The Incidence, severity and aetiology of a bacterial canker disease of citrus in Ghana

A disease of citrus characterised by slightly raised spots with chlorotic halo was observed in the citrus orchard of the Soil and Irrigation Research Centre of the University of Ghana, located at Kpong in 2009. Samples of the diseased leaves and fruits were taken and a bacterium isolated and identified using cultural, morphological and polymerase chain reactions with three different sets of species specific primers. The pathogenicity of the bacterium was established using citrus seedlings. The bacterium isolated was found to produce yellow mucoid colonies and the cells were short rods and gram negative. It showed pectolytic activity on potato plugs and was pathogenic to artificially inoculated seedlings. The expected PCR product of 222 bp, 179 bp and 197 bp were obtained in the PCR using the primer pairs 2/3, J-RXg/J-RXC2 and J-pth1/J-pth2 respectively. It was concluded that the bacterium was Xanthomonas campestris pv citri A and the disease was a form of citrus canker. The disease incidence decreased from 100% to 13.3% in six years (2009-2014). Correspondingly, the disease severity declined from 88.3% to 1.7% in six years (2009-2014) without the application of any control measure. It was conjectured that the prevailing microclimate and environmental conditions might have influenced the survival of the pathogen. The practical implications of the findings are discussed and future studies suggested

Distinct developmental and degenerative functions of SARM1 require NAD+ hydrolase activity

SARM1 is the founding member of the TIR-domain family of NAD+ hydrolases and the central executioner of pathological axon degeneration. SARM1-dependent degeneration requires NAD+ hydrolysis. Prior to the discovery that SARM1 is an enzyme, SARM1 was studied as a TIR-domain adaptor protein with non-degenerative signaling roles in innate immunity and invertebrate neurodevelopment, including at the Drosophila neuromuscular junction (NMJ). Here we explore whether the NADase activity of SARM1 also contributes to developmental signaling. We developed transgenic Drosophila lines that express SARM1 variants with normal, deficient, and enhanced NADase activity and tested their function in NMJ development. We find that NMJ overgrowth scales with the amount of NADase activity, suggesting an instructive role for NAD+ hydrolysis in this developmental signaling pathway. While degenerative and developmental SARM1 signaling share a requirement for NAD+ hydrolysis, we demonstrate that these signals use distinct upstream and downstream mechanisms. These results identify SARM1-dependent NAD+ hydrolysis as a heretofore unappreciated component of developmental signaling. SARM1 now joins sirtuins and Parps as enzymes that regulate signal transduction pathways via mechanisms that involve NAD+ cleavage, greatly expanding the potential scope of SARM1 TIR NADase functions

Motivations for food prohibitions during pregnancy and their enforcement mechanisms in a rural Ghanaian district

© 2015 Arzoaquoi et al. Background: Food taboos are known from virtually all human societies and pregnant women have often been targeted. We qualitatively assessed food taboos during pregnancy, its motivating factors, and enforcement mechanisms in the Upper Manya Krobo district of Ghana. Methods: This was an exploratory cross sectional study using qualitative focus group discussions (FGDs). Sixteen FGDs were conducted. Participants were purposively selected using the maximum variation sampling technique. Tape recorded FGDs were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using Malterudian systematic text condensation technique. Results: All the participants were aware of the existence of food prohibitions and beliefs targeting pregnant women in Upper Manya Krobo. The study identified snails, rats, hot foods, and animal lungs as tabooed during pregnancy. Adherence motivators included expectation of safe and timely delivery, avoidance of "monkey babies" (deformed babies); respect for ancestors, parents, and community elders. Enforcement mechanisms identified included constant reminders by parents, family members and significant others. Stigmatization and community sanctions are deployed sparingly. Conclusions: Food taboos and traditional beliefs targeting pregnant women exist in Upper Manya Krobo. Pregnant women are forbidden from eating snails, rats, snakes, hot foods and animal lungs. To a large extent, socio-cultural, and to a lesser, health concerns motivate the practice

Clarifying supply chain disruption and operational resilience relationship from a threat-rigidity perspective: Evidence from small and medium-sized enterprises

