Taro (Colocasia esculenta) is an important root crop in the humid tropics and a valuable source of essential mineral nutrients. In the presented study, we compared the mineral compositions of four main parts of taro corm: the upper, marginal, central and lower (basal) parts. The freeze-dried taro samples were analysed for eleven minerals (K, P, Mg, Ca, Zn, Fe, Mn, Cu, Cd, Pb and Cr). The upper ...

This paper describes a series of laboratory simulation experiments with exposures of up to 5 hours in which the performance of simulated office work was increased by removing common indoor sources of air pollution (floor-coverings and personal computers), or by increasing the rate at which clean outdoor air was supplied per person. Outdoor air supply rates from 3-30 L/s/p were studied. The resu...

The tropics have unique health care problems that have not been of much concern to rest of the world until recently. Increasing travel and immigration have made neglected tropical diseases relevant for almost all regions in the world. Geographically, the tropical region is limited to an area till 23° 26’ 16’’ on either side of equator and characterized by direct overhead presence of sun at leas...

23 In tropics, ants can represent an important part of animal biomass and are known to be 24 involved in ecosystem services, such as pest regulation. Understanding the mechanisms 25 underlying the structuring of local ant communities is therefore important in agroecology. In 26 the humid tropics of Africa, plantains are cropped in association with many other annual and 27 perennial crops. Such ...

130 species, mostly trees, confined to the warm humid tropics of the world. Some species are used in traditional medicine for their antimicrobial, analgesic, gastroprotective activities and many of them are acknowledged for the presence of pyranocoumarins which act as potent inhibitors of HIV-1 replication and cytopathicity. Besides, the genus is considered as a rich source of phenolic compound...

In tropics, ants can represent an important part of animal biomass and are known to be involved in ecosystem services, such as pest regulation. Understanding the mechanisms underlying the structuring of local ant communities is therefore important in agroecology. In the humid tropics of Africa, plantains are cropped in association with many other annual and perennial crops. Such agrosystems dif...

Variable-charge (v-c) and permanent-charge (p-c) soils differ fundamentally with regard to many nutrient-cycling processes. Variable-charge soils are more common in the tropics than in temperature zones because their formation requires desilication, which proceeds fastest in warm, moist climates. The dynamics of nutrient mobility tend to be more complex in v-c than in p-c soils. For example, th...