Endomyocardial Fibrosis: Still a Mystery after 60 Years

The pathologist Jack N. P. Davies identified endomyocardial fibrosis in Uganda in 1947. Since that time, reports of this restrictive cardiomyopathy have come from other parts of tropical Africa, South Asia, and South America. In Kampala, the disease accounts for 20% of heart disease patients referred for echocardiography. We conducted a systematic review of research on the epidemiology and etiology of endomyocardial fibrosis. We relied primarily on articles in the MEDLINE database with either “endomyocardial fibrosis” or “endomyocardial sclerosis” in the title. The volume of publications on endomyocardial fibrosis has declined since the 1980s. Despite several hypotheses regarding cause, no account of the etiology of this disease has yet fully explained its unique geographical distribution

Biotechnology contributing to integrated pest management: The example of two major coconut pests, oryctes rhinoceros and brontispa longissima

Pests and diseases are major limiting factors in coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) production. Pests ranging from insects to mites and diseases from fungi to phytoplasma all negatively affect the palm, from the seedling to the field production stage. By presenting examples of two major pests, the coconut rhinoceros beetle (Oryctes rhinoceros L.) and the coconut hispid beetle (Brontispa longissima Gestro), this chapter illustrates how various biotechnologies have helped in the development of an efficient integrated pest management program, in which the available control approaches are combined to provide an effective management system. Biotechnological tools to help control these major production constraints of coconut are already available, but not always efficacious in reducing damage economically. Hence, further innovations in pest and disease management are required to better suppress the build-up of pest and disease populations in the field