Fuel Subsidy Corruption and the Illusions of Economic Reconstruction in Nigeria

The fuel subsidy patchwork in Nigeria has been fraught with elite manipulations and intrigues. This paper analyses the debilitating state of Nigeria’s energy-dependent economy against the backdrop of unprecedented oil-generated opulence. The article relies on secondary data. This method enabled the author draw heavily on recorded data thus making for an in-depth analysis. It was found that rampant corruption in the nation’s sprawling oil sector is hugely responsible for the intractable economic development slow-motion that has worsened the plight of ordinary Nigerians. While the country’s refineries remain moribund, fuel subsidy has, instead created leeway for the criminally-minded elite to squander the commonwealth. Government has demonstrated little or no political will to stem the decay in the oil sector, as underlined by her reluctance to prosecute oil thieves, some of whom are directly or indirectly connected to the apparatus of the state. Unlike in Ghana where government engaged the people and introduced measures to cushion the harsh effects of fuel subsidy phase-out on the poor, in Nigeria, government has often increased the cost of petrol before ever addressing its impacts on vulnerable groups. The paper therefore recommends the revamping of the country’s refineries, the strengthening of the fight against corruption and the establishment of a regulatory framework to protect citizens as necessary measures to help improve the poor state of Nigeria’s economy and society. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v4n1p39

A Cysteine Protease Is Critical for Babesia spp. Transmission in Haemaphysalis Ticks

Vector ticks possess a unique system that enables them to digest large amounts of host blood and to transmit various animal and human pathogens, suggesting the existence of evolutionally acquired proteolytic mechanisms. We report here the molecular and reverse genetic characterization of a multifunctional cysteine protease, longipain, from the babesial parasite vector tick Haemaphysalis longicornis. Longipain shares structural similarity with papain-family cysteine proteases obtained from invertebrates and vertebrates. Endogenous longipain was mainly expressed in the midgut epithelium and was specifically localized at lysosomal vacuoles and possibly released into the lumen. Its expression was up-regulated by host blood feeding. Enzymatic functional assays using in vitro and in vivo substrates revealed that longipain hydrolysis occurs over a broad range of pH and temperature. Haemoparasiticidal assays showed that longipain dose-dependently killed tick-borne Babesia parasites, and its babesiacidal effect occurred via specific adherence to the parasite membranes. Disruption of endogenous longipain by RNA interference revealed that longipain is involved in the digestion of the host blood meal. In addition, the knockdown ticks contained an increased number of parasites, suggesting that longipain exerts a killing effect against the midgut-stage Babesia parasites in ticks. Our results suggest that longipain is essential for tick survival, and may have a role in controlling the transmission of tick-transmittable Babesia parasites

INHIBITION OF BLOOD DIGESTION AND OOCYTE GROWTH IN AEDES AEGYPTI BY 5-FLUOROURACIL

Volume: 129Start Page: 439End Page: 45