The role of the biochemical composition of soybean seeds in the tolerance to deterioration under natural and artificial aging.

The fast decline in the physiological quality of seeds during storage is a serious problem. It is known that the reduction of seed quality may be related to its biochemical constitution. However, the relationship between the composition and the mechanisms linked to the loss of vigor of soybean seeds during aging has not been elucidated yet. Thus, the aim of this work was to analyze the role of the biochemical composition of soybean seeds in the physiological quality and in the tolerance to deterioration due to natural and artificial aging. Seeds of six soybean genotypes were analyzed initially and after being submitted to natural aging, storage for eight months, and artificial aging, using the temperature of 41 °C and 100 % relative humidity for 96 h. Moisture content, germination and vigor tests were carried out. Also, there were measured the content of oil, total protein, soluble protein, malonaldehyde, and fatty acids palmitic, stearic, oleic, linoleic, and linolenic. It was verified that the physiological quality of soybean seeds decreased with both kinds of aging. However, the deterioration process occurs by distinct mechanisms. The biochemical composition of the seeds is associated with the physiological quality and their storage potential is changed by natural and artificial aging. The tolerance of the seed to deterioration is related to soluble protein and fatty acids content. Oleic fatty acid and soluble protein can be used as indicators of physiological quality in soybean seeds.

Results From a Multimethod Exploratory Scale Development Process to Measure Authoritarian Provider Attitudes in Democratic Republic of Congo and Togo.

BACKGROUND: Health care providers' actions can significantly influence clients' experiences of care, adherence to recommendations, and likelihood of re-engaging with health services. There are currently no validated scales that measure provider attitudes that could affect service delivery in multiple health areas. METHODS: We developed provider attitude measures in 3 phases. In phase 1 (2019), survey items were developed based on literature reviews, and quantitative items were tested through a health facility survey conducted in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Health care providers (N=1,143) completed a 23-question survey focused on 3 subdomains: provider perceptions of clients, provider roles, and gender roles. In phase 2 (2021), cognitive interviews were administered to 17 health care providers in DRC to assess and improve respondents' understanding and interpretation of questionnaire items and response options. In phase 3 (2021), 52 family planning providers were sampled from urban health facilities in Togo to retest and validate the improved measures. RESULTS: Phase 1 showed the provider attitude items had low scale reliability, and 8 survey items had low variability. In phase 2, results from the cognitive interviews of the 21 items retained from phase 1 found 16 questions were not well understood or had low response variability and thus modified, and 4 survey items were added to test different iterations of specific survey items. In phase 3, exploratory factor analysis resulted in 1 provider attitude scale of 14 items reflecting authoritarian attitudes related to the 3 initial subdomains. CONCLUSION: This research highlights the importance of iteration and testing during scale development, implementable even across geographic locations. Provider behavior change programming should consider how authoritarian provider attitudes pertaining to professional roles, their clients, and gender norms may interact and influence the quality of health services provided.

Methods and Measures to Assess Health Care Provider Behavior and Behavioral Determinants in Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health: A Rapid Review.

BACKGROUND: Health care provider behavior is the outcome of a complex set of factors that are both internal and external to the provider. Social and behavior change (SBC) programs are increasingly engaging providers and introducing strategies to improve their service delivery. However, there is limited understanding of methods and measures applied to assess provider behavioral outcomes and strengthen provider behavior change programming. METHODS: Using PubMed, we conducted a rapid review of published research on behaviors of health workers providing reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health services in low- and middle-income countries (2010-2021). Information on study identifiers (e.g., type of provider), select domains from Green and Kreuter's PRECEDE-PROCEED framework (e.g., predisposing factors such as attitudes), study characteristics (e.g., study type and design), and evidence of theory-driven research were extracted from a final sample of articles (N=89) and summarized. RESULTS: More than 80% of articles were descriptive/formative and examined knowledge, attitudes, and practice, mostly related to family planning. Among the few evaluation studies, training-focused interventions to increase provider knowledge or improve competency in providing a health service were dominant. Research driven by behavioral theory was observed in only 3 studies. Most articles (75%) focused on the quality of client-provider interaction, though topics and modes of measurement varied widely. Very few studies incorporated a validated scale to measure underlying constructs, such as attitudes and beliefs, and how these may be associated with provider behaviors. CONCLUSION: A need exists for (1) theory-driven approaches to designing and measuring provider behavior change interventions and (2) measurement that addresses important internal and structural factors related to a provider's behavior (beyond knowledge-enhancing training approaches). Additional investment in implementation research is also needed to better understand which SBC approaches are shifting provider behavior and improving client-provider interactions. Finally, theory-driven approaches could help develop empirically measurable and comparable outcomes.

