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actices of healthcare providers. Greater responsiveness of the health services to MHO members requires cooperation of all actors involved in healthcare delivery to create an enabling environment where voices defending people's rights are heard.BACKGROUND Breast cancer is one of the top types of cancer affecting women both in the developed and developing countries. Breast cancer is a chronic and debilitating condition for anybody diagnosed of it and as well as their family. Social support has been shown to offset or moderate the impact of stress caused by the illness and other related negative outcomes. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study is to assess the availability, accessibility, and impact of social support on treatment for breast cancer patients at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), Ashanti Region in Ghana. MATERIALS AND METHODS A phenomenological study was employed. An in-depth interview guide was used to collect data on socio-demographic variables and social support availability and accessibility from 15 breast cancer patients. Thematic analysis was employed. RESULTS Majority of the women who participated in the study were postmenopausal women with an average age of 55 years. The study also revealed that all the participants in this study received one kind of support or another including informational, financial, emotional, and tangible support and reported varying positive impacts on their lives as a result of the support received. For those who received support, the prognosis and general quality of life appeared promising and well-adjusted than those who reported not having received any form of support. CONCLUSION Social support is critical for the survival and quality of life of chronic disease patients including breast cancer patients who were the focus of this study. learn more The availability and/or accessibility of social support or otherwise significantly determines the prognosis and quality of life of breast cancer patients. Healthcare professionals and family members or significant others are major players in organizing social support for chronic disease patients.Gonad size, color, texture and taste of Mesocentrotus nudus sea urchins collected from a barren can be improved by a short-term cage culture while being fed fresh Saccharina japonica kelp during May-July. We investigated the effect of S. japonica feeding during May-July on the improvement of gonad flavor in M. nudus collected from a barren. After feeding, we analyzed the odor-active volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the gonads using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and GC-sniffing analyses and compared to those from the gonads of wild sea urchins from an Eisenia kelp bed (fishing ground) and a barren. A total of 48 VOCs were detected from the gonads of cultured and wild sea urchins. Of them, a larger number of odor-active compounds were detected in the gonads of cultured sea urchins (25) than in those from the Eisenia bed (14) and the barren (6). Dimethyl sulfide from the gonads of sea urchins from the barren was described as having a strong, putrid odor. Sea urchin-like aromas were attributed to 2-butanol, 2-ethylhexanol, benzaldehyde and ethylbenzene from the gonads of cultured sea urchin and those of the Eisenia bed. Kelp feeding decreased the putrid odor from dimethyl sulfide, and enhanced pleasant, sweet aromas.Salt stress is one of the devastating factors that hampers growth and productivity of soybean. Use of Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes to improve salt tolerance in soybean has not been thoroughly explored yet. Therefore, we observed the response of hydroponically grown soybean plants, inoculated with halotolerant P. pseudoalcaligenes (SRM-16) and Bacillus subtilis (SRM-3) under salt stress. In vitro testing of 44 bacterial isolates revealed that four isolates showed high salt tolerance. Among them, B. subtilis and P. pseudoalcaligenes showed ACC deaminase activity, siderophore and indole acetic acid (IAA) production and were selected for the current study. We determined that 106 cells/mL of B. subtilis and P. pseudoalcaligenes was sufficient to induce tolerance in soybean against salinity stress (100 mM NaCl) in hydroponics by enhancing plant biomass, relative water content and osmolytes. Upon exposure of salinity stress, P. pseudoalcaligenes inoculated soybean plants showed tolerance by the increased activities of defense related system such as ion transport, antioxidant enzymes, proline and MDA content in shoots and roots. The Na+ concentration in the soybean plants was increased in the salt stress; while, bacterial priming significantly reduced the Na+ concentration in the salt stressed soybean plants. However, the antagonistic results were observed for K+ concentration. Additionally, soybean primed with P. pseudoalcaligenes and exposed to 100 mM NaCl showed a new protein band of 28 kDa suggesting that P. pseudoalcaligenes effectively reduced salt stress. Our results showed that salinity tolerance was more pronounced in P. pseudoalcaligenes as compared to B. subtilis. However, a detailed study at molecular level to interpret the mechanism by which P. pseudoalcaligenes alleviates salt stress in soybean plants need to be explored.OBJECTIVES Mental health is a largely neglected issue among in Sub-Saharan Africa, especially among key populations at risk for HIV. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of psychological distress (PD) and to assess the factors associated among males who have sex with males (MSM), female sex workers (FSW) and drug users (DU) in Togo in 2017. STUDY DESIGN A cross-sectional bio-behavioral study was conducted in August and September 2017 using a respondent-driven sampling (RDS) method, in eight cities in Togo. METHODS A standardized questionnaire was used to record sociodemographic characteristics and sexual behaviors. The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and a subset of questions from the Tobacco Questions for Survey were used to assess alcohol and tobacco consumption respectively. PD was assessed with the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale. A blood sample was taken to test for HIV. Descriptive statistics, univariable and multivariable ordinal regression models were used for analysis.