Cassava for food and energy: exploring potential benefits of processing of cassava into cassava flour and bioenergy at farmstead and community levels in rural Mozambique

As in most of sub-Sahara Africa, rural people in Mozambique use firewood as their main source of energy. The use of firewood is associated with several health problems, and the time spent collecting it reduces time for other activities. Cassava is grown as a reserve crop in Mozambique where it is considered a ‘woman's crop’. Because the crop is drought-tolerant and resistant to diseases, it needs little attention and hence little labor input. This paper examines how the rural people in the case of Mozambique can use their current reserve crop, cassava, to meet their energy needs and food requirements and to increase their annual income. Cassava processing chains were modeled to assess (i) the effect of introducing an anaerobic digester for the digestion of cassava peels and other material (dung, kitchen waste and maize residues) at family level (BAU (business as usual) + family digester) and (ii) the effect of introducing an ethanol plant with treatment of stillage and production of electricity (BAU + community ethanol). The results show that it is economically viable to have BAU + family digester system and BAU + community ethanol. Sensitivity analysis showed that an increase in crop yield and the local price of cassava are the most important factors to increase the economic viability of the BAU + family digester system. Sensitivity analysis of the BAU + community ethanol system showed that this system is mainly affected by the price of ethanol. Besides the economic benefits, the proposed systems have other benefits, such as efficient recycling of nutrients and pollution reductio

Cassava for food and energy: exploring potential benefits of processing of cassava into cassava flour and bioenergy at farmstead and community levels in rural Mozambique

As in most of sub-Sahara Africa, rural people in Mozambique use firewood as their main source of energy. The use of firewood is associated with several health problems, and the time spent collecting it reduces time for other activities. Cassava is grown as a reserve crop in Mozambique where it is considered a ‘woman's crop’. Because the crop is drought-tolerant and resistant to diseases, it needs little attention and hence little labor input. This paper examines how the rural people in the case of Mozambique can use their current reserve crop, cassava, to meet their energy needs and food requirements and to increase their annual income. Cassava processing chains were modeled to assess (i) the effect of introducing an anaerobic digester for the digestion of cassava peels and other material (dung, kitchen waste and maize residues) at family level (BAU (business as usual) + family digester) and (ii) the effect of introducing an ethanol plant with treatment of stillage and production of electricity (BAU + community ethanol). The results show that it is economically viable to have BAU + family digester system and BAU + community ethanol. Sensitivity analysis showed that an increase in crop yield and the local price of cassava are the most important factors to increase the economic viability of the BAU + family digester system. Sensitivity analysis of the BAU + community ethanol system showed that this system is mainly affected by the price of ethanol. Besides the economic benefits, the proposed systems have other benefits, such as efficient recycling of nutrients and pollution reductio

Local actin dynamics couple speed and persistence in a cellular Potts model of cell migration

Cell migration is astoundingly diverse. Molecular signatures, cell-cell interactions, and environmental structures each play their part in shaping cell motion, yielding numerous morphologies and migration modes. Nevertheless, in recent years, a simple unifying law was found to describe cell migration across many different cell types and contexts: faster cells turn less frequently. This universal coupling between speed and persistence (UCSP) was explained by retrograde actin flow from front to back, but it remains unclear how this mechanism generalizes to cells with complex shapes and cells migrating in structured environments, which may not have a well-defined front-to-back orientation. Here, we present an in-depth characterization of an existing cellular Potts model, in which cells polarize dynamically from a combination of local actin dynamics (stimulating protrusions) and global membrane tension along the perimeter (inhibiting protrusions). We first show that the UCSP emerges spontaneously in this model through a cross talk of intracellular mechanisms, cell shape, and environmental constraints, resembling the dynamic nature of cell migration in vivo. Importantly, we find that local protrusion dynamics suffice to reproduce the UCSP—even in cases in which no clear global, front-to-back polarity exists. We then harness the spatial nature of the cellular Potts model to show how cell shape dynamics limit both the speed and persistence a cell can reach and how a rigid environment such as the skin can restrict cell motility even further. Our results broaden the range of potential mechanisms underlying the speed-persistence coupling that has emerged as a fundamental property of migrating cells

New approaches to market information to enhancing agricultural competitiveness in Uganda

No Abstract

Local actin dynamics couple speed and persistence in a cellular Potts model of cell migration

