Solidarity is for White Women

Can a simple hashtag constitute a social movement? The answer is a resounding yes. Using the definition of a social movement proposed in the Blackwell Companion to Social Movements as a framework, this paper illustrates that #SolidarityIsForWhiteWomen is a perfect example of how social media and social movements have intersected to inspire profound change. Created by blogger and black feminist scholar Mikki Kendall, #SolidarityIsForWhiteWomen highlighted the justified resentment that many black feminists have against the white liberal feminist movement. This paper contends that Kendall’s hashtag activism satisfies the fundamental characteristics of a social movement, because it was a coordinated, collective, and sustained attempt by marginalized voices outside of institutional channels to challenge the dominant paradigm: the practices of white liberal feminists. This paper also argues that #SolidarityIsForWhiteWomen enabled black feminists to reclaim their intellectual traditions and advance black feminist thought by highlighting its expression among women who are not commonly perceived as intellectuals and who operate in alternative institutional settings

Ammonium sulfate precipitation combined with liquid chromatography is sufficient for purification of bovine serum albumin that is suitable for most routine laboratory applications

The use of bovine serum albumin (BSA) in routine biochemical assays such as restriction enzyme digestion and immunodetection is plagued largely by two common contaminants, DNase and immunoglobulins G (IgGs). Acetylation of BSA to inactivate DNase limits its use as a protein standard due to interference with color development in assays such as Lowry’s. In spite of the availability of inexpensive BSA, its purification involves several cumbersome and time-consuming steps. In this work, we employed a modified strategy of ammonium sulfate precipitation coupled with liquid chromatography to purify BSA that is free of DNase and IgGs. Purified BSA tested negative for the presence of DNase and IgGs using DNase and immunodetection assays respectively. We conclude that carefully controlled ammonium sulfate precipitation and liquid chromatography techniques are sufficient to purify BSA suitable for most routine laboratory applications. This purification strategy can yield more than 40 g BSA per liter of serum

Sodium Nitrite Alone Protects the Brain o _i_ Microsomal Ca -ATPase Against Potassium Cyanide-induced Neurotoxicity In Rats

The effect of a short-term oral administration of potassium cyanide (KCN) (200 ppm in diet) with or without sodium nitrite (NaNO2) pretreatment on rat brain microsomal Ca2* ATPase was investigated. The specific activity value of the enzyme significantly decreased (p\u3c0.05) by 50% compared with control and by 63% for KCN-treated rats compared with KCN-treated rats pretreated with NaNO;,. There was no significant difference at the h = 0.05 level between the values obtained for the control and KCN-treated rats pretreated with NaNO,. These results show both that feeding lowers brain microsomal Ca2f-ATPase activity and that NaNO, has a protective role (antidote function) in that respect

Diverse co-teaching: a one-step strategy for assessment, integration, collegiality, transformation, professional and personal growth for the university community

Dr. Fry Dr. Odunuga Dr. Fry and Dr. Odunuga are two very different people. Yet the two share a passion for teaching chemistry and a desire to bring out the best in their students. Since 2016 the two have co-taught chemistry lectures and laboratories, and in this presentation they share their experiences and the benefits of diverse co-teaching. Diverse co-teaching naturally provides students, faculty and staff with a transformational experience, and serves as a universal platform for integrating various groups, promoting collegiality and performing assessment. Summarized below are some items of the transformation that each audience within the university may experience from diverse co-teaching. Faculty How to effectively provide transformational experiences for our students. How diverse co-teaching makes you more aware of how students perceive you. How co-teaching makes your life less stressful and more fun. Students The advantages of listening to, & learning from, people who are different than you. The benefits of having a diverse set of friends/colleagues. How to choose friends who will help you. The University Community How genuine friendships propel both professional & personal growth. The inherent value gained from a diverse community working towards common goals. Respect for all people is fundamental requirement in our society

Parents’ Perceptions on the Efficacy of Yorùbá Folktales in Cultivating Moral Values among the Youths

A quantitative study of parents’ perception of the efficacy of Yoruba folktales in cultivating moral values among the youths in Oyo State of Nigeria was reported in this study. Six hundred twelve parents selected through accidental sampling technique participated in the study. A 14-item close-ended researcher-designed questionnaire was employed for data collection. Mean, standard deviation, and the t-test were used for data analysis. The study’s findings revealed that the parents’ perception of the efficacy of Yoruba folktales in cultivating moral values among the youths was high, and there was a significant gender influence on their perception. The study concluded that Yoruba folktales cultivate moral values among the youth. It was recommended that parents should intensify efforts in ensuring that they engage their children with folktale narration and employ the moral values embedded in the tales to mold and educate their children to become good citizens.

