Genetics evaluation of phosphorus utilization in tropical cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L) Walp)

Genetics evaluation of phosphorus utilization in cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L) Walp) was studied in a cross involving a tropically adapted genotype (IT90K-277-2) with a reported positive response to rock phosphate (RP) and a second genotype (IT89KD-288) that responds negatively to RP, using generation mean analysis of the parents, their F1, F2 and the two backcross generations. Highly significant differences among the six generations with respect to seed phosphorus (P) concentration and grain yield per plant were observed. The F1 progenies produced seeds with higher seed P concentration (0.31 mg/g) than the mid-parent value (0.27mg/g). Mean yield per plant in the F1(48.03g) that was significantly greater than the mid-parent value (28.85g) was also observed suggesting positive heterosis for the two traits. Backcrossing to both parents showed good convergence of genes on the recurrent parents. Possibility of transgressive segregation for seed P concentration and grain yield per plant in the F2 generation was also observed. Absence of significant reciprocal differences among individuals in the F1 and F2 populations suggested lack of maternal and cytoplasmic effects. Non-additive gene action (dominance and epistasis) made significant contributions to total genetic variations in both traits within the cross. Whereas seed P concentration was observed to be under polygenic control, number of genes for seed yield per plant was biased downward by epistasis. Observed narrow-sense heritability estimate (HN)) for seed P concentration of 50.51% and very low (0.040) expected genetic gain in the F3 over the F2 means suggested that although expected progress from selection could be lowered by non-additive gene effects, this trait could be transmitted to the offsprings of hybridization program with huge success, through backcrossing. Although, available soil P (6.03 – 8.09mg/kg) was observed to be below the critical level, phosphorus uptake in the F1 and the segregating generations was observed to be higher than what obtained in the parents to suggest that the progenies of a P-efficient x P-inefficient cross would be efficient in P utilization.Keywords: Generation mean analysis, Phosphorus uptake, Polygenes, Transgressive segregants, Tropical vigna

Solid Waste Management in a Leprosarium in Southwestern Nigeria

Waste from healthcare institutions generally ought to be treated and disposed hygienically. However, the type of institution normally determines the material component and the nature of the waste generated whether it is hazardous or non-hazardous, infectious or non-infectious waste. Also health status of an individual or community is a function of standard of living, medical services available, social amenities and hygienic environment normally determined through impact assessment. These have been examined in relation to the leprosarium in Ogbomosho, Southwestern Nigeria. The leprosarium under study consists of a clinic and three camps located at about 1000m from the clinic. The leprosarium housed 30 patients, while the camps served as home for about 140 people under rehabilitation together including their children. As one of the health institutions, it is apparent that the waste generated is heterogeneous mixture of both general municipal waste and bio-medical waste. The percentage of biomedical waste which is hazardous in nature is low about 1.0% with average generation rate of 0.13kg/day while that of non-hazardous, non-infectious general waste is 0.288kg/person/day. The average waste generation rate in term of mass is determined to be between 0.084 – 0.095kg/person/day which reveals the poor status and rural nature of these leper settlements. The waste components consist of bandages and swabs, paper, nylon and plastic, domestic waste, animal waste (mostly goat manure), wood ash and yard trimmings which are being disposed on open dump sites and sometimes by open burning which are unhygienic causing health hazards. Accumulation of these waste components without proper disposal initiates its putrefaction which produces offensive odour. In addition, absence of adequate sanitary facilities has promoted open defecation which is a source of infectious, diseases. As an economical, appropriate and useful method of waste disposal, composting was proposed since it is found relevant and acceptable  for the leprosarium and the settlements around as the waste generated is predominantly biodegradable and decomposable materials. Key words: Solid waste, bio-medical waste, characterization, waste disposal, compostin

An Analytical Outlook of the Commercial Space Industry for the Last Frontier: Potential Entrepreneurial Evaluation of the African Space Sector

The African continent is growing at a fast pace, and its economic pulse has heightened. However, there is a growing momentum within the community of researchers, businesses, and investors to make an overall survey and assessment of progress sustained in the African space industries as a whole. There is no debate on the fact that documentation is pivotal to every research progress. Thus far, poor documentation has been inimical to the growth of the African economy and also the African space industry. In collaborative efforts with the African Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC) body, this article is an attempt at documenting progress, and it includes the analysis of the entrepreneurial outlook of some selected countries (Nigeria, Ghana, Morocco, Mauritius, Sudan, and Tunisia) in Africa. This study aims at sustaining the African economic drive by using a multimethod approach involving Gynawali and Fogel's "key dimensions of environments for entrepreneurship development,"to understand the economic environment in those nations while incorporating the versatile national competitive advantage diamond model of Michael Porter. Comparisons can be drawn between African countries and member nations in BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) to obtain a conclusion toward fueling the increasing space science and technological drive in Africa. Research is essential for industries and socioeconomic development in Africa - the Last Frontier, which remains a potential ground for global commercial space growth

Isothermal Recombinase Polymerase amplification (RPA) of Schistosoma haematobium DNA and oligochromatographic lateral flow detection

© 2015 Rosser et al. Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated. The attached file is the published version of the article

Use of GGE biplot for targeting early maturing maize cultivars to mega-environments in West Africa

