Journal articles on the topic 'Internal Solomon Islands'

A new monotypic genus of ricaniid planthoppers (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha: Ricaniidae) from New Georgia Island (Solomon Islands), Kazukurugen. nov., is described for K. zingiberissp. nov. (type species). Habitus, female, external and internal genital structures of the new species are described and illustrated.

Abstract. Modern Pacific decadal variability (PDV) has global impacts; hence records of PDV from the pre-instrumental period are needed to better inform models that are used to project future climate variability. We focus here on reconstructing rainfall in the western tropical Pacific (Solomon Islands; ~ 9.5° S, ~160° E), a region directly influenced by PDV, using cave deposits (stalagmite). A relationship is developed between δ18O variations in the stalagmite and local rainfall amount to produce a 600 yr record of rainfall variability from the South Pacific Convergence Zone (SPCZ). We present evidence for large (~1.5 m), abrupt, and periodic changes in total annual rainfall amount on decadal to multidecadal timescales since 1423 ± 5 CE (Common Era) in the Solomon Islands. The timing of the decadal changes in rainfall inferred from the 20th century portion of the stalagmite δ18O record coincides with previously identified decadal shifts in PDV-related Pacific ocean–atmosphere behavior (Clement et al., 2011; Deser et al., 2004). The Solomons record of PDV is not associated with variations in external forcings, but rather results from internal climate variability. The 600 yr Solomon Islands stalagmite δ18O record indicates that decadal oscillations in rainfall are a persistent characteristic of SPCZ-related climate variability.

Konflik internal pada Kepulauan Solomon mengakibatkan terjadinya krisis kemanusiaan yang berdampak kepada terancamnya keamanan manusia masyarakat negara tersebut. Hal ini di respon oleh negara-negara di kawasan Pasifik untuk menanggulangi konflik dengan membentuk RAMSI (Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands). Dengan menggunakan metode riset kualitatif dan kerangka konseptual keamanan non tradisional, keamanan manusia, dan tanggung jawab untuk melindungi, pada artikel ini di dapatkan peran RAMSI dalam menanggulangi konflik di Kepulauan Solomon ada tiga bentuk. Pertama, tanggung jawab untuk mencegah yaitu RAMSI melakukan intervensi dan stabilisasi. Kedua, tanggung jawab untuk bereaksi yaitu RAMSI melakukan serangkaian aksi seperti penyitaan senjata kelompok yang berkonflik, mengejar tokoh-tokoh kriminal dan korup, serta melakukan penegakkan hukum. Ketiga, tanggung jawab untuk pemulihan yaitu RAMSI melakukan pembangunan kapasitas di bidang hukum, politik, keamanan, ekonomi di Kepulauan Solomon.Kata Kunci: Keamanan Manusia, Kepulauan Solomon, Konflik, RAMSI, Tanggung Jawab untuk Melindungi

The archipelagic nation of Solomon Islands in the sw Pacific experienced a debilitating internal conflict between 1998 and 2003. What began as an ethnic conflict evolved into a wider breakdown of law and order that led to the progressive collapse of government, closure of commercial enterprises and threat of national bankruptcy. In mid-2003 the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (ramsi) was mobilised and deployed under the auspices of the Pacific Islands Forum. Led and largely funded by the Australian government, ramsi sought to restore security and stability to the troubled nation through a combination of policing and law enforcement, institutional strengthening with central government agencies and measures aimed at reviving and growing the national economy. Ten years later and the mission is undergoing drawdown and the transition of its development programs into regular bilateral and multilateral aid programs. While ramsi has made a substantial contribution to the restoration of security and stability in the aftermath of conflict, many outstanding challenges remain. These include issues of political economy and how these are impacting on the quality of governance, service delivery and nation-building, as well as longstanding structural issues with the formal economy, set against prevailing patterns of population growth and internal migration. These challenges are examined in the context of Solomon Islands socio-economic characteristics and recent history with a view to assessing the country’s prospects for enduring stability in the post-ramsi era.