Given the significant risk supply chain disruptions pose to businesses, scholars and experts presume such events encourage resilience-building efforts. This study uses the threat-rigidity theory to question this normative assumption by proposing that supply chain disruption can trigger threat interpretation bias, which undermines operational resilience. Specifically, the study contends that threat interpretation bias negatively mediates the relationship between supply chain disruption and operational resilience, particularly in low disruption orientation circumstances. An empirical analysis of survey data from 259 small and medium-sized enterprises in Ghana using covariance-based structural equation modeling supports these theoretical predictions. The results indicate that supply chain disruption increases threat interpretation bias, which in turn reduces operational resilience. The negative effect of threat interpretation bias on operational resilience is stronger when disruption orientation is low than when it is high. These results offer an enhanced understanding of the supply chain disruption–resilience link while shedding light on how firms can manage threat interpretation bias to improve operational resilience

Household food security determinants and nutritional status of inhabitants of a peri-urban community: a case study in the Volta region of Ghana

Food shortages and malnutrition widely persist and continue to be rural peculiarities across the sub-region. A cross-sectional study was conducted in a peri-urban community of Dzodze in the Volta region to ascertain the level of food security as well as the nutritional status of the inhabitants using a random sampling technique. This community-based comparative cross-sectional study conducted from May to July 2018 adopted a multistage random sampling and selected 105 households. Sociodemographic data were collected using a structured questionnaire. Chi-square, Cramer’s-V, and Pearson’s correlations models were used to assess the association of socio-demographic, anthropometric and food frequency data while the Logit model, FSI, HCR were used to measure food security. Over half of the sample (59.6%) were in the normal range of BMI which implied good nutritional status. Remarkably, a majority of those in this normal BMI range 81 (77%) were female. Women aged 41years and above constituted a large portion of study participants (54.3%) of which many 43 (41%) were married. Just 4.8% of this group said they were both separated and cohabited with their partners non-customarily. Data on the frequency of food intake by the community revealed that, a majority of 63.4% of the respondents ate three times a day. Most of the people (77.2%, 68.7%, and 86.9%) ate breakfast, lunch, and supper, respectively, daily over a week. The fallouts from the work showed majority (71.5%) of the respondents were food secure and the remaining (about 28.5%) were food insecure. Factors such as age, gender, educational level, household size, and age were found to be significant predictors that influenced food security of the peri-urban community according to the logit model used. The smallholder households according to the computed food security index of 1.13 and normal range of BMI were identified to be indices of food security.&nbsp

Exploring the knowledge and awareness of diabetes mellitus among inhabitants of Ho municipality in Ghana: A cross-sectional study

One of the fast-growing major non-communicable diseases (NCD) that poses a danger to global public health is Diabetes mellitus (DM). Trends in  the incidence of DM indicate a disproportionate increase in developing countries due to current rapid demographic transitions from traditional to  more westernized and urbanized lifestyles. Knowledge of DM is vital for curbing or control. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the level of  knowledge and awareness of DM among the Ho municipality general population, identify areas of deficiency for targeted health education efforts,  and identify respondent characteristics that may be associated with knowledge of diabetes. A survey involving 132 respondents (age over 18 years)  was conducted in the Ho municipality of the Volta region of Ghana. A 42-item pre-tested questionnaire was administered to participants to evaluate  general and specific knowledge and awareness of DM. The Pairwise Multiple Comparison and Fisher’s Exact tests were used to test the hypotheses  and associations between the respondents’ knowledge level and groups respectively. Of the 132 respondents, 22% were in the age range of 40-46  years; 72.7% were female. Mean over all diabetes knowledge composite score was poor: 32.99% (CI; 27.5, 38.5). Respondents performed best in the  symptoms section: mean score was 36.247% (CI; 29.0, 43.4); and worst in the section on complications: mean score was 30.909% (CI; 23.6, 38.2). In  multiple linear regression analyses, education level, older age, own self having diabetes, and having a family member/relative/friend with diabetes  were significantly associated with knowledge of diabetes. Knowledge of diabetes among the inhabitants of Ho municipality respondents was  interpreted as being inadequate 32.99% (CI; 27.5, 38.5). Some deficient portions and factors associated with knowledge of diabetes were identified.  Relevant information for targeted health education programs in Ghana and beyond may be considered as one of such benefits of these findings.  &nbsp

