Archives-April 2012

The paper reports key issues associated with recent incidences of heavy metals pollution in Nigeria. Factors such as poor government policies, poverty, ignorance and inappropriate prevention and control measures are the key reasons responsible for the problem. Different diseases and subsequent deaths have been documented. For example, Zamfara lead poisoning that claimed the lives of over 500 children, and left thousands in severe health situations in 2010, is the worst of its kind in the global record of the year. To address the issue complete phasing-out of leaded gasoline and policies against illegal mining are necessary. Environmental education (especially in the rural areas) and effective poverty alleviation programmes are required to ensure good understanding of the gravity of the problem and compliance with applicable laws. Adequate funding of health sector is essential to promote training of health personals and good treatment of affected people.

This study tends to investigate the application of psychological research methods in the fashion endeavor. The prospect of this challenge is to quantify, formalize and investigate the causal relationships connecting clothing style, preference, personality factors, emotions and mood with an observation to an improved understanding of the psychological profile of the fashion consumer. The result specifies strong relationships between mood and important relationships among three out of five personality factors and clothing style preference; mood was an important predictor of preference, at the same time as personality was restrained. Personality, emotion and mood were exposed to be managed and reflected through clothing with propositions for assistance in consumer clothing service training, resolution, and strategies for personal shoppers, market segmentation and design. The methodology derivative from a combination of research methods coupled with definite wearing experience, previously not studied collectively. This is a vital demonstration of how important this combination is in order to fully be pleased about the psychological profile of the fashion consumer.

We have given in this paper a fairly decent introduction to the importance of the study of centrality measures of distance graphs. We have discussed at length several concepts with a number of interesting examples and highlighted interesting results. Then, the scope of practical applicability of these concepts is also indicated.

The need for intensive germplasm collection to broaden the genetic base of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) breeding to safeguard the vulnerability and the rate at which wild oil palm are becoming extinct as these wild oil palms are very imperative. The paper highlights oil palm accessions that were collected from the Central Region of Ghana. Thirty seven (37) accessions were collected from seven (7) locations in the Central Region. Data on stem height, bunch weight, bunch length, bunch breadth, bunch depth, stalk weight, weight of ten fruits, weight of ten nuts, mesocarp to fruit ratio, fruit length, fruit diameter, nut diameter, kernel diameter, shell thickness and other qualitative traits were examined. The mean, co-efficient of variation and range of the individual traits, were statistically analysed using standard procedures. Differences in the qualitative traits were recorded with most of the oil palm accessions having nigrescens fruits. The Tenera (T) type recorded the highest mesocarp to fruit ratio of 63.8%. These prospected germplasm accessions are being germinated and raised for future planting in the germplasm fields of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (C.S.I.R) - Oil Palm Research Institute (OPRI) to be introduced for breeding programmes.

The issue of teacher supply and demand amidst the call to meet Universal Primary Education (UPE) remains one of the critical issues facing developing countries today. The problem is compounded by a number of factors that vary from region to region. The main purpose of this study was to examine the factors influencing teacher supply and demand in Old Kajiado District in Kenya. The study employed survey research design. Stratified simple random sampling procedure was used to arrive at forty two (42) schools and head teachers respectively, one hundred and seventy one (171) teachers and nine (9) staffing officers. Questionnaires and interview guides were used to collect data. Data were analysed with the help of SPSS version 16.5 for windows. The study revealed that there a number of key factors that influenced teacher supply and demand in the District. These included policy related issues on staffing, deployment and transfers. Other particular issues were hardships in terms of harsh climatic conditions, poor infrastructure, poor teacher facilities and cultural related issues like perception of women professionals. The study suggests participatory approach in addressing the problem of teacher supply and demand which may differ from one place to another.

The notion of "washback" is common in the language teaching and testing literature, and tests are held to be powerful determiners of what happens in classrooms (Alderson and Wall, 1993). "Washback" refers to the influence of language testing on teaching and learning (Cheng, Watanabe, & Curtis, 2004). Milanovic and Weir's book Changing Language Teaching Through Language Testing: A Washback Study offers insights into the concept that a test can be used to encourage innovation in the classroom.

