RESUMO
Malnutrition is one of the global issues of public health concern, and iron and zinc deficiencies are at the top of the list. Iron deficiency affects more than 2 billion people in the world and is a major cause of anemia. Potato has the potential to be an important source of iron and zinc. This study assessed the nature and magnitude of genetic variability in Fe and Zn concentrations, tuber yield, and quality traits among biofortified tetraploid potato clones and their relationships through correlation and path analysis. A total of 45 potato genotypes, including the variety Gudanie, were grown in field trials in a 9 × 5 alpha lattice design with three replications. Significant differences in mineral, tuber quality, and yield traits were observed among the genotypes, and high broad-sense heritability was obtained for most traits, suggesting that progress through breeding can be achieved. However, negative correlations and direct effects on most of the traits with Fe and Zn contents are found both at genotypic and phenotypic levels. Therefore, attaining simultaneous genetic gain for yield and enhanced Fe and Zn concentrations will be challenging. Cluster analysis assembled them into five groups. Cluster II contained the most prominent genotypes, having better mean values compared to all other genotypes for micronutrient traits, viz., Fe (23.80 mg kg-1) and Zn (17.07 mg kg-1). The results of this study confirm the presence of sufficient genetic variation for iron and zinc mineral concentration and the possibility to make significant progress through breeding.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND: The rapid growth of urban populations has led to a dramatic increase in urban waste generation with environmental and public health problems associated with water contamination, emission of toxic and noxious fumes, soil contamination and introduction of disease vector populations. OBJECTIVES: The aim of the present study was to assess solid waste disposal practices and challenges of solid waste management in Woldia town, northeastern Ethiopia. METHODS: A descriptive research design was employed, using a survey method and naturalistic observational methods. A total of 236 households were surveyed, including waste collectors and cleaners, waste pickers, and 20 students and ten teachers from Woldia secondary and preparatory schools. A purposive sampling technique (made up of municipal officers, scavengers (waste pickers), waste collectors and cleaners and a simple random sampling technique (of teachers, students and kebeles of the study area) was employed, then proportional allocation was made for each randomly selected kebeles based on population size to determine the sample. Finally, survey questionnaire, interview, focus group discussion and observation were used as data collecting tools. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were also employed. RESULTS: The current study revealed that educational status (AOR = 10.92, 95% CI = (3.12-38.27)), occupational status (AOR = 8.08, 95% CI = (2.08-31.31)), monthly income (AOR = 5.72, 95% CI = (1.55-21.13)), and age (AOR = 2.53, 95% CI = (1.04-6.19)) were found to be the major factors associated with solid waste management practices. Additionally, shortage of storage materials, lack of alternative waste disposal options, household attitudes, and lack of awareness were the major challenges for low performance of solid waste management practices of the local government and households. The focus group individuals and interviewed participants indicated that solid waste management practices were poor. CONCLUSIONS: The present study revealed that solid waste management practices in Woldia town remain inadequate. Therefore, efforts by the municipality and other stakeholders are needed to mitigate the problem of waste management and disposal practices. PARTICIPANT CONSENT: Obtained. ETHICS APPROVAL: The study was approved by the Institutional Research Ethics Review committee (IRERC) of Woldia University. COMPETING INTERESTS: The authors declare no competing financial interests.
RESUMO
CONTEXT: Many inflammatory cytokines are also elevated in degenerated or herniated intervertebral discs. Among biomarkers, interleukin-6 (IL-6) plays an essential role in the inflammatory process of disc herniation. Some studies have suggested that an increase in serum IL-6 levels occurs in sustained radicular pain. AIMS: The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between changes in IL-6 serum level and pain and disability index in patients with radicular pain in acute herniated lumbar disc before and after lumbar disc surgery. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: This is a descriptive-analytic prospective study to examine the association between IL-6 serum levels on pain and disability before and after the surgery in patients admitted with acute herniated lumbar intervertebral discs from 2015 to 2018 in Imam Khomeini Hospital, Sari, Mazandaran, Iran. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The blood level of IL-6, the severity of pain based on visual analog score, and disability based on the Oswestry disability index were measured before and 3 months after surgery. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: All data were analyzed using SPSS version 24. RESULTS: Thirty-two patients were enrolled in the study. Seventeen patients were male. The mean age was 39.53 ± 8.89 years. IL-6 concentration, 4.36 and 1.16 pg/ml were determined as cutoff before and after the surgery. CONCLUSIONS: The acceptable sensitivity and specificity of IL were obtained in this study. Our findings revealed that IL-6 could be used as a biomarker for predicting postoperative pain relief and disability improvement.