Abstract. The study of chromosome behaviour has been carried out on males of three species of the Asopinae (Pentatomidae) bugs Andrallus spinidens (Fabricius, 1787), Canthecona furcellata Wolff, 1801 and Perillus bioculatus (Fabricius, 1775) collected in India. All the species have XY sex chromosome system and 12 autosomes (2n=14=12A+XY). The general course of meiosis is fairly uniform and is typical for heteropteran species. However, the species differ in the extent of decondensation of the autosomes during the diffuse stage and the number of ring bivalents at diplotene/ diakinesis. Also, a metaphase I arrangement of chromosomes which is different from the typical Pentatomidae type has been observed in C. furcellata and P. bioculatus.

Summary Regardless of rich biodiversity, cytogenetic work on African Heteroptera is meagre. This paper reports meiotic behaviour of chromosomes in 3 species of Heteroptera from Ethiopia for the first time. Paracritheus trimaculatus and Eurydema pulchrum, both belonging to Pentatomidae, possess 2nϭ14ϭ12AϩXY while Cletus punctulatus belonging to Coreidae possesses 2nϭ18ϭ 14Aϩ2mϩX 1 X 2 0. Certain characteristics are common in the 2 species of Pentatomidae such as fusion of the X and Y to form a heteropycnotic body at diffuse stage, and their behaviour at diakinesis and metaphase II. The 2 species, however, differ in chiasma frequency, the pattern of chromosomes at metaphase I and the degree of association between X and Y in the pseudobivalent at metaphase II. In Cletus punctulatus, the 2 sex chromosomes, X 1 and X 2 , remain fused throughout meiosis except for a brief period during metaphase I. The fused X chromosomes precedes the autosomes during anaphase II. The Chiasma frequency is seen to be higher.

Aims: To evaluate serum copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) concentration in relation to clinical status among people living with HIV/AIDS for possible interventions. Study Design: A cross-sectional study design was used. Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted between January and February 2013 in Felege Hiwot Referral Hospital, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. Methods: Serum concentrations of Cu and Zn from 150 people living with HIV/AIDS were measured using a fully automated flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Besides, world health organization (WHO) clinical staging, CD4+ T-cell count, CD8+ T-cell count, hemoglobin determination, and Body Mass Index (BMI) were performed to evaluate the clinical status of study participants. Results: Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that being serum Zn and Cu deficient was higher where there is no antiretroviral therapy (ART) than on ART (adjusted odds ratio (AOR)=3.56, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.52-8.33, P=0.003 and 5.85, 95% CI=1.22-28.058, P= 0.027respectively).Similarly, the odds of being serum Zn deficient were significantly associated to lower BMI than normal (AOR=2.61, 95% CI=1.02 - 6.67, P= 0.046) and abnormal hemoglobin was found to be a factor to having high serum Cu/Zn ratio than normal hemoglobin (AOR=3.26, 95% CI=1.07 - 9.94, P= 0.038). Conclusions: A relatively high percentage of subjects had serum Cu and Zn deficiency and high serum Cu/Zn ratio. Early evaluation of serum Cu and Zn deficiency should be carried out and mineral supplementation along with antiretroviral treatment should be provided for pre-ART, malnourished and anemic people living with HIV/AIDS.

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