FoxO1 binds to insulin response elements located in the promoters of insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 1 (IGFBP1) and glucose-6-phosphatase (G6Pase), activating their expression. Insulin-mediated phosphorylation of FoxO1 promotes cytoplasmic translocation, inhibiting FoxO1-mediated transactivation. We have previously demonstrated that FoxO1 opens and remodels chromatin assembled from the IGFBP1 promoter via a highly conserved winged helix motif. This finding, which established FoxO1 as a "pioneer" factor, suggested a model whereby FoxO1 chromatin remodeling at regulatory targets facilitates binding and recruitment of additional regulatory factors. However, the impact of A challenge in the field of transcriptional regulation is to discover how signaling pathways exert their influence on chromatin structure through DNA binding proteins. Targeted modification of transcription factors, which provides rapid alterations in their activities in response to external and internal stimuli, is an important mechanism in the regulation of their target genes. The perturbations in chromatin structure required to poise genes for activation and modulate their expression are mediated, at least in part, by initial "pioneer" chromatin binding factors capable of binding to and remodeling chromatin in response to environmental and/or developmental cues (1-12) (reviewed in Refs. 13 and 14). Previous studies have revealed that targeted post-translational modification of these pioneer factors can substantially alter their ability to interact with cellular chromatin (15-18) and in vitro assembled chromatin templates (19,20). However, the impact of these alterations in pioneer factor chromatin binding on epigenetic modification and regulatory factor recruitment necessary for the transcriptional response to extracellular signaling cascades is largely unstudied.To address this, we have investigated the impact of insulinmediated phosphorylation on chromatin binding and regulatory factor recruitment by the pioneer forkhead transcription factor FoxO1. FoxO1 (formerly FKHR) belongs to the FoxO 3 subfamily of forkhead transcription factors that also includes FoxO3, FoxO4, and FoxO6 (21,22). The FoxO factors regulate the expression of multiple genes encoding glucose metabolic enzymes, pro-apoptotic factors, and cell cycle regulators in multiple tissues . In particular, FoxO1 regulates the expression of the insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 1 (IGFBP1) and glucose-6-phosphatase (G6PC) genes in response to insulin signaling in liver (26 -29), and ablation or inactivation of FoxO1 in mice leads to insulin-mediated repression of gluconeogenesis (30,31).The function of FoxO factors is dynamically regulated by post-translational modification. In response to insulin, protein kinase B (PKB)/Akt-mediated phosphorylation of FoxO1 at three conserved sites, located in the N-terminal, DNA binding, and C-terminal domains of the protein, respectively, leads to the cytoplasmic retention of FoxO1 and the consequent inhibition of its transcriptio...

Background: Malaria is still endemic in sub-Saharan Africa, with a high disease burden. Misconceptions about malaria contribute to poor attitudes and practices, further increasing the burden in endemic countries. Studies have examined the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of malaria among different populations. However, there seems to be no available literature reporting on the perspectives of day and night market traders. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on malaria KAP with a focus on day and night market traders. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study involving day and night market traders in 10 selected markets within the Greater Accra Region of Ghana was carried out. Data were collected from consenting respondents using a structured questionnaire. Results: Of the 760 respondents (33.3% (n = 253) night and 66.7% (n = 507) day traders) interviewed, there was no significant difference between the day and night market traders in terms of malaria KAP. Although the market traders had an overall moderate knowledge (54.0% of the day traders and 56.5% of the night traders), misconceptions about malaria (especially that it could be caused by exposure to the sun) still existed among the traders. Moreover, the majority of the traders who demonstrated high knowledge (43.98%, n = 250) did not always take laboratory tests to confirm their suspicion, indicating poor attitude. Furthermore, the market traders’ choice of drug for malaria treatment (p = 0.001) and preferred malaria treatment type (orthodox or herbal) (p = 0.005) were significantly associated with their knowledge level. Conclusions: Despite the observation that no significant difference in KAP exists between day and night market traders, appropriate health education programs and interventions still need to be directed at misconceptions, poor attitudes, and poor practices revealed by this study. This will ultimately help in the prevention and control of malaria in Ghana, and globally.

Infectious diseases significantly impact the health status of developing countries. Historically, infectious diseases of the tropics especially have received insufficient attention in worldwide public health initiatives, resulting in poor preventive and treatment options. Many molecular tests for human infections have been established since the 1980s, when polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing was introduced. In spite of the substantial innovative advancements in PCR technology, which currently has found wide application in most viral pathogens of global concern, the development and application of molecular diagnostics, particularly in resource-limited settings, poses potential constraints. This review accessed data from sources including PubMed, Google Scholar, the Web of Knowledge, as well as reports from the World Health Organization’s Annual Meeting on infectious diseases and examined these for current molecular approaches used to identify, monitor, or investigate some neglected tropical infectious diseases. This review noted some growth efforts in the development of molecular techniques for diagnosis of pathogens that appear to be common in resource limited settings and identified gaps in the availability and applicability of most of these molecular diagnostics, which need to be addressed if the One Health goal is to be achieved.

The COVID-19 pandemic has generated worldwide research efforts to provide knowledge about the disease. Yet little is known about how Ghana contributed to this critical knowledge production. This scientometric analysis was conducted to ascertain Ghana’s COVID-19 research output within the African context to gain understanding and identify potential future directions. The study retrieved relevant research, spanning 2019 to 2022, from the Scopus database in December 2022. The retrieved data were assessed using various established indices, including collaboration patterns, productive institutions, citation patterns, and major research sponsors, among others. Ghana came seventh in Africa with a total of 1112 publications. For international collaborations, the United States and the United Kingdom were the major partners, while South Africa was the main African collaborator with Ghana. Out of the top 21 most productive authors, 85.7% were males and 14.3% were females, demonstrating a great gender gap in research output in Ghana. Although Ghana has made some contributions to the global COVID-19 research output, there are few intra-continental research collaborations, which limits Africa’s overall research output. Our study demonstrates a critical need for the Ghanaian government to prioritize research and funding and address barriers to women’s research productivity.