Highland bananas are an important staple food in East Africa, but there is little information on their physiology and growth patterns. This makes it difficult to identify opportunities for yield improvement. We studied allometric relationships by evaluating different phenological stages of highland banana growth for use in growth assessment, understanding banana crop physiology and yield prediction. Pared corms of uniform size (cv. Kisansa) were planted in a pest-free field in Kawanda (central Uganda), supplied with fertilizers and irrigated during dry periods. In addition, tissue-cultured plants (cv. Kisansa) were planted in an adjacent field and in Ntungamo (southwest Uganda), with various nutrient addition treatments (of N, P, K, Mg, S, Zn, B and Mo). Plant height, girth at base, number of functional leaves and phenological stages were monitored monthly. Destructive sampling allowed derivation of allometric relationships to describe leaf area and biomass distribution in plants throughout the growth cycle. Individual leaf area was estimated as LA (m 2 ) = length (m) × maximum lamina width (m) × 0.68. Total plant leaf area (TLA) was estimated as the product of the measured middle leaf area (MLA) and the number of functional leaves. MLA was estimated as MLA (m 2 ) = −0.404 + 0.381 height (m) + 0.411 girth (m). A light extinction coefficient (k = 0.7) was estimated from photosynthetically active radiation measurements in a 1.0 m grid over the entire day. The dominant dry matter (DM) sinks changed from leaves at 1118 • C days (47% of DM) and 1518 • C days (46% of DM), to the stem at 2125 • C days (43% of DM) and 3383 • C days (58% of DM), and finally to the bunch at harvest (4326 • C days) with 53% of DM. The allometric relationship between aboveground biomass (AGB in kg DM) and girth (cm) during the vegetative phase followed a power function, AGB = 0.0001 (girth) 2.35 (R 2 = 0.99), but followed exponential functions at flowering, AGB = 0.325 e 0.036(girth) (R 2 = 0.79) and at harvest, AGB = 0.069 e 0.068(girth) (R 2 = 0.96). Girth at flowering was a good parameter for predicting yields with R 2 = 0.7 (cv. Mbwazirume) and R 2 = 0.57 (cv. Kisansa) obtained between actual and predicted bunch weights. This article shows that allometric relationship can be derived and used to assess biomass production and for developing banana growth models, which can help breeders and agronomists to further exploit the crop's potential.

BackgroundCardiovascular disease has become a leading global health challenge representing the largest cause of mortality in adults worldwide. Non communicable diseases are neglected in Uganda over infectious diseases. With increased urbanization, there is likely increase in burden of these NCDs yet there is paucity of reliable data regarding the NCD burden. We assessed the prevalence of hypertension and other cardiovascular disease risk factors among medical students at Makerere University, College of Health Sciences in Kampala, Uganda.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study at Makerere University comprising 180 medical students. We used a standardized questionnaire and anthropometric measurements to assess their cardiovascular disease risk factors using JNC-7. Logistic regression was used to assess factors associated with elevated blood pressure.ResultsOf the 180 students surveyed, 107 (59 %) were males, mean age was 22 years (SD = 3 years), and 159 (88 %) were in their preclinical years of training. Cardiovascular risk factors with the highest prevalence were alcohol consumption (31.7 %); elevated systolic blood pressure (14 %); and excessive salt intake (13 %). Participants with elevated systolic blood pressure were more likely to be older (OR = 1.18), overweight (OR = 1.08), and with a personal history of cardiovascular disease (OR = 4.68).ConclusionsThe prevalence of hypertension and known cardiovascular disease risk factors is high among the medical students. Strategies to prevent cardiovascular disease among the young population should be put in place.

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