First report of Fusarium wilt of Cavendish bananas caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense Tropical Race 4 in Venezuela.

Fusarium wilt of banana (Musa spp.), caused by the soil-borne fungus Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (Foc), is a major constraint to banana production worldwide (Dita et al., 2018). A strain of Foc that affects Cavendish (AAA) bananas in the tropics, called Foc tropical race 4 (TR4; VCG 01213), is of particular concern. Foc TR4 was first detected in Malaysia and Indonesia around 1990 but was restricted to Southeast Asia and northern Australia until 2012. The fungus has since been reported from Africa, the Indian subcontinent, and the Middle East (Viljoen et al., 2020). Foc TR4 was detected in Colombia in 2019 and in Perú in 2021 (Reyes-Herrera et al., 2020). The incursions into Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) triggered global concerns, as 75% of international export bananas are produced in the region. Banana production in Venezuela, however, is primarily intended for domestic consumption (Aular and Casares, 2011). In 2021 the country produced 533,190 metric tons of banana on an area of 35,896 ha, with an approximate yield of 14,853 kg/ha (FAOSTAT, 2023). In July 2022, severe leaf-yellowing, and wilting, along with internal vascular discoloration of the pseudostem, were noted in Cavendish banana plants cultivar 'Valery' in the states of Aragua (10°11'8″N; 67°34'51″W), Carabobo (10º14'24″N; 67º48'51″W), and Cojedes (9°37'44″N; 68°55'4″W). Necrotic strands from the pseudostems of diseased plants were collected for identification of the causal agent using DNA-based techniques, vegetative compatibility group (VCG) analysis and pathogenicity testing. The samples were first surface disinfected and plated onto potato dextrose agar medium. Single-spored isolates were identified as F. oxysporum based on cultural and morphological characteristics, including white colonies with purple centres, infrequent macroconidia, abundant microconidia on short monophialides, and terminal or intercalary chlamydospores (Leslie and Summerell, 2006). Foc TR4 was identified from five isolates by endpoint and quantitative-PCR using four different primer sets (Li et al. 2013; Dita et al. 2010; Aguayo et al. 2017; Matthews et al. 2020). The same isolates were identified as VCG 01213 by successfully pairing nitrate non-utilizing (nit-1) mutants of the unknown strains with Nit-M testers of Foc TR4 available at Stellenbosch University (Leslie and Summerell, 2006). For pathogenicity testing, 3-month-old Cavendish banana plants cultivar 'Williams' were inoculated with isolates from Venezuela grown on sterile millet seed (Viljoen et al., 2017). Plants developed typical Fusarium wilt symptoms 60 days after inoculation, including yellowing of leaves that progressed from the older to the younger leaves, wilting, and internal discoloration of the pseudostem. Koch's postulates were fulfilled by reisolating and identifying Foc TR4 from the plants by qPCR (Matthews et al., 2020). These results provide scientific proof of the presence of Foc TR4 in Venezuela. The Venezuelan Plant Protection Organization (INSAI) has declared Foc TR4 as a newly introduced pest (January 19, 2023), and infested banana fields were placed under quarantine. Comprehensive surveys are now conducted in all production areas in Venezuela to assess the presence and impact of Foc TR4, and information campaigns were started to make farmers aware of biosecurity protocols. Collaborative initiatives and coordinated actions among all stakeholders are needed to prevent the spread of Foc TR4 to other countries in Latin America, and to develop Foc TR4-resistant bananas (Figueiredo et al. 2023).

A Characterization of Central Auditory Processing in Parkinson's Disease.

