Central West Research Articles

Spectral wave characteristics in the coastal waters of the central west coast of India during tropical cyclone Kyarr

Spectral wave characteristics in the coastal waters of the central west coast of India during tropical cyclone Kyarr

Human Resilience in the Face of Mid-Holocene Climate Change on the Central West Coast of South Africa

Abstract After the Last Glacial Maximum, important yet milder climatic trends continued to characterise the Holocene. None of them was more challenging to forager groups in the central west coast of South Africa than the mid-Holocene Altithermal (8200–4200 cal BP). Hot and dry weather and 1–3 m higher sea levels were thought once to have barred local foragers from this region because of a lack of sites dating to this period. Instead, this initial scenario reflected largely a sampling problem. Steenbokfontein Cave is one of a few sites with some of the largest mid-Holocene deposits, allowing insights into forager adaptations during this period. Results show high mobility over large distances and a terrestrial diet mostly dependant on small bovids, complemented with fewer coastal resources. Stone tool kits and lithic raw materials among various sites suggest that much evidence for mid-Holocene occupation is actually found near the local riparian systems.

HEADACHE PROFILE AND ASSOCIATED SYMPTOMS IN INTRACRANIAL TUMORS


 Intracranial tumors are rare in headache sufferers, although headache is common in intracranial tumor patients. This limits the utility of headache symptoms to make a diagnosis, and it's crucial to know whether people with intracranial tumors have specific headache criteria. Other investigations do not support the classic criteria for headache in intracranial tumors, such as progressive, worse in the morning, and exacerbated by Valsalva maneuvers. Clinical studies found that headache as the sole symptom was rare, and only occurred in 2% of patients, hence this study also investigated the prevalence of nausea/vomiting, seizures, loss of consciousness, and motor deficits. This study uses resumes of medical records of patients diagnosed with intracranial tumors and hospitalized in the Department of Neurology, dr. Hasan Sadikin Central General Hospital West Java, Indonesia. While the sampling method in this study was total sampling, by taking all medical record resumes of patients with intracranial tumors from January to December 2018. Headache was a prevalent symptom of intracranial tumors in this study, occurring in 75,3 % of the subjects and was usually accompanied by other symptoms, especially motor deficits (64,5%), loss of consciousness (60,2%), nausea and vomiting (31) 2%), and seizures (23,7%). Patients were most likely to have bilateral headaches (62,5%), and 63,6% of patients who had unilateral headaches had a unilateral intracranial tumor on the same side of the headache. Patients who experienced progressive headaches were 93,5% of patients. While, the most common headache onset in patients with intracranial tumors before hospital admission were; 3-30 days (40,4%) and > 30 days - 6 months (38,5%).
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Morphological and molecular identification of new records and new host plants of powdery mildews (Erysiphaceae) from Mexico

Powdery mildew is one of the most severe diseases affecting Cucurbitaceae. We identify the members of Erysiphaceae infecting cucurbits in three producing regions in Mexico. We determined that Golovinomyces ambrosiae (Schwein.) U. Braun & R.T.A. Cook, Neoerysiphe sechii R. Gregorio-Cipriano & D. González, and Podosphaera xanthii (Castagne) U. Braun & Shishkoff infected cultivated and wild cucurbits species or subspecies. Leaf samples showing symptoms and signs of powdery mildew were collected from the northwestern, central western, and eastern regions of Mexico between 2017 and 2020. Species associated with the disease were identified based on morphology and internal transcribed spacer rDNA sequences. All powdery mildew specimens presented only the anamorph. Podosphaera xanthii was the predominant species; it was found in 84.76% of the samples and in 13 out of 14 species or subspecies of cucurbits. Neoerysiphe sechii was found in 15.24% of the samples and in only four cucurbit species from the central western and eastern regions of Mexico. Golovinomyces ambrosiae was documented for the first time in a Cucurbitaceae species (Sicyos deppei G.Don) from central west Mexico. Three new hosts were registered for N. sechii (Cucurbita ficifolia Bouché, Echinopepon milleflorus Naudin, and Sicyos laciniatus L.) and eight for P. xanthii (Cucurbita argyrosperma C.Huber, Cucurbita argyrosperma subsp. sororia (L.H.Bailey) Merrick & D.M.Bates, C. ficifolia, Cucurbita okeechobeensis subsp. martinezii (L.H.Bailey) T.C.Andres & G.P.Nabhan ex T.W.Walte, Cucurbita radicans Naudin, Sechium edule (Jacq.) Sw., S. laciniatus, and S. deppei).