Cell migration is astoundingly diverse. Molecular signatures, cell-cell interactions, and environmental structures each play their part in shaping cell motion, yielding numerous morphologies and migration modes. Nevertheless, in recent years, a simple unifying law was found to describe cell migration across many different cell types and contexts: faster cells turn less frequently. This universal coupling between speed and persistence (UCSP) was explained by retrograde actin flow from front to back, but it remains unclear how this mechanism generalizes to cells with complex shapes and cells migrating in structured environments, which may not have a well-defined front-to-back orientation. Here, we present an in-depth characterization of an existing cellular Potts model, in which cells polarize dynamically from a combination of local actin dynamics (stimulating protrusions) and global membrane tension along the perimeter (inhibiting protrusions). We first show that the UCSP emerges spontaneously in this model through a cross talk of intracellular mechanisms, cell shape, and environmental constraints, resembling the dynamic nature of cell migration in vivo. Importantly, we find that local protrusion dynamics suffice to reproduce the UCSP—even in cases in which no clear global, front-to-back polarity exists. We then harness the spatial nature of the cellular Potts model to show how cell shape dynamics limit both the speed and persistence a cell can reach and how a rigid environment such as the skin can restrict cell motility even further. Our results broaden the range of potential mechanisms underlying the speed-persistence coupling that has emerged as a fundamental property of migrating cells

Mitochondrial dysfunction in cardiovascular disease: Current status of translational research/clinical and therapeutic implications

Mitochondria provide energy to the cell during aerobic respiration by supplying ~95% of the adenosine triphosphate (ATP) molecules via oxidative phosphorylation. These organelles have various other functions, all carried out by numerous proteins, with the majority of them being encoded by nuclear DNA (nDNA). Mitochondria occupy ~1/3 of the volume of myocardial cells in adults, and function at levels of high-efficiency to promptly meet the energy requirements of the myocardial contractile units. Mitochondria have their own DNA (mtDNA), which contains 37 genes and is maternally inherited. Over the last several years, a variety of functions of these organelles have been discovered and this has led to a growing interest in their involvement in various diseases, including cardiovascular (CV) diseases. Mitochondrial dysfunction relates to the status where mitochondria cannot meet the demands of a cell for ATP and there is an enhanced formation of reactive-oxygen species. This dysfunction may occur as a result of mtDNA and/or nDNA mutations, but also as a response to aging and various disease and environmental stresses, leading to the development of cardiomyopathies and other CV diseases. Designing mitochondria-targeted therapeutic strategies aiming to maintain or restore mitochondrial function has been a great challenge as a result of variable responses according to the etiology of the disorder. There have been several preclinical data on such therapies, but clinical studies are scarce. A major challenge relates to the techniques needed to eclectically deliver the therapeutic agents to cardiac tissues and to damaged mitochondria for successful clinical outcomes. All these issues and progress made over the last several years are herein reviewed

Comparison of RNA extraction kits and histological stains for laser capture microdissected prostate tissue

BACKGROUND: Laser capture microdissection offers unique possibilities for the isolation of specific cell populations or histological structures. However, isolation of RNA from microdissected tissue is challenging due to degradation and minimal yield of RNA during laser capture microdissection (LCM). Our aim was to optimize the isolation of high-quality RNA from laser capture microdissected fresh frozen prostate tissue on the level of staining and RNA extraction. RESULTS: Cresyl violet and haematoxylin were compared as histological stains for LCM. While RNA quality was similar for cresyl violet (median RIN 7.4) and haematoxylin (median RIN 7.6), tissue morphology was more detailed with cresyl violet as compared to haematoxylin. RNA quality from the following kits was compared: RNeasy(®) Micro (median RIN 7.2), miRNeasy Mini (median RIN 6.6), Picopure(®) (median RIN 6.0), mirVana™ miRNA (median RIN 6.5) and RNAqueous(®)-Micro (median RIN 6.3). RNA quality from microdissected samples with either the RNeasy Micro or miRNeasy Mini kit, was comparable to RNA isolated directly from whole tissue slices (median RIN 7.5, p = 0.09). Isolated RNA from benign and prostate cancer microdissected tissue demonstrated that RNA quality can vary between regions from the same clinical sample. Additionally, RNA quality (r = 0.89), but not quantity (r = 0.69) could be precisely measured with the Agilent Bioanalyzer. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrate that staining with cresyl violet results in the isolation of high quality RNA from laser capture microdissected tissue with high discriminative morphology. The RNeasy Micro and miRNeasy Mini RNA extraction kits generated the highest quality RNA compared to Picopure, mirVana and RNAqueous with minimal loss of RNA quality during LCM. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13104-015-1813-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users