Background: Research indicates that people with Parkinson's disease (PwPs) may experience challenges in both peripheral and central auditory processing, although findings are inconsistent across studies. Due to the diversity of auditory measures used, there is a need for standardized, replicable hearing assessments to clarify which aspects of audition are impacted in PWPs and whether they are linked to motor and non-motor symptoms. Objective: To characterize auditory processes and their possible alteration in PwPs. To address this, we collected a comprehensive set of standardized measures of audition using PART, a digital testing platform designed to facilitate replication. Additionally, we examined the relationship between auditory, cognitive, and clinical variables in PwPs. Methods: We included 44 PwPs and 54 age and education matched healthy controls. Assessments included detection of diotic and dichotic frequency modulation, temporal gaps, spectro-temporal broad-band modulation, and speech-on-speech masking. Results: We found no statistically significant differences in auditory processing measures between PwPs and the comparison group (ps > 0.07). In PwPs, an auditory processing composite score showed significant medium size correlations with cognitive measures (0.39 < r<0.41, ps < 0.02) and clinical variables of motor symptom severity, quality of life, depression, and caretaker burden (0.33 < r<0.52, ps < 0.03). Conclusions: While larger datasets are needed to clarify whether PwPs experience more auditory difficulties than healthy controls, our results underscore the importance of considering auditory processing on the symptomatic spectrum of Parkinson's disease using standardized replicable methodologies.

It is unknown whether there exists a relationship between Parkinson's disease (PD) and hearing ability. While some studies have found hearing difficulties to be associated with PD, other studies failed to replicate these effects. We suggest that a possible reason for these differing findings are differences in how hearing is measured. To clarify the literature, we tested a group of people with Parkinson's (PwPs) on several aspects of hearing using a freely available tablet-based app. We compared PwPs hearing tests to those of an age and education matched group of people without PD. While we found no clear differences among the groups, we did find better hearing abilities were related to less motor symptom severity and depression, better reported quality of life, and less reported burden of the disease experienced by the caretaker. We conclude that while there is no solid evidence showing the hearing is necessarily impaired in PD, that measuring hearing in PwPs can provide valuable clinical information. This can inform new approaches to treatment for people living with PD such as those related with improving hearing.

Talleres científico-metodológicos, alternativa para capacitar a entrenadoras de gimnasia rítmica de Ecuador

En el contexto ecuatoriano, se pudieron constatar insuficiencias en el proceso de capacitación de las entrenadoras de gimnasia rítmica, pues regularmente las acciones acometidas tuvieron carácter empírico, estuvieron sustentadas en conocimientos adquiridos a lo largo de los años en el desarrollo de dicha actividad, y no siempre respondieron a la demanda de necesidades de las entrenadoras. Por ello, se planteó como objetivo modelar un conjunto de talleres científico-metodológicos para la capacitación profesional de entrenadoras de gimnasia rítmica de Ecuador, que incida en el mejoramiento de su desempeño. El resultado se expresó en la organización de la capacitación para las entrenadoras, desde la conformación de talleres científico-metodológicos, en los que se estableció la interrelación de los conocimientos teóricos y prácticos, a partir de las características del proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje de la gimnasia rítmica y con una visión innovadora de estos recursos humanos, lo que incidió en el mejoramiento de los resultados deportivos.

No contexto equatoriano, constatou-se que existem insuficiências no processo de formação de treinadores de Ginástica Rítmica, uma vez que as ações realizadas regularmente têm caráter empírico, baseiam-se em conhecimentos adquiridos ao longo dos anos no desenvolvimento da referida atividade e nem sempre responder à procura e às necessidades destes treinadores. Portanto, o objetivo é modelar um conjunto de oficinas científico-metodológicas para a formação profissional de treinadores de Ginástica Rítmica no Equador que influenciem na melhoria de seu desempenho. O resultado se expressa na organização da formação de treinadores, a partir da formação de oficinas científico-metodológicas nas quais se estabelece a inter-relação de conhecimentos teóricos e práticos, a partir das características do processo de ensino-aprendizagem da Ginástica Rítmica com uma visão inovadora de estes recursos humanos que influenciam a melhoria dos resultados desportivos.

In the Ecuadorian context, it has been confirmed that there are insufficiencies in the training process of Rhythmic Gymnastics coaches, since the actions undertaken regularly have an empirical nature, they are based on knowledge acquired over the years in development of said activity and do not always respond to the demand and needs of these coaches. Therefore, the objective is to model a set of scientific-methodological workshops for the professional training of Rhythmic Gymnastics coaches in Ecuador that influences the improvement of their performance. The result is expressed in the organization of training for coaches, from the formation of scientific-methodological workshops in which the interrelation of theoretical and practical knowledge is established, based on the characteristics of the teaching-learning process of Rhythmic Gymnastics with an innovative vision of these human resources that influence the improvement of sports results.