The labial gene is required to terminate proliferation of identified neuroblasts in postembryonic development of the Drosophila brain

The developing brain of Drosophila has become a useful model for studying the molecular genetic mechanisms that give rise to the complex neuronal arrays that characterize higher brains in other animals including mammals. Brain development in Drosophila begins during embryogenesis and continues during a subsequent postembryonic phase. During embryogenesis, the Hox gene labial is expressed in the developing tritocerebrum, and labial loss-of-function has been shown to be associated with a loss of regional neuronal identity and severe patterning defects in this part of the brain. However nothing is known about the expression and function of labial, or any other Hox gene, during the postembryonic phase of brain development, when the majority of the neurons in the adult brain are generated. Here we report the first analysis of Hox gene action during postembryonic brain development in Drosophila. We show that labial is initially expressed in six larval brain neuroblasts, of which only four give rise to the labial expressing neuroblast lineages present in the late larval brain. Although MARCM-based clonal mutation of labial in these four neuroblast lineages does not result in an obvious phenotype, a striking and unexpected effect of clonal labial loss-of-function does occur during postembryonic brain development, namely the formation of two ectopic neuroblast lineages that are not present in wild-type brains. The same two ectopic neuroblast lineages are also observed following cell death blockage and, significantly, in this case the resulting ectopic lineages are Labial-positive. These findings imply that labial is required in two specific neuroblast lineages of the wildtype brain for the appropriate termination of proliferation through programmed cell death. Our analysis of labial function reveals a novel cell autonomous role of this Hox gene in shaping the lineage architecture of the brain during postembryonic development

Production and Characterization of Biosurfactants from Abattoir Wastewater

Five genera of bacteria were isolated from abattoir waste water and identified as Bacillus licheniforms, Bacillus alvei, Pseudomonas paucimobilis, Vibrio metschnikovii and Yersinia enterocolitica. The isolates were screened for biosurfactant production using blood haemolysis test, emulsification test, oil spreading methods. The biosurfactants were characterized using GC-MS analysis. The isolates showed haemolytic activity and the highest emulsification index of 71% was observed from Pseudomonas paucimobilis followed by Bacillus alvei with emulsification index of 67% whereas Bacillus licheniformis has the lowest emulsification index of 11%. Also Bacillus alvei showed a high oil displacement of 20mm followed by Bacillus licheniformis with 18ml oil displacement whereas Pseudomonas paucimobilis has the lowest oil displacement of 15mm. The biosurfactant could be employed to enhance oil recovery bioremediation. Keywords: Abattoir, Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Biosurfactants, Wastewate

PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS OF ALAU DAM CONSTRUCTION IN ALAU COMMUNITY, KONDUGA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, BORNO STATE, NIGERIA

This research focuses on identifying the problems and prospects of Alau dam construction in Alau community on Konduga local government area of Borno state. The construction of the dam though, has contributed to the development of various activities in Alau community, but has also resulted in various problems as well as loss of lives and property, loss of arable agricultural land, forced resettlement and destruction of farmlands leading to low yield. Data was garnered based on questionnaire administration, interviews and observations. The questionnaire was administered based on households, taking 5% of the total of 1154 households; using systematic sampling technique which gives a sample households of 58. Data was collected on the general information of the respondents, problems, threats and benefits of the construction of Alau dam in Alau community. The data was presented in tables and analyses was done by extracting the major occurrences using percentages which then further discussed with recommendations made to harness the prospects and mitigate the problems

PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS OF ALAU DAM CONSTRUCTION IN ALAU COMMUNITY, KONDUGA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, BORNO STATE, NIGERIA

This research focuses on identifying the problems and prospects of Alau dam construction in Alau community on Konduga local government area of Borno state. The construction of the dam though, has contributed to the development of various activities in Alau community, but has also resulted in various problems as well as loss of lives and property, loss of arable agricultural land, forced resettlement and destruction of farmlands leading to low yield. Data was garnered based on questionnaire administration, interviews and observations. The questionnaire was administered based on households, taking 5% of the total of 1154 households; using systematic sampling technique which gives a sample households of 58. Data was collected on the general information of the respondents, problems, threats and benefits of the construction of Alau dam in Alau community. The data was presented in tables and analyses was done by extracting the major occurrences using percentages which then further discussed with recommendations made to harness the prospects and mitigate the problems

