Prevalence, incidence and severity of a new root rot disease of cowpea caused by Macrophomina phaseolina (Tassi) Goid in Northern Ghana

Cowpea is an important economic crop in northern Ghana. Following reports of a new cowpea root rot, disease in northern Ghana (Northern, Upper East and Upper West regions), surveys were conducted in 2016 and 2017 with the aim of determining the causal organism, prevalence, incidence and severity of the disease across northern Ghana under rain fed and irrigated conditions. Seventeen locations were surveyed and symptomatic plants were taken to the Plant Pathology laboratory in CSIR- Savanna Agricultural Research Institute (SARI), Nyankpala for pathogen identification. The disease was prevalent in all the locations surveyed. There was no significant difference (P > 0.05) between disease incidence and severity (1‒9 scale) under rain fed and irrigated conditions for each year. Disease incidence and severity were however significantly different (P < 0.05) amongst locations surveyed under both rain fed and irrigated production for 2016 and 2017. Under rain fed conditions for 2016, Nyankpala recorded the highest incidence (43.8%), with Feo recording the lowest (17.8%). For the same period, Manga recorded the highest severity (4.3) with Silbelle recording the least (2.1). Under dry season cultivation for 2016, Asumsapeliga recorded the highest disease incidence (44.5%) with Silbelle recording the lowest (11.4%). Sakpari, however, recorded the highest disease severity (3.8) with Feo recording the lowest for the same period. Under rain fed conditions for 2017, disease incidence was highest in Nyankpala (47.7%) and lowest in Lawra (8.7%). For the same period, however, Manga and Yendi recorded the highest severity (4.3) with Lawra recording the lowest (1.6). Under dry season cowpea production for 2017, Sakpari (64.8%) recorded the highest incidence and Silbelle (7.0%) recording the least. Disease severity for the same period was highest in Nafkluga (4.2) and lowest in Silbelle (2.3). Morphocultural characteristics and pathogenicity test confirmed Macrophomina phaseolina as the causal organism of the cowpea root rot disease

Surgically correctable adrenal-dependent hypertension: a report of five cases

Although endocrine causes of secondary hypertension are relatively uncommon, medical practitioners must maintain a high index of suspicion for them in certain categories of patients. Such patientsinclude young individuals, those with difficult- to-treat hypertension and those presenting with symptoms, clinical signs and/or laboratoryparameters well-known to be associated with Cushing’s syndrome, Conn’s syndrome or phaeochromocytoma. This paper reports on 5 patients identified over a 2-year period with various hormonally-activeadrenal adenomas causing hypertension in an environment where, hitherto, the occurrence of these conditions was generally thought to be rare. Aspects of the patients’ histories, examination and laboratory findings that drew attention to the possibility of the diagnosis in each case are highlighted, as are the confirmatory investigationsand management methods used by a multidisciplinary team of medical practitioners. The clinical outcome with appropriate treatment of adrenalrelated hypertension is good and can result in significantcost savings in the long term

Nursing-Related Barriers to Children's Pain Management at Selected Hospitals in Ghana: A Descriptive Qualitative Study

Staff shortages, deficient knowledge, inappropriate attitudes, demanding workloads, analgesic shortages, and low prioritization of pain management have been identified in earlier studies as the nursing-related barriers to optimal children's pain management. These studies have mainly been undertaken in developed countries, which have different healthcare dynamics than those in developing countries. The current study, therefore, sought to identify and understand the nursing-related barriers to children's pain management in the Ghanaian context. A descriptive qualitative study was conducted among 28 purposively sampled nurses working in the pediatric units of five hospitals in the Ashanti region of Ghana. Over the course of three months, participants were interviewed on the barriers which prevented them from optimally managing children's pain in practice. Recorded interviews were transcribed verbatim and deductively analysed based on a conceptual interest in pain assessment and management-related barriers. NVivo 12 plus software guided data management and analyses. The mean age of participating nurses was 30 years, with majority being females (n = 24). Participants had worked in the nursing profession for an average of five years and in the pediatric care settings for an average of two years. The nursing-related barriers identified in the present study included communication difficulties in assessing and evaluating pain management interventions with children who have nonfunctional speech, insufficient training, misconceptions on the experience of pain in children, lack of assessment tools, and insufficient number of nurses to manage the workload and nurses' inability to prescribe analgesics. The present study revealed some barriers which prevented Ghanaian nurses from optimally managing children's pain. Nurses should be educated, empowered, and supported with the requisite material resources to effectively manage children's pain and improve outcomes for families, healthcare systems, and the nation. Future studies should explore the facilitators and barriers from other stakeholders involved in pediatric pain management