Multiple shoot induction from embryo derived callus cultures of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata l.) Walp

The production of whole plant of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) L. Walp from calli is an efficient, reliable and rapid strategy. This provides a faster method of micro propagation. Seeds of the pea were surface sterilized, and then the embryo axes were dissected and germinated. Callus growth was induced on thecut surface of the embryo of V. unguiculata. Root development in the cells was promoted by the action of the auxin, naphthalene acetic acid (NAA), at low cytokinin concentration. After five weeks, multiple shoots ranging from two to four developed from the calli cultures after being subcultured on media withhigh concentration of cytokinin, benzylaminopurine (BAP). Percentages shoot production from calli grown on media with 1 mM concentration of BAP was 45.5% while calli subcultured on 4 mM BAP produced 87.5% shoot production. Percentage rate of survival was between 21-26% in the hardened transplanted plantlets

Reversal of Sodium Arsenite Inhibition of Rat Liver Microsomal Ca2+ Pumping ATPase by Vitamin C

Sodium arsenite (NaAsO2), at 10% of its median lethal dose, was administered to rats with and without vitamin C pretreatment. Liver microsomal fraction was isolated and the activity of Ca2+-ATPase was assayed. Sodium arsenite was found to inhibit the activity of the liver microsomal Ca2+-ATPase to 50% to that of control rats. The specific activity of the enzyme in rats administered sodium arsenite with vitamin C pretreatment was not significantly different from that of control rats

'It's a normal thing for pregnant women' - pregnant women 'playing by the rules' in antenatal centres with routine tetanus vaccination in Nigeria: an explorative study

