Pollen morphological studies in the family Sapindaceae from parts of Ibadan in Oyo State and Moro in Osun Sate in Southwestern Nigeria

Pollen grains of nine (9) species of Sapindaceae randomly collected from parts of Oyo and Osun States of Nigeria were prepared using the acetolysis method and studied with the aim of identifying characters of taxonomic relevance in the family. Results showed that the pollen grains were either triporate or tricolporate. Pore or aperture was found to be a homologous character and the presence or absence of Os and/or their ornamentations can be reliably used to delimit the species. The largest pollen (46.94 x 51.7 μm) was observed in Cardiospermum halicacabum L. while the smallest pollen was observed in Blighia sapida K.D Koenig (16.80 x 15.84 μm). The exine pattern may be reticulate (Paullinia pinnata L), striate (Allophylus africanus P. Beauv, Blighia sapida, B. unijugata Baker, Deinbolia pinnata Schumach & Thonn. and Lecaniodiscus cupanioides Planch ex Benth) or reticulofoveolate in Cardiospermum grandiflorum Swartz and C. Halicacabum

PREVENTIVE AND CURATIVE HEALTH SERVICES IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN BORNO STATE, NIGERIA: IMPLICATIONS FOR COUNSELLING

The study which was a survey, investigated the preventive and curative health services in secondary schools in Borno State. Target population of the study comprised of 6,786 senior secondary school students. However, 7,500 staff and students constituted the sample for the study. Researchers’ self-authored instrument tagged “School Health Services Questionnaire” (SHSQ) was used in collecting data for the study. Data collected was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Three research questions and two null-hypotheses piloted the study. Descriptive statistics of frequency counts and percentages were used in answering the research questions while t-test was used in testing the null-hypotheses at 0.05 alpha level. Results of the study revealed that nutritional, medical, immunization and preventive health services are the top most preventive and curative health services rendered in secondary schools in Borno State, while health evaluation and health counselling constituted the least health services rendered. The study also revealed significant differences between school location and health services rendered in secondary schools and that significant differences also exist between school type and health services rendered in secondary schools in Borno State, Nigeria. The implications of these findings to counselling were discussed.  Article visualizations

Associations of transcranial doppler velocity, age, and gender with cognitive function in children with sickle cell anemia in Nigeria

Children with sickle cell anemia (SCA) have elevated cerebral blood velocity relative to healthy peers. The primary aim of this study was to evaluate the association between cerebral blood velocity, measured by transcranial Doppler (TCD) ultrasound, age, and gender with cognitive function in children with SCA in Nigeria. Eighty-three children (Mage = 9.10, SD = 1.90 years; 55% female) with SCA in Nigeria completed cognitive assessments and a TCD ultrasound. The association between TCD velocity and measures of perceptual reasoning (Raven's Progressive Matrices), working memory (WISC-IV Digit Span), and executive planning (Tower of London, TOL) were assessed. Results showed that elevated TCD velocity significantly predicted lower scores on TOL Time Violations and Total Problem-Solving Time when controlling for BMI, hemoglobin level, and parent education, suggesting that TCD velocity is related to the efficiency of executive function. Further, age was negatively related to children's performance on the Ravens Matrices and TOL Total Correct, and boys showed greater deficits on the TOL Total Correct relative to girls. Moderation analyses for gender showed that there was a conditional negative association between TCD velocity and Digit Span for boys, but not for girls. Findings suggest that children with SCA in Nigeria with elevated TCD velocity are at risk for deficits in efficiency of executive planning, and boys with elevated TCD velocity are particularly at increased risk for deficits in auditory working memory. Implications of this study are important for interventions to reduce cerebral blood velocity and the use of TCD in this population