Data-Driven Forest Cover Change and Its Driving Factors Analysis in Africa

Forest cover plays an important role in sustaining ecological security to realize Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The research target area is composed of the African region which is experiencing unprecedented deforestation based on the data collection from 54 countries and regions between 2000 and 2020. Spatial autocorrelation analysis, global principal component analysis, and geographic detector model have been used as the core research tool. The temporal and spatial patterns of forest cover change in Africa and the driving effects of population growth, economic and trade, social development, arable land expansion, and other factors on forest cover change in different periods have been demonstrated. The findings are as follows: 1) extremely unequal distribution of Africa forest has caused forest area reduction in 20 years. The reduction quantity of forest has been illustrated from strong to weak: Central Africa (strongest), East Africa (higher strong), West Africa (medium), South Africa (higher weak), and North Africa (weakest). However, the forest reduction area in West Africa with the original ratio is the most significant. More than 80% of the forest area reduction in Africa has occurred in 14 countries, just five national forest areas to achieve the net growth, but the increase amount was only 1% of loss amount. 2) The spatial pattern of forest cover change in Africa contracted and clustered gradually, especially after 2012. Algeria was the hotspot cluster of Morocco and Tunisia, forming the increase area of forest cover in North Africa. Zambia, the coldest point, gathers Angola significantly, while the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania form a significantly reduced forest cover area. 3) Total population, land area, cultivated land, urban population, consumer price index, and birth rate are the main factors influencing the temporal evolution of forest cover change in Africa. It can be divided into four stages to interpret the different explanations and significance of each factor for forest cover change in the study area.

Seasonal variations in the water quality and antibiotic resistance of microbial pollution indicators in the Mandovi and Zuari estuaries, Goa, India.

The two adjacent estuaries of the rivers Mandovi and Zuari, along the Goa coast in the central west coast of India, are a large complex aquatic system hosting diverse natural habitats. The water quality in these habitats is affected by various anthropogenic activities as they are extensively used for transportation, fisheries and various recreational activities. In the present study, changes in the water quality and levels of microbial pollution during the pre-monsoon, monsoon and post-monsoon seasons were determined. The water quality index was estimated based on the parameters: temperature, salinity, pH, dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen demand and nutrients. The seasonal changes in the microbial pollution load were also assessed based on the abundance of pollution indicator organisms and their resistivity towards multiple antibiotics. Results show that the water quality index status was 'poor' in the pre-monsoon and post-monsoon seasons and it was 'good' only in the monsoon period. Levels of pollution indicator organisms determined show that the counts were the highest in the pre-monsoon season, which reduced in the monsoon and further declined during the post-monsoon season. However, the estimated multiple antibiotic resistance (MAR) index suggests that bacterial isolates in monsoonal water and sediment samples have maximum resistance towards antibiotics. This shows that, though the basic water quality improved during the monsoon, possibly due to substantial dilution, the increased terrestrial inputs brought harmful pathogens into these estuarine waters, which may be of potential health risk. Understanding the ecological status of the estuarine habitats is important for successful environmental management and sustainable development.

Status of pharmaceuticals in the Korle Lagoon and their toxicity to non-target organisms.

