Physico-chemical, proximate, mineral and bioactive composition of Garcinia buchananii baker fruit from Uganda and Rwanda

Garcinia buchananii Baker (Family,Cluciaceae/Guttiferae) is an underutilized indigenous fruit tree that produces edible fruits that are used as both  food and medicine in tropical Africa. This study evaluated the physical and chemical characteristics of G. buchananii fruits collected from Uganda  and Rwanda. Ripe fruits were harvested during their peak seasons in Masaka and Bugesera Districts in Uganda and Rwanda, respectively. The fruits  were analyzed for physical characteristics including; fruit weight, fruit size (that is length and width), number of seeds per fruit, seed weight, seed  dimensions(length, width and breadth); chemical characteristics (pH and titratable acidity), proximate composition (moisture content, protein, fat,  dietary fibre, carbohydrates and energy), mineral composition (K, Na, Ca, Mg, Ca, Fe, Zn, Cu), and bioactive components (total phenolic compounds,  flavonoids and anthocyanins; and antioxidant activity). Data were statistically analyzed using a student T-test (p≤0.05). The results indicated that fruit  weight and pulp content ranged from 6.3±1.3-9.5±2.8g and 54.1±10.6- 81.1±6.5%, respectively. Titratable acidity of the pulp ranged from  6.1±0.8 to 7.1±0.1 %. Nutritionally, dietary fibre, vitamin C, iron and zinc ranged from 20.0±0.4 -22.6±1.8 g/100g, 32.8±3.2-42.0±3.3 mg/100g, 4.8±0.2  - 6.5±0.8 mg/100g and 1.1±0.0 -2.5±0.1 mg/100g, respectively. The total phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity ranged from 996.7±50.5 -  1147.5±47.4 mg/g GAE (Garlic Acid Equivalent) and 8.0±0.2- 8.4±0.1 mg/100g AAE (Ascorbic Acid Equivalent) as IC50, respectively. There was a  significant difference (p≤0.05) in the physical characteristics (weight, length, width and breadth), nutritional composition and bioactive components  of the fruit samples of the two countries. Assessment of the nutrients indicated that the pulp was rich in vitamin C, iron, zinc, copper and dietary  fibre. The pulp also contained phenolic compounds with antioxidant activity. The seeds had 6-24% crude oil content with palmitic, stearic, oleic and  linoleic as major fatty acids. The total unsaturated fatty acids in the seed oil ranged from 58.4-59.5%. Although this finding showed significant  differences (P≤0.05) in the physical and chemical of G. buchananii fruit from Uganda and Rwanda, the nutritional composition and bioactive  component information has shown the potential of the fruits for processing into high-value nutraceuticals.&nbsp

Successful innovations and lessons learnt in cassava improvement and deployment by IITA in Eastern African Region

The International Institute of Tropical of Agriculture (IITA) established its East and Southern Africa Regional Research Centre (ESARC) in Uganda at the former Namulonge Agricultural and Animal Research Institute (NAARI), presently Namulonge Animal and Crops Research Institute (NaCRRI), to address issues of cassava, banana, and plantain development; coordinate all related activities, and work closely with the national agricultural research institutes (NARS). IITA-ESARC began extensive cassava germplasm development to counter the pandemic of African cassava mosaic disease (ACMD) in the region in 1995 through the Eastern Africa Root Crops Research Network (EARRNET). More than 100,000 seeds were evaluated through the conventional plant breeding scheme. Selected genotypes were kept in in-situ conservation from where the regional cassava national programs selected clones for further evaluation in their own countries. Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda benefited immensely. Through EARRNET, the region gained significantly from the large germplasm base to mitigate the scourge of ACMD and the production of cassava was restored. A new joint effort that was established between Catholic Relief Services and IITA in collaboration with the NARS and other stakeholders promoted the adoption of improved germplasm through participatory variety selection. The breeding approach used enabled to reduce selection period for NARS to release new varieties to farmers as they received elite materials for evaluation. However, the spread of cassava brown streak disease (CBSD) in mid altitude threatened the achievements already made as the new disease attacked most of the ACMD-resistant and high yielding varieties. Its spread in the region calls for more effective collaborative action than before from IITA and its partners to develop new resistant materials to mitigate the effects of both ACMD and CBSD. The present paper attempts to summarize the breeding work efforts made and demonstrate how the germplasm development at this regional center has been useful to the region through effective partnership

Custo adaptativo da indução de resistência em feijoeiro mediada pela rizobactéria Bacillus cereus ou acibenzolar-S-metil: atividade de enzimas, síntese de fenóis e lignina e biomassa Fitness cost of induced resistance in bean plants by the rhizobacteria Bacillus cereus or acibenzolar-S-methyl: enzymes activities, phenol and lignin synthesis, and biomass

