American Tropical Research Articles

Colonial Pathologies: American Tropical Medicine, Race and Hygiene in the Philippines

Colonial Pathologies: American Tropical Medicine, Race and Hygiene in the Philippines

Compatibility of Mixed Seedings of Tropical Legumes and Grasses on a South American Tropical Savanna

The compatibility of two tropical grasses (Brachiaria humidicola (Bh) and Panicum maximum (Pm)) and three legumes (Arachis pintoi (Ap), Stylosanthes capitata (Sc) and Stylosanthes guianensis (Sg)) were examined at two fertilizer application levels in a tropical South American savanna region. Pairs consisting of one grass and one legume were planted on a reclaimed Colombian lowland. Changes in biomass over time, growth patterns, and the relative palatability of these species indicated by grazing preference were measured. Among the two grass species, Bh showed strong growth, even under the low fertility condition, while Pm required the high fertilizer application level for establishment and growth. Among the legumes, Sg grew vigorously, even at the low fertility level, and could compete with Bh in biomass production. Sc was less vigorous than Sg, but was preferred by cattle. The growth habit of Ap was stoloniferous and it required a long time period to make a dense sward, because its seeding rate was low due to the bigger seed size. Among the three legume species, Ap was most preferred by cattle, and Sg was the least, but was nevertheless eaten by cattle if no other legumes were present. Considering the compatibility of these grasses and legumes, the mixture of Sg and Bh produced a higher level of herbage biomass than the other grass-legume mixtures examined in this study. The Ap and Pm mixture also had good compatibility, and its palatability to cows was higher than the other mixtures.

Gill Cellular Changes Induced by Copper Exposure in the South American Tropical Freshwater Fish Prochilodus scrofa

The cellular changes in gill tissue induced by exposure to copper were studied in the tropical freshwater fish Prochilodus scrofa, with emphasis on chloride and pavement cells. Damage to gills included epithelial changes such as lifting, rupture, peeling of lamellar epithelium, lamellar fusion, hyperplasia, and cellular hypertrophy. Cell degeneration by necrosis and apoptosis was intense in fish exposed to 25 and 29 μg Cu L−1. Pavement cells showed microridge reduction on their surface. Chloride cells proliferated in the lamellar epithelia close to the onset of the lamellae. However, no changes in total chloride cell density in contact with the water were observed. The chloride cell apical area of fish exposed to copper increased, but only fish exposed to 25 μg Cu L−1 showed significant increase in the chloride cell fractional area. At this water copper concentration, almost 60% of the chloride cells were apoptotic. Necrotic chloride cells increased with copper in water, reaching 70% in fish exposed to 29 μg Cu L−1 (=LC50 calculated for this species). Pavement and chloride cell proliferation and hypertrophy on lamellar epithelia increased the thickness of the water–blood barrier. Our findings suggest severe impairment of ion regulation and gas transfer of fish exposed to copper.

Environmental NGOs and the dolphin‐tuna case

The dolphin‐tuna case involves Environmental NGOs (ENGOs) promoting sound environmental practices by US and international tuna fishing fleets in the Eastern Topical Pacific Ocean (ETPO). An analysis of this case is critical because it demonstrates the political complexity of a high seas environmental issue as well as how ENGOs were able to insert themselves into domestic and international policy processes. Working together in coalition, ENGOs defined the issue, convinced policymakers and the public that the problems of the ETPO needed to be solved, and promoted solutions. The case demonstrates that the actions of the ENGOs were instrumental in shaping US legislation, policies of the Inter American Tropical Tuna Commission, and the international agreement between fishing states.

Phytoliths in Cucurbita and other Neotropical Cucurbitaceae and their Occurrence in Early Archaeological Sites from the Lowland American Tropics

Cucurbita spp. (squashes and gourds), together with bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria), were among the earliest plants manipulated and domesticated in the Americas. Although at least one squash species,Cucurbita moschata , was domesticated in the lowland Neotropics, little is known about its history because preservation of plant remains in sites from the tropical forest is poor. Phytolith analysis has the potential to help in our understanding of early cultural uses of Cucurbita and other important Cucurbitaceae in the American tropical forest. Phytoliths from the fruits of three modern domesticated Cucurbita species were compared with seven wild species of Cucurbita and 41 species of cucurbits from 22 other genera in the Cucurbitaceae. Cucurbita and Lagenaria phytoliths are distinctive and they have been recovered from archaeological deposits in the lowland Neotropics dating to the terminal Pleistocene and early Holocene periods. Phytolith evidence indicates that a domesticated Cucurbita was present on the northern South American landscape by at least 7000 bp, and quite possibly by 9000 bp.

Demographic and Architectural Retrodiction: An Ethnoarchaeological Case Study in the South American Tropical Lowlands

This paper focuses on the demographic and architectural organization of a South Amerindian tropical-forest community. The household, as the most important social, economic, and behavioral unit in this society, is reflected in the strong quantitative relations between the floor areas of the various structure types and the associated number of occupants. In contrast, floor area/number of occupants relations at the nuclear-family level are quantitatively weak. Since the aboriginal household was also the most important economic and demographic social unit in the South American tropics, the present study may be used to estimate prehistoric settlement population levels using excavated data. As such, this study encourages the use of the direct-historical approach by archaeologists working in the lowlands of South America.

