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In many parts of the world, including Cameroon, mycotoxin contamination of groundnuts remains a major constraint affecting their use as food. Understanding the contributing factors is an essential intervention to reduce contamination and people’s exposure to these harmful toxins. The aim of this research was to identify the factors associated with the knowledge, perceptions, and postharvest practices of groundnut farmers in three production basins in Cameroon. Data were collected through surveys and analyzed using descriptive methods and logistic regression models. The results show that groundnut farmers are little aware of the existence of mycotoxins (12%) and totally unaware of the existence of aflatoxins (100%). Only 7.1% of these farmers are aware of the effects of mycotoxins on consumer health. After evaluation, the large majority of farmers scored poor marks for knowledge (86%) and practice (98.7%) in the management of mould and mycotoxins in groundnuts. Knowledge of mycotoxins was positively associated with the level of education [OR = 3.42; (95%-IC: 1.00–16.00); p

Aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) is a sensor of the chemical environment including pollutants, diet components and metabolites. Here, authors determine the structure of the indirubin-bound AHR cytosolic complex providing mechanistic insights into ligand-binding promiscuity and selectivity.

One of the most fundamental discoveries in human biology was that of the existence of essential micronutrients that the body cannot synthesize but nonetheless requires for proper functioning [...]

This paper proposes a fairly general new point of view on the question of asymptotic stability of (topological) solitons. Our approach is based on the use of the distorted Fourier transform at the nonlinear level; it does not rely only on Strichartz or virial estimates and is therefore able to treat low-power nonlinearities (hence also nonlocalised solitons) and capture the global (in space and time) behaviour of solutions.

In many parts of the world, including Cameroon, mycotoxin contamination of groundnuts remains a major constraint affecting their use as food. Understanding the contributing factors is an essential intervention to reduce contamination and people's exposure to these harmful toxins. The aim of this research was to identify the factors associated with the knowledge, perceptions, and postharvest practices of groundnut farmers in three production basins in Cameroon. Data were collected through surveys and analyzed using descriptive methods and logistic regression models. The results show that groundnut farmers are little aware of the existence of mycotoxins (12%) and totally unaware of the existence of aflatoxins (100%). Only 7.1% of these farmers are aware of the effects of mycotoxins on consumer health. After evaluation, the large majority of farmers scored poor marks for knowledge (86%) and practice (98.7%) in the management of mould and mycotoxins in groundnuts. Knowledge of mycotoxins was positively associated with the level of education [OR = 3.42; (95%-IC: 1.00–16.00); p < 0.05 ] and region [OR = 4.49; (95%-IC: 1.09–20.3); p < 0.05 ]. Farmers' good practices were linked to their production experience [OR = 6.06, (95% CI: 0.91-18.4), p = 0.035 ]. The use of mouldy groundnut for feed was associated with age [OR = 3.34, (95% CI: 1.14–10.2), p = 0.03 ], sex [OR = 0. 43, (IC-95%: 1.14–1.05), p = 0.026 ], marital status [OR = 0.35, (IC-95%: 0.14–0.79), p = 0.015 ], and production region [OR = 0.27, (IC-95%: 0.13–0.56)]. In conclusion, groundnut farmers had insufficient knowledge of mycotoxins, no knowledge of aflatoxins, and suboptimal handling and storage practices for this commodity. This contributes to increasing the risk of exposure for the population and requires mitigation measures, including awareness campaigns on mycotoxins, specifically aflatoxins, and capacity building for farmers in terms of storage and postharvest management of foodstuffs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inoculation of plants with plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) is an ecological approach to improve plants growth and yield. The objective of this study was to screen native PGPBs in tomato root rhizosphere and evaluate their performance in germination and growth of seedlings in the greenhouse in the western region of Cameroon. Isolates were selected based on their ability to solubilize phosphate, produce indole-3-acetic acid, and improve seed germination and seedling growth under laboratory conditions. Following this screening, eight bacteria were selected (S1, S4, S13, S14, S16, B9, B11, and B15) to assess their performance on seedling growth in greenhouse. Seeds of two tomato varieties (one improved, Raja, and the local one, Foolewouh) were used in this study. The experiment was performed in sterilized and non-sterilized soils. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA sequence showed that these bacteria belong to the genus Bacillus, including B. thuringiensis, B. cereus, B. pacificus, and B. aerius. The bacterial performance depended on the variety and conditions of soil treatment. Isolates improved seed germination (up to 31.93%) and seeding strength (up to 78.59%) in vitro. In greenhouse, inoculation with PGPB significantly increased stem height, root length, and weight of fresh and dry stems and roots. Raja variety was more sensitive to bacteria and performed better than the Foolewouh variety. Bacterial isolates on sterilized soil allowed to better seedling growth compared to non-sterilized soil. The study showed that B. thuringiensis (strain B9), B. pacificus (strain B11), and Bacillus sp. (strain B15) can be used as inoculant formulations to improve seedling growth of tomato plant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]