Genetic variability, stability and heritability for quality and yield characteristics in provitamin A cassava varieties

Open Access Article; Published online: 25 Jan 2020Cassava is widely consumed in many areas of Africa, including Ghana, and is a major part of most household diets. These areas are characterized by rampant malnutrition, because the tuberous roots are low in nutritional value. Provitamin A biofortified cassava varieties have been developed by the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture, but adoption of these varieties in Ghana will largely depend on their agronomic performance, including fresh root yield, dry matter content, resistance to major pests and diseases, mealiness, starch content and the stability of these traits. Eight provitamin A varieties with two white checks were planted in three environments for two seasons to determine stability and variability among the varieties for important traits. There were significant variations in performance between varieties and between environments for cassava mosaic disease, root number, fresh root yield and starch content. High broad-sense heritability and genetic advance were observed in all traits, except for storage root number, and could be exploited through improvement programs. This study identified the best performing enhanced provitamin A varieties for traits that are key drivers of variety adoption in Ghana. In view of this, some varieties can be recommended for varietal release after on-farm testing. The study also showed the possibility of tapping heterosis after careful selection of parents

Exposure to interparental violence and justification of intimate partner violence among women in sexual unions in sub-Saharan Africa.

Background Justification of intimate partner violence (IPV) is one of the critical factors that account for the high prevalence of IPV among women. In this study, we examined the association between exposure to interparental violence and IPV justification among women in sexual unions in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Methods Data for this study were obtained from the most recent Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) of 26 countries in SSA conducted between 2010 and 2020. A total of 112,953 women in sexual unions were included in this study. A multivariable binary logistic regression analysis was carried out. The results of the regression analysis were presented using crude odds ratios (cOR) and adjusted odds ratios (aOR) with their respective 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results The prevalence of interparental violence in the countries considered in this study was 23.8%, with the highest (40.8%) and lowest (4.9%) in Burundi and Comoros, respectively. IPV justification was 45.8%, with the highest and lowest prevalence in Mali (80.9%) and South Africa (4.6%) respectively. Women who were exposed to interparental violence were more likely to justify IPV compared to those who were not exposed [aOR = 1.53, 95% CI = 1.47–1.59]. We found higher odds of justification of IPV among women who were exposed to interparental violence compared to those who were not exposed in all the countries, except Burkina Faso, Comoros, Gambia, and Rwanda. Conclusion The findings call for several strategies for addressing interparental violence. These may include empowerment services targeting both men and women, formation of stronger social networks to improve women’s self-confidence, and the provision of evidence-based information and resources at the community level. These interventions should pay critical attention to young people exposed to interparental violence. Public health education and messaging should emphasise on the negative health and social implications of interparental violence and IPV

Genetic analysis of yield and quality characteristics in provitamin A hybrid cassava families in Ghana

Open Access Journal; Published online: 23 Sep 2021Cassava is the most widely cultivated and consumed crop in Ghana. Malnutrition is endemic in cassava-producing regions of Africa, partly due to the low micronutrient content of this crop. The aim of this study was to generate genetic information on characteristics such as total carotenoid content, dry matter content, root weight and number, and cassava mosaic disease (CMD), and their possible combination in cassava clones, using a North Carolina II breeding scheme. Five genetically diverse yellow-fleshed clones at advanced selection stages, with CMD resistance, were used as females and two high dry matter content white-fleshed clones, selected from farmers’ fields in Ghana, were used as males. Ten F1 families were generated, and evaluated at two locations in Ghana. General combining ability (GCA) mean squares were larger than specific combining ability (SCA) mean squares for harvest index, CMD, and carotenoid content, indicating additive genetic effects. The positive significant correlations that were observed between pulp color and carotenoid content; carotenoid content and CMD; pulp color and CMD; and pulp color and cortex color, make the screening of large numbers of progenies possible in the cassava breeding program. This could allow breeders to combine carotenoid content and CMD at the early breeding stages through visual assessment of pulp color and CMD symptoms. Large numbers of genotypes can be evaluated and a few can be selected to be quantified for carotenoid content at later stages of the breeding program, to save costs. One of the parents (P6), showed positive GCA effects for carotenoid content, dry matter content, CMD and storage root weight, hence could be used as a parent to generate clones that combine carotenoid content and dry matter content

