Improved cassava processing technology: Final technical report

The overall purpose of the project was to develop improved cassava processing methods that have enhanced post-harvest qualities including low cyanogen levels and/or product storability

Improvement of rapid cassava processing methods and technology transfer

The aim of this review to summarise research and development activities on cassava processing in East Africa. The approaches taken by relevant projects that are currently underway in Tanzania, Uganda and Mozambique will be considered. These projects are used to highlight the fundamental issues concerning the development of appropriate technology and its successful transfer to end users. The review will be used as part of the development of a work programme for the improvement of cassava processing in Tanzania

Much more than just sediments: The importance of sediment composition for Great Barrier Reef ecosystems

We can now identify the most damaging properties of sediment, associated particulate nutrients and its effects on ecological communities as it moves from catchment to reef. It is the fine grained (colloidal, clay and fine silts <20 μm), organic-rich sediment that has a critical impact on marine ecosystems through both direct effects (i.e. smothering) and increased reduction of benthic light relative to sediments produced in the marine environment. Marine sediments are commonly lighter in colour, carbonate-rich and mostly (but not always) coarser compared with land-sourced sediments. An improved understanding of the influence (including potential impacts) of sediment on GBR ecosystems and the ‘sea to source’ connections and interactions is required to guide management responses that reduce sediment delivery to the GBR

On-station trials to investigate options to improve the efficiency of cyanogen removal by rapid cassava processing methods

This report provides a preliminary summary of the results of the on-station rapid processing of cassava trials. Further statistical analysis of the results is underway and will contribute towards a further publication on this work

Methods for assessing quality characteristics of non-grain starch staples. (Part 2. Field Methods.)

This manual sets out in a four-part publication the main methods necessary to evaluate the quality characteristics of nongrain starch staple (NGSS) food crops (cassava, sweet potato, banana, plantain, yam and cocoyam) and their processed products. It is designed to be a reference source and laboratory guide for food analysis laboratories and those concerned with the quality of NGSS. It is hoped that the provision of this manual and its active promotion through workshops will assist in the uptake of quality assessment methodologies, the setting of quality standards and to the improved quality of fresh material and their processed products. It is expected that the audience for this manual will be wide ranging and include: • public sector research and development establishments such as universities, colleges and research institutes-this would include bodies responsible for NGSS breeding programmes and food and nutrition programmes; • bureaux of standards/quality standards boards and other bodies responsible for setting and monitoring the standard of foods and raw materials within the NGSS sector; and • private sector quality control laboratories wishing to implement quality assurance systems utilizing NGSS or their by-products as raw materials for food or industrial applications. Different groups may wish to use different parts of the manual. The manual is divided into four parts: • Part 1 Introductory section; • Part 2 Field methods: methods that require a minimum of equipment and are suitable for use in situations where a laboratory is not readily available; • Part 3 Laboratory methods: this part brings together most of the standard laboratory methods for the analysis of NGSS food crops; and • Part 4 Advanced methods: in this part a diverse range of techniques is brought together. It includes methods of a more advanced nature and possibly requiring more sophisticated equipment than described in Part 3. This section may be used for research purposes

Quantifying Aphantasia through drawing: Those without visual imagery show deficits in object but not spatial memory

Congenital aphantasia is a recently characterized variation of experience defined by the inability to form voluntary visual imagery, in individuals who are otherwise high performing. Because of this specific deficit to visual imagery, individuals with aphantasia serve as an ideal group for probing the nature of representations in visual memory, particularly the interplay of object, spatial, and symbolic information. Here, we conducted a large-scale online study of aphantasia and revealed a dissociation in object and spatial content in their memory representations. Sixty-one individuals with aphantasia and matched controls with typical imagery studied real-world scene images, and were asked to draw them from memory, and then later copy them during a matched perceptual condition. Drawings were objectively quantified by 2,795 online scorers for object and spatial details. Aphantasic participants recalled significantly fewer objects than controls, with less color in their drawings, and an increased reliance on verbal scaffolding. However, aphantasic participants showed high spatial accuracy equivalent to controls, and made significantly fewer memory errors. These differences between groups only manifested during recall, with no differences between groups during the matched perceptual condition. This object-specific memory impairment in individuals with aphantasia provides evidence for separate systems in memory that support object versus spatial information. The study also provides an important experimental validation for the existence of aphantasia as a variation in human imagery experience

Methods for assessing quality characteristics of non-grain starch staples. (Part 3. Laboratory methods.)

