Are Marine Protected Areas in the Turks and Caicos Islands ecologically or economically valuable?

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are often advocated by ecologists as a method of conserving valuable fish stocks while ensuring the integrity of ecological processes in the face of increasing anthropogenic disturbance. In the Turks and Caicos Islands there is little evidence that current MPAs are ecologically beneficial but there are indications that boundary changes may enhance queen conch and finfish production. Implementing boundary changes usually requires political will and, hence, quantifiable economic benefits. Assessing the value of reef fish is particularly important because they are potentially valuable for consumptive and nonconsumptive purposes. We demonstrate the nonconsumptive economic value of increased Nassau grouper size and abundance to the dive tourism industry through a paired comparison conjoint survey of visiting divers. Our results suggest that accounting for the non-consumptive economic value of increased Nassau grouper abundance and size may have a large impact on the economic viability of ecologically functional MPAs

Risk Factors for In-hospital Nonhemorrhagic Stroke in Patients With Acute Myocardial Infarction Treated With Thrombolysis: Results from GUSTO-I

BACKGROUND: Nonhemorrhagic stroke occurs in 0.1% to 1.3% of patients with acute myocardial infarction who are treated with thrombolysis, with substantial associated mortality and morbidity. Little is known about the risk factors for its occurrence. METHODS AND RESULTS: We studied the 247 patients with nonhemorrhagic stroke who were randomly assigned to one of four thrombolytic regimens within 6 hours of symptom onset in the GUSTO-I trial. We assessed the univariable and multivariable baseline risk factors for nonhemorrhagic stroke and created a scoring nomogram from the baseline multivariable modeling. We used time-dependent Cox modeling to determine multivariable in-hospital predictors of nonhemorrhagic stroke. Baseline and in-hospital predictors were then combined to determine the overall predictors of nonhemorrhagic stroke. Of the 247 patients, 42 (17%) died and another 98 (40%) were disabled by 30-day follow-up. Older age was the most important baseline clinical predictor of nonhemorrhagic stroke, followed by higher heart rate, history of stroke or transient ischemic attack, diabetes, previous angina, and history of hypertension. These factors remained statistically significant predictors in the combined model, along with worse Killip class, coronary angiography, bypass surgery, and atrial fibrillation/flutter. CONCLUSIONS: Nonhemorrhagic stroke is a serious event in patients with acute myocardial infarction who are treated with thrombolytic, antithrombin, and antiplatelet therapy. We developed a simple nomogram that can predict the risk of nonhemorrhagic stroke on the basis of baseline clinical characteristics. Prophylactic anticoagulation may be an important treatment strategy for patients with high probability for nonhemorrhagic stroke, but further study is needed

Low-cost, handheld near-infrared spectroscopy for root dry matter content prediction in cassava

Open Access Journal; Published online: 31 Mar 2022Over 800 million people across the tropics rely on cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) as a major source of calories. While the root dry matter content (RDMC) of this starchy root crop is important for both producers and consumers, characterization of RDMC by traditional methods is time-consuming and laborious for breeding programs. Alternate phenotyping methods have been proposed but lack the accuracy, cost, or speed ultimately needed for cassava breeding programs. For this reason, we investigated the use of a low-cost, handheld near-infrared spectrometer (740–1070 nm) for field-based RDMC prediction in cassava. Oven-dried measurements of RDMC were paired with 21,044 scans of roots of 376 diverse genotypes from 10 field trials in Nigeria and grouped into training and test sets based on cross-validation schemes relevant to plant breeding programs. Mean partial least squares regression model performance ranged from R2P = 0.62–0.89 for within-trial predictions, which is within the range achieved with laboratory-grade spectrometers in previous studies. Relative to other factors, model performance was highly affected by the inclusion of samples from the same environment in both the training and test sets. With appropriate model calibration, the tested spectrometer will allow for field-based collection of spectral data with a smartphone for accurate RDMC prediction and potentially other quality traits, a step that could be easily integrated into existing harvesting workflows of cassava breeding programs

Estimates for heritability and consumer-validation of a penetrometer method for phenotyping softness of cooked cassava roots

