Developmental changes in trak-mediated mitochondrial transport in neurons

Previous studies established that the kinesin adaptor proteins, TRAK1 and TRAK2, play an important role in mitochondrial transport in neurons. They link mitochondria to kinesin motor proteins via a TRAK acceptor protein in the mitochondrial outer membrane, the Rho GTPase, Miro. TRAKs also associate with enzyme, O-linked N-acetylglucosamine transferase (OGT), to form a quaternary, mitochondrial trafficking complex. A recent report suggested that TRAK1 preferentially controls mitochondrial transport in axons of hippocampal neurons whereas TRAK2 controls mitochondrial transport in dendrites. However, it is not clear whether the function of any of these proteins is exclusive to axons or dendrites and if their mechanisms of action are conserved between different neuronal populations and also, during maturation. Here, a comparative study was carried out into TRAK-mediated mitochondrial mobility in axons and dendrites of hippocampal and cortical neurons during maturation in vitro using a shRNA gene knockdown approach. It was found that in mature hippocampal and cortical neurons, TRAK1 predominantly mediates axonal mitochondrial transport whereas dendritic transport is mediated via TRAK2. In young, maturing neurons, TRAK1 and TRAK2 contribute similarly in mitochondrial transport in both axons and dendrites in both neuronal types. These findings demonstrate maturation regulation of mitochondrial transport which is conserved between at least two distinct neuronal subtypes

Enhancing innovative capability and sustainability of Saudi firms

© 2016 by the author. The Saudi Arabian government has recognised the need for an alternative path to national development in the form of a knowledge-based economy (KBE). One of the key drivers of a knowledge-based economy KBE is innovation. Therefore, to achieve this aim, it is important to understand the various factors affecting organisational innovation capability and sustainability. This empirical research study was conducted to provide a better understanding of the interrelationships among the key constructs, socio-technical factors, diffusion of innovation, and knowledge-sharing process towards Saudi organisational innovation capability. The results offer a number of implications, which are beneficial towards the adoption of the knowledge-based economy seeking to enhance the Saudi organisations towards enriching the organisational innovation capability and sustainability

A Survey and Evaluation of Medical Libraries in Ekiti State, Nigeria

The paper takes a look at the medical libraries of selected health establishments in Ekiti State, Nigeria and critically examines the levels of fitness of these libraries in supporting the objectives of their parent bodies.The paper seeks to find out the extent to which the libraries satisfy the information needs of the health workers, patients and students. Questionnaires were designed for each category of the respondents and 50copies of the questionnaires were distributed to each category. Also the researcher visited the selected libraries for on-the-spot assessment andconducted oral interviews with few respondents. Findings showed that medical libraries in Ekiti State have not been given the right priorities in the scheme of things as they are assessed to be in doldrums in term of funding and staffing. Recommendations capable of improving the situation were offered

Poor Reading Culture: A Barrier to Students’ Patronage of Libraries Selected Secondary School in Ado Local Government Area of Ekiti-State, Nigeria

The paper examined poor reading culture: A barrier to students’ patronage of Selected Secondary School Libraries in Ado Ekiti Local Government Area of Ekiti State. The design for the study is descriptive survey which utilizes questionnaire to collect data. Oral interview was also conducted. Tables and simple percentages were adopted in the data analysis. Results of the analysis show that computer and other media, harsh economic reality, societal demand for materialism, inadequate library materials among others are causes of poor reading culture of students in secondary schools. It was also revealed that materials in secondary school libraries are not organized, inadequate, not relevant, school librarians not readily available among others constitute the reasons for poor patronage of secondary schools libraries. It concluded by giving recommendations towards the improvement of reading culture of secondary school students and the enhancement of the patronage of their school libraries

Information Needs and Characteritics of the Users of Rural Libraries in Ekiti State, Nigeria

The paper examines the information needs and characteristics of the users of rural libraries in Ekiti State, Nigeria. Users of libraries in three rural areas of the three senatorial districts of Ekiti State were surveyed. This was aimed at investigating the reading needs, sources of information, level of education of users and benefits of rural libraries to them. Questionnaire was used to collect data; tables and simple percentage were adopted in the data analysis. A major revelation of the study is that the library constitutes the major source of information for rural dwellers. Books are the major reading materials of rural people. It concluded by giving recommendations towards the improvement of information needs of rural dwellers by improving the provision of library services to them