The availability of pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs) in surface waters and suspended solids/sediments presents an ecological hazard of chronic exposure to non-target organisms. Thus, water and sediment samples were collected from the Korle Lagoon in the west of Accra-Ghana city center to evaluate 35 medicinal drugs belonging to the main therapeutic classes and their toxicity to non-target organisms (i.e., fish, daphnid, and algae). High-performance liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) was employed to analyze the levels of PhACs in the samples. PhACs levels in water samples were higher compared to PhACs levels in sediment samples. Acetaminophen, ibuprofen, tramadol, and Diclofenac were the PhACs that showed a higher frequency of detections and higher average concentrations. Diazepam, mefenamic acid, indomethacin, gemfibrozil, and glibenclamide exhibited a higher frequency of detections, but their average concentrations in both sample types were lower. The calculated risk index values for acetaminophen and ibuprofen suggested low ecological risks to fish, while tramadol showed medium to high ecological risks to daphnid. In contrast, acetaminophen and fenofibrate showed low ecological risks to daphnid. Additionally, the risk index values for fenofibrate suggested medium to high ecological risks to algae, while tramadol exhibited low ecological risks to algae. The other PhACs showed negligible ecological risks to non-target organisms. The calculated toxic unit values for each sampled site suggested a medium adverse ecological risk to non-target organisms. Based on the results obtained, the availability of PhACs in the studied area will have adverse effects on studied non-target organisms. The negative impacts of PhACs on non-target organisms may cause an imbalance in the food chain process, leading to a decrease in fish production and a reduction in fish quality. The result of this study is evidence of public health threat because the accumulation of PhACs in fish species may also cause some kinds of hormonal, chemical, and molecular changes within the various systems of the fishes to be toxic or unpleasant for humans' consumption.

Four-Year Field Survey of Black Band Disease and Skeletal Growth Anomalies in Encrusting Montipora spp. Corals around Sesoko Island, Okinawa

The Indo-Pacific zooxanthellate scleractinian coral genus Montipora is the host of many coral diseases. Among these are cyanobacterial Black Band Disease (BBD) and Skeletal Growth Anomalies (GAs), but in general data on both diseases are lacking from many regions of the Indo-Pacific, including from Okinawa, southern Japan. In this study, we collected annual prevalence data of Black Band Disease (BBD) and Skeletal Growth Anomalies (GAs) affecting the encrusting form of genus Montipora within the shallow reefs of the subtropical Sesoko Island (off the central west coast of Okinawajima Island) from summer to autumn for four years (2017 to 2020). In 2020 Montipora percent coverage and colony count were also assessed. Generalized Linear Models (GLM) were used to understand the spatial and temporal variation of both BBD and GAs in the nearshore (NE) and reef edge (RE) sites, which revealed higher probability of BBD occurrence in RE sites. BBD prevalence was significantly higher in 2017 in some sites than all other years with site S12 having significant higher probability during all four surveyed years. In terms of GAs, certain sites in 2020 had higher probability of occurrence than during the other years. While the general trend of GAs increased from 2017 to 2020, it was observed to be non-fatal to colonies. In both diseases, the interaction between sites and years was significant. We also observed certain BBD-infected colonies escaping complete mortality. BBD progression rates were monitored in 2020 at site S4, and progression was related to seawater temperatures and was suppressed during periods of heavy rain and large strong typhoons. Our results suggest that higher BBD progression rates are linked with high sea water temperatures (SST > bleaching threshold SST) and higher light levels (>1400 µmol m−2 s−1), indicating the need for further controlled laboratory experiments. The current research will help form the basis for continued future research into these diseases and their causes in Okinawa and the Indo-Pacific Ocean.

