French Institute for Research in Africa

BACKGROUND: Early Childhood Caries (ECC) is defined as the presence of caries lesion in an primary tooth in children below the age of 71 months. It is a significant public health problem with consequences for the growth and development of affected children. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and ECC risk indicators in a suburban population in Nigeria. METHODS: The data of 497 children aged 6 months to 71 months who were recruited through a household survey conducted in Ile-Ife, Nigeria was analysed for prevalence of ECC and risk indicators. Information on children's ages, sex, socioeconomic status, tooth brushing habits, sugary snacks consumption, use of fluoridated toothpaste, birth rank, infant-feeding practices, breastfeeding practices, maternal age at childbirth, and maternal knowledge of oral health was obtained. Children's oral hygiene and caries status was also determined. Risk factors associated with ECC were determined using logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Thirty-three (6.6%) children had ECC. Four (0.8%) had severe ECC. The four risk indicators for ECC were the child's gender, mothers' knowledge of oral health, consumption of sugary snacks in between meals more than three times a day, and the child's oral hygiene status. Females (PR: -0.06; 95% CI: -0.01- -0.01; p = 0.02), and children with mothers who had good knowledge of oral health (PR: -0.06; 95% CI: -0.11--0.008; p = 0.02) were less likely to have ECC. Children who consumed sugary snacks in between meals three times a day or more (PR: 0.05; CI: 0.003 - 0.01; P = 0.04) and children with fair oral hygiene (PR: 0.05; 95% CI: 0.005-0.10; p = 0.03) were more likely to have ECC. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of ECC in the study population was low. Promoting good oral hygiene practices and enhancing mothers' knowledge of oral health may help reduce further, the risk for ECC in the study population.

Abstract A model of economic behavior under conditions of uncertainty demonstrates that the traditional tests of economic efficiency in agriculture are generally misspecified. A data set from Kenya is used in testing a risk‐aversion model; the results permit the following conclusions. Risk plays an important role in farmer decision making; farmers are efficient in their allocation of resources; and lack of credit availability is a major bottleneck in obtaining increased agricultural productivity for the regions studied in Kenya.

This paper is concerned with an optimization method for manufacturing systems. This method can be applied to optimize problems with any type of variables (variables from a real set, e.g., conveyor speed; an integer set, e.g., size of buffer; or any general set, e.g., dispatching rules). It is based on the association of an evolutionary algorithm and a simulation model. Extensions of Michalewicz's evolutionary operators and algorithm are proposed to tackle manufacturing system problems. The particular case of stochastic models is discussed. This method is applied to an example: the configuration of a workshop producing plastic yoghurt pots. The criterion to optimize is the cost of the workshop and the three variables are the size of a silo, the size of a warehouse and a choice between two manufacturing methods. The application has been realized by connecting an evolutionary algorithm programmed in C and a simulation language.

Abstract: By unravelling the adoption and adaptation of the North American Business Improvement District (BID) model in South African cities, this paper considers the way neoliberal principles are making their way in the post‐apartheid context. Drawing on a comparative approach of BIDs in Johannesburg and Cape Town, we analyse the tensions and conflicts surrounding their implementation and unpack the resilience of this model. As unexpected as this resilience might be in such a context, that is, far away from the heartland of neoliberalism, we argue that this resilience is linked to the permeability of the local contexts and to the plasticity of the model itself at the city and neighbourhood levels, reflecting a capacity to adapt to inherited regulatory frameworks, patterns of territorial development and embedded socio‐political alliances of the local terrains, as well as an ability to accommodate post‐apartheid issues through the crafting of what we refer to as “local Third Ways”.

Based on the case of Boko Haram, or Jama’atu Ahlis-Sunnah Lidda’awati Wal Jihad (“People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet’s Teachings and Jihad”) to give it its real name, this chapter introduces a general discussion on the relationship between Islam and politics in Nigeria. Unlike Hamas in Palestine, Hezbollah in Lebanon, or the Muslim Brothers in Egypt, Boko Haram is neither a political party nor a charity network. It is political because it contests Western values, challenges the secularity of the Nigerian state, and reveals the corruption of a “democrazy” that relies on a predatory ruling elite, the so-called “godfathers”. But Boko Haram also remains a sect, now engaged in terrorist violence. From Mohammed Yusuf to Abubakar Shekau, its leaders have never actually proposed a political programme to reform and govern Nigeria according to Shariah. In this regard, Boko Haram raises an important question: why has Nigeria never had a religious political party, either Islamic or Christian? Federalism and the alleged ‘neutrality’ of military regimes do not explain everything. Compared with the situation in Northern Sudan, the structure and division of Islam also help us to understand why Nigerian Muslims have never succeeded in setting up a political platform to contest elections with a religious programme, and why violence became an alternative channel for reform.

