Assessment of the Effects of Emerging Grazing Policies on Land Degradation in Nigeria

This study examines the effects of the emerging grazing policies on land degradation in Nigeria using soil, vegetation and sustainability as variables for the assessment. Data was acquired and analyzed and the results show that conflicts between farmers and herders occur all over Nigeria. The consequences of these affect lives, properties and the environment. The country now has approximately 210 persons and 180 grazing animals per kilometer square of land and 15,000 persons and 12,500 grazing animals per kilometer square of water. With the population of both man and grazing animals increasing at very high rates, the need for both food and fodder is becoming more desperate. This impact negatively on the soil, vegetation and water when there is intensive grazing without proper conservation plans in place. This study therefore, suggests the adoption of the emerging grazing policies, but with the modification that will build in agroforestry system of agriculture to suit each ecological zone. This is with a view to solving socio-economic problems of farmers and herders, and also to protect the environment from degradation. Key words: Grazing reserve, Land degradation, Livestock production, Ranching, Sustainability

Incidence of urinary tract infection (UTI) among pregnant women in Ibadan, South-Western Nigeria

This study reports the incidence of urinary tract infections (UTIs) among 80 pregnant women attending antenatal clinics at Oluyoro Catholic Hospital (OCH), Ibadan, Nigeria, as well as the isolation and identification of the pathogens responsible for the infection. A total of 80 clean voided mid-stream urine samples were collected from pregnant women between the ages of 21-40 years. The results showed that the incidence of UTIs in this study population was 47.5%, and 38 bacterial isolates were identifiedbased on colonial morphology, microscopic characteristics, and biochemical tests. The most predominant bacterium was Escherichia coli 16 (42.1%). This was followed by Staphylococcus aureus 11 (28.9%), Klebsiella aerogenes 7 (18.4%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa 2 (5.3%), and a mixed culture of K. aerogenes and Staphylococcus aureus 2 (5.3%). Urine microscopy revealed the presence of pus cells in 15 of the urine samples collected. Two urine samples, representing 2.5% of the samples, contained yeast cells, suggesting that candidiasis was also predominant. The high incidence of UTIs reported in this study should be of great concern, as not only do UTIs pose a threat to health, but they also impose an economic and social burden due to the stigma associated with these infections

PIH6 Pattern and Determinants of Willingness to Pay for Antenatal and Postnatal Physiotherapy in Nigeria

Pattern and Determinants of Willingness to Pay for Antenatal and Postnatal Physiotherapy in Nigeria Fatoye F1, Mbada C2, Gebrye T3, Tejumola OO2, Fatoye C4, Odele AC5, Oyewole OO6, Ogundele AO7, Akinwande OA8 1Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, LIN, UK, 2Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife,, Nigeria, 3Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK, 4Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, LAN, UK, 5University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria, 6Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, Sagamu, Nigeria, 7Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, Iwo, Nigeria, 8University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to examined the willingness to pay (WTP) for antenatal and postnatal physiotherapy among pregnant women and nursing mothers in Nigeria. METHODS: A total of 120 pregnant women were purposively recruited for this cross-sectional study. Ethical approval was sought from the Health Research and Ethical Review Committee of the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex. A five-section WTP and short form 12 (SF-12) health survey were used to assess the determinants of willingness to pay for antenatal and postnatal physiotherapy, as well as mental health domains of the respondents. Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. RESULTS: The mean age of the participants was 28.9 ± 5.02 years. A high ‘no WTP’ rate of 64.2% was found in the study. Significant associations were found between WTP for antenatal and postnatal physiotherapy and income (χ2 = 26.526, p = 0.001), education (χ2 = 30.404, p = 0.001), ethnicity (χ2 = 13.865, p = 0.001) and mental health domain of SF-12 (χ2 = 11.150, p = 0.004). Those in middle socio-economic status were not willing to pay for physiotherapy with a percentage of 87.0%, whereas, those in high economic status were WTP with a percentage of 20.93%. It was also observed that the participants with three number of visits to the clinic had the highest frequency for ‘no WTP’ at 9.09%. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study suggest that there was a high prevalence of no WTP for physiotherapy among pregnant women and nursing mothers in Nigeria. Ethnicity, income, socio-economic class, and education influenced WTP for physiotherapy. This study may be of interest to decision makers when setting up and evaluating different interventions for pregnant women and nursing mothers

beta-Catenin induces T-cell transformation by promoting genomic instability

Deregulated activation of β-catenin in cancer has been correlated with genomic instability. During thymocyte development, β-catenin activates transcription in partnership with T-cell-specific transcription factor 1 (Tcf-1). We previously reported that targeted activation of β-catenin in thymocytes (CAT mice) induces lymphomas that depend on recombination activating gene (RAG) and myelocytomatosis oncogene (Myc) activities. Here we show that these lymphomas have recurring Tcra/Myc translocations that resulted from illegitimate RAG recombination events and resembled oncogenic translocations previously described in human TALL. We therefore used the CAT animal model to obtain mechanistic insights into the transformation process. ChIP-seq analysis uncovered a link between Tcf-1 and RAG2 showing that the two proteins shared binding sites marked by trimethylated histone-3 lysine-4 (H3K4me3) throughout the genome, including near the translocation sites. Pretransformed CAT thymocytes had increased DNA damage at the translocating loci and showed altered repair of RAG-induced DNA double strand breaks. These cells were able to survive despite DNA damage because activated β-catenin promoted an antiapoptosis gene expression profile. Thus, activated β-catenin promotes genomic instability that leads to T-cell lymphomas as a consequence of altered double strand break repair and increased survival of thymocytes with damaged DNA.link_to_OA_fulltex