Diversité des Arthropodes de sous-bois des forêts sèches de Madagascar

Diversity of understory arthropods in the dry forests of Madagascar. The arthropods of Madagascar are among the most poorly known animal groups on the island. The principal objective of this study was to determine the diversity of this group at three different localities in lowland dry forests of western Madagascar. The three sites, all inventoried during the dry season in 2017, include: the Ankarafantsika National Park (16°18’S, annual rainfall: 867 mm) in the northwest; the forest of the Centre National de Formation, d’Études et de Recherches en Environnement et Forestier (CNFEREF) at Kirindy (20°04’S, annual rainfall: 555 mm) in the central west; and the Tsimanampesotse National Park (24°01’S, annual rainfall: 334 mm) in the extreme southwest. Malaise and pit-fall traps were used to capture arthropods and 24 orders belonging to 133 families were identified. The community at Ankarafantsika was the most diverse with 19 orders and 89 families with a more balanced taxonomic representation, while Tsimanampesotse had 18 orders and 69 families and Kirindy CNFEREF had 17 orders and 70 families. Calculated similarity between the different sites at the family level was relatively high, while that at the order level relatively low even given a certain level of homogeneity was noted between the three localities. The composition of arthropods in the dry forests of Madagascar varies according to local conditions, which include bioclimatic factors, and the characteristics of the vegetation at the three localities.

Premature mortality due to four main non-communicable diseases and suicide in Brazil and its states from 1990 to 2019: A Global Burden of Disease Study.

INTRODUCTION: The goal of reducing the burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) requires close monitoring. Our objective is to characterize the decline of premature NCD mortality in Brazil based on Global Burden of Diseases (GBD) Study 2019 estimates. METHODS: We used GBD 2019 data to estimate death rates of the four main NCDs - cardiovascular diseases, neoplasms, diabetes, and chronic respiratory diseases. We estimated the unconditional probability of death between ages 30 to 69, as recommended by the World Health Organization, as well as premature crude- and age-standardized death rates and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) lost for these conditions. We also estimated trends in suicide (self-harm) death rates. RESULTS: From 2010 to 2019, the age-standardized unconditional probability of premature death declined -1.4%/year (UI: -1.7%;-1.0%) . Age-standardized death rates declined -1.5%/year (UI: -1.9%; -1.2%), and crude death rates -0.6%/year (UI: (-1.0%; -0.2%). Level of development correlated strongly with the rate of decline, with greatest declines occurring in the Southeast, Center West and South regions. Age-standardized mortality from self-harm declined, most notably in the elderly. CONCLUSIONS: Premature mortality due to the main NCDs has declined from 1990 in Brazil, although at a diminishing rate over time. The unconditional probability of death and the age-standardized mortality rate produced similar estimates of decline for the four main NCDs, and mirror well decline in mortality from all NCDs. Declines, especially more recent ones, fall short of the international goals. Strategic public health actions are needed. The challenge to implement them will be great, considering the political and economic instability currently faced by Brazil.

Раннескифский комплекс могильника Мамай-Гора в Нижнем Поднепровье

The paper is the first publication and analysis of the materials obtained in the study of the Early Scythian barrow 377 of the Mamai-Gora cemetery in the Lower Dnieper region. Two burials were found under the mound. One of them (no. 2) was looted. Only a bronze arrowhead was found. A Greek amphora, a gold earring, bone and bronze arrowheads, bone cheekpieces, an iron axe, akinakes, a whetstone, an iron knife with an antler handle and an iron awl, and other items were found in the other burial (no. 1). The dating of the mound is determined by the turn of the 7th—6th — the first half of the 6th century BC. This mound testifies that the first Scythians at the Mamai-Gora site performed their funerary rituals to the west of the Bronze Age mound center. The next wave of Scythians began to develop this territory only from the beginning of the 5th century BC and forms a huge space in the Scythian cemetery Mamay-Gora.

