Strategies to support South African smallholders as a contribution to government’s second economy strategy. Volume 1: Situation analysis, fieldwork findings and main conclusions

Within the ambit of the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative of South Africa, government is leading a process to define a Second Economy Strategy, and has identified the agricultural sector as a site of opportunity, potentially fostering a larger number of smallholder agriculturalists. In an effort to identify an implementable program to support the smallholder sector, this study closely analyses what makes particular South African smallholdings in various settings successful and what factors contributed to their success. A broad definition of agricultural smallholding is employed including independent operators, group farmers, subsistence farmers and commercial farmers. ‘Supporting the smallholder sector’ is conceptualised as consisting of four distinct strands, namely the prospects and measures for: improving the performance of subsistence-oriented smallholders; encouraging/enabling currently subsistence-oriented smallholders to benefit from a more commercial orientation; improving the performance of commercially oriented smallholders; and increasing participation in smallholder agriculture among those (especially rural dwellers) who do not practise agriculture

Nutrient content of eight African leafy vegetables and their potential contribution to dietary reference intakes

Nutrient content and potential contribution of one average portion towards nutritional requirements (recommended dietary allowance; RDA) of eight African leafy vegetables (ALVs) was determined. Compared to dark-green leafy vegetables (DGLVs) as sub-group, calcium and magnesium content were similar or considerably higher, vitamin C content was considerably lower, while pigweed had higher potassium content and spider flower similar folate content. All ALVs, except Chinese cabbage, had higher iron content. Black nightshade, pigweed, cowpea and spider flower leaves had higher b-carotene content than DGLVs. For children, pigweed and cowpea leaves emerged as good sources of vitamin A (>75% RDA), followed by spider flower, black nightshade, tsamma melon, Jew’s mallow and pumpkin leaves (50–75% RDA). For iron, pumpkin leaves provided 50–75% RDA. Black nightshade, tsamma melon, pigweed and cowpea leaves contributed 25–50% RDA, with Jew’s mallow, spider flower and Chinese cabbage providing <25% RDA. The ALVs were not a good source of zinc. Most ALVs were nutritionally similar to DGLVs. For most nutrients Chinese cabbage had considerably lower values than the other ALVs. Most of the ALVs can considerably contribute to requirements of vitamin A and, to a lesser extent, iron, both critical nutrients for developing countries.http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jfcahb201

Synthesis, Spectroscopy, Crystal Structure, Electrochemistry, and Quantum Chemical and Molecular Dynamics Calculations of a 3-Anilino Difluoroboron Dipyrromethene Dye

An asymmetrically substituted fluorescent difluoroboron dipyrromethene (BODIPY) dye, with a phenylamino group at the 3-position of the BODIPY chromophore, has been synthesized by nucleophilic substitution of 3,5-dichloro-8-(4-tolyl)-4,4-difluoro-4-bora-3a,4a-diaza-s-indacene. The solvent-dependent spectroscopic and photophysical properties have been investigated by means of UV-vis spectrophotometry and steady-state and time-resolved fluorometry and reflect the large effect of the anilino substituent on the fluorescence characteristics. The compound has a low fluorescence quantum yield in all but the apolar solvents cyclohexane, toluene, and chloroform. Its emission maxima in a series of solvents from cyclohexane to methanol are red-shifted by approximately 50 nm in comparison to classic BODIPY derivatives. Its oxidation potential in dichloromethane is at ca. 1.14 V versus Ag/AgCl. The absorption bandwidths and Stokes shifts are much larger than those of typical, symmetric difluoroboron dipyrromethene dyes. The values of the fluorescence rate constant are in the (1.4-1.7) x 10(8) s(-1) range and do not vary much between the solvents studied. X-ray diffraction analysis shows that the BODIPY core is planar. Molecular dynamics simulations show that there is no clear indication for aggregates in solution.status: publishe

3,5-Dianilino Substituted Difluoroboron Dipyrromethene: Synthesis, Spectroscopy, Photophysics, Crystal Structure, Electrochemistry, and Quantum-Chemical Calculations

