Suppression of hippocampal neurogenesis is associated with developmental stage, number of perinatal seizure episodes, and glucocorticosteroid level.

Seizures increase dentate granule cell proliferation in adult rats but decrease proliferation in young pups. The particular period and number of perinatal seizures required to cause newborn granule cell suppression in development are unknown. Therefore, we examined cell proliferation with bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) immunohistochemistry during the peak of neurogenesis (e.g., P6 and P9) and at later postnatal ages (e.g., P13, P20, or P30) following single and multiple episodes of perinatal status epilepticus induced by kainate (KA). Because an inverse relationship exists between glucocorticosteroids (CORT) levels and granule cell proliferation, plasma CORT levels and electroencephalographic (EEG) activity were simultaneously monitored to elucidate underlying mechanisms that inhibit cell proliferation. In control animals, the number of BrdU-labeled cells increased then declined with maturation. After 1x KA or 2x KA administered on P6 and P9, the numbers of BrdU-labeled cells were not different from age-matched controls. However, rat pups with 3x KA (on P6, P9, and P13) had marked suppression of BrdU-labeled cells 48-72 h after the last seizure (43 +/- 6.5% of control). Cell proliferation was also significantly inhibited on P20 after 2x KA (to 56 +/- 6.9%) or 3x KA (to 54 +/- 7.9%) and on P30 with 3x KA (to 74.5 +/- 8.2% of age-matched controls). Cell death was not apparent as chromatin stains showed increased basophilia of only inner cells lining the granule cell layers, in the absence of eosinophilia, argyrophilia, or terminal deoxynucleotidyl dUTP nick endlabeling (TUNEL) labeling at times examined. In P13 pups with 3x KA, electron microscopy revealed an increased number of immature granule cells and putative stem cells with irregular shape, condensed cytoplasm, and electron dense nuclei, and they were also BrdU positive. The EEG showed no relationship between neurogenesis and duration of high-synchronous ictal activity. However, endocrine studies showed a correlation with BrdU number and age, sustained increases in circulating CORT levels following 1x KA on P6 (0.7 +/- 0.1 to 2.40 +/- 0.86 microg/dl), and cumulative increases that exceeded 10 microg/dl at 4-8 h after 3x KA on P13 or P20. In conclusion, a history of only one or two perinatal seizure(s) can suppress neurogenesis if a second or third seizure recurs after a critical developmental period associated with a marked surge in CORT. During the first 2 weeks of postnatal life sustained increases in postictal circulating CORT levels but not duration or intensity of ictal activity has long-term consequences on neurogenesis. The occurrence of an increased proportion of immature granule cells and putative stem cells with irregular morphology in the absence of neurodegeneration suggests that progenitors may not differentiate properly and remain in an immature state

Energy metabolism of growing pigs

Three trials were conducted to study the energy metabolism of growing pigs. In trial 1, 16 pigs (8-10 kg) were used in a 28 d comparative slaughter experiment to determine the energy value of wheat bran. Addition of wheat bran in the diets increased ADG linearly (P \u3c.01), but had no effect on F:G ratios. Apparent digestibility coefficients (ADC) of DM, N and fiber components decreased linearly (P \u3c.01). Digestible and ME (kcal/g) decreased linearly (P \u3c.01) with addition of wheat bran. Total heat production and total VFA content in the cecum increased linearly (P \u3c.01 and P \u3c.05) with addition of wheat bran. Components of daily gain including indispensable amino acids (AA), increased (P \u3c.01). The average values (kcal/g DM) for wheat bran were GE, 4.57; DE, 3.36; ME, 3.20; MEn, 3.19 and NE, 1.1. Feeding wheat bran to the pigs resulted in a low efficiency of ME utilization;A second trial was designed to determine the production and absorption of VFA and other energy metabolites (glucose, lactic acid and D-B-hydroxybutyric acid) in pigs fed wheat bran. Addition of wheat bran tended to increase the production of VFA in the large intestine. Portal arterial differences of VFA increased, while portal arterial differences of the metabolites decreased when wheat bran was added to the diets. The lower efficiency of ME utilization observed when wheat bran was fed to pigs may be because of fermentative losses in the large intestine and lower efficiency of VFA utilization as an energy source for the pig;Trial three was designed to determine the energy requirements for maintenance and growth of the Chinese pig. Sixteen Chinese pigs were used in a 28 d comparative slaughter experiment. The pigs were fed a corn-soy diet at 3, 4, and 5% of body weight. ADG increased linearly (P \u3c.01) with the level of feeding but ADC of DM, N and GE were not affected. Level of feeding increased dry matter and fat percentage of the empty body (P \u3c.01), but decreased water percentage (P \u3c.01). Components of the daily gain, including indespensable AA increased linearly (P \u3c.01) with the level of feeding. Fat to protein ratio of the empty body gain increased linearly (P \u3c.01) with the level of feeding. The NE for maintenance of the Chinese pig was 77.6 kcal per d per kg[superscript].75. The Chinese pig utilized 64% of the ME for NE of maintenance and growth