Free Papers Compiled

Background:To study the variations of the effect of risk factors for suicidal ideation (SI) and suicide attempt (SA) by geographical regions among commercially insured youth and young adults in the US.Methods:A national level retrospective cohort study was conducted using health insurance claims data from four major insurance companies in the US. The cohort was defined as patients having a mental health (MH) or substance use disorder related outpatient encounter (index event). We used survival analysis to evaluate the geographical variation of the effect of risk factors on patients’ future SI and SA after the index event. Risk factors considered in the models consist of a mix of long-, mid-, and short-term prior comorbidities (i.e., depression, drug abuse) and/or prescriptions (i.e., Benzodiazepine, antidepressant) that are identified as important factors for predicting SA by Simon et al. 2018. Patients’ geographical regions were assigned to one of the nine divisions defined by the US Census Bureau: East North Central (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin), East South Central (Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee), Mid-Atlantic (New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania), Mountain (Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming), New England (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont), Pacific (Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington), South Atlantic (Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, District of Columbia, and West Virginia), West North Central (Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota), and West South Central (Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas). Patients were censored if they did not have an SI or SA diagnosis before 9/30/2015 (ICD-9 to ICD-10 switch date) or the last day of the insurance plan enrollment, whichever came first.Results:Between 2014-2015, we identified 317,383 commercially insured patients with mental health coverage of age <65 years old with an index encounter. The prevalence of SI was the highest in the Mountain region (6.98%; N=1657) and the lowest in the East South-Central region (3.56%; N=608). The prevalence of SA was the highest in the Mountain region (1.89%; N=448) and the lowest in the Mid-Atlantic region (0.87%; N=398). Results of Cox proportional hazards models showed significant geographic variations of the effect of risk factors on both SI and SA (p<0.001 for both SI and SA).For SI, there was regional variation of effects of rurality, alcohol use disorder diagnosis in the past 3 years, eating disorder diagnosis in the past 3 years, anxiety disorder diagnosis in the past 3 years, and MH inpatient stay in the past year. For individuals from the Mountain and West South-Central regions, living in rural areas was a protective factor of having SI (HRs=0.72 and 0.66, respectively). For individuals from the Mid-Atlantic and Mountain regions, having an eating disorder diagnosis in the past 3 years was a protective factor of having SI (HRs=0.70 and 0.74, respectively). Having anxiety disorder diagnosis in the past 3 years was positively associated with having SI, except for patients in East South Central and North West Central regions.For SA, there was regional variation of effects of age and having SA in the past year. In general, younger patients were more likely to have SA as compared to older patients. The effects of SA in the past year on future SA varied by geographical region, however none of them were statistically significant.Discussion:Among commercially insured patients in the US, residents of the Mountain region had the highest prevalence of both SI and SA. The effects of important risk factors on SI and SA varied by geographical region.

Spatial downscaling method and application of CMIP5 global climate models based on improved U-Net in Lake Poyang Basin