4,4-Difluoro-3,5-bis(phenylamino)-8-(4-tolyl)-4-bora-3a,4a-diaza-s-indacene (1), a symmetric fluorescent difluoroboron dipyrromethene dye, has been synthesized by nucleophilic substitution of 3,5-dichloro-4,4-ifluoro-8-(4-tolyl)-4-bora-3a,4a-diaza-s-indacene with aniline. The solvent-dependent spectroscopic and photophysical properties have been investigated by means of UV-vis spectrophotometry and steady-state and time-resolved fluorometry and are compared to those of the nonsymmetrically substituted 5-chloro-4,4-ifluoro-3-phenylamino-8-(4-tolyl)-4-bora-3a,4a-diaza-s-indacene (2). A new, generalized treatment of the solvent effect, proposed by Catalan (J. Phys. Chem. B 2009, 113, 5951-5960) and based on a set of four mutually independent, empirical scales (dipolarity, polarizability, acidity, and basicity of the medium) is the most appropriate for describing the solvatochromic shifts of the UV-vis absorption and fluorescence emission of 1 and 2. In contrast to the nonsymmetric compound 2, the symmetric dye 1 has higher fluorescence quantum yields (0.45-0.86) and longer fluorescence lifetimes (3.36-4.03 ns) in all solvents studied and its emission maxima are shifted bathochromically by similar to 45 rim. Large differences are also evident in the redox electrochemistry of the two dyes, with the symmetric analogue 1 possessing a much lower oxidation potential (similar to 600 mV) than the nonsymmetric 2. The absorption bandwidths and Stokes shifts of symmetric 1 are much smaller than those for nonsymmetric 2. For both dyes, the value of the fluorescence rate constant, [k(f) = (1.7 +/- 0.3) x 10(8) s(-1)], does not depend much on the solvent tested. X-ray diffraction analysis of 1 shows that the BODIPY core possesses a planar structure. Quantum-chemical calculations support the different photophysical behavior of the symmetric derivative 1 vis-a-vis the nonsymmetric 2.status: publishe

Strategies to support South African smallholders as a contribution to government’s second economy strategy: Volume 1: Situation analysis, fieldwork findings and main conclusions

Within the ambit of the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative of South Africa, government is leading a process to define a Second Economy Strategy. One of the opportunities that has been identified is the agricultural sector, in particular fostering a larger number of smallholder agriculturalists. The study seeks to identify the key elements of an implementable programme to support the smallholder sector. The core of the exercise entailed identifying successful South African smallholders active in different settings, and examining the factors that contribute to their success, whether these are personal, contextual, institutional, etc. Although the study was not designed as an evaluation of interventions as such, in the process of conducting the smallholder case studies (and in combination with an extensive literature review), the efficacy and relevance of different intervention and support strategies also came into focus

Blood cytokine analysis suggests that SARS-CoV-2 infection results in a sustained tumour promoting environment in cancer patients

SIMPLE SUMMARY: SARS-CoV-2 infection has been associated with broad dysregulation of the circulating immune system and inflammation that could persist for a long period. Chronic inflammation has been shown to play a significant role in cancer development and progression. Here we showed that several immune-related factors were altered in cancer patients who had previously been exposed to the virus. Several of these immune factors observed to be elevated even after 3 months of infection are also tumour-promoting factors. The results of this study suggest that we need to pay more attention to cancer patients who have recovered from COVID-19 for any increased rate of cancer progression. ABSTRACT: Cytokines, chemokines, and (angiogenic) growth factors (CCGs) have been shown to play an intricate role in the progression of both solid and haematological malignancies. Recent studies have shown that SARS-CoV-2 infection leads to a worse outcome in cancer patients, especially in haematological malignancy patients. Here, we investigated how SARS-CoV-2 infection impacts the already altered CCG levels in solid or haematological malignancies, specifically, whether there is a protective effect or rather a potentially higher risk for major COVID-19 complications in cancer patients due to elevated CCGs linked to cancer progression. Serially analysing immune responses with 55 CCGs in cancer patients under active treatment with or without SARS-CoV-2 infection, we first showed that cancer patients without SARS-CoV-2 infection (n = 54) demonstrate elevated levels of 35 CCGs compared to the non-cancer, non-infected control group of health care workers (n = 42). Of the 35 CCGs, 19 were common to both the solid and haematological malignancy groups and comprised previously described cytokines such as IL-6, TNF-α, IL-1Ra, IL-17A, and VEGF, but also several less well described cytokines/chemokines such as Fractalkine, Tie-2, and T cell chemokine CTACK. Importantly, we show here that 7 CCGs are significantly altered in SARS-CoV-2 exposed cancer patients (n = 52). Of these, TNF-α, IFN-β, TSLP, and sVCAM-1, identified to be elevated in haematological cancers, are also known tumour-promoting factors. Longitudinal analysis conducted over 3 months showed persistence of several tumour-promoting CCGs in SARS-CoV-2 exposed cancer patients. These data demonstrate a need for increased vigilance for haematological malignancy patients as a part of long COVID follow-up