Visual impairment among eye health workers in a tertiary eye centre in Ghana

Objective: To determine causes of visual impairment (VI) among staff of the Eye Centre at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital.Design: This was a cross-sectional study.Setting: The Eye Centre, Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH), from October 2016 to March 2017 on all consenting members of staff.Participants: Eighty-four (79.3%) of 106 consenting staff members participated in this study.Data collection/Intervention: A detailed history (demographic, ocular, medical co-morbid conditions), ocular examination and relevant diagnostic investigations were conducted. Interventions initiated included treatment for glaucoma, dry eye and allergic conjunctivitis and spectacles prescription for refractive errors.Main outcomes: Prevalence of avoidable causes of VI (glaucoma, cataract, refractive errors). Secondary outcomes included prevalence of unavoidable causes of VI. Results Eighty-four (79.3%) members of staff participated in this study. Most of the participants were females, 54(64.3 %). Age ranged from 23 to 60 years with an average of 35.8±9.9 years (mean ± SD). Prevalence of VI was 9.5 % (8/84), all due to uncorrected refractive error. Other known causes of VI included open angle glaucoma in 12(14.3 %), macular scar of unknown cause, 1(1.2 %) and sutural cataract, 1(1.2 %) but were all visually insignificant.Conclusions: The prevalence of VI among the staff of the Eye Centre of the KBTH was 9.5 %, all due to refractive errors. Other known causes of avoidable visual impairment and blindness encountered were glaucoma (14.3 %), macular scar (1.2 %) and cataract (1.2 %), all asymptomatic. Routine eye screening should be part of periodic medical examination for employees

Dynamic recruitment of microRNAs to their mRNA targets in the regenerating liver.

BACKGROUND: Validation of physiologic miRNA targets has been met with significant challenges. We employed HITS-CLIP to identify which miRNAs participate in liver regeneration, and to identify their target mRNAs. RESULTS: miRNA recruitment to the RISC is highly dynamic, changing more than five-fold for several miRNAs. miRNA recruitment to the RISC did not correlate with changes in overall miRNA expression for these dynamically recruited miRNAs, emphasizing the necessity to determine miRNA recruitment to the RISC in order to fully assess the impact of miRNA regulation. We incorporated RNA-seq quantification of total mRNA to identify expression-weighted Ago footprints, and developed a microRNA regulatory element (MRE) prediction algorithm that represents a greater than 20-fold refinement over computational methods alone. These high confidence MREs were used to generate candidate \u27competing endogenous RNA\u27 (ceRNA) networks. CONCLUSION: HITS-CLIP analysis provide novel insights into global miRNA:mRNA relationships in the regenerating liver

TIR domains of plant immune receptors are NAD+-cleaving enzymes that promote cell death

Plant nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat (NLR) immune receptors activate cell death and confer disease resistance by unknown mechanisms. We demonstrate that plant Toll/interleukin-1 receptor (TIR) domains of NLRs are enzymes capable of degrading nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide in its oxidized form (NAD+). Both cell death induction and NAD+ cleavage activity of plant TIR domains require known self-association interfaces and a putative catalytic glutamic acid that is conserved in both bacterial TIR NAD+-cleaving enzymes (NADases) and the mammalian SARM1 (sterile alpha and TIR motif containing 1) NADase. We identify a variant of cyclic adenosine diphosphate ribose as a biomarker of TIR enzymatic activity. TIR enzymatic activity is induced by pathogen recognition and functions upstream of the genes enhanced disease susceptibility 1 (EDS1) and N requirement gene 1 (NRG1), which encode regulators required for TIR immune function. Thus, plant TIR-NLR receptors require NADase function to transduce recognition of pathogens into a cell death response