SUMMARY Two methods were developed for the rapid estimation of heat tolerance in plants using excised tissue pieces. The first method was a modification of the conductivity-bridge method and could yield results in less than 3 h. The second method combined plasmolysis with vital staining for the estimation of tissue injury following a regulated heat stress. This method was first developed and perfected using onion bulb epidermis tissue. It was later adapted for estimation of heat tolerance in intact tomato plants. Results from this method could be obtained within 1 h. The advantages and limitations of the two methods are compared and discussed.

BACKGROUND: The objectives of this study were to assess the association between children and parents' knowledge of caries preventive practices, the parents' caries preventive oral health behaviours and children's caries preventive oral health behaviour and caries experience. METHOD: Three hundred and twenty four participants aged 8-12 years, 308 fathers and 318 mothers were recruited through a household survey conducted in Suburban Nigeria. A questionnaire was administered to generate information on fathers, mothers and children's knowledge of caries prevention measures and their oral health behaviour. Clinical examination was conducted on the children to determine their dmft/DMFT. Analysis was conducted to determine the predictors of the children's good oral health behaviour. RESULT: The mothers' oral health behaviours were significant predictors of the children's oral health behaviours. Children who had good knowledge of caries prevention measures had significant increased odds of brushing their teeth twice daily or more. The children's caries prevalence was 13.9%, the mean dmft was 0.2 and the mean DMFT was 0.09. None of the dependent variables could predict the presence of caries in children. CONCLUSION: The study highlights the effect of maternal oral health behaviour on the oral health behaviour of children aged 8 years to 12 years in suburban Nigeria. A pilot study is needed to evaluate how enhanced maternal preventive oral health practices can improve the oral health preventive practices of children.

BACKGROUND: Molar Incisor Hypoplasia (MIH) and Deciduous Molar Hypoplasia (DMH) have significant impact on the quality of life of affected individuals. The objective of the study was to determine the prevalence, pattern and clinical presentation of MIH and DMH in children resident in Ile-Ife, Nigeria, and their association with sex and socioeconomic status of the children. METHODS: Information on age, sex and socioeconomic status was collected from 563 children aged 3 to 5 years and 8 to 10 years using a structured questionnaire through a household survey. Clinical examination was conducted to assess for the presence of DMH and MIH. The prevalence of DMH and MIH were determined. Tests of association between sex, socioeconomic status, prevalence, and pattern of presentation of both DMH and MIH were conducted using Pearson's Chi-squared test Fisher's exact test. RESULT: Fifteen (4.6%) of the 327 children aged 3 to 5 years and 23 (9.7%) of the 237 children aged 8 to 10 years had DMH and MIH respectively. There were no significant association between DMH, sex (p = 0.49) and socioeconomic status (p = 0.32). There were also no significant association between MIH, sex (p = 0.31) and socioeconomic status (p = 0.41). MIH/DMH co-morbidity was observed in eight (34.8%) of the 23 children with MIH. The mandible and maxilla were affected equally. Antimere was not observed. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of DMH and the prevalence of MIH in the study population were high. DMH and MIH were not associated with sex and socioeconomic status. There was no specific pattern identified in the presentation of DMH and MIH. The prevalence of DMH/MIH co-morbidity is also high. Patients with DMH should be screened for MIH.

Serum immunoreactive prolyl hydroxylase protein (S-IRPH), galactosylhydroxylysyl glucosyltransferase activity (S-GGT) and the amino-terminal propeptide of type III procollagen [S-Pro(III)-N-P] were studied in 24 patients with primary hepatocellular carcinoma, 18 with secondary liver neoplasms and 35 with other malignant diseases but no evidence of liver involvement; this latter group included 13 patients with Burkitt's lymphoma, 11 with breast cancer and 11 with other neoplasms. Control values were determined for 60 apparently healthy Nigerians, S-IRPH and S-GGT were above the upper normal limit, defined as the mean + 2 SD of the controls, in all the patients with primary hepatocellular carcinoma and all but one with secondary liver neoplasms, whereas only one S-IRPH value and three S-GGT values exceeded this limit in the patients with other malignant diseases. The mean S-Pro(III)-N-P was even more elevated than S-IRPH and S-GGT in the primary and secondary liver neoplasm cases, but was also elevated in other malignant neoplasms; about one third of the patients with no evidence of liver involvement had a concentration exceeding the upper normal limit. A high correlation was found between the values for the three assays both in primary hepatocellular carcinoma and in the whole series of malignant diseases. The data suggest that primary and secondary malignant neoplasms of the liver have a high rate of collagen synthesis. The three assays may be of some value in the diagnosis of primary hepatocellular carcinoma and secondary liver involvement in other malignant diseases, and in monitoring the treatment provided.

