE. The integration of aerial yam in cropping system is therefore recommended as it has such a nutritional profile and ease of production. Keywords: Aerial yam, Consumption, Taste, Nutritive value