Food and nutrition status of households with homegardens in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan

Sudan is one of the least developed countries and many people particularly in South Kordofan suffer from food insecurity. Food production from homegardens (HG) and wild collections are seen as key elements in strategies to overcome nutrient deficiencies. Food intake 24h-recalls were conducted to evaluate the status quo of households (HHs) and the contribution from four HG and wild collection during three seasons in Sama in South Kordofan, Sudan. Dietary diversity as well as nutrient intake was determined and food samples were taken. On average people consumed 16 food items belonging to eight food groups, which is adequate or higher than reported in other studies. Mean daily intake was 1438 kcal energy, 36 g protein, 182 μg vitamin A, 23 mg vitamin C, 9 mg iron and 5 mg zinc. This indicates a nutrient deficiency, especially in vitamins. Differences between traditional and commercial (marketoriented) HGs were small. Households which considered HGs to be important for their daily life had a better nutrient intake, but less diverse diet than those with a reduced importance of HGs. Thus the perceived importance of the HGs seemed to affect HH nutrition more than the level of their commercialization. In total twelve food items from HGs (mostly green leafy vegetables, high in vitamin A) and seven from the wild (mainly Ziziphus spina-christi (L.) Willd, high in vitamin C) were used within the three weeks interview period. The results show the importance of the HG to HH´s nutrition and also indicate the importance of wild collection for the dietary status of HH in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan

Morphology, biochemistry, and management of Russian olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia L.) accessions in Gilgit-Baltistan, northern Pakistan

Russian olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia L., Elagnaceae) is a native multi-purpose medicinal shrub or tree of Asian regions and an integral component of high altitude terraced agroforestry systems of Gilgit-Baltistan, northern Pakistan. The strong increase in deforestation, urbanisation, and the loss of ethnically-based medication practices in local communities are gradually leading to depletion of its stands and knowledge of its use. In view of these circumstances, this study was undertaken to characterise Russian olive accessions as a first step towards the conservation of this important wild plant genetic resource. Ninety-three fruits (including seeds) and leaves were sampled to determine morphological variability among accessions. In addition, the phenolic composition of fruit pulp of 40 fruits was used for determination of phenolic compounds. To assess the local importance of the fruit, 42 Russian olive collectors and traders were interviewed. Data were analysed using PCA and clustering approaches. Fruit traits across groups were equally shared. Elevation had a positive effect on fruit and seed dimensions especially on length (r = 0.606 and 0.515, respectively) and weight (r = 0.618 and 0.695, respectively). Bioactive substances such as DPPH and flavonoids in the sampled fruits exceeded most values found in the literature by a factor of 100 and 30, respectively. The socio-economic household analysis highlighted that Russian olive harvest and trade is a purely additional income strategy. On average, about 90 € (ca. 16000 PKR) were earned by one household ranging from about 35 € to about 205 € per year. Data yielded a mixed picture on morphological and biochemical diversity as well as the socio-economic background, but indicated that northern regions of Pakistan might be an important centre for biodiversity of this species in Central Asia, which merits improved marketing

The BASE-platform project: Deriving the bathymetry from combined satellite data

The project »BAthymetry SErvice platform« (BASE-platform) addresses the lack of available up-to-date, high-resolution bathymetry data in many areas of the world. With the increasing number of earth observation satellites, e.g. by the ongoing deployment of ESA’s Sentinel fleet, remote sensing data of the oceans are widely available. Three sources of satellite information are combined in BASE-platform: optical, synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and altimetry data. BASEplatform’s ambition is to use these data for creating bathymetric maps and supply them to end users via a bathymetry data portal, where data will be available off-the-shelf as well as on demand. Adequate metadata will be provided along with the bathymetry so usability by the end user is ensured

Evaluation of intensity modulated radiation therapy dose painting for localized prostate cancer using 68 Ga-HBED-CC PSMA-PET/CT: A planning study based on histopathology reference

AbstractPurposeTo demonstrate the feasibility and to evaluate the tumour control probability (TCP) and normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) of IMRT dose painting using 68Ga-HBED-CC PSMA PET/CT for target delineation in prostate cancer (PCa).Methods and materials10 patients had PSMA PET/CT scans prior to prostatectomy. GTV-PET was generated on the basis of an intraprostatic SUVmax of 30%. Two IMRT plans were generated for each patient: Plan77 which consisted of whole-prostate IMRT to 77Gy, and Plan95 which consisted of whole-prostate IMRT to 77Gy and a simultaneous integrated boost to the GTV-PET up to 95Gy (35 fractions). The feasibility of these plans was judged by their ability to adhere to the FLAME trial protocol. TCP-histo/-PET were calculated on co-registered histology (GTV-histo) and GTV-PET, respectively. NTCPs for rectum and bladder were calculated.ResultsAll plans reached prescription doses whilst adhering to dose constraints. In Plan77 and Plan95 mean doses in GTV-histo were 75.8±0.3Gy and 96.9±1Gy, respectively. Average TCP-histo values for Plan77 and Plan95 were 70% (range: 15–97%), and 96% (range: 78–100%, p77 and Plan95 were 55% (range: 27–82%), and 100% (range: 99–100%, p95 (p=0.25). There were no significant differences in rectal (p=0.563) and bladder (p=0.3) NTCPs.ConclusionsIMRT dose painting using PSMA PET/CT was technically feasible and resulted in significantly higher TCPs without higher NTCPs

CTCF-dependent chromatin boundaries formed by asymmetric nucleosome arrays with decreased linker length

The CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF) organises the genome in 3D through DNA loops and in 1D by setting boundaries isolating different chromatin states, but these processes are not well understood. Here we focus on the relationship between CTCF binding and the decrease of the Nucleosome Repeat Length (NRL) for ∼20 adjacent nucleosomes, affecting up to 10% of the mouse genome. We found that the chromatin boundary near CTCF is created by the nucleosome-depleted region (NDR) asymmetrically located >40 nucleotides 5’-upstream from the centre of CTCF motif. The strength of CTCF binding to DNA is correlated with the decrease of NRL near CTCF and anti-correlated with the level of asymmetry of the nucleosome array. Individual chromatin remodellers have different contributions, with Snf2h having the strongest effect on the NRL decrease near CTCF and Chd4 playing a major role in the symmetry breaking. Upon differentiation of embryonic stem cells to neural progenitor cells and embryonic fibroblasts, a subset of common CTCF sites preserved in all three cell types maintains a relatively small local NRL despite genome-wide NRL increase. The sites which lost CTCF upon differentiation are characterised by nucleosome rearrangement 3’-downstream, but the boundary defined by the NDR 5’-upstream of CTCF motif remains

Effects of transformation processes in 'jubraka' agroforestry systems of the Nuba Mountains, Sudan, on plant diversity

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