Effects of endotoxin on neonatal pig Kupffer cells

Kupffer cells (KC) were isolated by sequential perfusion of neonatal pig livers with buffers and collagenase and purified by density gradient separation using arabinogalactan. Pulmonary Alveolar Macrophages (PAM) were recovered by broncho-alveolar lavage from the same pigs for comparison and to serve as control macrophages for the assays performed. Activity of the two cell types was determined on an equal number of cells using in-vitro methods to evaluate phagocytosis, bactericidal activity, production of superoxide anion (O2-), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) and nitric oxide (NO). Both KC and PAM demonstrated similar phagocytic activity of 125-iodoxyuridint-labeled S. aureus; PAM produced more O2- and killed more S. aureus than KC. Both PAM and KC produced TNF-alpha when incubated for a period of four hours with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or opsonized zymosan. Neither KC nor PAM produced nitric oxide when incubated in vitro with LPS or zymosan;In an additional study, neonatal pigs were injected with LPS intraperitoneally at a dose of 50 mug/kg body weight. Rectal temperature taken 5 hours post-administration of LPS was significantly higher (p \u3c 0.05) than that of the control animals. KC from LPS treated pigs had higher bactericidal and phagocytic activity (p \u3c 0.05, p \u3c 0.01 respectively) and a higher production of O2 - (p \u3c 0.05) than KC from control animals. PAM from both groups had similar bactericidal and phagocytic activity, and O2- production. Hepatic microsomal enzyme activity of aniline hydroxylase was not affected by pretreatment of neonatal pigs with LPS;The effects of in-vivo administration of chlortetracycline (CTC) on ex-vivo perfused pig livers were investigated. Pigs were dosed orally with CTC for three days, and given LPS 24 hours before removal of the liver. Salmonella retention and clearance by the livers of pigs fed CTC was lower (p \u3c 0.01 and p \u3c 0.05 respectively) than the control livers. An increase in CRP and BPG by the liver after a three-hour perfusion was observed. Further, CTC decreased the production TNF-alpha by cultured Kupffer cells incubated in-vitro with LPS. CTC may thus assume more subtle roles than just killing bacteria. Its modulation of production of TNF-alpha suggests a potential for attenuating the acute phase response

Factors Influencing the Level of Awareness and Knowledge of the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) among Household Consumers in Nairobi County, Kenya: A Case Study of Southlands Estate, Lang’ata

Customers are very important when it comes to discussing or voicing their concerns or dissatisfaction with a product before steps are taken to fix it. This necessitates that customers are aware of their rights in relation to complaint procedures so that they can take appropriate action in accordance with the regulations. To prevent the exploitation of Kenyan consumers, the Consumer Protection Act was passed. However, Kenyans continue to encounter deceptive advertisements, unethical business practices, inflated electricity and water bills, and lack of product information, among other business malpractices. Thus, this study sought to investigate factors influencing the level of awareness and knowledge of the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) among household consumers in Nairobi County with a focus on Southlands Estate, Langa’ta. The specific objectives are; to evaluate the influence of culture and ii) to assess the influence of the nature of the law on household consumers’ level of awareness and knowledge of CPA. Descriptive research methods were used for the study. The 417 respondents were drawn from the Southlands Estate in Lang'ata and were the primary focus of the survey. Simple random sampling was used to choose a total of 42 participants for the study. The questionnaire was the primary source of information. SPSS was used to analyse the quantitative data. Relationship testing between culture, the type of the law, and the dependant variable was performed using inferential statistics (level of awareness and knowledge of the Consumer Protection Act among household consumers). The model summary revealed that culture and nature of law contribute 44% to household consumers’ level of awareness and knowledge of the Consumer Protection Act. The study results indicate a positive and significant relationship between culture, the nature of law and household consumers’ awareness and knowledge of CPA. The study recommends that customers must therefore raise their degree of awareness in order to engage in rational purchasing behaviour and make informed decisions. There is also a need for sensitising consumers to the content in the Consumer Protection Act

