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Colletotrichum kahawae is a causative fungal agent of Coffee Berry Disease (CBD) that negatively affects coffee production. Its control relies on use of resistant varieties and chemical control. Fungicides used in control of CBD are costly and pose a risk to environment and health. The study was aimed at assessing the possible antagonistic potential of fungal isolates against Colletotrichum kahawae in in vitro conditions. Five isolates were used; one isolate was collected from berries while the rest were collected from soil. Testing for antagonism against Colletorichum kahawae was done by co-culturing the isolates on Potato Dextrose Agar. The degree of antagonism was determined by measuring and comparing the radial growth of pathogen with the bio-agent against the control. Out of the five isolates tested against C. kahawae, three isolates Fusarium proliferetum, Penicillium and Fusarium ceraneasum significantly inhibited test pathogen growth at 60%, 55% and 45.45%, respectively. The other isolates, Fumigatus aspergillus and Chaetomium perithecia showed inhibition of growth at 40% and 18.18% respectively. It was concluded that there is potential of using fungi as bio control of the coffee berry disease.

Review of Mercédesz Czimbalmos's Intermarriage, Conversion and Jewish Identity in Contemporary Finland. A Study of Vernacular Religion in the Finnish Jewish Communities (Åbo Akademi University).

Abstract This article explores some residual entanglements of colonialism, Christianity, and Afro-western engagement in Africa by using the murder of George Floyd at the hands of police and his cries for “breath” and “mama” as a framework for examining the following. First, we argue that one way in which the repercussions of the transatlantic slave trade remain evident in Africa is the continued police brutality and dehumanization of African citizens. Secondly, with the invocation of “mama,” we consider the plight of African women and colonial/postcolonial Christianity, challenging the African church’s silence on social justice issues, and complicity in the exclusion/oppression of women. We call the church to reckon with its silence, and we offer a corrective towards constructing a theological and missiological response to our cries for breath. While this article is based on African feminist reflections, it invites global participation and indicates wider implications for social and gendered justice.

Hymenopterans are haplodiploids and unlike most other Arthropods they do not possess sexual chromosomes. Sex determination typically happens via the ploidy of individuals: haploids become males and diploids become females. Arrhenotoky is believed to be the ancestral reproduction mode in Hymenopterans, with haploid males produced parthenogenetically, and diploid females produced sexually. However, a number of transitions towards thelytoky (diploid females produced parthenogenetically) have appeared in Hymenopterans, and in most cases populations or species are either totally arrhenotokous or totally thelytokous. Here we present the case of Cotesia typhae (Fernandez-Triana), a Braconidae that produces parthenogenetic females at a low frequency. The phenotyping of two laboratory strains and one natural population showed that this frequency is variable, and that this rare thelytokous phenomenon also happens in the wild. Moreover, mated females from one of the laboratory strains produce a few parthenogenetic daughters among a majority of sexual daughters. The analysis of daughters of heterozygous virgin females allowed us to show that a mechanism similar to automixis with central fusion is very likely at play in C. typhae. This mechanism allows some parts of the genome to remain heterozygous, especially at the chromosomes' centromeres, which can be advantageous depending on the sex determination system involved. Lastly, in most species, the origin of thelytoky is either bacterial or genetic, and an antibiotic treatment as well as PCR experiments did not demonstrate a bacterial cause in C. typhae. The unusual case of low parthenogenetic frequency described in this species constitutes another example of the fascinating diversity of sex determination systems in Arthropods. International audience

The study seeks to study the Christian narrative unearthing the wealth of resources inherent in it to act as a stimulant and a motivating force for the present church towards the much-desired immortality that is the mark of the finish. It is an account that dates back to the first century during the formation of the church to the present state of the church in her pursuit of an alignment to the eschatological roadmap stipulated in scriptures. The study employs the scholarship of the historical Christian narrative from the analogical perspective of a journey of the Israelites in the Pentateuch towards Canaan. This was a journey that was characterized by pulsations of moving and stopping based on the instruction and guidance of God. Similarly, the Christian story is one that is emphatic with regard to the involvement of God in the Christian journey. The study captures the dominant moves of God over the centuries and their significant contribution to the establishment and progress of Christianity and the key players in the entire process from the protestant movement to the Apostolic Reformation. This will facilitate the understanding of the church in her present state as a product of her past journey and development with regard to offering guidance and facilitation of Christian practice. It will help the church with regard to guidance to help her avoid falling into the pit that their forerunners fell into and also motivate her towards greater exploits for God.

Abstract The Magic of Saida by M.G. Vassanji (2012) centres on the central figure of the novel’s story, Kamal. He is the son of an African mother and an Asian (read Indian) father, who grows up in Tanzania and then relocates to Canada where he becomes an established doctor. The novel tackles themes of African-Asian (read Afrasian) racial identity, belonging, and the effects of the past on the present. Kamal identifies mainly as an African when residing with his mother in Kilwa during his childhood; he is then urged to embrace an Indian identity when he is sent to live with his uncle in Dar es Salaam in his early adolescence. Decades after moving to Edmonton, Canada, Kamal decides to come back to Kilwa. This paper explores the tension and ambiguity in Kamal’s identity by analyzing the way he defines himself—or is defined—in Kilwa and Dar es Salaam, and then investigating, through an eclectic psychochriticism lens, how that in turn affects him as he ages and drives him to return in seach of what it means to be both an Asian and an African in the context of East African cultural landscapes.