Dynamics of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in value chain development in rural Ethiopia and responses through market-led agricultural initiatives

This paper discusses the rural HIV epidemic in the context of the Improving Productivity and Market Successes (IPMS) of Ethiopian Farmers' Project being implemented by the International Livestock Research Institute and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Its purpose is to contribute to the knowledge base about HIV/AIDS in the agricultural sector by, firstly, increasing understanding about the HIV/AIDS in the context of rural communities and, secondly, identifying opportunities to minimize the risk of HIV infection and mitigate the impacts of AIDS in rural communities through market-led agricultural initiatives A fieldwork was conducted to examine three questions: What are the sources of risk of HIV infection and who is at risk? To what extent does AIDS already impact rural communities and their livelihood systems? What might a production and market-oriented project, such as IPMS, offer to address the epidemic? The first section of this working paper is introduction. The second section examines three sources of risk of infection associated with the urban hinterland, the movement of people into and from rural communities, and cultural traditions and practices within rural communities, and concludes with a summary of risk by person. The third section draws on field experience from the PLWs (Pilot Learning Woreda) to demonstrate the potential effect of market-led agricultural growth on hastening the spread of HIV by examining six principal commodity value chains, namely cereals, oilseeds, spices, vegetables, coffee and livestock. The extent to which AIDS has already impacted the rural communities in the 10 PLWs is examined in section four, and sources of vulnerability to future impacts of AIDS are identified. The final section summarizes the main implications of the disease for IPMS and discusses a range of opportunities for reducing the risk of HIV infection and mitigating the impacts of AIDS by improving agricultural productivity and market linkages. They are illustrated with examples of innovative approaches that have been developed, field-tested and implemented by IPMS in several woredas, often in partnership with other organizations

Opportunities for promoting gender equality in rural Ethiopia through the commercialization of agriculture

Rural women in Ethiopia represent a tremendous productive resource in the agricultural sector. They are major contributors to the agricultural workforce, either as family members or in their own right as women heading households. However, despite recent policy initiatives to strengthen the position of women in the agricultural sector, a mixture of economic constraints, cultural norms and practices continue to limit their contribution to household food security and, to a lesser extent, inhibits the commercialization of the sector. Gender roles and relationships influence the division of work, the use of resources, and the sharing of the benefits of production between women and men. In particular, the introduction of new technologies and practices, underpinned by improved service provision, often disregards the gendered-consequences of market-oriented growth and many benefits bypass women. Not only do these circumstances have implications for issues of equality but also may be detrimental to the long-term sustainability of development initiatives. Despite the crucial role of the agricultural sector in the Ethiopian economy, studies on gender aspects of agricultural commercialization are relatively scarce. The main purpose of this paper is to contribute to the knowledge base about implications of gender roles and responsibilities for the development of the agricultural sector. This paper discusses gender issues in the context of the Improving Productivity and Market Success (IPMS) of Ethiopian Farmers’ Project being implemented by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. The findings are based on qualitative studies undertaken by the IPMS gender research team and Research and Development Officers in 10 pilot learning woredas (PLWs) located in 4 regions of the country. The study had three objectives: to increase the understanding of the different roles of women and men in agricultural activities, marketing and decision making, and their share in the benefits; to identify potential barriers for women’s and men’s participation in market-led development initiatives and technology adoption; and to identify what actions may overcome some of these barriers

Patterns of cross-resistance and collateral sensitivity between clinical antibiotics and natural antimicrobials

Bacteria interact with a multitude of other organisms, many of which produce antimicrobials. Selection for resistance to these antimicrobials has the potential to result in resistance to clinical antibiotics when active compounds target the same bacterial pathways. The possibility of such cross-resistance between natural antimicrobials and antibiotics has to our knowledge received very little attention. The antimicrobial activity of extracts from seaweeds, known to be prolific producers of antimicrobials, is here tested against Staphylococcus aureus isolates with varied clinical antibiotic resistance profiles. An overall effect consistent with cross-resistance is demonstrated, with multidrug-resistant S. aureus strains being on average more resistant to seaweed extracts. This pattern could potentially indicate that evolution of resistance to antimicrobials in the natural environment could lead to resistance against clinical antibiotics. However, patterns of antimicrobial activity of individual seaweed extracts vary considerably and include collateral sensitivity, where increased resistance to a particular antibiotic is associated with decreased resistance to a particular seaweed extract. Our correlation-based methods allow the identification of antimicrobial extracts bearing most promise for downstream active compound identification and pharmacological testing.Peer reviewe

Relationship of an hRAD54 gene polymorphism (2290 C/T) in an Ecuadorian population with chronic myelogenous leukemia