Plantas que utilizam recursos para defesa na ausência de pragas ou patógenos, arcarão com custos energéticos que podem refletir na sua produtividade. Assim, teve-se por objetivo avaliar os custos adaptativos da indução de resistência, antes da chegada do patógeno, em feijoeiro induzido por um indutor biótico (Bacillus cereus) e um abiótico (acibenzolar-S-metil, ASM), em 2, 3 ou 4 aplicações distribuídas ao longo do ciclo da cultura. Avaliou-se o efeito protetor contra a bactéria Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. phaseoli, além da atividade de peroxidase, quitinase, &#946;-1,3-glucanase, síntese de lignina, fenóis e crescimento com base na matéria seca. Observou-se que os indutores protegeram a cultura contra X. axonopodis pv. phaseoli com base na redução da severidade. O ASM aumentou a atividade de peroxidase, quitinase e &#946;-1,3-glucanase, enquanto que o B. cereus aumentou apenas a peroxidase. O ASM aumentou a síntese de lignina e B. cereus não, enquanto que ASM diminuiu teor de fenóis e B. cereus não. O ASM reduziu a biomassa da planta, o que não ocorreu em plantas induzidas por B. cereus. Portanto, a resistência induzida por ASM apresenta elevado custo associado, enquanto que por B. cereus apresenta baixo custo, necessitando a indução de resistência ser melhor explorada e estudada para potencializar seu uso em feijoeiro.<br>Plants that use resources to defend themselves in the absence of pests or pathogens will pay off with energy costs that can reflect in the productivity. Thus, the objective of this work was to evaluate the fitness costs of the resistance induced in bean plants, before the presence of the pathogen, by using biotic (Bacillus cereus) and abiotic (acibenzolar-S-methyl, ASM) inducers, applied 2, 3 or 4 times during the cycle of the culture. The protecting effect was evaluated against the bacterium Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. phaseoli. The activities of peroxidase, chitinase and &#946;-1,3-glucanase, lignin and phenol synthesis and plant growth were evaluated too. It was observed that the inducers protected the bean plants against X. axonopodis pv. phaseoli. The ASM increased the activity of peroxidase, chitinase and &#946;-1,3-glucanase, while B. cereus only increased peroxidase activity. Unlike B. cereus, the ASM increased lignin synthesis and decreased phenolic compound content and plant growth. Therefore, the resistance induced by ASM represents high fitness costs for bean plants, while the resistance induced by B. cereus represents low cost and its potential use can be explored

Impact of COVID-19 on access to cancer care in Rwanda: a retrospective time-series study using electronic medical records data

Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic has caused disruptions in access to routine healthcare services worldwide, with a particularly high impact on chronic care patients and low and middle-income countries. In this study, we used routinely collected electronic medical records data to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on access to cancer care at the Butaro Cancer Center of Excellence (BCCOE) in rural Rwanda.Methods We conducted a retrospective time-series study among all Rwandan patients who received cancer care at the BCCOE between 1 January 2016 and 31 July 2021. The primary outcomes of interest included a comparison of the number of patients who were predicted based on time-series models of pre-COVID-19 trends versus the actual number of patients who presented during the COVID-19 period (between March 2020 and July 2021) across four key indicators: the number of new patients, number of scheduled appointments, number of clinical visits attended and the proportion of scheduled appointments completed on time.Results In total, 8970 patients (7140 patients enrolled before COVID-19 and 1830 patients enrolled during COVID-19) were included in this study. During the COVID-19 period, enrolment of new patients dropped by 21.7% (95% prediction interval (PI): −31.3%, −11.7%) compared with the pre-COVID-19 period. Similarly, the number of clinical visits was 25.0% (95% PI: −31.1%, −19.1%) lower than expected and the proportion of scheduled visits completed on time was 27.9% (95% PI: −39.8%, −14.1%) lower than expected. However, the number of scheduled visits did not deviate significantly from expected.Conclusion Although scheduling procedures for visits continued as expected, our findings reveal that the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted patients’ ability to access cancer care and attend scheduled appointments at the BCCOE. This interruption in care suggests delayed diagnosis and loss to follow-up, potentially resulting in a higher rate of negative health outcomes among cancer patients in Rwanda

Research in Africa for Africa? Probing the Effect and Credibility of Research Done by Foreigners for Africa

Part 2: ICT4D for the Indigenous, by the Indigenous and of the IndigenousInternational audienceThis paper probes research being carried out by researchers foreign to Africa. From an assessment of decennia of research, we address the many and varied ways in which the work of foreign researchers, often from countries with unresolved colonial baggage, cast their normalising shadows over African realities. From experiences in Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe, among others, through the exposit of the complex and expansive array of influences and coloniality, we paint a picture how foreign researchers benefit from enshrined and ongoing practices that dominate research scenes. These practices depreciate African research and development done by Africans, in Africa for utilisation in Africa. We propose the need to mainstream decoloniality and communiversity as to affect the primacy of African researchers researching in, on and for Africa

Urban Gardens as Multifunctional Nature-Based Solutions for Societal Goals in a Changing Climate

Urban gardens can contribute to climate mitigation and adaptation through a range of provisioning, regulating, and cultural ecosystem services as multifunctional nature-based solutions in a city. Besides providing food, urban gardens contribute to water regulation through unsealed soils, to improved air circulation and cooling through plant transpiration and shading, offering microclimate oases to many users, such as gardeners, visitors, and immediate neighbors. In combination with other green and blue infrastructures, urban gardens can thereby help to mitigate and adapt to the urban heat island effect. They also provide important habitat for wildlife and genetic diversity. Urban gardens create opportunities for leisure and recreation and thereby promote health and well-being, as well as a sense of place, cultural identity, and social cohesion – important factors for societies to adapt to change. Exploring case studies across Europe, we discuss differences between garden types and their contribution to achieving sustainability goals for city communities