THE NIGERIA 1999 ECONOMIC POLICY AND OBJECTIVE: AN UNFULFILLED MISSION OF EXPECTATION

The 1999 Constitution of Nigeria contains beautiful provisions for economic policy and objective under chapter two of the country’s fundamental objectives and direct principles of the state policy.  And by section 16 of the said Constitution, the economic objectives of the state are well spelt out that if followed to the letters, Nigeria would have been a paradise on earth and a country to be recognized as a developed nation.  But alas, the operators of the Constitution have woefully failed in this direction. Thus the majority of the people inNigeriaare left to wallow in despicable hunger, unemployment, poor living condition and lack of many indices of social and welfare developmental services.            The condition is so bad that unless all these unpalatable and monumental factors are well addressed, the country may sooner or later reach its waterloo of extinction

Familial and peer influences on sport participation among adolescents in rural South African secondary schools

This study was designed to investigate the influences of family and peers on sport participation amongst adolescents in secondary schools at Hlanganani rural area of Limpopo Province, South Africa. A total of 172 learners (108 females and 64 males) attending three public secondary schools in Hlanganani rural area volunteered to participate in the study. Results indicated that adolescents preferred peers to family for support in sport participation. In terms of gender, no significant differences (p>0.05) were noted between mean values for school boys and girls with regard to family influence. Boys reported more tangible support, whereas girls indicated a preference for emotional support. Sport participation among learners is likely to increase when they receive informational, tangible, emotional and appraisal support from their parents and peers

Physical demands analysis of soccer players during the extra-time periods of the UEFA Euro 2016

Background: Despite the importance of extra-time (ET) in determining success in the knockout stages of tournaments, there is scant information on the physical demands of ET on soccer players.Methods: This study investigated the physical demands of all soccer players (n=59) who completed four matches that went to ET at the 2016 UEFA Euro Championship. Players were categorised as follows: central defenders (CDs), wide defenders (WDs), central midfielders (CMs), wide midfielders (WMs) and attackers (ATs). Match activities were captured using a validated camera tracking system (InStat®). Descriptive statistics and repeated measures one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to analyse the data.Results: The findings showed that total distances covered by players during matches decreased by 13% from the first half of the game (113±10 m/min) to ET (98±10 m/min). Concerning playing positions, a decline in total distances covered during matches was more apparent among midfielders than players in other field positions. A repeated measures ANOVA, with a Greenhouse-Geisser correction, showed that the mean total distances differed significantly between halves of the game [F(1.54, 83.28) = 121.97, p < 0.001].Conclusion: Intervention strategies needed to sustain soccer players’ physical performance during ET periods and of post-match recovery modalities warrant further investigation.Keywords: distance, physical performance, substitution, tournamen

Multiplatform urinary metabolomics profiling to discriminate cachectic from non-cachectic colorectal cancer patients: Pilot results from the ColoCare Study

Cachexia is a multifactorial syndrome that is characterized by loss of skeletal muscle mass in cancer patients. The biological pathways involved remain poorly characterized. Here, we compare urinary metabolic profiles in newly diagnosed colorectal cancer patients (stage I-IV) from the ColoCare Study in Heidelberg, Germany. Patients were classified as cachectic

Epidemiological study of the role of vitamin D in the aetiology of ovarian cancer

