Biochemical evaluation of aestivation and starvation in two snail species

There is resurgence in incidence of schistosomiasis in Nigeria with attendant socio-economic and health impact. The agents transmitting this disease are the Bulinus snails which employ aestivation to survive conditions of unfavourable weather such as lack of food and water. The mechanism of aestivation under aridity and drought is not clear. This study therefore investigated the effects of aestivation and starvation on endogenous metabolic reserves in haemolymph of two snail species namely: Bulinus globosus (Morelet) and Bulinus rohlfsi (Clessin). Aestivation, starvation and control experiments were set up for 30  days in the laboratory by placing three groups of snails collected from Oyan dam, Abeokuta in  standard aestivation slope (30 B. globosus and 19 B. rohlfsi), aquarium (30 B. globosus and 23 B. rohlfsi) and control slope which had 20 B. globosus and 15 B. rohlfsi. Aestivation and control slopes contained water and mixture of sand and clay (3:1), while aquarium contained water only for starvation. All the snails were fed on lettuce ad libitum for 28 days during which water was completely drained out in the aestivation slope. The aestivation slope and aquarium were left for another 30 days without lettuce.  Snails were thereafter sacrificed and haemolymph biochemical parameters were assayed. In aestivating and starving B. globosus, haemolymph creatinine, urea, total protein, glucose, alanine transferases (ALT) and aspartate transferases (AST) were significantly decreased, while haemolymph total  cholesterol, triglyceride and a-amylase concentrations and activity increased significantly (p < 0.05). In B. rohlfsi, creatinine, urea, ALT and AST were significantly decreased when compared with controls (p < 0.05). B. globosus and B. rohlfsi possess ability to survive unfavourable conditions by economical utilization of stored metabolites, thus enabling them to carry infection from one season to the next. Our findings suggest that B. globosus is a better aestivator than B. rohlfsi.Key words: Aestivation, enzymes, Bulinus globosus, Bulinus rohlfsi, schistosomiasis

Equity and justice in climate change adaptation : Policy and practical implication in Nigeria

Over the past decade, justice and equity have become a quasi-universal answer to problems of environmental governance. The principles of justice and equity emerged as a useful entry point in global governance to explore the responsibilities, distribution, and procedures required for just climate change adaptation. These principles are designed primarily through the establishment of funding mechanisms, top-down guides, and frameworks for adaptation, and other adaptation instruments from the UNFCCC process, to ensure effective adaptation for vulnerable countries like Nigeria that have contributed least to the issue of climate change but lack adaptive capacity. Global adaptation instruments have been acknowledged for adaptation in Nigeria. Climate change has a detrimental impact on Nigeria as a nation, with the burden falling disproportionately on the local government areas. As Nigeria develop national plans and policies to adapt to the consequences of climate change, these plans will have significant consequences for local government areas where adaptation practices occur. Although the local government’s adaptation burden raises the prospects for justice and equity, its policy and practical implication remains less explored. This chapter explores the principles of justice and equity in national adaptation policy and adaptation practices in eight local government areas in southeast Nigeria. The chapter argues that some factors make it challenging to achieve equity and justice in local adaptation practices. With the use of a qualitative approach (interview (n = 52), observation, and document analysis), this chapter identified some of the factors that constraints equity and justice in local government adaptation in southeast Nigeria.publishedVersio

Hypertension in Sub-Saharan Africa: Cross-Sectional Surveys in Four Rural and Urban Communities

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of adult mortality in low-income countries but data on the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors such as hypertension are scarce, especially in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This study aims to assess the prevalence of hypertension and determinants of blood pressure in four SSA populations in rural Nigeria and Kenya, and urban Namibia and Tanzania. Methods and Findings: We performed four cross-sectional household surveys in Kwara State, Nigeria; Nandi district, Kenya; Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Greater Windhoek, Namibia, between 2009-2011. Representative population-based samples were drawn in Nigeria and Namibia. The Kenya and Tanzania study populations consisted of specific target groups. Within a final sample size of 5,500 households, 9,857 non-pregnant adults were eligible for analysis on hypertension. Of those, 7,568 respondents ≥18 years were included. The primary outcome measure was the prevalence of hypertension in each of the populations under study. The age-standardized prevalence of hypertension was 19.3% (95%CI:17.3-21.3) in rural Nigeria, 21.4% (19.8-23.0) in rural Kenya, 23.7% (21.3-26.2) in urban Tanzania, and 38.0% (35.9-40.1) in urban Namibia. In individuals with hypertension, the proportion of grade 2 (≥160/100 mmHg) or grade 3 hypertension (≥180/110 mmHg) ranged from 29.2% (Namibia) to 43.3% (Nigeria). Control of hypertension ranged from 2.6% in Kenya to 17.8% in Namibia. Obesity prevalence (BMI ≥30) ranged from 6.1% (Nigeria) to 17.4% (Tanzania) and together with age and gender, BMI independently predicted blood pressure level in all study populations. Diabetes prevalence ranged from 2.1% (Namibia) to 3.7% (Tanzania). Conclusion: Hypertension was the most frequently observed risk factor for CVD in both urban and rural communities in SSA and will contribute to the growing burden of CVD in SSA. Low levels of control of hypertension are alarming. Strengthening of health care systems in SSA to contain the emerging epidemic of CVD is urgently needed

