2025

Background: Spinal pain (SP), encompassing low back, neck, and upper back discomfort, is a prevalent musculoskeletal problem among healthcare professionals and students. Clinical postings expose Basic Medical Sciences students to physically demanding tasks such as prolonged standing, awkward postures, and repetitive patient handling, predisposing them to SP. Despite its burden, limited research has examined its prevalence and associated factors among students across different health disciplines in Nigeria. Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence, pattern, contributing factors, coping strategies, and functional limitations related to spinal pain among Basic Medical Sciences students during clinical postings at the University of Benin. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among 351 students from Physiotherapy, Nursing, Radiography, and Medical Laboratory Science departments. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire that included sociodemographic characteristics, spinal pain prevalence (12-month and 7-day recall), and the Spinal Functional Index (SFI). Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics, with significance set at p < 0.05. Results: The 12-month prevalence of lower back pain, upper back pain, and neck pain was 51.9%, 12.5%, and 21.4%, respectively. Within the past 7 days, prevalence rates were 42.2%, 14.8%, and 17.1%. Physiotherapy and Nursing students reported the highest occurrence of spinal pain. Although 20.5% of respondents sought medical care or missed activities due to pain, most reported mild functional limitations (mean SFI = 4.57 ± 2.78). There was no significant relationship between age and functional limitation (r = –0.028, p = 0.597), or between posting hours and functional limitation (r = 0.104, p = 0.052). Gender showed no significant association with spinal pain prevalence. Conclusion: Spinal pain is highly prevalent among Basic Medical Sciences students during clinical postings, particularly among those in physiotherapy and nursing. The findings underscore the need for ergonomic education, workload management, and institutional policies that prioritize student musculoskeletal health. Keywords: Spinal pain, Basic Medical Sciences students, clinical postings, ergonomics, musculoskeletal disorders. Low back pain, University of Benin.

This study assessed the physicochemical properties of water collected from the bottom of aquaculture tanks at the TETFund Centre for Aquaculture and Food Technology, University of Benin. The objective was to evaluate the suitability of the water for aquaculture and identify parameters that could affect fish growth and survival. Water samples were collected from Tank 5 and Tank 6 and analysed for twenty key physicochemical parameters, including pH, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, turbidity, suspended solids, dissolved oxygen (DO), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), hardness, chloride, alkalinity, phosphate, nitrate, ammonium, calcium, magnesium, and selected heavy metals (iron, lead, zinc, chromium, and cadmium). The results were compared with Federal Ministry of Environment (FMEnv) permissible limits for aquaculture water quality. Findings revealed that parameters such as pH, electrical conductivity, hardness, chloride, phosphate, and nitrate were within acceptable limits, indicating general water suitability for aquaculture. However, DO, BOD, turbidity, ammonium, iron, and lead exceeded permissible thresholds, suggesting organic pollution, oxygen depletion, and possible metal contamination. These deviations are likely caused by inadequate aeration, accumulation of feed residues, and sediment deposition at the tank bottom. The study concludes that although the tanks provide a controlled environment conducive to fish culture, poor water circulation and organic waste buildup pose challenges to optimal production. It recommends regular water renewal, installation of aeration systems, and continuous monitoring of physicochemical parameters to maintain sustainable and productive aquaculture operations.

Musculoskeletal (MSK) pain is a common health problem among students and young adults. Although physiotherapy is effective for managing MSK pain, cultural beliefs and personal perceptions often influence its utilization. Understanding these beliefs is essential for improving access to physiotherapy care and awareness. This study aimed to determine the influence of cultural beliefs on the utilization of physiotherapy services for managing musculoskeletal pain among undergraduate students in the School of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Benin. A cross-sectional descriptive design was used. Data were obtained from undergraduate students through a self-administered questionnaire comprising socio-demographic details and items assessing cultural beliefs and physiotherapy utilization. Responses were rated on a five-point Likert scale from “Strongly Agree” to “Strongly Disagree.” Descriptive and inferential statistics, including Chi-square and correlation analyses, were used to summarize data and test relationships between variables, with significance set at p < 0.05. The study showed a high prevalence of musculoskeletal pain, particularly in the lower back, neck, and shoulders. A statistically significant but weak relationship was observed between cultural beliefs and physiotherapy utilization (r = 0.208, p < 0.001). Gender was significantly associated with the 7-day prevalence of pain, with females reporting more pain than males, while other demographic variables showed no significant associations. Musculoskeletal pain is highly prevalent among students. Although cultural beliefs significantly influence physiotherapy utilization, the effect is weak, suggesting other factors such as accessibility, affordability, and awareness also play key roles.

