Cassava Superelongation Disease in the Caribbean

An important economic constraint to the growing cassava industry in the Caribbean islands is the disease caused by the fungal pathogen Sphaceloma manihoticola, synonym Elsinoë brasilensis (Bitancourt & Jenk). One hundred percent incidence has been recently observed on some farms in the Caribbean islands. The fluctuation in individual farming practices such as lack of fertilizing and irrigation schemes may play a role in the level of health and disease resistance of the plants, which in turn may affect the severity of the disease and levels of incidence. Severe elongation may be seen of the internodes in mature plants but primary symptoms include small yellow leaf spots, leaf curling, stem and petiole scab-like lesions and defoliation. The use of disease-free planting material, fungicide pre-treatment of nodal stem cuttings and germplasm maintenance of in-vitro stocks of high performing varieties is suggested. However, new molecular tools for disease diagnosis and analysis of the pathogen population dynamics are required to adequately manage the disease in the region

Early Sports Specialization: An International Perspective

The physical activity required for most sports has numerous health benefitsVphysical, mental, and academic (5,22,35). Some young athletes specialize in a single sport, while others play multiple sports throughout adolescence. Primary reasons to specialize early include enjoying that single sport; lifestyle access to a particular sport, such as running (34); hope for financial or other special success; or parental pressure. Regions with few resources expect organized sports may provide a safer environment for physical activity than the outdoor neighborhood (e.g., South Africa and Brazil) or increase government-supplied resources to youth sports organizations based on the number of children enrolled (Australia (1)). Recent concerns by sports medicine experts have sparked debate about the wisdom of early sports specialization (3Y6,21,36), but virtually no solid data have been published to inform caregivers, coaches, and families about possible risks and benefits. Sports specialization below the age of 18 yr has been suggested to increase injury risk, decrease social opportunity, and impair life satisfaction (4,16). Additional review articles (23,24) and consensus statements by major sports medicine organizations (3Y5,8,21,36) suggest that early specialization is a culprit potentially leading to adults with history of excessive injuries and limited social opportunity, even suggesting dire consequences (24). However, research supporting these statements is minimal or absent

Role of pathogenic oral flora in postoperative pneumonia following brain surgery

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Post-operative pulmonary infection often appears to result from aspiration of pathogens colonizing the oral cavity. It was hypothesized that impaired periodontal status and pathogenic oral bacteria significantly contribute to development of aspiration pneumonia following neurosurgical operations. Further, the prophylactic effects of a single dose preoperative cefazolin on the oral bacteria were investigated.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A matched cohort of 18 patients without postoperative lung complications was compared to 5 patients who developed pneumonia within 48 hours after brain surgery. Patients waiting for elective operation of a single brain tumor underwent dental examination and saliva collection before surgery. Bacteria from saliva cultures were isolated and periodontal disease was scored according to type and severity. Patients received 15 mg/kg cefazolin intravenously at the beginning of surgery. Serum, saliva and bronchial secretion were collected promptly after the operation. The minimal inhibitory concentrations of cefazolin regarding the isolated bacteria were determined. The actual antibiotic concentrations in serum, saliva and bronchial secretion were measured by capillary electrophoresis upon completion of surgery. Bacteria were isolated again from the sputum of postoperative pneumonia patients.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The number and severity of coexisting periodontal diseases were significantly greater in patients with postoperative pneumonia in comparison to the control group (p = 0.031 and p = 0.002, respectively). The relative risk of developing postoperative pneumonia in high periodontal score patients was 3.5 greater than in patients who had low periodontal score (p < 0.0001). Cefazolin concentration in saliva and bronchial secretion remained below detectable levels in every patient.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Presence of multiple periodontal diseases and pathogenic bacteria in the saliva are important predisposing factors of postoperative aspiration pneumonia in patients after brain surgery. The low penetration rate of cefazolin into the saliva indicates that its prophylactic administration may not be sufficient to prevent postoperative aspiration pneumonia. Our study suggests that dental examination may be warranted in order to identify patients at high risk of developing postoperative respiratory infections.</p

Reading and Ownership

First paragraph: ‘It is as easy to make sweeping statements about reading tastes as to indict a nation, and as pointless.’ This jocular remark by a librarian made in the Times in 1952 sums up the dangers and difficulties of writing the history of reading. As a field of study in the humanities it is still in its infancy and encompasses a range of different methodologies and theoretical approaches. Historians of reading are not solely interested in what people read, but also turn their attention to the why, where and how of the reading experience. Reading can be solitary, silent, secret, surreptitious; it can be oral, educative, enforced, or assertive of a collective identity. For what purposes are individuals reading? How do they actually use books and other textual material? What are the physical environments and spaces of reading? What social, educational, technological, commercial, legal, or ideological contexts underpin reading practices? Finding answers to these questions is compounded by the difficulty of locating and interpreting evidence. As Mary Hammond points out, ‘most reading acts in history remain unrecorded, unmarked or forgotten’. Available sources are wide but inchoate: diaries, letters and autobiographies; personal and oral testimonies; marginalia; and records of societies and reading groups all lend themselves more to the case-study approach than the historical survey. Statistics offer analysable data but have the effect of producing identikits rather than actual human beings. The twenty-first century affords further possibilities, and challenges, with its traces of digital reader activity, but the map is ever-changing

Schoolbooks and textbook publishing.

