Rice is one of the most popular cereals worldwide, one of Guyana's major staple foods produced and consumed. With most of the population dependent on rice as a significant part of their diet, it becomes critical to analyze and monitor its composition. This project was aimed at comparatively analyzing four different local rice varieties cultivated in Guyana and one candidate line for proximate chemical components, vitamins and mineral elements. 2kg of paddy of each variety/line was harvested from pre-basic plots and were cleaned and shelled. Analyses were done by Kaizen Environmental Services Inc. All methods were carried out based on the AOAC (Association of Official Analytical Chemists) method.In this study, the genetic diversity of the rice varieties/lines was reflected by the range of nutritional characteristics. There was no variety that was superior to another in terms of its overall nutritional content; however, there were some that recorded higher levels of one or more nutrients. The average protein was relatively high in both cargo and polished rice (8.50% and 7.78% respectively). Carbohydrates, present in the largest amount in all 5 varieties, ranged from 70.94% to 73.57% for cargo/brown rice and 73.85% to 77.11% for polished rice. It was also observed that the degree of milling also influenced the nutritional composition of the grain. The unpolished /brown/cargo rice contained higher amounts of all nutrients except carbohydrates when compared to the polished/white rice. The effect of poor nutritional value of rice can result in short life expectation, the prevalence of diseases, poor physical development and reduced working capacity; and so it is important that rice produced meets the requirements for its population.

Although cervical cancer is a leading cause of death among Guyanese women, there still appears to be a low uptake rate for the HPV vaccine. The objective of this study was to conduct a preliminary investigation of the knowledge, awareness and attitudes of undergraduate students towards HPV and the HPV vaccine. A cross sectional study was conducted, using a stratified random sampling procedure with a 25% (164 respondents) sample at a tertiary institution in Guyana. A 40-item questionnaire was used in this study. Cronbach’s alpha for reliability of the research instrument was 0.81. The research instrument addressed questions on demographic characteristics of respondents, awareness, knowledge and attitudes and source of information about HPV and the HPV vaccine. The majority of respondents were females. Although 83.5% of respondents had a prior awareness of either HPV or the HPV vaccine, none of the respondents had ever received the HPV vaccine. Respondents had a somewhat fair level of knowledge about HPV and the HPV vaccine. There was a statistically significant difference between male and female students in the mean HPV knowledge, attitudes and willingness to accept the HPV vaccine. Only 40.9% of respondents were willing to take the HPV vaccine. The decision to not want to take the HPV vaccine was influenced by several factors. The observed differences and gender influences can have implications for local HPV education and awareness programmes and strategies.

Biological food hazards are identified through the contamination of food by microorganisms which can be found in the air, food, water, animals, and in the human body. There are many different types of microorganisms such as, bacteria, viruses, parasites and fungi all of which are influenced by many factors that would lead to the likelihood of contamination of food. As long as conditions are suitable, almost all food can harbor some kind of biological hazard. The results of this study were done descriptively and placed into adequate tables. The results included six common pathogenic bacteria; Campylobacter jejuni, Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli, Clostridium perfringens, Staphylococcus aureus and members of the Salmonella spp. They were found to be in wide variety of foods inclusive of fruits, vegetables, seafood, meats, milk and eggs. Six common food parasites, they include three protozoans (Toxoplasma gondii, Giardia intestinalis and Cryptosporidium parvum), one roundworm (Trichinella spiralis) and two tapeworms (Taenia saginata and Taenia solium), the beef and pork tapeworm, respectively. Five common foodborne viruses associated with restaurants: Hepatitis A virus (HAV), Hepatitis E virus (HAE), Rotavirus, Norovirus and Sapovirus and four common mycotoxins that primarily affect humans through the consumption of contaminated food are shown. They are the aflatoxins, ochratoxin A, patulin and the trichothecenes (deoxynivalenol, nivalenol). More studies are needed on these biological hazards with regards to their epidemiology especially in the less developed countries, in order to better understand their effects.