Factors affecting sorghum protein digestibility

In the semi-arid tropics worldwide, sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) is cultivated by farmers on a subsistence level and consumed as food by humans. A nutritional limitation to its use is the poor digestibility of sorghum protein when wet cooked. The factors affecting wet cooked sorghum protein digestibility may be categorised into two main groups: exogenous factors (grain organisational structure, polyphenols, phytic acid, starch and non-starch polysaccharides) and endogenous factors (disulphide and non-disulphide crosslinking, kafirin hydrophobicity and changes in protein secondary structure). All these factors have been shown to influence sorghum protein digestibility. More than one factor may be at play at any time depending on the nature or the state in which the sorghum grain is; that is whether whole grain, endosperm, protein body preparation, high-tannin or condensed-tannin-free. It is proposed that protein crosslinking may be the greatest factor that influences sorghum protein digestibility. This may be between ?- and ß-kafirin proteins at the protein body periphery, which may impede digestion of the centrally located major storage protein, a-kafirin, or between ?- or ß-kafirin and a-kafiri

A predictive model and socioeconomic and demographic determinants of under-five mortality in Sierra Leone.

Sierra Leone is among the countries that recorded high under-five child mortality rate in the world. To design and implement policies that can address this public health challenge, the present study developed a predictive model of factors that explained under-five mortality in Sierra Leone using the 2008 and 2013 Sierra Leone Demographic and Health Survey (SDHS) datasets. LASSO regression technique was used to select the predictors to build the under-five predictive single-level logit and multilevel logit models. Statistical analyses were performed in the R freeware version 3.6.1. About 588 (10.4%) and 1320 (11.1%) children under five were reported dead in 2008 and 2013, respectively. The significant predictors of under-five mortality in Sierra Leone were the total number of children ever born, number of children under five in the household, mother's birth in the last five years, mother's number of living children, and number of household members, household wealth, maternal contraceptive use and intention, number of eligible women in the household, type of toilet facility, sex of the child, and weight of the child at birth. The study identified certain predictors that deserve policy attention and interventions to strengthen the efforts of creating child welfare and survival atmosphere in Sierra Leone

Knowledge and Determinants of Fruit and Vegetable Consumption among Adults in Hohoe Municipality, Ghana

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that a person consumes at least 400g of Fruit and Vegetable (FV) daily to prevent chronic disease risk. We assessed knowledge of current WHO guidelines and other determinants of FV intake among adults (≥ 18 years, n = 397) in Hohoe Municipality, Ghana. Face-to-face interviews using a questionnaire adopted from WHO Risk Factor Surveillance System were undertaken. Knowledge of FV daily servings and determinants of intake were evaluated by descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression. There was a 99.2% response rate with approximately 9% of participants correctly stating the WHO daily recommended amount (P = .296). Most (54%) of respondents’ FV intake was affected by unavailability of desired choice (P = .050). Odd of inadequate consumption for persons aware of adequate amount was 1.97 (95% CI: 0.64, 6.05, P = .234) higher than persons without awareness. Participants with problems accessing their desired choice of FV had 0.59 odds (95% CI: 0.36, 0.95, P = .030) of consuming inadequate amount compared to those with easy access. Adequate FV intake depends on availability of consumer preference regardless of knowledge of recommendations. Individual FV cultivation is relevant for availability of preferred choice and adequate consumption for NCDs risk reductions among Ghanaians

Blockchain-Enabled Provenance Tracking for Sustainable Material Reuse in Construction Supply Chains

The growing complexity of construction supply chains and the significant impact of the construction industry on the environment demand an understanding of how to reuse and repurpose materials. In response to this critical challenge, research gaps that are significant in promoting material circularity are described. Despite its potential, the use of blockchain technology in construction faces challenges in verifiability, scalability, privacy, and interoperability. We propose a novel multilayer blockchain framework to enhance provenance tracking and data retrieval to enable a reliable audit trail. The framework utilises a privacy-centric solution that combines decentralised and centralised storage, security, and privacy. Furthermore, the framework implements access control to strengthen security and privacy, fostering transparency and information sharing among the stakeholders. These contributions collectively lead to trusted material circularity in a built environment. The implementation framework aims to create a prototype for blockchain applications in construction supply chains

