Influence of Drying Temperature and Storage Duration on Fissuring and Milling Quality of Jasmine 85 Rice Variety

Moisture and temperature gradients induce the development of fissures during drying of paddy kernels. This affects the milling quality of the paddy and eventually reduces the head rice yield. To this effect, a study was conducted to investigate the influence of drying temperature and storage duration on the cracking behaviour and head rice yield of a local rice variety - Jasmine 85. Freshly harvested paddy samples were thin layer dried in a tunnel dryer with varying drying temperatures (45°C, 50°C, 55°C) as treatments and direct sun drying as control. The drying experiment was performed under three replications using a completely randomised design. Samples after drying were stored for three months in sealed plastic bags at room temperature (28°C). Percentage fissures and head rice yield at each drying treatment was determined using a grain scope and a Satake grading machine respectively after the storage period. The highest head rice yield (76.3%) and the least fissure rate (10%) were attained at the control temperature. This was followed by the 45°C and 50°C treatments which gave head rice yields of 70.8%, and 69.8%, with fissure rates of 13% and 16% respectively. The least head rice yield (64.7%) and the highest fissure rate of 29% were observed at 55°C. There was a significant difference (p ≤ 0.05) between head rice yields obtained at 55°C and the control experiment. However, there was no significant difference (p ≤ 0.05) between head rice yield obtained at 45°C, 50°C and the control temperature. It is evident from this study that, Jasmine 85 can be dried by using a mechanical dryer at higher temperatures of 45°C and 50°C without affecting its milling qualities

Effect of deficit irrigation and storage on the nutritional composition of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. cv. Pectomech)

The aim of the study was to determine the effects of deficit irrigation and postharvest storage on nutritional composition of tomatoes. Tomato fruits (Pectomech variety) cultivated under different irrigation treatments (100% ETc, 90% ETc, 80% ETc and 70% ETc) were harvested and analyzed for moisture, ash, protein, fat, fibre, carbohydrate, calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), potassium (K), sodium (Na), iron (Fe), copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) contents. Moisture, ash, protein, fat, fibre, and carbohydrate were determined by standard AOAC methods, calcium and magnesium by EDTA titration, potassium and sodium by flame photometry, iron, copper and zinc by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Results indicated that fat, fibre and carbohydrate increased with deficit irrigation (water stress) whilst moisture, ash, protein, calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, iron, copper and zinc contents decreased. Apart from fibre content which increased significantly during storage for all water treatments, all the other nutritional components (moisture, ash, protein, fat and carbohydrate) decreased significantly. Considering the percentage increases and decreases obtained for nutritional compositions of the tomatoes in this study, it can be concluded that a 10- 20% reduction in the amount or volume of water applied in the cultivation of the Pectomech tomato variety would produce tomato with optimum quality that would compensate for yield losses

Effectiveness of two community-based strategies on disease knowledge and health behaviour regarding malaria, diarrhoea and pneumonia in Ghana.

BACKGROUND: Ghana has developed two community-based strategies that aim to increase access to quality treatment for malaria, diarrhoea and suspected pneumonia, and to improve household and family practices: integrated Community Case Management (iCCM) and Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS). The objective of the study was to assess the effectiveness of iCCM and CHPS on disease knowledge and health behaviour regarding malaria, diarrhoea and pneumonia. METHODS: A household survey was conducted two and eight years after implementation of iCCM in the Volta and Northern Regions of Ghana respectively, and more than ten years of CHPS implementation in both regions. The study population included 1356 carers of children under- five years of age who had fever, diarrhoea and/or cough in the two weeks prior to the interview. Disease knowledge was assessed based on the knowledge of causes and identification of signs of severe disease and its association with the sources of health education messages received. Health behaviour was assessed based on reported prompt care seeking behaviour, adherence to treatment regime, utilization of mosquito nets and having improved sanitation facilities, and its association with the sources of health education messages received. RESULTS: Health education messages from community-based agents (CBAs) in the Northern Region were associated with the identification of at least two signs of severe malaria (adjusted Odds Ratio (OR) 1.8, 95%CI 1.0, 3.3, p = 0.04), two practices that can cause diarrhoea (adjusted OR 4.7, 95%CI 1.4, 15.5, p = 0.02) 0and two signs of severe pneumonia (adjusted OR 7.7, 95%CI2.2, 26.5, p = 0.01)-the later also associated with prompt care seeking behaviour (p = 0.04). In the Volta Region, receiving messages on diarrhoea from CHPS was associated with the identification of at least two signs of severe diarrhoea (adjusted OR 3.6, 95%CI 1.4, 9.0), p = 0.02). iCCM was associated with prompt care seeking behaviour in the Volta Region and CHPS with prompt care seeking behaviour in the Northern Region (p < 0.5). CONCLUSIONS: Both iCCM and CHPS were associated with disease knowledge and health behaviour, but this was more pronounced for iCCM and in the Northern Region. HBC should continue to be considered as the strategy through which community-IMCI is implemented

