Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris race 1 is the main causal agent of black rot of Brassicas in Southern Mozambique

Severe outbreaks of bacterial black rot caused by Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris (Xcc) were observed in Brassica production fields of Southern Mozambique. The causal agent of the disease in the Mahotas and Chòkwé districts was identified and characterised. In total, 83 Xanthomonas-like strains were isolated from seed samples and leaves of cabbage and tronchuda cole with typical symptoms of the disease. Forty-six out of the 83 strains were found to be putative Xcc in at least one of the tests used: Classical biochemical assays, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with monoclonal antibodies, Biolog identification system, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with specific primers and pathogenicity tests. The ELISA tests were positive for 43 strains. Biolog identified 43 strains as Xanthomonas, but only 32 as Xcc. PCR tests with primers targeting a fragment of the hrpF gene were positive for all 46 strains tested. Three strains were not pathogenic or weakly pathogenic and all other strains caused typical black rot symptoms in brassicas. Race type differentiation tests revealed the Xcc strains from Mozambique as members of race 1. The prevalence of this pathogenic race of the Xcc pathogen in Mozambique should be considered when black rot resistant cultivars are evaluated or introduced into the production regions of this country

African fan palm (Borassus aethiopum) and oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) are alternate hosts of coconut lethal yellowing phytoplasma in Mozambique

In this study, potential alternate hosts of the phytoplasma causing coconut lethal yellowing disease (CLYD) in Mozambique were investigated based on 16S rRNA and secA genes. The results reveal that the naturalized palm species, Elaeis guineensis and Borassus aethiopum are alternate hosts of CLYD phytoplasma in Mozambique. Based on the iPhyClassifier online software, the phytoplasma detected in B. aethiopum belongs to the 16Sr group XXII-A, which include ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma palmicola’ and ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma cocosnigeriae’. This is the first report associating ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma palmicola’ with wild naturalized palm species in the world. Key words: Alternate hosts, Borassus aethiopum, „Candidatus Phytoplasma palmicola‟, Elaeis guineensis, Mozambique, palm lethal phytoplasma phylogeny

View-based Owicki-Gries reasoning for persistent x86-TSO

The rise of persistent memory is disrupting computing to its core. Our work aims to help programmers navigate this brave new world by providing a program logic for reasoning about x86 code that uses low-level operations such as memory accesses and fences, as well as persistency primitives such as flushes. Our logic, Pierogi, benefits from a simple underlying operational semantics based on views, is able to handle optimised flush operations, and is mechanised in the Isabelle/HOL proof assistant. We detail the proof rules of Pierogi and prove them sound. We also show how Pierogi can be used to reason about a range of challenging single- and multi-threaded persistent program

Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris race 1 is the main causal agent of black rot of Brassicas in Southern Mozambique

Severe outbreaks of bacterial black rot caused by Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris (Xcc) were observed in Brassica production fields of Southern Mozambique. The causal agent of the disease in the Mahotas and Chòkwé districts was identified and characterised. In total, 83 Xanthomonas-like strains were isolated from seed samples and leaves of cabbage and tronchuda cole with typical symptoms of the disease. Forty-six out of the 83 strains were found to be putative Xcc in at least one of the tests used: Classical biochemical assays, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with monoclonal antibodies, Biolog identification system, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with specific primers and pathogenicity tests. The ELISA tests were positive for 43 strains. Biolog identified 43 strains as Xanthomonas, but only 32 as Xcc. PCR tests with primers targeting a fragment of the hrpF gene were positive for all 46 strains tested. Three strains were not pathogenic or weakly pathogenic and all other strains caused typical black rot symptoms in brassicas. Race type differentiation tests revealed the Xcc strains from Mozambique as members of race 1. The prevalence of this pathogenic race of the Xcc pathogen in Mozambique should be considered when black rot resistant cultivars are evaluated or introduced into the production regions of this country.Keywords: Cole crops, cabbage, tronchuda, landraces, seeds, black rot, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), Biolog, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), race-typeAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(6), pp. 602-61

Contamination by aflatoxins in different food matrices produced andconsumed in Mozambique