"Like a broom tied together": A qualitative exploration of social cohesion and its role in community capacity strengthening to support integrated health in Nigeria.

Social cohesion, broadly understood as the degree of connectedness, solidarity, and trust across various community groups and between individuals, is critical for community capacity. This paper examines social cohesion and its role in community capacity strengthening for sustaining integrated health gains in Nigeria. This study took place in the context of a mid-course qualitative evaluation of a Community Capacity Strengthening approach that focuses on engaging Ward Development Committees (WDC) to increase community agency, coordinate and support the ward-level health ecosystem and ensure sustained community-level activities supporting behaviour change for improved health outcomes. This qualitative study was conducted in four selected wards per state in Bauchi and Sokoto states, targeting WDC members, Village Development Committee members, Community Volunteers, local government officials, traditional leaders, and Community Capacity Strengthening project staff. Thematic content analysis findings show that recognition and legitimacy were operationalized through the election of members into committees which in turn gave them a sense of identity and credibility. At the community level, WDCs leveraged the influence of social networks in the community to achieve their goal. Trust was also identified as a prerequisite to the acceptance and accomplishment of social and behaviour change programming. At the institutional level, our findings revealed strong conflict management skills and high collective efficacy of committee members for programme implementation. This study found high cohesion among committee members, promoting a sense of belonging and agency, and facilitating social and behavior change activities for improved health outcomes. However, we found clear limits to the extent to which high social cohesion can contribute to community capacity to sustain health implementation and improvements. While cohesive community organizations present a good opportunity for health programmes, there is a need for more investment of resources to address funding, logistics, and service delivery limitations.

Gender-Based Violence Narratives in Internet-Based Conversations in Nigeria: Social Listening Study.

BACKGROUND: Overcoming gender inequities is a global priority recognized as essential for improved health and human development. Gender-based violence (GBV) is an extreme manifestation of gender inequities enacted in real-world and internet-based environments. In Nigeria, GBV has come to the forefront of attention since 2020, when a state of emergency was declared due to increased reporting of sexual violence. Understanding GBV-related social narratives is important to design public health interventions. OBJECTIVE: We explore how gender-related internet-based conversations in Nigeria specifically related to sexual consent (actively agreeing to sexual behavior), lack of consent, and slut-shaming (stigmatization in the form of insults based on actual or perceived sexuality and behaviors) manifest themselves and whether they changed between 2017 and 2022. Additionally, we explore what role events or social movements have in shaping gender-related narratives in Nigeria. METHODS: Social listening was carried out on 12,031 social media posts (Twitter, Facebook, forums, and blogs) and almost 2 million public searches (Google and Yahoo search engines) between April 2017 and May 2022. The data were analyzed using natural language processing to determine the most salient conversation thematic clusters, qualitatively analyze time trends in discourse, and compare data against selected key events. RESULTS: Between 2017 and 2022, internet-based conversation about sexual consent increased 72,633%, from an average 3 to 2182 posts per month, while slut-shaming conversation (perpetrating or condemning) shrunk by 9%, from an average 3560 to 3253 posts per month. Thematic analysis shows conversation revolves around the objectification of women, poor comprehension of elements of sexual consent, and advocacy for public education about sexual consent. Additionally, posters created space for sexual empowerment and expressions of sex positivity, pushing back against others who weaponize posts in support of slut-shaming narrative. Time trend analysis shows a greater sense of empowerment in advocating for education around the legal age of consent for sexual activity, calling out double standards, and rejecting slut-shaming. However, analysis of emotions in social media posts shows anger was most prominent in sexual consent (n=1213, 73%) and slut-shaming (n=226, 64%) posts. Organic social movements and key events (#ArewaMeToo and #ChurchToo, the #SexforGrades scandal, and the #BBNaija television program) played a notable role in sparking discourse related to sexual consent and slut-shaming. CONCLUSIONS: Social media narratives are significantly impacted by popular culture events, mass media programs, social movements, and micro influencers speaking out against GBV. Hashtags, media clips, and other content can be leveraged effectively to spread awareness and spark conversation around evolving gender norms. Public health practitioners and other stakeholders including policymakers, researchers, and social advocates should be prepared to capitalize on social media events and discourse to help shape the conversation in support of a normative environment that rejects GBV in all its forms.