Subsistence cultivation in the Caribbean

Subsistence cultivation on small plots is a marked characteristic of rural life in the Caribbean islands, as it is in most areas in the American tropics. It closely resembles the subsistence cultivation systems of neighboring areas and has been classified as a subcategory of American tropical forest agriculture (Denevan 1980; Katz, Hediger & Valleroy 1974: 769). Yet its practitioners are not natives of the American tropics, but the descendants of Africans who often grew their own food and a small market surplus on the unused lands near the plantations on which they worked as slaves. These provision grounds were important in their adaptations to slavery and to the changes later brought by emancipation (Mintz & Hall 1960). That they are still an essential part of rural land use, economy, and household survival has been recog nized in an abundant literature.2 Most of the studies in this literature are local and particular. Few attempt any intra-regional comparison or generalization (Hills & Iton 1982, 1983; Momsen 1972; Paquette 1968, 1982; Rashford 1982), and none attempt extra-regional comparison or systematic synthesis. This is surprising when we consider the synthesizing and explanatory efforts applied to some other important Afro-American cultural features with multi-cultural origins, such as religion or Creole languages (e.g., Al leyne 1980; Bickerton 1975; Carrington et al. 1983; Simpson 1978; Taylor 1977). This paper uses both intra-regional and extra-regional comparison to test a working hypothesis developed in the field. It asks whether a

American Political Science and Tropical Africa: Universalism vs. Relativism

American Political Science and Tropical Africa: Universalism vs. Relativism

Meeting the World Food Crisis through American Tropical Agricultural Research1

Abstract The theme that I am going to address, “Meeting the World Food Crisis through American Tropical Agricultural Research,” involves two basic assumptions: First, there is, or there will be a world food crisis. Second, that crisis can, at least in part, be met through American Tropical Agricultural Research

DIVISION OF MYCOLOGY*: THE GENUS ACTINOPLANES AND ITS RELATIVES**

Transactions of the New York Academy of SciencesVolume 16, Issue 6 Series II p. 315-318 DIVISION OF MYCOLOGY*: THE GENUS ACTINOPLANES AND ITS RELATIVES** JOHN N. COUCH, JOHN N. COUCH Department of Botany, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, N.C.Search for more papers by this author JOHN N. COUCH, JOHN N. COUCH Department of Botany, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, N.C.Search for more papers by this author First published: April 1954 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2164-0947.1954.tb00393.xCitations: 32 † The Section of Psychology held a meeting on March 15, 1954 at which a paper entitled “Interracial Contact and Attitude Change” was read by Daniel M. Wilner. This paper will be published in a subsequent issue. The Section of Mathematics and Engineering held a meeting on March 19, 1954 at which a paper entitled “Engineering with New Plastic Materials” was read by William E. Holland. No abstract of this paper had been received at the time of publication. The Section of Anthropology held a meeting on March 22, 1954. Owing to illness Meyer Fortes was unable to deliver his paper entitled “Growing Points in African Ethnography and Sociology.” In its place, a paper entitled “New Horizons in South American Tropical Forest Ethnography” was read by Charles Wagley. No abstract of either of these papers had been received at the time of the publication. The Section of Oceanography and Meteorology held a meeting on March 23, 1954 at which a paper entitled “Prediction of Cyclogenesis Affecting Eastern United States” was read by Norman E. Husbey. No abstract of this paper had been received at the time of publication. ‡ This paper, illustrated with lantern slides, was presented at the meeting of the Division on March 26, 1954. AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume16, Issue6 Series IIApril 1954Pages 315-318 RelatedInformation

American Tropical Woods

American Tropical Woods

Horizons of American Tropical Medicine

Horizons of American Tropical Medicine

Ambassadors in White

Ambassadors in White Get access Ambassadors in White. The story of American Tropical Medicine. Wilson Charles Morrow. Cloth, 372 pp., illustrated. Henry Holt & Co., New York. American Journal of Clinical Pathology, Volume 12, Issue 12, 1 December 1942, Page 637, https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcp/12.12.637 Published: 01 December 1942

Ambassadors in White. The Story of American Tropical Medicine

Ambassadors in White. The Story of American Tropical Medicine

Ambassadors in White: The Story of American Tropical Medicine

This book is a story of the fight against disease in the American tropics by physicians from the United States and Europe. It is written by a layman who has obviously made an extensive study of nutrition and of various tropical diseases, especially malaria. It represents a tremendous amount of reading as well as first hand information from various visits to the tropics. It is a most instructive book and a fascinating one to read by physicians and laymen alike. Special chapters are devoted to the lives of such well known men as Gorgas, Walter Reed, Carlos Finlay and Noguchi. Another chapter describes the interesting career of William E. Deeks, who is not as well known to the medical profession as the others. Many other physicians are mentioned at greater or less length who have done their part in the seemingly hopeless fight against tropical diseases. An instructive chapter entitled

American Tropical Laboratory

THE Director of Kew presents his compliments to the Editor of NATURE and requests the publication of the enclosed letter.