An Analytical Outlook of the Commercial Space Industry for the Last Frontier: Potential Entrepreneurial Evaluation of the African Space Sector

The African continent is growing at a fast pace, and its economic pulse has heightened. However, there is a growing momentum within the community of researchers, businesses, and investors to make an overall survey and assessment of progress sustained in the African space industries as a whole. There is no debate on the fact that documentation is pivotal to every research progress. Thus far, poor documentation has been inimical to the growth of the African economy and also the African space industry. In collaborative efforts with the African Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC) body, this article is an attempt at documenting progress, and it includes the analysis of the entrepreneurial outlook of some selected countries (Nigeria, Ghana, Morocco, Mauritius, Sudan, and Tunisia) in Africa. This study aims at sustaining the African economic drive by using a multimethod approach involving Gynawali and Fogel's "key dimensions of environments for entrepreneurship development,"to understand the economic environment in those nations while incorporating the versatile national competitive advantage diamond model of Michael Porter. Comparisons can be drawn between African countries and member nations in BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) to obtain a conclusion toward fueling the increasing space science and technological drive in Africa. Research is essential for industries and socioeconomic development in Africa - the Last Frontier, which remains a potential ground for global commercial space growth

Promoting radio astronomy in Ghana through school visits and Astronomy Clubs

The Promoting Radio Astronomy in Ghana through School visits and Astronomy Clubs (PRAGSAC) project was an intervention to promote astronomy education in schools in Ghana. It was initiated by a group of enthusiastic students who were trained in radio astronomy and astrophysics under a Royal Society/Newton Fund UK project termed Development in Africa with Radio Astronomy. The team's aim is to expose school children to astronomy and to increase their interest in the sciences. Approximately 800 school children from seven junior high schools were positively impacted by this project. Astronomy clubs were formed in the selected schools with practical astronomy lessons taught. The kids visited the largest single radio telescope in Africa at Kuntunse in Accra and were amazed about the engineering and the science that it undertakes. For the patrons of the clubs, a teacher training workshop was organised for them, so as to equip them to manage the clubs. The feedback from students and teachers was exceptionally positive, implying that the PRAGSAC project has helped inspire more students to pursue courses and consider careers within the sciences

A Model for the Development of the Rhizobial and Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Symbioses in Legumes and Its Use to Understand the Roles of Ethylene in the Establishment of these two Symbioses

We propose a model depicting the development of nodulation and arbuscular mycorrhizae. Both processes are dissected into many steps, using Pisum sativum L. nodulation mutants as a guideline. For nodulation, we distinguish two main developmental programs, one epidermal and one cortical. Whereas Nod factors alone affect the cortical program, bacteria are required to trigger the epidermal events. We propose that the two programs of the rhizobial symbiosis evolved separately and that, over time, they came to function together. The distinction between these two programs does not exist for arbuscular mycorrhizae development despite events occurring in both root tissues. Mutations that affect both symbioses are restricted to the epidermal program. We propose here sites of action and potential roles for ethylene during the formation of the two symbioses with a specific hypothesis for nodule organogenesis. Assuming the epidermis does not make ethylene, the microsymbionts probably first encounter a regulatory level of ethylene at the epidermis–outermost cortical cell layer interface. Depending on the hormone concentrations there, infection will either progress or be blocked. In the former case, ethylene affects the cortex cytoskeleton, allowing reorganization that facilitates infection; in the latter case, ethylene acts on several enzymes that interfere with infection thread growth, causing it to abort. Throughout this review, the difficulty of generalizing the roles of ethylene is emphasized and numerous examples are given to demonstrate the diversity that exists in plants