Efficacy of drought-tolerant and insect-protected transgenic TELA® maize traits in Nigeria.

Assessment of efficacy of drought tolerance (DT) and insect protection (Bt) genes in maize genotypes is invaluable for commercialization and production of transgenic maize in Nigeria. Seven maize hybrids, known as TELA® maize, with stacked events of Bt insect protection (MON89034) and drought tolerance (MON87460; DroughtGard®) and their respective non-GM versions (isohybrids) developed through the TELA Maize Project were evaluated in confined field trial site at Zaria in 2020 and 2021. The objective was to assess the efficacy of stacked DT and Bt genes to seek deregulation and commercialization of both traits in Nigeria. Significant (P < 0.05-0.01) differences were observed among genotypes (G), environments (E) and genotype × environment interaction (GEI) for grain yield and most other traits under stem borer (moth species) and fall armyworm infested, drought stress, and optimum-moisture conditions, except E and GEI under drought. TELA® GM hybrids with Bt MON89034 had 19% higher yield than their non-GM isogenic versions, and 40% higher yield than the commercial checks under the target pests infestation. The foliar damage score of all the TELA® GM genotypes was ≤ 2 relative to their non-GM isogenic versions which scored ≥ 4, indicating the effectiveness of the Bt MON89034 gene in conferring resistance against stem borer and fall armyworm. Under moderate drought, pairwise comparison showed TELA® GM Hybrid 1-1 and Hybrid 2-1 had 12.4-20.4% higher (P < 0.01) yield than their isogenic versions. Under optimum-moisture condition with pests controlled, the TELA® GM and their isogenic hybrids were similar, but both had 32% higher yield than the commercial checks. Adoption of TELA® GM technology by farmers as adaptation strategy to cope with climate change, will ensure sustainability of maize production and productivity in Nigeria.

Genomic prediction in biparental tropical maize populations in water-stressed and well-watered environments using low-density and GBS SNPs.

One of the most important applications of genomic selection in maize breeding is to predict and identify the best untested lines from biparental populations, when the training and validation sets are derived from the same cross. Nineteen tropical maize biparental populations evaluated in multienvironment trials were used in this study to assess prediction accuracy of different quantitative traits using low-density (~200 markers) and genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), respectively. An extension of the Genomic Best Linear Unbiased Predictor that incorporates genotype × environment (GE) interaction was used to predict genotypic values; cross-validation methods were applied to quantify prediction accuracy. Our results showed that: (1) low-density SNPs (~200 markers) were largely sufficient to get good prediction in biparental maize populations for simple traits with moderate-to-high heritability, but GBS outperformed low-density SNPs for complex traits and simple traits evaluated under stress conditions with low-to-moderate heritability; (2) heritability and genetic architecture of target traits affected prediction performance, prediction accuracy of complex traits (grain yield) were consistently lower than those of simple traits (anthesis date and plant height) and prediction accuracy under stress conditions was consistently lower and more variable than under well-watered conditions for all the target traits because of their poor heritability under stress conditions; and (3) the prediction accuracy of GE models was found to be superior to that of non-GE models for complex traits and marginal for simple traits.

Age shock: misperceptions of the impact of age on fertility before and after IVF in women who conceived after age 40.

