Survival strategies of eelgrass in reduced light

Light reduction due to anthropogenic impacts is the most widespread cause of worldwide decline of eelgrass, an ecologically important marine angiosperm whose role in supporting overall coastal ecosystem productivity has been widely recognized. Understanding eelgrass plant and meadow responses to light reduction has therefore received significant research interest over the last 30 years, while managers have sought tools to identify critical thresholds for light availability and predict impacts of human-induced disturbances in order to prevent further eelgrass loss. In the present thesis, a review of some of the literature on light reduction and its effects on eelgrass (i) summarized the importance of light as a requirement for eelgrass growth, (ii) highlighted factors that reduce light availability to eelgrass, (iii) summarized eelgrass responses to light reduction to understand its sensitivity to reduced water clarity, and (iv) documented worldwide losses of eelgrass caused by light reduction (Chapter II). An outdoor mesocosm experiment explained eelgrass response to a gradient of light conditions, improving the understanding of the relationship between light availability, growth and survival (Chapter III). The study concluded that at temperatures between 18°C and 23°C, eelgrass plants can thrive at light levels of 58% surface irradiance (SI) and above, and are light-limited at 34% SI and below, but that the minimum light required for long-term eelgrass growth and survival is greater than 11% SI. Finally, a field study at the maximum depth limit of eelgrass colonization was carried out to understand the mechanisms of eelgrass plant adaptation to extreme light reduction (Chapter IV). The results showed that deep edge eelgrass plants were chronically light-limited and that the plants exhibited a greater degree of morphological acclimations to further light reduction in winter than plants at shallower depths. Winter survival of deep edge plants depended largely on wintertime photosynthesis with mobilization of stored reserves playing only a minor role. The thesis concludes with a synthesis (Chapter V) linking all chapters

The incidence and modifiable risk factors for necrotizing enterocolitis inpreterm infants a retrospective cohort study

Objectives: To evaluate the incidence and modifiable risk factors for Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in preterm infants born at ≤32 weeks of gestation weighing \u3c1500 grams, at a private tertiary care hospital in Kenya. Materials and methods: This retrospective cohort study was conducted at the Aga Khan University Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Preterm infants born at ≤ 32 weeks’ gestation and weighing \u3c1500 grams admitted to NICU between 2009 and 2019, were recruited into the study. The primary outcome was NEC Bell Stage IIa-IIIb based on Modified Bell’s criteria. Maternal and neonatal characteristics were evaluated. The association between variables of interest and NEC was determined using logistic regression analysis and the incidence of NEC for the study period was calculated. Results: A total of 261 charts of infants born at ≤ 32 weeks’ gestation, weighing \u3c1500 were reviewed, and 200 charts met the inclusion criteria. Fifteen preterm infants developed the primary outcome of interest: NEC Stage ≥2a within the first 30 days of admission. The overall incidence of NEC for the study period was 7.5%. Three risk factors were identified as significantly associated with NEC on multivariate logistic regression analysis: antenatal exposure to steroids (OR = 0.056 CI = 0.003-0.964 p = 0.047), cumulative duration of exposure to invasive mechanical ventilation (OR = 2.172 CI = 1.242-3.799 p = 0.007) and cumulative duration of exposure to umbilical vein catheter (OR = 1.344 CI = 1.08-1.672 p = 0.008). Conclusions: The overall incidence for the study period of NEC Stage ≥ II a was 7.5%. Exposure to antenatal steroids, duration of mechanical ventilation, and duration of umbilical vein catheterization were three independent modifiable risk factors for NEC Stage II a-Stage III b

The Adoption of Massive Open Online Courses in Selected Sub-Saharan African Countries: The Experiences of Urban Learners

MOOCs is slowly gaining traction in the education provisioning in SSA. Much of this is attributed to governmental and institutional aim of providing quality and affordable universal education to all learners. This chapter explores how MOOCs is affecting access to learning in SSA, with particular bias to urban education context. Evidence adduced in this chapter was adduced from secondary sources, involving review of relevant literature available from internet sources. In the internet sources visited, key search terms that were used in obtaining the relevant resources included but not limited to: ‘MOOCs and education’, ‘MOOCs in Africa’, ‘Education technologies AND MOOCs in Africa’, ‘MOOCs, OERs adoption and adaptability in Africa’, and ‘MOOCs’ challenges in Africa’ among others. It emerged that while MOOCs is gaining the needed traction in the SSA education space, the pace of its development is slow and calls for a more concerted effort from concerned education stakeholders

Effectiveness of interventions to reduce indoor air pollution and/or improve health in homes using solid fuel in lower and middle income countries : protocol for a systematic review

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Effectiveness of interventions to reduce household air pollution and/or improve health in homes using solid fuel in low-and-middle income countries : A systematic review and meta-analysis