The mediating effect of green innovation on the relationship between green supply chain management and environmental performance

The emerging environmental awareness of the public, as well as the implementation of governmental regulations, force organisations to employ corporate environmental practices such as green supply chain management (GSCM) and green innovation. Accordingly, both practices are crucial to achieve professional improvement in the environmental performance of these organisations. However, research on the relationship of GSCM, green innovation, and environmental performance is relatively rare. Therefore, this study is aimed to provide empirical evidence showing that GSCM and green innovation practices significantly improve environmental performance in order to encourage organisations to implement these practices. In addition, this study investigates the relationship between GSCM and green innovation practices and the influence of these practices on the environmental performance in 123 manufacturing organisations with ISO 14001 certification. The results of PLS-SEM revealed that there is a significant and positive relationship between GSCM and green innovation, and the environmental performance. Moreover, green innovation had a positive effect on the environmental performance. Furthermore, green innovation had a mediating relationship between GSCM and environmental performance. Therefore, the present paper confirmed the significant influence of GSCM on boosting the green innovation of organisations and on the manufacturing establishments, which eventually improve the environment. In brief, the outcomes of this study provide enhanced understanding about the significant role of green innovation in the manufacturers for improving their GSCM and organisational environmental performance

Enhanced cellular uptake of size-separated lipophilic silicon nanoparticles

Specific size, shape and surface chemistry influence the biological activity of nanoparticles. In the case of lipophilic nanoparticles, which are widely used in consumer products, there is evidence that particle size and formulation influences skin permeability and that lipophilic particles smaller than 6 nm can embed in lipid bilayers. Since most nanoparticle synthetic procedures result in mixtures of different particles, post-synthetic purification promises to provide insights into nanostructure-function relationships. Here we used size-selective precipitation to separate lipophilic allyl-benzyl-capped silicon nanoparticles into monodisperse fractions within the range of 1 nm to 5 nm. We measured liposomal encapsulation and cellular uptake of the monodisperse particles and found them to have generally low cytotoxicities in Hela cells. However, specific fractions showed reproducibly higher cytotoxicity than other fractions as well as the unseparated ensemble. Measurements indicate that the cytotoxicity mechanism involves oxidative stress and the differential cytotoxicity is due to enhanced cellular uptake by specific fractions. The results indicate that specific particles, with enhanced suitability for incorporation into lipophilic regions of liposomes and subsequent in vitro delivery to cells, are enriched in certain fractions

AXL-Initiated Paracrine Activation of pSTAT3 Enhances Mesenchymal and Vasculogenic Supportive Features of Tumor-Associated Macrophages

Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are integral to the development of complex tumor microenvironments (TMEs) and can execute disparate cellular programs in response to extracellular cues. However, upstream signaling processes underpinning this phenotypic plasticity remain to be elucidated. Here, we report that concordant AXL-STAT3 signaling in TAMs is triggered by lung cancer cells or cancer-associated fibroblasts in the cytokine milieu. This paracrine action drives TAM differentiation toward a tumor-promoting M2-like phenotype with upregulation of CD163 and putative mesenchymal markers, contributing to TAM heterogeneity and diverse cellular functions. One of the upregulated markers, CD44, mediated by AXL-IL-11-pSTAT3 signaling cascade, enhances macrophage ability to interact with endothelial cells and facilitate formation of primitive vascular networks. We also found that AXL-STAT3 inhibition can impede the recruitment of TAMs in a xenograft mouse model, thereby suppressing tumor growth. These findings suggest the potential application of AXL-STAT3-related markers to quantitatively assess metastatic potential and inform therapeutic strategies in lung cancer

Bringing the Street Back In:Considering Strategy, Contingency and Relative Good Fortune in Street Children’s Access to Paid Work in Accra

A sociology of street children has emerged defined by its rejection of the dominant narratives of child welfare organisations that identify the street as the root cause of children’s immiseration and improper socialisation. In its place, sociological analysis has undermined the value of conceptualising street children as a coherent group on the street and in a parallel move has looked to conceptually reposition street children away from assumptions of passivity and neglect, towards a foundational insistence that the starting place for analysis is the positioning of street children as active and strategic social agents. It is the adequacy of this latter concern that is the focus of this article. By reintroducing the location of children within the social relations of the informal street economy, this article draws upon extensive and long-term qualitative research examining the lives of street children in Accra, Ghana. The argument here is that sociological notions of strategic action and efficacious agency seem ill-suited to accounting for the dilemmas and difficulties that street children’s quests for paid work inevitably involve. Rather, it is relative good fortune within the radical uncertainty of the social relations of the informal street economy that seems much more appropriate to accounting for how these children are integrated into wor

