Divorce: Common Causes and Socio-Economic Costs – A Survey of Divorced Individuals in Mekelle City

Divorce is acknowledged to be the most traumatic event on divorced individuals exposing them in to a variety of tribulations. Hence, this study’s’ main objective is to discover the common causes and socio-economic costs of divorce in Mekelle city. The study has employed both quantitative and qualitative data types with primary and secondary sources. As a data collection method, a structured questionnaire was administered to 125 divorced individuals and an interview was conducted with five key informants in courts, case study was also included. For the data analysis, descriptive statistics such as frequency distributions, percentages, mean, minimum and maximum were used to describe and explore the responses. The identified variables which are considered to be the common causes are found to be momentous causes of divorce in Mekelle city in which majority of the respondents 65.6% agreed and strongly agreed as being the common causes of divorce laying the ground for the various socio-economic costs. Hence, It was found that lack of communication (too much arguing and nagging) is the number one cause with the average mean response of 4.64 followed by lack of commitment to the marriage 4.32 and lack of communication (not talking, not discussing) with the average mean response of 4.13. The results for the social costs also dictate that divorce affects the social life of divorced individuals, Hence, majority of the respondents 66.4% agreed and strongly agreed on the variables that most of them except suicide and violence are the social costs that divorced individuals face after divorce. The variables identified as economic cost are agreed and strongly agreed with majority of the respondents 80%, which confirm that the economic consequence identified in this study are considerable. The result of the study also shows that female’s standard of living decreases after divorce by about 51.74% whereas for male’s it decreases by 12.24% compared to pre divorce period. Thus, the future well-being of any family depends a great deal on what mother and father do in the home and how they deal with good and bad circumstances. Recommendations are also forwarded such as Social workers and NGO’s because of their emphasis on system/ecological perspective should play an important role in this shift in focus from individual to family in counseling, increase the public awareness about the benefits of relationship skills training. The religious institutions should also play a noteworthy role in creating awareness about peaceful family life compared to disrupted ones interacting the sort of counseling with religious laws. Besides, the government and law makers should be aware of the ease of the divorce law and reform to rectify the family law in a way that gives more time for divorcing couples to think over their disrupted family life

A Molecular Study of the Botrytis Cinerea- Vitis Vinifera Interaction: from Inflorescence to Ripe Berry

Grapes quality and yield are affected by bunch rot disease caused by the necrotrophic fungus Botrytis cinerea. The fungus often remains quiescent from bloom until maturity and egresses at ripe where it causes bunch rot. Here, it is reported molecular analyses of the interaction between B. cinerea and the flower/berry of Vitis vinifera, using confocal microscopy and integrated transcriptomic and metabolic analysis. Flowers from fruiting cuttings of the cv. Pinot Noir were infected with GFP labeled B. cinerea and samples taken at 24 and 96 hours post inoculation (hpi), at 4 weeks post inoculation (wpi), and at 12 wpi were studied. The observed penetration of the flower epidermis by B. cinerea coincided with increased expression of fungal virulence genes. Flowers responded with defense reactions involving PR proteins, stilbenoids, reactive oxygen species and cell wall reinforcement. At 96 hpi the transcriptional reaction appeared largely diminished both in the host and in the pathogen. Afterwards, infected berries continued their developmental program without any visible symptom. Nonetheless, the expressed quiescent fungal transcriptome highlighted that the fungus was modifying its cell wall to evade plant chitinases. Hard-green berries maintained activated response, based on the expression of several PR family genes and genes involved in monolignol, flavonoid and stilbenoid biosynthesis pathways. At 12 wpi, the transcripts of B. cinerea in the pre-egressed samples showed that virulence-related genes were expressed again. The egressed B. cinerea expressed almost all virulence and growth related genes. In response to egression, ripe berries reprogram different defense responses, though futilely. In conclusion, the defense responses occurring in the grapevine flower and hard-green berry were able to restrict invasive fungal growth. However, the pathogen was able to perceive and exploit ripening associated modifications and favorable external conditions to recover an active metabolism and pathogenic activity, and eventually caused bunch rot