Peer reviewedPostprin

Assessment of Risk Predisposition to Human Papilloma Virus through Cervical Infections Screening of Women Attending an Outpatient Health Facility in Nairobi, Kenya

There is limited data on comparative disposition to cervical cancer among HPV infected women in Kenya. We aimed to determine the distribution of HPV infection, cervical abnormalities and infections commonly reported on cervical pap smears among both HIV positive and HIV negative women attending a reproductive health clinic at the largest national hospital in Kenya. A total of 187 women aged 18 to 50 years attending the reproductive clinic at Kenyatta National Referral Hospital in Nairobi were recruited into the study. All consenting subjects were screened for HIV by serology and their cervical smears taken and immediately fixed on slides for Papanicolaou (Pap) staining. A second endocervical swab was collected in the same sitting for HPV DNA extraction and PCR amplification of the HPV LI region.  Of the 187 women studied, 27 (14.4 %) were positive for HIV and 90 (48.1%) had one or more infection associated with bacterial vaginosis, candidiasis, cervicitis or inflammation of the cervix of unknown cause.  Eight (4.3%) women had abnormal cervix, 3/8 being of high grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL), 1/8 of low grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSIL), 1/8 had adenocarcinoma while the remaining 3 had atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASC-US). The remaining 89/187 (47.6%) women had normal smears with no infection. Of the 89 women with normal smears, 82 (92.1%) were HIV negative.  A total of 66 (35.3%) women were positive for HPV L1 DNA by PCR and included 30 of the 89 women with normal cytology. Of the 27 HIV positive women, 14 (51.9%) were also positive for HPV LI DNA. 52 of the 160 (32.5%) HIV negative women were positive for HPV L1 DNA. We report more cases of cervical intraepithelial lesions among HIV positive than HIV negative women. Similarly, the other infections commonly found on Pap smear tests were higher among HIV negative than HIV positive women. HPV prevalence among these clinic-attending women was higher in those with normal cytology, indicating an increased underlying risk of cervical cancer in a setting where routine diagnostic screening is limited or non-existent. Keywords: cervical cancer, HIV, HPV, cervical cytolog

Parents’ experiences of complementary feeding among a United Kingdom culturally diverse and deprived community

open access articleComplementary feeding practices and adherence to health recommendations are influenced by a range of different and often interrelating factors such as socio- economic and cultural factors. However, the factors underlying these associations are often complex with less awareness of how complementary feeding approaches vary across the UK’s diverse population. This paper describes a qualitative investiga- tion undertaken in a deprived and culturally diverse community in the UK which aimed to explore parents’ knowledge, beliefs and practices of complementary feed- ing. One hundred and ten mothers and fathers, self-identified as being White British, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Black African/Caribbean or Polish took part in twenty-four focus group discussions, organised by age group, sex and ethnicity. The findings revealed that most parents initiated complementary feeding before the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendation of 6 months. Early initiation was strongly influenced by breast feeding practices alongside the extent to which parents believed that their usual milk; that is, breastmilk or formula was fulfilling their infants' nutritional needs. The composition of diet and parents' approach to complementary feeding was closely aligned to traditional cultural practices; however, some contradic- tions were noted. The findings also acknowledge the pertinent role of the father in influencing the dietary practices of the wider household. Learning about both the common and unique cultural feeding attitudes and practices held by parents may help us to tailor healthy complementary feeding advice in the context of increasing diver- sity in the United Kingdom

'They Are Kids, Let Them Eat': A Qualitative Investigation into the Parental Beliefs and Practices of Providing a Healthy Diet for Young Children among a Culturally Diverse and Deprived Population in the UK.

In the UK, ethnic minority children are at greater risk of obesity and weight-related ill health compared to the wider national population. The factors that influence the provision of a healthy diet among these populations remain less understood. An interpretive qualitative study with a phenomenological perspective comprised of 24 single sex semi-structured focus groups was conducted with 110 parents (63 mothers and 47 fathers) of young children (aged 0-5 years). The participants were recruited from deprived and ethnically diverse wards in Luton, UK and self-identified as being white British, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, black African-Caribbean or Polish. The findings highlighted a wide range of inter-relating psychological and sociocultural factors that underpin parental beliefs and practices in providing children with a healthy diet. Parents, whilst aware of the importance of providing children with a healthy diet, faced challenges such as lack of time and balancing competing responsibilities, which were clear barriers to providing children with a healthy diet. Access to and affordability of healthy food and the overexposure of cheap, convenient, and unhealthy processed foods made it increasingly difficult for parents to provide a healthy diet for their growing families. Household food practices were also found to be situated within the wider context of sociocultural and religious norms around cooking and eating, along with cultural identity and upbringing