764 research outputs found

    Assessing rural consumers’ WTP for orange, biofortified maize in Ghana with experimental auctions and a simulated radio message

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    Deficiencies of micronutrients such as vitamin A are widespread, expecially in Africa. Biofortified crops such as maize, bred for high levels of provitamin A might offer a solution, but these crops are often bright orange, and African maize consumers prefer white. To estimate the consumers interest in orange biofortified maize, sensory evaluations were organized in rural Ghana with white, yellow and orange maize. The effect of information on willingness to pay for biofortification was estimated using a simulated radio message. Results indicate that color preferences are highly regional, wide variation exist within regions, and the provision of information is able to change these preferences. The color of biofortified maize should therefore not be seen as major impediment, but proper information messages should be targeted at the right channels such as rural radio.maize, biofortification, consumers, experimental auction, sensory evaluation, Crop Production/Industries, Demand and Price Analysis,

    Bio-preservative activities of Lactobacillus plantarum strains in fermenting Casssava ‘fufu’

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    The growth of three pathogens, namely Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella typhii were investigated in fermenting and non-fermenting cassava. The pH of the steeped cassava was also examined during fermentation. Antimicrobial effects of the Lactobacillus plantarum on the pathogens were also determined by agar diffusion method. All the pathogens were inhibited by L. plantarum strains with Staph. aureus having the highest inhibitory zone followed by E. coli and S. thyphii. However, in the fermenting cassava, the pathogens increased in population within the first 36 h of the process and decreased to complete extinction after the 96 h of fermentation. The L. plantarum exhibited high but varying degree of inhibition on the pathogens. The findings justify the bio-preservative roles of lactic acid bacteria in traditional cassava products.Key words: Bio-preservation, Lactobacillus plantarum, fermentation, cassava and pathogens

    Elevation of conjunctival epithelial CD45INTCD11b⁺CD16⁺CD14⁝ neutrophils in ocular Stevens-Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis

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    PURPOSE. Ocular complications related to Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (SJS)–Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis (TEN) may persist and progress after resolution of systemic disease. This is thought to be related in part to persistent ocular innate-immune signaling. In this study, our aim was to characterize infiltrative conjunctival cellular profiles during acute (<12 months) and chronic (>12 months) disease. METHODS. Consecutive patients presenting with SJS-TEN over a 12-month period were followed for 1 year. Detailed clinical examination and conjunctival impression cell recovery was analyzed by flow cytometry for the presence of intraepithelial leukocytes and compared with healthy controls (n = 21). RESULTS. Ten patients were recruited of whom six had acute disease and five were classified as TEN (SCORTEN = 1, n = 4). Conjunctival inflammation was graded as absent/mild in a total of nine patients; but despite this, evidence of fornix shrinkage was observed in nine subjects. This inversely correlated with disease duration (P < 0.05). A reduction in percentage of CD8αβ(+) T cells compared with controls (80% vs. 57%; P < 0.01) was associated with a corresponding increase in the number/percentage of CD45(INT)CD11b(+)CD16(+)CD14(−) neutrophils (186 vs. 3.4, P < 0.01, 31% vs. 0.8%, P < 0.001). Neutrophils inversely correlated with disease duration (r = −0.71, P = 0.03), yet there was no absolute change in the CD8αβ(+) or neutrophil populations during the study period (P = 1.0). CONCLUSIONS. These data highlight that a neutrophilic infiltrate is present in mildly inflamed or clinically quiescent conjunctival mucosa in patients with ocular SJS-TEN, where neutrophil numbers inversely correlate with disease duration. Neutrophil persistence endorses the hypothesis of an unresolved innate-inflammatory process that might account for disease progression

    Sweet potato development and delivery in sub-Saharan Africa

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    n sub-Saharan Africa, more than 40% of children under five years of age suffer from vitamin A deficiency. Among several interventions in place to address vitamin A deficiency is biofortification, breeding vitamin A into key staple crops. Staple crops biofortified with beta-carotene, the precursor to vitamin A, are orange in color. Given the natural occurrence of high levels of beta-carotene in many sweet potato varieties, breeding progress for biofortified orange sweet potato (OSP) has been much faster than for the other vitamin A enhanced staples. Nearly 3 million households have been reached with OSP. This paper reviews key factors influencing the uptake of OSP, the breeding investment, five key delivery approaches that have been tested in the region and efforts to broaden government and other stakeholder engagement

    EML4–ALK fusion transcript is not found in gastrointestinal and breast cancers

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    Fusion genes have been identified as chromosomal rearrangements in certain cancers, such as leukaemia, lymphoma, and sarcoma. The EML4–ALK (EML4: echinoderm microtubule-associated-protein-like 4; ALK: anaplastic lymphoma kinase) fusion gene has been identified as an oncogene in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This study examined the presence of this fusion transcript in gastrointestinal and breast cancers. We evaluated the expression of the EML4–ALK transcript in 104 lung cancer cases and in 645 gastrointestinal and breast cancer samples. Only one of the lung cancer samples tested positive for the EML4–ALK fusion transcript, whereas none were detected in 555 gastrointestinal and 90 breast cancer cases. Our data suggest that the EML4–ALK fusion transcript is not present in gastrointestinal or breast cancers and is specific to NSCLC

    Effect of frying treatments on texture and colour parameters of deep fat fried yellow fleshed cassava chips

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    Effects of frying treatments on texture (hardness) and colour parameters (L, a, b, Delta) during deep fat frying of yellowfleshed cassava root slices (TMS 01/1371) were investigated. Slices (dimension of 40mm × 25mm × 3 mm) were divided into three portions and subjected to vacuum frying (fresh slices) and atmospheric frying (fresh and predried slices) and equivalent thermal driving forces (ETDF) of 60∘C, 70∘C, and 80∘C were maintained during frying. The quality attributes investigated were best preserved in vacuum fried chips. The overall colour change in chips fried under vacuum conditions at 118∘C and 8 min was the least (21.20) compared to fresh and atmospherically predried ones (16.69 and 14.81, resp.). A sharp reduction in the breaking force was obtained for all frying treatments after 8 min and this effect was the least in vacuum fried chips. First-order kinetics modeled the changes in quality attributes for all the temperatures investigated. Rate constants k (min−1) obtained for vacuum frying were almost equal to that of atmospheric frying while activation energies for hardness and colour change were 53.30 and 467.11 KJ/mol, respectively. Quality attributes studied were best preserved during vacuum frying
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