Anemia prevalence and associated factors among schoolage children in Accra and Kumasi Metropolis in Ghana

Anemia remains a serious public health concern, globally, affecting learning ability and physical development of children. Anemic children are at a higher risk of diminished economic productivity and low earning capacity in adulthood due to impaired school performance and reduced work capacity. Anemia contributes to about a quarter of Africa’s nutrition-related Disability Adjusted Life Years. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of anemia and its associated risk factors among school-aged children (SAC) between ages 9 and 15 years in urban Ghana. The analysis included a randomly selected subsample of 1,634 children from a larger study on nutrition of SAC enrolled between 2009 and 2012 in private and public basic schools in the Accra and Kumasi Metropolis in Ghana. Socio-demographic and household characteristics were collected with questionnaires. Weight and height were taken to the nearest 0.1kg and 0.1cm, respectively. Dietary information was collected using a food frequency questionnaire. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistic version 23. The relationship between hemoglobin levels and socio-demographic variables, and predictors of hemoglobin levels were determined using Chi-square and binary logistic regression. The mean hemoglobin concentration of the study participants was 12.9±1.3 g/dL. In Kumasi, SAC had higher mean hemoglobin concentration (13.1±1.2 g/dL) compared to those from Accra (12.6±1.3 g/dL; p=0.001). Mean hemoglobin concentration was significantly higher among males than females (13.0±1.4 g/dL vs 12.8±1.2 g/dL; p=0.002). Prevalence of anemia was 20.4%; mild anemia was most common (13.6% of total sample). Anemia cases were higher in public schools (24.6%) compared to private (18.2%). Two-thirds of anemia cases (64.0%) were from schools in Accra. Males had significantly higher prevalence of anemia (26.5%) than females (15.9%; p <0.05). In the adjusted logistic regression model, only city of residence (OR+1.65, 95% CI: 1.44–1.83), thinness (OR=2.60, 95% CI: 1.11-5.75), stunting (OR=1.85, 95% CI: 1.99-3.10) and overweight (OR=0.60, 95% CI: 0.36-0.94) were significantly associated with anemia. In this study, anemia was significantly associated with location and nutritional status

Depth-specific fluctuations of gene expression and protein abundance modulate the photophysiology in the seagrass Posidonia oceanica

Here we present the results of a multiple organizational level analysis conceived to identify acclimative/adaptive strategies exhibited by the seagrass Posidonia oceanica to the daily fluctuations in the light environment, at contrasting depths. We assessed changes in photophysiological parameters, leaf respiration, pigments, and protein and mRNA expression levels. The results show that the diel oscillations of P. oceanica photophysiological and respiratory responses were related to transcripts and proteins expression of the genes involved in those processes and that there was a response asynchrony between shallow and deep plants probably caused by the strong differences in the light environment. The photochemical pathway of energy use was more effective in shallow plants due to higher light availability, but these plants needed more investment in photoprotection and photorepair, requiring higher translation and protein synthesis than deep plants. The genetic differentiation between deep and shallow stands suggests the existence of locally adapted genotypes to contrasting light environments. The depth-specific diel rhythms of photosynthetic and respiratory processes, from molecular to physiological levels, must be considered in the management and conservation of these key coastal ecosystems.Portuguese funds from FCT - Foundation for Science and Technology [UID/Multi/04326/2013]; SZN PhD fellowship via the Open University; ESF COST Action Seagrass Productivity: From Genes to Ecosystem Management [ES0906]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Recognising the barriers to securing affordable housing through the land use planning system in Sub-Saharan Africa: A perspective from Ghana

Housing low-income households is a daunting task for policy makers across the Global South, and especially for those in Africa where past attempts to deliver State-funded affordable housing projects yielded minimal results. Presenting Ghana as a case study, the purpose of this article is to consider the rationale for and barriers to securing affordable housing through the planning system, situated within an African context. The key factors that would inhibit effective policy implementation include, on the one hand, a lack of central government commitment, weak enforcement of planning regulations and low capacity of local planning authorities, and, on the other hand, the dominance of customary land ownership and the informal nature of housing delivery. That notwithstanding, undertaking a mapping exercise of large-scale formal residential developments built across Greater Accra in recent years, the article suggests that there is an opportunity cost in not attempting to extract some form of economic rent from the private sector. By having an already established nationalised development rights system alongside a rising formal real estate market, there is in effect scope for introducing planning obligations in the longer term. Whilst by necessity, it takes time to fully establish and enforce this form of land value capture legislation; nonetheless, if the principles can be established, transferable lessons exist across Africa and the Global South. n/