Evaluating a youth-designed sexual and reproductive health mass and social media campaign in Côte d'Ivoire: triangulation of three independent evaluations.

Merci Mon Héros (MMH) is a youth-designed multi-media campaign seeking to improve sexual and reproductive health and family planning (SRH/FP) outcomes among youth living in nine francophone countries. A mixed methods approach was implemented to assess the MMH campaign progress and impact in Côte d'Ivoire. Three data sources were triangulated to evaluate the campaign: social media listening (October 2019-January 2021); a quantitative cross-sectional monitoring survey (September 2020) with 412 youth (aged 16-24) and 597 adults (aged 25-49); and a qualitative study using a Most Significant Change approach (March 2021), including a total of 24 focus group discussions with youth (aged 15-24) and adults (aged 25+) exposed to the MMH campaign. Data from all three studies were analysed independently and then brought together through a triangulation workshop where the study team compared findings to achieve convergence in evaluation results. Social listening results showed topic-specific online conversations related to MMH campaign spiked significantly during the two-week period after topic-specific campaign posts (p < .05), suggesting potential campaign impact. Survey results showed both adults and youth were more likely to have spoken with someone about FP in the past five months if exposed to the campaign (p < 0.01). Qualitative findings support the campaign's effect on shifting attitudes and behavioural uptake of intergenerational communication among adults and youth. This evaluation shows evidence of MMH's strong potential for impact in encouraging communication and the need to focus efforts on strategies to strengthen supportive adults' communication competencies and redefine what it means to act in support of SRH/FP for youth.

Improving provider and client communication around family planning in Togo: Results from a cross-sectional survey.

Previous research has shown that clients are better able to achieve their reproductive intentions when family planning (FP) services meet their needs and they have satisfying client provider interactions. There are several areas of quality provider-client communication, including providers taking a complete reproductive history of their clients to best gauge their needs, communication around alternative FP methods and side effects captured in the method information index, and communication around sexually transmitted infections and HIV risk as it relates to FP choices. This study examines data from a clinic-based intervention in Togo that focuses on strengthening health provider counseling related to FP, including improving in these three areas of provider-client communication. A clustered sampling approach was used to select 650 FP clients from 23 intervention facilities and 235 clients from 17 control facilities in the Lomé and Kara districts of Togo. The FP clients' interactions with providers were observed and clients exit interviews were conducted in December 2021. For each communication area measured through client interviews and observations, principal components analysis and Cronbach's alpha scores were used to ensure that the individual components could be indexed. Outcomes variables based on an index of sub-questions were then created for those who had fulfilled each of the components within an index. Multivariate multilevel mixed-effects logit models accounted for clients nested within facilities and included independent variables capturing client demographic and facility variables. Multivariate results show that all three outcome variables representing the three provider-client communication areas were statistically significantly better for FP clients in intervention clinics versus control clinics (p<0.05). The results speak to the emphasis that the Togo Ministry of Health has placed on building the provider capacity to provide quality counseling and administration of FP methods and working to assist in achieving health programming goals through well-designed interventions.

Changing the Script: Intergenerational Communication about Sexual and Reproductive Health in Niamey, Niger.

Most strategies to reduce adolescent pregnancies have been designed to educate adolescents directly about family planning (FP), while adolescents often cite peers and parents as their primary sources of sexual health information. Yet parents' lack of knowledge about sexual and reproductive health (SRH), low self-efficacy to initiate conversations, and adverse social norms act as barriers to open intergenerational communication. To better understand the normative environment influencing communication between parents and youth about FP/SRH in francophone West Africa, the USAID supported Breakthrough RESEARCH project conducted a multi-stage qualitative study in Niger. During Stage 1, the research team developed a screening tool (based on a literature review) to categorize research participants into those who practiced open intergenerational communication about FP/SRH, and those who did not. Stage 2 consisted of 40 in-depth interviews with young people (ages 15-24) and adults (≥25 years old), stratified by whether they practiced open intergenerational communication. Results showed restrictive social norms related to youth SRH and access to information and services. However, particularly among participants classified as open-communicators, there is a hierarchy of norms and normative beliefs, with abstinence as the most virtuous decision for youth, but approving communication about and access to SRH services in order to minimize harm. Participants rely on values such as the protection of youth, protection of family honor and promotion of well-being as means to act in counter-normative ways and communicate about FP/SRH. Implications for the field include demystifying and destigmatizing SRH topics, increasing adults' communication skills, and changing the "script" to a more life-affirming view of SRH.

