GOUNI Repository (Godfrey Okoye University)
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EFFECT OF VIRGIN COCONUT OIL, LAURIC ACID AND MYRISTIC ACID ON SERUM AND PROSTATIC MARKERS OF BENIGN PROSTATIC HYPERPLASIA
Get PDFPurpose: To investigate the effect of virgin coconut oil, lauric acid and myristic acid on serum and
prostatic androgens in testosterone-induced prostatic hyperplasia.
Methods: Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) was induced in the animals by repeated subcutaneous
injection of testosterone propionate (5 mg/kg) at the inguinal region once a day for 28 days. Thereafter,
BPH was treated for 56 days by oral administration of virgin coconut oil, lauric acid and myristic acid.
Following the treatment period, the rats were sacrificed and blood samples were collected through
cardiac puncture for biochemical analysis.
Results: Virgin coconut oil, lauric acid and myristic acid led to a significant reduction (p < 0.05) in serum
prostatic acid phosphatase (PAcP), prostate specific antigen (PSA) and dihydrotestosterone (DHT)
levels, and also in prostatic DHT level.
Conclusion: This study provides evidence that virgin coconut oil, lauric acid and myristic acid may be
useful in the management of BPH because they exerted some anti-proliferative effects in the
development and progression of BPH. Therefore, coconut may be a potential functional food for the
management of BPH patients because it is rich in both lauric and myristic acid. However, further
investigations, including clinical trials are required to buttress this
CONTRIBUTIONS OF BUSINESS-EDUCATION TOWARDS RECOUPING THE NIGERIAN FINANCIAL CRISES AT POST COVID – 19 PANDEMIC ERA A CASE OF HIGHER INSTITUTIONS IN ENUGU METROPOLIS
Get PDFThis study focused on determining the contributions of business education towards reviving the Nigerian
Financial crises at post covid – 19 pandemic era and prefer solutions for the elimination of challenges facing business
education towards achieving national development. The sample of this study comprised of one hundred and fifty (150)
respondents from business education departments of the various educational institutions. The Analysis of Variance
(ANOVA) test remained the statistical tool used in testing the research hypotheses. Data collected was statistically analyzed
with Simple percentage (%) and frequency distribution to compare the difference between variables of business education
to national development of Nigeria. Findings reveal that business education contributes to increase production, good
standard of living, self-reliance, and also, help in reducing the challenges of business education. The study concludes that
application of business education significantly and positively contributes to improving the self reliance of its citizenry,
thereby improve the GDP of the nation; while recommendation include establishment of business education centers to
provide opportunities for Nigerian youths, Government should provide capital to help youths start up business., Every
available land-whether urban or rural should be turned into farm land among others
THE ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN CONFLICT AND THE MIDDLE EAST PEACE PROCESSES: AN ANALYSES OF PEACE PROCESS SPOILERS
Get PDFThe Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been one that has endured for decades, making
every attempt at resolving it inconsequential. The reason for this, as has been
hypothesized, is as a result of certain spoiling dynamics contrived by the parties and
other external interests consciously or unconsciously. These spoiling dynamics
alongside certain unwholesome attitudinal disposition of the parties, have greatly
undermines peace in the region. In light of the above, the study employed Daniel Katz
Functional Attitude Theory (FAT) to unearth the philosophical underpinnings as to
why both parties have engaged each other the way they have done to scuttle the various
peace processes instituted by third parties. Using the documentary method of data
collection, the study found that the actions of both parties in relations to peace
organisations and commissions instituted by members of the international community,
derailed peace processes in the region. The study therefore, concludes and recommends
that for peace to be restored and maintained in the region, both parties must put aside
their ancient attitude of mistrust and mutual suspicion ingrained in their psyche and
cultural philosoph
Unilateralism and the Challenges of Covid-19 Vaccine Distribution in Africa: A Theoretical Discourse
