Exclusive breastfeeding status of children aged between 6 and 24 months in the nomadic population of Hadaleala district,Afar Region,northeast Ethiopia

Background

Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) during infancy is fundamental, however it is not fully practiced in the nomadic population of Ethiopia. In Ethiopia, there is still a lack of information on the implementation of the EBF, especially among the nomadic population. This study was conducted to assess the EBF status of children during their first 6 months of life, who are now aged between 6 and 24 months, in the nomadic population of Afar region. The study also aimed to identify factors affecting exclusive breastfeeding.

Methods

A community based cross-sectional study was conducted from April to May, 2015 to assess EBF of children aged between 6 and 24 months during the first 6 months of life. Exclusive breastfeeding is defined as consuming only breast milk (including expressed breast milk) during the first 6 months and no other liquids and solid foods except medications, and non exclusive breastfeeding is taking liquids and solid foods in addition to breast milk. The cluster sampling technique was used to select the study participants. Data were collected from 254 households using a structured questionnaire.

Results

One hundred eighty eight of the children were fed breast milk exclusively for the first 6 months of age; the rate of EBF in the study area was 74% (95% CI 70, 78%). One hundred fifty four (60.6%) of the children received breast milk within 1 h immediately after birth and 207 (81.5%) of the children maintained breastfeeding at the time of the survey. Exclusive breastfeeding was statistically associated with mothers aged above 35 years (AOR 8.3, 95% CI 1.7, 40.3), commencing to breastfeed in first hour (AOR 3.5, 95% CI 1.8, 6.9), and parents who didn’t migrate or move to a more comfortable area (AOR 4.6, 95% CI 1.5, 14.4).

Conclusion

Exclusive breastfeeding was not fully practiced in the study area. Therefore, promotion of infant and young children feeding (IYCF) is needed in the area to strengthen EBF practices. Moreover, child feeding practices should be integrated with the existing health system and attention should be given to the nomadic mothers.

     

Alteration of Plasma Membrane Organization by an Anticancer Lysophosphatidylcholine Analogue Induces Intracellular Acidification and Internalization of Plasma Membrane Transporters in Yeast

The lysophosphatidylcholine analogue edelfosine is a potent antitumor lipid that targets cellular membranes. The underlying mechanisms leading to cell death remain controversial, although two cellular membranes have emerged as primary targets of edelfosine, the plasma membrane (PM) and the endoplasmic reticulum. In an effort to identify conditions that enhance or prevent the cytotoxic effect of edelfosine, we have conducted genome-wide surveys of edelfosine sensitivity and resistance in Saccharomyces cerevisiae presented in this work and the accompanying paper (Cuesta-Marbán, Á., Botet, J., Czyz, O., Cacharro, L. M., Gajate, C., Hornillos, V., Delgado, J., Zhang, H., Amat-Guerri, F., Acuña, A. U., McMaster, C. R., Revuelta, J. L., Zaremberg, V., and Mollinedo, F. (January 23, 2013) J. Biol. Chem. 288,), respectively. Our results point to maintenance of pH homeostasis as a major player in modulating susceptibility to edelfosine with the PM proton pump Pma1p playing a main role. We demonstrate that edelfosine alters PM organization and induces intracellular acidification. Significantly, we show that edelfosine selectively reduces lateral segregation of PM proteins like Pma1p and nutrient H⁺-symporters inducing their ubiquitination and internalization. The biology associated to the mode of action of edelfosine we have unveiled includes selective modification of lipid raft integrity altering pH homeostasis, which in turn regulates cell growth.     

Retraction Note to: Distribution and ecological impact of exotic woody plant species inside sacred groves of Northwestern Ethiopia

Biodiversity and Conservation - This article has been retracted. Please see the Retraction Notice for more detail: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-021-02197-5     

Strain engineering for high‐level 5‐aminolevulinic acid production in Escherichia coli

Herein, we report the development of a microbial bioprocess for high‐level production of 5‐aminolevulinic acid (5‐ALA), a valuable non‐proteinogenic amino acid with multiple applications in medical, agricultural, and food industries, using Escherichia coli as a cell factory. We first implemented the Shemin (i.e., C4) pathway for heterologous 5‐ALA biosynthesis in E. coli. To reduce, but not to abolish, the carbon flux toward essential tetrapyrrole/porphyrin biosynthesis, we applied clustered regularly interspersed short palindromic repeats interference (CRISPRi) to repress hemB expression, leading to extracellular 5‐ALA accumulation. We then applied metabolic engineering strategies to direct more dissimilated carbon flux toward the key precursor of succinyl‐CoA for enhanced 5‐ALA biosynthesis. Using these engineered E. coli strains for bioreactor cultivation, we successfully demonstrated high‐level 5‐ALA biosynthesis from glycerol (~30 g L^?1) under both microaerobic and aerobic conditions, achieving up to 5.95 g L^?1 (36.9% of the theoretical maximum yield) and 6.93 g L^?1 (50.9% of the theoretical maximum yield) 5‐ALA, respectively. This study represents one of the most effective bio‐based production of 5‐ALA from a structurally unrelated carbon to date, highlighting the importance of integrated strain engineering and bioprocessing strategies to enhance bio‐based production.     

