Background Quantifying disease costs is critical for policymakers to set priorities, allocate resources, select control and prevention strategies, and evaluate the cost-effectiveness of interventions. Although malaria carries a very large disease burden, the availability of comprehensive and comparable estimates of malaria costs across endemic countries is scarce. Methods A literature review to summarize methodologies utilized to estimate malaria treatment costs was conducted to identify gaps in knowledge. Results Only 45 publications met the inclusion criteria. They utilize different methods, include distinct cost components, have varied geographical coverage (a country vs a city), include different periods in the analysis, and focus on specific parasite types or population groups (e.g., pregnant women). Conclusions Cost estimates currently available are not comparable, hindering broad statements on the costs of malaria, and constraining advocacy efforts towards investment in malaria control and elimination, particularly with the finance and development sectors of the government.

A mandioca é uma das mais promissoras culturas, na agricultura familiar, contribuindo no desenvolvimento social e econômico do Brasil. Apesar disso, tradicionalmente a cultura é conduzida com baixo investimento financeiro, geralmente, não havendo aplicação de corretivos e fertilizantes em doses adequadas. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o efeito de diferentes doses de adubação fosfatada e a adubação de cobertura na produtividade da mandioca (IAC 12). O experimento foi desenvolvido em parcela subdividida com 3 repetições. Avaliaram-se quatro doses de fósforo (0; 40; 80; 160kg de P2O5/ha) e a adubação de cobertura (0 e 250kg/ha de 20-00-20). A colheita foi realizada 10 meses após o plantio e foi determinada a produtividade (kg/planta). Foi realizada análise de variância e teste de Scott-Knott para comparação de médias. Verificouse que houve resposta crescente à adubação fosfatada; a produtividade foi maior para a dose de 160kg de P2O5/ha, que é o dobro da dose máxima recomendada pela CFSEMG, demostrando que embora rústica, a planta é responsiva a adubação fosfatada. Com relação à adubação de cobertura, não houve diferença significativa entre os tratamentos. Concluísse que a cultivar de mandioca IAC 12 é responsiva a fósforo, havendo necessidade de estudos com maiores doses.Palavras chave: Adubação de plantio, IAC 12, Manihot esculenta Yield of cassava evaluated on four levels of Phosphate fertilization and a cover fertilizationABSTRACT. Cassava is one of the most promising crops in family agriculture, contributing to the social and economic development of Brazil. In spite of this, traditionally the culture is conducted with low financial investment, generally, not having corrective and fertilizer application in adequate doses. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of different doses of phosphate fertilization and yield fertilization on cassava (IAC 12). The experiment was developed in a subdivided plot with 24 replicates. Four doses of phosphorus (0, 40, 80, 160 kg of P2O5 / ha) and cover fertilization (0 and 250 kg / ha of 20--20-20) were evaluated. Harvesting was performed xx months after planting and productivity per plant was determined. Variance analysis and Scott-Knott's test were performed to compare means. There was an increasing response to phosphate fertilization; the productivity was higher for the 160 kg dose of P2O5 / ha, which is twice the maximum dose recommended by CFSEMG, showing that although it is rustic, the plant is responsive to phosphate fertilization. Regarding the cover fertilization, there was no significant difference between the treatments. It was concluded that the cultivar of cassava IAC 12 is responsive to phosphorus, requiring studies with higher doses.

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Background and objectiveApproximately 15% of the rice produced in the world is parboiled. Parboiling, a hydrothermal process involving soaking, steaming, and drying, is conventionally utilized to improve milling quality, nutritional value, and shelf life of rice. Because rice is composed of kernels of varying thickness, rice kernel thickness may impact parboiled rice properties. This study investigated the milling and color properties of parboiled rice prepared from two rice cultivars with different kernel thickness distributions and chemical compositions by subjecting them to different soaking temperatures and durations.FindingsRoyJ was composed of a greater proportion of thinner kernels, whereas XL756 was composed of a greater proportion of thicker kernels. The head rice yield (HRY) of the resultant parboiled rice was strongly affected by rice cultivar and thickness fraction, but was not impacted by their chemical compositions. RoyJ had a greater HRY than XL756 for the same thickness fraction under the same soaking conditions. Lightness (L*) and yellowness (b*) appeared to be greatly affected by cultivar with RoyJ displaying greater L* and b* values than XL756 for most conditions.ConclusionKernel thickness and soaking duration were important factors affecting the HRY of parboiled rice for both rice cultivars. Rice cultivars composed of a greater percentage of thinner kernels would be more susceptible to severe parboiling conditions and thus produce more variation in the HRY of parboiled rice.Significance and noveltyThe distribution of kernel thickness is different for different rice cultivars and should be taken into consideration when choosing parboiling conditions to maximize the HRY of parboiled rice.

White mold (Sclerotinia sclerotiorum) is a major problem of the common bean in Brazil. Thus, the objective of this study was to verify the effectiveness of chemical fungicides and biological products (Trichoderma spp) for the control of white mold in a bean field with different plant population densities located in the Silvânia, Goiás State, Brazil, in the 2007/08 rain season. The experimental design was the randomized blocks, with four replicates and seven treatments. The treatments are consisting of two levels of plant population densities (240 and 120 thousand plants/ha^-1), chemical fungicides (carboxin-thiram and procymidone) and biological fungicides (Trichoderma spp), as well as untreated control. The results indicated that there was no significant interaction between bean population densities and chemical and biological fungicides applied to control S. sclerotiorum. The biological agent Trichoderma spp. is not effective in controlling S. sclerotiorum in common bean crop grown in the Brazilian “cerrado” region. Application of carboxin-thiram + procymidone was the most efficient treatment for the control of white mold on the common bean. Lower planting density is recommended for areas contaminated with S. sclerotiorum, as it can be easily associated with other control strategies.