Artisanal Inland Water Fishing and Challenges of Livelihood Sustainability in Ibi Local Government Area, Taraba State Nigeria

This study examined challenges of livelihood sustainability from artisanal inland water fishing activities in Ibi LGA, Taraba State, Nigeria. Descriptive survey design was adopted. Purposive sampling was used in selecting 406 respondents from 12 communities in 6 political wards of the LGA. Descriptive statistics was used to analyse 401 questionnaires retrieved. Findings of the study reveal decline in daily fish catch from three baskets 10 years ago to only one basket presently. Also, income from fishing has declined from ₦150,000 ($192) monthly 10 years ago to less than ₦50,000 ($64) presently. Factors responsible for decline in fish catch include rising water level, temperature increase, pollution, climate change, seasonality and unsustainable fishing practices. The unsustainable fishing practices include use of chemicals, small size nets and mosquito nets in fishing. The results reveal that fishermen engaged in non-fishing activities, fish farming and construction of fishing ponds along the floodplain as a way of achieving livelihood sustainability. Challenges of livelihood sustainability include seasonality of fishing activities, decline in fish stocks, use of traditional fishing methods and unsustainable fishing practices among others. The study recommend the need to enforce extant laws on fishery protection,  enlightenment campaign, and government support to fishing cooperatives

Effects of Irrigation Interval, Nitrogen and Phosphorus on Grain Yield and biomass of Wheat

This study was conducted for two successive seasons of 1998/1999 and 1999/2000, at the Gezira Research Station Farm, Agricultural Research Corporation, Sudan, to investigate the effects of irrigation interval, nitrogen and phosphorus levels on wheat (Triticum aestivum L.( yield and yield components. The study consisted of three irrigation intervals (7,14,21 days), three N levels (0, 43 and 86 kg N/ha) and two P levels (0 and 43 kg P205/ha). Treatments were arranged in a split-split plot design with three replications. Results showed that the irrigation intervals of 7 and 14 days had positive effects on wheat grain and total dry matter yield as compared to the 21 days irrigation interval which negatively affected these parameters. Plants of the latter treatment were dwarf with thin stems and matured earlier resulting in low grain and biomass yields. The study, also, showed that the highest wheat yield was obtained with the application of N and P at the rates of 86 kg N and 43 kg P2O5/ha, respectively, with the irrigation interval of 7 days. &nbsp

Production of insulin producing cells from cord blood mesenchymal stem cells and their potential in cell therapy

Introduction: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were described as adherent cells with a fibroblast-like appearance, have a great capacity for self-renewal while maintaining their multipotency and differentiation into multiple tissues in vivo and in vitro. Methods: MSCs were isolated from cord blood of Sudanese donors using Ficoll-Hypaque gradient density protocol, and differentiate into β- like cells using 3-step protocol. STZ induced diabetic rats were injected intraperitoneally with the differentiated islet β- like cells and blood glucose levels were monitored for seven days. Results: The adherent cell appeared round and sphere after one-week of incubation, and the fibroblast-like colony was strongly attached after three weeks of seeding. The phenotyping of cells showed positivity for CD13, and negativity for CD34, CD45 and HLADR. MSCs were induced into islet-like cells using a 3-step (15-days) protocol. The differentiated cells showed positive diathizone stain and positive imuno-reactivity to anti-human insulin antibody. Secretion of insulin by insulin-producing cells showed positive result with >3.4 u/ml scale reading in high glucose concentration medium. After one-week of transplantation the level of blood glucose was reduced from 410 to 225 mg/dl in the experimental rat. Conclusion: Human UCB-MSCs can be differentiated into insulin-secreting cells invitro, and are able to produce and secrete insulin in response to high glucose concentration in vivo and in vitro. Keywords: Cord blood, Mesenchymal stem cell, islets β-like cell

Y Chromosome Lineage- and Village-Specific Genes on Chromosomes 1p22 and 6q27 Control Visceral Leishmaniasis in Sudan

Familial clustering and ethnic differences suggest that visceral leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania donovani is under genetic control. A recent genome scan provided evidence for a major susceptibility gene on Chromosome 22q12 in the Aringa ethnic group in Sudan. We now report a genome-wide scan using 69 families with 173 affected relatives from two villages occupied by the related Masalit ethnic group. A primary ten-centimorgan scan followed by refined mapping provided evidence for major loci at 1p22 (LOD score 5.65; nominal p = 1.72 × 10(−7); empirical p < 1 × 10(−5); λ(S) = 5.1) and 6q27 (LOD score 3.74; nominal p = 1.68 × 10(−5); empirical p < 1 × 10(−4); λ(S) = 2.3) that were Y chromosome–lineage and village-specific. Neither village supported a visceral leishmaniasis susceptibility gene on 22q12. The results suggest strong lineage-specific genes due to founder effect and consanguinity in these recently immigrant populations. These chance events in ethnically uniform African populations provide a powerful resource in the search for genes and mechanisms that regulate this complex disease