Sleeping posture recognition using fuzzy c-means algorithm

Background

Pressure sensors have been used for sleeping posture detection, which meet privacy requirements. Most of the existing techniques for sleeping posture recognition used force-sensitive resistor (FSR) sensors. However, lower limbs cannot be recognized accurately unless thousands of sensors are deployed on the bedsheet.

Method

We designed a sleeping posture recognition scheme in which FSR sensors were deployed on the upper part of the bedsheet to record the pressure distribution of the upper body. In addition, an infrared array sensor was deployed to collect data for the lower body. Posture recognition was performed using a fuzzy c-means clustering algorithm. Six types of sleeping body posture were recognized from the combination of the upper and lower body postures.

Results

The experimental results showed that the proposed method achieved an accuracy of above 88%. Moreover, the proposed scheme is cost-efficient and easy to deploy.

Conclusions

The proposed sleeping posture recognition system can be used for pressure ulcer prevention and sleep quality assessment. Compared to wearable sensors and cameras, FSR sensors and infrared array sensors are unobstructed and meet privacy requirements. Moreover, the proposed method provides a cost-effective solution for the recognition of sleeping posture.

     

Edge effects and human disturbance influence soil physical and chemical properties in Sacred Church Forests in Ethiopia

Plant and Soil - Tropical forests are increasingly threatened by edge effects as forest degradation and deforestation continues, compromising soil integrity, seedling regeneration capacity, and...     

Fomitiporia tenuis and Fomitiporia aethiopica (Basidiomycetes, Hymenochaetales), two undescribed species from the Ethiopian highlands: taxonomy and phylogeny

Fomitiporia tenuis sp. nov. and Fomitiporia aethiopica sp. nov. from the Ethiopian highlands are described. Both are characterized by a resupinate habit, globose, dextrinoid basidiospores, cystidioles, and respectively scarcity or absence of hymenial setae. Fomitiporia pseudopunctata and F. robusta are reported also in the same area. The preliminary phylogenetic relationships of F. tenuis, F. aethiopica and F. pseudopunctata are inferred from parsimony analysis based on partial nuclear ribosomal large subunit (nrLSU). A preliminary key to the poroid Hymenochaetales with dextrinoid basidiospores (Fomitiporia, Phellinus s.l., Pseudoinonotus) is proposed.     

SdrA,an NADP(H)‐regenerating enzyme,is crucial for Coxiella burnetii to resist oxidative stress and replicate intracellularly

Coxiella burnetii, the causative agent of the zoonotic disease Q fever, is a Gram‐negative bacterium that replicates inside macrophages within a highly oxidative vacuole. Screening of a transposon mutant library suggested that sdrA, which encodes a putative short‐chain dehydrogenase, is required for intracellular replication. Short‐chain dehydrogenases are NADP(H)‐dependent oxidoreductases, and SdrA contains a predicted NADP⁺ binding site, suggesting it may facilitate NADP(H) regeneration by C. burnetii, a key process for surviving oxidative stress. Purified recombinant 6×His‐SdrA was able to convert NADP⁺ to NADP(H) in vitro. Mutation to alanine of a conserved glycine residue at position 12 within the predicted NADP binding site abolished significant enzymatic activity. Complementation of the sdrA mutant (sdrA::Tn) with plasmid‐expressed SdrA restored intracellular replication to wild‐type levels, but expressing enzymatically inactive G12A_SdrA did not. The sdrA::Tn mutant was more susceptible in vitro to oxidative stress, and treating infected host cells with L‐ascorbate, an anti‐oxidant, partially rescued the intracellular growth defect of sdrA::Tn. Finally, stable isotope labelling studies demonstrated a shift in flux through metabolic pathways in sdrA::Tn consistent with the presence of increased oxidative stress, and host cells infected with sdrA::Tn had elevated levels of reactive oxygen species compared with C. burnetii NMII.