Although breeders have made significant progress in the genetic improvement of cassava ( Manihot esculenta Crantz) for agronomic traits, lack of information on heritability and limited testing of high-throughput phenotyping methods are major limitations to improving root quality traits, such as softness after cooking, which rank high among Ugandan consumers. The objectives of this study were to determine heritability for softness of cooked cassava roots, and quantify the relationship between penetrometer and consumer testing methods for phenotyping softness of cassava roots. Softness defined as the maximum force (N) needed to penetrate cooked root samples using a penetrometer, was evaluated at four cooking time intervals: 15, 30, 45, and 60 min on 268 cassava genotypes. Estimates of broad-sense heritability (repeatability) ranged from 0.17 to 0.37, with the highest value observed at 45 min of cooking time interval. In the second study involving 135 cassava consumers from Kibaale district in Uganda, penetrometer measurements of cooked roots from six cassava varieties were found to be in strong agreement (r2 = 0.91; P-value = 0.003) with ordinal scores of root softness from consumer testing. These results suggest that: (a) softness of cooked cassava roots is a trait amenable for evaluation and selection; and (b) a penetrometer can readily be used for assessment of cooked root softness. These findings form the basis for operationalising the routine assessment of root softness in cassava breeding trials, an output that will enhance ongoing efforts to breed for desired end-user root quality traits.Les s\ue9lectionneurs ont fait des progr\ue8s consid\ue9rables dans l\u2019am\ue9lioration g\ue9n\ue9tique des caract\ue8res agronomiques du manioc ( Manihot esculenta Crantz). Cependant un manque de m\ue9thodes de ph\ue9notypage haut-d\ue9bit adapt\ue9es aux caract\ue8res de qualit\ue9s tel que la fermet\ue9 de la racine apr\ue8s cuisson, essentiel pour les consommateurs Ougandais. Cette \ue9tude ambitionne a) de determiner l\u2019h\ue9ritabilit\ue9 de la fermete de racine cuite b) de quantifier la relation entre l \ue9valuation de la fermet\ue9 de racine cuite au p\ue9n\ue9trom\ue8tre et un panel consommateurs. Cette \ue9valuation a \ue9t\ue9 realisee a quatre intervals de temps: 15, 30, 45 et 60 minutes sur 268 genotypes de manioc. Pour d\ue9finir l\u2019h\ue9ritabilit\ue9 de la fermet\ue9 de la racine, celle ci a \ue9t\ue9 d\ue9finie par la force maximum (N) n\ue9cessaire pour p\ue9n\ue9trer des \ue9chantillons de racines incluant diff\ue8rent temps de cuisson (15, 30, 45, and 60 min) a l\u2019aide d\u2019un p\ue9n\ue9trom\ue8tre. L\u2019h\ue9ritabilit\ue9 au sens large (ou r\ue9p\ue9tabilit\ue9) observ\ue9e varie de 0.17 a 0.37, la valeur la plus \ue9lev\ue9 \ue9tant observ\ue9e pour un temps de cuisson de 45 minutes. Dans une seconde \ue9tude impliquant 135 consommateurs du district de Kibaale (Ouest de l\u2019Ouganda), les mesures au p\ue9n\ue9trom\ue8tre de racines cuites de six vari\ue9t\ue9s ont confirm\ue9es la forte correlation (r2 = 0.91; P-value = 0.003) avec les valeurs ordinales de fermet\ue9 de racine du panel consommateur. Les r\ue9sultats de cette \ue9tude indiquent que cette m\ue9thodologie de ph\ue9notypage est a) utile pour l\u2019 \ue9valuation de la fermet\ue9 sur des racines cuites en selection et b) d\ue9montre que l\u2019usage du p\ue9n\ue9trom\ue8tre est efficace pour celle ci. Ces r\ue9sultats offrent aux s\ue9lectionneurs une methode d\u2019 \ue9valuation de routine de la qualite de racine pour les essais experimentaux. Ceux ci contribueront aux efforts actuels pour l\u2019am\ue9lioration des caract\ue8res qualit\ue9s chers aux consommateurs

Predicting starch content in cassava fresh roots using near-infrared spectroscopy