Global burden of cardiovascular diseases and risk factors, 1990–2019: update from the GBD 2019 study

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), principally ischemic heart disease (IHD) and stroke, are the leading cause of global mortality and a major contributor to disability. This paper reviews the magnitude of total CVD burden, including 13 underlying causes of cardiovascular death and 9 related risk factors, using estimates from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study 2019. GBD, an ongoing multinational collaboration to provide comparable and consistent estimates of population health over time, used all available population-level data sources on incidence, prevalence, case fatality, mortality, and health risks to produce estimates for 204 countries and territories from 1990 to 2019. Prevalent cases of total CVD nearly doubled from 271 million (95% uncertainty interval [UI]: 257 to 285 million) in 1990 to 523 million (95% UI: 497 to 550 million) in 2019, and the number of CVD deaths steadily increased from 12.1 million (95% UI:11.4 to 12.6 million) in 1990, reaching 18.6 million (95% UI: 17.1 to 19.7 million) in 2019. The global trends for disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) and years of life lost also increased significantly, and years lived with disability doubled from 17.7 million (95% UI: 12.9 to 22.5 million) to 34.4 million (95% UI:24.9 to 43.6 million) over that period. The total number of DALYs due to IHD has risen steadily since 1990, reaching 182 million (95% UI: 170 to 194 million) DALYs, 9.14 million (95% UI: 8.40 to 9.74 million) deaths in the year 2019, and 197 million (95% UI: 178 to 220 million) prevalent cases of IHD in 2019. The total number of DALYs due to stroke has risen steadily since 1990, reaching 143 million (95% UI: 133 to 153 million) DALYs, 6.55 million (95% UI: 6.00 to 7.02 million) deaths in the year 2019, and 101 million (95% UI: 93.2 to 111 million) prevalent cases of stroke in 2019. Cardiovascular diseases remain the leading cause of disease burden in the world. CVD burden continues its decades-long rise for almost all countries outside high-income countries, and alarmingly, the age-standardized rate of CVD has begun to rise in some locations where it was previously declining in high-income countries. There is an urgent need to focus on implementing existing cost-effective policies and interventions if the world is to meet the targets for Sustainable Development Goal 3 and achieve a 30% reduction in premature mortality due to noncommunicable diseases

Comparative Studies of two Fresh Water Snail Distributions and Physico-Chemical Parameters in Selected Human Schistosomiasis Endemic Sites in Nigeria

Combinations of abiotic and biotic factors exert their influences on fecundity, hence population density of snail hosts living in fresh water. However, only few distinct relationships have been established in snail ecology due to lack of precise data and difficulty in defining and evaluating the significance of an individual environmental factor. This investigation was carried out to evaluate combined effects of physico-chemical properties of fresh water on snail hosts population. The methods in Water Engineering and Development Centre (WEDC) Analytical methods Manual were used in water analysis. Fresh water bodies namely: Kanye and Rimin Gado Dams (Kano), Lagoon Front (Unilag, Akoka, Lagos) and Oyan Dam (Ogun-Osun River Basin, Abeokuta) were surveyed for three years. Two snail species namely Bulinus globosus (Morelet) and Bulinus rohlfsi (Clessin ) were specifically searched for and collected quarterly in these sites. Snail sampling for species of Bulinus globosus and Bulinus rohlfsi was carried out quarterly using standard technique involving drag scoop supplemented by a manual search. It was done duri ngdry and wet seasons. The contents of the scoop were searched by a visual inspection and by inspection of the underside of boats, bamboo rafts, floating and submerged sticks and vegetation. All snails collected from each station (i.e., scoop and manual searches) were pooled and recorded as number of snails per site per quarter. All snails were identified according to standard methods and mortalities recorded over a 3-year period were noted. The number of snails collected on each visit was correlated with prevailing physico-chemical parameters of sampled water bodies where these snails were collected. Test for infection was also carried out. Physico-chemical analysis of water from the selected sites showed that all the snails thrived better in oxygenated, slightly acidic (pH 5.6), low turbidity and low saline water. This might account for more snail populations recorded in Oyan Dam, Abeokuta and Kanye Dam in Kano. High prevalence of Schistosoma haematobium in these areas could therefore be explained.Keywords: Physico-chemical, Snails, B. globosus, B.rohlfsi, FreshwaterNigerian Journal of Parasitology, Vol. 32 [2] September 2011, pp.169-17

A study on defaulters in consultant paediatric, medical and surgical outpatient clinics at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Ilorin, Nigeria

