CERVICAL CANCER EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN SOUTH WEST, NIGERIA

Obalase, Stephen Babatunde

University Health Centre

Federal University of Technology, Akure

E-mail: obalase@yahoo.com          

ABSTRACT: The need for quick and timely intervention to prevent  cervical cancer prevalence  among   the risk  population  and  to reduce incidence and mortality rate due to cervical cancer is one of the object of Health promotion.The standard practice  to reduce the frequency and mortality of cervical cancer is to screen the target population , ensure vaccination and  to ensure prompt intervention.This descriptive survey determined cervical cancer education for sustainable development in South West, Nigeria. The sample for this study comprises of 600 respondents selected through multi stage sampling technique in South West, Nigeria. The variables studied include : knowledge of cervical cancer prevention, attitude towards screening  vaccination and cultural heritage.The research instrument used was a  self structured questionnaire, while   student t- test, correlation analysis and  ANOVA were used to test the formulated hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance.The result revealed that all identified variables significantly influence the cervical cancer prevention .It is therefore recommended that cervical cancer education should be included in the school curriculum and all reproductive activities in the clinical setting  to enhance early reporting ,reduce morbidity and mortality due to cervical cancer

Key words: Cervical cancer, Education, Sustainable development, Vaccination, Screening.

THE YIELD, SENSORY CHARACTERISTICS AND FATTY ACID CONTENT OF OILS EXTRACTED FROM AFRICAN OIL BEAN (Pentaclethra macrophylla Benth) SEEDS AT DIFFERENT MATURATION STAGES

¹Duru, F. C., ¹Ohaegbulam, P. O. and ²Ezeji, C. C.

¹Department of Food Technology, Federal Polytechnic Nekede, Imo State

²Department of Food Science and Technology, Federal University of Technology, Owerri,

 Email: durufaustina@gmail.com

ABSTRACT: The yield, sensory characteristics and fatty acid content of oils extracted from African oil bean seeds at different maturation periods were investigated in this study. The seeds harvested from one-month development, two months’ development and exploded seeds were extracted, ground, dried and analyzed for the titratable acidity; and crude oil was extracted from the dried ground seed flour. The oil yield from raw seeds increased with periods of seed development, being 8.86% at one month, 27.8% at two months and 39.2% at full maturity (exploded seed). The one month and two month developed seed yield a brown-coloured oil while the exploded seed oil was yellow in colour; both oils were bland in flavour and the physical state ranged from semi – liquid to liquid at room temperature. The titratable acidity values was higher (0.185% lactic acid) in exploded seed. The fatty acid, 11 – Octadecenoic acid were found at levels  14% in all the seed oils; 9,12 – Octadecadienoic acid were also  14% in one month and two months seed oil, while, 9,12 – Octadecadienoic acid were up to 13% in exploded seed oil.

Keywords: African oil bean seed oil, Sensory characteristics, Fatty acid.

INFLUENCE OF AGE AND PARITY ON HEALTH STATUS OF MOTHERS ATTENDING ANTENATAL CLINIC IN UNIVERSITY OF UYO TEACHING HOSPITAL, AKWA IBOM STATE, NIGERIA

Roseline E. Mfon & J. O. Okafor

Department of Human Kinetics and Health Education

Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State

E-mail: roselinemfon22@g.mail.com

ABSTRACT: This study was conducted to determine the health status of mothers attending antenatal clinic in University of Uyo Teaching Hospital (UUTH) with respect to age and parity. Two research questions and hypotheses were postulated. Cross-sectional research design was adopted. The population consisted of 517 pregnant mothers, who attended antenatal clinic in UUTH.  A sample of 258 pregnant mothers was drawn for the study using systematic random sampling technique. “Mothers’ Health Status Inventory (MHSI)” was used for data collection. The MHSI was validated by three experts. It was subjected to reliability test using Cronbach Alpha. The result yielded a reliability index of .81. Data from 258 completed copies of MHSI were used for analysis. Frequencies and percentages were used to answer research questions, while Chi-square was used to test hypotheses. Results revealed that 36.9% of mothers below 20 years of age had poor health status. They were affected by excessive vomiting (78.6%), fatigue (71.4%), loss of appetite (64.3%), itching (57.1%), headache (57.1%) and heartburn (57.1%). Similarly, 35.9% of mothers with parity 5⁺ had poor health status. They suffered from fatigue (72.5%), vomiting (62.5%), backache (62.5%), oedema (60.0%), headache (60.0%), and cramps (52.5%).  There were significant differences in the health status of mothers attending antenatal clinic in UUTH with respect to their ages and parity. These findings call for intervention in order to promote the health status of mothers.

COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF THE EFFECT TWO ANTI-MALARIA DRUGS (CHLOROQUINE AND ARTEQUIN) ON SOME SERUM BIOCHEMICAL PARAMETERS IN RATS

¹Ugwu P. I, ¹Obiechina M. C, ¹Anyaehie U.S. B, ²Ofem O. E & ³Elendu, U. M

¹Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus.

²Department of Physiology, College of Medical Sciences, University of Calabar,

³Department of Physiology, Imo State University, Owerri

Correspondence: Email: princewill.ugwu@unn.edu.ng

ABSTRACT

Artemisinin combination therapies (ACT) have replaced the old drugs (like chloroquine) used as first line treatment for malaria. This current study aimed to investigate the comparative effects of chloroquine (an old drug) and artequin (an ACT drug) on serum biochemical indices in rats. Thirty-six (36) Wistar rats were randomly assigned into 2 batches. Each batch had 3 groups of 6 rats each. Group 1 was control, groups 2 and 3 respectively received artequin (1.6mg/100g bwt) and chloroquine (0.875mg/100g bwt) orally and once daily. Administration lasted for 3 and 7 days for batches 1 and 2 respectively. The biochemical analysis of the serum was carried out using standard methods. Results obtained on both days 3 and 7 showed that serum total protein and globulin concentrations in the artequin group was significantly lower (p<0.05) compared to control. The alkaline phosphatase concentration in the artequin group on day 7 was significantly (p>0.05) higher compared to control. In conclusion, administration of artequin and chloroquine at their recommended doses and duration is relatively safe. Prolonged administration of artequin could predispose to low serum proteins and globulin with accompanied elevations in ALP levels while chloroquine could increase AST level signifying hepatocellular damage.

Key Words: Anti-malaria drug, chloroquine, artequin, liver enzymes, proteins

SARIMA MODELLING OF DAILY LABORATORY CONFIRMED CASES OF CORONAVIRUS IN NIGERIA

Ette Harrison Etuk

Department of Mathematics

Rivers State University, Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Email: ettetuk@yahoo.com, ettehetuk@gmail.com, etuk.ette@ust.edu.ng

ABSTRACT: This study is an attempt to model daily confirmed cases of coronavirus in Nigeria. A time plot of the series shows an upward trend with some seasonality. It is tested for unit test and is shown to be non-stationary. Its difference shows evidence of stationarity. The correlogram of the difference shows significant spikes at the partial autocorrelation function at lags 1 and 12 and at its autocorrelation function at lags 1 and 13, with the lag 13 spike surrounded by spikes of comparable lengths in the same direction. This suggests an autoregressive fit of lags 1 and 12 and a moving average fit of lags 1, 13 and 14. A fit of the model shows that only the moving average lags are significant. A more specific SARIMA(0, 1, 1)x(0, 0, 1)₁₃ model is fitted to the series. This shows that the series may be regarded as a SARIMA(0, 1, 1)x(0, 0, 1)₁₃ case. 

Key Words: Covid-19 pandemic, SARIMA modelling