AbstractReports of ‘Psoroma sphinctrinum’ from Palaeotropical areas are shown to represent instead species of the genus Gibbosporina, which is described here as new to science. This genus is superficially similar to tripartite, austral Pannaria species, such as the species now referred to as Pannaria sphinctrina (Mont.) Tuck. ex Hue. A phylogram based on an analysis of the nuclear large subunit rDNA (LSU) locus shows that Gibbosporina is instead a clade in a Pannariaceae branch referred to as the ‘Physma group’, a most unexpected addition to Pannariaceae dealt with by several previous studies. Genera assigned to this group have very contrasting general appearances. However, this diverse group shares distinctly ring-like thalline excipular margins; strongly amyloid internal ascus structures; well-developed perispores which have irregular gibbae and/or nodulose or acuminate apical extensions, but not verrucae; lacks TLC-detectable secondary compounds and have tropical distributions. Gibbosporina is the only tripartite genus in the group, with distinct, nodulose, placodioid, mini-fruticose to mini-foliose cephalodia with a high diversity of Nostoc cyanobionts. The cyanomorphs can apparently exist independently in some cases, although the apothecia on such cephalodia on a specimen from Réunion were unexpectedly found to belong to the chloromorph. The genus and related genera forming the ‘Physma group’ are probably evolutionarily old, and their weak affinity to the remaining part of Pannariaceae, concentrated in the Southern Hemisphere, is discussed. The genus includes 13 known species, and the generitype is Gibbosporina boninensis from the Japanese Ogasawara Islands, originally described as Psoroma boninense and recombined here. The following 12 species are described here as new to science, seven of them with molecular support in an LSU and ITS-based phylogram: Gibbosporina acuminata (Australia, the Philippines), G. amphorella (New Caledonia), G. bifrons (Malaysia, New Caledonia, the Philippines, Solomon Islands), G. didyma (Mauritius, Réunion), G. elixii (Australia), G. leptospora (Australia, Papua New Guinea), G. nitida (Australia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines), G. mascarena (Mauritius, Réunion, Sri Lanka), G. papillospora (the Philippines), G. phyllidiata (Solomon Islands), G. sphaerospora (Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Samoa, and with Psoroma sphinctrinum var. endoxanthellum as a new synonym), and G. thamnophora (Australia and the Philippines). Except for the phyllidiate G. phyllidiata and for G. thamnophora which has cephalodia adapted for vegetative propagation, the species are all primarily fertile. A key for determining the species is provided.

This paper reviews work on the currents of northern Papua New Guinea and then examines recent observations with a research vessel, moored instruments, simple drifters, and NOAA satellite AVHRR and RADARSAT synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery. The dominant large scale features are: the strong New Guinea Coastal Undercurrent that flows through Vitiaz Strait and then reaches along the coast towards Irian Jaya; the New Guinea Coastal Current that reverses with the monsoons; and a wind-driven upwelling plume from SW New Britain during the SE monsoon that joins Solomon Sea waters to flow through Vitiaz Str to bathe the offshore islands, as well as spreading along the PNG coast. During the ship survey in the SE monsoon season the surface plume from the Sepik River was only about 2 m thick and it moved offshore ~10 km at 1 m s–1 before being turned to the NW by the underlying currents. A coincident SAR scene provided a large-scale snapshot of the plume. The plume switched to flow SE at the end of the several-day ship survey. During the NW monsoon another SAR scene showed the plume streaming to the SE. The waters down to several hundred metres in the Sepik study area were comprised of stacks of many mixed layers, with enhanced loads of suspended sediment at the bases of most of them. These subsurface sediment plumes became depleted with increasing distance offshore. Although the tides in the region are small, moored instruments showed semi-diurnal internal tidal currents to have amplitudes up to 0.15 m s–1 and to be associated with vertical oscillations of perhaps 40-50 m. The waters of Goodenough Basin in eastern PNG were mixed from 500 m to the bottom at 1300 m, with energetic subsurface flows at the sills.

