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Copyright of African Journal of Reproductive Health is the property of Women's Health & Action Research Centre and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

COVID-19 pandemic has spread to over 150 countries beyond China and the Asian continent shortly after it was declared a Public Health International Emergency on January 30, 2020. Early environmental samples suggest that the index patients were either market employees, regular visitors or stall owners of a Wuhan wetmarket in China during late December 2019 and early January 2020. Prominent earlier outbreaks such as SARS Coronavirus, Ebola, HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) and the influenza-A virus are suspected to have some form of origin in ‗wet markets'. ‗Wet markets' create unique opportunities for zoonotic emergence as several species of wild animals frequently come into contact with humans and domestic animals which enabled rapid viral evolution and emergence. Hence, the existence of ‗wet markets' should be called into question. This research attempts to jettison the prevailing anthropocentric worldview which allows humans to see animals as only having instrumental value and underpins the existence of ‗wet markets' for the ethics of ‗anthropoholism'. This work argues that humans need to embrace the ethics of ‗anthropoholism'; which sees animals as having inherent value and humans as caretakers of the environment. Anthropoholism advocates that humans should display the ‗live and lets live' attitude towards animals, allow them live in their natural habitat and abolish the existence of ‗wet markets'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The spoilage index and bacterial diversity of modified atmosphere packaged chilled pork loins were assayed. • Pork color was highly retained by 70%O 2 /30%CO 2 composition. • 70%N 2 /30%CO 2 markedly reduced the spoilage indicators (pH, TVB-N, TBARS) and key spoilers. • 70%N 2 /30%CO 2 and 20%O 2 /60%N 2 /20%CO 2 inhibited Pseudomonas spp. and Brochothrix spp.. Modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) is widely applied in packaging meat and meat products. While most studies had employed culture-dependent microbiological analyses or polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE), the recent application of high-throughput sequencing (HTS) has been effective and reliable in detecting the microbial consortium associated with food spoilage. Since MAP application is limited in China, applying HTS in assessing the microbial consortium of meat and meat products in the country becomes imperative. In this study, quality indexes and bacterial enumeration often used as spoilage indicators were employed to assess MAP fresh pork under chilled (4 °C) storage for 21 d. The results indicated that 70%O 2 /30%CO 2 (Group A) retained more redness (a*) content, while 70%N 2 /30%CO 2 (Group B) markedly reduced spoilage indicators compared to the control group. Notably, high-throughput sequencing indicated that Group B and 20%O 2 /60%N 2 /20%CO 2 (Group C) inhibited the growth of abundant spoilers, Pseudomonas spp. and Brochothrix spp. Thus, MAP (Group B and C) has promising potential in inhibiting predominant meat spoilers during chilled storage. This study provides valuable information to food industries on the potential application of MAP to control meat spoilage in Chinese markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global maternal mortality rate has remained alarmingly high over the years. Meanwhile, socioeconomic factors such out-of-pocket expenditure, in contributing to maternal mortality remains a subject of interest. There is a scarcity of recent empirical studies that delve into the influence of out-of-pocket expenses on maternal mortality in China. Thus, this study examines the nexus between out-of-pocket expenditure and maternal mortality in China from 2000 to 2021. The data for the study was extracted from the World Development Indicators, and a Fully modified ordinary least squares was utilized to estimate the objective of the study with the following submissions; out-of-pocket expenditure and maternal mortality have a significant positive relationship in China. GDP per capita growth and maternal mortality have a significant negative relationship in China. Therefore, if the policymakers in China desire to meet the SDG 3 by reducing maternal mortality to 70 deaths per 100,000 live births, policies such as health insurance scheme should be implemented in the country for women of reproductive age. This would likely reduce the out-of-pocket expenditure and maternal mortality rate in the country., Competing Interests: The Authors declared no conflict of interest, (African Journal of Reproductive Health © 2023.)