Persistence of onchocerciasis and associated dermatologic and ophthalmic pathologies after 27 years of ivermectin mass drug administration in the middle belt of Ghana

Objectives: There is a pressing need to regularly evaluate the progress of onchocerciasis elimination programmes to timely identify and mitigate potential risks hindering the reaching of the 2030 targets proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO) in its roadmap on neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). We determined the prevalence of onchocerciasis and associated dermatological and ophthalmological manifestations in six endemic communities in the Bono Region of Ghana after 27 years of ivermectin mass treatment. Methods: In a cross-sectional study, 564 participants aged ≥5 years were enrolled (49.1% females), with a median age of 26 (range: 5–89) years. In 54% and 47%, skin-snip microscopy and Ov16 rapid diagnostic tests were performed, respectively. Skin disease was determined using the WHO Skin NTD App. Visual function assessments included tests of visual acuity. Results: The overall microfilarial prevalence was 12.5% (38/305) and Ov16 seroprevalence was 24.2% (64/265). Severe itching was recorded in 24.3%, acute papular onchodermatitis in 52.8%, chronic papular onchodermatitis in 12.5%, lichenified onchodermatitis in 0.7%, skin atrophy in 11.3%, depigmentation in 1.7% and palpable nodules in 5.3%. Of the 301 persons in which visual acuity was examined, 17% were visually impaired and 5.3% were blind and 47.3% presented with cataract. Chronic papular onchodermatitis, lichenified onchodermatitis, depigmentation and visual impairment were significantly associated with the presence of skin microfilariae and Ov16 seropositivity. Conclusions: The persistence of Onchocerca volvulus infection and onchocerciasis-associated dermatological and ophthalmological pathologies after prolonged treatment is of concern. There is a need to include morbidity management in onchocerciasis elimination programmes and understand better patterns of treatment coverage, adherence and actual intake of ivermectin

Many Labs 5:Testing pre-data collection peer review as an intervention to increase replicability

Replication studies in psychological science sometimes fail to reproduce prior findings. If these studies use methods that are unfaithful to the original study or ineffective in eliciting the phenomenon of interest, then a failure to replicate may be a failure of the protocol rather than a challenge to the original finding. Formal pre-data-collection peer review by experts may address shortcomings and increase replicability rates. We selected 10 replication studies from the Reproducibility Project: Psychology (RP:P; Open Science Collaboration, 2015) for which the original authors had expressed concerns about the replication designs before data collection; only one of these studies had yielded a statistically significant effect (p < .05). Commenters suggested that lack of adherence to expert review and low-powered tests were the reasons that most of these RP:P studies failed to replicate the original effects. We revised the replication protocols and received formal peer review prior to conducting new replication studies. We administered the RP:P and revised protocols in multiple laboratories (median number of laboratories per original study = 6.5, range = 3?9; median total sample = 1,279.5, range = 276?3,512) for high-powered tests of each original finding with both protocols. Overall, following the preregistered analysis plan, we found that the revised protocols produced effect sizes similar to those of the RP:P protocols (?r = .002 or .014, depending on analytic approach). The median effect size for the revised protocols (r = .05) was similar to that of the RP:P protocols (r = .04) and the original RP:P replications (r = .11), and smaller than that of the original studies (r = .37). Analysis of the cumulative evidence across the original studies and the corresponding three replication attempts provided very precise estimates of the 10 tested effects and indicated that their effect sizes (median r = .07, range = .00?.15) were 78% smaller, on average, than the original effect sizes (median r = .37, range = .19?.50)