ABSTRACTThe following 46 new species of Trypetheliaceae are described: Astrothelium aenascens Aptroot from Papua New Guinea, which is similar to A. aenoides but differs by the hamathecium which is not inspersed; A. alboverrucoides Aptroot from Indonesia with globose ascomata with constricted base, internally similar to A. megaspermum; A. clypeatum Aptroot & Gueidan from Vietnam with black conical ascomata in which the pseudostroma is reminiscent of a clypeus, a rimose thallus, and 3-septate ascospores, 85–95×22–25 µm; A. colombiense Aptroot from Colombia with 1 muriform ascospore of 240–300×45–50 µm per ascus, and an inspersed hamathecium; A. condoricum Aptroot from Ecuador with a bright orange thallus and contrasting bright scarlet internal pigment, and muriform ascospores, 38–42×18–21 µm; A. corallinum Aptroot from Guyana, which is most similar to A. ochroleucoides but the thallus is without lichexanthone; A. dicoloratum Aptroot from Venezuela with an orange thallus and more yellowish pseudostromata with usually only 1 ascoma, and 9–11-septate ascospores; A. ecuadoriense Aptroot from Ecuador with ascospores 2 per ascus, muriform, 80–175×25–50 µm, and an inspersed hamathecium; A. flavomaculatum Aptroot from Ecuador, Guyana and Venezuela which is similar to A. graphicum, but with ascospores 50–75×12–25 µm; A. flavomeristosporum Aptroot from the Philippines and Ecuador with mostly simple ascomata with an orange to yellow, inspersed hamathecium and muriform ascospores 140–200×25–30 µm; A. flavostiolatum Aptroot from Ecuador with bright yellow ostioles and a very irregular thallus, and muriform ascospores, 175–230×35–45 µm; A. guianense Aptroot from Guyana with a very irregular thallus, eccentric, fused ostioles and ascospores 4 per ascus, muriform, 70–80×20–25 µm; A. inspersogalbineum Aptroot & Weerakoon from Singapore which is similar to A. macrocarpum but with the hamathecium inspersed; A. komposchii Aptroot from Venezuela with chimney-like ostioles and a very irregular, almost squamulose thallus and muriform ascospores, 130–180×35–45 µm; A. laurerosphaerioides Aptroot from Guyana with aggregated ascomata with internally and partly (when abraded) also superficially orange anthraquinone pigment, ascospores 2 per ascus, muriform, 110–130×30–35 µm; A. lucidomedullatum Aptroot from Ecuador with lichexanthone in the medulla of the thallus, ascospores 4 per ascus, muriform, 80–115×25–35 µm; A. lucidostromum Aptroot from Guyana which is similar to A. eustomuralis but lichexanthone is present in the whole pseudostroma; A. lucidothallinum Aptroot from Guyana with the thallus containing lichexanthone, ascomata in pseudostromata without lichexanthone, ostioles apical, hamathecium not inspersed, ascospores muriform, 70–90×18–20 µm; A. mediocrassum Aptroot from Guyana which resembles A. octosporum but without lichexanthone in the thallus or pseudostromata, muriform ascospores, 70–80×22–25 µm, with median septum strongly thickened; A. megatropicum Aptroot from Guyana with 3-septate ascospores 100–120×33–35 µm, and hemispherical dark brown pseudostromata; A. megochroleucum Aptroot from El Salvador with 3-septate ascospores 60–70×16–18 µm and lichexanthone in the thallus and pseudostromata; A. neoinspersum Aptroot from El Salvador which is similar to A. aenascens but with bright yellow pseudostromata; A. perspersum Aptroot & Ertz from Gabon which is similar to A. scoria but with ascospores 26–38×7–9 µm; A. philippinense Aptroot & Schumm from the Philippines without pseudostromata, ostiole apical, hamathecium inspersed, ascospores muriform, 125–170×30–35 µm, 4 per ascus; A. pseudannulare Aptroot & Etayo from Ecuador with the appearance of the A. puiggarii-group, but differing from all other species of it by the 3-septate ascospores 80–88×32–36 µm, which are 2–4 per ascus; A. pseudodissimulum Aptroot from Papua New Guinea with K+ red crystals in the ascoma wall and 5-septate ascospores of 25–33×9–11 µm; A. pseudoferrugineum Aptroot from Indonesia, of the A. conicum-group with an orange thallus and pseudostroma pruina, differing from A. ferrugineum by the ascospores 28–31×9–11 µm and the more glossy thallus; A. pseudomegalophthalmum Aptroot from Colombia, similar to A. megaspermum but differing by the 7-septate ascospores 152–166×32–37 µm; A. rimosum Aptroot from Guyana and Colombia with 7–11-septate ascospores 110–150×30–37 µm and a rimose thallus with yellow medulla; A. sanguineoxanthum Aptroot from Brazil with the thallus containing lichexanthone and pseudostromata with numerous immersed round ascomata, the whole inside of which is full of red, K+ green pigment; A. septemseptatum Aptroot from Guyana and Venezuela with the thallus and pseudostromata UV+ yellow and 7–9-septate ascospores 50–55×12–17 µm; A. sexloculatum Aptroot from Guyana and Papua New Guinea with 5-septate ascospores 25–27×7–11 µm and lichexanthone in the thallus and pseudostromata; A. sipmanii Aptroot from Guyana with simple ascomata with 5-septate ascospores 100–150×35–40 µm and an inspersed hamathecium; A. trypethelioides Aptroot from Venezuela with fused ostioles, an inspersed hamathecium and 7–9-septate ascospores 49–52×13–16 µm; A. ultralucens Aptroot from Venezuela with lichexanthone in the thallus and pseudostromata, fused ostioles and 3-septate ascospores over 105–130×35–42 µm; A. vulcanum from Guyana, of the A. nitidiusculum-group with simple ascomata, an inspersed hamathecium and lichexanthone; A. zebrinum Aptroot from Guyana with fused ostioles and 7-septate ascospores 60–70 µm long, without lichexanthone, anthraquinones and inspersion; Polymeridium rhodopruinosum Aptroot from Puerto Rico with red pruina on the ascomata and 3-septate ascospores 17–19×3·5–5·0 µm; Pseudopyrenula americana Aptroot from Guyana with 3-septate ascospores 26–32×7–10 µm, without inspersion and without lichexanthone; P. guianensis Aptroot from French Guiana and Surinam with a hyaline hamathecium with inspersion, a thallus with lichexanthone and 3-septate ascospores 21–25×6–9 µm; P. hexamera Aptroot from Venezuela with 5-septate ascospores 16–21×6–7 µm, lumina clearly diamond-shaped; P. thallina Lücking & Aptroot from Costa Rica with a greenish corticate thallus and 3-septate ascospores, 21–25×6–9 µm; Trypethelium infraeluteriae Aptroot & Gueidan from Vietnam which is similar to T. subeluteriae but with lower pseudostromata and ascospores 7–9-septate, 37–42×9–11 µm; Viridothelium inspersum Aptroot from Papua New Guinea with solitary, immersed ascomata, an inspersed hamathecium, and 12–14-septate ascospores, 60–75×12–17 µm; V. kinabaluense Aptroot from Sabah which is similar to V. indutum with emergent black ascomata, but with 17–25-septate ascospores 100–150×18–23 µm; and V. solomonense Aptroot from the Solomon Islands having ascomata with lateral, partly fused ostioles and black clypeus, and ascospores 15–19-septate, 75–98×17–20 µm. The new species are known from Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Gabon, Guyana, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Sabah, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Surinam, Venezuela and/or Vietnam.