Phenolic composition and antioxidant activities of cladodes of the two varieties of cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica) grown in Ethiopia

In this study, young cladodes corresponding to two (thorn-less and thorn-containing) varieties of cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica) from four different areas of Tigray region, Ethiopia, were investigated for their phenolic contents and antioxidant activities. Quantitative estimation of total phenolic contents and antioxidant activities in the cladodes was carried out using spectrophotometric methods. A 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging assay was used for the determination of the antioxidant activities, while Folin-Ciocalteau reagent, aluminum chloride and protein (albumin) precipitation methods were used for the determination of total polyphenol, flavonoid and tannin contents, respectively. The cladodes were found to be rich in polyphenols, with values in the range 18.0-71.4 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/g of dry weight (DW). The predominant part of the polyphenols is represented by tannins, 9.00-41.2 mg GAE/g of DW, followed by flavonoids, 6.40-25.0 mg catchin equivalent (CE)/g of DW. The cladodes showed strong antioxidant activities, 59.3-85.8% inhibition compared to ascorbic acid. Application of paired t-test on the overall mean total polyphenol contents of samples collected from the different areas revealed the presence of significant variation between the thorn-less (31.6 GAE/g of DW) and thorn-containing (47.7 GAE/g of DW) varieties. One-way ANOVA also revealed that there are significant variations among samples from the same variety but collected from different areas

Transcriptome profiles of strawberry (Fragaria vesca) fruit interacting with Botrytis cinerea at different ripening stages

Gray mold caused by Botrytis cinerea is a major cause of economic losses in strawberry fruit production, limiting fruit shelf life and commercialization. When the fungus infects Fragaria × ananassa strawberry at flowering or unripe fruit stages, symptoms develop after an extended latent phase on ripe fruits before or after harvesting. To elucidate the growth kinetics of B. cinerea on flower/fruit and the molecular responses associated with low susceptibility of unripe fruit stages, woodland strawberry Fragaria vesca flowers and fruits, at unripe white and ripe red stages, were inoculated with B. cinerea. Quantification of fungal genomic DNA within 72 h postinoculation (hpi) showed limited fungal growth on open flower and white fruit, while on red fruit, the growth was exponential starting from 24 hpi and sporulation was observed within 48 hpi. RNA sequencing applied to white and red fruit at 24 hpi showed that a total of 2,141 genes (12.5% of the total expressed genes) were differentially expressed due to B. cinerea infection. A broad transcriptional reprogramming was observed in both unripe and ripe fruits, involving in particular receptor and signaling, secondary metabolites, and defense response pathways. Membrane-localized receptor-like kinases and nucleotide-binding site leucine-rich repeat genes were predominant in the surveillance system of the fruits, most of them being downregulated in white fruits and upregulated in red fruits. In general, unripe fruits exhibited a stronger defense response than red fruits. Genes encoding for pathogenesis-related proteins and flavonoid polyphenols as well as genes involved in cell-wall strengthening were upregulated, while cell-softening genes appeared to be switched off. As a result, B. cinerea remained quiescent in white fruits, while it was able to colonize ripe red fruit

Global, regional, and national comparative risk assessment of 79 behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risks or clusters of risks, 1990-2015: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015