A high-performance 8 nV/root Hz 8-channel wearable and wireless system for real-time monitoring of bioelectrical signals

Background: It is widely accepted by the scientific community that bioelectrical signals, which can be used for the identification of neurophysiological biomarkers indicative of a diseased or pathological state, could direct patient treatment towards more effective therapeutic strategies. However, the design and realisation of an instrument that can precisely record weak bioelectrical signals in the presence of strong interference stemming from a noisy clinical environment is one of the most difficult challenges associated with the strategy of monitoring bioelectrical signals for diagnostic purposes. Moreover, since patients often have to cope with the problem of limited mobility being connected to bulky and mains-powered instruments, there is a growing demand for small-sized, high-performance and ambulatory biopotential acquisition systems in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and in High-dependency wards. Finally, to the best of our knowledge, there are no commercial, small, battery-powered, wearable and wireless recording-only instruments that claim the capability of recording electrocorticographic (ECoG) signals. Methods: To address this problem, we designed and developed a low-noise (8 nV/√Hz), eight-channel, battery-powered, wearable and wireless instrument (55 × 80 mm2). The performance of the realised instrument was assessed by conducting both ex vivo and in vivo experiments. Results: To provide ex vivo proof-of-function, a wide variety of high-quality bioelectrical signal recordings are reported, including electroencephalographic (EEG), electromyographic (EMG), electrocardiographic (ECG), acceleration signals, and muscle fasciculations. Low-noise in vivo recordings of weak local field potentials (LFPs), which were wirelessly acquired in real time using segmented deep brain stimulation (DBS) electrodes implanted in the thalamus of a non-human primate, are also presented. Conclusions: The combination of desirable features and capabilities of this instrument, namely its small size (~one business card), its enhanced recording capabilities, its increased processing capabilities, its manufacturability (since it was designed using discrete off-the-shelf components), the wide bandwidth it offers (0.5 – 500 Hz) and the plurality of bioelectrical signals it can precisely record, render it a versatile and reliable tool to be utilized in a wide range of applications and environments

Hypoxia Inducible Factor 1-Alpha (HIF-1 Alpha) Is Induced during Reperfusion after Renal Ischemia and Is Critical for Proximal Tubule Cell Survival

Acute tubular necrosis (ATN) caused by ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) during renal transplantation delays allograft function. Identification of factors that mediate protection and/or epithelium recovery could help to improve graft outcome. We studied the expression, regulation and role of hypoxia inducible factor 1-alpha (HIF-1 α), using in vitro and in vivo experimental models of I/R as well as human post-transplant renal biopsies. We found that HIF-1 α is stabilized in proximal tubule cells during ischemia and unexpectedly in late reperfusion, when oxygen tension is normal. Both inductions lead to gene expression in vitro and in vivo. In vitro interference of HIF-1 α promoted cell death and in vivo interference exacerbated tissue damage and renal dysfunction. In pos-transplant human biopsies, HIF-1 α was expressed only in proximal tubules which exhibited normal renal structure with a significant negative correlation with ATN grade. In summary, using experimental models and human biopsies, we identified a novel HIF-1 α induction during reperfusion with a potential critical role in renal transplant

Underpinning Sustainable Vector Control through Informed Insecticide Resistance Management

Background: There has been rapid scale-up of malaria vector control in the last ten years. Both of the primary control strategies, long-lasting pyrethroid treated nets and indoor residual spraying, rely on the use of a limited number of insecticides. Insecticide resistance, as measured by bioassay, has rapidly increased in prevalence and has come to the forefront as an issue that needs to be addressed to maintain the sustainability of malaria control and the drive to elimination. Zambia’s programme reported high levels of resistance to the insecticides it used in 2010, and, as a result, increased its investment in resistance monitoring to support informed resistance management decisions. Methodology/Principal Findings: A country-wide survey on insecticide resistance in Zambian malaria vectors was performed using WHO bioassays to detect resistant phenotypes. Molecular techniques were used to detect target-site mutations and microarray to detect metabolic resistance mechanisms. Anopheles gambiae s.s. was resistant to pyrethroids,DDT and carbamates, with potential organophosphate resistance in one population. The resistant phenotypes were conferred by both target-site and metabolic mechanisms. Anopheles funestus s.s. was largely resistant to pyrethroids and carbamates, with potential resistance to DDT in two locations. The resistant phenotypes were conferred by elevated levels of cytochrome p450s. Conclusions/Significance: Currently, the Zambia National Malaria Control Centre is using these results to inform their vector control strategy. The methods employed here can serve as a template to all malaria-endemic countries striving to create a sustainable insecticide resistance management pla