Perception of Job Characteristics and Age as Deteminants of Employee Creativity

The study investigated the perception of job characteristics and age as determinants of  employee creativity. The study used 175 participants out of which 101 were males and 74 were females, drawn through a systematic random sampling. The age of the participants range from 20-60 years with a mean age of 32.4 and a standard deviation of 8.87.The study utilized job characteristics scale by Hackman and Oldham 1975 and Creativity Inventory  adapted from  Zhou and George 2001. The study adopted a 2×2 factorial design and accordingly 2-way ANOVA was used for the statistical analysis. The first hypothesis that stated that there will be a significant difference between workers who have positive perception of job characteristics and those with negative perception of job characteristics on their creativity to work was confirmed at F(1,171)= 47.582, p=<.05 level of significance. The second hypothesis that stated that there will be a significant difference between workers who are young and old on their creativity to work was confirmed at F(1,171)= 15.631, p=<.05 level of significance. From the result we can conclude that perception of job characteristics and age has an influence on employee creativity. Findings were discussed and recommendations were made accordingly. Keywords: Creativity, Job Characteristics and Ag

Protective effects of Buchholzia coriacea seeds extract and fractions on blood glucose and hyperlipidemia in diabetic rats

Background: The Buchholzia coriacea seeds (Capparaceae) are used in Nigerian ethnomedicine for treatment of hyperglycemia. Our aim, therefore, is to evaluate antihyperglycemic and hypolipidemic effects of extract and fractions of Bulcholzia coriacea seeds.Methods: The cut, dried and pulverized seeds were extracted with a mixture of methanol-dichloromethane (1:1) which yielded the crude extract, MDE. The MDE was fractionated using bioactive guided procedure and yielded hexane fraction (HF), ethylacetate fraction (EF) and methanol fraction (MF). Alloxan-induced diabetes, normoglycemic test and oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) were the antidiabetic models employed, while hypolipidemic study was performed using standard assay kits to determine the serum total cholesterol (TC) triglycerides (TG) and low density lipoproteins (LDL). Acute toxicity test of the extract was performed using Lorke’s method while qualitative and quantitative phytochemical analyses were also performed using standard procedures.Results: The results showed an oral median lethality dose (LD50) greater than 5000mg/kg. The extract and fractions showed significant antihyperglycemic effect comparable and in synergy to metformin, a standard agent. The extract (200mg/kg) showed the highest percentage blood glucose reduction (PBGR) of 52.89% while ethylacetate fraction (EF, 400mg/kg) showed PBGR of 50.84%. Also, the MDE and hexane fraction (HF) showed a significant reduction of TC, TG and LDL and related increase in HDL-C levels in diabetic treated rats.Conclusions: The extract and the fractions of Buchholzia coriacea seeds possess antihyperglycemic and antihyperlipidemic effects and showed same mechanism of action as metformin, thus providing scientific rationale for its folkloric use

ANTIDIABETIC ACTIVITY AND TOXICOLOGICAL EVALUATION OF THE METHANOL-DICHLOROMETHANE ROOT BARK EXTRACT OF NAUCLEA DIDERRICHII (DE WILD) MERR

Objective: In southeastern Nigeria, Nauclea diderrichii (De Wild) Merr is used in the treatment of a wide range of ailments including diabetes mellitus (DM). This study evaluates the antidiabetic activity and toxicological profile of the methanol-dichloromethane root bark extract of N. diderrichii in normoglycemic and alloxan-induced diabetic models.Methods: Dried root barks of N. diderrichii were extracted using methanol and dichloromethane (1:1) to obtain N. diderrichii extract (NDE). The acute and sub-chronic toxicity tests were performed using standard procedures. The effect on alanine aminotransferase (ALT) aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), total protein (TP), packed cell volume (PCV), hemoglobin concentration (HB) and total white blood cell (TWBC) count was determined in the rats after treatment. In order to elucidate its antidiabetic mode of action, an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was performed using glucose (2 g/kg) as substrate and alloxan (100 mg/kg; i. v.) induced diabetic model. Glibenclamide (GLI 0.2 mg/kg) was used as the reference standard drug.Results: The results indicated that the LD50 of the extract is>5000 mg/kg. ALT, AST, ALP PCV, HB and TWBC were insignificantly (p>0.05) different compared with the control. No significant changes were observed in the organ weights compared with the control. In the acute and prolonged antidiabetic study, NDE (100, 200 and 400 mg/kg) significantly reduced the blood glucose level (BGL) by 14.66, 18.9, 25.80% and 75.11, 80.24, 83.74% respectively. In comparison, GLI, when administered, reduced BGL by 38.18 and 92.86% respectively.Conclusion: N. diderrichii possesses antidiabetic activity with good toxicological profile

Saethre-Chotzen mutations cause TWIST protein degradation or impaired nuclear location

International audienceH-TWIST belongs to the family of basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factors known to exert their activity through dimer formation. We have demonstrated recently that mutations in H-TWIST account for Saethre-Chotzen syndrome (SCS), an autosomal dominant craniosynostosis syndrome characterized by premature fusion of coronal sutures and limb abnormalities of variable severity. Although insertions, deletions, nonsense and missense mutations have been identified, no genotype-phenotype correlation could be found, suggesting that the gene alterations lead to a loss of protein function irrespective of the mutation. To assess this hypothesis, we studied stability, dimerization capacities and subcellular distribution of three types of TWIST mutant. Here, we show that: (i) nonsense mutations resulted in truncated protein instability; (ii) missense mutations involving the helical domains led to a complete loss of H-TWIST heterodimerization with the E12 bHLH protein in the two-hybrid system and dramatically altered the ability of the TWIST protein to localize in the nucleus of COS-transfected cells; and (iii) in-frame insertion or missense mutations within the loop significantly altered dimer formation but not the nuclear location of the protein. We conclude that at least two distinct mechanisms account for loss of TWIST protein function in SCS patients, namely protein degradation and subcellular mislocalization

Development in Astronomy and Space Science in Africa

The development of astronomy and space science in Africa has grown significantly over the past few years. These advancements make the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals more achievable, and open up the possibility of new beneficial collaborations.Comment: Paper published in Nature Astronomy. Figures 1 and 2 are included in the published version, that can be seen at https://rdcu.be/2oE