In this chapter the author looks at the history of schoolbooks and textbook publishing. The nineteenth century saw a rise in the school book market in Britain due to the rise of formal schooling and public examinations. Although the 1870 Education and 1872 (Scotland) Education Acts made elementary education compulsory for childern between 5-13 years old, it was not until the end of the First World War that some sort form of secondary education became compulsory for all children

A Sweet Potato Farmer’s Guide for the Selection of Sweet Potato Cultivars in Barbados using Physical Characteristics and Total Sugars

In June 2018, the Ministry of Agriculture in collaboration with the University of the West, Cave Hill Campus, Barbados conducted a sweet potato trial using thirty-two varieties with the objectives being to examine some physical traits of available cultivars in the gene bank, analyse the sugar content, as well as to produce a farmer’s guide for market selection of sweet potato cultivars in Barbados. The study took note of the following parameters: tuber length, tuber diameter, skin and flesh colour, shape, average tuber number and tuber yield or mass or tubers weight. Statistical analysis showed that the average number of tubers, average length of tubers, and tuber diameters of the varieties followed a normal distribution, and revealed the levels of variation among these parameters. Interestingly, the yield of tubers and the size of these sweet potato did not follow a normal distribution. Results from the sugar analysis showed that varieties with orange and creamy flesh colours contained a higher percentage of sugars (15-16%) compared to the white-flesh coloured varieties with 11-12%. A draft farmer’s selection chart was produced for easy identification of eight widely used varieties found in Barbados using both morphological and biochemical characteristics

Revival of Commercial Dioscorea Alata CV. White Lisbon(YAM) Production in Barbados

In the Caribbean several epidemics of yam anthracnose have led to the demise of sustainable production of White Lisbon yam. Research into yam anthracnose at the University ofthe West Indies, Cave Hill Campus has shown that C. gloeosporioides isolates from yam are host-selective isolates ofYam C. gloeosporioides causing yam anthracnose were capable of infecting yarn only, while isolates from other crops such as citrus and mango did not infect yam. RAPD analysis ofthese isolates showed that isolates from yam were genetically similar, but distantly related to isolates from other crop types. Moreover, phytotoxin studies supported the host-selective nature of C. gloeosporioides isolates causing yam anthracnose. This results and information on epidemiology on yam anthracnose were used to develop and test a model for establishing large-scale of White Lisbon yam production in Barbados

HOST SPECIFICITY OF PUTATIVE ANTHRACNOSE TOXINS FROM Colletotrichum gloeosporioides

Anthracnose of crop plants caused by the fungus Colletotrichum gloeosporioides (PENZ) is a common disease in the Caribbean. The fungus has caused considerable decline in crop output, notably productivity. Putative toxins were extracted from culture filtrates of the fungus isolated from diseased yam (Dioscorea alata L. cv. White Lisbon), coffee, and anthurium plants and tested on a number of plant genotypes. Partially characterized, putative toxins from yam isolates of the fungus induced typical anthracnose symptoms on yam, but not on citrus (Citrus spp. L.), mango (Mangifera indica L.), avocado (Persea americana Mill.), soursop (Anona muricata L.) and anthurium plants. Similarly putative toxins induced foliar symptoms only on the respective host plant from which isolates were obtained. Furthermore, the viability of yam cell suspensions was also affected by the putative toxin

High Genetic Diversity and Structure of <i>Colletotrichum gloeosporioides</i> s.l. in the Archipelago of Lesser Antilles

Colletotrichum gloeosporioides is a species complex of agricultural importance as it causes anthracnose disease on many crop species worldwide, and strong impact regionally on Water Yam (Dioscorea alata) in the Caribbean. In this study, we conducted a genetic analysis of the fungi complex in three islands of the Lesser Antilles—Guadeloupe (Basse Terre, Grande Terre and Marie Galante), Martinique and Barbados. We specifically sampled yam fields and assessed the genetic diversity of strains with four microsatellite markers. We found a very high genetic diversity of all strains on each island, and intermediate to strong levels of genetic structure between islands. Migration rates were quite diverse either within (local dispersal) or between islands (long-distance dispersal), suggesting important roles of vegetation and climate as local barriers, and winds as an important factor in long-distance migration. Three distinct genetic clusters highlighted different species entities, though there was also evidence of frequent intermediates between two clusters, suggesting recurrent recombination between putative species. Together, these results demonstrated asymmetries in gene flow both between islands and clusters, and suggested the need for new approaches to anthracnose disease risk control at a regional level