Mycotoxins are toxic metabolites produced by various moulds that frequently contaminate food worldwide, being significant contributors to food losses in developing countries. In Mozambique, there is no comprehensive knowledge of the risk of mycotoxins in the country, nor structured actions to reduce the impacts of mycotoxins and promote health and food security in disadvantaged populations. This research aimed to analyse the level of contamination by aflatoxins in different food matrices produced and consumed in southern Mozambique. Ten samples were collected from each matrix (maize, rice, and peanut) in each of the 3 districts (Chongoene, Manjacaze and Chókwe) of Gaza province, and 10 peanut samples in each of the 3 districts (Massinga, Inhambane and Inharrime) of Inhambane province, in a total of 120 samples. Samples were collected between January and June 2023 from local markets and producers. Samples were analysed for total aflatoxins using the lateral flow strip, AgraStrip® Pro WATEX® (Romer Labs) method. Results showed that, from all matrices, the highest levels of aflatoxins were found in maize, with averages ranging from 369.2 (in Manjacaze) to 1,972.6 g/kg (in Chokwe). Average aflatoxin levels in rice ranged between 1.2 (Chongoene) and 63.08 g/kg (Manjacaze). Peanuts from the province of Inhambane were more contaminated than those from Gaza, with averages ranging from 5.6 (Manjacaze, Gaza) to 95 g/kg (Inhambane). Considering that the maximum admissible levels for total aflatoxins recommended by the Codex Alimentarius Commission for cereals and pulses is 15 g/kg, the level of aflatoxin contamination in food produced and consumed in southern Mozambique is high and constitutes a public health risk for the population. Therefore, risk mitigation strategies are urgently needed.Fundação para a Ciência e TecnologiaAga Khan Development NetworkAcknowledgements. The authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) and to the Aga Khan Development Network for the financial support to the project Ref. FCT AGA-KHAN / 541590696 / 2019 MYCOTOX-PALOP Multi-actor partnership for the risk assessment of mycotoxins along the food chain in African Portuguese-speaking countries (PALOP), and to FCT for financial support through national funds FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC) to CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020 and UIDP/00690/2020), SusTEC (LA/P/0007/2020), CITAB (UID/AGR/04033/2020), CEB (UIDB/04469/2020), LABBELS (LA/P/0029/2020), and Inov4Agro (LA/P/0126/2020). Cláudio Matusse thanks FCT for the PhD grant PRT/BD/15483/2022.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Developing a psychoeducational programme for caregivers of people with intellectual disability

Background: In the Western Cape, South Africa, a significant number of individuals with intellectual disabilities are cared for by caregivers who receive little or no compensation, education or support. Despite the unique challenges faced by these caregivers, no psychoeducational programmes have been implemented for this particular population. Objectives: The study aimed to examine the factors contributing to caregiver distress and develop a solution in the form of a psychoeducational programme for caregivers. Methods: A mixed-methods research approach was employed. The qualitative phase involved exploratory research to gather fundamental information and gain new insights into caregiver distress. The quantitative phase utilised a ‘one-group pre-test, post-test design’ with a Likert-scale questionnaire to enable meaningful interpretations and comparisons of the psychoeducational programme’s impact and value. The paired t-test was employed to determine significant differences between pre-test and post-test results. Results: The statistical findings demonstrated a significant increase in knowledge, with 99% of respondents indicating a positive impact in reducing caregiver distress and 85% feeling better equipped to care for individuals with intellectual disabilities. Conclusion: The psychoeducational programme developed in this study had a positive effect on reducing caregiver distress. Contribution: This knowledge provides valuable insights for healthcare professionals in designing relevant intervention programmes, offering support and providing resources not only for individuals with intellectual disabilities but also for their caregivers

Renormalisation and fixed points in Hilbert Space

The energies of low-lying bound states of a microscopic quantum many-body system of particles can be worked out in a reduced Hilbert space. We present here and test a specific non-perturbative truncation procedure. We also show that real exceptional points which may be present in the spectrum can be identified as fixed points of coupling constants in the truncation procedure.Comment: 4 pages, 1 tabl