Socio-economic factors influencing agricultural radio programme FILIN MAINOMA in Kainji area of Niger state, Nigeria

The study examined socio economic factors influencing agricultural radio programme FILIN MAINOMA in Kainji Area of Niger State. Multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 252 respondents from the study area. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics such as, Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient (PPMC) and Chi-Square analysis (c 2). Results showed that the mean age of the respondents was 25.50 years while majority (96.60%) was male. Also 63.10% had no formal education while 22.70% had primary school education. Furthermore, most (93.70%) were married, 97.20% were  Muslims and 99.20% engaged in full-time fishing. Mean years of fishing experience was 15.50 years and 65.90% were members of fish farmers’organization. The average household size was 4 persons. Majority  (99.20%) of the respondents was aware of and listened to the radio  programme FILIN MAINOMA. Also, correlation analysis results revealed a significant and positive relationship between the household size (r = 0.21, p<0.05), and year of membership association (r = 0.24, p<0.05),  constraint on fishing practices (r =0.13, p<0.05) and respondents’ perception of the radio programme. The study concluded that FILIN MAINOMA had impact on fisherfolks cash per unit effort. The study  recommended that the programme should be strengthened and sustained while other similar programmes can be initiated in other radio stationsin the area.Key words: Constraint, socio economics factors and perceptio

Oxygen-Vacancy-Induced Orbital Reconstruction of Ti Ions at the Interface of LaAlO3/SrTiO3 Heterostructures: A Resonant Soft-X-Ray Scattering Study

Resonant soft-x-ray scattering measurements have been performed to investigate interface electronic structures of (LaAlO3/SrTiO3) superlattices. Resonant scattering intensities at superlattice reflections show clear evidence of degeneracy lifting in t(2g) states of interface Ti ions. Polarization dependence of intensities indicates the energy of d(xy) states is lower by similar to 1 eV than two other t(2g) states. The energy splitting is insensitive to epitaxial strain. The orbital reconstruction is induced by oxygen vacancies and confined to the interface within two unit cells, indicating charge compensation at the polar interfaces. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.017401X112723Nsciescopu

Airway smooth muscle cells from severe asthma patients with fixed airflow obstruction are responsive to steroid and bronchodilator treatment in vitro

Asthma is characterised by recurrent symptoms associated with variable airflow obstruction and airway hyperresponsiveness, all of which are improved with combination inhaled corticosteroid (ICS)/long-acting β-agonist (LABA) treatment in mild-to-moderate asthma [1]. A proportion of patients however develop fixed airflow obstruction (FAO), despite optimised treatment. FAO is prevalent in up to 60% of patients with severe asthma and is associated with a more rapid decline in lung function and increased symptoms [2]. The underlying mechanisms of FAO in asthma are poorly understood; therefore, development of novel treatment strategies remains a challenge. Airway smooth muscle cells (ASMCs) are the major effector cells of bronchoconstriction in asthma and also contribute to the inflammatory process by secreting pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines. Therefore, ASMCs are a major target of both β2-agonist and ICS treatment [3]. Although several studies have suggested that steroid signalling [4] or β2-adrenoceptor (β2AR) signalling may be abnormally regulated in severe asthma [5], it remains unknown whether impaired airway smooth muscle corticosteroid and/or β2-agonist response may contribute to the development of FAO. The aim of this study was to investigate whether primary human ASMCs obtained from severe asthma patients with FAO differ in their response to β2-agonists and corticosteroids compared with asthma patients without FAO and healthy controls. We hypothesised that ASMCs from asthma patients with FAO are less responsive to corticosteroid and β2-agonist treatment than those from patients without FA

Unusual misregulation of RNA splicing caused by insertion of a transposable element into the T (Brachyury) locus

BACKGROUND: The T(Wis )mutant allele of the Brachyury, or T, gene was created by insertion of an endogenous retrovirus-like early transposon (ETn) element into the exon 7 splice donor consensus sequence of the 8 exon T locus. While the developmental consequences of this disruption have been well characterized, the molecular consequences have not been previously investigated, and it has been assumed that the insertion results in a truncated protein. This study sought to further characterize the mutant T(Wis )allele by investigating the nature of the transcripts produced by insertion of this transposable element. RESULTS: Using an RT-PCR based approach, we have shown that at least 8 different mutant transcripts are produced from the T(Wis )allele. All T(Wis )transcripts bypass the mutated exon 7 splice donor site, such that wild type T transcripts are not produced from the T(Wis )allele. CONCLUSIONS: This result shows an unsuspected misregulation of RNA splicing caused by insertion of a transposable element, that could have more widespread consequences in the genome

Effects of socio-demographic and nutritional status on Peak Expiratory Flow Rates of rural school children in Ilesa, Nigeria