A genome-wide association study unveils key chromosome regions involved in determining sodium accumulation in wheat under conditions of low potassium supply.

Improving nutrient use efficiency is an important objective in modern breeding programs. In this work, we examined potassium utilization efficiency (KUtE) and traits potentially related to it in a formerly genotyped, geographically diverse population of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) under low potassium supply conditions. Our results unveil the existence of a large variation within the population for the traits examined. A genome-wide association study, based on a single-locus model, identified 15 markers associated with some of those traits. No marker-trait association was found using that tool for KUtE, but the use of a multi-locus approach suggested that additional marker-trait associations may be present, including whole-plant KUtE. Besides, the existence of a significant correlation between KUtE and sodium accumulation in shoots suggests the possibility of pyramiding traits associated with sodium homeostasis to improve this efficiency. In this regard, two discrete regions mapped on the long arm of chromosome 1B (1BLA and 1BLB) were associated with variation in sodium accumulation as detected with the single and multi-locus models used. Further exploration of the potential function of the genes placed in these regions, and their expression patterns, suggested likely candidates for this trait. Among the candidates placed in 1BLA region, we found TraesCS1B02G370500, TraesCS1B02G370600, and TraesCS1B02G370900, coding for putative Calcineurin B like proteins. Region 1BLB contain TraesCS1B02G388900 coding for a kinase and other genes including TraesCS1B02G389700, TraesCS1B02G389800 and TraesCS1B02G389900 coding for Ethylene-responsive transcription factors. The information here provided can be useful in breeding programs aimed to manipulate sodium accumulation through marker-assisted selection.

Strengthening the Merci Mon Héros Campaign Through Adaptive Management: Application of Social Listening Methodology.

BACKGROUND: Between 2014 and 2018, the penetration of smartphones in sub-Saharan Africa increased from 10% to 30%, enabling increased access to the internet, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and YouTube. These platforms engage users in multidirectional communication and provide public health programs with the tools to inform and engage diverse audiences on a range of public health issues, as well as monitor opinions and behaviors on health topics. OBJECTIVE: This paper details the process used by the U.S. Agency for International Development-funded Breakthrough RESEARCH to apply social media monitoring and social listening techniques in Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Niger, and Togo for the adaptive management of the Merci Mon Héros campaign. We documented how these approaches were applied and how the lessons learned can be used to support future public health communication campaigns. METHODS: The process involved 6 steps: (1) ensure there is a sufficient volume of topic-specific web-based conversation in the target countries; (2) develop measures to monitor the campaign's social media strategy; (3) identify search terms to assess campaign and related conversations; (4) quantitatively assess campaign audience demographics, campaign reach, and engagement through social media monitoring; (5) qualitatively assess audience attitudes, opinions, and behaviors and understand conversation context through social media listening; and (6) adapt campaign content and approach based on the analysis of social media data. RESULTS: We analyzed posts across social media platforms from November 2019 to October 2020 based on identified key search terms related to family planning, reproductive health, menstruation, sexual activity, and gender. Based on the quantitative and qualitative assessments in steps 4 and 5, there were several adaptive shifts in the campaign's content and approach, of which the following 3 shifts are highlighted. (1) Social media monitoring identified that the Facebook campaign fans were primarily male, which prompted the campaign to target calls to action to the male audience already following the campaign and shift marketing approaches to increase the proportion of female followers. (2) Shorter videos had a higher chance of being viewed in their entirety. In response to this, the campaign shortened video lengths and created screenshot teasers to promote videos. (3) The most negative sentiment related to the campaign videos was associated with beliefs against premarital sex. In response to this finding, the campaign included videos and Facebook Live sessions with religious leaders who promoted talking openly with young people to support intergenerational discussion about reproductive health. CONCLUSIONS: Prior to launching health campaigns, programs should test the most relevant social media platforms and their limitations. Inherent biases to internet and social media access are important challenges, and ethical considerations around data privacy must continue to guide the advances in this technology's use for research. However, social listening and social media monitoring can be powerful monitoring and evaluation tools that can be used to aid the adaptive management of health campaigns that engage populations who have a digital presence.

