Status of large mammals: case study of gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehi), chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes ellioti) and buffalo (Syncerus caffer), Menchum South, NW Cameroon

This study entitled status of large mammals: case study of gorilla, chimpanzee and buffalo, was carried out in the Black Bush Area of Waindow (BBAW), Menchum South, NW Cameroon from January-March, 2014. The general objective was to determine the status of large mammal's species and to investigate the presence of gorilla, chimpanzees and buffalo reported by the indigenous people in order to contribute to the conservation of these species in the region. The recce- survey method was used for species inventory whereby direct and indirect observations of bio-indicators of these species and human signs were recorded. From the result, the encounter rates of buffalo and chimpanzee were 0.35 and 0.26 signs per km respectively with no gorilla sign observed. Spatial distribution maps revealed great concentration of these species in the northern zone. Hunting recorded the highest encounter rate of 0.42 signs per km of anthropogenic activities. As such, one could deduce that the pressures exacerbated on these animals due to human activities and encroachment by Nigeria traders, and grazers placed the remaining species under intense threat of disappearing within the study areas. It is therefore necessary to intensify conservation efforts so as to urgently address these species concerns

Propose Strategies to Enhance the Biodiversity Status and Traditional Knowledge Systems Relevant for the Conservation of Pan Troglodytes Ellioti in the Kimbi-Fungom National Park and Kom-Wum Forest Reserve

This study entitle propose strategies to enhance the biodiversity status and traditional knowledge systems relevant for the conservation of Pan troglodytes ellioti was undertaken in the Kimbi-Fungom National Park (KWFR) and Kom-Wum Forest Reserve (KWFR) Northwest region of Cameroon. The main objective was to investigate sustainable tactics that will contribute to trim down pressure on Pan troglodytes ellioti and other flagship species around the study areas. Data collections were undertaken with the help of interviewed administered questionnaires, informal interview using interview guide, group discussion and direct observations activities. Following interviewees response, sixty eight (68%) of the respondents were confident that they could take up effective management of the K-FNP and K-WFR. Equally, 92% of respondents agreed to the fact that increasing population, poverty increment, insufficient modern health facilities, influx of new cultural activities due to loss of traditional taboos and totemic beliefs, remains greater threat to chimpanzees in the study areas. Most of the interviewees (74%) agreed that updating of knowledge on the abundance and distribution of chimpanzee, identifying location of all human activities especially huts, farms, shortcuts and illegal market in the park/reserve through regular patrols with eco-guards to reinforce order and ensure a better protection for chimpanzees is vital. Much more, 95% of respondent accepted the fact that old and new traditional knowledge of conservation such as taboos/law, totemic beliefs, sacred forests, royal species, automatic spiritual sanction, harvesting seasons should be revived and encourage through traditional institutions/council to better protect chimpanzees. Furthermore, 85% of interviewees accepted the suggestion that to get rid of poor traditional practices that uses chimpanzee's body parts/meat for medicine and rituals, can be replace with goats, sheep, pig, fouls body parts/meat. To reduce over dependent and conflicts on chimpanzees products and other natural resources, 97% of the respondents were in favour that income generating micro-projects such as fish farming, animal rearing, and market gardening should be promoted. Providing jobs through ecotourism activities such as forest clearance and excursions, construction of adequate and equip infrastructures were highly welcome by 99% of interviewees. To attain all these, regular conservation educational programmes in schools, meeting places and in “ngumba” houses should be promoted to well sensitize population on chimpanzee's conservation

A study of the relationship between maternal obesity and child under-nutrition in African women attending a child health clinic in Khayelitsha, Cape Town

