Metabolic Syndrome Is Associated with Greater Histologic Severity, Higher Carbohydrate, and Lower Fat Diet in Patients with NAFLD

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73077/1/j.1572-0241.2006.00719.x.pd

Knowledge and utilization of intermittent preventive treatment for malaria among pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in primary health care centers in rural southwest, Nigeria: a cross-sectional study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Intermittent preventive treatment for prevention of malaria in pregnancy (IPTp) is a key component of malaria control strategy in Nigeria and sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) is the drug of choice. Despite the evidence of the effectiveness of IPTp strategy using SP in reducing the adverse effects of malaria during pregnancy the uptake and coverage in Nigeria is low. This study set out to assess the use of IPTp among pregnant women attending primary health centres in the rural area and determine factors that influence the uptake.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A cross-sectional study was carried out between July and August 2007 among 209 pregnant women selected by systematic random sampling from antenatal care attendees at primary health care in a rural Local Government Area of Ekiti State, Nigeria. Information on knowledge of IPT, delivery, adherence and acceptability was obtained using an interviewer administered questionnaire. Descriptive statistics such as means, range, proportions were used. Chi-square test was used to examine association between categorical variables. All analyses were performed at 5% level of significance.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>One hundred and nine of 209 (52.2%) respondents have heard about IPTp but only 26 (23.9%) were able to define it. Fifty seven (27.3%) reported to have received at least one dose of IPTp during the index pregnancy and all were among those who have heard of IPTp (52.3%). Twenty one of the 57 (36.8%) took the SP in the clinic. Only three of the twenty-one (14.3%) were supervised by a health worker. Twenty two of the 36 women (61.1%) who did not take their drugs in the clinic would have liked to do so if allowed to bring their own drinking cups. Almost half (43.9%) of those who had used IPTp during the index pregnancy expressed concern about possible adverse effect of SP on their pregnancies. Periodic shortages of SP in the clinics were also reported.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In this study, IPTp use among pregnant women was very low and there was poor adherence to the Directly Observed Therapy (DOT) scheme. Concerted effort should be made to increase awareness of IPTp among the public especially women of child bearing age. Health workers should also be trained and monitored to ensure adherence.</p

The GCP molecular marker toolkit, an instrument for use in breeding food security crops

Crop genetic resources carry variation useful for overcoming the challenges of modern agriculture. Molecular markers can facilitate the selection of agronomically important traits. The pervasiveness of genomics research has led to an overwhelming number of publications and databases, which are, nevertheless, scattered and hence often difficult for plant breeders to access, particularly those in developing countries. This situation separates them from developed countries, which have better endowed programs for developing varieties. To close this growing knowledge gap, we conducted an intensive literature review and consulted with more than 150 crop experts on the use of molecular markers in the breeding program of 19 food security crops. The result was a list of effectively used and highly reproducible sequence tagged site (STS), simple sequence repeat (SSR), single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), and sequence characterized amplified region (SCAR) markers. However, only 12 food crops had molecular markers suitable for improvement. That is, marker-assisted selection is not yet used for Musa spp., coconut, lentils, millets, pigeonpea, sweet potato, and yam. For the other 12 crops, 214 molecular markers were found to be effectively used in association with 74 different traits. Results were compiled as the GCP Molecular Marker Toolkit, a free online tool that aims to promote the adoption of molecular approaches in breeding activities

Patterns of anti-malarial drug treatment among pregnant women in Uganda

BACKGROUND: Prompt use of an effective anti-malarial drug is essential for controlling malaria and its adverse effects in pregnancy. The World Health Organization recommends an artemisinin-based combination therapy as the first-line treatment of uncomplicated malaria in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy. The study objective was to determine the degree to which presumed episodes of uncomplicated symptomatic malaria in pregnancy were treated with a recommended anti-malarial regimen in a region of Uganda. METHODS: Utilizing a population-based random sample, we interviewed women living in Jinja, Uganda who had been pregnant in the past year. RESULTS: Self-reported malaria during the index pregnancy was reported among 67% (n = 334) of the 500 participants. Among the 637 self-reported episodes of malaria, an anti-malarial drug was used for treatment in 85% of the episodes. Use of a currently recommended treatment in the first trimester was uncommon (5.6%). A contraindicated anti-malarial drug (sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine and/or artemether-lumefantrine) was involved in 70% of first trimester episodes. Recommended anti-malarials were used according to the guidelines in only 30.1% of all second and third trimester episodes. CONCLUSIONS: Self-reported malaria was extremely common in this population and adherence to treatment guidelines for the management of malaria in pregnancy was poor. Use of artemether-lumefantrine combined with non-recommended anti-malarials was common practice. Overuse of anti-malarial drugs, especially ones that are no longer recommended, undermines malaria control efforts by fueling the spread of drug resistance and delaying appropriate treatment of non-malarial febrile illnesses. Improved diagnostic capacity is essential to ultimately improving the management of malaria-like symptoms during pregnancy and appropriate use of currently available anti-malarials

Genomics-assisted breeding in four major pulse crops of developing countries: present status and prospects

The global population is continuously increasing and is expected to reach nine billion by 2050. This huge population pressure will lead to severe shortage of food, natural resources and arable land. Such an alarming situation is most likely to arise in developing countries due to increase in the proportion of people suffering from protein and micronutrient malnutrition. Pulses being a primary and affordable source of proteins and minerals play a key role in alleviating the protein calorie malnutrition, micronutrient deficiencies and other undernourishment-related issues. Additionally, pulses are a vital source of livelihood generation for millions of resource-poor farmers practising agriculture in the semi-arid and sub-tropical regions. Limited success achieved through conventional breeding so far in most of the pulse crops will not be enough to feed the ever increasing population. In this context, genomics-assisted breeding (GAB) holds promise in enhancing the genetic gains. Though pulses have long been considered as orphan crops, recent advances in the area of pulse genomics are noteworthy, e.g. discovery of genome-wide genetic markers, high-throughput genotyping and sequencing platforms, high-density genetic linkage/QTL maps and, more importantly, the availability of whole-genome sequence. With genome sequence in hand, there is a great scope to apply genome-wide methods for trait mapping using association studies and to choose desirable genotypes via genomic selection. It is anticipated that GAB will speed up the progress of genetic improvement of pulses, leading to the rapid development of cultivars with higher yield, enhanced stress tolerance and wider adaptability