Integration of Next-generation Sequencing Technologies with Comparative Genomics in Cereals

Cereals are the major sources of calories worldwide. Their production should be high to achieve food security, despite the projected increase in global population. Genomics research may enhance cereal productivity. Genomics immensely benefits from robust next-generation sequencing (NGS) techniques, which produce vast amounts of sequence data in a time and cost-efficient way. Research has demonstrated that gene sequences among closely related species that share common ancestry have remained well conserved over millions of years of evolution. Comparative genomics allows for comparison of genome sequences across different species, with the implication that genomes with large sizes can be investigated using closely related species with smaller genomes. This offers prospects of studying genes in a single species and, in turn, gaining information on their functions in other related species. Comparative genomics is expected to provide invaluable information on the control of gene function in complex cereal genomes, and also in designing molecular markers across related species. This chapter discusses advances in sequencing technologies, their application in cereal genomics and their potential contribution to the understanding of the relationships between the different cereal genomes and their phenotypes

South African Paediatric Surgical Outcomes Study : a 14-day prospective, observational cohort study of paediatric surgical patients

BACKGROUND : Children comprise a large proportion of the population in sub-Saharan Africa. The burden of paediatric surgical disease exceeds available resources in Africa, potentially increasing morbidity and mortality. There are few prospective paediatric perioperative outcomes studies, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). METHODS : We conducted a 14-day multicentre, prospective, observational cohort study of paediatric patients (aged <16 yrs) undergoing surgery in 43 government-funded hospitals in South Africa. The primary outcome was the incidence of in-hospital postoperative complications. RESULTS : We recruited 2024 patients at 43 hospitals. The overall incidence of postoperative complications was 9.7% [95% confidence interval (CI): 8.4–11.0]. The most common postoperative complications were infective (7.3%; 95% CI: 6.2–8.4%). In-hospital mortality rate was 1.1% (95% CI: 0.6–1.5), of which nine of the deaths (41%) were in ASA physical status 1 and 2 patients. The preoperative risk factors independently associated with postoperative complications were ASA physcial status, urgency of surgery, severity of surgery, and an infective indication for surgery. CONCLUSIONS : The risk factors, frequency, and type of complications after paediatric surgery differ between LMICs and high-income countries. The in-hospital mortality is 10 times greater than in high-income countries. These findings should be used to develop strategies to improve paediatric surgical outcomes in LMICs, and support the need for larger prospective, observational paediatric surgical outcomes research in LMICs. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION : NCT03367832.Jan Pretorius Research Fund; Discipline of Anaesthesiology and Critical Care, Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal; Department of Anaesthesia and Perioperative Medicine, Groote Schuur Hospital and University of Cape Town; Department of Anaesthesia, University of the Witwatersrand; and the Paediatric Anaesthesia Community of South Africa (PACSA).https://bjanaesthesia.org2020-02-01gl2019Anaesthesiolog

The Korean financial crisis, reform and positive transformation: Is a second 'Han river miracle' possible?

There is general agreement that the initial onset of the East Asian Financial crisis was made possible by fundamental economic, political and financial market errors and weaknesses, but also that the market reaction to these vulnerabilities (as their extent was revealed) was exaggerated and disproportionate. This is based on a model of “self-fulfilling” crises, under which existing vulnerabilities make a crisis a possibility but not a certainty. Unfortunately, the analyses to date (whether from public or private, domestic or international sources) do not suggest at what point underlying vulnerabilities will move from being the potential for a crisis and the point at which a crisis is a certainty. This article suggests that in the face of potential self-fulfilling crises, countries should act in advance (i.e., to take pre-emptive action) to reduce their potential vulnerabilities, both to an initial crisis and to contagion resulting from the onset of a crisis elsewhere, whether through panic, fundamental problems or the unpredictable potentialities of vulnerabilities. In effect, a main emphasis of this presentation concerns the importance of ongoing and meaningful ("bottom-up") economic, financial and commercial law reform throughout the East Asian region (or other emerging regions) and the related enhancement of legal education in these subject matter areas. In this sense, this article further suggests that, in looking forward, these emerging countries need to consider the critical importance of a law-based, “building block” approach in addressing the long-term implications of the current East Asian financial crisis.

The association between preoperative anemia and postoperative morbidity in pediatric surgical patients: A secondary analysis of a prospective observational cohort study

BACKGROUND : The prevalence of anemia in the South African pediatric surgical population is unknown. Anemia may be associated with increased postoperative complications. We are unaware of studies documenting these findings in patients in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). AIM : The primary aim of this study was to describe the association between preoperative anemia and 26 defined postoperative complications, in noncardiac pediatric surgical patients. Secondary aims included describing the prevalence of anemia and risk factors for intraoperative blood transfusion. METHOD : This was a secondary analysis of the South African Paediatric Surgical Outcomes Study, a prospective, observational surgical outcomes study. Inclusion criteria were all consecutive patients aged between 6 months and <16 years, presenting to participating centers during the study period who underwent elective and nonelective noncardiac surgery and had a preoperative hemoglobin recorded. Exclusion criteria were patients aged <6 months, undergoing cardiac surgery, or without a preoperative Hb recorded. To determine whether an independent association existed between preoperative anemia and postoperative complications, a hierarchical stepwise logistic regression was conducted. RESULTS : There were 1094 eligible patients. In children in whom a preoperative Hb was recorded 46.2% had preoperative anemia. Preoperative anemia was independently associated with an increased risk of any postoperative complication (odds ratio 2.0, 95% confidence interval: 1.3-3.1, P = .002). Preoperative anemia (odds ratio 3.6, 95% confidence interval: 1.8-7.1, P < .001) was an independent predictor of intraoperative blood transfusion. CONCLUSION : Preoperative anemia had a high prevalence in a LMIC and was associated with increased postoperative complications. The main limitation of our study is the ability to generalize the results to the wider pediatric surgical population, as these findings only relate to children in whom a preoperative Hb was recorded. Prospective studies are required to determine whether correction of preoperative anemia reduces morbidity and mortality in children undergoing noncardiac surgery.http://wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/panhj2021Anaesthesiolog