Background: Malnutrition, manifesting as obesity in women and under-nutrition in children, is a major public health problem in South Africa. There is a multitude of epidemiological evidence reflecting the extent and health effects of these problems, specifically among the African communities. However, at a family level, there is a paucity of information regarding the relationship between obesity in mothers and under-nutrition in children. Studies set to explore this relationship and determinants of body size and nutrition from a cultural perspective are long overdue. Such studies would assist in identifying intervention strategies that are appropriate and effective for the population at risk. Objective: This study, therefore, investigated the relationship between the child's nutritional status and that of the mother in a peri-urban African community. It further explored knowledge, attitudes and perceptions of body size as possible determinants of obesity and under-nutrition. This will make information available for further screening and planning of culturally sensitive nutrition interventions for the population under study. Methods: The study was conducted in two phases. The first phase was an exploratory qualitative design used mainly to develop a questionnaire for the second phase. In-depth interviews were conducted with 10 obese African mothers, whose children were categorised on the 'Road-to-Health' card, as underweight. The interviews provided an understanding of the African women's' perceptions of their body sizes and nutrition regarding the child. The second phase utilised a cross-sectional analytic study design to investigate the relationship between the mother's weight and the child's weight. It further investigated the knowledge, attitudes and perceptions found in the first phase in a larger sample using appropriate statistical techniques. A systematic sample of 365 mother-child pairs attending a child health clinic over a two-month period, starting from August 1997, was selected. The sample included women between the ages of 16 and 49 years old and their children between the ages of 2 and 5 years old attending a child health clinic in Khayelitsha, a peri-urban area outside Cape Town. Anthropometric measurements of children and mothers were taken and a structured questionnaire was administered to the mothers. Findings: The qualitative study showed attitudes and perceptions of body size that were tolerant of a 'big' body image. There was a lack of knowledge regarding causes of obesity and effective ways of reducing weight, preventing chronic diseases of lifestyle and what constitutes 'good' nutrition for the child. All these findings were confirmed in the second phase of the study. The main study showed that less than half (42%) of the mothers were able to estimate their body weights. These mothers underestimated their weights, on average, by 5 kg (p=0.0001 CI: 3.5-6.8). In the total sample, 37.3% of the mothers were obese (BMI> 30kg/m2) and 33.4 % were overweight (25 2 weight-for-height. The main finding is that, overall, no relationship was found between the mother's weight and that of the child. The mother's BMI showed a weak positive correlation with the weight-for-age zscore. The relationship between BMI and height-for-age z-score or weight-for-height was not statistically significant. However, most importantly, subgroup analysis showed that mothers' perceptions of their own body size and that of the child were significantly related to BMI and weight-for-age z-scores. Furthermore, a higher proportion of obese mothers (47.1 %) were unhappy about their body size than non-obese mothers (35.4 %). Consequently, a lesser proportion of obese mothers (36%) chose an overweight body image as 'attractive' compared with non-obese mothers (40.2%). Conclusions: Although there was no relationship found between obesity in mothers and under-nutrition in children, this study confirmed the high prevalence of both problems in the study group. Furthermore, it provided new evidence on the relationship between nutritional status of mothers and the resultant attitudes and perceptions to body size. This crucial information could be used in planning appropriate intervention strategies for the study population. More studies of this nature are needed for specific target populations in order to direct effective interventions

Investigating the venom components of the Giant Indian Centipede for Nav1.7 channel modifiers

The electro-genesis property of voltage-gated sodium channels makes them indispensable therapeutic targets for numerous conductance disorders. The sodium channel (NaV)1.7 subtype expressed in sensory neurons in the dorsal root ganglia is thought to be a crucial signaling protein involved in nociceptive pain. Centipede envenomation results in instant rigid paralysis in prey and excruciating painful stings in humans. Compared to other venomous clades, these venoms have been largely ignored due to the minimal clinical significance of the stings. However, because many animal venoms are used to probe ion channels and some are progressing to becoming modern day venom-based drugs, we extracted the venoms of both male and female Scolopendra hardickei centipedes to evaluate their composition, to investigate activities at the NaV1.7 pain amplifying channel, and to search for the presence of pore forming toxins. The properties of the poorly characterised sodium currents inherently expressed by the TE671 cell line were initially studied using whole-cell patch-clamp to aid in NaV subtype identification. The sodium currents of the TE671 cell line were completely blocked by tetrodotoxin at a concentration of 1µM and IC50 values of 2.8 nM for Huwentoxin IV and 0.8 nM for Protoxin II were obtained. The voltage at which half the number of available channels were activated (V50.act value) was recorded as -31.89 ± 1.12 mV, which is comparable to other values reported in the literature for NaV1.7. The voltage at which half the number of available channels became inactivated (V50.inact) was recorded as -69.6 ± 1.02 mV which is similar to literature values for NaV1.7. Combined, these data indicate that the subtype expressed in TE671 cells is NaV1.7. To assess the degree of modification on NaV1.7 by S. hardwickei venom components, data from macroscopic current, channel activation and channel inactivation were analysed in the absence and presence of crude venoms, separated fractions and synthetic venom peptides. A total of 96 fractions were isolated using reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography from the venom of each sex and pooled into cocktails of twelves. The V50.act value was shifted in the depolarising direction by pooled M1-12, in the hyperpolarising direction by M61-72 and M73-84, whereas the V50.inact value was shifted in the depolarised direction by M25-36, F1-12, and F13-24 and to the hyperpolarising direction by F49-60. Two of the four peptides identified from pooled M61-72 fractions displaying the same cysteine pattern were synthesised. Peptide I induced a concentration-dependent hyperpolarising shift in activation, shifting V50.act from -35.91 ± 1.20 mV to -43.94 ± 1.08 mV at 100 nM. On the other hand, Peptide IV caused a hyperpolarising shift in V50.inact with significant alterations resulting from concentrations as low as 1 nM. Using proteomic analyses of both male and female venoms and transcriptomic analyses of venom glands and leg muscles, we have shown that there are substantial differences in the relative abundance and expression levels of high versus low molecular weight components and that over 60% of all venom components can be unique to a single sex. A total of 37 peptide and protein families were identified with a 70 and 41% uniqueness to the male venom of peptide and protein composition respectively compared to the female. These results demonstrate that S. hardwickei contains a highly sexually dimorphic venom made of neuropeptides capable of modifying the activity of NaV1.7 channel in a manner that promotes either a gain in function through the hyperpolarising shift in activation or a loss in function through a hyperpolarising shift in activation. This suggests the presence of a range of voltage gating modifiers for NaV1.7 in the venoms of S. hardwickei and provide a basis for further investigations on the location of the peptide binding sites

