Pathotypic diversity of Rhynchosporium secalis (Oudem) in Tunisia

Scald, caused by Rhynchosporium secalis (Oudem), is an important disease of barley in Tunisia particularly in northern, northwestern and central parts of the country where the climate is usually cold and wet during most of the barley growing season. Pathogenic variability of the barley scald pathogen in Tunisia was determined by testing the pathogenicity of 100 isolates from 5 different regions on 19 host differentials. Pathotypic diversity was high, with 93 R. secalis pathotypes identified on two differential sets (one comprising 9 and the other 10 barley lines) containing known resistance genes. A few pathotypes comprised 2% of the isolates; however, the majorities were represented by a single isolate. None of the differential lines was resistant to all isolates. The differential cultivar “Astrix” was the least compatible with the scald pathotypes followed by the differential cultivars “Atlas” and “Abyssinia”. Compatibility of the pathotypes on “Rihane” (69%) was close to that on “Osiris” (73%) and “La Mesita” (61%). None of the pathotypes was found in all the five regions of Tunisia surveyed. Some pathotypes were specific to a single region while others were found in several regions. The incidence of pathotypes varied considerably among regions, with region 3 (northwestern Tunisia) comprising the largest number of pathotypes. Virulent pathotypes were recovered in all regions but more pathotypic variability (44%) was observed in the semi-arid region 3. Differential cultivars allowed classification of R. secalis in four virulence groups. Canonical discriminant analysis showed no apparent association between virulence and geographical origin of the populations. Pathogenic variability in R. secalis in Tunisia was found not to be associated with geographical region, hence, the necessity for deployment of different resistance sources in major barley growing areas.Key words: Rhynchosporium secalis, barley, virulence groups, pathotypic variation

Extending the Frontiers of Financial Development for Sustainability of the MENA States : The Roles of Resource Abundance and Institutional Quality

Resource abundance characterizes economies within the MENA region from North Africa to the Middle East. As such, to improve financial development (FD) for regional economic sustainability, this study provides a comprehensive analysis of the roles of natural resources abundance and institutional quality indicators on the region's FD while underscoring the inflationary levels and general economic growth trends amidst rising globalization. The adopted empirical strategy (CS-ARDL and AMG) is employed for potential cross-sectional dependency (CD) and slope homogeneity in the regional data spanning over two decades (2000–2020). Unlike the extant literature, two separate regional FD indicators were considered for an insightful analysis namely, banking financial services via domestic credit to private sector, and financial stability via the Z-score values showing the tendencies of default in a country's banking structure. Regardless of the FD indicator, the results reveal that natural resources, growth trends, and inflationary levels significantly spur long-run regional FD thereby invalidating the financial resource curse hypothesis in the region. Furthermore, both institutional quality levels and globalization produced detrimental impacts on FD levels. However, the interaction between institutional quality levels and natural resources shows a desirable FD-stimulating effect in the region, noticeably when FD is proxied by the Z-score. Thus, implying that stronger institutions are crucial for MENA's overall financial stability vis-à-vis reduction in the risk of default in the banking system. Hence, policy recommendations including the strengthening of institutional capacities among others, were suggested to regional authorities toward harnessing resources for sustainable regional FD.© 2023 The Authors. Sustainable Development published by ERP Environment and John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

The primacy of political security : contentious politics and insecurity in the Tunisian revolution

The removal of Ben Ali's regime in Tunisia signalled the start of the Arab Spring. The abrupt nature of the regime change raises questions about why it happened in the way it did. This article examines the contextual factors that precipitated the regime change through the lens of political security. The aim is to examine how political insecurity in society led to the emergence of opposition sufficiently organized to unseat Ben Ali. The paper develops a framework to consider how the loss of legitimacy by the regime opened the space for opposition. Attempts to restrict opposition failed to address underlying claims, leaving the way open for the opposition to unite following the self-immolation of Mohammed Bouazizi

First Molecular Epidemiological Study of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in Libya

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania. The disease is characterized by the formation of chronic skin lesions followed by permanent scars and deformation of the infected area. It is distributed in many tropical and subtropical countries with more than 2 million cases every year. During the past few years CL has emerged as a major public health problem in Libya. So far, diagnosis was based on clinical symptoms and microscopic observation of parasites. Disease outbreaks were not investigated and the causative leishmanial species of CL were not identified so far. Our study indicates the presence of two coexisting species: Leishmania major and Leishmania tropica. These results are crucial in order to provide accurate treatment, precise prognosis and appropriate public health control measures. The recent armed conflict in Libya that ended with the Gadhafi regime collapse on October 2011 has affected all aspects of the life in the country. In this study we discussed multiple risk factors that could be associated with this conflict and present major challenges that should be considered by local and national health authorities for evaluating the CL burden and highlighting priority actions for disease control

Meeting sustainable development goals via robotics and autonomous systems

Robotics and autonomous systems are reshaping the world, changing healthcare, food production and biodiversity management. While they will play a fundamental role in delivering the UN Sustainable Development Goals, associated opportunities and threats are yet to be considered systematically. We report on a horizon scan evaluating robotics and autonomous systems impact on all Sustainable Development Goals, involving 102 experts from around the world. Robotics and autonomous systems are likely to transform how the Sustainable Development Goals are achieved, through replacing and supporting human activities, fostering innovation, enhancing remote access and improving monitoring. Emerging threats relate to reinforcing inequalities, exacerbating environmental change, diverting resources from tried-and-tested solutions and reducing freedom and privacy through inadequate governance. Although predicting future impacts of robotics and autonomous systems on the Sustainable Development Goals is difficult, thoroughly examining technological developments early is essential to prevent unintended detrimental consequences. Additionally, robotics and autonomous systems should be considered explicitly when developing future iterations of the Sustainable Development Goals to avoid reversing progress or exacerbating inequalities