Ogi was prepared by steeping whole kernels and dry milled flour in water for 72 and 18 h, respectively. Steeped maize and mash were wet milled, sieved and sedimented. Yields of ogi by the two methods was not different (P 0.01). The pH decreased more rapidly in the steep of whole maize than in the steep of milled maize although a lower ultimate pH was obtained for steep of milled maize. More protein was recovered in ogi from steeped whole maize than in ogi from steeped dry milled maize. However, more fiber and lipid was recovered in ogi from the dry milled than in ogi from steeped whole maize. There was no difference in ash concentrations of ogi after the two methods of processing. Apparent pasting viscosity, viscosity at 92°C, setback viscosity, and stability of the hot and cold pastes were greater in ogi from steeped whole maize than in ogi from dry milled maize. Steeping of maize before milling is a better method of ogi preparation because it produced ogi with better porridge and stiff gel properties and also better nutrient composition than steeping of dry milled maize.

In this paper we obtain a generating function for a generalized function of two variables. The result is very general in character and includes as particular cases some of the results recently given by Meijer [4], Carlitz [7] and Srivastava [5].

BACKGROUND: The burden of Helicobacter pylori infection (HPI) in Africa remains high with varying levels of prevalence among children and adults reported in different regions of the continent. Persistent and uneradicated HPI could result in gastric cancer, although less severe pathological outcomes have been reported among Africans - the so-called "African enigma." SUMMARY: Analysis of endoscopic findings of the upper gastrointestinal tract demonstrates similarities with that of patients from the West. Thus, it could be asserted that the true picture of HPI in Africa is yet to be unveiled due to several challenges including inadequate health-care system, lack of treatment guidelines and standardized protocol for diagnosis, and lack of data. This review explores the prevalence, diagnosis, treatment, and health-care system in Africa as it relates to HPI, thus providing an update and highlighting the need for an African HPI guideline. KEY MESSAGES: There is high prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection (HPI) in Africa with an increasing burden of antibiotic resistance. Various methods including invasive and noninvasive methods are deployed in the diagnosis of HPI in Africa. There is a need for consensus on diagnosis and treatment of HPI in Africa.

ADVERTISEMENT RETURN TO ISSUEPREVArticleNEXTEstragole: An Acute Toxic Principle from the Volatile Oil of the Leaves of Clausena anisataAdewole L. Okunade and Julius I. OlaifaCite this: J. Nat. Prod. 1987, 50, 5, 990–991Publication Date (Print):September 1, 1987Publication History Published online1 July 2004Published inissue 1 September 1987https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/np50053a046https://doi.org/10.1021/np50053a046research-articleACS PublicationsRequest reuse permissionsArticle Views232Altmetric-Citations23LEARN ABOUT THESE METRICSArticle Views are the COUNTER-compliant sum of full text article downloads since November 2008 (both PDF and HTML) across all institutions and individuals. These metrics are regularly updated to reflect usage leading up to the last few days.Citations are the number of other articles citing this article, calculated by Crossref and updated daily. Find more information about Crossref citation counts.The Altmetric Attention Score is a quantitative measure of the attention that a research article has received online. Clicking on the donut icon will load a page at altmetric.com with additional details about the score and the social media presence for the given article. Find more information on the Altmetric Attention Score and how the score is calculated. Share Add toView InAdd Full Text with ReferenceAdd Description ExportRISCitationCitation and abstractCitation and referencesMore Options Share onFacebookTwitterWechatLinked InRedditEmail Other access optionsGet e-Alertsclose Get e-Alerts

Differences in motor performance according to chronological age and gender of 341 young Nigerian children (ages 3 to 5) were examined. Motor test items designed by Morris et al. (1981) were administered to the subjects. Analysis of variance was used to determine significant differences in the motor performance of the groups. In the whole sample, more age differences than sex differences in performance were noted. Except for the balancing and running performances of the girls, a fairly linear trend of improvement with age was observed in the motor performances of the groups. At each age level the boys consistently performed better than the girls in four of the six motor tests (catching, standing long jump, tennis ball throw and speed run). Generally, the 4- and 5-year-old children performed homogeneously, with a great disparity in performance noted for the 3-year-old children. The results of this study confirm that age and sex differences in motor performance occur at early childhood. Prospective studies should seek to control the extraneous factors which influence motor development and account for the observed differences in motor performance of pre-school children.