Health services utilization and costs of the insured and uninsured under the formal sector social health insurance scheme in Enugu metropolis South East Nigeria

Background: Health insurance is a social security system that aims to facilitate fair financing of health costs through pooling and judicious  utilization of financial resources, in order to provide financial risk  protections and cost burden sharing for people against high cost of  healthcare through various prepayment methods prior to falling ill. It is still unclear how the Federal Social Health insurance program for federal civil servants has affected the insured and uninsured civil servants in terms of health services cost and utilization in Enugu metropolis.Objectives: The aim of the study was to compare the health services  utilization and cost of insured with that of the non.insured federal civil servants with a view to generate information for policymaking on improving services of the National Health Insurance Scheme.Materials and Methods: A comparative, descriptive, cross.sectional survey  of both the insured and uninsured federal civil servants was conducted in Enugu metropolis. Respondents were purposively enrolled and were  grouped according to their insurance status after signing the informed consent form. Comparative analysis of health services utilization,satisfaction, and health services cost which include total cost, average cost, and catastrophic expenditures were done using SPSS version 17.0.Results: There were 809 respondents; this comprised 451 insured and 358 uninsured respondents. There were 420 males (51.9%) and 389 females (48.1%). It was found that 657 respondents had at least easy access to health; this comprised 369 (56.7%) insured and 288 (43.3%) non-insured respondents while 70 (46%) of the non-insured and 82 (54%) of the insured civil servant had difficult access to health care (P = 0.620).Conclusion: There are still federal civil servants yet to enroll into the formal sector social insurance program. The NHIS-insured civil servants have no appreciable advantage in terms of access to and cost of health services in Enugu metropolis.Key words: Health insurance, health services utilization, insure

Constitutively active acetylcholine-dependent potassium current increases atrial defibrillation threshold by favoring post-shock re-initiation

Electrical cardioversion (ECV), a mainstay in atrial fibrillation (AF) treatment, is unsuccessful in up to 10-20% of patients. An important aspect of the remodeling process caused by AF is the constitutive activition of the atrium-specific acetylcholine-dependent potassium current (I-K,I-ACh -> I-K,I-ACh-c), which is associated with ECV failure. This study investigated the role of I-K,I-ACh-c in ECV failure and setting the atrial defibrillation threshold (aDFT) in optically mapped neonatal rat cardiomyocyte monolayers. AF was induced by burst pacing followed by application of biphasic shocks of 25-100 V to determine aDFT. Blocking I-K,I-ACh-c by tertiapin significantly decreased DFT, which correlated with a significant increase in wavelength during reentry. Genetic knockdown experiments, using lentiviral vectors encoding a Kcnj5-specific shRNA to modulate I-K,I-ACh-c, yielded similar results. Mechanistically, failed ECV was attributed to incomplete phase singularity (PS) removal or reemergence of PSs (i.e. re-initiation) through unidirectional propagation of shock-induced action potentials. Re-initiation occurred at significantly higher voltages than incomplete PS-removal and was inhibited by I-K,I-ACh-c blockade. Whole-heart mapping confirmed our findings showing a 60% increase in ECV success rate after I-K,I-ACh-c blockade. This study provides new mechanistic insight into failing ECV of AF and identifies I-K,I-ACh-c as possible atrium-specific target to increase ECV effectiveness, while decreasing its harmfulness

Derivation of a formula for adjusting the total serum calcium in Nigeria environment

The total calcium concentration, total protein, albumin and globulin were estimated for 302 patients that reported for serum calcium estimation at the clinical biochemistry laboratory of the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, Sagamu, Nigeria. Based on regression analysis, three formulae werederived for adjusting the total serum calcium concentration. It was observed that the total serum concentration correlated closely with albumin (a = 0.919 70) but poorly correlated with total protein (a =-0.25 960); where a = correlation coefficient. Adjusted calcium = total calcium – (0.91972 x albumin) +3.70429 was obtaine