Agronomic biofortification increases grain zinc concentration of maize grown under contrasting soil types in Malawi.

Zinc (Zn) deficiency remains a public health problem in Malawi, especially among poor and marginalized rural populations, linked with low dietary intake of Zn due to consumption of staple foods that are low in Zn content. The concentration of Zn in staple cereal grain can be increased through application of Zn-enriched fertilizers, a process called agronomic biofortification or agro-fortification. Field experiments were conducted at three Agricultural Research Station sites to assess the potential of agronomic biofortification to improve Zn concentration in maize grain in Malawi as described in registered report published previously.

Cereal grain mineral micronutrient and soil chemistry data from GeoNutrition surveys in Ethiopia and Malawi.

The dataset comprises primary data for the concentration of 29 mineral micronutrients in cereal grains and up to 84 soil chemistry properties from GeoNutrition project surveys in Ethiopia and Malawi. The work provided insights on geospatial variation in the micronutrient concentration in staple crops, and the potential influencing soil factors. In Ethiopia, sampling was conducted in Amhara, Oromia, and Tigray regions, during the late-2017 and late-2018 harvest seasons.

Soil and landscape factors influence geospatial variation in maize grain zinc concentration in Malawi.

Dietary zinc (Zn) deficiency is widespread globally, and in particular among people in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). In Malawi, dietary sources of Zn are dominated by maize and spatially dependent variation in grain Zn concentration, which will affect dietary Zn intake, has been reported at distances of up to ~ 100 km. The aim of this study was to identify potential soil properties and environmental covariates which might explain this longer-range spatial variation in maize grain Zn concentration.

Knowledge and perceptions of preconception care among health workers and women of reproductive age in Mzuzu City, Malawi: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Preconception care is one of the preventive strategies in maternal and new-born health as recommended by WHO. However, in sub-Saharan Africa there is poor preconception care practices. This study examined knowledge and perceptions of preconception care among health workers and women of reproductive age group in Mzuzu City, Malawi.

Prevalence and correlates of comprehensive HIV/AIDS knowledge among adolescent girls and young women aged 15-24 years in Malawi: evidence from the 2015-16 Malawi demographic and health survey.

Background: HIV epidemic remains a major public health issue in Malawi especially among adolescent girls and young women (AGYW). Comprehensive HIV/AIDS knowledge (defined as correct knowledge of two major ways of preventing the sexual transmission of HIV and rejection of three misconceptions about HIV) is a key component of preventing new HIV infections among AGYW. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify the correlates of comprehensive HIV/AIDS knowledge among AGYW in Malawi.

The nutritional quality of cereals varies geospatially in Ethiopia and Malawi.

Micronutrient deficiencies (MNDs) remain widespread among people in sub-Saharan Africa, where access to sufficient food from plant and animal sources that is rich in micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) is limited due to socioeconomic and geographical reasons. Here we report the micronutrient composition (calcium, iron, selenium and zinc) of staple cereal grains for most of the cereal production areas in Ethiopia and Malawi. We show that there is geospatial variation in the composition of micronutrients that is nutritionally important at subnational scales.

Increasing zinc concentration in maize grown under contrasting soil types in Malawi through agronomic biofortification: Trial protocol for a field experiment to detect small effect sizes.

The prevalence of micronutrient deficiencies including zinc (Zn) is widespread in Malawi, especially among poor and marginalized rural populations. This is due to low concentrations of Zn in most staple cereal crops and limited consumption of animal source foods. The Zn concentration of cereal grain can be increased through application of Zn-enriched fertilizers; a process termed agronomic biofortification or agro-fortification.

Measurement and determinants of tuberculosis outcome in Karonga District, Malawi.

Evaluation of disease outcome is central to the assessment of tuberculosis (TB) control programmes. In the study reported in this article we examined the factors influencing the measurement of outcome, survival rates during and after treatment, smear conversion rates, and relapse rates for patients diagnosed with TB in a rural area of Malawi between 1986 and mid-1994. Patients with less certain diagnoses of TB were more likely to die than those with confirmed TB, both among those who were seropositive and those who were seronegative to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

Household and dwelling contact as risk factors for leprosy in northern Malawi.

Data on household and dwelling contact with known leprosy cases were available on more than 80,000 initially disease-free individuals followed up during the 1980s in a rural district of northern Malawi. A total of 331 new cases of leprosy were diagnosed among them. Individuals recorded as living in household or dwelling contact with multibacillary patients at the start of follow-up were at approximately five- to eightfold increased risk of leprosy, respectively, compared with individuals not living in such households or dwellings.

Polymerase chain reaction of nasal swabs from tuberculosis patients and their contacts.

Previous studies have found Mycobacterium leprae in nasal swabs from leprosy patients, their contacts, and persons living in endemic areas. It might be expected that M. tuberculosis would be present on nasal mucosa of pulmonary tuberculosis patients, but whether they can be detected in patients or contacts is unknown.

Does bacille Calmette-Guérin scar size have implications for protection against tuberculosis or leprosy?

Setting: Total population study in Karonga District, northern Malawi, in which the overall vaccine efficacy of bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) has been found to be -7% against tuberculosis and 54% against leprosy.

Objective: To examine the relationship between BCG scar size and protection against tuberculosis and leprosy.

Design: Cohort study in which 85,134 individuals were screened for tuberculosis and 82,265 for leprosy between 1979 and 1984, and followed up between 1986 and 1989.

The detection of somaclonal variants of beet using RAPD.

Plantlets were regenerated by adventitious shoot budding in tissue culture from leaf explants of a single genotype of sugar beet. DNA was extracted from the parental plant and from 120 regenerants. RAPD analysis was carried out using five decanucleotide primers; 4,557 RAPD marker bands were examined and two polymorphisms were observed.

The two-step lysis system of pneumococcal bacteriophage EJ-1 is functional in gram-negative bacteria: triggering of the major pneumococcal autolysin in Escherichia coli.

The holin function Ejh of the pneumococcal bacteriophage EJ-1 has been characterized. It shows structural features similar to, and functionally complemented, the prototype member of the holin family. In Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas putida the Ejh product caused cellular death, and changes in cell morphology could be accounted for by lesions in the cytoplasmic membrane.

Universal barrier to lateral spread of specific genes among microorganisms.

A genetic circuit to suppress the lateral spread of cloned genes from recombinant to indigenous microorganisms in the environment has been developed. It is based on the endonucleolytic activity of the bacterial toxin colicin E3, which has a distinct target at the 3' end of the 16S ribosomal RNA; this sequence is conserved in virtually all prokaryotic and many eukaryotic genera. Cleavage at this sequence separates the mRNA binding sites from the remainder of the 16S rRNA, thereby inhibiting protein synthesis.