Solid-state reference electrodes based on carbon nanotubes and polyacrylate membranes

A novel potentiometric solid-state reference electrode containing single-walled carbon nanotubes as the transducer layer between a polyacrylate membrane and the conductor is reported here. Single-walled carbon nanotubes act as an efficient transducer of the constant potentiometric signal originating from the reference membrane containing the Ag/AgCl/Cl− ions system, and they are needed to obtain a stable reference potentiometric signal. Furthermore, we have taken advantage of the light insensitivity of single-walled carbon nanotubes to improve the analytical performance characteristics of previously reported solid-state reference electrodes. Four different polyacrylate polymers have been selected in order to identify the most efficient reservoir for the Ag/AgCl system. Finally, two different arrangements have been assessed: (1) a solid-state reference electrode using photo-polymerised n-butyl acrylate polymer and (2) a thermo-polymerised methyl methacrylate:n-butyl acrylate (1:10) polymer. The sensitivity to various salts, pH and light, as well as time of response and stability, has been tested: the best results were obtained using single-walled carbon nanotubes and photo-polymerised n-butyl acrylate polymer. Water transport plays an important role in the potentiometric performance of acrylate membranes, so a new screening test method has been developed to qualitatively assess the difference in water percolation between the polyacrylic membranes studied. The results presented here open the way for the true miniaturisation of potentiometric systems using the excellent properties of single-walled carbon nanotubes

Antimicrobial resistance among migrants in Europe: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are rising globally and there is concern that increased migration is contributing to the burden of antibiotic resistance in Europe. However, the effect of migration on the burden of AMR in Europe has not yet been comprehensively examined. Therefore, we did a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify and synthesise data for AMR carriage or infection in migrants to Europe to examine differences in patterns of AMR across migrant groups and in different settings. METHODS: For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, and Scopus with no language restrictions from Jan 1, 2000, to Jan 18, 2017, for primary data from observational studies reporting antibacterial resistance in common bacterial pathogens among migrants to 21 European Union-15 and European Economic Area countries. To be eligible for inclusion, studies had to report data on carriage or infection with laboratory-confirmed antibiotic-resistant organisms in migrant populations. We extracted data from eligible studies and assessed quality using piloted, standardised forms. We did not examine drug resistance in tuberculosis and excluded articles solely reporting on this parameter. We also excluded articles in which migrant status was determined by ethnicity, country of birth of participants' parents, or was not defined, and articles in which data were not disaggregated by migrant status. Outcomes were carriage of or infection with antibiotic-resistant organisms. We used random-effects models to calculate the pooled prevalence of each outcome. The study protocol is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42016043681. FINDINGS: We identified 2274 articles, of which 23 observational studies reporting on antibiotic resistance in 2319 migrants were included. The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or AMR infection in migrants was 25·4% (95% CI 19·1-31·8; I2 =98%), including meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (7·8%, 4·8-10·7; I2 =92%) and antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (27·2%, 17·6-36·8; I2 =94%). The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or infection was higher in refugees and asylum seekers (33·0%, 18·3-47·6; I2 =98%) than in other migrant groups (6·6%, 1·8-11·3; I2 =92%). The pooled prevalence of antibiotic-resistant organisms was slightly higher in high-migrant community settings (33·1%, 11·1-55·1; I2 =96%) than in migrants in hospitals (24·3%, 16·1-32·6; I2 =98%). We did not find evidence of high rates of transmission of AMR from migrant to host populations. INTERPRETATION: Migrants are exposed to conditions favouring the emergence of drug resistance during transit and in host countries in Europe. Increased antibiotic resistance among refugees and asylum seekers and in high-migrant community settings (such as refugee camps and detention facilities) highlights the need for improved living conditions, access to health care, and initiatives to facilitate detection of and appropriate high-quality treatment for antibiotic-resistant infections during transit and in host countries. Protocols for the prevention and control of infection and for antibiotic surveillance need to be integrated in all aspects of health care, which should be accessible for all migrant groups, and should target determinants of AMR before, during, and after migration. FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health Research Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, Imperial College Healthcare Charity, the Wellcome Trust, and UK National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare-associated Infections and Antimictobial Resistance at Imperial College London