Application of the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research to examine nurses’ perception of the task shifting strategy for hypertension control trial in Ghana

Background: The burden of hypertension in many low-and middle-income countries is alarming and requires effective evidence-based preventative strategies that is carefully appraised and accepted by key stakeholders to ensure successful implementation and sustainability. We assessed nurses’ perceptions of a recently completed Task Shifting Strategy for Hypertension control (TASSH) trial in Ghana, and facilitators and challenges to TASSH implementation. Methods: Focus group sessions and in-depth interviews were conducted with 27 community health nurses from participating health centers and district hospitals involved in the TASSH trial implemented in the Ashanti Region, Ghana, West Africa from 2012 to 2017. TASSH evaluated the comparative effectiveness of the WHO-PEN program versus provision of health insurance for blood pressure reduction in hypertensive adults. Qualitative data were analyzed using open and axial coding techniques with emerging themes mapped onto the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR). Results: Three themes emerged following deductive analysis using CFIR, including: (1) Patient health goal setting- relative priority and positive feedback from nurses, which motivated patients to make healthy behavior changes as a result of their health being a priority; (2) Leadership engagement (i.e., medical directors) which influenced the extent to which nurses were able to successfully implement TASSH in their various facilities, with most directors being very supportive; and (3) Availability of resources making it possible to implement the TASSH protocol, with limited space and personnel time to carry out TASSH duties, limited blood pressure (BP) monitoring equipment, and transportation, listed as barriers to effective implementation. Conclusion: Assessing stakeholders’ perception of the TASSH implementation process guided by CFIR is crucial as it provides a platform for the nurses to thoroughly evaluate the task shifting program, while considering the local context in which the program is implemented. The feedback from the nurses informed barriers and facilitators to implementation of TASSH within the current healthcare system, and suggested system level changes needed prior to scale-up of TASSH to other regions in Ghana with potential for long-term sustainment of the task shifting intervention

Effect of Vitamin D Deficiency on COVID-19 Status: A Systematic Review

One major micronutrient studied for its possible protective effect against the COVID-19 disease is vitamin D. This systematic review sought to identify and synthesize available evidence to aid the understanding of the possible effect of vitamin D deficiency on COVID-19 status and health outcomes in COVID-19 patients. Three databases (PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar) were systematically used to obtain English language journal articles published between 1 December 2019 and 3 November 2020. The search consisted of the terms (“Vitamin D,” OR “25-Hydroxyvitamin D,” OR “Low vitamin D.”) AND (“COVID-19” OR “2019-nCoV” OR “Coronavirus” OR “SARS-CoV-2”) AND (“disease severity” OR “IMV” OR “ICU admission” OR “mortality” OR “hospitalization” OR “infection”). We followed the recommended PRISMA guidelines in executing this study. After going through the screening of the articles, eleven articles were included in the review. All the included studies reported a positive association between vitamin D sufficiency and improved COVID-19 disease outcomes. On the other hand, vitamin D deficiency was associated with poor COVID-19 disease outcomes. Specifically, two studies found that vitamin D-deficient patients were more likely to die from COVID-19 compared to vitamin D-sufficient patients. Three studies showed that vitamin D-deficient people were more likely to develop severe COVID-19 disease compared to vitamin D-sufficient people. Furthermore, six studies found that vitamin D-deficient people were more likely to be COVID-19 infected compared to vitamin D-sufficient people. Findings from these studies suggest that vitamin D may serve as a mitigating effect for COVID-19 infection, severity, and mortality. The current evidence supports the recommendations for people to eat foods rich in vitamin D such as fish, red meat, liver, and egg yolks. The evidence also supports the provision of vitamin D supplements to individuals with COVID-19 disease and those at risk of COVID-19 infection in order to boost their immunity and improve health outcomes.</jats:p

