Perception of Mealybug Wilt Effect and Management among Pineapple Farmers in Ghana

Mealybug wilt of pineapple (MWP) is a major viral disease of pineapple [Ananas comosus (L) Merr.] in Ghana. Its incidence and extent of damage have not been extensively studied in the country. The study was conducted to determinepineapple farmers’ perception on the effect and management of the MWPdisease in Ghana. Structured interview schedule and questionnaires were used to solicit information from 227 pineapple farmers in the Central and Eastern regions of Ghana. Data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics into percentage, mean and standard deviation.The majority(73.1%) of the respondents aged between 31 and 50 years and were mainly Senior Secondary or Senior High School leavers (52.2%) who had been growing pineapples between 5 and 20years (82.6%). All respondents indicated that they had experienced the MWP in their pineapple farms and were able to give a vivid description of the disease symptoms. The farmers further indicated that the severity of MWP was high in Smooth cayenne (100%), sugar loaf (96.9%) and Queen Victoria (91.2%) but low in MD2 (%??) varieties of pineapple. More than two-thirds of respondents indicated that they were losing between 1% and 20% of their yield per hectare and up to GHȻ 1000.00 per hectare to the disease. The majority of the respondents manage MWP in their farms by practicing land fallowing, avoiding infected mother plots for suckers, treat soil, mother plots and suckers with insecticides, to destroy mealybug vectors and their ant symbionts

Perception of Mealybug Wilt Effect and Management among Pineapple Farmers in Ghana

Mealybug wilt of pineapple (MWP) is a major viral disease of pineapple [Ananas comosus (L) Merr.] in Ghana. Its incidence and extent of damage have not been extensively studied in the country. The study was conducted to determinepineapple farmers’ perception on the effect and management of the MWPdisease in Ghana. Structured interview schedule and questionnaires were used to solicit information from 227 pineapple farmers in the Central and Eastern regions of Ghana. Data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics into percentage, mean and standard deviation.The majority(73.1%) of the respondents aged between 31 and 50 years and were mainly Senior Secondary or Senior High School leavers (52.2%) who had been growing pineapples between 5 and 20years (82.6%). All respondents indicated that they had experienced the MWP in their pineapple farms and were able to give a vivid description of the disease symptoms. The farmers further indicated that the severity of MWP was high in Smooth cayenne (100%), sugar loaf (96.9%) and Queen Victoria (91.2%) but low in MD2 (%??) varieties of pineapple. More than two-thirds of respondents indicated that they were losing between 1% and 20% of their yield per hectare and up to GHȻ 1000.00 per hectare to the disease. The majority of the respondents manage MWP in their farms by practicing land fallowing, avoiding infected mother plots for suckers, treat soil, mother plots and suckers with insecticides, to destroy mealybug vectors and their ant symbionts

Single nucleotide polymorphisms in LCAT may contribute to dyslipidaemia in HIV-infected individuals on HAART in a Ghanaian population

© 2020, The Author(s). Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) is known to cause lipid abnormalities such as dyslipidaemia in HIV-infected individuals. Yet, dyslipidaemia may not independently occur as it may be worsened by single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in lecithin cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) and lipoprotein lipase (LPL). This case–control study was conducted in three-selected hospitals in the Northern part of Ghana. The study constituted a total of 118 HIV-infected participants aged 19–71 years, who had been on HAART for 6–24 months. Dyslipidaemia was defined based on the NCEP-ATP III criteria. HIV-infected individuals on HAART with dyslipidaemia were classified as cases while those without dyslipidaemia were grouped as controls. Lipid profile was measured using an automatic clinical chemistry analyzer and genomic DNA was extracted for PCR (GeneAmp PCR System 2700). Overall, the prevalence of dyslipidaemia was 39.0% (46/118). High levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), total cholesterol (TC), and reduced levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) were observed in all cases. A total of 256 selected PCR amplicons comprising 137 LPL (exons 3, 5 and 6) and 119 LCAT (exons 1, 4, and 6) were sequenced in 46 samples (Inqaba Biotech). Six (6) clinically significant SNPs were identified in exons 1 and 4 for LCAT whereas 25 non-clinically significant SNPs were identified for LPL in exons 5 and 6. At position 97 for LCAT exon 1, there was a deletion of the nucleotide, ‘A’ in 32.5% (13/40) of the sampled population while 67.5% (27/40) of the sample population retained the nucleotide, ‘A’ which was significantly associated with dyslipidaemic outcomes in the study population (p = 0.0004). A total of 25 SNPs were identified in exons 5 and 6 of LPL; 22 were substitutions, and 3 were insertions. However, none of the 25 SNPs identified in LPL exon 5 and 6 were statistically significant. SNPs in LCAT may independently contribute to dyslipidaemia among Ghanaian HIV-infected individuals on HAART, thus, allowing genetic and/or functional differential diagnosis of dyslipidaemia and creating an opportunity for potentially preventive options

