Association of Combined Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances and Metals with Chronic Kidney Disease.

: Exposure to environmental pollutants such as metals and Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) has become common and increasingly associated with a decrease in the estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR), which is a marker often used to measure chronic kidney disease (CKD). However, there are limited studies involving the use of both eGFR and the urine albumin creatinine ratio (uACR), which are more comprehensive markers to determine the presence of CKD and the complexity of pollutant exposures and response interactions, especially for combined metals and PFAS, which has not been comprehensively elucidated. : This study aims to assess the individual and combined effects of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), Cadmium (Cd), Mercury (Hg), and Lead (Pb) exposure on CKD using data from the National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (NHANES) 2017-2018.

Linking communities and health facilities to improve child health in low-resource settings: a systematic review.

Community-facility linkage interventions are gaining popularity as a way to improve community health in low-income settings. Their aim is to create/strengthen a relationship between community members and local healthcare providers. Representatives from both groups can address health issues together, overcome trust problems, potentially leading to participants' empowerment to be responsible for their own health.

Community perceptions matter: a mixed-methods study using local knowledge to define features of success for a community intervention to improve quality of care for children under-5 in Jigawa, Nigeria.

Objectives: In this study, we used the information generated by community members during an intervention design process to understand the features needed for a successful community participatory intervention to improve child health.

Design: We conducted a concurrent mixed-methods study (November 2019-March 2020) to inform the design and evaluation of a community-facility linkage participatory intervention.

Setting: Kiyawa Local Government Area (Jigawa State, Nigeria)-population of 230 000 (n=425 villages).

Whose knowledge counts? Involving communities in intervention and trial design using community conversations.

Background: Current debates in Global Health call for expanding methodologies to allow typically silenced voices to contribute to processes of knowledge production and intervention design. Within trial research, this has typically involved small-scale qualitative work, with limited opportunities for citizens to contribute to the structure and nature of the trial. This paper reports on efforts to move past typical formative trial work, through adaptation of community conversations (CCs) methodology, an action-oriented approach that engages large numbers of community members in dialogue.

Integrated Sustainable childhood Pneumonia and Infectious disease Reduction in Nigeria (INSPIRING) through whole system strengthening in Jigawa, Nigeria: study protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial.

Background: Child mortality remains unacceptably high, with Northern Nigeria reporting some of the highest rates globally (e.g. 192/1000 live births in Jigawa State).

Identification of sequence variation in the oocyte-derived bone morphogenetic protein 15 (BMP15) gene (BMP15) associated with litter size in New Zealand sheep (Ovis aries) breeds.

Advances in the study of reproductive traits indicate that functional variation in fertility genes may be useful for improving sheep fertility. The aim of this study was to search for variation in the bone morphogenetic protein 15 gene (BMP15) and ascertain any association with litter size in purebred Finnish Landrace sheep (n = 148), Finnish Landrace × Texel-cross sheep (n = 45), and composite sheep (of varying breed background; n = 58) from New Zealand (NZ). A 482 bp and 312 bp fragment of exon 1 and 2, respectively, of BMP15 were analysed using polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP).

Variation in bovine leptin gene affects milk fatty acid composition in New Zealand Holstein Friesian × Jersey dairy cows.

Leptin is a protein hormone secreted from white adipose tissue. It regulates food/feed intake, body weight, immune function and reproduction. In our investigation, the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification coupled with single-strand conformational polymorphism (SSCP) analysis was used to reveal variation in bovine leptin gene () in New Zealand (NZ) Holstein Friesian   Jersey (HF   J) dairy cows.

Nucleotide sequence variation of the major histocompatibility complex class II DQA1 gene in different cattle breeds from Nigeria and New Zealand.

The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) plays a role in immune response. Among other activities, the bovine MHC genes (BoLA) trigger immune responses, including the activation of antibody-producing B-cells. In this study, White Fulani (n = 24), Red Bororo (n = 5) and Holstein-White × Fulani-cross (n = 11) cattle from Nigeria, and New Zealand Holstein-Friesian × Jersey-cross (n = 40) cattle were used to investigate variability in exon 2 of BoLA-DQA1.