Health status of families: A comparative study of one-parent and two-parent families in Ondo State, Nigeria

Background: The family plays a central role in the provision and maintenance of health status of its members and all factors that contribute to achieving optimal health. Aim: To compare the health status of one-parent and two-parent families using the McMaster model of family functioning. Setting: Ondo State, Southwest Nigeria. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional design, using multi-stage simple random sampling technique. Data were collected using an adopted self-administered questionnaire from 250 purposely selected families from each sample group. The data entering was analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 17.0. Results: Findings showed that one-parent fathers scored higher (mean = 74.4 ± 10.30) than two-parent fathers (70.5 ± 13.05), while one-parent mothers scored higher (mean = 69.7 ± 15.10) than two-parent mothers (mean 67.7 ± 14.78). This means that one-parent fathers have a better self-reported health status than two-parent fathers, while one-parent mothers have a better self-reported health status than two-parent mothers. One-parent fathers have the best self-reported health status. No significant (p > 0.05) difference in the health status of children from both families. Conclusion: Fathers are healthier than mothers, while one-parent fathers are healthier than two-parent fathers. Comparing the two groups of families, parents from one-parent families reported better health status than parents from two-parent families, whereas within each family group, fathers reported better health status than mothers. This places responsibility on health care professionals to explore family contexts during clinic visits so as to render a more comprehensive health care service to families

Prevalence and pattern of hyperuricemia in a survey among inhabitants of Sokoto metropolis, north western Nigeria

Objective. Hyperuricemia is increasingly being recognized as a risk factor for cardiovascular, metabolic and renal diseases. Studies have revealed links between urate, cardiovascular events and metabolic syndrome with considerable ethnic and geographical variation. Although clinical features may develop in persons with hyperuricemia, more than 60% remain symptomatic. There are no definite criteria for therapeutic intervention in patients with asymptomatic hyperuricemia. The study attempts to determine the prevalence and pattern of hyperuricemia among inhabitants of Sokoto in a bid to identify associated factors and threshold for rational therapy.Methods. A cross sectional survey of 161 adults in which demographic indices including physical examination, anthropometric measurements were obtained with urine and blood samples taken for analysis. Statistical evaluation was done, using SPSS version 16 (SPSS Inc. Chicago, IL)Results. Hyperuricemia was documented in 20.5%, with male to female ratio of 2:1 and higher mean urate level in males. Urate level increased with age; ranging from 5.0mmol/L±1.8 among 20-29 years to 6.5mmol/L±1.6 in those aged 50-59 years. Systemic hypertension, type 2 DM, Obesity and kidney dysfunction were commoner among normouricemic than hyperuricemic subjects.Conclusions. Hyperuricemia is common, especially among male gender and advancing age. The association between hyperuricemia and cardiovascular events remains a contentious issue as prevalence of type 2 DM, obesity and kidney dysfunction were similar in hyperuricemic and normouricemic subjects. We could not determine threshold to commence treatment for elevated uric acid level. A larger population and multicentre research is required to prove a link between hyperuricemia and some components of metabolic syndrome.Keywords: Hyperuricemia, Prevalence, Pattern, Sokoto, Nigeri

The association between sperm quality and asymptomatic chlamydial infection in infertile men at a private fertility clinic in Nigeria

Background: Association between chlamydia trachomatis infection and male infertility is debated in literature. There is little or no information from Nigeria. The study aimed to determine the prevalence of chlamydial infection and its association with sperm quality parameters among asymptomatic men that present for infertility treatment in a Nigeria facility.Methods: A cross-sectional study conducted at a private assisted conception clinic in Lagos, Nigeria among 138 men seeking infertility care. Seminal fluid analysis and IgG Chlamydial serology were performed for each participant. Data obtained were analysed using SPSS; p was significant at <0.05.Results: Of the 138 men screened, 13.9% were Chlamydia-positive. Twenty-one per cent of clients who tested positive to Chlamydia had predominantly immotile sperm, compared with 10.2% without the infection; 26.3% with non-progressive motility had Chlamydia, compared with 2.8% men who were not infected. These differences were statistically significant (p = 0.001). More of those (57.9%) with Chlamydia (compared to 33.1% without) had significant leukocyte counts (p = 0.037). There were no statistically significant differences in sperm count and percent motility between serologically positive and negative men.Conclusion: Positive Chlamydia serology is associated with non-progressive motility and leukocytospermia in infertile Nigerian men.Keywords: Chlamydia, semen analysis, infertilit