This project examines patriarchy and female resistance in Zulu Sofola’s Wedlock of the Gods and Tracie Utoh’s Our Wives Have Gone Mad Again. It focuses on how both playwrights portray women’s struggles against male dominance and their efforts to gain freedom and identity in a patriarchal society. Using Feminist Theory as a guide, the study shows that Sofola presents women’s resistance through tragedy and cultural conflict, while Utoh uses satire and humour to expose oppression and promote female unity. The research concludes that both writers advocate for gender equality and social change, showing that African women are not silent victims but strong agents of resistance and transformation.

Background: Developmental milestones mark a child’s progress in physical,cognitive , language and social abilities, typically achieved within specific age ranges. Delayed developmental milestones (DDM), affecting 8 -12% of children aged 0-5 in Nigeria can stem from birth complications, genetic disorders, neurological conditions, poor nutrition and environmental factors. Physiotherapy is crucial for early intervention, improving motor functions and quality of life in children with DDM, such as cerebral palsy. Caregiver’s knowledge and attitude significantly influence the success of physiotherapy, yet in Nigeria, cultural beliefs, limited information and financial constraints often hinder it’s utilization. Aim: This study was done to assess the level of knowledge and attitudes of caregivers towards physiotherapy for children with delayed developmental milestones in University of Benin Teaching Hospital. Method: A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted, recruiting 94 caregivers of children with DDM at University of Benin Teaching Hospital. Participants were selected using a purposive sampling technique. Data were collected through a self administered questionnaire comprising socio-demographic questionnaire and a self developed questionnaire based on Knowledge, Attitudes and Practice (KAP) model assessing knowledge and attitudes towards physiotherapy. Analysis involved descriptive statistics and chi-square tests, with a significance level set at 0.05. Results: Sixty one (64.9%) of caregivers had good knowledge of physiotherapy, though gaps existed in understanding the causes and goals. A total of ninety one (97.9%) displayed positive attitudes towards physiotherapy. Educational level was significantly associated with knowledge (p < 0.001). Major barriers to participation included financial limitations, transportation difficulties , lack of understanding and work schedule conflict. Conclusion: Caregivers possess good knowledge and positive attitudes towards physiotherapy, with educational level influencing knowledge. However, financial and transportation difficulties hinder its utilization, suggesting the need for targeted education and support programs to enhance treatment outcomes

This project work looks into how higher education promotes social mobility and reduces inequality by equipping individuals with skills, knowledge, and social capital for economic and social advancement. However, this potential is limited by systemic barriers like financial constraints, geographic disparities, and the digital divide, which disproportionately affect disadvantaged groups. Overcoming these obstacles through equitable access and supportive policies is essential to ensuring higher education functions as a true pathway to upward mobility and a more just society.

This study examines the economic impact of fishing on the Ilaje people, with particular reference to Ayetoro Community between 2015 and 2025. Fishing has remained the primary occupation and source of livelihood for the people of Ayetoro, contributing significantly to household income, employment generation, food security, and local economic development. The study investigates the extent to which fishing activities have influenced the socio-economic well-being of residents, while also assessing the challenges confronting the sector during the period under review. The research adopts a historical and descriptive approach, utilizing both primary and secondary sources of data. Information was gathered through interviews with fishermen, fish traders, community leaders, and relevant stakeholders, while published materials, government reports, and academic literature provided supplementary data. Findings reveal that fishing has played a vital role in sustaining the local economy by creating employment opportunities and supporting related businesses such as fish processing, transportation, and marketing. However, the industry has faced several challenges, including environmental degradation, declining fish stocks, inadequate modern fishing equipment, climate-related factors, and limited governmental support. The study concludes that despite these challenges, fishing remains a crucial economic activity in Ayetoro Community and continues to shape the livelihoods of the Ilaje people. It recommends increased investment in modern fishing technologies, improved environmental protection measures, access to credit facilities, and the formulation of policies aimed at promoting sustainable fisheries development. These measures would enhance productivity, improve living standards, and ensure the long-term viability of fishing as a source of economic growth in the community.

This study examines the sedimentology, geochemical appraisal and palynofacies of the Maastrichtian–Paleocene Araromi Formation, situated in the eastern Dahomey Basin of southwestern Nigeria. The primary objectives is to evaluate the depositional environments, organic matter quality, and the hydrocarbon‐generation potential of the formation, thereby contributing to a broader understanding of the basin’s petroleum system.Integrated field observations and lithological analyses reveal an alternation of sandstones, shales, limestones, and siltstones, which collectively indicate a dynamic depositional system that evolved from fluvial to shallow marine settings. These facies transitions reflect varying energy conditions and sediment supply, suggesting periodic marine incursions during the late Maastrichtian to early Paleocene.Geochemical results show moderate to high Total Organic Carbon (TOC) values, accompanied by Hydrogen Index data consistent with a mixed assemblage of Type I and Type III kerogens. This mixture confirms the presence of both oil-prone and gas-prone organic matter, implying that the Araromi Formation possesses substantial potential for hydrocarbon generation under appropriate thermal maturity conditions.Palynofacies analyses further support these interpretations by revealing moderate palynological diversity. The presence of terrestrial pollen and spores, alongside abundant marine dinoflagellate cysts, confirms deposition during the late Maastrichtian to early Paleocene interval and indicates fluctuating terrestrial and marine influence. Amorphous organic matter dominates the offshore equivalents, suggesting deposition under reducing conditions that favored the preservation of hydrogen-rich organic material.Finally, the combined sedimentological, geochemical, and palynological evidence establishes the Araromi Formation as a significant source rock within the Dahomey Basin. The findings not only enhance understanding of the basin’s stratigraphic evolution and petroleum system but also highlight the formation’s relevance for future hydrocarbon exploration and development in southwestern Nigeria.