The hRAD54 gene is a key member of the RAD52 epistasis group involved in repair of double-strand breaks (DSB) by homologous recombination (HR). Thus, alterations of the normal function of these genes could generate genetic instability, shifting the normal process of the cell cycle, leading the cells to develop into cancer. In this work we analyzed exon 18 of the hRAD54 gene, which has been previously reported by our group to carry a silent polymorphism, 2290 C/T (Ala730Ala), associated to meningiomas. We performed a PCR-SSCP method to detect the polymorphism in 239 samples including leukemia and normal control population. The results revealed that the 2290 C/T polymorphism has frequencies of 0.1 for the leukemia and 0.1 for the control group. These frequencies show no statistical differences. Additionally, we dissected the leukemia group in chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) to evaluate the polymorphism. The frequencies found in these subgroups were 0.14 for CML and 0.05 for ALL. We found statistically significant differences between CML patients and the control group (p < 0.05) but we did not find significant differences between ALL and the control group (p > 0.05). These results suggest a possible link between the 2290 C/T polymorphism of the hRAD54 gene and CML

Two Theileria parva CD8 T Cell Antigen Genes Are More Variable in Buffalo than Cattle Parasites, but Differ in Pattern of Sequence Diversity

&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Background:&lt;/b&gt; Theileria parva causes an acute fatal disease in cattle, but infections are asymptomatic in the African buffalo (Syncerus caffer). Cattle can be immunized against the parasite by infection and treatment, but immunity is partially strain specific. Available data indicate that CD8(+) T lymphocyte responses mediate protection and, recently, several parasite antigens recognised by CD8(+) T cells have been identified. This study set out to determine the nature and extent of polymorphism in two of these antigens, Tp1 and Tp2, which contain defined CD8(+) T-cell epitopes, and to analyse the sequences for evidence of selection.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Methodology/Principal Findings:&lt;/b&gt; Partial sequencing of the Tp1 gene and the full-length Tp2 gene from 82 T. parva isolates revealed extensive polymorphism in both antigens, including the epitope-containing regions. Single nucleotide polymorphisms were detected at 51 positions (similar to 12%) in Tp1 and in 320 positions (similar to 61%) in Tp2. Together with two short indels in Tp1, these resulted in 30 and 42 protein variants of Tp1 and Tp2, respectively. Although evidence of positive selection was found for multiple amino acid residues, there was no preferential involvement of T cell epitope residues. Overall, the extent of diversity was much greater in T. parva isolates originating from buffalo than in isolates known to be transmissible among cattle.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Conclusions/Significance:&lt;/b&gt; The results indicate that T. parva parasites maintained in cattle represent a subset of the overall T. parva population, which has become adapted for tick transmission between cattle. The absence of obvious enrichment for positively selected amino acid residues within defined epitopes indicates either that diversity is not predominantly driven by selection exerted by host T cells, or that such selection is not detectable by the methods employed due to unidentified epitopes elsewhere in the antigens. Further functional studies are required to address this latter point.&lt;/p&gt

Two Theileria parva CD8 T Cell Antigen Genes Are More Variable in Buffalo than Cattle Parasites, but Differ in Pattern of Sequence Diversity

&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Background:&lt;/b&gt; Theileria parva causes an acute fatal disease in cattle, but infections are asymptomatic in the African buffalo (Syncerus caffer). Cattle can be immunized against the parasite by infection and treatment, but immunity is partially strain specific. Available data indicate that CD8(+) T lymphocyte responses mediate protection and, recently, several parasite antigens recognised by CD8(+) T cells have been identified. This study set out to determine the nature and extent of polymorphism in two of these antigens, Tp1 and Tp2, which contain defined CD8(+) T-cell epitopes, and to analyse the sequences for evidence of selection.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Methodology/Principal Findings:&lt;/b&gt; Partial sequencing of the Tp1 gene and the full-length Tp2 gene from 82 T. parva isolates revealed extensive polymorphism in both antigens, including the epitope-containing regions. Single nucleotide polymorphisms were detected at 51 positions (similar to 12%) in Tp1 and in 320 positions (similar to 61%) in Tp2. Together with two short indels in Tp1, these resulted in 30 and 42 protein variants of Tp1 and Tp2, respectively. Although evidence of positive selection was found for multiple amino acid residues, there was no preferential involvement of T cell epitope residues. Overall, the extent of diversity was much greater in T. parva isolates originating from buffalo than in isolates known to be transmissible among cattle.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Conclusions/Significance:&lt;/b&gt; The results indicate that T. parva parasites maintained in cattle represent a subset of the overall T. parva population, which has become adapted for tick transmission between cattle. The absence of obvious enrichment for positively selected amino acid residues within defined epitopes indicates either that diversity is not predominantly driven by selection exerted by host T cells, or that such selection is not detectable by the methods employed due to unidentified epitopes elsewhere in the antigens. Further functional studies are required to address this latter point.&lt;/p&gt