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Aflatoxins are toxic secondary metabolites produced by fungi and contaminate various agricultural commodities either before harvest or under post-harvest conditions.Acute aflatoxin poisoning leading to casepatients and deaths has continued to occur in several parts of Kenya.However, there is emerging evidence implicating chronic aflatoxins exposure as an important factor in infant growth stunting and immune suppression.The consumption of smaller dosages overtime produces no obvious symptoms...

In developing countries, individual cases and epidemics of cord infections continue to occur, even in supposedly clean nurseries for newborns.The hazards of poor cord care are not limited to predisposition to infections.There is also the risk of bleeding from the cord which can be rapidly fatal.Empirical observation suggests that harmful traditional cord care practices abound in our community, thus placing newborn babies at risk of morbidity and mortality.In spite of this, there is paucity...

Correction to: Heredity (2011) 107, 174–186; doi:10.1038/hdy.2011.5 Upon publication earlier this year in Volume 107, the authors noticed a typographical error, regarding the era of study, in the Discussion section. Within the paragraph sub headed ‘A phylogeographic pattern driven by climate changes’, a sentence on page 184 should read:

The current study examines the state of learning environment and infrastructure, together with their effects on teaching and learning activities and the extent to which they are being maintained.The study uses a descriptive survey design paradigm.Respondents consist of 60 principals and 540 teachers that were randomly selected using the multi-stage sampling technique from a pool of 599 public secondary schools in the Ondo State, South-West, Nigeria.Data were collected using the Learning...

6.0%) though this was not statistically significant (P=0.216).Treatment methods used were m e d i c a t i o n ( 1 .6 % ) , w a t e r restriction (42.8%), awaking for voiding (27.3%) use of alarm bell (0.5%), herbal medication (8.0%), while 19.8% received no form of treatment.Help seeking behavior for this condition was poor as only 2.1% of this study population ever sought medical attention for this condition.The frequency of enuresis was similar to most reports in literature.Help-seeking...

Girl-child education has become a matter of concern to stakeholders in Nigeria. This study examines the concept of and crucial issues in girl-child education. It identifies socio-cultural patterns, religious misconceptions, poverty, teenage pregnancy and early marriage amongst others as factors militating against the girl-child education. The paper advocates that public and school libraries must begin to play relevant roles and contribute to the eradication of discriminations against women....

As of 2010 sub-Saharan Africa had approximately 865 million inhabitants living with numerous public health challenges. Several public health initiatives [e.g., the United States (US) President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and the US President's Malaria Initiative] have been very successful at reducing mortality from priority diseases. A competently trained public health workforce that can operate multi-disease surveillance and response systems is necessary to build upon and sustain these...

Topsoil and subsoil obtained in the vicinity of the Nigerian Gas Company were digested and analysed for some selected trace metals using atomic absorption spectrophotometer of model pye unicam SP 2900.The trace metals determined include nickel, copper, iron, barium, lead, cadmium and zinc respectively.The analytical results obtained revealed that the aforementioned trace metals were detected and metal concentrations were highly varied for both topsoil and subsoil.Soil samples (topsoil and...

The study investigated factors influencing elective science students' perception of their Biology classroom environment in low and high academic achieving senior secondary schools in the Central Region of Ghana.The cross-sectional survey research design was adopted.Participants were 356 third-year elective science students, selection through a multi-stage sampling technique.Data were obtained using the Biology Classroom Environment Questionnaire (BCEQ).This was after the senior secondary...

Education is noted as pivotal in the quest of developing countries to attain economic independence. However, a major problem which seems to derail this goal is the lack of financing. This has resulted in inadequate personnel, educational institutions, infrastructure and materials, as well as the migration of current and potential students to other developed nations. To help curb this problem, private higher educational institutions have been warmly welcomed and this has led to the setting up...

Background: The capacity of public health professionals to rapidly detect and respond to disease pandemics is critical to understand and control global disease spread.On June 11, 2009, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared H1N1 virus infection as pandemic.In May 2009, we assessed the participation of Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Programs (FELTPs) based in sub-Saharan Africa on pandemic influenza preparedness and response.Methods: We administered an electronic survey to...

In South Africa, little is known how HIV prevention education is implemented in schools for learners with disabilities. This article reports on findings from a study exploring the extent to which HIV education is reached to people with disabilities in South Africa, and the challenges faced by educators providing HIV prevention education to learners with disabilities.A survey questionnaire completed by 34 schools for learners with special education needs in the Western Cape province of South...

Contests of space and place in South African „schoolscapes‟2 are now not so much about „race‟ as it is about nationalism and territoriality. While the politics of belonging unfolds and overtly manifests itself, a more covert, insidious and worrisome issue is that of the erosion of the social and cultural mores of Black3 immigrant students. Utilising social constructivism, case study approach and narrative inquiry, this study sets out to explore the socio-cultural experiences of...

The South African educational system is in a state of transformation as the Government embarks on a process of grappling with legacies of the past, whilst balancing risks and opportunities for the future. Accordingly, a new school curriculum with outcomes-based education as the fundamental building block was introduced along a sliding scale, starting in 1997. This curriculum, with a vast statistics content, has the potential to change the face of statistics education in South Africa, as...

This paper examined the implications of political leadership on the development of education programmes in Nigeria and lessons for African nations.. The political environment has a strong influence on educational policy planning and implementation in any nation . Successive governments, both during the military and civilian regimes, tend to pursue educational programmes in line with their respective ideologies and priorities. Funding of education programmes was not only found to be...

Complementary and alternative medicines (CAMs) are household sources of therapy in African communities. A large percentage of the African population uses CAMs as an alternative to mainstream medicine. This is partly due to tradition, and partly because of inability to afford conventional treatments. In the developed countries, the use of CAMs is gradually on the increase. As a result, certain medical schools in these countries are incorporating CAM familiarisation modules into their...

Parliamentarians can play a key role in building climate resilience by bringing constituents' concerns into national forums, scrutinising how governments are responding to domestic and global climate change issues, and ensuring policy continuity. In the Southern African Customs Union, members of parliament often struggle to fulfill this role, hampered by limited understanding of the issues, fragmented policy and legal frameworks and competing priorities. Boosting parliamentarians' capacity...

Across Africa, programmes such as the Climate Change Adaptation in Africa initiative are investigating what it means for countries and communities to effectively adapt to climate change, and how this can be achieved in practice. But research results are not always recognised by policymakers or the global research community — in part because they are not visible within the traditional hallmark of scientific scholarship and credibility, peer-reviewed literature. Greater efforts are required to...

As the world turns into a global village, shifting from national to international higher education systems presents itself as a subject of critical concern.Thus, higher education systems and institutions are internationalizing their outlook and programs.However, in Africa, little has been published on the challenges these systems and institutions are experiencing in their efforts to internationalise their programs and outlook.Taking the case of Uganda, this study examines some of these...