Fuzzy System to Assess Dangerous Driving: A Multidisciplinary Approach.

Dangerous driving can cause accidents, injuries and loss of life. An efficient assessment helps to identify the absence or degree of dangerous driving to take the appropriate decisions while driving. Previous studies assess dangerous driving through two approaches: (i) using electronic devices or sensors that provide objective variables (acceleration, turns and speed), and (ii) analyzing responses to questionnaires from behavioral science that provide subjective variables (driving thoughts, opinions and perceptions from the driver). However, we believe that a holistic and more realistic assessment requires a combination of both types of variables. Therefore, we propose a three-phase fuzzy system with a multidisciplinary (computer science and behavioral sciences) approach that draws on the strengths of sensors embedded in smartphones and questionnaires to evaluate driver behavior and social desirability. Our proposal combines objective and subjective variables while mitigating the weaknesses of the disciplines used (sensor reading errors and lack of honesty from respondents, respectively). The methods used are of proven reliability in each discipline, and their outputs feed a combined fuzzy system used to handle the vagueness of the input variables, obtaining a personalized result for each driver. The results obtained using the proposed system in a real scenario were efficient at 84.21%, and were validated with mobility experts' opinions. The presented fuzzy system can support intelligent transportation systems, driving safety, or personnel selection.

Knowledge, territories, and drug use: street ways of life and reinventing care. / Saberes, territórios e uso de drogas: modos de vida na rua e reinvenção do cuidado.

Through the stigmatization of drug-using People Living on the Streets (PLS) and the reproduction of violence in health services, this paper reflected on this community and the street space beyond the view of decrepitude with which they are usually seen. In this sense, the research contours were shaped from the objective of knowing practice and knowledge constructed in the care processes among the drug-using PLS. A qualitative study was designed, using the triangulation of participant observation techniques, from the inclusion of one of the researchers in a "Street Clinic" (Consultório na Rua), in an inland city of the state of Pernambuco, Brazil, and two types of in-depth individual interviews: the episodic interview and the narrative interview. Three thematic categories were outlined from the data retrieved, as follows: "subjects, territorialities and contexts", "drugs, social problem medicalization, and control", and "harm reduction, singularities and care production in the territory". Thus, understandings about the norms and dichotomies that cross the view of PLS were constructed to consolidate the care offer guided by the perspective of harm reduction.

Mediante o processo de estigmatização existente sobre a População em Situação de Rua que faz uso de drogas e a reprodução de violências nos serviços de saúde, refletiu-se neste artigo sobre esse público e o espaço da rua para além da visão de decrepitude com que costumeiramente são vistos. Nesse sentido, a pesquisa tomou contornos a partir do objetivo de conhecer práticas e saberes construídos nos processos de cuidado entre a População em Situação de Rua usuária de drogas. Para isso, delineou-se um estudo qualitativo, utilizando-se da triangulação das técnicas de observação participante, a partir da inserção de uma das pesquisadoras em um Consultório na Rua, em uma cidade no interior de Pernambuco, e duas modalidades de entrevistas individuais em profundidade: a entrevista episódica e a entrevista narrativa. A partir dos dados obtidos, delineou-se três categorias temáticas: "Sujeitos, territorialidades e contextos", "Drogas, medicalização de problemas sociais e controle" e "Redução de danos, singularidades e produção de cuidado no território". Construíram-se, assim, compreensões sobre as normativas e dicotômicas que atravessam a visão sobre a População em Situação de Rua, pretendendo contribuir para a consolidação da oferta de cuidado orientada pela perspectiva da Redução de Danos.