Abstract Background Ivermectin-based mass drug administration has emerged as a promising strategy for the control of scabies and impetigo in settings where the diseases are endemic. Current follow-up data are limited to 12 months for the majority of studies. Longer-term data are vital to inform the sustainability of interventions. Methods We conducted a prevalence survey for scabies and impetigo in 10 villages in Choiseul Province of the Solomon Islands 36 months after a single round of ivermectin and azithromycin mass drug coadministration. In the primary analysis, we compared the prevalence of scabies and impetigo at 36 months to the prevalence at baseline. Results At 36 months, the prevalence of scabies was 4.7% (95% confidence interval [CI], 3.6–6.1), which was significantly lower than at baseline (18.7%; relative reduction, 74.9%; 95% CI, 61.5%–87.7%; P < .001). The prevalence of impetigo was 9.6% (95% CI, 8.1%–11.4%), significantly lower than at baseline (24.7%; relative reduction, 61.3%; 95% CI, 38.7%–100%; P < .001). The highest prevalence of scabies was among children aged <5 years (12.5%; adjusted odds ratio, 33.2; 95% CI, 6.6–603.2), and the highest prevalence of impetigo was among children aged 5–9 years (16.4%; adjusted odds ratio, 8.1; 95% CI, 3.6–21.8). Conclusions There was a sustained impact of a single round of ivermectin and azithromycin mass drug coadministration on the prevalence of scabies and impetigo 3 years after the intervention. Our data provide further support to adopt this intervention as a central component of global scabies control efforts. Clinical Trials Registration Australian and New Zealand Trials Registry (ACTRN12615001199505).