The effect of fermentation process on bioactive properties, essential oil composition and phenolic constituents of raw fresh and fermented sea fennel (Crithmum maritimum L.) leaves

800-804The influence of fermentation on antioxidant activity, total phenol, total flavonoid and phenolic compounds of sea fennel and also volatile compounds of sea fennel essential oil was investigated and compared with fresh samples. Antioxidant activity, total fenolic and flavonoid contents decresed from 89.79 to 63.13%; from 259.58 to 77.92 mg/100 g; from 2114.67 to 390.50 mg/100 g, respectively. Twenty-six and thirty-three components of sea fennel oils were identified in raw and fermented sea fennel, accounting to about 99.99% and 99.44% of the total oil, respectively. The raw and fermented sea fennel leaves contained 22.31 and 1.32% sabinene, 12.08% and 7.45% limonene, 10.30% and 11.61% β-phellandrene, 8.59% and 9.17% (Z)-β-ocimene, 7.08% and 3.55% α-pinene, 28.36% and 42.05% γ-terpinene, 2.57% and 8.64% terpinene-4-ol, respectively. Dominant phenolic compounds were (+)-catechin, gallic acid, 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid and p-coumaric acid. Generally, all of the phenolic compounds reduced the effect of microorganisms during,. However, essential oil contents of sea fennel were not effected from fermentation process

Nutritional composition, extraction, and utilization of wheat germ oil: A review

Wheat germ is a by-product of wheat milling from which wheat germ oil (WGO) can be obtained using different techniques. For a better quality WGO, techniques such supercritical fluid fractionation, molecular distillation, and other innovative methods can be adopted. WGO is composed of nonpolar lipids, glycolipids, phospholipids, alcohols, esters, alkene, aldehydes, tocopherols, n-alkanols, sterols, 4-methyl sterols, triterpenols, hydrocarbons, pigments, and volatile components. The most abundant WGO fatty acid is linoleic acid which composes 42–59% of total triglycerides followed by palmitic (16:0) and oleic acids (18:1). The stearic acid, a saturated fatty acid, is usually less than 2%. WGO is rich in tocopherols particularly vitamin E. It contains a-tocopherol and b-tocopherol which gives various health benefits to it. It is being used in medicine, cosmetic, agricultural, and food industry. Some of its applications include production of vitamins and food supplements, animal feed and biological insect control and for treating circulatory/cardiac disorders and weaknesses. More studies are required for producing better quality WGO such as application of more innovative and optimized techniques that can increase its health benefits and hence utilization. More mechanistic approaches for extraction, evaluation, and utilization of WGO can help in making this by-product of wheat processing more valuable

Wound healing and antioxidant properties of <i>Launaea procumbens</i> supported by metabolomic profiling and molecular docking

Wounds adversely affect people’s quality of life and have psychological, social, and economic impacts. Herbal remedies of Launaea procumbens (LP) are used to treat wounds. In an excision wound model, topical application of LP significantly promoted wound closure (on day 14, LP-treated animals had the highest percentages of wound closure in comparison with the other groups, as the wound was entirely closed with a closure percentage of 100%, p < 0.05). Histological analysis revealed a considerable rise in the number of fibroblasts, the amount of collagen, and its cross-linking in LP-treated wounds. Gene expression patterns showed significant elevation of TGF-β levels (2.1-fold change after 7 days treatment and 2.7-fold change in 14 days treatment) and downregulation of the inflammatory TNF-α and IL-1β levels in LP-treated wounds. Regarding in vitro antioxidant activity, LP extract significantly diminished the formation of H(2)O(2) radical (IC(50) = 171.6 μg/mL) and scavenged the superoxide radical (IC(50) of 286.7 µg/mL), indicating antioxidant potential in a dose-dependent manner. Dereplication of the secondary metabolites using LC-HRMS resulted in the annotation of 16 metabolites. The identified compounds were docked against important wound-healing targets, including vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), collagen α-1, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β). Among dereplicated compounds, luteolin 8-C-glucoside (orientin) demonstrated binding potential to four investigated targets (VEGF, interleukin 1β, TNF-α, and collagen α-1). To conclude, Launaea procumbens extract could be regarded as a promising topical therapy to promote wound healing in excisional wounds, and luteolin 8-C-glucoside (orientin), one of its constituents, is a potential wound-healing drug lead