Barriers to formal healthcare utilisation among poor older people under the livelihood empowerment against poverty programme in the Atwima Nwabiagya District of Ghana

Abstract: Background: Even though there is a growing literature on barriers to formal healthcare use among older people, little is known from the perspective of vulnerable older people in Ghana. Involving poor older people under the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme, this study explores barriers to formal healthcare use in the Atwima Nwabiagya District of Ghana. Methods: Interviews and focus group discussions were conducted with 30 poor older people, 15 caregivers and 15 formal healthcare providers in the Atwima Nwabiagya District of Ghana. Data were analysed using the thematic analytical framework, and presented based on an a posteriori inductive reduction approach. Results: Four main barriers to formal healthcare use were identified: physical accessibility barriers (poor transport system and poor architecture of facilities), economic barriers (low income coupled with high charges, and non-comprehensive nature of the National Health Insurance Scheme [NHIS]), social barriers (communication/language difficulties and poor family support) and unfriendly nature of healthcare environment barriers (poor attitude of healthcare providers). Conclusions: Considering these barriers, removing them would require concerted efforts and substantial financial investment by stakeholders. We argue that improvement in rural transport services, implementation of free healthcare for poor older people, strengthening of family support systems, recruitment of language translators at the health facilities and establishment of attitudinal change programmes would lessen barriers to formal healthcare use among poor older people. This study has implications for health equity and health policy framework in Ghana

Geologising urban political ecology (UPE): the urbanisation of sand in Accra, Ghana

This paper makes a call for an urban political ecology (UPE) which engages more extensively with Earth’s geological formations. As a material at the centre of global urbanisation process, sand is offered as a geological entry point. The paper presents an analysis of the urbanisation of sand, or the ways in which sand is brought into the urban realm, grounding this reading in Accra—a growing city on Ghana’s Atlantic coast. Drawing from 14 months of ethnographic fieldwork, the paper charts the socio-natural politics through which sand is first unearthed from the edges of the city—an extractive processes otherwise known as “sand winning” in Ghana. By examining the forms of power which govern uneven revenue flows to communities, the displacement of farming groups, the widespread loss of farmland and a contested regime of governance, the analysis exposes the socio-natural politics through which the city’s geological baseline is first unearthed

Air pollution perception in ten countries during the COVID-19 pandemic

As largely documented in the literature, the stark restrictions enforced worldwide in 2020 to curb the COVID-19 pandemic also curtailed the production of air pollutants to some extent. This study investigates the perception of the air pollution as assessed by individuals located in ten countries: Australia, Brazil, China, Ghana, India, Iran, Italy, Norway, South Africa and the USA. The perceptions towards air quality were evaluated by employing an online survey administered in May 2020. Participants (N = 9394) in the ten countries expressed their opinions according to a Likert-scale response. A reduction in pollutant concentration was clearly perceived, albeit to a different extent, by all populations. The survey participants located in India and Italy perceived the largest drop in the air pollution concentration; conversely, the smallest variation was perceived among Chinese and Norwegian respondents. Among all the demographic indicators considered, only gender proved to be statistically significant

The development of computational biology in South Africa: successes achieved and lessons learnt

Bioinformatics is now a critical skill in many research and commercial environments as biological data are increasing in both size and complexity. South African researchers recognized this need in the mid-1990s and responded by working with the government as well as international bodies to develop initiatives to build bioinformatics capacity in the country. Significant injections of support from these bodies provided a springboard for the establishment of computational biology units at multiple universities throughout the country, which took on teaching, basic research and support roles. Several challenges were encountered, for example with unreliability of funding, lack of skills, and lack of infrastructure. However, the bioinformatics community worked together to overcome these, and South Africa is now arguably the leading country in bioinformatics on the African continent. Here we discuss how the discipline developed in the country, highlighting the challenges, successes, and lessons learnt