Forest in Nigeria plays a much wider role in the overall balance of issues affecting the country than those of climate change alone. Nigeria's tropical forest is depleting fast, due largely to uncontrolled human activities. Poverty, urbanization, population growth and insecurity are the major causes of this trend. Tracking carbon flow in these forest life zones will help account for the effect of these activities on the environment. COPATH, an acronym for Total Carbon Flow from Conversion to Agriculture, Pasture, Harvest and OTHER land-uses including construction of dams, roads, forest fires and human settlement, etc., was used for tracking carbon flow in the forest zones. From the five forest life zones, total carbon stored was estimated to be 2.55 TgC. The four activities of agriculture, harvest, pasture and bush burning were pronounced in contributions to land use changes, particularly to forest depletion. In this paper it is shown that carbon emission was highest from harvesting activity in year 2000, principally from clear-cutting activity in the lowland rainforest as against that of 1990 study, which showed agricultural activity as the major anthropogenic activity leading to carbon release into the atmosphere. Further, it is shown that the value of carbon emission is on the increase as compared to the earlier study with 1990 as the base year. During the two periods of study, it was however, observed that the relative contribution of each of the activities that are responsible for deforestation and affects carbon flow pattern in the forest zones and invariably causes carbon emission had not changed. Though a look at the fractional contribution of each of these activities in 2000 as against that of 1990 estimates shows a marked change. The study also concludes that if there is no change in the estimated deforestation rate of 2.23% per annum of the forest formations, lowland rainforest and riparian forests are likely to disappear by 2040.

Background: Cardiac autonomic neuropathy (CAN) resulting from seizures has been implicated in sudden unexpected death in epilepsy in persons with epilepsy (PWE), however, there are no previous studies of CAN in PWE from Nigeria. Objectives: This study sought to determine the frequency and pattern of CAN in adult PWE in a tertiary hospital in South-western Nigeria and to determine the relationship between seizure variables and CAN. Methods: A cross-sectional study of 80 adult PWE and 80 matched controls aged between 18 and 60 years was carried out between March 2012 and June 2013 at the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Complex, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. Demographic and clinical data were obtained from all the study participants. Anxiety was excluded using the Hamilton Anxiety Scale. Those with conditions that could affect autonomic function, such as chronic renal failure, heart failure, Parkinson's disease, diabetes mellitus, anxiety, and psychiatric disorders and pregnant women were excluded. Five bedside cardiovascular reflex tests were performed on each subject after baseline heart rate and blood pressure (BP) had been recorded. Results: The mean age of onset of epilepsy was 19 ± 10 years, whereas the mean duration of epilepsy was 10 ± 8 years. The mean seizure frequency was 14 ± 30 per month (median three seizures per month). Of the 80 patients evaluated, 42 (52.5%) had CAN, whereas none of the controls had CAN. Majority (69%) of the PWE with CAN had purely parasympathetic dysfunction, whereas 3% had purely sympathetic dysfunction and 10% had combined autonomic dysfunction. The PWE in this study had significantly lower tilt ratios and diastolic BP change with Isometric Hand grip as well as significantly higher systolic BP change on standing than the controls. Patients who had more than four seizures per month had higher odds of CAN than those with less frequent seizures (odds ratio 0.275, P value 0.023). Also, patients who had received treatment for less than 10 years were found to have greater odds of CAN than those who had received treatment for a longer period (odds ratio 11.676, P value 0.046). Conclusion: CAN is common in adult PWE in South-Western Nigeria and the major predictors are short duration of treatment and frequent seizure episodes. Routine screening of these patients may help with early detection of autonomic dysfunction and provide an opportunity for intervention.

Background: The superimposition of the morbidity of cardiac diseases on the physiological demands of pregnancy could impact adversely on pregnancy outcomes. Therefore, contemporary information is for appropriate clinical management.Objective: To determine the management outcomes of cardiac diseases in pregnancy at the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex (OAUTHC), Ile-Ife.
Methods: A retrospective review of the hospital records of patients with cardiac diseases in pregnancy between January 2006 and December 2015 was conducted. The age, parity, gestational age at admission, NYHA class, clinical diagnosis, the results of investigations, complications of cardiac diseases, and maternal and foetal outcomes were recorded.
Results: There were 33 women with cardiac diseases in pregnancy and 11,352 deliveries within the period, giving an incidence of 2.9 per 1000. Further analysis was based on 24 women with complete records. The mean age of the patients was 29.2±5.5 years. Twenty (83%) of the women were Para 2 or less, while 13 (54%) presented postpartum. The majority of the women (15; 62.5%) had peripartum cardiomyopathy, while 17 (71%) had NYHA Class III or IV disease. Thirteen (54%) women had vaginal delivery. There were four perinatal and two maternal deaths, with a perinatal mortality rate of 166/1,000 total births and maternal mortality ratio of 8,333/100,000 live births.
Conclusion: Cardiac diseases in pregnancy are associated with high perinatal and maternal mortality rates at the OAUTHC, Ile-Ife. However, with early diagnosis and appropriate care, the majority of the patients had a satisfactory clinical outcome. Early presentation and advocacy to improve health-seeking behaviour are recommended.