Wildbird abundance and richness in Forestry Research Institute Of Nigeria (FRIN), Jericho, Ibadan, Oyo State

This study assessed avi-fauna species richness and abundance indices in environs of Forestry Research Institutes of Nigeria (FRIN).The study area,  FRIN, was divided based on landuse activities into three; residential, plantations (Teak (Tectona grandis), and Gmelina (Gmelina arborea)) and fallow  land. Ten (10) point counts were made in each of the land use areas at distance of 200m and visited between 06:00hrs- 10:00hrs and 0400hr-0600hr for a period of 10 minutes each. A pair of 8x42 binoculars, voice recorder and Helms field guide to the birds of Western Africa was used for species identification and confirmation. Species richness, sighting index, bird species diversity (Shannon and Simpson), and Sorenson index of similarity were deduced. Data were analyzed using frequency; PPMC, Percentage and correlation at α 0.05.A total 78 bird species belonging to 38 families were recorded. Yellow-billed kite (Milvus migrans parasitus) was the most abundant species with frequency (228) and sighting index (12.5%). The residential area had the highest mean bird species richness per point. The overall Shannon diversity index (3.52) and Simpson diversity index (0.95) indicated that the study site is highly diverse in bird species. Exotic trees species do not support bird abundance and richness in the  study area, therefore effort should be put in place to restore the depleted habitat planting of native tree species. Keywords: Species richness, Abundance, Wild birds, Landuse, Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria

Abdominal pregnancy at the University College Hospital, Ibadan: a ten-year review

Fourteen cases of abdominal pregnancy managed at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria, over a ten-year period (January 1994 to December 2003) were reviewed. The incidence ratio of abdominal pregnancy was one in 654 deliveries. It accounted for 4.3% of ectopic pregnancies. Age range was 20 to 43 years; 63.4% of the patients were unemployed and 50% were nullipara. Pre-operative diagnosis was possible only in half of the cases. Only two patients with advanced pregnancies and live fetuses (14.3%) were allowed to have conservative management while the others had immediate laparotomy. Live birth rate was 7.1%, but overall fetal survival rate was 0%. Fetal malformations were common, with talipes equinovarus and jaw abnormalities occurring in 49.2% and 14.3% respectively. Twelve patients (85.7%) who had complete removal of the placenta, though lost more blood, had better outcome than those with placenta left in-situ. The case fatality rate was 7.1%. (Afr J Reprod Health 2005; 9[1]: 123-127

Predictors of asymptomatic malaria in pregnancy

Summary: A number of studies have described malaria parasitaemia in pregnancy as mostly an asymptomatic condition, however information about predictors of asymptomatic malaria is largely lacking. We investigated the prevalence of symptoms and potential predictors of asymptomatic malaria in pregnant women attending Ante-Natal Clinic (ANC) of two public maternity hospitals in Ibadan, Southwest-Nigeria. Demographic data, history of previous and present pregnancy were obtained from the subjects and blood smears were examined for malaria diagnosis by light microscopy. Seventy – seven parasitaemic pregnant women attending antenatal clinic were evaluated for presence or absence of symptoms that may be associated with malaria. Thirty-seven women (48%) were asymptomatic whereas 40 (52%) presented with symptoms such as weakness, headache and general body ache and fever. Parasite density was significantly higher in symptomatic patients (P = 0.042), while asymptomatic patients had low level parasitaemia but significantly higher gametocyte carriage (P = 0.035). In conclusion, parasitaemic pregnant women resident in hyper- or holo-endemic malaria region are likely to be symptomatic with increasing density of the parasitaemia

Effects of different monosaccharides on histamine-stimulated gastric acid secretion and indomethacin-induced ulcer in Wistar rats

