Prevalence, Pathogenicity, Virulence, Antibiotic Resistance, and Phylogenetic Analysis of Biofilm-Producing Listeria monocytogenes Isolated from Different Ecological Niches in Egypt: Food, Humans, Animals, and Environment

Serious outbreaks of foodborne disease have been caused by Listeria monocytogenes found in retail delicatessens and the severity of disease is significant, with high hospitalization and mortality rates. Little is understood about the formidable public health threat of L. monocytogenes in all four niches, humans, animals, food, and environment, in Egypt. This study analyzed the presence of L. monocytogenes collected from the four environmental niches and bioinformatics analysis was implemented to analyze and compare the data. PCR was used to detect virulence genes encoded by pathogenicity island (LIPI-1). prfA amino acid substation that causes constitutive expression of virulence was common in 77.7% of isolates. BLAST analysis did not match other isolates in the NCBI database, suggesting this may be a characteristic of the region associated with these isolates. A second group included the NH1 isolate originating in China, and BLAST analysis showed this prfA allele was shared with isolates from other global locations, such as Europe and North America. Identification of possible links and transmission pathways between the four niches helps to decrease the risk of disease in humans, to take more specific control measures in the context of disease prevention, to limit economic losses associated with food recalls, and highlights the need for treatment options

Evaluation of Groundwater Resources In Kufr-Dan area Using Groundwater Modeling

Ground water is the main source of drinking water in Palestine. It is also one of the most important resources for agriculture. The increase in the population has an impact on groundwater resources and has created problems in aquifers such as declining water tables and also deterioration of water quality. Palestine is facing a serious problem in managing groundwater due to its limited availability and the excessive pumping of groundwater. The acute shortage of groundwater has an adverse impact on the agricultural production which leads to a stagnant economy. This study has been conducted in the village of Kufr-Dan which aims at studying the shallow aquifer in the area which is Eocene Aquifer. This study used Groundwater Modeling System (GMS) to develop a conceptual model on the basis of data from cross section and several boreholes and to calibrate a numerical Model. Seven wells ware selected for model calibration. The difference between the simulated and observed wells was less than 8 meters. After adjusting the permeability value in the model for the study area, we found that there is an amount of 2,500 m /day that enters the northern part of the study area ager doing the calibration. IV The groundwater table ranges from 50m a.s.l in the northern part to 170m a.s.l in the southern part, where the groundwater flow is towards the north eastern side. The model has 73 wells taping the Eocene aquifer. Most of them are dry due to over pumping. The boundary of model is classified in to: flow boundary and non-flow boundary. The total input is 0.43 MCM/year from boundary of the model, the total output is 0.85 MCM/year from the boundary of the model. The total quantity of recharge water for model is determined from rainfall (88%), leakage from network water (0.5%), the quantity of infiltration water from cesspits (1.4%), and the quantity of residual water that passes through irrigation (10%) is 2. MCM. The total input and output from model was 2.98 MCM/year 2012/2013. The well abstraction from the model is 2.13 MCM/year which is about 70% of the aquifer budget. Four scenarios have been applied based on the model. The climate change has been taken into account in which the rainfall has decreased by 30% composed with average amount of rainfall for the previous years. The total amount water input and output in the model is 1.86 MCM, and the amount of abstracted water is 1.3 MCM. In another scenario, the rainfall has been increased by 10% based on the previous years. We did not notice any noticeable change in the input and output in the model, which is 3.19 MCM, and the amount of abstracted water was 2.34 MCM. V The third and fourth scenarios were based on abstraction. The third scenario is based on addition of three new wells in the northern part of the study area each of them has a capacity of 40 m /h. The fourth scenario is based on artificial recharge, where seven dry wells have been selected to be injected with 3,750 m /day treated wastewater from nearby Jenin wastewater plant. The yield of the wells in the area has improved to 4.85 MCM, which is enough to meet the water demand of the farmers in the area. The water output and input of the model was 4.89 MCM. It was concluded that another well could be digged in the northern part of the study area which can have a capacity of 20m /h, and the water input and output of a model well increase to 5.00 MCM/year

Estimation of post-harvest losses of Manfalouty pomegranate fruits

Weight loss considered one of the main causes of quality loss in pomegranate fruits during chain marketing. Therefore, this study was conducted on Manfalouty pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) in a private orchard in El Badary, Assiut Governorate, Egypt in 2017 and 2018 to define the various causes of losses during chain handing and estimate it. The fruits harvested at three periods early (September) mid (October) and late season (November). The total losses at harvest were 5.94%, 9.30% and 23.50% for early, mid and late season, respectively. The main cause of losses is due to cracked and infected pests. The total loss of fruits during chain marketing was highest in retail market in comparison with wholesale during early, mid and late season. The main causes of losses due to weight loss and shrinkage fruits. According to data dealing with storage pomegranate fruits at 5±1°C and relative humidity 85-90%, the highest fruit losses found in the third month and this losses due to fruit weight loss and internal chilling injury (brown discoloration) so the storage life of fruit should be two months. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.405122

Genetic diversity, population structure and linkage disequilibrium in Nordic spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L. subsp. vulgare)

