The aim of this study was to assess the anxiety and locomotive activity using elevated plus maze and open field tests in a konzo induced rat model. An experimental research method was used in this study. 20 male Wistar rats were used for this study. The twenty (20) albino Wistar rats were randomly selected into four groups of five rats each. Animal feeding was by oral ingestion. Animals were weighed with an electric weighing scale and the weights were recorded. Animals were closely observed for physical manifestations and clinical signs. Group 1 was the control group and the rats were fed with water and feed, group 2 was fed bitter cassava, group 3 was fed with bitter cassava and complain milk, while group 4 was fed with bitter cassava and bambara nut. The study lasted for 4 weeks and during this period, the weight and neurobehavioral assessment was done using weighing balance for weight determination, elevated plus maze and open field test for neurobehavioral assessment. Data was analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS IBM version 23.0) and Microsoft excel 2019 edition. Values were expressed as mean±SD in descriptive statistics. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to analyze the difference between the groups followed by least significant difference (LSD) post-hoc test. Confidence interval was set at 95%, and therefore p<0.05 was considered significant. The result shows weekly body weight differences in experimental animals. There was significant weight reduction in the body weight of the Konzo induced group experimental Wistar rats from week 1 to week 4 compared to the significant weight increase observed in the Konzo induced and complan milk fed group Wistar rats. The result from elevated plus maze showed that there was an improvement in anxiety level of Wistar rats fed with complan and bambara nut in terms of the time spent in the sections of the elevated plus maze in week 2 when compared to the week 1. In evaluating the locomotion impairment and anxiety level of wistar rats using Open Field Test, cassava-induced Konzo Wistar rat group, cassava-induced Konzo and complan milk fed group Wistar rats group and cassava-induced Konzo and Bambara nut (Okpa) fed Wistar rats group spent significantly more time in the open field apparatus in week 2 when compared to week 1. The improvement in anxiety and locomotor activity indicates the ameliorative effect of complan milk and Bambara nut (Okpa) and this is due to the protein content of complan milk and bambara nut. Hence a balance diet/protein containing food should be eaten along cassava processed foods. KEY WORDS: Bitter cassava, Konzo, Elevated Plus Maze, Open Field Test, Anxiety, Locomotive Activity

Background: Depression as it were having been defined as a common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how you feel, the way you think and how you. The WHO in a fact sheet report has stated that depression is a common mental disorder and one of the main causes of disability worldwide. They added that globally, an estimated 264 million people are affected by depression. In 2020, an estimated 21.0 million adults in the United States had at least one major depressive episode. The pressure to perform well in school against all odds induces elements of depression when the results are not proportional to the efforts put into the study. Hence, this study was done to assess the level depression and suicidality amongst college students in the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: The study was descriptive cross-sectional with a total of 104 students who were recruited conveniently from the College of Health Sciences, University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. The research instrument was a close-ended questionnaire structured in four parts: socio-demography, depression, coping, and suicidality adapted from the Beck-depression-inventory, COPE inventory tool, and Ask Suicide-Screening Questions (ASQ) tool. The statistical analysis was done using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 23. The descriptive statistics was done using simple descriptive tool, chi square test was used to test for association between variables with the confidence interval 95%, p at 0.05 and power of 80. Results and Discussions: Age group (yrs) was the only significant socio-demographic characteristic that was significantly associated (X2 39.102, P=0.001) with depression status. The depression status of the participants showed that those who had Mild mood disturbance were 5(4.8%), Borderline clinical depression 4(3.8%), Moderate depression 10(9.6%), Severe depression 3(2.9%), and Extreme depression 6(5.8%). The study showed ...

Dermatoglyphics: Is the study of the patterns made by ridges and crevices of the palms and soles of the feet. It is now well established that skin ridges that form well define patterns characterized individuals. 1-5

Objective Recent debate regarding the use of race-adjusted normative data (RAND) in the neuropsychological evaluation of former National Football League (NFL) players has sparked intrigue. This pilot study explored the use of RAND in a community-based sample of cognitively normal Black and White NFL retirees. Methods Cognitively normal Black (n = 20) and White (n = 20) NFL retirees were selected to be similar in age and education from a larger community sample of retired athletes. All participants underwent consensus neurological diagnosis and standard tests of memory, executive functioning, and language. Five tests utilized Heaton RAND (TMT A and B; FAS, Animal fluency, BNT) and four used age-and education- adjusted manual norms (RCFT, CVLT-II, WAIS-IV Coding and Digit Span). Independent samples t-tests compared raw and normative scores between Black and White retirees. ANCOVA was also used that included estimated IQ and head-injury exposure. Results Raw score differences (p &lt; 0.01) were observed between Black and White retirees on 3/9 tests (TMT B, BNT, Coding). No significant differences were noted between groups on TMT B and the BNT using Heaton RAND, and differences on TMT B and Coding were no longer significant after controlling for IQ. Head-injury exposure did not affect findings. Conclusions The use of RAND raises complex issues. In this pilot sample of Black and White NFL retirees of similar age and education, few differences were seen, and these were largely attenuated using specialized norms and/or adjustment for estimated global cognitive ability. Potential demographic and environmental influences on test scores require examination in similar populations.

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