Open Access Journal; Published online: 08 Nov 2022The cassava starch market is promising in sub-Saharan Africa and increasing rapidly due to the numerous uses of starch in food industries. More accurate, high-throughput, and cost-effective phenotyping approaches could hasten the development of cassava varieties with high starch content to meet the growing market demand. This study investigated the effectiveness of a pocket-sized SCiO™ molecular sensor (SCiO) (740−1070 nm) to predict starch content in freshly ground cassava roots. A set of 344 unique genotypes from 11 field trials were evaluated. The predictive ability of individual trials was compared using partial least squares regression (PLSR). The 11 trials were aggregated to capture more variability, and the performance of the combined data was evaluated using two additional algorithms, random forest (RF) and support vector machine (SVM). The effect of pretreatment on model performance was examined. The predictive ability of SCiO was compared to that of two commercially available near-infrared (NIR) spectrometers, the portable ASD QualitySpec® Trek (QST) (350−2500 nm) and the benchtop FOSS XDS Rapid Content™ Analyzer (BT) (400−2490 nm). The heritability of NIR spectra was investigated, and important spectral wavelengths were identified. Model performance varied across trials and was related to the amount of genetic diversity captured in the trial. Regardless of the chemometric approach, a satisfactory and consistent estimate of starch content was obtained across pretreatments with the SCiO (correlation between the predicted and the observed test set, (R2 P): 0.84−0.90; ratio of performance deviation (RPD): 2.49−3.11, ratio of performance to interquartile distance (RPIQ): 3.24−4.08, concordance correlation coefficient (CCC): 0.91−0.94). While PLSR and SVM showed comparable prediction abilities, the RF model yielded the lowest performance. The heritability of the 331 NIRS spectra varied across trials and spectral regions but was highest (H2 > 0.5) between 871−1070 nm in most trials. Important wavelengths corresponding to absorption bands associated with starch and water were identified from 815 to 980 nm. Despite its limited spectral range, SCiO provided satisfactory prediction, as did BT, whereas QST showed less optimal calibration models. The SCiO spectrometer may be a cost-effective solution for phenotyping the starch content of fresh roots in resource-limited cassava breeding programs

The evolutionary history of wild, domesticated, and feral brassica oleracea (Brassicaceae)

Understanding the evolutionary history of crops, including identifying wild relatives, helps to provide insight for conservation and crop breeding efforts. Cultivated Brassica oleracea has intrigued researchers for centuries due to its wide diversity in forms, which include cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, kohlrabi, and Brussels sprouts. Yet, the evolutionary history of this species remains understudied. With such different vegetables produced from a single species, B. oleracea is a model organism for understanding the power of artificial selection. Persistent challenges in the study of B. oleracea include conflicting hypotheses regarding domestication and the identity of the closest living wild relative. Using newly generated RNA-seq data for a diversity panel of 224 accessions, which represents 14 different B. oleracea crop types and nine potential wild progenitor species, we integrate phylogenetic and population genetic techniques with ecological niche modeling, archaeological, and literary evidence to examine relationships among cultivars and wild relatives to clarify the origin of this horticulturally important species. Our analyses point to the Aegean endemic B. cretica as the closest living relative of cultivated B. oleracea, supporting an origin of cultivation in the Eastern Mediterranean region. Additionally, we identify several feral lineages, suggesting that cultivated plants of this species can revert to a wild-like state with relative ease. By expanding our understanding of the evolutionary history in B. oleracea, these results contribute to a growing body of knowledge on crop domestication that will facilitate continued breeding efforts including adaptation to changing environmental conditions

Recovered memories, satanic abuse, Dissociative Identity Disorder and false memories in the UK: a survey of Clinical Psychologists and Hypnotherapists

An online survey was conducted to examine psychological therapists’ experiences of, and beliefs about, cases of recovered memory, satanic / ritualistic abuse, Multiple Personality Disorder / Dissociative Identity Disorder, and false memory. Chartered Clinical Psychologists (n=183) and Hypnotherapists (n=119) responded. In terms of their experiences, Chartered Clinical Psychologists reported seeing more cases of satanic / ritualistic abuse compared to Hypnotherapists who, in turn, reported encountering more cases of childhood sexual abuse recovered for the first time in therapy, and more cases of suspected false memory. Chartered Clinical Psychologists were more likely to rate the essential accuracy of reports of satanic / ritualistic abuse as higher than Hypnotherapists. Belief in the accuracy of satanic / ritualistic abuse and Multiple Personality Disorder / Dissociative Identity Disorder reports correlated negatively with the belief that false memories were possible

State of the world’s plants and fungi 2020

Kew’s State of the World’s Plants and Fungi project provides assessments of our current knowledge of the diversity of plants and fungi on Earth, the global threats that they face, and the policies to safeguard them. Produced in conjunction with an international scientific symposium, Kew’s State of the World’s Plants and Fungi sets an important international standard from which we can annually track trends in the global status of plant and fungal diversity