STUDY QUESTION: What do older women understand of the relationship between age and fertility prior and subsequent to delivering their first child? SUMMARY ANSWER: Women who were first-time parents over the age of 40 did not accurately perceive the relationship between age and fertility prior to conceiving with IVF. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY: While increases in women's age at their first birth have been most pronounced in relatively older women, the rapidity of fertility decline is not appreciated by most non-infertility specialist physicians, the general public or men and women who are delaying childbearing. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE AND DURATION: Qualitative retrospective interviews were conducted from 2009 to 2011 with 61 self-selected women who were patients in one of two fertility clinics in the USA. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS: All participants had delivered their first child following IVF when the woman was 40 years or older. The data include women's responses to the semi-structured and open-ended interview questions 'What information did you have about fertility and age before you started trying to get pregnant?' and 'What did you learn once you proceeded with fertility treatment?' MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE: Of the women, 30% expected their fertility to decline gradually until menopause at around 50 years and 31% reported that they expected to get pregnant without difficulty at the age of 40. Reasons for a mistaken belief in robust fertility included recollections of persistent and ongoing messaging about pregnancy prevention starting in adolescence (23%), healthy lifestyle and family history of fertility (26%), and incorrect information from friends, physicians or misleading media reports of pregnancies in older celebrity women (28%). Participants had not anticipated the possibility that they would need IVF to conceive with 44% reporting being 'shocked' and 'alarmed' to discover that their understanding of the rapidity of age-related reproductive decline was inaccurate'. In retrospect, their belated recognition of the effect of age on fertility led 72% of the women to state that they felt 'lucky' or had 'beaten the odds' in successfully conceiving after IVF. Of the women, 28% advocated better fertility education earlier in life and 23% indicated that with more information about declining fertility, they might have attempted conception at an earlier age. Yet 46% of women acknowledged that even if they had possessed better information, their life circumstances would not have permitted them to begin childbearing earlier. LIMITATIONS AND REASONS FOR CAUTION: Both the self-selected nature of recruitment and the retrospective design can result in biases due to memory limitations or participant assimilation and/or contrast of past events with current moods. The cohort did not reflect broad homogeneity in that the participants were much more likely to be highly educated, Caucasian and better able to pay for treatment than national population norms. As attitudes of older women who were unsuccessful after attempting IVF in their late 30s or early 40s are not represented, it is possible (if not likely) that the recollections of women who did not conceive after IVF would have been more strongly influenced by feelings of regret or efforts to deflect blame for their inability to conceive. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS: While the failure to appreciate the true biological relationship between aging and fertility may be common and may reflect inaccessibility or misinterpretation of information, it is not sufficient to explain the decades-long socio-demographic phenomenon of delayed childbearing.

'Inconvenient biology:' advantages and disadvantages of first-time parenting after age 40 using in vitro fertilization.

BACKGROUND: As ages at first birth have steadily risen in the industrial west over the last several decades, the phenomenon of 'delayed childbearing' has come under research scrutiny by demographers, medical specialists and social scientists. In this study, we specifically explore the perceived advantages and disadvantages of postponed conception as well as participants' retrospective opinions on the 'optimal age' for parenting. METHODS: To this end, we examined a cohort purposely chosen to epitomize delayed childbearing, i.e. men and women who used IVF to conceive at the very end of their reproductive capability. In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted between 2009 and 2011 with 46 couples and 15 individual self-selected US women and men who had used IVF to conceive their first child when the woman was aged 40 or older at the time of delivery. Although the demographics of this cohort were consistent with others who use IVF in the USA, their median income was 3-4 times higher than that of the average US family, which may bias their largely positive parenting experiences. RESULTS: Most women and men believed that childbearing later in life resulted in advantages for themselves and their families. These included having established careers with financial security and career-time flexibility, enhanced emotional preparedness, committed co-parenting relationships and a positive overall family experience. The main disadvantage was the unexpected difficulty in conceiving that culminated in the use of IVF and resulted in a smaller family than desired, although many expressed feeling 'lucky' to have children at all. Other disadvantages were lack of energy for parenting, less available lifetime to spend with children and anticipated stigma as older parents. CONCLUSIONS: These disadvantages appear to have influenced conception and parenting experiences so that in hindsight the majority of participants identified the optimal age for first-time parenting as 5-10 years earlier than they had conceived. This age range was imagined to maximize the financial and emotional advantages of later parenting while minimizing the impact of age-related infertility, diminished energy, anticipated health issues and the social stigma of appearing too old to parent.

Menopausal experiences and bone density of Mayan women in Yucatan, Mexico.

This cross-sectional study reports on the menopausal transition of Mayan women from Yucatan, Mexico. A total of 228 women completed the study, and 118 women were classified by history as postmenopausal; the others were premenopausal. Demographic information, reproductive history, physical examination, hormone concentrations, radial bone density, food samples, and history of physical activity were obtained. The average age at which menopause occurred by history was 44.3 +/- 4.4 years; this is reflected in the distribution of FSH levels by age. None of the women reported symptoms of hot flashes, and none recalled any history of significant symptoms associated with their menopausal transition. Hormone levels were similar to U.S. reference values with elevated FSH (66.6 +/- 29.1 mIU/ml), low estradiol (9.4 +/- 8.3 pg/ml) and estrone (13.3 +/- 7.8 pg/ml), E1 > E2, and normal levels of testosterone and androstenedione. BMD declined with age, and values were lower than reference values for United States women. Clinical evidence of fracture was not detected by history or physical examination even for those who were 20 years postmenopausal. The endocrine characteristics of menopause among Mayan women in Yucatan are similar to hormonal changes reported for women in the United States, but signs, symptoms, and apparent consequences are different in the two populations.

Recruitment and retention of healthy minority women into community-based longitudinal research.

