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International Journal of Biology
Number of Followers: 1

This is an Open Access Journal

Open Access journal
ISSN (Print) 1916-9671 - ISSN (Online) 1916-968X
Published by CCSE

[43 journals]

Reviewer Acknowledgements for International Journal of Biology, Vol. 14,
No. 2
- Abstract: Reviewer Acknowledgements for International Journal of Biology, Vol. 14, No. 2
  PubDate: Wed, 30 Nov 2022 07:57:19 +000
Dynamics of the Soil Macrofauna Influenced by Improved Fallows With
Andropogon gayanus in Hydromorphic Soil at Bondoukuy (Western Burkina
Faso)
- Abstract: In western Burkina Faso, in the Bondoukuy cotton zone, on silty-clay soils, the rarefaction of the perennial grass Andropogon gayanus, characteristic of old fallows, is noticed. This grass is known to restore the structural stability of the soil rather quickly, due to a stimulation of biological activity, while the storage of organic matter in the soil remains slow. The biological aspect has been prospected through the study of invertebrate populations in 3 sites, all of which present 4 situations: 30-year-old fallows, 5-year-old natural fallows, and 5-year-old A. gayanus improved fallows and 10-year-old permanent crop fields.The results show that invertebrate populations are very diverse. A total of 172 morphotypes were recorded, including 115 species of insects (24 species of social insects), 31 species of Chelicerata, 8 Myriapoda and 5 earthworms. In the fields, earthworms and Diplopoda populations are less important than in old fallows. On the other hand, the fields have the highest species diversity, 50 species on average. The most abundant population is found in natural fallows, with a density of 835 individuals/m² and 43 species represented. Improved fallows with A. gayanus have a lower stand density and species richness than natural fallows (less than 50% and 43 species). In old fallows, stands are stable with a richness limited to 30 species, while earthworms and myriapods have significantly reduced densities.Soil invertebrate communities thus recover rapidly after crop abandonment and are fully active during the most intense phase of recovery in the first 5 years. Trees do not appear to have a significant effect on the conservation and stimulation of macrofauna except for Coleoptera.Our results show that the cropping system adopted in the region allows for minimal conservation of soil macrofauna and that the macrofauna recovers rapidly during the fallow. Improved fallows with A. gayanus differ from natural fallows in limiting Termite density, while old fallows and fields are of comparable density.
  PubDate: Thu, 13 Oct 2022 04:00:26 +000
Ethological and Physiological Harmful Effects of Metformin, An
Antidiabetic Used to Treat Type 2-Diabetes: A Study on Ants as Biological
Models
- Abstract: Metformin is a drug mainly used for caring of persons suffering from type 2-diabetes. Over time, it was found to be efficient for treating others illness. Its use increasing, it is nowadays the second active pharmaceutical ingredient more present pollutant in natural water. It could therefore affect the biology of the aquatic fauna through harmful physiological effects. Using ants as biological models, we studied the potential physiological and ethological adverse effects of Metformin. We found that it largely reduced or impacted these insects’ food intake, activity, audacity, social relationships, state of stress, cognition, and learning abilities. No adaptation and no habituation to the effects of Metformin were observed, and ants developed some dependence on its consumption. After weaning, the effect of Metformin became significantly lower than its initial one as soon as after four hours and fully vanished in a total of 13 hours. Metformin could thus harmfully impact the freshwater fauna rich in insect species, especially if chronic exposures occur. As regards patients treated with Metformin, our study suggests that they may suffer from side effects not mentioned in the drug notice. For instance, they may develop dependence and increase their daily dose, accentuating so the drug side effects, e.g., they may suffer from anorexia. Practitioners should know the side effects of Metformin and monitor patients as for their occurrence.
  PubDate: Thu, 13 Oct 2022 02:53:17 +000
Serpentine Adaptation of Ligustrum japonicum Thunb. (Oleaceae) Based on
Morphological and Anatomical Approaches
- Abstract: Serpentine soils consist of broadly skewed elemental profiles, including abundant toxic metals and low nutrient content in drought-prone, patchily distributed substrates; therefore, they are one of the most challenging settings for plant life. In this study, a comparative study was conducted using serpentine and inland populations of Ligustrum japonicum Thunb. (Oleaceae) to determine morphological and anatomical differences between the same species growing in the serpentine and inland areas. Longitudinal leaf sections indicated that serpentine populations had slightly thicker leaves than inland populations, contributing to the increased heights of adaxial and abaxial epidermal cells and palisade and spongy tissues. Moreover, the serpentine population had smaller stomata than the inland populations. These results suggest that the strong selective pressure under serpentine soil conditions could force leaves to restore water and avoid excessive transpiration.
  PubDate: Mon, 10 Oct 2022 02:03:39 +000
A Hybrid Analytical Model of Growth Regulation in Animals
- Abstract: The aim of this study was to build and analyse a model of ontogenetic growth of animals. The model was built based on experimental data and field observations. The growth of pigs was modelled by a non-local hybrid technique. This technique treats time as a discrete variable. In this study the growth of pigs was modelled beginning the stage of the rapid growth up to the maximum weight. The growth was modelled as a dynamic system. It was shown that the trajectory of the growth is neither smooth nor continuous. The main theme in this study is transition to a new growth phenotype. There are two results in this study. At a certain point in animal's ontogeny the trajectory of the growth undergoes a first-order phase transition. In the next stage, during bifurcation, new trajectories of growth emerge; this sequence of events has a biological meaning. The emerged trajectories differ from the initial trajectory, and from each other in essence. In the model, one trajectory of the growth emerges instantly. For other growth trajectory to emerge it takes half a year. In a population of animals, it is a general situation. Individual animals can take on only one of the emerged trajectories. In this study, a two-stage process of a transition to a new ontogenetic trajectory or a new phenotype was revealed. The transition to the new growth phenotype is to consider as the model of the pattern of the systemic regulation of growth.
  PubDate: Sun, 02 Oct 2022 07:56:40 +000
Assessment of the Sanitary Quality of Fruit Juices Sold in Some Public
Schools in the Agblangandan District in the Southern Part of Benin
- Abstract: Fruit juices are one of the favorite drinks for children these days. As a result, its production must be organized in such a way as to ensure quality and guarantee the safety of consumers in general and schoolchildren in particular. The objective of this study is to analyze the health quality of bissap, lemon and pineapple juices sold in some public schools in the district of Agblangandan. For this, we collected from the vendors, 12 pineapple juice, 14 bissap juice and 8 lemon juice during the morning recess. Then, the microbiological and physico-chemical analyzes were carried out on the juices. The microbiological analyzes made it possible to identify the presence of total mesophilic flora (1.09.104 CFU/ml), total Coliforms (2.78.103 CFU/ml), Escherichia coli (4.44.102 CFU/ml), Enterococci (86.1 CFU/ml) and Clostridium (13.2 CFU/ml) in bissap juices. These same germs have been identified in lemon and pineapple juices with varying loads. As for the physico-chemical parameters, the results revealed a high rate of turbidity, conductivity, temperature and pH of the juices. Factors such as failure to master hygiene rules when bagging juices, non-compliance with hygiene rules during handling and storage and then inappropriate hygiene practices are origin of the contamination of these juices. It is therefore urgent to prioritize the hygiene and health of school children through awareness-raising, education and regular and rigorous health control of the juices sold by sworn agents.
  PubDate: Wed, 07 Sep 2022 06:57:23 +000