Assessment of Fusarium head blight resistance in newly developed recombinant inbred lines of wheat

Fusarium head blight (FHB) is an important disease of wheat causing significant yield and quality losses globally. Breeding for host plant resistance is an economic approach to FHB control and management. The aim of this study was to identify potential sources of resistance from newly developed recombinant inbred lines (RILs) of wheat. A total of 778 RILs were developed through a bi-parental mating design followed by continuous selfing and selection. The RILs along with their eight parental lines (Baviaans, Buffels, Duzi, #910, #936, #937, #942 and #1036) and FHB resistant check cultivar ‘Sumai 3’ and susceptible check ‘SST 806’ were field evaluated across four environments in South Africa. Fusarium graminearum isolates were artificially inoculated to initiate infection and disease development. The percentage of wheat spikes showing FHB symptoms were scored. The research identified six percent of the RILs with disease resistance. Heritability for FHB resistance was the highest (64%) indicating the possibility of achieving higher selection gains for FHB resistance across the selected environments. The following five RILs were identified as potential sources of resistance: 681 (Buffels/1036-71), 134 (Duzi/910-8), 22 (Baviaans/910-22), 717 (Baviaans/937-8) and 133 (Duzi/910-7) with mean FHB scores of 6.8%, 7.8%, 9.5%, 9.8% and 10%, respectively. The selected lines expressed comparatively similar levels of resistance compared with that of Sumai 3. The identified RILs are useful genetic resources for resistance breeding against FHB disease of wheat. Since the presence of the F. graminearum is associated with deoxynivalenol (DON) accumulation, the DON levels amongst the selected lines should be determined to ensure the release of improved wheat cultivars with reduced levels of DON accumulation

Occurrences of Cadmium, Arsenic, Lead, and Mercury in Potable Water in Greater Gaborone, Botswana: Implications for Public Health

Heavy metals, such as cadmium (Cd), arsenic (As), lead (Pb), and mercury (Hg), are often detected in water, causing detrimental effects to human health. This study assessed Cd, As, Pb, and Hg concentrations in drinking water from the greater Gaborone water distribution system supply area. The Inductively Coupled Plasma—Mass spectrometry was used to analyze 200 water samples from water treatment reservoirs, the distribution line, households, and bottled water. Heavy metal pollution was calculated using the heavy metal pollution index (HPI). Average heavy metal concentrations were in the order of Pb > Hg > As > Cd in the overall study, with lead exceeding the permissible limit set by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US-EPA) in all the samples. Average lead concentrations from indoor taps were 15 times more than untreated raw water. HPI values were respectively 33.2 and 0.74 for the World Health Organization (WHO) and Botswana Bureau of Standards (BOBS). An increase in heavy metal concentrations post-water treatment suggests inadequate system maintenance and possible contamination of water during the distribution system from copper and lead soldered pipes. Further research on the treatment infrastructure and plumbing activities is suggested

Gaps and opportunities for cervical cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care : evidence from midterm review of the Zimbabwe cervical cancer prevention and control strategy (2016-2020)

BACKGROUND: Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer amongst women globally and it accounts for the majority of cancer deaths among females in Zimbabwe. The objective of this midterm review analysis was to identify the gaps and opportunities for cervical cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and care to inform the next cervical cancer strategy in Zimbabwe. METHODS: A mixed methods approach was used for the midterm review. Secondary data was collected from programme documents, published and grey literature. Primary data was collected in six provinces through key informant interviews with officials and focus group discussions with beneficiaries. After data analysis, a draft report was presented to a technical working group to validate the findings and to fill in any gaps. RESULTS: This midterm review revealed a myriad of gaps of the strategy particularly in diagnosis, treatment and care of cervical cancer and the primary focus was on secondary prevention. There was no data to quantify the level of awareness and advocacy for cervical cancer prevention. Our results revealed that there was no data on the proportion of women who ever tested for cervical cancer which existed nationally. Our findings suggest that some health facilities were screening women above 50 years old using VIAC, which is an inappropriate approach for those women. Quality control of VIAC and treatment of precancers were not part of the strategy. Pathological services were not efficient and effective due to lack of resources and additionally data on investigations were not routinely collected and available at the national level. Other gaps identified were limited funding, human resources, equipment, and commodities as well as lack of leadership at the national level to coordinate the various components of the cervical cancer programme. There are also numerous opportunities identified to build upon some successes realized to date. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings emphasized the importance of effective and holistic planning in cervical cancer screening programmes in low-resource settings. In addition, huge investments are required in cervical cancer programmes and governments need to take centre role in mobilizing the requisite resources.This midterm assessment was funded by OPHID in support of the Ministry of Health and Child Carehttp://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcpublichealth/pm2021School of Health Systems and Public Health (SHSPH

The effect of silver on the acidic ferric sulfate leaching of primary copper sulfides under recycle solution conditions observed in heap leaching. Part 3: Surface characterization

The surface products formed on chalcopyrite during leaching in sulfate solutions in the presence of various additives were investigated. A combination of SEM, EDS, TEM, FIB and XRD was used to characterize the surface products formed under different leaching conditions. The influence of additives such as ethylene glycol, wetting agent and chloride ions, in both the presence and absence of silver ions, on the type of surface products formed was investigated. In the presence of both silver ions and ethylene glycol, metallic silver in the form of nanoparticles was formed and deposited on the surface. The silver nanoparticles were predominantly cubic in shape and had varying dimensions up to 500 nm. The metallic silver formation is aided by the reduction of silver ions with ethylene glycol in the sulfate media. The deposition of metallic silver on the chalcopyrite surface in turn enhances the leaching of the chalcopyrite by improving the surface conductivity. In the presence of low dosages of chloride ions, large quantities of elemental sulfur were formed. Increasing the concentration of chloride ions reduced the extent of sulfur formation. The elemental sulfur formed in the presence of chloride ions was found to be porous. In the presence of a wetting agent, the formation of elemental sulfur was again observed, both in the presence and absence of silver, but its influence on the leaching process may be less

The effect of silver on the acidic ferric sulfate leaching of primary copper sulfides under recycle solution conditions observed in heap leaching. Part 4: Semiconductor behaviour

The semiconductor properties of chalcopyrite during leaching in sulfate solutions in the presence of silver have been investigated. A combination of Mott-Schottky plots and potentiodynamic polarisation was used to determine the transformations of the chalcopyrite surface as the potential was changed between +200 mV (SHE) and 1200 mV (SHE). The tests were carried out at 25 °C and 50 °C. The solutions used were 0.2 M and 0.5 M H2SO4 in the presence of 100 ppm Ag+ and then in the absence of Ag+. The semiconductor behaviour of chalcopyrite was different depending on the presence or absence of Ag. At 25 °C, two surface layers formed between 500 mV (SHE) and 1000 mV (SHE) in both the 0.2 M and 0.5 M acid solutions. The presence of Ag in both these solutions shifted the potentials at which the surface phases formed to more positive potentials. In the presence of Ag at 50 °C, there was formation of successive surface layers at potentials between 850 mV (SHE) and 1000 mV (SHE). It was concluded that Ag had a significant influence on the semiconductor properties of the chalcopyrite surface. The Ag present on the surface as metallic Ag acts as surface states and provides a path for electrons to tunnel or hop from the valence band to the conduction band

Gumbukumbu

Traditional Zezuru song accompanied by karimba

Bhutsu mutandarika

Traditional Zezuru song accompanied by karimba

You have judged

Traditional Zezuru song accompanied by karimba. English translation of title: 'You have judged'

The mother will come

Traditional Zezuru song accompanied by karimba

Chamutengure

Traditional Zezuru song accompanied by karimba