The genus Profundiconus Kuroda, 1956 is reviewed. The morphological characters of the shell, radular tooth and internal anatomy of species in Profundiconus are discussed. In particular, we studied Profundiconus material collected by dredging in deep water during different scientific campaigns carried out in the Solomon Islands, Madagascar, Papua New Guinea and New Caledonia. We reconstructed a phylogeny of 55 individuals based on partial mitochondrial cox1 gene sequences. The phylogeny shows several clades containing individuals that do not match any of the known species of Profundiconus based on their shell and radular morphologies, and are introduced here as five new species: Profundiconus maribelae sp. nov. from the Solomon Islands; P. virginiae sp. nov. from Chesterfield Plateau (New Caledonia); P. barazeri sp. nov. from Chesterfield Plateau and the Grand Passage area (New Caledonia); P. puillandrei sp. nov. from Norfolk Ridge (New Caledonia), Kermadec Ridge (New Zealand) and possibly Balut Island (Philippines); and P. neocaledonicus sp. nov. from New Caledonia. Furthermore, Profundiconus teramachii forma neotorquatus (da Motta, 1984) is raised to specific status as P. neotorquatus (da Motta, 1984).

Abstract Police reform in much of the developing world reflects a preoccupation with either shifts away from paramilitaristic policing models or restoration of law and order in post-conflict societies. For many Pacific Island Countries (PICs), dialogue on reform reflects the prioritization of internal organizational restructuring and capacity building, with minimal emphasis on responding to ever-changing stakeholder demands. What is also common is for police reform efforts to closely align with prioritized focal areas of donor countries or powerful neighbours in developed countries with different contextual realities. Here we discuss police reform efforts in a PIC that has been the recipient of a major regional post-conflict state-building intervention and highlight the complexities specific to piecing together the police reform architecture. We also make reference to Solomon Islands to support our argument that problematic police reform can be largely attributed to focal imbalances between internal and external transformation agendas. The article concludes with a summary of the constraints associated with police reform in post-conflict contexts and recommendations for navigating the reform process.

AbstractCo-management, a governance process whereby management responsibility is shared between resource users and other collaborators, is a mainstream approach for governing social and ecological aspects of small-scale fisheries. While many assessments of co-management are available for single time periods, assessments across longer time-scales are rare–meaning the dynamic nature, and long-term outcomes, of co-management are insufficiently understood. In this study we analyse ten-years of catch and effort data from a co-managed, multi-species reef fishery in Solomon Islands. To further understand social, ecological and management dynamics we also draw on interviews with fishers and managers that had been conducted throughout the same decade. We aimed to answer (1) what are the temporal trends in fishing effort, harvesting efficiency, and catch composition within and beyond a periodically-harvested closure (i.e. a principal and preferred management tool in Pacific island reef fisheries), and, (2) what are the internal and external drivers that acted upon the fishery, and its management. Despite high fishing effort within the periodically-harvested closure, catch per unit effort remained stable throughout the ten years. Yet the taxonomic composition of catch changed substantially as species targeted early in the decade became locally depleted. These observations indicate that both the frequency of harvesting and the volumes harvested may have outpaced the turnover rates of target species. We argue that this reflects a form of hyperstability whereby declining abundance is not apparent through catch per unit effort since it is masked by a shift to alternate species. While the community sustained and adapted their management arrangements over the decade as a response to internal pressures and some signs of resource changes, some external social and ecological drivers were beyond their capabilities to govern. We argue the collaborative, knowledge exchange, and learning aspects of adaptive co-management may need even more attention to deal with this complexity, particularly as local and distal pressures on multi-species fisheries and community governance intensify. Graphical abstract

