Brown or white? : a history of the Fiji sugar industry, 1873-1973

For nearly one hundred years the sugar industry has been central to the Fiji economy, and has been dominated by the Colonial Sugar Refining Co. Ltd (CSR). After Cession in 1874, government sought to attract capital to the colony, and CSR responded because it needed raw sugar for its refineries in Australia and New Zealand. The company had originally hoped that its mills would be supplied with cane mainly from outside growers, but initially it was disappointed. Income from cane was too low to attract Fijians, while many of the early settlers were unable to make profits from cane and had to leave Fiji. However, during and after the 1890s better cultivation methods increased the returns from cane. European contractors supplied the mills and CSR began to lease its estates to plantation overseers. The process of leasing was accelerated after 1905, so that by 1914 most of the cane was grown by Europeans. This enabled CSR to obtain supplies more cheaply than if it had grown all the cane itself, and it increased the industry's influence with government. The import of Indian indentured labour from 1879 provided cheap labour for plantations. After serving their indentures, immigrants settled in the vicinity of plantations under conditions designed to encourage them to seek wage employment for parts of the year. In certain respects, these conditions impeded the development of Indian agriculture. In 1916 India halted the supply of indentured labour. There was immediate upward pressure on wages which CSR - in effect supported by government - tried to resist. This led to strikes in 1920 by labourers on eastern Viti Levu, and in the following year by cane growers on western Viti Levu. The industry was saved from collapse by the introduction of government subsidies and the transition to cane production by Indian growers. In the 1920s and '30s CSR, which had become the sole miller of sugar in Fiji, tried to protect the smallfarm system from forces which might otherwise have produced demands by growers for an increase in the price of cane. The interests of CSR and farmers were in fundamental conflict. Following population growth and war-time inflation, in 1943 growers refused to harvest their cane unless the price was increased. The strike was defeated and an inquiry subsequently held by Professor C.Y. Shephard. But CSR prevented the implementation of those proposals of Shephard which would have entailed government intervention in the industry. In 1950 the cane price was increased, though the company could have afforded to do this before then. Nine years later CSR tried to revise the cane contract in ways that would have been to the disadvantage of growers. A strike by farmers followed, after which Sir Malcolm Eve was asked to conduct an inquiry. His findings were designed to strengthen CSR's position in the industry. In 1969 Lord Denning arbitrated in another dispute between growers and CSR, and his report was so favourable to farmers that the company withdrew from Fiji in 1973. The thesis argues that though the industry has brought some economic gains to Fiji, in a variety of ways it has also impeded the country's economic development. It was found that George Beckford's model of plantation enterprise was largely applicable to the case of CSR in Fiji

Differential protein profiling as a potential multi-marker approach for TSE diagnosis

Rona Barron - ORCID: 0000-0003-4512-9177 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4512-9177This "proof of concept" study, examines the use of differential protein expression profiling using surface enhanced laser desorption and ionisationtime of flight mass spectrometry (SELDI-TOF) for the diagnosis of TSE disease. Spectral output from all proteins selectively captured from individual murine brain homogenate samples, are compared as "profiles" in groups of infected and non-infected animals. Differential protein expression between groups is thus highlighted and statistically significant protein "peaks" used to construct a panel of disease specific markers. Studies at both terminal stages of disease and throughout the time course of disease have shown a disease specific protein profile or "disease fingerprint" which could be used to distinguish between groups of TSE infected and uninfected animals at an early time point of disease. Results Our results show many differentially expressed proteins in diseased and control animals, some at early stages of disease. Three proteins identified by SELDI-TOF analysis were verified by immunohistochemistry in brain tissue sections. We demonstrate that by combining the most statistically significant changes in expression, a panel of markers can be constructed that can distinguish between TSE diseased and normal animals. Conclusion Differential protein expression profiling has the potential to be used for the detection of disease in TSE infected animals. Having established that a "training set" of potential markers can be constructed, more work would be required to further test the specificity and sensitivity of the assay in a "testing set". Based on these promising results, further studies are being performed using blood samples from infected sheep to assess the potential use of SELDI-TOF as a pre-mortem blood based diagnostic.https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2334-9-1889pubpub

GATA Transcription Factor Required for Immunity to Bacterial and Fungal Pathogens

In the past decade, Caenorhabditis elegans has been used to dissect several genetic pathways involved in immunity; however, little is known about transcription factors that regulate the expression of immune effectors. C. elegans does not appear to have a functional homolog of the key immune transcription factor NF-κB. Here we show that that the intestinal GATA transcription factor ELT-2 is required for both immunity to Salmonella enterica and expression of a C-type lectin gene, clec-67, which is expressed in the intestinal cells and is a good marker of S. enterica infection. We also found that ELT-2 is required for immunity to Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterococcus faecalis, and Cryptococcus neoformans. Lack of immune inhibition by DAF-2, which negatively regulates the FOXO transcription factor DAF-16, rescues the hypersusceptibility to pathogens phenotype of elt-2(RNAi) animals. Our results indicate that ELT-2 is part of a multi-pathogen defense pathway that regulates innate immunity independently of the DAF-2/DAF-16 signaling pathway

The human adaptor SARM negatively regulates adaptor protein TRIF–dependent Toll-like receptor signaling