A complete system design and implementation abstract framework tailored for your AI-driven spam email detection project is detailed below.AbstractElectronic mail remains a foundational pillar of global digital communication, yet its utility is continuously threatened by the exponential growth of unsolicited messages, phishing attempts, and malware-laden spam. Traditional rule-based and heuristic filters are increasingly obsolete due to their rigidity and inability to adapt to the highly evolving and sophisticated obfuscation tactics employed by modern spammers. To address these critical vulnerabilities, this project designs and implements an intelligent, adaptive Spam Email Detection System leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques. The primary objective is to build a high-accuracy, real-time pipeline capable of automatically distinguishing legitimate messages ("ham") from malicious content ("spam") with minimal human intervention. The system's structural architecture comprises five core pipelines: data ingestion, text preprocessing, feature engineering, AI model classification, and deployment. During the design phase, raw email datasets (including text body, headers, and metadata) are subjected to rigorous NLP preprocessing, which includes tokenization, stop-word removal, lowercasing, and lemmatization to strip out textual noise. Feature extraction is then executed using TF-IDF (Term Frequency-Inverse Document Frequency) and Word2Vec embeddings to convert cleaned unstructured text into dense, high-dimensional numerical vectors. For the classification engine, a comparative implementation analysis is conducted using multiple Machine Learning (ML) and Deep Learning (DL) architectures, specifically Naive Bayes, Support Vector Machines (SVM), Random Forest, and Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory (BiLSTM) networks. The implementation was developed using Python and integrated into a responsive web application dashboard via the Flask framework, allowing users to input raw text or connect live mailboxes for real-time scanning. Experimental evaluation of the models on standard benchmark datasets (such as the Enron and UCI Spam SMS/Email datasets) demonstrates that the BiLSTM deep learning approach, when paired with semantic word embeddings, yields the highest performance, achieving an accuracy rate exceeding 98.2%, exceptional precision, and a drastically reduced false-positive rate. The results prove that integrating AI-driven semantic understanding into email security infrastructure provides a scalable, highly adaptive defensive barrier capable of continuously learning from new spam patterns and significantly hardening enterprise cybersecurity posture.

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways of the lungs, characterised by bronchoconstriction, mucus hypersecretion, and infiltration of inflammatory cells. Standard asthma therapies such as salbutamol, montelukast and prednisolone are effective in alleviating symptoms, yet their histological impact on lung tissue remains incompletely understood. This study evaluated the effects of salbutamol, montelukast and prednisolone on lung tissue histology in Ovalbumin (OVA)-induced asthmatic female Sprague-Dawley rats. Forty female Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into five groups (n=8); negative control, positive control, salbutamol treated, montelukast treated and prednisolone treated. Asthma was induced in Groups 2–5 using a modified ovalbumin (OVA) protocol. Rats were sensitized via intraperitoneal (i.p.) injections of 1 mg OVA emulsified in 20 mg aluminium hydroxide on days 1 and 7. From day 14, sensitized rats were challenged by exposure to aerosolized 1% OVA solution for 15 minutes per session, twice weekly for 28 days. After confirmation of asthma treatment, at end of the experiment, lungs were excised, fixed in 10% formalin, sectioned, and stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E). Histological changes were assessed using light microscopy at 400x magnification. The negative control group exhibited normal pulmonary architecture with intact bronchi and alveolar sacs. The OVAinduced positive control group showed hyperplasia of bronchus-associated lymphoid tissue (BALT) and follicular bronchiolitis. In contrast, lungs from rats treated with salbutamol, montelukast, and prednisolone demonstrated preserved histoarchitecture with minimal inflammatory infiltration and normal alveolar and bronchial structures, comparable to those of the control group. Conclusion: Treatment with salbutamol, montelukast, or prednisolone effectively ameliorated histopathological alterations associated with OVA-induced asthma in female Sprague-Dawley rats. These findings confirm the protective and restorative effects of these drugs on lung tissue integrity in experimental asthma.