利用降尺度方法对CMIP5全球气候模式进行空间降尺度并以此研究鄱阳湖流域未来气候时空变化趋势，能够为流域生态环境保护提供数据、技术和理论上的支持.通过简化原始网络结构，在网络首部添加插值层，采用反卷积算法作为上采样算法对传统U-Net网络进行改进，建立基于深度学习的气候模式空间降尺度模型（DLDM）.以1965-2005年鄱阳湖流域共18个气象站点的实测数据为基准，基于IPSL-CM5A-LR和BCC-CSM1.1两个气候模式，在拟合精度和流域极端气候事件模拟能力两方面对比验证了降尺度方法和降尺度后气候模式的模拟性能，结果表明基于DLDM的方法优于基于线性回归的传统统计降尺度方法，IPSL-CM5A-LR模式模拟效果优于BCC-CSM1.1模式.利用DLDM对RCP2.6和RCP8.5两个排放情景下的IPSL-CM5A-LR模式数据进行空间降尺度，基于2006-2100年流域高空间分辨率气候数据分析两情景下流域未来气候的时空变化特征，结果表明流域未来气温在两情景下均持续升高，表现出位于流域中北部、西部、东部和南部4个高温中心，RCP8.5情景下流域气温更高，升温趋势和局部周期变化更加明显；流域未来降水在两情景下先增加后减少，变化趋势较为平缓，表现出北部、中东部和南部3个降水中心，在未来呈现五次枯-丰交替，RCP8.5情景下流域降水更少且变化更为剧烈，在2075年左右出现突变并存在周期性振荡.;Predicting spatiotemporal trend of the future climate in Lake Poyang Basin using CMIP5 global climate models downscaled by downscaling methods can provide data, technology, and theoretical support for the ecological and environmental protection of the basin. In current research area downscaling methods mainly include dynamic downscaling method and statistical downscaling method, among which statistical downscaling method based on linear regression is widely used thus defective in modeling non-linear relationships. In order to build up a better downscaling model, the deep learning ased spatial downscaling method (DLDM) which is more efficient in learning climate data features is established by simplifing the original network structure of U-Net, adding an interpolation layer at the head of the network, and using the deconvolution algorithm as upsampling algorithm. Then based on climate models as IPSL-CM5A-LR and BCC-CSM1.1, simulating ability of downscaled climate model is verified by making contrastive analysis to observed data from 18 meteorological stations in Lake Poyang Basin from 1965 to 2005 on fitting precision and ability to simulate extreme weather events. The results show that DLDM has higher fitting accuracy over the linear regression based statistical downscaling method and IPSL-CM5A-LR has higher fitting accuracy over BCC-CSM1.1. Based on high spatial resolution data of IPSL-CM5A-LR downscaled by DLDM from 2006 to 2100, the spatiotemporal trend of future climate in Lake Poyang Basin under RCP2.6 and RCP8.5 emissions scenarios is studied through M-K analysis and wavelet transform. The results show that the future temperature of the basin will continue to increase under the two scenarios, showing four high temperature centers located in the central north, west, east, and south of the basin. Under the RCP8.5 scenario, the temperature of the basin will be higher, and the warming trend and local cycle change will be more obvious. The future precipitation in the basin will increase first and then decrease under the two scenarios, and the changing trend is relatively gentle, showing three precipitation centers in the north, the central east, and the south of the basin. In the future, there will be drought-wet alternation for five times. Under the RCP8.5 scenario, the precipitation in the basin will be less and the change will be more intense, and there will be a sudden change and periodic oscillation at around 2075.

Spatiotemporal Investigation of Near-Surface CO2 and Its Affecting Factors Over Asia

In this work, we extracted the near-surface CO2 concentration from the Greenhous gases Observing SATellite (GOSAT) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) CarbonTracker model datasets for a temporal period of 8 years from 2010 to 2017 to study the spatiotemporal distribution of near-surface CO2 and the factors affecting it over five regions of Asia including Central Asia, East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and West Asia. The near-surface CO2 datasets from both satellite and model were first validated against the ground-based CO2 observations obtained from the World Data Center for Greenhouse Gases (WDCGG) stations located in Asia to confirm their applicability and the results showed a good agreement between the datasets with significant correlations. The results from the time-series analyses showed a gradual increase in the near-surface CO2 with significant monthly and seasonal variations over all the regions. To study the factors affecting the spatial distribution of near-surface CO2, we investigated the relationship of near-surface CO2 with the anthropogenic CO2 emissions, terrestrial ecosystem, and winds. The results showed that over Asia, the anthropogenic CO2 emissions and winds primarily controlled the spatial distribution of near-surface CO2. However, in the areas where anthropogenic emissions were lower, the terrestrial ecosystem and winds affected the near- surface CO2 distribution. To study the factors controlling the temporal distribution of near-surface CO2, the relationship of near-surface CO2 with vegetation, precipitation, and relative humidity was investigated. The results showed an inverse relationship between near-surface CO2 and NDVI, precipitation, and relative humidity over monsoon-influenced regions, i.e., East Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. However, a positive relation of near-surface CO2 was observed with precipitation and relative humidity over arid and semi-arid regions, i.e., Central Asia and West Asia. The results were also verified by determining the correlations among these variables.