This report examines the impact of individualized, population-based recruitment and retention approaches on the development of a subject pool, enrollment, and retention at 12 months of healthy, community-based women in three ethnic groups: African Americans, non-Hispanic European Americans, and Mexicans/Central Americans. Of 722 women contacted and screened, 346 (48%) were eligible and consented to participate. Attrition at 12 months was low (10%) compared with other published reports. The largest group of potential subjects was identified through broadcast media approaches, but this method produced the highest number of ineligible women and highest rate of attrition. Printed matter produced the next largest group of potential subjects, but ineligibility was high (53%). Face-to-face interactions enrolled the highest proportion of eligible women (84%) and lowest overall attrition (7%). Direct referral yielded fairly efficient enrollments (57%) and average attrition. Multiple approaches for recruitment can produce a diverse sample of healthy, community-based women. Face-to-face recruitment results in the highest yield of participants with the lowest attribution but is presumed to require more resources.

Health, welfare reform, and narratives of uncertainty among Cambodian refugees.

Massive disruptions to a way of life, such as those brought on by widespread violence, terror, and genocide, disorder the body as well as the social order. When they flee their homelands, refugees bring their experiences of violence and terror with them. Drawing on an ethnographic study of 40 Cambodian refugees between the ages of 50 and 79 who suffered from one or more chronic illnesses, we explore how refugees who live with chronic illnesses and are dependent on government support were affected by the threat of welfare reform. When welfare reform threatened to cut Cambodian refugees' income, it posed a new crisis for those who were chronically in limbo and placed further constraints on their lives. Through their narratives, Cambodian refugees enacted their bodily distress and resisted the threat of welfare reform. The story of threatened welfare reform in the U.S. and its possible consequences for refugees is a story of quixotic U.S. politics, policies and antidotes for refugeeism gone awry.

Environment and behavior of 2.5-million-year-old Bouri hominids.

The Hata Member of the Bouri Formation is defined for Pliocene sedimentary outcrops in the Middle Awash Valley, Ethiopia. The Hata Member is dated to 2.5 million years ago and has produced a new species of Australopithecus and hominid postcranial remains not currently assigned to species. Spatially associated zooarchaeological remains show that hominids acquired meat and marrow by 2.5 million years ago and that they are the near contemporary of Oldowan artifacts at nearby Gona. The combined evidence suggests that behavioral changes associated with lithic technology and enhanced carnivory may have been coincident with the emergence of the Homo clade from Australopithecus afarensis in eastern Africa.

Knowledge and care of chronic illness in three ethnic minority groups.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Despite advances in medical approaches to the management of chronic illnesses, relatively little is known about how older members of ethnic minority groups view their chronic illnesses or how they manage them in daily life. METHODS: We recruited 35 African-Americans, 61 Latinos, and 55 Filipino-Americans, all over age 50. Criteria for entry into the study was the presence of one or more chronic illnesses. Findings are based on structured and semi-structured questions in one in-depth interview. Qualitative data on transcribed interviews with 151 respondents was analyzed. RESULTS: Comparison of the three groups revealed social and cultural differences and similarities that affected the management of chronic illness. The extent to which respondents demonstrated an understanding of their illnesses as chronic varied considerably, with discernible differences among groups about knowledge of illness and self-care practices. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings showed that although major chronic illnesses were, for the most part, the same for all three groups, each group differed in its response to and management of its illnesses. These findings have implications for the education of physicians in training.

The first skull of Australopithecus boisei.

Australopithecus boisei was first described from a cranium recovered in 1959 from Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. This and subsequent finds, mostly from Kenya's Turkana basin, resulted in its characterization as a specialized Australopithecus species with a hyper-robust masticatory apparatus. A distinct A. boisei facial morphology has been emphasized to differentiate robust Australopithecus lineages from East and South Africa. A preference for closed and/or wet habitats has been hypothesized. Here we report some new A. boisei specimens, including the taxon's first cranium and associated mandible, from Konso, Ethiopia. These fossils extend the known geographical range of A. boisei. They provide clear evidence for the coexistence of A. boisei and Homo erectus within a predominantly dry grassland environment. The A. boisei specimens from Konso demonstrate considerable morphological variation within the species. The unexpected combination of cranial and facial features of this skull cautions against the excessive taxonomic splitting of early hominids based on morphological detail documented in small and/or geographically restricted samples.

Characteristics of street children in Nazareth, Ethiopia.

