Natural resource abundance in Nigeria: From dependence to development

There are several strategies open to an economy in its attempt to attain sustainable economic development depending on its historical background and resource endowment. One of such is the resource-led strategy. Nigeria is superabundantly rich in crude oil and has reaped billions of petrodollars. However, the country seems to be facing the problem of successfully translating this huge oil wealth into sustainable development. This paper employs the vector error-correction methodology in examining the long-run impact of the huge oil wealth accruing to Nigeria on its economic development. Indicators such as per capita GDP (PGDP), household consumption, infrastructural development (electricity), and agricultural and manufacturing output growth rates are examined. The results suggest a significant positive long-run impact of per capita oil revenue on per capita household consumption and electricity generation, while a negative relationship is established for GDP, agriculture and manufacturing. Even for those variables with negative relationship at current period, there exist positive relationships at subsequent lags. Thus, oil revenue, if properly managed and invested, could be effectively used to induce oil-led development in Nigeria provided the current inhibitions of corruption, lack of transparency, accountability and fairness in its use and distribution are removed.     

Fas/FasL途径在氟暴露致PC12细胞凋亡中的作用

为了探讨Fas/FasL途径在氟暴露致PC12细胞凋亡中的作用及其机制,采用含20、40、80、160mg/L NaF培养液处理PC12细胞.结果表明,所有剂量NaF处理12、24、36、48h,PC12细胞活性升高;上述不同剂量NaF处理24h后,与对照组比,PC12细胞的活性氧水平、细胞凋亡率、细胞内Fas/FasL信号转导通路Fas和FasL、Caspase8、FADD、Caspase3基因和蛋白表达水平均呈显著上升（P < 0.05）,而Bid基因和蛋白表达水平显著下降（P < 0.05）,且呈氟暴露剂量依赖性.结果提示Fas/FasL途径在氟暴露致PC12细胞凋亡中起重要作用,其中FADD可能是Fas/FasL凋亡途径中的重要靶分子.     

Trisomy 12 mosaicism detected by mid–trimester amniocentesis

Trisomy 12 mosaicism was found in about 15 per cent of cultured amniocytes obtained from a 32-year-old white female at 17·6 weeks of gestation. Termination of pregnancy was elected and multiple tissues were obtained for chromosome analysis. Of 158 cells examined, only 1 cell in placenta was found with an extra number 12 chromosome. Pathological examination of the fetus did not reveal significant physical abnormalities. This report illustrates the difficulty of confirming trisomy 12 mosaicism which has been detected on prenatal diagnosis. The presence of trisomy 12 in one placental cell obtained from the curettage specimen suggests the possibility of confined placental mosaicism in this case.     

直链烷基苯磺酸盐促进剩余污泥产生短链脂肪酸的研究

采用批试试验的方法研究了十二烷基苯磺酸钠(C12-LAS)对剩余污泥在厌氧发酵过程中产生的短链脂肪酸(SCFAs)的影响.结果表明,C12-LAS的投加极大地提高了剩余污泥厌氧发酵过程中的SCFAs产量.当C12-LAS加入量低于0.1g·g-1时,SCFAs产量随着C12-LAS加入量的增加而增加,然而,当C12-LAS加入量高于0.1g·g-1时,SCFAs产量反而有所降低.从污泥产酸量以及经济成本考虑,C12-LAS的最佳投加量为0.02g·g-1,此时剩余污泥的SCFAs最大产量出现在第6天.进一步的研究表明,C12-LAS不仅促使大量的碳水化合物和蛋白质脱离污泥颗粒并溶解到液相中,而且抑制了产甲烷菌的活性.尽管剩余污泥经历着酸化过程,但由于其释放出大量的NH4 -N,污泥在整个厌氧发酵过程中的pH值逐渐升高.     