Johtuen oireiden salakavaluudesta useimmat munasarjasyöpätapaukset todetaan pitkälle edenneinä ja munasarjasyöpä on hyvin tappava gynekologinen syöpä. Maantieteellisesti taudin ilmaantuvuus ja tautiin kuolleisuus vaihtelevat huomattavasti. Munasarjasyövän syyksi on esitetty gonadotropiinia, muuta hormonaalista syytä, keskeytymättömiä ovulaatioita ja tulehdusta. Vaikka jokaisen hypoteesin tueksi on esittää epidemiologista todistusaineistoa muiden, toistaiseksi vähän tutkittujen, tekijöiden osuutta ei voi sulkea pois. Ekologisten, kokeellisten ja ravitsemustutkimusten perusteella D-vitamiini voi suojata munasarjasyövältä, mutta tutkimukset, jotka hyödyntävät parasta D-vitamiinin mittaustapaa, seerumin 25-hydroksi D (25-OHD) vitamiinimääritystä, puuttuvat. Tämän väitöskirjatutkimuksen tarkoituksena oli tutkia D-vitamiinin ja munasarjasyövän yhteyttä käyttäen hyväksi seerumin 25-OHD -tasoja - luotettavinta tapaa määrittää yksilön D-vitamiinistatus. Tässä väitöskirjassa esitettävät työt ovat sarja Äitikohorttiin (Finnish Maternity Cohort, FMC) upotettuja tapaus-verrokkitutkimuksia. FMC-seerumipankki on väestöpohjainen seerumipankki, jossa lähes kaikkien Suomessa vuodesta 1983 raskaana olleiden naisten ensimmäisen raskauskolmanneksen seeruminäytettä säilytetään -25 °C:ssa. Munasarjasyöpätapaukset ja kaltaistetut verrokit identifioitiin yhdistämällä tietoja Syöpärekisterin ja Tilastokeskuksen kanssa. Tulostemme oikeellisuus riippuu paljolti siitä, miten hyvin D-vitamiinin 25-OHD -aineenvaihduntatuote on säilynyt ja mitattavissa vuoden ajan säilytetyissä seeruminäytteissä. Sen vuoksi välttääksemme virheluokitusta ensimmäinen tavoitteemme oli määrittää 25-OHD:n ja androstenedionin säilyminen seeruminäytteissä, joita oli säilytetty jopa 24 vuotta. Havaitsimme odotetut vuodenajasta johtuvat seerumin 25-OHD tasojen erot kaikkina seurantavuosina. Keskimääräinen seerumin 25-OHD -taso oli merkitsevästi korkeampi kesällä (44.0 nmol/l) talveen (33.4 nmol/l) verrattuna (p Toisessa tutkimuksessa, joka koski 201 munasarjasyöpätapausta, jotka oli diagnosoitu 10 vuoden kuluessa seeruminäytteen ottamisesta, ja 398 vuodenajan, iän ja raskauksien määrän suhteen kaltaistettua verrokkia, emme havainneet yhteyttä seerumin 25-OHD -pitoisuuden ja munasarjasyöpäriskin välillä (OR 1.8, 95% CI 0.9 3.5) vertailtaessa alimman ja ylimmän neljänneksen D-vitamiinitason omanneita tutkittavia. Naisilla, joilla oli suositusten mukaan riittämätön 25-OHD -taso ( 75 nmol/l) omanneisiin naisiin. Kolmannessa tutkimuksessa selvitimme toimivatko kalsium ja D-vitamiini riippumattomasti vai muuntelevatko ne toistensa vaikutusta munasarjasyöpäriskiin. Naisilla, jotka olivat kalsiumtasojensa suhteen korkeimmassa neljänneksessä, oli merkitsevästi vähentynyt munasarjasyöpäriski, kun taas naisten, jotka olivat korkeimmassa D-vitamiinineljänneksessä, munasarjasyöpäriskin vähenemisen tilastollinen merkitsevyys jäi rajalle. Naisilla, joilla oli riittävät 25-OHD -tasot oli merkitsevästi alentunut munasarjasyöpäriski (OR 0.32, 95% CI 0.12 0.91). Kalsiumiin tilastollisesti merkitsevästi liittyvä alentunut munasarjasyöpäriski oli riippumaton seerumin 25-OHD -tasoista (OR 0.41, 95% CI 0.19 0.87). D-vitamiiniin liittyvä alentunut munasarjasyöpäriski (OR 0.51, 95% CI 0.29 1.05) oli riippumaton. Emme havainneet, että kalsium ja D-vitamiini muuntelisivat toistensa vaikutusta suhteessa munasarjasyöpään. D-vitamiinia ja munasarjasyöpää koskeneiden epidemiologisten tutkimusten todettu heikkous on ollut yhden seeruminäytteen käyttö arvioitaessa elimistön D-vitamiinistatusta yli ajan. Toistaiseksi ainoassa tutkimuksessa, jossa seerumin 25-OHD -tasoja on mitattu kaksi kertaa pitkällä aikavälillä, havaitsimme, että korkean seerumi 25-OHD -tason säilyttäminen pitkän aikaa voi liittyä alentuneeseen munasarjasyöpäriskiin. Naisilla, joiden seerumin 25-OHD -tasot olivat vuodenajan keskimääräisiä tasoja korkeammat molemmissa näytteissä, oli alentunut riski sairastua munasarjasyöpään (OR 0.21, 95 % CI 0.05 0.99). Tätä tilastollisen merkitsevyyden rajalla ollutta vaikutusta ei havaittu naisilla, joiden näytteet oli otettu talvella.Ovarian cancer is a very lethal gynaecological cancer because its symptoms are insidious and majority of the patients present with advanced stage disease. There