Factors that contribute to teachers' job satisfaction/dissatisfaction as perceived by teachers in Libode District: A case study of two schools

The study investigates factors that contribute to job satisfaction/dissatisfaction in a case study of two Public Senior Secondary Schools as perceived by teachers of Libode District in the Eastern Cape. The point of departure of the study is the fact that the researcher has observed high rate of resignations and transfers of teachers. The study was conducted through a case study design. A total of thirty-five sample subjects from both schools were selected using purposive methods. The instruments used to collect the data were the questionnaires and interviews. The targeted population was teachers teaching in both schools at the area of the research site. Pilot study was done. Ethical issues were taken into consideration. The data collected was, analyzed and interpreted within a specified time frame. The findings were based on the data collected; thereafter the conclusions and recommendations were drawn based on the findings of both the quantitative and qualitative methods. The main findings of the study indicated clearly that poor working conditions, low salaries and ill discipline of learners contribute to job dissatisfaction. Findings were discussed in the context of the main and sub research questions and recommendations were made. The study will help the Department of Education to identify teachers' concern regarding job satisfaction/dissatisfaction

Status of Blue Duiker (Cephalophus monticola) and Bushbuck (Tragelaphus scriptus) in Kom -Wum Forest Reserve, North West Region, Cameroon

The study titled “Status of Blue duiker (Cephalophus monticola) and Bushbuck (Tragelaphus scriptus) in Kom-Wum Forest Reserve, North West Region-Cameroon, was realized from the 15th of January to March 31st, 2015. The general objective was to contribute to the conservation of Blue duiker and Bushbuck by establishing a baseline data in Kom-Wum Forest Reserve which will serve as guide for management decisions. The methodology used was “reconnaissance walk, questionnaires, semi structured interviews and focused group discussions. Results obtained indicated that twelve species of mammals were recorded through direct and indirect bio-indicators. The family of Cercopithecidae was the most represented (41.7%) (Putty nosed (Cercopithecus nictitans), Vervet (Cercopithecus aethiops), Patas (Erythrobus patas), Mona (Cercopithecus mona) monkeys and Olive Baboon (Papio Anubis). The results equally revealed that Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes ellioti), Red duiker (Cephalophus dorsalis), Blue duiker and Bushbuck were the most abundant animals with encounter rates of 3.8, 2.91, 2.41 and 1.93signs per km respectively. The GIS distribution maps showed that Blue duikers and Bushbucks were more in the North East and South West potions of the reserve respectively. The mean encounter rate of anthropogenic activities (hunting, agriculture and logging) stood at 0.94 sign per kilometer. Hunting was most preponderant with an E.R of 1.41 sign per km (50%), followed by agriculture 1.0 sign per km (36%) and lastly logging 0.41 sign per km (14%). Encounter rates of anthropogenic activities plotted against those of mammals gave a coefficient of determination (R2) =0.058 hence, mammal distribution is only slightly affected by human activities. Up to 65% of the respondents expressed negative attitudes towards conservation of resources in the reserve for the fact that it is their natural heritage and they should not be restrained from exploiting them. A majority (80%) of the respondents however agreed that the reserve is owned and controlled by the government. Though plagued by human interference, the reserve still harbours some Bushbuck and Blue duiker. We therefore recommend that the council, government, NGOs and the local community to step up conservation efforts