Influence of Celebrity Endorsements on Consumers’ Brand Equity: Case Study of Super Brands Companies in Kenya

This paper was a seminar presented for partial fulfilment for the award of a degree in doctor of philosophy in Business administration (marketing option) at the Jomo Kenyatta University of Science and Technology (JKUAT) Kenya. The paper takes the format of mini-research. The study’s aim was to establish the influence of Celebrity endorsement on consumer brand equity on selected super brands in Kenya. Specifically, the study intended to establish whether the two major attributes of celebrity endorsement: Credibility and Attractiveness, influence consumers’ brand equity. The independent variable was celebrity endorsement and brand equity was the dependent variable. The study was anchored on the TEARS model that combines many marketing communications theories that describe attributes of a good source of information. These are the Credibility model, source attractiveness model, the meaning of transfer model, and the product-match-up hypothesis, consumer, and buyer behaviour theories. The empirical literature on celebrity endorsement was reviewed regarding different views of measurements of brand equity and how celebrity characteristics affect brand equity. The study raised two questions; whether celebrity credibility influences consumers’ brand equity and whether celebrity attractiveness influences consumers’ brand equity. To answer these two questions, a Target population of 20 consumer super brands companies was picked with only 11 super brands qualifying to be the unit of observation on the basis that they have hired celebrities to advertise their brands. The unit of analysis was 40 consumers who were classified as lecturers, professionals, and students. These respondents were given a structured questionnaire based on the two objectives of the study. Thirty-eight questionnaires’ (95% response) were returned and two were spoilt. Data were analysed by use of a statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) and presented in tables. The study findings indicate that celebrity attractiveness has the highest influence as compared to celebrity credibility in influencing consumers’ brand equity. On methodology, the study recommends that a mixed design approach and change of unit of analysis in future research, development of hypotheses, include moderating variables as well as add to the main research the three remaining variables in the TEARS model. Study findings indicate that celebrity endorsement influence can lead to brand equity in the form of customer brand preference, awareness, loyalty and association, attitude, relevance, and differentiation. However, marketing and brand managers need to be careful when hiring celebrities to market their products because of the advantages and disadvantages of this strategy. On theoretical and academic implications, the study concludes that most of the studies carried out are in western countries. There remains a need for more studies in the field of celebrity endorsement in Kenya, especially in the area of theories of source credibility, source attractiveness, match-up hypotheses and meaning transfer model. These models emphasise that source of information must have power. Scholars can further apply exploratory research in areas of psychological and consumer behaviour theories in relation to Celebrity endorsemen

Bayesian Hierarchical Spatial Modeling and Mapping of Adult Illiteracy in Kenya

Regional disparity in literacy levels must be addressed if Kenya is to achieve its international goals such as Education for All (EFA) and Millennium Development Goals (MDG). Literacy level in Kenya has been on the rise. However, the 2007 Kenya National Literacy Survey crude rates showed that on average 38.5 per cent (7.8 million) of Kenya’s adult population was illiterate with significant regional and gender variation. Bayesian binary logistic models (with and without CAR spatial and unstructured random effects)  are applied to the Kenya National Adult Literacy Survey (2007) data that was obtained from sampled 18000 households, 4782 in urban and 10914 in rural areas, to investigate spatial variation of illiteracy levels in Kenya. There were 15734 successful interviews that were comprised of 6493 were male and 9241 female The best fitted model was found to be the CAR model with age, sex, disability and awareness of adult literacy programs as the significant explanatory variables. Smoothed map of illiteracy from the best fitted model was then produced together with its corresponding confidence interval maps for regional variation in Kenya, in order to capture visual uncertainty in estimation. These maps can be used by policy makers to identify the pattern and tailor make programs appropriate for each region. Keywords: Illiteracy, Bayesian Hierarchical Models, Spatial modelin