The Tropical Journal of Health Sciences Vol. 12(2) 2005: 31-3

Profile of metabolite and biomolecule concentrations in the hemolymph of Bulinus globosus and Bulinus rohlfsi under aestivation and starvation

There is resurgence in epidemiology of schistosomiasis in Nigeria with attendant socio-economic and health impact. The agents perpetuating this disease are the Bulinus snails which employ aestivation to survive unfavourable conditions. These snails are intermediate hosts required for the aquatic stage of schistosomes thereby increasing their chances of returning to an aquatic environment to resume life cycle once favourable conditions reappear. However, mechanism of aestivation underaridity and drought is not clear. This study therefore, investigated the effects of aestivation and starvation on endogenous metabolic reserves in tissues and haemolymph of two snail species namely Bulinus globosus (Morelet) and Bulinus rohlfsi (Clessin). Aestivation, starvation, and control experiments were set up for 30 days by placing three groups of snails instandard aestivation slope, aquarium and control slope containing mixture of sand and clay (3:1) in slopes and water only for aquarium. Snails were fed on lettuce (Lactuca sativa) ad libitum for 28 days until water completely drained out. The aestivation slope and aquarium were left dry for another 30 days without lettuce while the control slope contained both lettuce and water. Quantitative analysis of protein, carbohydrate and lipid were determined in tissues and hemolymph while hemolymph creatinine,urea, total protein, glucose, total cholesterol and triglyceride were determined in aestivating, starved and control snails. Activities of lipases a-amylase alanine amino transferase (ALT) and aspartate amino transferase (AST) were determined. Data were analysed using ANOVA.Tissue macromolecules decreased in aestivating and starving snails during aestivation compared with control. Lipid and carbohydrate were significantly reduced in aestivating B. globosus and B. rohlfsi during aestivation (

Evaluation of hepatic and hormonal effect of bisphenol A: a contaminant in canned foods using adult albino rats

No Abstrac

Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) Detection of Schistosoma Haematobium Cercariae in Water Samples from Ogun – Osun River Basin Authority, Oyan Dam, Abeokuta

Despite decades of prevention and control efforts, the water-borne parasitic disease schistosomiasis is still endemic in 74 countries of the developing nations of the world. It is known that five species of the Schistosoma trematode are pathogenic to humans; S. haematobium is one of these infective agents of schistosomiasis in Nigeria. This study investigated the levels of prepatent S. haematobium infection in water samples collected from transmission sites in Oyan Dam in Ogun Osun River Basin Authority, Abeokuta, Nigeria, using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay amplifying the DNA I repeated sequence of S. haematobium cercariae from the water samples. Samples of cercariae obtained from a laboratory population of (Bulinus globosus and Bulinus rohlfsi) snail intermediate hosts were assayed following DNA extraction as control. The results demonstrated that Oyan Dam area was still an highly S. haematobium endemic environment and also that PCR assay is sensitive enough and possess capability of detecting the presence of as little as one cercaria in water sample, does not require matured infection for positive signal and is not inhibited by additional organic matter contaminants such as those found in local creek water. On the known strength of focal effects of environmental conditions, implications of these results in the epidemiology and design of control activities are very encouraging.Keywords: PCR, Cercaria, Schistosomiasis, Oyan Dam, BulinusNigerian Journal of Parasitology, Vol. 32 [2] September 2011, pp. 265-26

Zanthoxylum zanthoxyloides inhibits lipopolysaccharide- and synthetic hemozoin-induced neuroinflammation in BV-2 microglia: roles of NF-B transcription factor and NLRP3 inflammasome activation

Objectives: The effects of a root extract of Zanthoxylum zanthoxyloides on neuroinflammation in BV-2 microglia stimulated with LPS and hemozoin were investigated. Methods: ELISA, enzyme immunoassay and Griess assay were used to evaluate levels of cytokines, PGE2 and NO in culture supernatants, respectively. Microgliamediated neurotoxicity was evaluated using a BV-2 microglia-HT-22 neuron transwell co-culture. Key findings: Treatment with Z. zanthoxyloides caused reduced elevated levels of TNF, IL-6, IL-1, NO, and PGE2, while increasing the levels of IL-10. In addition, there were reduced levels of iNOS and COX-2 proteins. This was accompanied by a prevention of microglia-mediated damage to HT-22 mouse hippocampal neurons. Z. zanthoxyloides reduced elevated levels phospho-IB and of phospho-p65, while preventing degradation of IB protein and DNA binding of p65. Further mechanistic studies revealed that Z. zanthoxyloides reduced the levels of pro-IL-1 and IL-1 in hemozoin-activated BV-2 microglia. This was accompanied by a reduction in caspase-1 activity and NLRP3 protein expression. Bioassay-guided fractionation resulted in the isolation of skimmianine as an anti-inflammatory compound in Z. zanthoxyloides. Conclusion: This is the first report showing inhibition of neuroinflammation in LPSand hemozoin-activated BV-2 microglia by the root extract of Z. zanthoxyloides by targeting the activation of both NF-B and NLRP3 inflammasome