Evaluation of Seed Yield of Nigerian Bambara Groundnut [Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc.] Landraces under Varying Water Conditions

Seed yield of selected Nigerian Bambara Groundnut landraces under two varying water conditions was evaluated. Twenty eight (28) Bambara groundnut accessions were planted in a randomized complete block design with two treatments (Non-water stressed and Water stressed) and replicated five times. The experiment was conducted at the Experimental Garden of the Department of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Niger State. The accessions were planted in planting bags during the cropping season of 2016 between July and October. The two treatments were rain fed until maturity except during the period of exposure to water stress where the water stressed plants were transferred to a screen house made with polyvinyl ceiling to prevent water during the flowering stage for two weeks. It was observed that water stress reduced the yield of the Bambara groundnut landraces by 47%. Accessions NGB-01646-B, NGR-NI-20-H  and NGB-01491 which had relatively high yield in the stressed and non- water stressed condition were considered  the most drought tolerant accessions and accession NGR-KG-02-C with low yield both in stressed and non-stressed conditions was identified as the most susceptible accession. Accessions which had high yield only in water stressed conditions could serve as elite line for Bambara groundnut for areas which have problem of drought. These drought tolerant accessions identified in the research can serve as potential parent lines in breeding programmes aimed at the development of drought tolerant varieties of Bambara groundnut

Cross-ancestry GWAS meta-analysis identifies six breast cancer loci in African and European ancestry women

Our study describes breast cancer risk loci using a cross-ancestry GWAS approach. We first identify variants that are associated with breast cancer at P < 0.05 from African ancestry GWAS meta-analysis (9241 cases and 10193 controls), then meta-analyze with European ancestry GWAS data (122977 cases and 105974 controls) from the Breast Cancer Association Consortium. The approach identifies four loci for overall breast cancer risk [1p13.3, 5q31.1, 15q24 (two independent signals), and 15q26.3] and two loci for estrogen receptor-negative disease (1q41 and 7q11.23) at genome-wide significance. Four of the index single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) lie within introns of genes (KCNK2, C5orf56, SCAMP2, and SIN3A) and the other index SNPs are located close to GSTM4, AMPD2, CASTOR2, and RP11-168G16.2. Here we present risk loci with consistent direction of associations in African and European descendants. The study suggests that replication across multiple ancestry populations can help improve the understanding of breast cancer genetics and identify causal variants

Pollen parameters estimates of genetic variability among newly selected Nigerian roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.) genotypes

Estimates of some pollen parameters where used to assess the genetic diversity among some newly selected Nigerian Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.). Standard procedures were used to determine the pollen parameters such as: percentage pollen fertility, percentage pollen sterility, pollen diameters as well as anther diameters. The cytological results revealed significant (P ≤ 0.05) variation in the diameters of anther cap and pollen grains. Anther morphology and pollen grain morphology of the H. sabdariffa genotypes under light microscope showed fair diversity in the Anther and pollen grain sizes. The Roselle genotypes were grouped according to their anther sizes into small (&lt; 400 μm), medium (400-700 μm) and large (&gt; 700 μm); such character should be included in examining genetic diversity in this crop. The dendrogram produced from the cluster analysis of the different genotypes of the roselle based on diameters of the pollen grains and that of the anther cap-sizes also separate the genotypes into different groups. The results obtained in terms of percentage pollen fertility also showed some interesting variations. It is not untrue that larger pollen grain could serve as a better pollinizer than a smaller pollen grain; moreover, successes in crossing among such plants could be dependent on the sizes of the pollen. The pollen grain size variations obtained from this study is of good taxonomic value. The variation in the anther and pollen grain sizes could also be as a result of different genetic make of the Roselle genotypes and could serve as important diagnostic tool in differentiating Nigerian Roselle genotypes and achieving the cytotaxonomy of the crop. It is therefore concluded that there exist genetic variability among the pollen grains and anthers of the new selected Nigerian Roselle (H. sabdariffa) genotypes; these characters are good taxonomic parameters that could be used in evaluating genetic diversity of the crop in the study area. It is recommended that other pollen viability staining techniques should be employed to ascertain the level of the pollen fertility among the Roselle Genotypes. In addition, DNA-PCR technique should be used to further confirm the variability observed in this present study.Keywords: Anther Caps, Pollen diameters, Pollen fertility, Pollinizer, Variations, Dendrogra

Costs of dementia in Hungary

Objective The main aim of this paper is to give an overview on the quality of life, health care utilisation and costs of dementia in Hungary. Method A cross-sectional non-population based study of 88 consecutive dementia patients and their caregivers was conducted in three GP practices and one outpatient setting in 2008. Resource Utilization in Dementia (RUD), Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) and quality of life (EQ-5D) were surveyed and cost calculations were performed. Costs of patients living at home were estimated by the current bottom-up cost-of-illness calculations, while costs of nursing home patients were considered by official reimbursement to determine the disease burden from a societal viewpoint. Results The mean age of the patients was 77.4 years (SD=9.2), 59% of them were female. The mean MMSE score was 16.70 (SD=7.24), and the mean EQ-5D score was 0.40 (SD=0.34). The average annual cost of dementia was 6,432 Euros per patient living at home and 6,086 Euros per patient living in nursing homes. For the whole demented population (based on EuroCoDe data) we estimated total annual costs of 846.8 million Euros; of which 55% are direct costs, 9% indirect costs and 36% informal care cost. Compared to acute myocardial infarction the total disease burden of dementia is 26.3 times greater. Conclusions This is the first study investigating resource utilisation, costs, and quality of life of dementia patients in the Central and Eastern European region. Compared to the general population of Hungary EQ-5D values of the demented patients are lower in all age groups. Dementia related costs are much lower in Hungary compared to Western European countries. There is no remarkable difference between the costs of demented patients living at home and in nursing homes, from the societal point of view