Monosaccharides such as glucose, fructose and galactose have been established as the main energy source for physiological activities in the body. The current study was undertaken to investigate the effects of different monosaccarides on histamine-stimulated gastric acid secretion and also to investigate whether acute infusion of these sugars would mitigate indomethacin-induced ulcer. Male Wistar rats (200 – 250 g) were used for this experiment and were divided into two studies. Animals in both studies were divided into 4 groups (n=10) and were infused with normal saline (group 1), glucose (group 2), fructose (group 3) and galactose (group 4) respectively. Postload blood glucose was monitored and histamine was administered 10 min after determination of the basal pH in study one (acid secretion study) animals. In study two (ulcer study), indomethacin was administered 5 min after infusion and ulcer scores were estimated after 4 hours. The results from study one showed a significant reduction in pH (p<0.05) following histamine administration in the control group. However, there was an increase in pH (p<0.05), following histamine stimulation in the glucose, fructose and galactose groups respectively. Study two showed a significant decrease (p<0.05) in ulcer scores in groups infused with glucose and fructose while that of the galactose group was not significantly reduced (p<0.05) when compared with control. The results show that glucose, fructose and galactose infusion inhibits histamine-stimulated gastric secretion although glucose had the strongest effect while galactose had the weakest. This study also provides further evidence that blood glucose level is a strong determinant of ulcer formation by NSAIDS.Keywords: Glucose, fructose, galactose, blood glucose, gastric secretion, ulcer scor

Prevalence and clinical characteristics of headaches among undergraduate students in three tertiary institutions in Ilorin, Nigeria

Objective: Headache is a common chronic neurologic disorder with huge economic and psychosocial impact. In comparison with other neurological disorders, there is limited data on primary headache, especially from sub‑Saharan Africa. This study was done to fill in the gap and provide recent information on headache among Nigerian undergraduate students.Methodology: Quota sampling was used to select students from three tertiary educational institutions within Ilorin, the capital of Kwara state. Two‑stage self‑administered questionnaires developed from the guideline of the International Society of Headache were used to harvest information.Results: A total of 1500 students participated in the study. The mean age of the students was 20.9 ± 3.1 years, with male:female ratio of 1.6:1. A total of 356 students have frequent headache within previous 1 year, given the headache frequency of 23.7%. Fifty‑three students (3.5%) had headaches on almost daily basis, 84 (5.6%) had ≥4 attacks/week, 145 (9.7%) had ≤2–3 attacks/month, and 123 (8.2%) had 1–3 attacks every 3 months. Close to 75% indicated that it limits their daily activity frequently. One hundred and eighty‑seven (12.5%) students fulfilled the criteria for tension‑type headache, 36 (2.4%) for migraine headache, and 133 (8.9%) had nonclassified headaches. The most frequent headache‑associated symptoms are photophia – 100 students (6.7%), phonophobia – 159 students (10.6%), while 62 students (4.1%) had nausea and vomiting. None of the students had seen a physician for proper headache diagnosis. Majority (90.2%) used none prescription over-the-counter analgesia (acetaminophen) for symptomatic treatment of their aches.Conclusion: Headache is a common complaint among Nigerian undergraduate students and it limits the daily activity of majority of the sufferers. Students need proper education regarding treatment to alleviate their suffering and forestall complication, especially those associated with analgesic overuse.Keywords: Headache, migraine, prevalence, tension‑type headache, undergraduate

Fertility and hatchability potentials of ShikaBrown® chickens and effect of body weight and age of chicken on egg quality traits in southwestern, Nigeria

The study was conducted to assess the reproductive performance and the effect of body weight and age on external egg quality  traits of ShikaBrown® (SS-98, SG-98 and SB-98) chickens. Six hundred ShikaBrown® chickens fertile eggs were sourced, incubated and 21 weeks old ShikaBrown® layers were used for studying some external egg quality traits. Data collected were  subjected to Analysis of Variance (SAS 9); Univariate was applied to test the effects of age and body weight on  external egg  quality traits of the birds; where significant differences occurred, the means were separated by Duncan Multiple Range test. The dam (SS-98) parent stock had higher fertility (95.9%) while ShikaBrown® (SB-98) commercial layers had highest hatchability (89.9%). There was significant effect of age and body weight on all the external egg quality traits (p<0.05) considered in this  study except egg shape index, which was not significantly affected (p>0.05) by body weight. The external egg quality traits  progressed with corresponding increase in the age and body weight of the ShikaBrown® (SB-98) layers. On the basis of the  recorded high values for both reproduction and egg quality traits, the ShikaBrown® parent lines and commercial layers should be made readily available to the commercial poultry farms.Keywords: Egg, Hatchability, Fertility, External quality traits, ShikaBrown® chicken genotypes (SS-98, SG-98, SB-98)