Background: The Peak Expiratory Flow Rate (PEFR) measured using portable peak flow metres (PFM) is a simple, cheap, readily available and reproducible measure of lung functions, particularly in resource-poor settings. Objective: To determine the effects of socio-demographic and nutritional factors on the PEFR of school children in rural areas of Ilesa, Nigeria. Methods: Multi-stage sampling technique was used to select children from middle schools in rural Ilesa. Their socio-demographics, housing conditions and household cooking fuel used were obtained. Anthropometric parameters and nutritional statuses of the children were determined using the WHO reference growth chart. PEFR was measured using the mini Wright PFM. The factors influencing their PEFR were determined. Results: A total of 250 school children aged 8 to 16 years with male-to-female ratio of 0.9:1 were studied. The mean (SD) age was 12.5 (1.5) years. Over 80.0% used unclean fuel for household cooking and one-half lived in overcrowded homes. The prevalence of stunting, underweight and overweight was 22.8%, 30.8% and 3.2% respectively. The mean ± SD PEFR was 248 ± 58.6 L/min which correlated positively with the weight, height, Body Mass Index and Body Surface Area. The mean PEFR was significantly lower among children exposed to unclean fuels (245.4 ± 59.7L/min vs. 292.0 ± 59.4L/min; p = 0.02), stunted males (220.6 ± 44.9L/min vs. 264.1 ± 62.9L/min; p = 0.009) and underweight females (213.2 ± 37.8L/min vs. 247.5 ± 62.6L/min; p < 0.001). Conclusion: Undernutrition and exposure to noxious substances from unclean household cooking fuels adversely affected the PEFR of rural school children. Early detection and prompt treatment of undernutrition and avoidance of noxious substances from unclean fuels may ensure better lung health among the children in rural areas

Magnetic Origin of Giant Magnetoelectricity in Doped Y-type Hexaferrite Ba0.5Sr1.5Zn2(Fe1-xAlx)(12)O-22

We investigated site-specific magnetic behaviors of multiferroic Ba0.5Sr1.5Zn2(Fe1-xAlx)(12)O-22 using Fe L-2,L-3-edge x-ray magnetic circular dichroism. The Al dopants mostly replace the Fe3+ ions at octahedral (O-h) sites, which contribute unquenched angular momenta through off-centering displacements. This replacement greatly reduces the magnetic anisotropy energy to change the magnetic order from a helical to a heliconical type with enhanced magnetoelectric susceptibility (alpha(ME)). The tetrahedral (T-d) Fe sites exhibit magnetic hysteresis distinguishable from that of the O-h sites, especially at low magnetic fields. These results provide essential clues for the heliconical order with a giant aME and multibit memory effects in the Al-doped Y-type hexaferrite.open1178sciescopu

Wake up, wake up! It's me! It's my life! patient narratives on person-centeredness in the integrated care context: a qualitative study

Person-centered care emphasizes a holistic, humanistic approach that puts patients first, at the center of medical care. Person-centeredness is also considered a core element of integrated care. Yet typologies of integrated care mainly describe how patients fit within integrated services, rather than how services fit into the patient's world. Patient-centeredness has been commonly defined through physician's behaviors aimed at delivering patient-centered care. Yet, it is unclear how 'person-centeredness' is realized in integrated care through the patient voice. We aimed to explore patient narratives of person-centeredness in the integrated care context

Study of the decays B->D_s1(2536)+ anti-D(*)

We report a study of the decays B -> D_s1(2536)+ anti-D(*), where anti-D(*) is anti-D0, D- or D*-, using a sample of 657 x 10^6 B anti-B pairs collected at the Upsilon(4S) resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy e+e- collider. The branching fractions of the decays B+ -> D_s1(2536)+ anti-D0, B0 -> D_s1(2536)+ D- and B0 -> D_s1(2536)+ D*- multiplied by that of D_s1(2536)+ -> (D*0K+ + D*+K0) are found to be (3.97+-0.85+-0.56) x 10^-4, (2.75+-0.62+-0.36) x 10^-4 and (5.01+-1.21+-0.70) x 10^-4, respectively.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figues, submitted to PRD (RC

Evidence for B- -> tau- nu_bar with a Semileptonic Tagging Method

We present a measurement of the decay B- -> tau- nu_bar using a data sample containing 657 million BB_bar pairs collected at the Upsilon(4S) resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy e+e- collider. A sample of BB_bar pairs are tagged by reconstructing one B meson decaying semileptonically. We detect the B- -> tau- nu_bar candidate in the recoil. We obtain a signal with a significance of 3.6 standard deviations including systematic uncertainties, and measure the branching fraction to be Br(B- -> tau- nu_bar) = [1.54+0.38-0.37(stat)+0.29-0.31(syst)]*10^-4. This result confirms the evidence for B- -> tau- nu_bar obtained in a previous Belle measurement that used a hadronic B tagging method.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, corrected references, to appear in PRD-R

Discovery of catalases in members of the Chlamydiales order.

Catalase is an important virulence factor for survival in macrophages and other phagocytic cells. In Chlamydiaceae, no catalase had been described so far. With the sequencing and annotation of the full genomes of Chlamydia-related bacteria, the presence of different catalase-encoding genes has been documented. However, their distribution in the Chlamydiales order and the functionality of these catalases remain unknown. Phylogeny of chlamydial catalases was inferred using MrBayes, maximum likelihood, and maximum parsimony algorithms, allowing the description of three clade 3 and two clade 2 catalases. Only monofunctional catalases were found (no catalase-peroxidase or Mn-catalase). All presented a conserved catalytic domain and tertiary structure. Enzymatic activity of cloned chlamydial catalases was assessed by measuring hydrogen peroxide degradation. The catalases are enzymatically active with different efficiencies. The catalase of Parachlamydia acanthamoebae is the least efficient of all (its catalytic activity was 2 logs lower than that of Pseudomonas aeruginosa). Based on the phylogenetic analysis, we hypothesize that an ancestral class 2 catalase probably was present in the common ancestor of all current Chlamydiales but was retained only in Criblamydia sequanensis and Neochlamydia hartmannellae. The catalases of class 3, present in Estrella lausannensis and Parachlamydia acanthamoebae, probably were acquired by lateral gene transfer from Rhizobiales, whereas for Waddlia chondrophila they likely originated from Legionellales or Actinomycetales. The acquisition of catalases on several occasions in the Chlamydiales suggests the importance of this enzyme for the bacteria in their host environment