Marker-trait association in selected Nigerian mini-core pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.] accessions using SCoT markers

The pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.] is a popular leguminous plant in the Fabaceae family. Its low yield is a major challenge in Nigeria with no improved varieties developed. The identification of markers linked to agronomical traits will accelerate agronomic yield improvements in pigeonpea. Hence, the study was conducted to identify SCoT markers associated with important agronomic traits within selected Nigerian pigeonpea lines. A total of 52 Nigerian pigeonpea were phenotyped for vegetative and yield traits. DNA was extracted from sampled accessions and evaluated with SCoT markers. Marker performance and association to agronomic traits were evaluated. The coefficient of variation (CoV) varied with agronomical traits, ranging from leaflet length (CoV = 15.77) to tertiary branches (CoV = 155.23). Broad sense heritability was high for all traits (H2 > 75%) except for the number of seeds per pod (H2 = 9.13%). Genetic advances ranged from 0.65 in leaflet width to 106.65 in pod number. Only seeds per pod showed more environmental variance than the genetic variance. SCoT markers showed 100% polymorphism with average Polymorphic Information Content values > 0.6. The effective marker ratio also ranged between 1.50 in SCoT-3 to 45.38 in SCoT-2. The cumulated phenotypic variance explained by associated markers ranged between 9.11% in 100 seed weight to 44.7% in leaflet width. Some markers were associated with more than one agronomic trait. These markers can be harnessed for their potential application in pigeonpea improvement programmes

Effect of variation in temperature and relative humidity on the reproductive performance of grasscutters held in captivity

This study investigated the reproductive performance of grasscutter through oestrus, mating, parturition, abortion and litter size in establishing the success of this performance during the rainy season and dry season. Effects of the atmospheric temperature and relative humidity on the reproductive performance of grasscutter in captivity were duly observed. Twenty female grasscutters were used with ten males for mating and were subsequently individually caged to determine the outcome of male-female contact (i.e. mating, conception and parturition). The signs of mating were detected by observing the marks of climbing at the back of the female grasscutter (doe),observing the changes in the perineum of the female before and after mating, monitoring the changes in weight gained post-mating and presence of fetuses by abdominal palpation. Parturition was detected by monitoring the expectant mothers with successful mating signs and distended abdomens. Keywords: Grasscutter, reproductive performance, reproduction, parturition, mating

Neuroimaging-based classification of PTSD using data-driven computational approaches: a multisite big data study from the ENIGMA-PGC PTSD consortium

Background: Recent advances in data-driven computational approaches have been helpful in devising tools to objectively diagnose psychiatric disorders. However, current machine learning studies limited to small homogeneous samples, different methodologies, and different imaging collection protocols, limit the ability to directly compare and generalize their results. Here we aimed to classify individuals with PTSD versus controls and assess the generalizability using a large heterogeneous brain datasets from the ENIGMA-PGC PTSD Working group. Methods: We analyzed brain MRI data from 3,477 structural-MRI; 2,495 resting state-fMRI; and 1,952 diffusion-MRI. First, we identified the brain features that best distinguish individuals with PTSD from controls using traditional machine learning methods. Second, we assessed the utility of the denoising variational autoencoder (DVAE) and evaluated its classification performance. Third, we assessed the generalizability and reproducibility of both models using leave-one-site-out cross-validation procedure for each modality. Results: We found lower performance in classifying PTSD vs. controls with data from over 20 sites (60 % test AUC for s-MRI, 59 % for rs-fMRI and 56 % for D-MRI), as compared to other studies run on single-site data. The performance increased when classifying PTSD from HC without trauma history in each modality (75 % AUC). The classification performance remained intact when applying the DVAE framework, which reduced the number of features. Finally, we found that the DVAE framework achieved better generalization to unseen datasets compared with the traditional machine learning frameworks, albeit performance was slightly above chance. Conclusion: These results have the potential to provide a baseline classification performance for PTSD when using large scale neuroimaging datasets. Our findings show that the control group used can heavily affect classification performance. The DVAE framework provided better generalizability for the multi-site data. This may be more significant in clinical practice since the neuroimaging-based diagnostic DVAE classification models are much less site-specific, rendering them more generalizable.Stress-related psychiatric disorders across the life spa

The relative contributions of fear and disgust reductions to improvements in spider phobia following exposure-based treatment

Item does not contain fulltextThe present study examines the relative contributions of changes in state fear and disgust emotions to improvements in spider phobia observed with exposure-based treatment. Sixty-one treatment-seeking spider fearful individuals underwent a one-session exposure in vivo treatment. Growth curve analyses indicated that treatment was associated with significant improvements in state fear and disgust reactions to a live spider and self-reported trait spider phobia symptoms. Mediation analyses demonstrated that changes over time in state fear and disgust each explained unique variance in improvements in phobic symptoms over time. Examination of the effect size of the mediated pathways suggests that changes in fear and changes in disgust are important to reductions in the severity of spider phobia symptoms during exposure-based treatment. The implications of these findings for conceptualizing the role of fear and disgust emotions in the maintenance and treatment of spider phobia are discussed

Evaluative conditioning of fear and disgust in blood-injection-injury phobia: Specificity and impact of individual differences in disgust sensitivity

