Sleep pattern of medical students as seen in a Nigerian university

Background: Results from several studies suggest a global trend of sleep insufficiency among the youths. This study determines the sleep pattern of medical students. Methods: In a cross-sectional study, we used a modified self-administered questionnaire adapted from Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index to determine the sleep pattern of students in College of Health Sciences, University of Ilorin, Nigeria. Responses were submitted anonymously. Results: A total of 399 students participated in the study and their age ranged from 16 - 35 years.Males constituted 64% of survey sample. The mean sleep duration of students were 6.4±0.84 hours during weekdays and 7.4±0.96 hours at weekends (

Oral and Maxillo-facial soft tissue sarcomas in an Africa population

Background: Soft tissue sarcomas (STS) are not common and account for less than 1% of all malignancies in the maxillofacial region. These tumours are under reported in Africa South of the Sahara in current literature.This report is a review of our experience with STS over a 23 year period at a busy Tertiary Oral care centre in Kaduna, Northern Nigeria. Methods: Patients presenting to the Maxillofacial Unit, of the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Kaduna, with oral and maxillofacial malignancies between the years 1977 and 1999 were retrospectively studied. Soft tissue sarcomas were studied. Demographic features, clinical presentation, treatment options , outcome and histologic variants were studied. Results: There were 38(<1%) soft tissue sarcomas out of 415 oral and maxillofacial malignancies recorded within the study period. Male to female ratio was 1.6:1. Age range was 24 days to 60 years ( median 28 years). There were more adults (79%) than children (21%). There were eleven histologic types but the more frequent ones were rhabdomyosarcoma (10/38,(), fibrosarcoma (10/38 (26%), liposarcoma ( 5/38 (13%) and malignant fibrous histiocytoma (5/38(13%) . Site of primary occurrence was mainly the mandible (32%), palate (21%) and cheek (18%). Surgery was the mainstay of treatment 28/38 (74%) while 10/38(26%) patients had no active treatment. Conclusion: Most patients present late with difficult deforming tumours. We can blame patients knowledge, Socio-economi

Biomembrane stabilization and antiulcerogenic properties of aqueous leaf extract of Gossypium barbadense L. (Malvaceae)

Gossypium spp. belong to a class of botanicals with global therapeutic applications against a number of disorders including ulcers. This study evaluated the membrane stabilization and detoxification potential of aqueous leaf extract of Gossypium barbadense L. (Malvaceae) in indomethacin-induced oxidative gastric ulceration in Wistar rats. The ulcerated rats were orally pretreated with the extract and esomeprazole for 4 weeks. Gastric function and antioxidative parameters were thereafter evaluated. The indomethacin-mediated significant elevations in the ulcer index, gastric volume, pepsin activity and mucosal level of malondialdehyde were dosedependently attenuated in the extract-treated animals. The extract also significantly modulated and improved the pH, mucin content, glutathione (reduced) as well as gastric activities of superoxide dismutase and catalase in the ulcerated rats. These improvements may be ascribed to the antioxidant and membrane stabilization activities of the extract which are attributable to its active metabolites as revealed by the analytical chromatogram. The observed effects compared favorably with that of esomeprazole and are suggestive of the capability of the extract to prevent mucosal damage and preserve gastric functions as evidently supported by the macroscopical appearance of the stomachs and the % ulcer inhibitory values. Conclusively, the overall data from the present findings suggest that the aqueous leaf extract of G. barbadense could prevent indomethacin-mediated oxidative gastric ulceration via fortification of antioxidant defense mechanisms. Keywords: Esomeprazole, Gossypium barbadense, Indomethacin, Mucosal damage, Oxidative stres

Spontaneous and controlled fermentation to improve nutritional value of Ikpakpa beans, Phaseolus vulgaris

The red kidney beans found in the Esanland of Edo State, Nigeria, popularly known as Ikpakpa, are a variety of Phaseolus vulgaris. However, a lack of awareness about this indigenous legume and a lack of easy culinary applications are factors that lead to its low use. The very long hours of cooking, coupled with frequent changing of the cooking water, makes it very unattractive to the present generation. In this work, a novel attempt is made to have a culinary product from ikpakpa via spontaneous and controlled fermentation of the beans (Ikpakpa) and investigate their impact on the product’s nutritional value. Endogeneous microorganisms were used for spontaneous fermentation, while Bacillus subtilis was used for the control fermentation. Two routes of Ikpakpa preparation were followed: viz; beans were boiled for 8 hours to be soft, dehulled, and fermented; and the raw beans soaked overnight and dehulled, boiled for 4 hours fermented. After 5 days of fermentation, the proximate analysis results showed better results for the spontaneous fermentation via route 1, increasing protein and carbohydrate content by 18% and 36%, respectively. Both spontaneous and controlled fermentation were not favoured via route 2 as a decrease in protein and carbohydrate content by 13.5%/77.4% and 54.2%/66,4%, respectively. The duration for fermentation may have been too long to sustain the protein and carbohydrate content. It is, therefore, recommended that more research on the optimal fermentation duration be investigated and shelf-life studies conducted on the products