Association between transcription factor 7-like-2 polymorphisms and type 2 diabetes mellitus in a Ghanaian population

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has been strongly associated with single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the TCF7L2 gene. This study investigated the association between rs12255372, rs7903146 in the TCF7L2 gene and T2DM in a Ghanaian population. A case-control study design was used for this study. A total of 106 T2DM patients and 110 control participants were selected. Basic data collected included body mass index, blood pressure and socio-demographics. Fasting blood samples were collected and processed for: serum lipid analysis, plasma glucose estimation and plasma HbA1c estimation. Parts of the whole blood samples were used for DNA extraction using a modified salting-out method. Common and allele-specific primers were designed for genotyping using the Modified Tetra-Primer Amplification assay. Associations were evaluated using logistic regression models. The rs7903146 risk variant was significantly associated with 2.16 vs. 4.06 increased odds for T2DM in patients \u3c60 years vs. ≥60 years. Both rs7903146 and rs12255372 were significantly associated with increased odds of T2DM in women, overweight/obese, T2DM negative family history (T2DM-NFH) and low-HDL-C. In a multivariate model, rs7903146 but not rs12255372 was significantly associated with 2.18, 5.01 and 2.25 increased odds of T2DM, under the codominant, recessive and additive model, respectively (p \u3c 0.05). The association between rs7903146 and rs12255372 with T2DM is more highly associated in a subgroup—women and those with T2DM-NFH, yet who have cardiometabolic risk

Mortality and pulmonary complications in patients undergoing surgery with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection: an international cohort study

Background: The impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on postoperative recovery needs to be understood to inform clinical decision making during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. This study reports 30-day mortality and pulmonary complication rates in patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods: This international, multicentre, cohort study at 235 hospitals in 24 countries included all patients undergoing surgery who had SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed within 7 days before or 30 days after surgery. The primary outcome measure was 30-day postoperative mortality and was assessed in all enrolled patients. The main secondary outcome measure was pulmonary complications, defined as pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, or unexpected postoperative ventilation. Findings: This analysis includes 1128 patients who had surgery between Jan 1 and March 31, 2020, of whom 835 (74·0%) had emergency surgery and 280 (24·8%) had elective surgery. SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed preoperatively in 294 (26·1%) patients. 30-day mortality was 23·8% (268 of 1128). Pulmonary complications occurred in 577 (51·2%) of 1128 patients; 30-day mortality in these patients was 38·0% (219 of 577), accounting for 81·7% (219 of 268) of all deaths. In adjusted analyses, 30-day mortality was associated with male sex (odds ratio 1·75 [95% CI 1·28–2·40], p\textless0·0001), age 70 years or older versus younger than 70 years (2·30 [1·65–3·22], p\textless0·0001), American Society of Anesthesiologists grades 3–5 versus grades 1–2 (2·35 [1·57–3·53], p\textless0·0001), malignant versus benign or obstetric diagnosis (1·55 [1·01–2·39], p=0·046), emergency versus elective surgery (1·67 [1·06–2·63], p=0·026), and major versus minor surgery (1·52 [1·01–2·31], p=0·047). Interpretation: Postoperative pulmonary complications occur in half of patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection and are associated with high mortality. Thresholds for surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic should be higher than during normal practice, particularly in men aged 70 years and older. Consideration should be given for postponing non-urgent procedures and promoting non-operative treatment to delay or avoid the need for surgery. Funding: National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland, Bowel and Cancer Research, Bowel Disease Research Foundation, Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeons, British Association of Surgical Oncology, British Gynaecological Cancer Society, European Society of Coloproctology, NIHR Academy, Sarcoma UK, Vascular Society for Great Britain and Ireland, and Yorkshire Cancer Research