SummaryBackground The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2015 provides an up-to-date synthesis of the evidence for risk factor exposure and the attributable burden of disease. By providing national and subnational assessments spanning the past 25 years, this study can inform debates on the importance of addressing risks in context. Methods We used the comparative risk assessment framework developed for previous iterations of the Global Burden of Disease Study to estimate attributable deaths, disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), and trends in exposure by age group, sex, year, and geography for 79 behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risks or clusters of risks from 1990 to 2015. This study included 388 risk-outcome pairs that met World Cancer Research Fund-defined criteria for convincing or probable evidence. We extracted relative risk and exposure estimates from randomised controlled trials, cohorts, pooled cohorts, household surveys, census data, satellite data, and other sources. We used statistical models to pool data, adjust for bias, and incorporate covariates. We developed a metric that allows comparisons of exposure across risk factors—the summary exposure value. Using the counterfactual scenario of theoretical minimum risk level, we estimated the portion of deaths and DALYs that could be attributed to a given risk. We decomposed trends in attributable burden into contributions from population growth, population age structure, risk exposure, and risk-deleted cause-specific DALY rates. We characterised risk exposure in relation to a Socio-demographic Index (SDI). Findings Between 1990 and 2015, global exposure to unsafe sanitation, household air pollution, childhood underweight, childhood stunting, and smoking each decreased by more than 25%. Global exposure for several occupational risks, high body-mass index (BMI), and drug use increased by more than 25% over the same period. All risks jointly evaluated in 2015 accounted for 57·8% (95% CI 56·6–58·8) of global deaths and 41·2% (39·8–42·8) of DALYs. In 2015, the ten largest contributors to global DALYs among Level 3 risks were high systolic blood pressure (211·8 million [192·7 million to 231·1 million] global DALYs), smoking (148·6 million [134·2 million to 163·1 million]), high fasting plasma glucose (143·1 million [125·1 million to 163·5 million]), high BMI (120·1 million [83·8 million to 158·4 million]), childhood undernutrition (113·3 million [103·9 million to 123·4 million]), ambient particulate matter (103·1 million [90·8 million to 115·1 million]), high total cholesterol (88·7 million [74·6 million to 105·7 million]), household air pollution (85·6 million [66·7 million to 106·1 million]), alcohol use (85·0 million [77·2 million to 93·0 million]), and diets high in sodium (83·0 million [49·3 million to 127·5 million]). From 1990 to 2015, attributable DALYs declined for micronutrient deficiencies, childhood undernutrition, unsafe sanitation and water, and household air pollution; reductions in risk-deleted DALY rates rather than reductions in exposure drove these declines. Rising exposure contributed to notable increases in attributable DALYs from high BMI, high fasting plasma glucose, occupational carcinogens, and drug use. Environmental risks and childhood undernutrition declined steadily with SDI; low physical activity, high BMI, and high fasting plasma glucose increased with SDI. In 119 countries, metabolic risks, such as high BMI and fasting plasma glucose, contributed the most attributable DALYs in 2015. Regionally, smoking still ranked among the leading five risk factors for attributable DALYs in 109 countries; childhood underweight and unsafe sex remained primary drivers of early death and disability in much of sub-Saharan Africa. Interpretation Declines in some key environmental risks have contributed to declines in critical infectious diseases. Some risks appear to be invariant to SDI. Increasing risks, including high BMI, high fasting plasma glucose, drug use, and some occupational exposures, contribute to rising burden from some conditions, but also provide opportunities for intervention. Some highly preventable risks, such as smoking, remain major causes of attributable DALYs, even as exposure is declining. Public policy makers need to pay attention to the risks that are increasingly major contributors to global burden. Funding Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Global, regional, and national disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) for 315 diseases and injuries and healthy life expectancy (HALE), 1990–2015: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015

BACKGROUND: Healthy life expectancy (HALE) and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) provide summary measures of health across geographies and time that can inform assessments of epidemiological p ..

Measuring the health-related Sustainable Development Goals in 188 countries: a baseline analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015

BACKGROUND: In September, 2015, the UN General Assembly established the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs specify 17 universal goals, 169 targets, and 230 indicators leading up to 2030 ..

Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 310 diseases and injuries, 1990–2015: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015

BACKGROUND: Non-fatal outcomes of disease and injury increasingly detract from the ability of the world's population to live in full health, a trend largely attributable to an epidemiological trans ..