Chemical Characteristics and Trends of Indian Summer Monsoon Rainfall: A Review

The Indian summer monsoon (ISM) regulates the pace of life for billions of people in the Indian subcontinent by driving the agriculture and Gross Domestic Product of the region. The chemical composition of ISM is influenced by pollutant type, meteorology, and topography. As a result, the chemical makeup of rainwater varies greatly across places. The current review article highlights the variations and trends of the principal chemical constituents of rainwater (Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, NH4+, NO3–, SO42– and Cl–) across six homogeneous Indian monsoon regions: Central Northeast, Hilly, Northwest, Northeast, Peninsular and West Central region. Average rainwater pH ranged from 5.31 to 6.70 in these six regions. The incidence of acidic rain events at three separate locations in the Peninsular region suggests a significant impact of anthropogenic emissions. The chemical composition of rainwater in all these regions varied considerably and seemed to form a regional pattern. The majority of the ions in rainwater were highest in the Northwest while lowest in the Peninsular region. Cl– had a significant correlation with Na+ and NH4+ in the Hilly region, and with Na+ and Mg2+ in the West Central region suggesting it is sourced from both marine and anthropogenic sources. The soil Enrichment Factor relative to Ca2+ demonstrated that soil has a significant effect on rainwater composition. Ca2+ was determined to be the most abundant neutralizing ion in all the regions. Furthermore, the synthesis of rainwater chemistry reveals a strong relationship with dominant interannual climate variability El Niño Southern Oscillation with significantly higher concentrations of Na+, K+, Ca2+, Cl– and SO4– in rainwater during El Niño year compared to La Niña year.

Suhayla Dhanji Merali

Suhayla Dhanji was nominated for embedding a role for pharmacy in a service that previously didn’t have one, and for championing better care for vulnerable patients. As an advanced specialist pharmacist for perinatal services across five boroughs in Central and North West London, Dhanji provides care and organises multiple outreach programmes to destigmatise mental health […]

Two new remarkable Dendropanax (Araliaceae) from Costa Rica

Two new species of Dendropanax (Araliaceae) endemic to Costa Rica are described. Dendropanax aberrans J.F. Morales resembles D. grandiflorus but differs by the inflorescence structure (panicle of umbels vs. single umbel), and the smaller sizes of both the hypanthium and the petals. Dendropanax zarratu J.F. Morales is unique among Central America and West Indian taxa. It is recognized by its panicle of umbels, with the peduncles agglomerate, flowers 8-9-merous, hypanthium 7-8 mm long, and fruits 1.2-1.4 cm long. Illustrations of the new species and a key to the four Dendropanax having elongated hypanthia (≥ 4 mm long) in Mexico, Central America, the West Indies, and Colombia are provided.

Impact of Community Development Programmes on Leadership Capacity Building of Community Leaders in Bayelsa State, Nigeria

This Study examined Community Development Programmes and Leadership Capacity Building of Community Leaders in Bayelsa State of Nigeria. The study adopted a descriptive survey design. The population of the study comprises the 1,294 Paramount Rulers and Community Development Committee (CDC) Chairmen in the state. The simple random sampling technique was applied to select 200 respondents from each of the senatorial districts that make up Bayelsa State (Bayelsa Central, Bayelsa East and Bayelsa West) to realize a sample size of 600. The instrument used for data collection was a questionnaire. The reliability coefficient index of the instrument was 0.85. Three research questions were posed. They were analyzed using frequencies and weighted mean. The findings revealed amongst others that: cultural education programmes, environment/sanitation education programmes and peace/conflict resolution education programmes build the capacity of Community Leaders on cultural values for peaceful coexistence amongst others. Based on the findings, the Researcher recommended amongst others that: Paramount Rulers and Community Development Committee (CDC) Chairmen should recommend to the state government on adding peace education to the primary and secondary school curriculum as this would bring lasting peace to the various local government areas of Bayelsa State and Nigeria at large.

The Effects of an mRNA Covid-19 Vaccine Booster on Immune Responses in Cancer-Bearing Veterans.