Biosynthesis, Characterization and Biological Applications of Silver Nanoparticles using Celosia trigyna and Solanum nigrum Extracts: Neglected Vegetables in Nigeria

Plant-mediated synthesis is gaining acceptance in many fields i.e. biology and pharmaceutical fields. This aim of this study is synthesizing Ag nanoparticles using air-dried leaves of two (2) neglected vegetables i.e.  Celosia trigyna and Solanum nigrum.  Ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to characterize the formation of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). The anti-inflammatory properties of these AgNPs were evaluated using Cell Stabilization Membrane (CSM) and lipoxidase assays, their antioxidant activity were established on DPPH and ABTS+ assays. The positive control employed are indomethacin and ascorbic acid for these activities. Nanoparticles synthesized were labelled for Celosia trigyna (CT-AgNPs) and Solanum nigrum (SN-AgNPs) were noticed through visual color change. The UV–Vis spectra of the synthesized nanoparticles displayed absorption bands at around 360-440 nm, which is a characteristic band for Ag and FTIR displayed possible functional groups responsible for Ag nanoparticles synthesized by these plants.  The SEM image of the AgNPs formed displayed were spherical in morphology. CT-AgNPs exhibited the most significant inhibitory activity against HRBC (IC50: 32.2 µg/ml) while SN-AgNPs displayed the most significant inhibitory activity against lipoxygenases (IC50: 32.8 µg/ml) when compared to the positive control used indomethacin (IC50: 28.1 µg/ml). SN-AgNPs exhibited the most significant antioxidant effect against ABTS (IC50: 11.4 µg/ml) while CT-AgNPs displayed the most significant antioxidant activity against DPPH (IC50: 4.6 µg/ml) when compared to the positive control used ascorbic acid (IC50: 4.7 µg/ml). This work showed that the synthesized AgNPs from non-cultivated vegetable can find relevance and application in health, drugs, food and environmental science

Earliest Directly-Dated Human Skull-Cups

The use of human braincases as drinking cups and containers has extensive historic and ethnographic documentation, but archaeological examples are extremely rare. In the Upper Palaeolithic of western Europe, cut-marked and broken human bones are widespread in the Magdalenian (∼15 to 12,000 years BP) and skull-cup preparation is an element of this tradition

Launaea taraxacifolia; a Neglected Vegetable from Nigeria, its Antiinflammatory and Antioxidant Activities

Part of health care structures globally are medicinal plants; these are very commonly employed against array of diseases in developing countries like Nigeria. Wild lettuce (Launaea taraxacifolia) is grown mostly in West Africa, it is call “Efo Yarin” in Yoruba Language of Nigeria. This plant is commonly used as leafy vegetable, soup and sauces but its medicinal potentials are untapped. The goal of this study is to evaluate the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity of the leaves of L. taraxacifolia. Its antioxidant activity was tested by 2, 2′-azinobis-( 3-ethyl) benzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) and anti-inflammatory disposition by employing inhibitory of lypoxygenase. The IC50 value for the anti-inflammatory activity of the extract is significant (30.06 μg/mL) when compared with that of the positive control 25.25 μg/mL (Indomethacin), the extract showed a good antioxidant effect with an IC50 of 70.59 μg/mL, ascorbic acid was used as a positive control (62.83 μg/mL). This study makes available new insights on the use of L. taraxacifolia, a commonly used medicinal plant in many countries of West Africa. The phytochemistry of this wild vegetable is largely unknown except for few screening done by few authors.Keywords: L. taraxacifolia; ABTS, lypoxygenase; anti-inflammatory and Wild lettuc