Comparing parametric and semiparametric error correction models for estimation of long run equilibrium between exports and imports

This paper introduces the semiparametric error correction model for estimation of export-import relationship as an alternative to the least squares approach. The intent is to demonstrate how semiparametric error correction model can be used to estimate the relationship between Ghana’s export and import within the context of a generalized additive modelling (GAM) framework. The semiparametric results are compared to common parametric specification using the ordinary least squares regression. The results from the semiparametric and parametric error correction models (ECM) indicate that the error correction term and import variable are significant determinants of Ghana’s exports. On the basis of Akaike Information Criteria and Generalized Cross-Validation (GCV) scores, it is found that the semiparametric error correction model provides a better fit than the widely used parametric error correction model for modeling Ghana’s export-import relationship. The results of the analysis of variance provide further evidence of nonlinearity in Ghana’s export and import relationship. In effect, this paper demonstrates the usefulness of semiparametric error correction model in the estimation of export – import relationship. JEL code: C14, C18, C22, F10, F1

COMPARING PARAMETRIC AND SEMIPARAMETRIC ERROR CORRECTION MODELS FOR ESTIMATION OF LONG RUN EQUILIBRIUM BETWEEN EXPORTS AND IMPORTS

This paper introduces the semiparametric error correction model for estimation of export-import relationship as an alternative to the least squares approach. The intent is to demonstrate how semiparametric error correction model can be used to estimate the relationship between Ghana’s export and import within the context of a generalized additive modelling (GAM) framework. The semiparametric results are compared to common parametric specification using the ordinary least squares regression. The results from the semiparametric and parametric error correction models (ECM) indicate that the error correction term and import variable are significant determinants of Ghana’s exports. On the basis of Akaike Information Criteria and Generalized Cross-Validation (GCV) scores, it is found that the semiparametric error correction model provides a better fit than the widely used parametric error correction model for modeling Ghana’s export-import relationship. The results of the analysis of variance provide further evidence of nonlinearity in Ghana’s export and import relationship. In effect, this paper demonstrates the usefulness of semiparametric error correction model in the estimation of export – import relationship

Institutional Factors Influencing Commercial Large-Scale Oyster Mushroom Production in the Greater ACCRA Region of Ghana

A well-functioning public or private institution is required to promote the commercialisation of agriculture. In Ghana, the Mushroom Unit of the Food Research Institutes spearheads mushroom commercialisation. It is, however, unclear which of the Food Research Institute’s (FRI) services to mushroom farmers are most beneficial to enhance mushroom commercialisation in the country and what factors influence farmers’ choice to access these services. We conducted a census on 153 oyster mushroom farmers in the Ga East and Adentan Municipalities in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana to seek their perceptions on the level of importance they associate with the services of the Mushroom Unit for commercial mushroom production and to determine the relationship between farmers’ choice of FRI services and background characteristics of farmers. We collected the data using a structured interview schedule. We analysed the data using frequency, mean percentage, standard deviation, the Garrett Ranking Technique, and multinomial logistic regression. The results revealed that training in mushroom cultivation techniques was the most beneficial service of the Mushroom Unit for commercial, large-scale mushroom production (64.88%). The spawn supply placed second (55.20%). The extension and farm visits and supply of compost bags, with respective mean scores of 41.06 and 36.89 per cent, were ranked third and fourth, respectively. Farming experience and education positively, whereas membership in farmer-based organisations negatively influenced farmers’ choice of FRI services. Stakeholder efforts should concentrate more on training farmers in mushroom cultivation technologies and the production and supply of spawns. Farmers who do not belong to any FBO are strongly encouraged to join FBOs to access agricultural services like training on mushroom cultivation technologies and extension and farm visits at reduced cost to enhance commercial mushroom production