Get PDFThe study examines how the unilateral actions of States regarding the purchase and distribution of Covid-19 vaccines undermined Africa’s effort to effectively secure the vaccine for its citizens. The study hypothesised that due to unilateral decisions and actions of great powers, COVID-19 vaccine distribution in Africa has been grossly inequitable, viz a vis that of Asia, Europe and America. Unilateralismand Vaccine Nationalism on the one hand; and multilateralism and Cosmopolitanism on the other hand are two broad categories of theories used to unearth the philosophical foundations of States’ actions regarding the acquisition and distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine. Documentary method of data collection from secondary sources was adopted to gather relevant data for the study; while the qualitative descriptive method was used to analyse the data obtained. The study therefore concludes and recommends that Africa needs to rely on Africa to proffer solutions to its problems without relying so much on external powers. To do this, the African Vaccine Acquisition Task Team (AVATT) must be strengthened financially and materially to deal with not just covid-19, but future viral pandemics that the continent might be entangled in. Keywords: Unilateralism, Multilateralism, cosmopolitanism, Vaccine Nationalism, Covid-19
Peace and Conflict Resolution as Strategies for Family and Societal Well-Being
No full textPeace is a condition of social harmony, creativity and preventing of war. Conflict resolution involves the ability of reconciling individuals or groups differences so as to achieve amicable coexistence. This means that peace and conflict resolution provide the structure for societal progress and well- being. Peace and conflict resolution play a vital role in our societal well- being. Since the end of second world war, rigorous approaches to study of peace and conflict resolution emerged across the globe. Thus, interest in question of peace and conflict resolution has continued to increase in our contemporary society. All the emphasize on peace and conflict resolution is geared towards individuals, groups and societal well-being. Thus, the need for this work on peace and conflict resolution as strategies for societal well-being cannot be over emphasized. Conflict is an inevitable reality of social existence while peace is one of the greatest and most cherished human values. Key words: Peace, Conflict, Conflict Resolution, Family, Societal Well-being
Methyl Ferulate Induced Conformational Changes of DeOxyHbS: Implication on Sickle Erythrocyte Polymerization
Get PDFSickle cell disease (SCD) is a molecular disease caused by substituting glutamic acid with valine at the
β-6 position of the hemoglobin, leading to the polymerization of erythrocytes that contain the hemoglobin
afterward leads to severe clinical consequences. Polymerization of sickle hemoglobin occurs only in the
deoxygenated form i.e only sickle deoxyhemoglobin (DeOxyHbS) polymerizes. SCD is predominant in children
living in Africa, especially in West Africa. Therefore, molecular docking and molecular dynamic simulation studies
were carried out on methyl ferulate isolated from Ficus thonningii leaves, a known antisickling plant used in
Eastern Nigeria to manage SCD. The Harborne procedure was used for extraction, whereas the combination of
column chromatography and flash chromatography was used for the isolation and purification of active principles
of the leaves extract. The structure of methyl ferulate was determined based on nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)
analysis. A binding affinity of -5.8 kcal/mol indicated that methyl ferulate binds to DeOxyHbS and could interfere
with the processes that trigger sickle hemoglobin polymerization in vitro. The observed variations in perturbation
of both DeOxyHbS and FTH3-DeOxyHbS complex root mean square deviation (RMSD), the radius of gyration
(Rgyr), solvent accessible surface area (SASA), potential energy (PE), and Van der Waal’s (VDW) interactions were
obtained from the molecular dynamic simulation studies of the binding site amino acid residue performed at
500 ps and suggest that in silico methyl ferulate binds with amino acid residues reported being involved in sickle
hemoglobin polymerization and thus may possess antisickling potentials in vitro
Impact of International Financial Reporting on Earnings Management: Evidence from Nigeria
No full textThis research piece centered on the impact of international financial reporting on earnings management. The
study utilized discretionary accruals, which were quantified through earnings management, as the dependent
variable. International financial reporting standards (IFRS), return on assets, firm size, financial leverage, and
audit quality are among the independent variables. OLS Fixed effect model was adopted as suitable for the
analysis after several tests, the results shows that IFRS contributed annually to the increase in earnings
management
Adaptive Classification of Impending Human Heart, Kidney and Liver Failures Based on Measurable Blood-Related Parameters Using MIMO HANFA-ART with ACA Algorithms
No full textHeart, kidney and/or liver failure is a life-threatening condition that demands early detection as well as urgent