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Marker-Assisted Breeding in Wheat

Selection is an integral component in plant breeding, which ensures the progressive values of the breeding material, in terms of yield and quality. However, selection is influenced by the environment in any given growing season. The observed phenotype is a product of the genotype (G), the environment (E), and/or genotype × environment (G×E). Therefore, phenotypic selection is not always the best predirector of the genotype. Therefore, an environment-independent method is preferred by the breeder. The development of molecular markers in plants has facilitated marker-assisted selection (MAS). MAS requires the establishment of correlation between a desired trait such as disease resistance and molecular marker(s). This can be obtained, e.g., by phenotyping a genetic mapping population followed by QTL analysis. Initially, this process was slow due to the laborious nature of the first DNA molecular marker system, such as restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). Later, with the discovery of various marker systems amenable to automation and the development of genotyping techniques and instruments, MAS has become a standard procedure in plant breeding. In wheat breeding, MAS helped to accelerate the introgression of many genes that contribute to improve quality and resistance

Epidemiological Insights of Foot and Mouth Disease Virus Infection among Cattle and Buffaloes in Sharkia Governorate, Egypt

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is endemic in Egypt and in most parts of Africa causing huge economic losses. Control of FMD using vaccination requires information on the occurrence of various FMDV serotypes. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of FMDV serotypes in Sharkia Governorate, Egypt. A total number of 643 different samples, within ten different localities, were collected from both cattle and buffaloes (n = 283) of different, age, sex, immune status against FMD, and health status. Field samples (n = 360) have been screened for FMDV by RT-PCR using universal primers and were further subtyped using serotype-specific primers. Additionally, serum samples (n = 283) have been analyzed by applying FMDV serotype-specific antibody ELISA. The RT-PCR screening revealed that a total number of 39/283 (13.8%), 61/283 (21.6%) and 17/38 (44.7%) animals were positive for FMDV serotype O, A and SAT2, respectively. While, by ELISA, neutralizing antibodies directed against FMDV serotype O, A, and SAT2, were found in 177/283 (62.5%), 171/283 (60.4%) and 27/38 (71.1%) serum samples, respectively. These results indicated the endemic status of the FMDV serotypes O, A and SAT2 in Sharkia Governorate despite routine FMD vaccination programs. Although many variations of disease prevalence were recorded between animals of different, age, sex and immune and health status but it was obvious that FMD was more prominent and prevalent in buffaloes (47.1%) than in cattle (34.1%). Therefore, control efforts should focus on reducing the circulation of FMDV among susceptible livestock with special attention towards water buffaloes. Continuous surveillance, at molecular and immunological levels, of FMDV serotypes is needed for the effectiveness of any adopted control strategy targeting FMD including vaccination

AB-FUBINACA, A SYNTHETIC CANNABINOID IN “FUNKY GREEN STUFF™”

Objective: The objective of this research was to isolate and identify any potential synthetic cannabinoids disguised in the commercially available claimed-to-be herbal scent, known as “Funky Green Stuff™”. Methods: Potential synthetic cannabinoids were extracted via percolating the content of the commercial herbal scent bag “Funky Green StuffTM” in methanol. Column chromatographic isolation afforded one main pure compound. Different spectral analyses established the identity of the isolated compound. Results: Chromatographic purification afforded 372 mg (5.2% w/w enrichment ratio) of pure needle crystals. Spectral analyses revealed the identity of the isolated compound as the synthetic cannabinoid AB-FUBINACA, confirming the assumption that a synthetic cannabinoid was disguised as an herbal scent product. Conclusion: Several scent herbal products, also known as “spice”, are used to disguise synthetic cannabinoids. Their detection proved to be troublesome since authentic standards are not yet available. The synthetic cannabinoid, AB-FUBINACA, was isolated from one of these products, and its identity was established based on its spectral data

Genomic Prediction and Genome-Wide Association Studies of Flour Yield and Alveograph Quality Traits Using Advanced Winter Wheat Breeding Material

Use of genetic markers and genomic prediction might improve genetic gain for quality traits in wheat breeding programs. Here, flour yield and Alveograph quality traits were inspected in 635 F6 winter wheat breeding lines from two breeding cycles. Genome-wide association studies revealed single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) on chromosome 5D significantly associated with flour yield, Alveograph P (dough tenacity), and Alveograph W (dough strength). Additionally, SNPs on chromosome 1D were associated with Alveograph P and W, SNPs on chromosome 1B were associated with Alveograph P, and SNPs on chromosome 4A were associated with Alveograph L (dough extensibility). Predictive abilities based on genomic best linear unbiased prediction (GBLUP) models ranged from 0.50 for flour yield to 0.79 for Alveograph W based on a leave-one-out cross-validation strategy. Predictive abilities were negatively affected by smaller training set sizes, lower genetic relationship between lines in training and validation sets, and by genotype–environment (G×E) interactions. Bayesian Power Lasso models and genomic feature models resulted in similar or slightly improved predictions compared to GBLUP models. SNPs with the largest effects can be used for screening large numbers of lines in early generations in breeding programs to select lines that potentially have good quality traits. In later generations, genomic predictions might be used for a more accurate selection of high quality wheat lines