Introduction: Severe acute malnutrition remains one of the most important causes of under-five mortality. In Cameroon, the northern regions have the highest prevalence, with 1.4% in the Far North in 2021. These children are managed at the Internal therapeutic and Nutrional Centre, one of which is located at Maroua Regional Hospital, the third level referral Hospital. We therefore proposed to carry out a study on the clinical and evolutive aspects of these children. Materials and Methods: it was a descriptive, cross-sectional study from January 2020 to December 2022, at the ITNC (CNTI) of Maroua Regional Hospital. The sample size was obtained from the Lorentz formula. Patient records were used for data collection. We excluded all incomplete records and patients with less than 24 hours of admission. Results: Out of the 873 patients we recruited, the prevalence of severe malnutrition was estimated at 18 %. The average age was 14 months, with a male predominance. The main reasons for consultation were fever (42%) and diarrhoea (35%). Marasmus was the predominant clinical form. The major medical complications were sepsis (32.9%) and malaria (16.8%). HIV prevalence was 2.5% and tuberculosis was 4.9%. Most patients had haemoglobin levels between 7 and 10g/dl. 79.3% were cured and 6.5% died. The main causes of death were sepsis and malaria. Conclusion: Severe acute malnutrition remains a major problem in the Far North region. Several joint actions are needed to break this cycle.
In order to flower in the appropriate season,plants monitor light and temperature changes and alter downstream pathways that regulate florigen genes such as Arabidopsis(Arabidopsis thaliana)FLOWERING LOCUS T(FT).In Arabidopsis,FT messenger RNA levels peak in the morning and evening under natural long-day conditions(LDs).However,the regulatory mechanisms governing morning FT induction remain poorly understood.The morning FT peak is absent in typical laboratory LDs characterized by high red:far-red light(R:FR)ratios and constant temperatures.Here,we demonstrate that ZEITLUPE(ZTL)interacts with the FT repressors TARGET OF EATs(TOEs),thereby repressing morning FT expression in natural environments.Under LDs with simulated sunlight(R:FR=1.0)and daily temperature cycles,which are natural LD-mimicking environmental conditions,FT transcript levels in the ztl mutant were high specifically in the morning,a pattern that was mirrored in the toe1 toe2 double mutant.Low night-to-morning temperatures increased the inhibitory effect of ZTL on morning FT expression by increasing ZTL protein levels early in the morning.Far-red light counteracted ZTL activity by decreasing its abundance(possibly via phytochrome A(phyA))while increasing GIGANTEA(GI)levels and negatively affecting the formation of the ZTL-GI complex in the morning.Therefore,the phyA-mediated high-irradiance response and GI play pivotal roles in morning FT induction.Our findings suggest that the delicate balance between low temperature-mediated ZTL activity and the far-red light-mediated functions of phyA and GI offers plants flexibility in fine-tuning their flowering time by controlling FT expression in the morning.
Hayeon KimHye Won KangDae Yeon HwangNayoung LeeAkane KubotaTakato ImaizumiYoung Hun Song