Abstract Background Scabies, a parasitic disease of the skin, is a major public health problem, largely affecting children. Scabies is often complicated by impetigo which can result in serious complications including invasive infections and immune mediated diseases. Scabies and impetigo are reported to have high prevalence in tropical settings including the Solomon Islands. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional prevalence survey at Gizo Primary School in the Western Province of the Solomon Islands in August 2018. The diagnosis of scabies was based on criteria developed by the International Alliance for the Control of Scabies in 2018. Population attributable risk was calculated to determine the effect of scabies on the prevalence of impetigo, and both adjusted and unadjusted risk ratios were calculated to identify differences between sexes and age groups. Results A total of 324 students were assessed (47.5% of those enrolled at the school). The prevalence of scabies was 54.3% (95% confidence interval [CI] 48.7–59.8) and most disease was mild (68.8%). The prevalence was higher in males (63.5%; adjusted risk ratio [ARR] 1.4, 95% CI 1.1–1.7), and in those aged 10–12 years (61.4%; ARR 1.8, 95% CI 1.1–2.9 when compared to those aged 4–6 years). The prevalence of impetigo was 32.1%, with males more likely to be affected (41.7%, ARR 1.7, 95% CI 1.2–2.4) but with no significant differences between age groups. 63.5% of those with impetigo had scabies, corresponding to a population attributable risk of 11.8%. Conclusions There is a very high burden of scabies and impetigo among primary school students in Gizo. There is a critical need for the development and implementation of control programs in areas where scabies is endemic.

Taro (Colocasia esculenta), a perennial tuberous herb of the family Araceae, is cultivated widely in southern China. In December 2020, postharvest corm rot occurred on taro of 5 tons with approximately 70% incidence in a 18 square meter cellar in the Qingshanhu District (115°83’E, 28°76’N) of Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province, China. Infected corms had round, soft and slightly sunken lesions covered with white mycelia. The lesions gradually expanded, causing part or whole corm to become soft and shrink, and the inner corm tissue turned brown and rotten. To isolate the pathogen, a total of 30 diseased corm samples were collected. The corms were surface-disinfected by wiping them with 70% ethanol and then passing them over flame back and forth for 5 s. After epidermal tissue of the corms was removed using a sterilized scalpel, small portions of the inner tissue were transferred onto potato dextrose agar (PDA) and incubated at 25°C in the dark. A total of 27 isolates forming Fusarium-like colonies were obtained using monosporic isolation, of which 11 isolates were identified as F. oxysporum and 16 isolates were identified as F. proliferatum based on the colony characteristics and conidial morphology (Leslie and Summerell, 2006). Colonies of F. oxysporum isolates produced dense whitish to light purple mycelia with dark red pigments. Macroconidia were sickle-shaped, straight to slightly curved, 3-5 septa, measuring 25.6 to 45.8 × 3.3 to 6.1 µm. Microconidia were hyaline, oval or ellipsoid, aseptate, and measured 5.2 to 11.8 × 2.2 to 3.5 µm. Chlamydospores were round, 3.5 to 7.6 µm in diameter. Colonies of F. proliferatum isolates were whitish with abundant aerial mycelia and orange pigments. Numerous oval unicellular microconidia were 4.5 to 11.8 × 1.9 to 4.2 µm, and sparse falcate macroconidia with 3-4 septa were 19.4 to 39.2 × 1.9 to 5.2 µm in size. No chlamydospores were observed. Genomic DNA of two representative isolates (F. oxysporum isolate YTU1 and F. proliferatum isolate YTH1) was extracted, and the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region and translation elongation factor 1-α (TEF1-α) gene were amplified and sequenced using primers ITS1/ITS4 and EF-1H/EF-2T (White et al., 1990; Zhang et al., 2014) respectively. Using BLAST analysis, the ITS sequences of isolates YTU1 (506 bp) and YTH1 (508 bp) exhibited 100% homology with F. oxysporum (MN633363) and F. proliferatum (MT534188), respectively, and the TEF1-α sequences of YTU1 (712 bp) and YTH1 (703 bp) shared 100% homology with F. oxysporum (MN507110) and F. proliferatum (MK952799), respectively. Sequences were deposited in GenBank with the Accession Nos. MZ157124 and MZ310443 for ITS, and MZ383814 and MZ383815 for TEF1-α. The pathogenicity of each isolate was determined on six healthy taro corms. All the taro corms were surface-disinfected with 70% alcohol and two locations from each corm were inoculated. One location was inoculated with 20 μl of conidial suspension (1×105 conidia/ml) and the other was inoculated with sterilized water as a control. All corms were incubated in a growth chamber at 25℃ and 95% relative humidity in the dark. After 15 days, all inoculated corms developed brown rot symptoms, while the non-inoculated control corms remained symptomless. The original isolates were successfully reisolated from all symptomatic corms and identified by sequencing, fulfilling Koch's postulates. F. oxysporum has been reported causing postharvest corm rot of taro in Bogor, Japan, and British Solomon Islands (Widodo et al., 2011). However, to our knowledge, this is the first report of F. oxysporum causing postharvest corm rot of taro in China and F. proliferatum causing postharvest corm rot of taro in the world. The disease poses a potential threat to taro production and should be timely assessed and properly managed.