Associations between the Bovine Myostatin Gene and Milk Fatty Acid Composition in New Zealand Holstein-Friesian × Jersey-Cross Cows.

The myostatin gene (), which encodes the protein myostatin, is pleiotropic, and its expression has been associated with both increased and decreased adipogenesis and increased skeletal muscle mass in animals. In this study, the polymerase chain reaction, coupled with single strand conformation polymorphism analysis, was utilized to reveal nucleotide sequence variation in bovine in 410 New Zealand (NZ) Holstein-Friesian × Jersey (HF × J)-cross cows. These cows ranged from 3 to 9 years of age and over the time studied, produced an average 22.

Identification of novel nucleotide sequence variations in an extended region of the bovine leptin gene () across a variety of cattle breeds from New Zealand and Nigeria.

Leptin is mainly secreted by white adipose tissue in animals. Leptin acts by stimulating or inhibiting the release of a neurotransmitter, which eventually results in a decrease in food/feed intake and an increase in energy expenditure. In this investigation, the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) coupled with single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis was used to reveal nucleotide sequence variations in bovine leptin gene () in 338 cattle of a variety of breeds farmed in New Zealand (NZ) and Nigeria.

Genetic variations and haplotypic diversity in the Myostatin gene of New Zealand cattle breeds.

Myostatin (MSTN) is a circulating factor that is secreted by muscle cells, and that acts upon those cells to inhibit the proliferation of muscle fibres during pre-natal muscle growth. The Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) coupled with Single Strand Conformational Polymorphism (SSCP) analysis, was used to reveal variation in the bovine MSTN gene (MSTN) in 722 cattle from a variety of breeds farmed in New Zealand (NZ). These included Hereford, Angus, Charolais, Simmental, Red Poll, South Devon, Shorthorn, Murray Grey, cross-bred Holstein-Friesian × Jersey cattle, and other composite breeds of cattle.

A new DNA sequence entropy-based Kullback-Leibler algorithm for gene clustering.

Information theory is a branch of mathematics that overlaps with communications, biology, and medical engineering. Entropy is a measure of uncertainty in the set of information. In this study, for each gene and its exons sets, the entropy was calculated in orders one to four.

Polymorphism in the ovine keratin-associated protein gene KRTAP7-1 and its association with wool characteristics.

The keratin-associated proteins (KAPs) are structural components of wool fibers and variation in the genes encoding the KAPs can affect wool traits. In this study, sequence variation in the ovine KAP7-1 gene (KRTAP7-1) was investigated in 222 sheep across 5 different Pakistani breeds and breed crosses. Two previously identified variants (A and B) of the KRTAP7-1 coding sequence were identified.

Contraceptive choices among grand multiparous women at Murtala Mohammed Specialist Hospital, Kano.

Background: Grand multiparity is known to be associated with pregnancy complications. Nigeria with a contraceptive prevalence of <15% and culture of early marriage in the northern part of the country, many women get to grand multiparity early in their obstetric carriers. These women contribute significantly to the bad obstetric performance indices in the country.

In vitro replication of bacteriophage GA RNA. Subunit structure and catalytic properties of GA replicase.

An RNA replicase of GA phage, one of the Group II RNA phages, was isolated and purified to a homogeneous state. By SDS polyacrylamide gel analysis, the purified GA replicase was found to contain four different subunits, numbered I, II, III, and IV, the molecular weights of which were 74,000, 60,000, 47,000, and 36,000, respectively. Three of them, I, III, and IV, proved to be host-coded proteins, ribosomal protein S1 (I), and elongation factors Tu (III) and Ts (IV) of protein biosynthesis, respectively.

Template specificity of Qbeta and SP phage RNA replicases as studied by replication of small variant RNAs.

Template specificity of two RNA-dependent RNA polymerases (Qbeta and SP RNA replicases) was examined using "variant RNAs" as template. Three variant RNAs, one (8S) generated by Qbeta replicase and two (6S and 5.2S) generated by SP replicase, were isolated from the reaction mixtures incubated in the absence of exogenous template RNA.

Identification of host-derived subunits of phage SP RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (SP replicase).

Phage SP RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (SP replicase) was purified from Escherichia coli infected with RNA phage SP. The enzyme was found to be composed of four non-identical polypeptides, i.e.