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Vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) is caused by the overgrowth of Candida species, most commonly Candida albicans in the vagina and is characterized by curd-like vaginal discharge, itching and erythema. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence and to emphasize the need for proper detection of vulvovaginal candidiasis among asymptomatic pregnant women. A total of 140 pregnant women aged between 20-49 years and of gestation age of 14-36 weeks were recruited for this study. High Vaginal swabs were collected under aseptic condition. Samples collected were analyzed within one hour of collection using microscopy and culture methods. The isolates were further subjected to the Germ tube test (GTT) and the chromogenic agar test (CHROM agar). The rate of Candida infection was found to be 25% (n=35) among the pregnant women. The peak age of infection was 20-29 years 33.8% (n=26), no woman between the age 40 to 49 years had candidiasis. Candidiasis was significantly more likely to be detected in pregnant women in the second trimester compared to those in the first (χ 2 =5.952; p <0.05) and third trimesters ((χ 2 =9.282; p <0.05). This study revealed a high incidence of asymptomatic vulvovaginal candidiasis among pregnant women in Ogbomoso and various Candida spp responsible for VVC were identified.

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Background: Tuberculosis (TB), one of the most important contagious diseases, is a leading cause of death due to a single pathogen worldwide. Co-infection of people living with HIV with M. tuberculosis has been shown to increase the mortality rate in sub-Saharan Africa. Methods: This present study was carried out to establish the rifampicin resistant profiles among the patients attending chest clinic, state specialist hospital, Akure. We enrolled clinical samples submitted between January 2013 and December 2013 for this study. The sputum samples were analyzed using GeneXpert. Results: Of the 135 sputum processed by GeneXpert, 48 (35.6%) contained Mycobacteria tuberculosis (MTB) and 9 (18.8%) were rifampicin resistant Mycobacteria tuberculosis. Patients within the age group of 24-32 years showed the highest resistant to RIF 6 (12.5%). Conclusion:This study has helped to establish that there is presence of rifampicin resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Akure, Ondo state, Nigeria and most of them were observed among patients who default treatment. This is considered as a threat to TB control programme in Akure, Nigeria and it is recommended that strategies should be put in place in order to ensure patients' compliance and monitoring of patients' response to TB treatment.

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RNA in situ hybridization (ISH) is used to visualize spatio-temporal gene expression patterns with broad applications in biology and biomedicine. Here we provide a protocol for mRNA ISH in developing pupal wings and abdomens for model and non-model Drosophila species. We describe best practices in pupal staging, tissue preparation, probe design and synthesis, imaging of gene expression patterns, and image-editing techniques. This protocol has been successfully used to investigate the roles of genes underlying the evolution of novel color patterns in non-model Drosophila species.

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