The Anti-Parkinson Potential of Gingko biloba-Supplement Mitigates Cortico-Cerebellar Degeneration and Neuropathobiological Alterations via Inflammatory and Apoptotic Mediators in Mice

Neurochemical Research - Activation of nuclear factor erythroid 2 related factor 2 (Nrf2) associated with the suppression of various oxido-inflammatory pathways and the controller of several gene...     

Impact of Three Years Training on Operations Capacities of Research Ethics Committees in Nigeria

This paper describes a three‐year project designed to build the capacity of members of research ethics committes to perform their roles and responsibilities efficiently and effectively. The project participants were made up of a cross‐section of the membership of 13 Research Ethics Committees (RECs) functioning in Nigeria. They received training to develop their capacity to evaluate research protocols, monitor trial implementation, provide constructive input to trial staff, and assess the trial's success in promoting community engagement in the research. Following the training, technical assistance was provided to participants on an ongoing basis and the project's impacts were assessed quantitatively and qualitatively. Results indicate that sustained investment in capacity building efforts (including training, ongoing technical assistance, and the provision of multiple tools) improved the participants’ knowledge of both the ethical principles relevant to biomedical research and how effective REC should function. Such investment was also shown to have a positive impact on the knowledge levels of other RECs members (those who did not receive training) and the overall operations of the RECs to which the participants belonged. Building the capacity of REC members to fulfill their roles effectively requires sustained effort and investment and pays off by enabling RECs to fulfill their essential mission of ensuring that trials are conducted safely and ethically.     

Interception, pH and solid content of rainfall in a Nigerian lowland rain forest

Rainfall interception by forest trees, pH, alkalinity, total suspended and dissolved solids of incident rainfall, stemflow and throughfall and the effect of tree species in these parameters were investigated in three open sites and a secondary rain forest at Ile-Ife, Nigeria, in 1994 and 1995. The tree species Blighia sapida , Holarrhena floribunda and Piptadeniastrum africanum intercepted different proportions of incident rainfall, 1.6, 39.4, and 7.4%, respectively. The pH of stemflow was higher than that of throughfall and the pH of both was always higher than that of incident rainfall. The total suspended solids were higher at the beginning and towards the end of the rainy season. The total dissolved solids concentration in all rainfall fractions was highest at the early rains and during the heavy rain months, especially in throughfall and stemflow. The total suspended and dissolved solids concentration of stemflow was higher than that of throughfall and those of both were higher than that of the incident rain. Total alkalinity of incident rainfall and throughfall decreased, while that of stemflow increased with increase in rainfall. There were significant differences in the alkalinity of stemflow and throughfall under the crowns of the tree species.     

Pyrene-degradation potentials of Pseudomonas species isolated from polluted tropical soils

Three Pseudomonas species isolated from oil polluted soils in Lagos, Nigeria were studied for their pyrene degradation potentials. These isolates exhibited broad substrate specificities for hydrocarbon substrates including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, petroleum fractions and chlorobenzoates. All three isolates tolerated salt concentrations of more than 3%. They resisted ampicillin, cenfuroxime, but susceptible to ofloxacin and ciprofloxacin. Pseudomonas sp. strain LP1 exhibited growth rates and pyrene degradation rates of 0.018 h⁻¹ and 0.111 mg l⁻¹ h⁻¹ respectively, while P. aeruginosa strains LP5 and LP6 had corresponding values of 0.024, 0.082 and 0.017, 0.067 respectively. The overall respective percentage removal of pyrene obtained for strains LP1, LP5 and LP6 after a 30-day incubation period were 67.79, 66.61 and 47.09. Resting cell assay revealed that strain LP1 had the highest uptake rate. Strains LP1, LP5, and LP6 also used the ortho-cleavage pathway. Enzyme study confirmed activity of catechol 1,2-dioxygenase in all with values 0.6823, 0.9199, and 0.8344 μmol min⁻¹ mg⁻¹ respectively for LP1, LP3 and LP6. To the best of our knowledge, ours is the first report of pyrene-degraders from the sub-Saharan African environment.     

Wine produced from date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) fruits using Saccharomyces cerevisiae X01 isolated from Nigerian locally fermented beverages

Archives of Microbiology - The study focused on the production of wine from date palm fruits (Phoenix dactylifera L.) using a strain of yeast isolated from selected Nigerian locally fermented...     

Stability of 17D Yellow Fever Virus Vaccine Using Different Stabilizers

To optimize the thermostability of lyophilized 17D vaccine, the authors investigated parameters important for the freeze-drying process. Six different stabilizers with different sugars and amino acids were analysed in a freeze-thaw cycle for their crystallization characteristics and their stabilizing effect under thermal treatment conditions of 37 degrees C for 28 days. This test indicated that three out of six stabilizers (B, C, F) kept the vaccine significantly more stable than the three others (A, D, E). Under storing conditions of 4 degrees C over 96 days stabilizers A, B and C produced the lowest decrease in titre of about 10% in contrast to stabilizers D, E and F with a higher decrease in infectivity titre. Analysing the stability of the 17D vaccine using five different reconstitution solutions, we found that 90% D2O shows the best stabilizing effect under thermal treatment of 37 degrees C up to 24 h.