A census based survey was conducted in Nazareth, a town in south-eastern Ethiopia, to determine the number and background of the street children, in December 1994. 5138 street children were counted in the town during a one day census. 4626(90%) were males and 512(10%) were females. The age ranged from 5 to 18 with mean age of 12.9(SD = 3.16). 312(52.3%) of the children left their families before their tenth birthday. 109(18.3%) were attending school at the time of the survey. 326(54.6%) of the children were "on" the street type with a house to sleep in at night and 271(45.4%) were "of" the street type and completely homeless. 530(88.8%) of the children had at least one of their parents alive. Most of the street children take odd jobs to earn a living. Only 76(12.7%) were found to be living on begging. From this study it was concluded that the number of street children was very high, and exploration of opportunities to rehabilitate the children who still have their families alive is recommended.

Menopause without symptoms: the endocrinology of menopause among rural Mayan Indians.

OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to determine the characteristics of menopause among Mayan women who did not have menopausal symptoms. STUDY DESIGN: A cross-sectional study of Mayan women from Chichimila, Mexico, was performed. Demographic information, history and physical examination, hormone concentrations, and radial bone density measurement were obtained. RESULTS: Fifty-two postmenopausal women were compared with 26 premenopausal women. Menopause occurred at 44.3 +/- 4.4 years. None of the women admitted to hot flushes and did not recall significant menopausal symptoms. Hormone levels included elevated follicle-stimulating hormone (66.6 +/- 29 mlU/ml), low estradiol and estrone (9.4 +/- 8.3 and 13.3 +/- 7.8 pg/ml), estrone greater than estradiol levels, normal levels of testosterone and androstenedione (0.17 +/- 0.14 and 0.31 +/- 0.17 ng/ml). Bone mineral density declined with age, but height did not. Clinical evidence of osteoporosis was not detected. CONCLUSIONS: Lack of symptoms during the menopausal transition is not attributable to a difference in endocrinology. Postmenopausal Mayan women are estrogen deprived and experience age-related bone demineralization but do not have a high incidence of osteoporotic fractures.

Prospects for the use of larvivorous fish for malaria control in Ethiopia: search for indigenous species and evaluation of their feeding capacity for mosquito larvae.

Because of problems with drug and insecticide resistance, the National Organization for the Control of Malaria and other Vectorborne Diseases, Ethiopia, has embarked on a programme of research on alternative malaria control methods, including the use of biological control agents, such as larvivorous fish. The objectives of the study were to identify indigenous larvivorous fish species which could be potential candidates for use as biological control agents; to extend knowledge of their distribution in Ethiopia; and to conduct laboratory tests to determine their feeding capacity. An extensive search resulted in the identification of 11 larvivorous fish species indigenous to Ethiopia, including five species previously unrecorded in the country. Seven species were assessed under standard laboratory conditions for their feeding capacity on larvae of Anopheles gambiae s.l. and Culex andersoni. All species tested were efficient larvivores in the laboratory. However, their larvivorous capacity should be tested further in field trials. Based on the findings of this study, two priority areas for the assessment of biological control using larvivorous fish were identified, the port city of Assab, using the local species Aphanius dispar, and the Ogaden, south-eastern Ethiopia, using the local species Oreochromis spilurus spilurus.

The earliest Acheulean from Konso-Gardula.

Konso-Gardula is a palaeoanthropological area discovered by the 1991 Palaeoanthropological Inventory of Ethiopia in the southern Main Ethiopian Rift. The Konso-Gardula sediments span the period about 1.3-1.9 million years ago. They contain rich Acheulean archaeological occurrences. Vertebrate fossils include early Homo.

Medical disclosure and refugees. Telling bad news to Ethiopian patients.

The strong value in American medical practice placed on the disclosure of terminal illness conflicts with the cultural beliefs of many recent refugees and immigrants to the United States, who often consider frank disclosure inappropriate and insensitive. What a terminally ill person wants to hear and how it is told are embedded in culture. For Ethiopians, "bad news" should be told to a family member or close friend of the patient who will divulge information to the patient at appropriate times and places and in a culturally approved and recognized manner. Being sensitive to patients' worldviews may reduce the frustration and conflict experienced by both refugees and American physicians.

Cultural significance and physiological manifestations of menopause. A biocultural analysis.

The perception and experiences of menopause vary cross-culturally. However, the lack of physiological symptoms such as hot flashes, in some cultures, calls for more explanations beyond social and cultural factors alone. Like other developmental events, menopause is a biocultural experience. Therefore, research on menopause should consider biocultural factors such as environment, diet, fertility patterns and genetic differences that may be involved in the variations of menopausal experience.