Maize (Zea mays L.) is an important staple food consumed by people with varying food preferences and socio-economic backgrounds in West Africa (WA). Genotype by environment interactions (G 7E) exist in WA implying the need for extensive testing of cultivars in multiple environments over years before cultivar realistic recommendations can be made. This study examined the effect of G 7E on the performance and stability of early cultivars and to identify core test locations in the mega-environments of WA. Across locations, 2004 TZE-W Pop STR C4 produced the highest grain yield and was the most stable cultivar. DMR-ESRW QPM produced the lowest yield. The test environments contributed about 83.4% of the total variation in grain yield, while genotypes accounted for 1.5% and G 7 E, 11%. Test environments were classified into four mega-environments, namely, Katibougou, Sotouboua, Ejura, and Bagou as the first group; the second group consisted of Manga, Nyankpala, Bagauda, Yendi, Angaredebou, Mokwa, Katibougou, and Zaria; while the third group comprise of Ativeme, and Ikenne; and the fourth, Ina. Test locations Ejura, Sotouboua and Bagou and Katibougou were highly correlated in their ranking of the genotypes in group 1, suggesting that a promising early maturing cultivar selected in one of these locations in one country will also be suitable for production in the other locations within the same mega-environments in different countries. Kita was identified as the ideal location, while Zaria was close to the ideal location.Le ma\uefs (Zea mays L.) est une nourriture principale consomm\ue9 par des personnes \ue0 pr\ue9f\ue9rence alimentaires et un pass\ue9 socio-\ue9conomique vari\ue9s en Afrique de l'Ouest. Une interaction G\ue9notype et Environnement (G 7E) \ue9tait trouv\ue9e, impliquant ainsi le besoin en test extensive des cultivars sur plusieurs ann\ue9es avant toute recommandation. Le but de cette \ue9tude \ue9tait d'examiner l'effet G 7E sur la performance et la stabilit\ue9 des cultivars pr\ue9coces, ainsi que d'identifier le test principal de milieu dans les m\ue9ga-environnements de l'Afrique de l'Ouest. A travers les milieux, 2004 TZE-W Pop STR C4 avait produit le rendement en grain le plus \ue9lev\ue9 et \ue9tait le cultivar le plus stable. DMR-ESRW QPM avait induit le rendement le moins \ue9lev\ue9. La contribution du test d'environnements \ue9tait d'environ 83.4% de la variation totale du rendement en grain, pendant que les g\ue9notypes et G 7 E pr\ue9sentaient 1.5% et 11%, respectivement. Les tests d'environnements \ue9taient classifi\ue9s en quatre m\ue9ga-environnements \ue0 savoir, Katibougou, Sotouboua, Ejura, and Bagou comme premier groupe; Manga, Nyankpala, Bagauda, Yendi, Angaredebou, Mokwa, Katibougou, and Zaria comme deuxi\ue8me groupe, alors que le troisi\ue8me groupe comprenait Ativeme, et Ikenne et le quatri\ue8me, Ina. Le test de milieux Ejura, Sotouboua, Bagou et Katibougou \ue9taitent hautement corr\ue9l\ue9 sur le plan ranking des g\ue9notypes au sein du groupe 1, sugg\ue9rant qu'un cultivar pr\ue9coce promettant s\ue9lectionn\ue9 dans un de ces milieux dans un pays sera appropri\ue9 pour la production dans d'autres milieux au sein des m\ueames m\ue9ga-envoronnements dans diff\ue9rents pays. Kita \ue9tait identifi\ue9 comme un milieu ideal, alors que Zaria \ue9tait proche du milieu ideal

Global patient outcomes after elective surgery: prospective cohort study in 27 low-, middle- and high-income countries.

BACKGROUND: As global initiatives increase patient access to surgical treatments, there remains a need to understand the adverse effects of surgery and define appropriate levels of perioperative care. METHODS: We designed a prospective international 7-day cohort study of outcomes following elective adult inpatient surgery in 27 countries. The primary outcome was in-hospital complications. Secondary outcomes were death following a complication (failure to rescue) and death in hospital. Process measures were admission to critical care immediately after surgery or to treat a complication and duration of hospital stay. A single definition of critical care was used for all countries. RESULTS: A total of 474 hospitals in 19 high-, 7 middle- and 1 low-income country were included in the primary analysis. Data included 44 814 patients with a median hospital stay of 4 (range 2-7) days. A total of 7508 patients (16.8%) developed one or more postoperative complication and 207 died (0.5%). The overall mortality among patients who developed complications was 2.8%. Mortality following complications ranged from 2.4% for pulmonary embolism to 43.9% for cardiac arrest. A total of 4360 (9.7%) patients were admitted to a critical care unit as routine immediately after surgery, of whom 2198 (50.4%) developed a complication, with 105 (2.4%) deaths. A total of 1233 patients (16.4%) were admitted to a critical care unit to treat complications, with 119 (9.7%) deaths. Despite lower baseline risk, outcomes were similar in low- and middle-income compared with high-income countries. CONCLUSIONS: Poor patient outcomes are common after inpatient surgery. Global initiatives to increase access to surgical treatments should also address the need for safe perioperative care. STUDY REGISTRATION: ISRCTN5181700