BACKGROUND: Although the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends vaccination during pregnancy to all pregnant women; the delay or incomplete use of vaccines has been a challenge globally. The data in Nigeria indicates only 62% of pregnant women receive two of five recommended doses of tetanus-toxoid containing vaccine (TTCV), way less than the 80% required by WHO for maternal and neonatal tetanus elimination (MNTE). It is well known that one of the most effective ways of eliminating tetanus disease, particularly in high-risk countries is adequate vaccination of pregnant and childbearing-age women. The recommendation in Nigeria largely concentrates on one to three doses during pregnancy depending on when a pregnant woman initiates antenatal booking, paying less attention to the issue of completion of doses after the child is born. The majority of research in this area heavily emphasises the roles of the health system, care providers and pregnant women in regard to the routine use of TTCV in antenatal centres, highlighting the lack of understanding of what TTCV is within everyday social interaction. Nevertheless, there is a notable lack of research into pregnant women’s perceptions of their experiences of the use of TTCV in antenatal centres. AIMS: This research study explores how pregnant women in different antenatal centres in Nigeria perceive routine vaccination with TTCV and examines factors that influence this perception. Design and method: Qualitative interpretative research was conducted in three antenatal care centres in Ogun State, Nigeria. The antenatal settings were: 1) hospital; 2) tradition based; and 3) faith-based centres. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with forty-one (41) childbearing-aged pregnant women in English and Yoruba languages between October 2019 and February 2020. Following transcription and translation, data management was facilitated using NVivo 12 and thematic analysis was used to identify, analyse, and categorise the data into themes. FINDINGS: The analysis identified three major themes demonstrating the pregnant women’s perceptions of routine tetanus vaccination as: 1) making antenatal centre preferences, 2) relational and value alignment and 3) ‘playing by the rules’ in preferred antenatal centres. Findings revealed that TTCV was not only perceived as maintaining the ‘status quo’ in different antenatal centres but that largely, the pregnant women paid less attention to the use of TTCV. The belief that caregivers in antenatal centres have the best interest of the pregnant women caused them to mainly concentrate on the form of care to seek during pregnancy – formal, informal or both. To make the decision on preferred antenatal centres, the pregnant women ii aligned with relationships and beliefs that they found valuable to their choice of antenatal centres and followed the existing order in their preferred centres, including vaccination with TTCV. The participants followed the use of one to three doses of the five recommended doses of TTCV depending on when they registered and started antenatal care. The pregnant women felt that there was no need to “ask doctors the meaning of this injection”, since it was recommended by their caregivers and that previously pregnant and other women used the vaccine. The pregnant women in this study engaged in the use of the ‘usual’ one to three doses of TTCV as a rule of pregnancy care and did not necessarily complete the recommended doses after the child is born, a form of ‘game playing’. The metaphor of game playing indicates the strategy of the pregnant women of successfully getting through the period of pregnancy by following the rules that are believed to be in the interest of a healthy baby and not for themselves. The pregnant women engaged in vaccination with less participation in the process by solely acting in accordance with routines and antenatal set rules. Drawing on Bourdieu (1990) concept of practice and his conceptual triad of field, habitus and capital, this study’s findings demonstrate most pregnant women were neither involved nor engaged in vaccination but did use TTCV as “raison d'etre”, which is important to achieve a positive pregnancy outcome, and as a “socially recognised” and a worthwhile routine to engage (Bourdieu, 1990:18). Not that the pregnant women naively acted in accordance with the antenatal set rules, but they strategically preserved antenatal routines mainly for the purpose of a healthy pregnancy outcome. According to Bourdieu and Wacquant (1992), players/agents come to the field with the intention to either change or preserve their boundaries while they struggle for their rewards. In this light, the pregnant women perceived TTCV as maintaining a standard of pregnancy care in their preferred antenatal centres, largely as a means to a possible healthy baby, and not a routine to continue after the child is born. Implication: This study highlighted the ways that the health system in Nigeria does not meet the vaccination information needs of pregnant women. It also raises the potential for an innovative approach to address the informality that underlines the use of TTCV suggesting the need for a deliberate, constructive, and efficient information dissemination to support the pregnant women in their vaccination with TTCV. This study also suggests ways that vaccination education could be pivotal in meeting the vaccination information needs of pregnant women in Nigeria, with a focus on re-educating health professionals on adequate vaccination as well as involving the formal and informal stakeholders in vaccine administration. Finally, this study suggests that TTCV recommendation tone should be focused on motherhood rather than on the period of pregnancy in order to extend the priority of women of routine vaccination with TTCV. In other words, extend the game playing with TTCV beyond the period of pregnancy

Iron-Induced Oxidative Stress in Erythrocyte Membranes of Non-Insulin-Dependent Diabetic Nigerians

The presence of higher level of endogenous free radical reaction products in the erythrocyte ghost membrane (EGM) of Non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) subjects compared with that of normal healthy controls has been demonstrated. The EGMs of NIDDM subjects were also shown to be more susceptible to exogenously generated oxidative stress than those of normal healthy individuals. The decreased level of reactive thiol groups in the EGM of NIDDM individuals supported this observation. We propose that the presence of significant levels of non-heme iron in the EGM of NIDDM subjects is an indication of the potential for iron-catalysed production of hydroxy and other toxic radicals which could cause continuous oxidative stress and tissue damage. Oxygen free radicals could therefore be responsible for most of the erythrocyte abnormalities associated with non-insulin-dependent diabetes and could indeed be intimately involved in the mechanism of tissue damage in diabetic complications

Periodic low-frequency electric field structures in a magnetized non-thermal auroral plasma

The theoretical explanation of electric field structures associated with density depletion in the Earth’s upper ionosphere is presented. Using the quasi-neutrality hypothesis, the effect of excess energetic electron species is studied on the evolution of nonlinear low-frequency ion-cyclotron and ion-acoustic waves in a magnetized auroral plasma. The dynamics of the cold ion beam is governed by the fluid equations and the electron is treated as energetic species with non-thermal density distribution. Numerical computations appear in a series of periodic oscillations, such as spiky, sawtooth and sinusoidal waveforms. The present model can generate up to 18 mV/m electric field amplitude, which is in the range of the FREJA satellite measurements in the auroral acceleration region