Assessment of Benthic Macro-Invertebrates of Freshwater Ecosystem: A Case Study of Ovia River (Iguoriakhi), Edo State, Nigeria

In this study, the diversity and seasonal variation of benthic macro-invertebrates of Ovia River (Iguoriakhi), Edo State, Southern Nigerian, were studied between July, 2014 and February, 2015. Four stations were selected and sampled monthly and investigated for benthic macro-invertebrates’ community structure using basic statistical measurement of abundance and diversity indices to characterize the benthic macro invertebrates. The species richness, evenness and diversity of the benthic macro-invertebrates in the study area were high and typical of a tropical fast-flowing freshwater river. There was a total of 45 taxa, made up of 1,135 individuals; 10 Ephemeroptera, 10 Diptera, 7 Coleoptera, 7 Odonata, 4 Hemiptera, plasiopora, Haplotaixa, Decapoda, Hydrachnellae, Lepidoptera, Gastropoda, and Trichoptera were represented with a taxa each. The dominant taxa include Ephemeroptera, while the Diptera was the only sub-dominant order identified. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) revealed that the overall density was significantly different (P<0.05) in the study stations. A posteriori Duncan Multiple Range (DMR) test indicated that the abundance of Dipterans and Ephemeropterans at station 2 and 4 respectively were the source of the significant difference. The EPT to total ratio indicated that the water quality of all the studied stations were non impacted. The study concluded that benthic macro-invertebrates are good candidate and less expensive indices for water quality monitoring

Assessing the environmental impacts of oil exploration and production on the water quality of Osse River, Southern Nigeria

The concentrations of some physico-chemical parameters of the Osse River were studied to assess the impacts of Dubri Oil Company operations. Samples were collected between July 2000 and June 2002 from five stations: Station 1 and 2 (upstream), Station 3 (Gelegele Port/Oil Company site) and Stations 4 and 5 (downstream). The concentrations of these parameters in the river ranged from 26.1 – 33.7oC for air temperature, 25.2 – 29.1oC (water temperature); 38.0 – 225cm (Transparency); 2.3 – 58NTU (Turbidity); 42.5 – 520.20mgl-1 (TDS); 14.66 – 210.04mgl-1 (TSS); 57.14 – 701.50mgl-1 (TS); 5.55 – 7.91 (pH); 4.40 – 11.60mgl-1 (DO); 0.80 – 5.60mgl-1 (BOD5); 10.0 – 208scm-1 (Conductivity); 17.50 – 100mg CaCo3-1 (Alkalinity); 7.02 – 34.50mgl-1 (Chloride); 0.02 – 0.43mgl-1 (Sulphate); 0.04 – 0.73mgl-1 (Nitrate); 0.28 – 3.52mgl-1 (Phosphate); 0.18 – 19.1mgl-1 (Sodium); 0.11 – 6.2mgl-1 (Potassium); 1.11 – 9.62mgl-1 (Calcium) and 0.20 – 7.78mgl-1 for magnesium. With the exception of air temperature, transparency, turbidity, suspended solid, dissolved solids, total solids, biochemical oxygen demand and nitrate which were significantly different (P 0.05) in the study stations. The impacts of the oil exploration and production operations of the Oil Company on the water quality was negligible as all parameters were relatively homogenous across the study stations, and were below the WHO guidelines for domestic usage. The environmental conditions studied have been discussed in relation to the general water quality standard. Global Journal of Environmental Sciences Vol. 6 (1) 2007: pp. 1-1

Kangaroo Mother Care Management of a 750 Ggrammes Baby: A Case report

This paper presents the successful management of 750 grammes low birth weight baby using kangaroo mother care in the hospital and at home. The baby had suffered a variety of morbidities associated with prematurity in the early neonatal period.Key words: Kangaroo mother care, low birth weight babie

Application of Some Biometric Indices in the Assessment of the Water Quality of the Benin River, Niger Delta, Nigeria

Rapid Bioassessment Protocols (RBP) using some biometric indices including taxa richness, Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera (EPT) taxa richness, EPT to total ratio, Hilsenhoff’s Biotic Index (HBI) and Percent Model Affinity Score (PMAS) were employed in assessment of the water quality of the Benin River. The results showed that the water quality varied from non-impacted to severely impacted. HBI and PMAS showed similar results among the designated stations along the river. Shannon (H’) and Margalef (d’) diversity indices were highest at stations 4 and 3 respectively. The biometric and diversity indices adopted in this study are better for assessing organic pollution and eutrophication but inadequate for assessing toxic inorganic pollution. More assessments using various biometric indices are needed for investigation in order to fully ascertain their consistency with the physico-chemical parameters. The merits of the different biometrics are reported.Keywords: Water quality, biometric indices, diversity, assessment, Benin Rive

Pattern of congenital anomalies as seen in university of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City, Nigeria

Background: Congenital malformations are a major cause of perinatal and neonatal deaths, and disability both in developed and developing countries. Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the pattern of congenital anomalies seen in babies admitted into the special care baby unit of University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City, Edo state, Nigeria. Method: A prospective register of all congenital anomalies seen in newborns were kept within the study period of 2years. The details of each child′s anomaly were documented and characterized. All the babies with congenital anomalies admitted from f January 2008 to 31 st December 2009 were included in this study. Results: A total of 153 babies were admitted during the study period, 85 (5.6%) had congenital anomalies. More male babies had congenital anomalies, though the finding was not statistically significant. Booking status of the mother was significantly associated with having a child with congenital anomalies. More term babies had congenital anomalies than preterm babies. One quarter of the babies with congenital anomalies, died within the neonatal period. Gastrointestinal system malformations (36.5%) were the most common. CNS anomalies was second (29.4%) with myelomeningocele being the most common anomaly (18.8%), followed by musculoskeletal system anomalies (14.2%), genitourinary system (10.6%), chromosomal (5.9%), cardiovascular (3.5%). Conclusion: The pattern of congenital anomalies in our region is different from that of developed countries. The booking status of the mother is significantly associated with having a child with congenital anomaly. Proper antenatal care could help detect this problem for early intervention

Evaluation of the capacity of Pediatricians in Nigeria to conduct research: A nationwide survey

Background: Research is key to quality healthcare. Clinicians should possess adequate research capacity to generate evidence. This study aimed to evaluate the research capacity of pediatricians in Nigeria.Methods: The study was a crosssectional using a questionnaire developed from the Research Capacity Assessment Framework. Information on previous research work, challenges encountered, and utilization of research outcome were obtained. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 20.Qualitative variables were grouped under thematic headings.Results: Paediatricians who had received grants for research were 21 (19.4%). Those whose research outcomes had informed policy and practice were 20 (18.2%). Less than 40% of the participants had received training on research capacity areas.Conclusion: The research capacity among pediatricians was low partly due to underfunding and lack of research training programs. Improvement on government fund allocation for research and introduction of short research trainings programs will improve research capacity in Nigeria. Key words: Clinical research; Pediatrician; Research Capacity; Policy-Practice Chang