Saberes, territórios e uso de drogas: modos de vida na rua e reinvenção do cuidado / Knowledge, territories, and drug use: street ways of life and reinventing care

Resumo Mediante o processo de estigmatização existente sobre a População em Situação de Rua que faz uso de drogas e a reprodução de violências nos serviços de saúde, refletiu-se neste artigo sobre esse público e o espaço da rua para além da visão de decrepitude com que costumeiramente são vistos. Nesse sentido, a pesquisa tomou contornos a partir do objetivo de conhecer práticas e saberes construídos nos processos de cuidado entre a População em Situação de Rua usuária de drogas. Para isso, delineou-se um estudo qualitativo, utilizando-se da triangulação das técnicas de observação participante, a partir da inserção de uma das pesquisadoras em um Consultório na Rua, em uma cidade no interior de Pernambuco, e duas modalidades de entrevistas individuais em profundidade: a entrevista episódica e a entrevista narrativa. A partir dos dados obtidos, delineou-se três categorias temáticas: "Sujeitos, territorialidades e contextos", "Drogas, medicalização de problemas sociais e controle" e "Redução de danos, singularidades e produção de cuidado no território". Construíram-se, assim, compreensões sobre as normativas e dicotômicas que atravessam a visão sobre a População em Situação de Rua, pretendendo contribuir para a consolidação da oferta de cuidado orientada pela perspectiva da Redução de Danos.

Abstract Through the stigmatization of drug-using People Living on the Streets (PLS) and the reproduction of violence in health services, this paper reflected on this community and the street space beyond the view of decrepitude with which they are usually seen. In this sense, the research contours were shaped from the objective of knowing practice and knowledge constructed in the care processes among the drug-using PLS. A qualitative study was designed, using the triangulation of participant observation techniques, from the inclusion of one of the researchers in a "Street Clinic" (Consultório na Rua), in an inland city of the state of Pernambuco, Brazil, and two types of in-depth individual interviews: the episodic interview and the narrative interview. Three thematic categories were outlined from the data retrieved, as follows: "subjects, territorialities and contexts", "drugs, social problem medicalization, and control", and "harm reduction, singularities and care production in the territory". Thus, understandings about the norms and dichotomies that cross the view of PLS were constructed to consolidate the care offer guided by the perspective of harm reduction.

Estimating the Cost of the Design, Production, and Dissemination of Social Media Videos for Social and Behavioral Change: Evidence From Merci Mon Héros in Niger and Côte d'Ivoire.

Merci Mon Héros (MMH) is a youth-led multi-media campaign in Francophone West Africa seeking to improve reproductive health and family planning outcomes using radio, television, social media, and community events. One component to this project is the development of a series of youth-driven videos created to encourage both youth and adults to break taboos by talking to each other about reproductive health and family planning. A costing study was conducted to capture costs associated with the design, production, and dissemination of 11 MMH videos (in French) on social media in Côte d'Ivoire and Niger. The total costs to design, produce and disseminate 11 of the campaign videos for MMH in both Côte d'Ivoire and Niger were $44,981. Unit costs were calculated using three different denominators, resulting in average unit costs of $0.16 per reach, $1.29 per engagement, and $4.27 per video view. These findings can be useful for future studies of SBC interventions using social media for framing the analysis and selecting the appropriate metrics for the denominator, as well as for budgeting and planning SBC programs using social media.

ZIKV-Related Ideations and Modern Contraceptive Use: Cross-Sectional Evidence from the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala.

Zika virus (ZIKV) can be sexually transmitted and can lead to severe neonatal and child health issues. The current study examines whether ZIKV-related ideational factors, including awareness of ZIKV and associated birth defects, are related to modern contraceptive use among women and men with sexual partners in four Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries. Data used are from cross-sectional household surveys conducted in 2018 in the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras with representative samples of men and women aged 18-49 (N = 1,100). The association between self-reported use of modern contraception and measures of Zika knowledge, risk perceptions and social norms, and contraceptive self-efficacy was examined via sex disaggregated multivariate logistic regression models. Both men (OR 3.70, 95% CI 1.36-10.06, P < 0.05) and women (OR 3.71, 95% CI 2.30-5.99, P < 0.0001), who reported discussing family planning with their partner in the last year were more likely to use modern contraception compared with those who did not. Contrary to our hypothesis, knowledge that ZIKV can affect a fetus was negatively associated with modern contraceptive use for women (OR 0.49, 95% CI 0.29-0.85, P < 0.05). Given the cross-sectional nature of the survey, women not using contraception may be more likely to remember that ZIKV can affect a fetus. In the event of a related outbreak, future health promotion and communication efforts in LAC should focus on known determinants of modern contraceptive use, such as knowledge and partner communication, and knowledge of the health effects of ZIKV if pregnant, to influence family planning decision-making behavior.