EphB6 Receptor Modulates Micro RNA Profile of Breast Carcinoma Cells

Breast carcinoma cells have a specific pattern of expression for Eph receptors and ephrin ligands. EphB6 has previously been characterized as a signature molecule for invasive breast carcinoma cells. The transcription of EphB6 is silenced in breast carcinoma cells and its re-expression leads to decreased invasiveness of MDA-MB-231 cells. Such differences in phenotypes of native and EphB6 expressing MDA-MB-231 cells relate to an altered profile of micro RNAs. Comparative hybridization of total RNA to slides containing all known miRNAs by using locked nucleic acid (LNA) miRCURY platform yielded a significantly altered profile of miRNAs in MDA-MB-231 cells stably transfected with EphB6. After applying a threshold of change and a p-value of <0.001, the list of significantly altered miRNAs included miR-16, miR-23a, miR-24, miR-26a, miR-29a, miR-100, miRPlus-E1172 and miRPlus-E1258. The array-based changes were validated by real-time qPCR of miR-16, miR-23a, miR-24 and miR-100. Except miRPlus-E1172 and miRPlus-E1258, the remaining six miRNAs have been observed in a variety of cancers. The biological relevance of target mRNAs was predicted by using a common-target selection approach that allowed the identification of SMARCA5, SMARCC1, eIF2C2, eIF2C4, eIF4EBP2, FKABP5, FKBP1A, TRIB1, TRIB2, TRIB3, BMPR2, BMPR1A and BMPR1B as important targets of a subset of significantly altered miRNAs. Quantitative PCR revealed that the levels of SMARCC1, eIFC4, eIF4EB2, FKBP1a, FKBP5, TRIB1, TRIB3, BMPR1a and BMPR2 transcripts were significantly decreased in MDA-MB-231 cells transfected with EphB6. These observations confirm targeting of specific mRNAs by miR-100, miR-23a, miR-16 and miR-24, and suggest that the kinase-deficient EphB6 receptor is capable of initiating signal transduction from the cell surface to the nucleus resulting in the altered expression of a variety of genes involved in tumorigenesis and invasion. The alterations in miRNAs and their target mRNAs also suggest indirect involvement of EphB6 in PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathways

Thyroid Disruption by Di-n-Butyl Phthalate (DBP) and Mono-n-Butyl Phthalate (MBP) in Xenopus laevis

BACKGROUND: Di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP), a chemical widely used in many consumer products, is estrogenic and capable of producing seriously reproductive and developmental effects in laboratory animals. However, recent in vitro studies have shown that DBP and mono-n-butyl phthalate (MBP), the major metabolite of DBP, possessed thyroid hormone receptor (TR) antagonist activity. It is therefore important to consider DBP and MBP that may interfere with thyroid hormone system. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Nieuwkoop and Faber stage 51 Xenopus laevis were exposed to DBP and MBP (2, 10 or 15 mg/L) separately for 21 days. The two test chemicals decelerated spontaneous metamorphosis in X. laevis at concentrations of 10 and 15 mg/L. Moreover, MBP seemed to possess stronger activity. The effects of DBP and MBP on inducing changes of expression of selected thyroid hormone response genes: thyroid hormone receptor-beta (TRβ), retinoid X receptor gamma (RXRγ), alpha and beta subunits of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSHα and TSHβ) were detected by qPCR at all concentrations of the compounds. Using mammalian two-hybrid assay in vitro, we found that DBP and MBP enhanced the interactions between co-repressor SMRT (silencing mediator for retinoid and thyroid hormone receptors) and TR in a dose-dependent manner, and MBP displayed more markedly. In addition, MBP at low concentrations (2 and 10 mg/L) caused aberrant methylation of TRβ in head tissue. CONCLUSIONS: The current findings highlight potential disruption of thyroid signalling by DBP and MBP and provide data for human risk assessment