Abstract Background To assess the spatiotemporal variation in female breast cancer attributable to low physical activity (LPA) at a global scale from 1990 to 2019, which is essential to promote physical activity, as well as prevent and control breast cancer. Methods The number of deaths and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), and the corresponding age-standardized rates (ASMR and ASDR) of LPA-related breast cancer in 204 countries and territories from 1990 to 2019 were retrieved from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019 to measure the related breast cancer burden by age and region. The estimated annual percentage change (EAPC) was calculated to quantify the secular trend in breast cancer burden rates. Results From 1990 to 2019, globally, both breast cancer deaths and DALYs attributable to LPA nearly doubled, although the corresponding ASMR and ASDR decreased slightly, with EAPC of -0.46 (95% confidence interval: -0.52, -0.40) and -0.44 (95% confidence interval: -0.49, -0.39), respectively. The LPA-related breast cancer burden varied considerably across the world, with the highest-burden rates in Oceania, Tropical Latin America and Caribbean, and the fastest growth in North Africa and Middle East. The ASMR and ASDR showed a logarithmic association with the Socio-demographic Index, and a temporally upward trend in most of 204 countries regardless of the Socio-demographic Index or the ASMR in 1990. Conclusions Despite a decline in LPA-related breast cancer burden achieved in many countries during the last 3 decades like Bermuda, Myanmar, USA and China, an increase still occurred in most of 204 countries and territories, such as Solomon Islands, Equatorial Guinea, Japan and India. The findings can bring greater awareness to the importance of promoting physical activity for the local government to control the attributable breast cancer burden.

BackgroundThe incidence, mortality, burden of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), and attributable risk factors of breast cancer vary significantly by country or region, particularly between developing and developed countries. This study aimed to analyze breast cancer development trends in developing countries based on the influence of the different sociodemographic indices (SDIs) and World Bank (WB) income-level disease data from 1990 to 2019.MethodsData on the annual incidence, mortality, DALY, years of life lost (YLL) prematurely, years lived with disability (YLD), and age-standardized rate (ASR) of breast cancer from 1990 to 2019 in different countries and territories were obtained from the 2019 Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study. A comparative risk assessment (CRA) framework was used to analyze the general risk factors.ResultsThe global age-standardized incidence rate (ASIR) gradually increased from 21.44 per 100,000 population in 1990 to 24.17 per 100,000 population in 2019. It rose precipitously to 2.91- and 2.49-fold, respectively, for countries with middle SDIs and low-middle SDIs. The ASIR of breast cancer was increasing in the lower-middle-income levels in WB, with an estimated annual percentage change (EAPC) of 0.29 [95% uncertainty interval (UI): 0.20–0.37] and reduced income (EAPC of 0.59 [95% UI: 0.53–0.65]). The Solomon Islands and the United Arab Emirates observed the most significant increase in the magnitude of deaths from breast cancer cases. Compared to the death cases of 1990, percentage changes increased separately by 1,169 and 851%. Compared to developed areas, breast cancer-related deaths increased rapidly in developing regions, especially among the middle-aged and elderly groups. Meanwhile, the long-term burden of breast cancer was ever expanding. Of all the GBD regions, Oceania had the youngest age distribution. The deaths in the young and middle-aged groups accounted for 69% in 1990 and 72% in 2019. Percentage changes in deaths from the seven risk factors in low- to middle-SDI regions increased significantly over time across all age groups. However, a diet with high red meat and high body mass index (BMI) accounted for the most considerable increase in the magnitude.ConclusionPublic health policy regarding breast cancer is fundamental in low- and medium-income countries. The development and adoption of cost-effective screening and therapeutic solutions, the mitigation of risk factors, and the establishment of a cancer infrastructure are essential.