Peri- and paracentric inversions in chromosome 12: Prenatal diagnosis and family study

Three different types of chromosome 12 inversion were seen in 15 individuals out of 44 individuals examined in one 8 generation family. Type 1: a pericentric inversion inv(12) (p112; q131) was found in 7 individuals and twice at prenatal diagnosis. Type 2: a paracentric inversion inv(12) (p123; p131) was seen in two individuals. Two individuals carried both inversion chromosomes, namely type 1 and type 2. The two inversion chromosomes were transmitted from each of the parents. Type 3: a double pericentric and paracentric inversion (type 3) inv(12) (p123; p131) (p112; q131) was observed in the daughter of one of the carriers of type 1 and 2 inversions and again at prenatal diagnosis in her son. The double inversion most likely arose through crossing-over in between the two inversion loops. A balanced translocation t(7; 13) and the inversion type 1 was observed in one individual, who transmitted the translocation only to an offspring. The frequency of inversions in amniotic fluid cells observed in our laboratory was 1·9 per cent. The clinical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Easurements of placental,decidual, and fetal proteins before and after chorionic villus sampling

Circulating placental [human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG), Schwangerschafts protein 1 (SP1), pregnancy-associated plasma protein A (PAPP-A), decidual (pregnancy protein) 12 (PP12), and fetal alphafetoprotein (AFP)] proteins were measured immediately before and within 1 h in 18 women undergoing diagnostic chorionic villus sampling (CVS) in the first trimester. An elevation of serum AFP levels was consistently seen, while fluctuations in excess of 10 per cent of the pre-CVS levels of SP1 and PP12 were seen in the majority of patients. Fluctuations in hCG and PAPP-A were consistently less than 10 per cent of pre-CVS values. Post-CVS changes in levels were not apparently associated with any feature of the technique, the pregnancy, or its outcome (one missed abortion). As feto-maternal haemorrhage is a common event, anti-D should be offered to rhesus-negative women undergoing CVS. In the prediction of subsequent miscarriage, only hCG and PAPP-A measurements should be considered.     

Renatal diagnosis of mosaic tetrasomy 12p/trisomy 12p by fluorescent in situ hybridization in amniotic fluid cells: A case report of pallister–killian syndrome

A prenatally detected case of a rare mosaic tetrasomy 12p/trisomy 12p is reported, presenting as the well-known accessory isochromosome 12p and a supernumerary single 12p marker in 17/24 and 6/24 clones of cultured amniotic fluid cells, respectively. The chromosomal nature of both marker chromosomes was investigated in cultured amniotic fluid cells by fluorescent in situ hybridization with various probes: the 12-centromeric probes pa12H8 and D12Z3, a whole chromosome 12 paint, and the chromosome 12p-specific paint M28. DNA analysis revealed a maternal origin of the extra 12p material. After counselling, the parents requested termination of pregnancy. Inspection and autopsy of the fetus revealed many of the dysmorphisms and internal structural abnormalities of the Pallister–Killian syndrome.     

Prenatal confirmation of trisomy 12 mosaicism by fetal skin biopsy

Trisomy 12 mosaicism diagnosed at 16 weeks' amniocentesis in a 42-year-old woman was not confirmed at 18 weeks' gestational age in amniotic fluid or fetal blood. Fetal skin biopsy performed at the same time did, however, allow the detection of trisomy 12 in 1 of 14 fibroblasts analysed. Fetal skin biopsy can be included within the diagnostic procedures to be performed when a level III mosaicism is found in the amniotic fluid.     

Understanding conservationists’ perspectives on the new‐conservation debate

A vibrant debate about the future direction of biodiversity conservation centers on the merits of the so‐called new conservation. Proponents of the new conservation advocate a series of positions on key conservation ideas, such as the importance of human‐dominated landscapes and conservation's engagement with capitalism. These have been fiercely contested in a debate dominated by a few high‐profile individuals, and so far there has been no empirical exploration of existing perspectives on these issues among a wider community of conservationists. We used Q methodology to examine empirically perspectives on the new conservation held by attendees at the 2015 International Congress for Conservation Biology (ICCB). Although we identified a consensus on several key issues, 3 distinct positions emerged: in favor of conservation to benefit people but opposed to links with capitalism and corporations, in favor of biocentric approaches but with less emphasis on wilderness protection than prominent opponents of new conservation, and in favor of the published new conservation perspective but with less emphasis on increasing human well‐being as a goal of conservation. Our results revealed differences between the debate on the new conservation in the literature and views held within a wider, but still limited, conservation community and demonstrated the existence of at least one viewpoint (in favor of conservation to benefit people but opposed to links with capitalism and corporations) that is almost absent from the published debate. We hope the fuller understanding we present of the variety of views that exist but have not yet been heard, will improve the quality and tone of debates on the subject.