Toll-like receptors discriminate between different pathogen-associated molecules and activate signaling cascades that lead to immune responses. The specificity of Toll-like receptor signaling occurs by means of adaptor proteins containing Toll–interleukin 1 receptor (TIR) domains. Activating functions have been assigned to four TIR adaptors: MyD88, Mal, TRIF and TRAM. Here we characterize a fifth TIR adaptor, SARM, as a negative regulator of TRIF-dependent Toll-like receptor signaling. Expression of SARM blocked gene induction ‘downstream’ of TRIF but not of MyD88. SARM associated with TRIF, and ‘knockdown’ of endogenous SARM expression by interfering RNA led to enhanced TRIF-dependent cytokine and chemokine induction. Thus, the fifth mammalian TIR adaptor SARM is a negative regulator of Toll-like receptor signaling

Differential modulation of Helicobacter pylori lipopolysaccharide‐mediated TLR2 signaling by individual Pellino proteins

Background: Eradication rates for current H. pylori therapies have fallen in recent years, in line with the emergence of antibiotic resistant infections. The development of therapeutic alternatives to antibiotics, such as immunomodulatory therapy and vaccines, requires a more lucid understanding of host–pathogen interactions, including the relationships between the organism and the innate immune response. Pellino proteins are emerging as key regulators of immune signaling, including the Toll‐like receptor pathways known to be regulated by H. pylori. The aim of this study was to characterize the role of Pellino proteins in the innate immune response to H. pylori lipopolysaccharide. Materials and Methods: Gain‐of‐function and loss‐of‐function approaches were utilized to elucidate the role of individual Pellino proteins in the Toll‐like receptor 2‐mediated response to H. pylori LPS by monitoring NF‐ĸB activation and the induction of proinflammatory chemokines. Expression of Pellino family members was investigated in gastric epithelial cells and gastric tissue biopsy material. Results: Pellino1 and Pellino2 positively regulated Toll‐like receptor 2‐driven responses to H. pylori LPS, whereas Pellino3 exerted a negative modulatory role. Expression of Pellino1 was significantly higher than Pellino3 in gastric epithelial cells and gastric tissue. Furthermore, Pellino1 expression was further augmented in gastric epithelial cells in response to infection with H. pylori or stimulation with H. pylori LPS. Conclusions: The combination of low Pellino3 levels together with high and inducible Pellino1 expression may be an important determinant of the degree of inflammation triggered upon Toll‐like receptor 2 engagement by H. pylori and/or its components, contributing to H. pylori‐associated pathogenesis by directing the incoming signal toward an NF‐kB‐mediated proinflammatory response

Gastrointestinal perforation after bevacizumab: a multi-site, single-institution study with a focus on survival

Abstract Background Bevacizumab-induced gastrointestinal perforation is a rare but potentially devastating adverse event that has generated limited data on overall survival. Yet, such survival data are critical in guiding management. Methods This multi-site, single-institution retrospective study focused on all cancer patients who had received bevacizumab and who had suffered a well-documented gastrointestinal perforation from January 1, 2004 through January 20, 2022.The main goal was to report survival outcomes; Kaplan Meier curves and Cox survival models were used for this purpose. Results Eighty-nine patients are included in this report with a median age of 62 years (range 26–85). Colorectal cancer was the most common malignancy (n = 42). Thirty-nine patients underwent surgery for the perforation. Seventy-eight were deceased at the time of reporting with an overall median survival of all patients of 2.7 months (range 0–45 months), and 32 (36%) died within 30 days of perforation. In univariable survival analyses, no statistically significant associations were observed for age, gender, corticosteroid use, and time since last bevacizumab dose. However, surgically treated patients manifested a better survival (hazard ratio (HR) 0.49 (95% CI 0.31–0.78); p = 0.003). In multivariable analyses, surgery continued to be associated with improved survival (HR 0.47 (95% CI 0.29–0.74); p = 0.002), and corticosteroid use was associated with worse survival (HR 1.75 (95% CI 1.02–2.99); p = 0.04). Conclusion Although gastrointestinal perforation after bevacizumab should be managed on a case-by-case basis, these descriptive survival data can help inform patients, their families, and healthcare providers as challenging management decisions arise

Systematic review and meta-analysis on the influence of surgeon specialization on outcomes following appendicectomy in children

The aim of this study is to assess the influence of surgeon specialization on outcomes following appendicectomy in children.General surgeons and pediatric surgeons manage appendicitis in children; however, the influence of subspecialization on outcomes remains unclear.Two authors searched Medline and Embase to identify relevant studies. Eligible studies were comparative and provided data on children who had appendicectomy while under the care of general or pediatric surgical teams. Two authors initially screened titles and abstracts and then full text manuscripts were evaluated. Data were extracted by 2 authors using an electronic spreadsheet. Pooled risk ratios and pooled mean differences were used in analyses.We identified 9 relevant studies involving 50,963 children who were managed by general surgery teams and 15,032 children who were managed by pediatric surgery teams. A normal appendix was removed in 4660/48,105 children treated by general surgery units and in 889/14,760 children treated by pediatric units (pooled risk ratio 1.79; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.26-2.54; P=0.001). Children managed in general units had shorter mean hospital stays compared with children managed in pediatric units (pooled mean difference -0.70 days; 95%CI -1.09 to -0.30; P=0.0005). There were no significant differences regarding wound infections, intra-abdominal abscesses, readmissions, or mortality.We found that children who were managed by specialized pediatric surgery teams had lower rates of negative appendicectomy although mean length of stay was longer. Our article is based upon a group of heterogeneous and mostly retrospective studies and therefore there is little external validity. Further studies are needed