Immunocompromised cancer patients are at significant risk of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. A method to identify those patients at highest risk is needed so that prophylactic measures may be employed. Serum antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 spike protein are important markers of protection against COVID-19 disease. We evaluated total and neutralizing antibody levels pre and post third booster vaccine and compared responses among different cancer-bearing and healthy veterans. This as a prospective, single site, comparative cohort observational trial. The setting was the West Palm Beach VA Medical Center cancer center. All veterans received a third SARS-CoV-2 mRNA booster. The main outcomes were anti-SARS-CoV-2 spike IgG and neutralizing antibodies to wild-type, and B.1.617, BA1, BA2, and BA4/5 variants were measured. Disease type and therapy, COVID-19 infection, and anti-CD20 antibody treatments were documented. The third mRNA vaccine booster increased the mean blood anti-spike IgG five-fold. The second anti-spike level was equal or greater than the first in 129/140 veterans. All the groups except the myeloma group, had post-booster antibody levels significantly higher than pre-booster with 4-fold, 12-fold, 4-fold, 6-fold and 3.5-fold increases for the control, solid tumor, CLL, B cell lymphoma and all B cell malignancy cohorts. The myeloma set showed only a non-significant 1.7-fold increase. Recently anti-CD20 antibody-treated patients were shown to have approximately 200-fold less anti-S IgG production after vaccine booster than other patients. There was a 2.5-fold enhancement of wild-type virus mean neutralizing antibodies after a third mRNA booster and mean neutralization of Delta and Omicron variants increased 2.2, 6.5, 7.7, and 6.2-fold versus pre-boost levels. B cell malignancies failed to show increased post-booster neutralization. The third SARS CoV-2 booster increased total anti-spike IgG and neutralizing antibodies for most subjects. Veterans with B cell malignancies particularly myeloma and those receiving anti-CD20 monoclonal antibodies had the weakest humoral responses. Neutralizing antibody responses to Omicron variants were less than for wild-type virus. A subset of patients without humoral immunity post-booster should be considered for prophylactic antibody or close monitoring.

Contribution of the Advanced Research Laboratories at the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) to SARS-CoV-2 Testing in Ghana

In March 2020, the first cases of SARS-CoV-2 were reported in Accra, Ghana. These initial cases were diagnosed at the Advanced Research Laboratories (ARL) of the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR), University of Ghana. The ARL which hitherto was used for routine clinical research in viral, bacteria and immunological studies has since been the facility of choice for testing for all suspected cases of COVID-19 submitted from across Ghana and beyond. The success of testing at the ARL hinged on the availability of several laboratory spaces furnished with state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment and working aids. During the “peak season” where overwhelming numbers of clinical specimens were received, the ARL processed and got results for close to four thousand samples daily. After general disinfection and re-bagging into smaller numbers, at the entrance of the ARL, the samples are taken to a central receiving laboratory, where they are received and entered in a database with accompanying case investigation forms. All samples that are successfully sorted and matched are sent to general laboratories for nucleic acid extraction and then referred to the Instrumentation laboratory for real time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). When the RT-PCRs were completed, results were analysed and transmitted via email and/or local network to the data reporting office. The data managers then reported results to the investigators and the Ghana Health Service (GHS). Additionally, the ARL provided a next-generation Genome Sequencing platform in partnership with the West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens at the University of Ghana, which was essential in reporting the genome data of the circulating variants of SARS-CoV-2 in Ghana. Conclusively, it is worth noting, that the NMIMR fulfilled its mandate of supporting the country with specialized diagnostics through the judicious use of the ARL for SARS-CoV-2 testing, from sample receipt to data reporting. The ARL facility and the research faculty have trained and continue to train budding laboratories on biosafety, biosecurity, best practices and testing protocols. It is obvious that the success story of SARS-CoV-2 testing in Ghana, cannot be complete without the mention of the ARL at NMIMR.