Item does not contain fulltextThe present study examines whether the repeated pairing of neutral facial expressions with phobic-relevant stimuli differentially influences evaluative ratings of fear and disgust between analogue blood-injection-injury (BII) phobic (n = 40) and non-phobic (n = 40) participants. Consistent with prior research, BII phobics reported greater disgust sensitivity than non-phobic participants even after controlling for between group differences in anxiety symptoms. Results from the evaluative conditioning experiment indicated that pre- to posttest increases in fear ratings were only marginally greater for phobic compared to non-phobic participants. However, increases in disgust from pre- to posttest were greater for phobic compared to non-phobic participants and greater for neutral expressions that were paired with threat-relevant stimuli compared to stimuli not paired with threat-relevant stimuli. Subsequent analysis also indicated that pre- to posttest increases in disgust ratings of neutral expressions that were paired with threat-relevant stimuli was moderated by disgust sensitivity levels among phobic and non-phobic participants. Heightened fear and disgust ratings were subsequently reduced by an extinction procedure. Implications of present findings in understanding the role of fear and disgust in BII phobia are discussed

Management of epitheliogenesis imperfecta in a piglet (Sus Scrofa domesticus) in Ibadan, Nigeria

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Examination of the decline in fear and disgust during exposure to threat-relevant stimuli in blood-injection-injury phobia

Item does not contain fulltextIn the present study, participants (N = 22) displaying marked fear of blood-injection-injury (BII) stimuli were provided 30 min of in vivo exposure to threat-relevant stimuli, during which time their fear and disgust levels were repeatedly assessed. Growth curve analyses were then conducted to examine the decay slopes in both fear and disgust and their relationship. Results indicated that exposure led to significant declines in fear and disgust across trials. However, the decay slope observed for fear was significantly greater than that for disgust. Further analyses revealed that the decline in fear across trials remained significant after accounting for the changes in disgust. However, the effect of trial on disgust was no longer significant after controlling for the reduction in fear. Global disgust sensitivity levels prior to exposure did not moderate the level of fear activation or fear reduction during exposure. BII-specific digust sensitivity was also not associated with intial levels of fear. However, levels of BII-specific disgust sensitivity were independently negatively associated with fear decline. Theoretical and clinical implications of the findings are discussed

Household energy use regarded as energy orders : Practical implications for housing companies

Building low energy housing is one way of reducing householdenergy use, particularly energy used for heating andwarm water. Household appliance use, on the other hand,is often left out even though it contributes to overall energyuse in households. Housing companies are therefore missingpart of the potential in reducing energy use simply becausethe energy used for appliances not accounted for. However,research on household energy use in general is abundant,and the subject has been studied from different aspects andstandpoints, for example, by regarding energy use as part ofeveryday practices. Another way of studying energy use in thehome is to view energy use as energy orders. The energy orderconcept is based on time-geographical concepts and includesthe concrete use of appliances and other material resourcesin the home as well as sequences of activities in their everydaycontext. With this approach, restrictions and possibilitiesfor doing things differently in everyday life become clearer,making it easier to analyse where the possibilities for changedbehaviour lie.Interviews were conducted with 14 households, a total of25 persons, to study how appliances and the design of lowenergy flats influence everyday activities. Results show thatevery household has unique energy orders, which means thathouseholds use resources in different ways depending on individualprojects, capacities and everyday context. This leadsto differences in energy use. On the other hand, the decisionsmade by housing companies have an impact on householdenergy behaviour, which means that households are able toinfluence energy use only to a certain degree. Housing companiesshould therefore communicate with their tenants inorder to learn more about how tenants experience the materialaspects of their flats and how they actually use both appliancesand the flats in general. By doing this, housing companieswould gain new knowledge and find opportunities toimprove functionality in ways that enable different energyorders

Examination of the decline in symptoms of anxiety and depression in generalized anxiety disorder: Impact of anxiety senstivity on response to pharmacotherapy

Item does not contain fulltextPharmacotherapy is an effective treatment for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), but few studies have examined the nature of decline of anxiety and depression during pharmacotherapy for GAD and even fewer studies have examined predictors of symptom decline. This study examined the decline in symptoms of anxiety and depression in patients with GAD during a 6-week open trial of fluoxetine. Growth curve analyses indicated that pharmacotherapy with fluoxetine led to significant declines in symptoms of anxiety and depression over the 6 weeks of treatment. However, the decay slope observed for anxiety symptoms was significantly greater than that for depressive symptoms. Further analyses revealed that the decline in anxiety remained significant after accounting for the changes in symptoms of depression. However, the effect of treatment on depression was no longer significant after controlling for the reduction in anxiety symptoms. Overall anxiety sensitivity (AS) did not moderate the level of reduction in symptoms of anxiety or depression during pharmacotherapy. However, AS specific to physical concerns demonstated a marginal negative association with decline in anxiety and depression. AS specific to social concerns also demonstrated a marginal negative association with decline in anxiety symptoms. These findings suggest that the decline in anxiety symptoms is independent of the decline in symptoms of depression during pharmacotherapy for GAD and specific AS dimensions may predict symptom change in GAD

Ulcerative colitis in Nigerian children: A report of two cases and review of the literature

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a relapsing, idiopathic chronic inflammatory disorder of colon characterised by ulcerations of the colon with bleeding, mucosal crypt abscesses and inflammatory pseudo polyps associated with abdominal pain with tenesmus and significant weight loss. Ulcerative colitis has rarely been reported in sub-Saharan African children. In this report we present 2 cases of ulcerative colitis i in Nigerian children confirmed by barium enema, colonoscopy and histology. A review of the current literature on ulcerative colitis is also discussed