Postharvest Preservation Technology of Cereals and Legumes

Cereals and legumes are prone to perishability and have very short shelf-life if not given proper treatment. During different handling and marketing operations, there is a huge postharvest loss of agricultural produce. The qualitative and quantitative losses incurred in cereals and legumes commodities between harvest and consumption are huge. Qualitative losses such as loss inedibility, nutritional quality, calorific value, and consumer acceptability of fresh produce are much more difficult to assess than are quantitative losses. The major cause of postharvest loss (PHL) is the availability of poor infrastructure for postharvest technology (PHT) and processing of commodities. These losses can only be minimized by proper handling, marketing, and processing of the agricultural commodities; as well as the use of modern preservation technologies such as irradiation, radio frequency heating, etc. The sufficient knowledge of pre-and post-harvest preservation technologies and the provision of adequate and sufficient storage facilities for cereals and legumes handling and distribution would help to mitigate the incidence of postharvest deterioration and therefore improve the availability of cereals and legumes in the market and subsequent reduction in malnutrition for increased food security. Postharvest preservation technology of cereals and legumes is very fundamental in reducing postharvest losses and increasing food security

Reliability and validity of a life course passive smoke exposure questionnaire in an australian cohort from childhood to adulthood

Objectives:Life course exposure to passive smoke may predict health, but there are few validated measures. We tested the reliability and validity of a retrospective life course passive smoking questionnaire. Methods:Participants from the third follow-up of the Childhood Determinants of Adult Health study (2014-2019, ages 36-49 years) retrospectively reported mother/father/other household member smoking when living at home during childhood, including duration (years) and smoking location (never/sometimes/always inside house). The severity of exposure index (SEI; sum of mother/father/other years smoked multiplied by smoking location), cumulative years of exposure (CYE; sum of mother/father/other years), and total household smokers (THS) were derived. The reliability of retrospective passive smoking reports was examined with intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) using household smoking reported 34 years earlier in 1985 by participants when aged 7-15 years. Construct validity was examined by correlating retrospective passive smoking with participants’ smoking in adulthood and lung function in childhood and adulthood. Results:Among 2082 participants (mean±standard deviation [SD], 45.0±2.5 years; 55.2% females), THS ranged from 0 to 5 (mean± SD, 0.9±1.0), CYE ranged from 0 to 106 (mean±SD, 10.5±13.9), and SEI ranged from 0 to 318 (mean±SD, 24.4±36.0). Retrospective measures showed moderate agreement with total household smokers reported in childhood (ICC, 0.58 to 0.62). The retrospective measures were weakly but significantly (pConclusions:The retrospective passive smoking questionnaire showed reasonable reliability and validity. This measure may be useful for epidemiological studies.</p

The Reach and Limits of the US President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PEPFAR) Funding of Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) of HIV in Nigeria

WHO advocates the use of comprehensive 4-pronged strategy for PMTCT of HIV. It includes HIV prevention, preventing unintended pregnancies in HIV positive women and follows up treatment and support as well as therapeutic interventions around delivery. This study examines PEPFAR&rsquo;s funding of Nigerian PMTCT, via an analysis of the funded activities of 396 agencies PEPFAR funds to do PMTCT. PEPFAR Sub-partners selected for this study were included because they were funded to do therapeutic intervention around delivery, but significant gaps were identified regarding the other 3 prongs advocated by WHO. Up to 70% were not funded to do any primary prevention. PEPFAR&rsquo;s own reporting does not allow assessment of Sub-partner involvement in preventing unintended pregnancies. Regarding follow up treatment and care, some Sub-partners were not funded at all. PEPFAR is not supporting a comprehensive approach to PMTCT in the way it funds PMTCT in Nigeria Keywords: HIV, PMTCT, Prevention, PEPFAR, Nigeria Afr J Reprod Health 2012; 16[1]:23-3

La portée et les limites du plan d’urgence du Président américain à l’égard du financement des secours au SIDA (PUPFSS) pour la prévention de la Transmission du VIH de la mère à l’enfant (PTME) au Nigéria

WHO advocates the use of comprehensive 4-pronged strategy for PMTCT of HIV. It includes HIV prevention, preventing unintended pregnancies in HIV positive women and follows up treatment and support as well as therapeutic interventions around delivery. This study examines PEPFAR’s funding of Nigerian PMTCT, via an analysis of the funded activities of 396 agencies PEPFAR funds to do PMTCT. PEPFAR Sub-partners selected for this study were included because they were funded to do therapeutic intervention around delivery, but significant gaps were identified regarding the other 3 prongs advocated by WHO. Up to 70% were not funded to do any primary prevention. PEPFAR’s own reporting does not allow assessment of Sub-partner involvement in preventing unintended pregnancies. Regarding follow up treatment and care, some Sub-partners were not funded at all. PEPFAR is not supporting a comprehensive approach to PMTCT in the way it funds PMTCT in Nigeria (Afr J Reprod Health 2012; 16[1]:23-34).L’OMS préconise l’utilisation d’une stratégie compréhensive à quatre fronts pour la PTME du VIH. Elle comprend la prévention du VIH, la prévention des grossesses non-voulues chez les femmes séropositives, le traitement en postcure et d’appui aussi bien que les interventions thérapeutiques autour de l’accouchement. Cette étude examine le financement de la PTME du Nigéria par le PUPFSS à travers une analyse des activités financées auprès des agences financées, elles aussi, par PUPFSS pour réaliser la PTME. Les sous-partenaires du PUPFSS sélectionnés pour cette étude, ont été inclus parce qu’ils étaient financés pour réaliser des interventions thérapeutiques autour de l’accouchement, mais on a identifié d’importants trous à propos des trois autres fronts préconisés par l’OMS. Jusqu’à 70% n’ont pas été financés pour réaliser une prévention primaire. Le reportage par le PUPFSS ne permet pas d’évaluer la participation des sous-partenaires dans la prévention des grossesses non-voulues. En ce qui concerne le traitement en postcure et au soin, certains sous-partenaires n’ont pas été du tout financés. Le PUPFSS ne soutient pas une approche compréhensive à la PTME dans la manière dont il finance la PTME au Nigéria (Afr J Reprod Health 2012; 16[1]:23-34)