is considerable geographic variation in the incidence and mortality of the disease. The gonadotrophin, hormonal, incessant ovulation and inflammation hypotheses have all been proposed to explain its aetiology and while epidemiological studies offer some support for aspects of each hypothesis, the contribution of other hitherto under-investigated factors cannot be discountenanced. Ecological, experimental and dietary studies suggest that vitamin D may offer some protection against ovarian cancer but there is dearth of epidemiological studies investigating this association using the best marker for vitamin D; serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHD). The aim of this thesis was to investigate the association between vitamin D and ovarian cancer utilizing serum 25-OHD concentrations which is the most reliable way to determine an individual s vitamin D status. The studies in the thesis are a series of case-control studies nested within the Finnish Maternity Cohort (FMC) which is a population-based serum biorepository, maintained at -25oC, containing the first trimester serum samples of almost all pregnant Finnish women since 1983. Ovarian cancer cases and suitably matched controls were identified after linkages with the nation-wide Finnish Cancer Registry (FCR) and Statistics, Finland. The validity of our results depends to a large extent on how measurable and preserved the vitamin D metabolite, 25-OHD, is within serum samples that have been stored for many years. Therefore, in order to avoid differential misclassification in our studies, our first objective was to determine the stability of 25-OHD and androstenedione in serum samples that had been stored for up to 24 years. We observed the expected marked seasonal differences in serum 25-OHD concentrations for all the years studied. The mean serum 25-OHD levels were significantly higher in summer (44.0 nmol/L) compared to winter (33.4 nmol/L, p-value ? 0.001). There was no evidence to suggest systematic degradation of 25-OHD in stored sera, implying that 25-OHD is very stable in serum samples stored at-25oC for many years. In the second study involving 201 ovarian cancer cases diagnosed within 10 years of serum sampling and 398 season, age and parity-matched controls, we observed no overall association between serum 25-OHD concentrations and ovarian cancer risk (OR 1.8, 95% CI 0.9 3.5 comparing lowest to highest quintile) but women with insufficient serum 25-OHD concentrations ( In study III, we sought to determine whether calcium and vitamin D act independently or jointly and whether each modifies the action of the other on ovarian cancer risk. Women within the highest quartile of calcium concentration had significantly reduced risk of ovarian cancer while women within the highest quartile of serum 25-OHD concentration had borderline reduced risk of ovarian cancer compared to those within the lowest. Women with sufficient serum 25-OHD levels had a significantly reduced risk of ovarian cancer compared to women with insufficient serum levels (OR 0.32, 95% CI 0.12-0.91). While calcium was independently associated with a reduced risk of ovarian cancer regardless of serum 25-OHD levels, (OR 0.41, 95% CI 0.19-087), vitamin D was independently associated with a non-significantly reduced risk of ovarian cancer (OR 0.51, 95% CI 0.29-1.05). We observed no evidence of effect modification between calcium and vitamin D with regards to ovarian cancer. A perceived weakness in epidemiological studies of vitamin D and ovarian cancer is the use of one time serum 25-OHD measurement to indicate over time vitamin D status. In the only study so far that has measured serum 25-OHD twice, over a long period of time, among cases and controls; we found evidence to suggest that maintaining consistently high serum 25-OHD levels over many years during summer may be associated with a reduced risk of ovarian cancer. Women whose serum 25-OHD levels were above the season specific median values on both sampling occasions had a borderline reduced risk of ovarian cancer (OR 0.21 95% CI 0.05-0.99) compared to other women with consistently low or fluctuating serum 25-OHD levels. No such protective effect was however observed among women who donated their samples during winter