Docetaxel stabilizes microtubules while inhibits mitotic spindle formation. It has been found to be effective in treating several solid cancers. The aim of this study was to in cooperate docetaxel in conventional and Chitosan coated liposomes, and to evaluate the antiproliferative effects of different formulations on MCF-7 and HepG-2 cell lines. MTT assay was used to determine the growth inhibition of the cell line by docetaxel. A significant dose-dependent inhibition of proliferation was found after the cells were exposured to certain liposomal docetaxel preparations, suggesting the possible use of liposomes as effective docetaxel delivery devices.

A novel series of 6-Chloro-3-(2-morpholino methyl amino)-6-substituted phenyl pyrimidine-4-yl-2H-chromone-2-one (CT₁M–CT₅M), 3-(2-((piperidine-1-yl)methylamino)-6-substituted phenylpyrimidin-4-yl)- 6-Chloro- 2H- chromone -2- one (CT₁P–CT₅P) have been synthesized from 3-(2-amino-6-pyrimidin-4-yl)-6-chloro-2H-chromen-2-one (CT₁-CT₅) which were synthesized from 3-acetyl-6-Chloro-2H-chromen-2-one (3). The structures of the synthesized compounds were elucidated by I. R., ¹H NMR spectroscopic techniques. The synthesized compounds were screened for in-vitro antimicrobial activity at a 25, 50, 100 and 200 mcg concentrations. Among them, compounds CT₂M, CT₃M, CT₅M, CT₂P, CT₃P and CT₅P exhibited significant antibacterial activity against P.aeruginosa and S.aureus comparable with standard drug Ampicillin trihydrate. Compounds CT₁M, CT₂M, CT₃M, CT₅M, CT₂P, and CT₅P exhibited significant antifungal activity against P.chrysogenum and A.niger comparable with standard drug Fluconazole using cup-plate method. Compounds have been further evaluated by measuring zone of inhibition and percent inhibition.

The aim of the present study is to investigate the protective effect of Opuntia dillenii (ker-gawl) Haw fruit extract against isoprenaline hydrochloride (ISPH) induced myocardial infarction (MI) in rats. Pretreatment with the fruit extract of Opuntia dillenii at 2.5 and 5.0 ml/kg body weight for 30 days significantly prevented the elevation of serum marker enzymes namely SGOT, SGPT, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), troponin and increased the cardiac enzymatic antioxidant, TBARS and lipid profile levels in myocardial injured rats. The effect was more prominent at 5.0 ml/kg body weight. The study results thus demonstrated the cardioprotective potential of Opuntia dillenii against ISPH-induced myocardial infarction and associated oxidative stress.

Many chronic acute diseases affect the respiration of the patients. The monitoring of vital body signs such as respiration is becoming increasingly important, especially in view of the general aging of the population and the associated increase in chronic diseases. A quantitative, semi quantitative or even qualitative monitoring of respiration may help to detect pulmonary disorders such as apnea, Cheyne – stokes or Biot’s respiration. When used in a home setting, respiratory monitoring should be easy to use and not constrictive to for the patient. Moreover, because longtime monitoring entails direct connection between the patient and the system, the integration of such systems into clothing is desirable. A novel approach is presented for non constrictive long term – monitoring of respiration, which could particularly become suitable for home care applications. The system is based on textile integrated force sensors, which detect expansion of the thorax during respiration and allow wireless data transmission for maximum mobility. Possible application include long - term monitoring of patients with chronic pulmonary diseases, early recognition of disease and the performance measurement of athletes during excise. Results from performance tests under various conditions are presented. In addition, long – term respiratory monitoring systems could be used to monitor the performance of athletes and to optimize their training. Many qualitative, quantitative and semi – quantitative methods that are integrated in clothing for respiratory monitoring are available.