Identifying cultural, climatic and temporal factors influencing Striga asiatica abundance within rice--maize systems in mid-west Madagascar

The parasitic weed genus Striga causes huge losses to crop production in sub-Saharan Africa, estimated to be in excess of $7 billion per year, affecting subsistence farmers who frequently lack access to novel technologies proposed for control. Effective Striga management therefore requires the development of strategies utilising existing cultural and management practices. We report a multi-year, landscape-scale monitoring project for Striga asiatica in the mid-west of Madagascar, undertaken over 2019-2020 with the aims of examining cultural, climatic and edaphic factors currently driving abundance and distribution. Long-distance transects were established across the middle-west region of Madagascar, over which Striga asiatica abundance in fields was estimated. Analysis of the data highlights the importance of crop variety and legumes in driving Striga density. Moreover, the dataset revealed significant effect of precipitation seasonality, mean temperature and altitude in determining abundance. A composite management index indicated the effect of a range of cultural practices on changes in Striga abundance. The findings support the assertion that single measures are not sufficient for the effective, long-term management of Striga. Furthermore, the composite score has potential as a significant guide of ISM control beyond the geographic range of this study.

In Search of Helen Maria Chesnutt (1880-1969), Black Latinist

Classical scholars have begun to delineate the dynamic pattern of black classicism. This new subfield of the classical tradition involves the analysis of the creative response to classical antiquity by artists as well as the history of the professional training in classics of scholars, teachers and students in high schools, colleges and universities. To the first group belongs Helen Maria Chesnutt (1880-1969). Born in Fayetteville, NC, Chesnutt was the second daughter of acclaimed African American novelist, Charles W. Chesnutt (1858-1932). She earned her B.A. from Smith College in 1902 and her M.A. in Latin from Columbia University in 1925. She was a member of the American Philological Association and the Classical Association of the Middle West and South. Her life was spent teaching Latin at Central High School in Cleveland, OH. This is the first full scale account of her career.

Groundwater Quality and Risk Assessment of Heavy Metal Pollution in Middle-West Part of Bangladesh

Bangladesh is a densely populated and developing country that faced severe water contamination, crisis, and security. About 100% of the population has access to the availability of freshwater, but the purity of water is always concerned. The groundwater of Bangladesh is under increasing threat from overexploitation, population growth, rapid urbanization, and pollution from industries, domestic and agricultural sources. For the assessment of heavy and toxic metal contamination in shallow groundwater, the study collected 40 water samples from different stations in the middle-west part of Bangladesh. The results showed that three metals ion, viz. iron, manganese, and lead exceeded the concentration limit of WHO (2011) in most of the water samples indicating severe human health hazard. The single-factor pollution index (I i ) and compound pollution index (CPI) value of these three (3) metals were very high, i.e., much greater than 1. The other metal concentrations were found within the safe permissible ranges. The values of heavy metal pollution indices, viz. heavy metal pollution index (HMPI), heavy metal evaluation index (HMEI), degree of contamination (Cd ), Nemerow Index (NeI), and ecological risk measurement (ERI) showed that most of the water samples were found medium to high levels of contamination in the study area. The analysis results revealed that an average of 32.6%, 15.6%, and 51.8% of the water samples was found low, medium, and high risk from heavy metal, respectively. There were 20 samples found highly contaminated with heavy metals out of 40 samples. The study results revealed that both the geogenic and anthropologic activities influenced the groundwater system of the area. It suggested that the groundwater quality should go under a continuous monitoring process for sustainable water quality management in the area. The study findings could help with further planning of potential future remediation measures for policymakers.

Slope Stability Analysis of Haditha Dam after Earthquake using Geo-Studio Software

The current study is designed to analyze theslope stability of Haditha damwhich is an earth-fill dam constructed on the Euphrates River in the middle-west of Iraq. Finite element modeling was used in the present study to analyze the combined seepage and post-earthquake slope stability of Haditha earth dam. The maximum water level of a steady seepage case was considered to evaluate seepage. - Three different water levels (maximum, normal, and minimum) were applied, and nine different equilibrium slope stability limits were used to analyze the upstream and downstream slopes of the dam with three horizontal maximum accelerations.The input data given to the software are the dam geometry and its material properties with the earthquake records in the year2019.The dam was investigated by considering the water in the reservoir to be at maximum, minimum and normal water levels in its actual design. It was concluded that the dam is on the safe side in terms of stability even though the change in the earthquake's conditions in Iraq.

Ethnoveterinary Knowledge and Practice Applied to Domestic Animals Raised in the Ukraine Colonization Community of Palmital, Paraná State, South Brazil.

Background: A broad spectrum of medicinal plants are used to treat livestock in rural areas of Brazil. The knowledge brought by the first European colonizers merged with traditional indigenous knowledge to treat domestic animals. With the advance of modern medicine, this knowledge is threatened to disappear. Ethnopharmacological studies in northeastern and the Amazon region of Brazil have been conducted, but influence of east Europeans and ethnopharmacological studies in south Brazil are scarce. To find out which plants are used for what purposes by farmers in the rural area of Ukrainian colonization of Palmital, middle west of Paraná state, Brazil. Methods: A semi-structured interview was applied through a non-random sampling with residents with experience in animal husbandry following the “snowball” method. The collected information regarded local plant names, parts of plants used, mode of preparation, route of administration, domestic species and disease treated. The interviewees were encouraged to show the plants used. Photographs were taken and specimen were collected for the family, genus, species identification and storage. The ethnobotanical methods of the informant consensus factor (ICF) and use value (UV) were applied and calculated. Results: 30 women and 20 men reported a total of 45 plant species belonging to 29 families to be used for ethnoveterinary practices. Medicinal plants were used mostly with cattle and goats for 12 different general veterinary uses, with the highest ICF for mastitis and for antiparasitic. Conclusion: A list of native and introduced medicinal plants could be generated. Most plants were used to treat cattle health problems, as the most important livestock species bred in the community. Similar studies with European communities of immigrants in Brazil are unknown and could be a valuable source of information of how cultural blends translate themselves in the use of medicinal plants.