This manual sets out in a four-part publication the main methods necessary to evaluate the quality characteristics of nongrain starch staple (NGSS) food crops (cassava, sweet potato, banana, plantain, yam and cocoyam) and their processed products. It is designed to be a reference source and laboratory guide for food analysis laboratories and those concerned with the quality of NGSS. It is hoped that the provision of this manual and its active promotion through workshops will assist in the uptake of quality assessment methodologies, the setting of quality standards and to the improved quality of fresh material and their processed products. It is expected that the audience for this manual will be wide ranging and include: • public sector research and development establishments such as universities, colleges and research institutes-this would include bodies responsible for NGSS breeding programmes and food and nutrition programmes; • bureaux of standards/quality standards boards and other bodies responsible for setting and monitoring the standard of foods and raw materials within the NGSS sector; and • private sector quality control laboratories wishing to implement quality assurance systems utilizing NGSS or their by-products as raw materials for food or industrial applications. Different groups may wish to use different parts of the manual. The manual is divided into four parts: • Part 1 Introductory section; • Part 2 Field methods: methods that require a minimum of equipment and are suitable for use in situations where a laboratory is not readily available; • Part 3 Laboratory methods: this part brings together most of the standard laboratory methods for the analysis of NGSS food crops; and • Part 4 Advanced methods: in this part a diverse range of techniques is brought together. It includes methods of a more advanced nature and possibly requiring more sophisticated equipment than described in Part 3. This section may be used for research purposes

Methods for assessing quality characteristics of non-grain starch staples. (Part 1. Introduction.)

This manual sets out in a four-part publication the main methods necessary to evaluate the quality characteristics of nongrain starch staple (NGSS) food crops (cassava, sweet potato, banana, plantain, yam and cocoyam) and their processed products. It is designed to be a reference source and laboratory guide for food analysis laboratories and those concerned with the quality of NGSS. It is hoped that the provision of this manual and its active promotion through workshops will assist in the uptake of quality assessment methodologies, the setting of quality standards and to the improved quality of fresh material and their processed products. It is expected that the audience for this manual will be wide ranging and include: • public sector research and development establishments such as universities, colleges and research institutes-this would include bodies responsible for NGSS breeding programmes and food and nutrition programmes; • bureaux of standards/quality standards boards and other bodies responsible for setting and monitoring the standard of foods and raw materials within the NGSS sector; and • private sector quality control laboratories wishing to implement quality assurance systems utilizing NGSS or their by-products as raw materials for food or industrial applications. Different groups may wish to use different parts of the manual. The manual is divided into four parts: • Part 1 Introductory section; • Part 2 Field methods: methods that require a minimum of equipment and are suitable for use in situations where a laboratory is not readily available; • Part 3 Laboratory methods: this part brings together most of the standard laboratory methods for the analysis of NGSS food crops; and • Part 4 Advanced methods: in this part a diverse range of techniques is brought together. It includes methods of a more advanced nature and possibly requiring more sophisticated equipment than described in Part 3. This section may be used for research purposes

Longitudinal measurement of the developing grey matter in preterm subjects using multi-modal MRI.

Preterm birth is a major public health concern, with the severity and occurrence of adverse outcome increasing with earlier delivery. Being born preterm disrupts a time of rapid brain development: in addition to volumetric growth, the cortex folds, myelination is occurring and there are changes on the cellular level. These neurological events have been imaged non-invasively using diffusion-weighted (DW) MRI. In this population, there has been a focus on examining diffusion in the white matter, but the grey matter is also critically important for neurological health. We acquired multi-shell high-resolution diffusion data on 12 infants born at ≤28weeks of gestational age at two time-points: once when stable after birth, and again at term-equivalent age. We used the Neurite Orientation Dispersion and Density Imaging model (NODDI) (Zhang et al., 2012) to analyse the changes in the cerebral cortex and the thalamus, both grey matter regions. We showed region-dependent changes in NODDI parameters over the preterm period, highlighting underlying changes specific to the microstructure. This work is the first time that NODDI parameters have been evaluated in both the cortical and the thalamic grey matter as a function of age in preterm infants, offering a unique insight into neuro-development in this at-risk population