The role of HPV-induced epigenetic changes in cervical carcinogenesis (Review).

Cervical cancer is associated with infection by certain types of human papillomaviruses (HPVs), and this affects women worldwide. Despite the improvements in prevention and cure of HPV-induced cervical cancer, it remains the second most common type of cancer in women in the least developed regions of the world. Epigenetic modifications are stable long-term changes that occur in the DNA, and are part of a natural evolutionary process of necessary adaptations to the environment. They do not result in changes in the DNA sequence, but do affect gene expression and genomic stability. Epigenetic changes are important in several biological processes. The effects of the environment on gene expression can contribute to the development of numerous diseases. Epigenetic modifications may serve a critical role in cancer cells, by silencing tumor suppressor genes, activating oncogenes, and exacerbating defects in DNA repair mechanisms. Although cervical cancer is directly related to a persistent high-risk HPV infection, several epigenetic changes have been identified in both the viral DNA and the genome of the infected cells: DNA methylation, histone modification and gene silencing by non-coding RNAs, which initiate and sustain epigenetic changes. In the present review, recent advances in the role of epigenetic changes in cervical cancer are summarized.

Barley plants carrying the altered function Sln1d allele display modified responses to low phosphorus supply: implications for phosphorus utilisation efficiency.

The module GA-GID1-DELLA (Gibberellin-Gibberellin Receptor-DELLA proteins) provides a point for the integration of signals potentially relevant in determining nutrient utilisation and acquisition efficiencies. In this study, we explored the role of components of this module during the acclimation of barley plants (Hordeum vulgare L.) to different phosphorus (P) supplies by using two related genotypes, harbouring either the WT or the Sln1d alleles of the DELLA-coding gene Sln1. Dwarf Sln1d plants exhibited reduced shoot P utilisation efficiency (PUtE) and better performance at low levels of P supply. The superior PUtE displayed by WT plants disappeared when corrected by internal P concentration, indicating that multiple analyses are necessary to fully understand the meaning of PUtE estimates. Over a wide range of external supplies of P, Sln1d plants displayed enhanced P concentration, which was associated with low relative growth rate, high biomass partitioning to roots and high P-uptake-rate, thus suggesting that the effect of the Sln1d allele on P dynamics is not simply a consequence of slow growth habit. An enhanced P concentration was also found in a mutant with defective GAs-synthesis. Our results suggest that components of the GA-GID1-DELLAs module contribute to set the acclimation response of barley plants to low P supply through both P-dynamics dependent and P-dynamics independent mechanisms.

Use of effective lids reduces presence of mosquito larvae in household water storage containers in urban and peri-urban Zika risk areas of Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador.

BACKGROUND: In 2015, an outbreak of Zika virus spread across Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Public health programs promoted vector control behaviors, including covering water storage containers with lids. Such approaches disrupt Zika transmission by eliminating the habitats of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which breeds in stagnant water. METHODS: A quantitative household survey and observation checklist with trained enumerators were undertaken between August and October 2018 in selected urban/peri-urban USAID implementation communities in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. The survey included questions regarding knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to Zika virus. An accompanying checklist was implemented to observe water storage containers, including for short-term and long-term water use. The characteristics of these containers were tabulated, including the presence of a lid. The lids were examined for key features to determine their potential effectiveness to prevent mosquito breeding: fully covering and sealing the container, not having holes, and not having water on them (potentially creating a secondary breeding site). Multivariate logistic regression was used to estimate the effectiveness of lid types and characteristics on the presence of larvae. RESULTS: Overall, in adjusted models, using an effective lid versus no lid was associated with a 94% decrease in odds of larval presence in long-term water storage containers (odds ratio = 0.06; 95% confidence interval [0.029, 0.152]); however, similar impacts were not observed for washbasins in the adjusted models. Models adjusted for household wealth, receiving a visit from a vector control technician, scrubbing the container in the last 7 days, and perception of more mosquitoes around. CONCLUSIONS: Effective lids, if made available and coupled with complementary behavioral messaging, may reduce transmission of Zika and other Aedes mosquito-borne diseases in the LAC region.