A linear programming model is defined in detail to describe an on-farm integrated beef production enterprise. The model includes cropping, feeding and breeding activities with their requirements for land, labor, animal housing and crop storage facilities. Net energy and digestible protein equations are used prior to the model construction to determine the nutrient requirements for cows, replacement heifers, feedlot heifers and steers, given weights and growth rates in young animals proportional to mature cow weights. A method for identifying the distribution of animals across different age groups is also described. Three enterprises with purebred cows of different mature size, each under typical Ontario farm conditions, are analyzed and interpreted.

Abstract This symposium focuses on the circulation of security governance models in cities of Southern Africa (Johannesburg, Cape Town, Windhoek and Maputo). It consists of three articles analysing at different scales (regional, national and intra‐urban) the circulation of specific neighbourhood‐based solutions to security issues, such as road closures, gated residential developments and business improvement districts. This spreading process, with the South African case at its core, is analysed within the theoretical framework of neoliberalism. The symposium, via this discussion of security models and the way they reflect the changing relationships between state and private actors locally, discusses the relevance of this framework to a fuller understanding of the transformation of Southern African cities. Résumé Cette collection d'articles porte sur la circulation de modèles de gouvernance sécuritaire dans les villes d'Afrique australe (Johannesburg, Cape Town, Windhoek et Maputo). Les trois articles qui la constituent analysent, à différentes échelles (régionale, nationale et intra‐urbaine), la circulation de certains dispositifs locaux de lutte contre l'insécurité, tels que les enclosures, les complexes résidentiels fermés et les Business Improvement Districts. Ces processus de diffusion, qui ont souvent pour centre l'Afrique du Sud, sont analysés à travers le cadre théorique du néolibéralisme. Cette collection, en analysant la manière dont ces modèles sécuritaires reflètent les relations dynamiques entre l'Etat et les acteurs privés locaux, questionne la pertinence de ce cadre théorique pour comprendre les transformations des villes d'Afrique australe.

Abstract Traditional Nigerian techniques of yam flour production have been studied with a view to mechanizing the processes. Results of the studies show that the processing time can be much reduced if mechanized. The results also show that parboiling is an essential and critical procedure in the processing. The effects of variations in processing parameters on the production are discussed.

Abstract Delayed fluorescence from tetracene crystal excited at 8600 Å is studied. The luminescence decay is interpreted in terms of a model in which singlets are generated by triplet exciton fusion and by double‐photon absorption. The double‐photon absorption coefficient is estimated to be 5.8 × 10 ―27 cm s. The triplet exciton diffusion coefficient along the crystal b axis is determined by the spatial intermittency method to be (4 ± 1) × 10 ―3 cm 2 /s. The influence of this diffusion coefficient on other processes is discussed.

ABSTRACT Interviews with 119 students in a girls' residential secondary school in Ondo, Nigeria, revealed that 105 of them had menstruated, their mean age at menarche being 13.85 years, their mean height 156.8 cm and their mean weight 51.13 kg. The duration of menstrual bleeding was 4.43 days, the heaviest occurring at 1.82 days. Dysmenorrhea was reported by 32%. There was no correlation between the weight/height ratio and the mean age of the study group who were menstruating and the 14 students who were not. However, the difference in mean weight and height of those who had and had not attained menarche was significant. It is suggested that certain levels of weight and height are critical to achievement of spontaneous menstruation.

Almost every human endeavor is supported or driven by Information and Communication Technology (ICT) including education. Teaching, learning, assessment, course registration, payment among other things are now ICT-based. Humans have attempted to use technology to improve their life span and quality, and education is not excempted in this great paradigm shift. This paper focuses on the Information and Communication Technology competence and literacy skills of undergraduate students in Ogun State, using their information literacy skills/competence as determinants of their academic achievement. A descriptive survey design was adopted for this study. The population of the study consists of 10,713 students from Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED) comprising 4 colleges and 10,000 students of Babcock University comprising 9 colleges. Simple random sampling was used for the selection of a sample of 170 respondents from Babcock University and 130 respondents from TASUED. Three hundred stdents (from 100-500 levels) were the sample of the study. Well-structured questionnaire was the main instrument used for the collection of primary data. The findings of this study show that 80% of the undergraduate students of TASUED and BU have basic ICT literacy skills which entail the ability to source for and access information resources for their research. Furthermore, this study has proved that the use of ICT has improved students’ academic performance. Recommendations were made based on the findings from the study.   Key words: Information literacy, academic achievement, undergraduates, higher education, Information and Communication Technology (ICT).