Infective endocarditis: At the crossroads between infectious diseases and cardiology

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Massive saddle pulmonary embolism: A case report in a resource-poor setting and review of literature

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Frequency of Cryptococcal Meningitis in HIV-1 Infected Patients in North Central Nigeria

Background: Cryptococcal meningitis (CM) is the most common severe life threatening fungal infection in AIDS patients. It is an important cause of morbidity and mortality. There is paucity of data on the prevalence of CM in Nigeria. We aimed to determine the frequency of CM, the clinical presentation and immunological profile.Methods: A cross sectional study was carried out at the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH), A total of 100 HIV-1 infected patients suspected of having meningitis or meningoencephalitis were subjected to cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis (including Indian ink preparation and fungal culture by conventional methods) and CD4 count was determined using flow cytometry (count bit Y-R 1004 Partec Muster Germany).Results: The freguency of CM was 36% in our cohort. The commonest clinical presentation included headache (100.0%), neck stiffness (77.8%), fever (72.0%), vomiting (55.6%), personality changes (55.6%), photophobia (27.8%) and convulsions (27.8%). The mean duration of symptoms was 24 ±22 days with a median of 17 days. The mean CD4 count was 89±60 cells/mm3 with a median of 82 cells/mm3.Conclusion: The high prevalence of CM and the associated severe immunosuppression underscores the importance of early diagnosis of HIV infection which may reduce the incidence of CM. There is the urgent need for access to Amphotericin B and fluconazole in resource constrained settings in addition to a wide access to HAART.Key words: Cryptococcal meningitis, HIV, North central Nigeri

Agronomic assessment of some sweet potato varieties for intercropping with pigeonpea in southern guinea savanna of Nigeria

Field experiments were conducted at the National Root Crops Research Institute sub-station, Otobi, in 2006 and 2007 to assess the suitability of improved sweet potato varieties for intercropping with pigeonpea and also to determine the planting pattern and the productivity of the intercropping system. Intercropping decreased total fresh root and saleable root yields of sweet potato when mixed or row-intercropped with pigeonpea. All intercropping combinations of sweet potato varieties and pigeonpea had land equivalent ratio above 1.0, except intercropping with WA Gabolige, signifying high intercrop advantages. TIS 87/0087 produced the highest total fresh root and saleable root yields in both cropping systems, irrespective of the planting pattern used. TIS 2532.O.P.1.13 and TIS 86/00356 sweet potato varieties had comparable yields with TIS 87/0087 in both cropping systems. Pigeonpea was the more competitive component of the intercrop. Farmers showed willingness to adopt the sweet potato + pigeonpea intercropping.Keywords: Intercropping, sweet potato, pigeonpea, Guinea Savanna, Nigeria.

Socio-economic benefit of rubber agroforestry system for improved livelihood in Edo State, Nigeria

Rubber Agroforestry System (RAS) is an innovative farming system contributing significantly to the livelihood of smallholders in Edo State. Data for this study were collected from 120 rubber smallholder farmers having a contiguous 2 hectares farmland with the aid of structured questionnaire using multistage sampling technique with a 3-stage design. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive, inferential, and budgetary analysis. The result revealed that majority of the RAS farmers were males, with an average mean age of 49 years and most of the RAS farmers had some level of education, they attained secondary and tertiary education with an average number of 8.3 years in education. Furthermore, the total annual revenue earned by the respondents was ₦992,500 ($2,756.94) with a mean annual net income of ₦527,003 ($ 1,463.90) while the return per naira invested was ₦1.69. This shows that for every ₦1 invested in the cropping combination in the RAS, there was a return of 69 kobo in the study area. Thus, RAS provides income and employment for smallholder community to be self-sufficient and economically independent. This study concludes that respondents valued RAS as an innovative sustainable agroforestry system capable of generating income and employment. Government therefore should leverage through adequate fiscal policy to enable easy credit facility by farmer