medical attention and diagnosis based on the classification of their respective symptoms. This paper presents the application of
multi-input multi-output hybrid adaptive neural-fuzzy algorithm based on adaptive resonant theory (MIMO HANFA-ART) with
adaptive clustering algorithm (ACA) for the adaptive classification of the symptoms of impending human heart, kidney and liver
failures based on measurable blood-related parameters obtained from hospitals in Akure metropolis of Ondo State, Nigeria. The
ACA consist of an adaptive Gustafson and Kessel clustering (AG-KC) algorithm which is initialized by the K-means clustering
algorithm. The 7 classes are: (i) Class 1: heart, (ii) Class 2: kidney, (iii) Class 3: liver, (iv) Class 4: kidney and liver, (v) Class 5:
heart and liver, (vi) Class 6: heart and kidney, and (vii) Class 7: heart, kidney and liver. A total of 5888 data set with 16 attributes
classified into 7 classes for 368 patients collected from 4 hospitals have been used for this investigation. Comparison of the
MIMO HANFA-ART with ACA algorithms with neural-fuzzy classifier trained with the modified error back-propagation with
momentum (M-EBPM) algorithm shows the efficiency and superior performance of the MIMO HANFA-ART with ACA
algorithms for correct classification and prediction of the symptoms of impending heart, kidney and liver failure. MIMO
HANFA-ART with ACA algorithms can be adapted and deployed for real-time online prediction and classification of the
symptoms of heart, kidney and liver for early detection and medical attention using advanced biomedical electronics
instrumentation techniques and Internet-of-Things (IoT) technologies
Sit-At-Home Order and Economic Growth of Southeastern Nigeria
No full textSit-at-Home order imposed by an
organization known as the Indigenous
People of Biafra (IPOB) has become a
recurring word among about 22 million
Southeast dwellers in Nigeria as such there
is virtually none movement of persons on
specified days. Every Monday since mid
2021 has been marked as a none movement
day in the region pending the release of her
leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kalu from detention.
This study with a sample of 1000
respondents in a survey research design
adopted descriptive and Chi-Square
techniques to examine the effects of Sit-at Home on economic growth of Southeastern
Nigeria. The results which were supported
by both descriptive statistics outcome and
test of hypothesis revealed that economic
growth is negatively affected by the IPOB
sit-at-home order. By implication, any
order restricting people going about their
daily businesses is inimical to economic
health of such region. This study
recommends that government should come
to terms of agreement with the IPOB
hierarchy to restore sound business
environment for expected level of
investment inflow in the Southeast regio
Resistant Status and Intensity of Resistance of Anopheles Gambiae Snsu lato to Pyrethroid and Organophosphate in Lafia, Nasarawa State Nigeria
No full text: Monitoring and understanding the trend and dynamics of insecticide resistance are key to devising efficient
control strategies. This study was carried out to investigate the resistance status of Anopheles gambiae sl mosquitoes in
Lafia, Nasarawa State Nigeria to three pyrethroid (deltamethrin, Alphacypermethrin and permethrin) with concentration of
12.5 µg/bottle each and an organophosphate (pirimiphose-methyl 20 µg/bottle). Larvae and pupae of Anopheles mosquito
were sampled within the metropolis and reared to adults in the insectary of Nasarawa State University, Keffi Nasarawa
State. Emerged adults of 2 to 5 days old and non-blood fed were tested for resistance using CDC bottle bioassay
susceptibility protocol. Results showed that the local mosquitoes species were resistant to all the three pyrethroid
(deltamethrin, Alphacypermethrin and permethrin) but showed possible resistant to organophosphate (pirimiphose-methyl)
with mortalities of 88, 84, 54, and 95% respectively. Exposure to piperonyl butoxide (PBO) as a synergist resulted in the
susceptibility (100 and 98%) of mosquitoes to deltamethrin and Alphacypermethrin respectively but resistant (81%) to
permethrin. The intensity of resistance of the vector population to pyrethroid was high especially with permethrin. The
mosquitoes were only susceptible (100%) to deltamethrin and Alphacypermethrin at X5 concentration and permethrin at
X10 concentration. Insecticide based intervention strategy remain the principal vector control measure in malaria endemic
countries like Nigeria. Based on the result of this study, future vector control programme should take into consideration
the deployment of nets that are treated with alphacypermethrin or deltamethrin combined with PBO (PBO based nets) in
the study area or increase the concentration of the pyrethoid insecticides used in this study on long lasting nets after their
safety to human is assured